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Hello all, not a ship builder yet. But wouldnt mind being one. Sadly a very restrictive $ budget and severe limit of display space prevents me from considering it for the moment. Now for my Question. I have read in a couple of non-naval connected books about a group of cargo ships with concrete for hulls. These were supposedly used during the latter stages of WW 1 for the basic idea as torpedo proof. Hence why i posted here. The descriptions i have are of "common shape to a steel hulled ship. Steam propulsion most likely by coal.the top speed referred to was a maximum of 8-9 knots at full power. After the war I've read that these ships were of little interest to commercial companies and private owners after the war. They were supposedly scuttled in shallow waters near chesepeake bay to become a series of islands. The reference also includes that in the 60's or 70's the remains were in an area that had become overgrown wetlands and salt marshes. I have scoured the internet for years trying to find any reference to these "concrete" ships to verify wether this was fact or fiction. The idea is sound. The evidence i can put forward for my argument is this. In WW2 the allies built, floated, and used the floating concrete harbours during the post "operation overlord" phases. They were called Mulberries as im sure you know. This and that Churchill had proposed the construction of the picrete aircraft carriers to be used as cross atlantic cargo protection. I know the picrete carrier was never built but a small scale prototype was started, built, and floated in hudson bay in 1942. Ive seen film evidence of this. Now has anyone ever heard of these ships ? Are they real or fiction ? If real does anyone know of blueprints/plans/photos/names ? If they were real has anyone ever modeled them ? Last if they are real can they be seen via google earth satellite imagry or overhead photo's. Has anyone ever seen them if they are real ? Just trying to solve a mystery that has plagued me for a long time. All help is welcome. Thank you in advance.

My fellow modelers, my on-again, off-again relationship with this project has now finally found an end. Like in every build so far there were some first-timers for me: First model kit in 72nd scale. First armor kit since returning to the hobby. First time dealing with all that glorious mud, grime and dirt poducts. Felt like a kid in a puddle, lol. The kit itself is nearly perfect. Awesome details, great fit and six varied schemes to choose from. The real challenge, at least for me, were all those incredible tiny parts. Keep in mind that Renault built a tank with 5 m (16.4 ft) of length and 2.14 m (7 ft) of height. Beside the priming the whole build took place under the magnifier. There is an interesting fact about the history of this tank: Renault started production in 1917, late in WW1. Thus most of them never saw action on the field. This one was, like many of its kind, transferred to the French colonies to ensure dominance of the occupying force. Later, after the armed truce of Compiègne (06/22/1940), in which the Germans allowed France to keep its colonial forces armed, this vehicle became part of the Armee de l'Armistice. The writing on the turret states "Le Champagne". For the presentation I cut and sanded a piece of ebony. What a great material! I finish with the obligatory scale picture. Looking forward to your comments and suggestions. Torben

Good afternoon. The Renault AM 1914 Armoured Car: From Tanks-Encyclopaedia: This first model was accepted and fifty units were built until early 1915, as 4×2 AA vehicles with an open air rear compartment, armed with a single 8 mm (0.31 in) St Etienne light machine gun. It was relatively lightly armored, with vertical plates between 4 and 6 mm (0.16-0.24 in) in thickness. These enclosed the closed driving compartment (with a single wide armored shutter), while the rear compartment was open, large enough for two operators (loader and gunner). Access for all crewmen provided through this open compartment. The machine gun was protected by a large frontal shield, with a mounting providing full vertical manual elevation (90°) and traverse. It had ammunition supplied in 8 mm/24 cartridge strips. This model had a ground clearance of 24 cm (9.5 in), 3.35 m wheelbase (132 in), with a 4×2 front steering with manual transmission, and a Renault water cooled petrol engine. The axles rested on leaf spring suspensions. Although a hundred were originally ordered, only 50 were built before their limitations were discovered. The AA mount was problematic, and the rate of fire and range were not sufficient for their intended rôle. Also, the armor was too light to protect against shrapnel and machine-gun rounds, while the open compartment left the crew vulnerable. But, probably worst of all, the front wheel drive proved ill-suited in operations. In 1916, all 50 were taken over to be rebuilt to the mle 1915 standard, which resembled thePeugeot armored car, with a short barrel 37 mm (1.46 in) gun or Hotchkiss LMG behind a shield. After a long and frustrating build (and waiting for the right camera, lens and set-up), I have finally completed and photographed this 1/35 resin model of the Renault AM 1914 from DaMo. Parts kept coming off and/or getting lost, but it all worked out in the end. One of the lamps has been whisked away to whatever fantasy realm lost parts go to. Paints used were Vallejo Model Air Dark Green as a base then mixed with black for the shaded areas and Mig Ammo Cremeweiss for highlights, various Citadel paints for the interior parts, Vallejo Model Air grey (of some form), Mr Hobby Tyre Black, Humbrol Gunmetal Metalcote for the Hotchkiss gun and Van Dyke Brown oil paint for the wooden parts. Weathered with dark and light rust oil paint for rusty streaks and the exhaust system, the chipped paint is Citadel Skavenblight Dinge dabbed on with a bit of sponge, bare metal is dry brushed Citadel Leadbelcher, and Mig Ammo Washable Dust was used to represent dust and dried mud on the wheels and chassis.

For your perusal...HR Models Hanriot HD-2 floatplane. This was a nice little kit but needed a certain amount of TLC and skill to build. The instructions were rudimentary but sufficient and I ended up using plenty of on-line sources for the rigging, alternative views and weathering. I love making early floatplanes and aside from this kit (and others from HR), the Roden Albatros W-4s, and a couple of other more obscure kits, there aren't a lot out there in this scale. The rigging is a mix of .004 fishing line ( which means a lot of drilling!) and some stretched sprue for the little bits. Paints are all Vallejo and the decals are OOB, as is the build. --JDCM

Hi folks, Well, it's a matter of some embarrassment that having been a member of this great forum for nearly a year now, and I've only managed one WIP thread. Truth is, I've not actually built much during this period, mainly due to a lack of spare time! Further, even those few things I have managed to put together have been pretty ordinary by the standards being shown on here by others, so I guess you could say I've spared you! So, in thinking about what I could contribute, I've been trawling my stash looking for a not-too-complicated (for my benefit), but unusual (for yours) subject. In this particular model I believe I have something. Having made extensive use of the forum search facility, I have found no other references to this particular aircraft! Please, please, don't now tell me that there is but I missed it! OK, so the traditional opening pics, external box-art, sprueage, destructions etc. Box front: The rear of the box shows the available options for livery/insignia/markings, including 2 Russian, one Belgian, one Swiss: From a modest bit of research it transpires that one could, with appropriate third-party decals, also add French, British, Spanish and indeed German to those options. Finally, given the aircraft's civilian, pre-WW1 origins, a completely insignia-free option would be entirely feasible. For me, I am going for the option as depicted on the box front: the mount of Captain Pjotr Nesterov of the Imperial Russian Air Service. Nesterov distinguished himself, in the days before aircraft with mounted weapons, when in August 1914 he became the first airman to bring down an enemy aircraft - by ramming it. Sadly this encounter proved to be his own undoing, as he and the 2 occupants of the German aircraft he rammed, crashed to earth and died from the resulting injuries. The parts inventory is fairly compact - one sprue: As seems to be typical for AZmodel, the instructions and parts list diagram are brief! It appears, from the instructions and indeed the parts supplied, that it is possible to make a Type G or a Type H as is one's fancy. For me, it's got to be 'G'! I am hoping to add as much detail as I can to an out-of-the-box build, but it will of course be within the confines of my own limited abilities, so it's not likely to be much. So that's where I will leave it for now. Hopefully this will be of modest interest to someone in the days/weeks/months/millennia to come!

Many moons ago I kind of started on this kit, I got a far as gluing the bulkheads to the floor, dry fitting the parts and tried to figure out how to position the gunner's tunnel where it made sense - gave up on that idea and quietly put it back in the box and placed a few more models on top of it hoping I'd forget about it and my kids could dispose of it after I was long gone. Well, the bug has bit to finish up those models that were never finished. I struggled with the fuselage trying to get the length of it not to look like a worm, as this one had a tendency to want to curve sideways. So after fighting this issue for 10-12 minutes I decided to glue it up as true as I could sighting down the spine. I'll then then add the extra bracing details in the interior. The tunnel was both glued with Tamiya glue and acc'd in place and then liberal amounts of Tamiya putty was used to blend it into the side walls and bottom of the fuselage. I don't remember building a kit with this much putty being used in the first hour nor having to use every clamp I have available and wishing I had more. Anyway we are off and running.

Just finished the 1/48 Special Hobby Nieuport 10. Use the kit's decals, rigging done with ceramic wire and fishing line. Added the hole in the top wing for the observer to get access to a machine gun mounted on the front spar with the exception of the prototype photos in the Datafile and a few books I can't find where the MG was ever mounted here on the production types. The hole shows up in a number of photos of the aircraft in service so I added as I wanted an early war Nieuport. Lots of discussion on various web forums as to th color of the tapes on the fuselage and wings. Some say black, brown with the latest theory being in the blue-gray camp (same color as the Adrian helmets) so throwing caution to the winds I went with the blue gray. I initially laid down an Amtrak blue (Microscale) on the wings and then brush painted to blue gray over the top. I then got the idea of painting the blue gray on the decal sheen and cutting out the tape - which worked out perfectly (but needed Walthers Solvaset to get the decals to lay completely flat). Castor oil staining done with water based oils. Same with the mud on the tires and under the wings. I do have a 'work in process' on this subject if interested.

St Chamond French WW1 tank, Late build Takom 1:35 History The Char St Chamond was only the second heavy tank to be manufactured by the French during WW1, its predecessor being the much more diminutive Schneider. By order of the French Government 400 were made between April 1917 and July 1918 with the first seeing action on May 5th 1917. Weighing in at a mighty 23 tons the tank was the most heavily armed of the entire war with no less than four 8mm Hotchkiss machine guns as its secondary armament and the 75mm Schneider Canon as its main armament. With a length of 8.9m a width of 2.7m and a height of 2.4m the tank was able to accommodate a crew of which included the Commander/Driver, Gunner/Loader, Assistant Gunner, Mechanic and four Machine Gunners. The downfall of the tank was a combination of the grossly underpowered engine along with the massively short tracks and over extended body. When faced with crossing trenches and other such obstacles ground clearance became a major issue and the tank would simply sink nose first into the terrain. Even though the early variant went through a series of modifications, reports suggested that crew members hated it. The tank crew suffered from a combination of unbearable noise, extremely hot environment, toxic poisoning from the engine, and an incredibly rough ride leading to a feeling of sea sickness. Only one static example of the St Chamond remains today (a late version) that being on display at Musée des Blindés in Saumur France. The Model This is the second kit Takom have released of the St Chamond with the earlier version being reviewed here. Although at first sight there is very little difference between the early and late versions there is enough to warrant this late version. The late version differs in that it has a deeper looking hull due to the more angular roof line and the removal of the four distinctive roof mounted turret like sighting blocks and searchlight mounting with just one square block on the front left hand side. The exhaust and intakes are also different, as is the main gun. The well illustrated top opening box contains five sprues of sandy yellow styrene and two of a darker brown. All the parts are very nicely moulded with no sign of flash, moulding pips, or other imperfections that would be visible on the completed model. This is due to the fact that any ejection pin marks are all on the inside of parts so very little clean-up will be required. The main hull is moulded with roof and sides as one piece and is a lovely piece of moulding with all the rivets and other details nice and crisply done. The build is relatively simple and with the clear, easy to read instructions it should be an enjoyable build. Well, at least until you get to the painting stage. Construction starts with the fitting of three strengthening beams on the roof along with two plates, one on the centre roof section and one on the observation tower. The two part door on the right hand side of the hull is than attached, followed by the eight roof hatches. There is a separate roof section just forward of the roof midpoint. This is fitted with two hatches before being glued into position, while the front observation tower is assembled from five parts, four sides and the roof, and then fitted to the front right hand side of the tanks roof. This is followed by the two part exhaust manifold and the long exhaust pipe which travels across then to the rear almost to the end of the roof. The front glacis plate is next with the fitting of the 75mm gun, which is made up of four parts before being slid from the rear of the plate into position. The front of the plate is fitted with three strakes and a grab handle before being put aside to set. Each of the four machine guns is assembled from a single piece gun, two piece trunnion, trunnion mount and hull mounting plate. The completed glacis plate and machine gun mounts are then fitted in position in the hull section, with a machine gun on each side, one forward in the glacis plate and one aft on the rear bulkhead. Two pistol port covers are then fitted from the inside, one per side next to each beam machine gun position. Two support struts are also fitted internally, which will go toward supporting the tanks lower hull. Due to the problems with the short tracks, particularly in get out of trenches and the like, they were fitted with barrel like rollers, with two at the front and on larger one to the rear. In the kit the two front ones are made up of two halves, one of which includes the axels. When fitted to the lower hull they are covered by two box like parts, allowing the rollers to turn, should you wish them too. The rear roller also comes in two parts, which when glued together are fitted with two axle mounting frames. The five piece rear frame to which the roller is then fitted also mounts two drive shafts for the track sprocket gear wheels. Before the rails can be fitted to the underside of the lower hull they must be built up form two large and two small rails, which are then fitted out with the numerous suspension mounts, stops and support brackets. To the rear the main drive axle is attached and covered with the bearing/drive gear housings. The return rollers, five per side are then fitted along with their outer axle rails. The drive sprockets and gear wheels are then fitted to the rear axles along with the outer mounting beam. The two idlers are then fitted to their mounting yokes before being attached to the front of the complex suspension rails, which are fitted out with the suspension mounts, cross hull suspension arms, and inner road wheel axle mounts. Each of the six inner axle mounts are fitted with three road wheels, each of which is made up of an inner and outer wheel and capped off with the outer axle beams. The idler wheel yokes are then attached to the front outer axle beams with four U shaped clamps. The individual suspension springs are then attached to the top of the suspension beams and the whole assembly is fitted to the lower hull. With the lower hull now sitting on the wheels the large wheel arch hull plates are attached, followed by the lower and upper hulls being joined together. The rear hull plate is then attached and fitted with a towing eye and shackle, completing the hull section. The last section of the build involves the tracks, which are made up of five parts for each of the thirty six links required to complete a track run. The track pad is a single part with five sprue gates, but these are on the edges, so relatively easy to remove with a pair of nippers and a sanding stick. The "chain-link" parts make up the remaining four parts, one of which you glue to the track pad, the other you snap into position at one end, and then rotate to snap it into the other end. The instructions aren't especially clear, but once you’ve cut a couple of links from the sprues, it will all become clear. Build up a full set of B1/B3 parts, link them all together on the flat, and add the B2 parts one-by-one. There is a single ejector pin mark on the inner face of the track pad, but once you have the link assembled, it won't be seen so you can ignore it. The final link to create the loop involves adding the track pad last to complete the run. Once complete you may wish to go and have a drink and a lie down. Decals There are four markings supplied with the kit, all of which have a disruptive camouflage scheme of four or five colours. There are few decals other than the vehicle's artwork for its name, plus the unit on the sides and registration number on the rear, so the decal sheet is quite small. A number of the decals have an off-set white drop-shadow style background that is not to be confused with poor registration, but the alligator motif and Sa Bigorre name are nicely produced in a rugged, hand painted sort of way. All four schemes will require some careful painting over a base coat of pale grey, but there is only one scheme that is shown complete on all sides of the tank. The other three are shown only in profile of the left hand side, which isn't even rectified by the pictures on the box sides, so you will either have to try and find some all round plans/photographs or make it up as you go along, who's to know? From the box you can build one of the following: "Sa Bigorre" 3o Batterie de ce Groupe, Colonial Artillery Group, Early 1918 in pale grey, sand yellow, brown earth, pale green, and French blue. "A St Chamond of an unkown unit, Counter battery support, June 1918. In pale grey, sand yellow, brown earth, and forest green with black edging around the separate colours. "A St Camond unit spotted leaving the factory, early 1918. In, pale grey, sand yellow, French blue and pale green, also with matt black demarcation lines, but thinner than the tank above. "A St Camond captured by the Germans at Lataule on the 11th June 1918. In pale grey, sand yellow, French blue, brown earth and plae green in a very disruptive pattern and with a green alligator painted on the left hand front of the tank. With the previous release a French tanker complete with metal face curtain was included. In this one you get a much more relaxed tanker, complete with pipe and no protective head gear, just a beret and standard uniform. Still he is well moulded and would look great standing proudly next to his tres ‘orrible tank at wars end. Conclusion I’m a bit amazed that Takom have released a second version of this tank, but as stated above, there is enough of a difference to make it interesting. Certainly if you have both vehicles they would make a nice comparison to show the lessons learnt during the war, especially as they did persist in build these things. Construction doesn’t look like it will cause too many problems even for a beginner. The painting looks a little daunting, but you can now get paint masks for the camouflage to make life easier. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I have several early Great War aircraft in the pile and have the bug to get a few completed. I've posted shots of my completed Tabloid and here's a start on the SH 1/48 Nieuport 10 that's just been released as a two seater. While the instructions show the top wing with the hole SH elected to remove this part from the kit. Looking at the Datafile and period photos I added it back in the wing provided in the kit. The attachment points for the bottom wings is almost non-existant so I added some wire to beef it up but am still going to the hardware store to get some epoxy glue to strengthen the joint. The observer sits in the front and the pilot on the rear seat. I have a GasPatch 1914 Hotchkiss to mount on the top wing. Apparently this configuration didn't last very long as the observer standing up through the wing interfered with the air flow to the rudder and the pilot's ability to see ahead. I've got some blue decal sheet ordered to do the taping around the wings and fuselage; initially I thought of masking with Tamiya tape and painting the tapes but was concerned the yellow might pull up in places.

I retired from a big railroad here in Omaha 5 years ago and have been into the hobby on and off for 50+ years. Like most us older modelers I started with Airfix's and Revell's 1/72 line in the late 1950's and recall as a 12 year old trying to line up all those struts on the R.E. 8 (it never occurred to me to let the struts dry over night and 'then' attach the top wing - truly a lesson in patience). Brian Knight's painting of of WW1 aircraft (Voss' triplane and the Russian Morane N) were a real draw in getting my money. The Airfix single seaters were a mere 30 cents each and two seaters were 50 cents, enamel paints were 10 cents (gas was 29 cents a gallon) of course you made $2.00 cutting a lawn back then. The bigger scale was Aurora and many a Albatros, Fokker DVII and S.E.5 got my 79 cents. I remember finishing the Albatros C.III and thought the hobby just couldn't get any better. Rigging was done with mom's sewing thread. I built a few WWI Guillows kits but none of them survived their first flight. References were the Profile series (I still have all mine) and Arch Whitehouse was the guy to read to get you in the mood. I have a book case of 1/48 WW1 completed models mostly Eduard, Special Hobby, Dragon and a few resin kits. Looking forward to contributing to the forums and learning new techniques. Last comment; I was wondering where I could find room for some recently completed models. Last year our 2 year old granddaughter was here with her parents. After they left I noticed several of my models were cast about the floor in several pieces in the spare bedroom. I was able to save an Eduard DIII I'd painted as Jaconsen's aircraft with the flowers on the fuselage but that was it. Now when she and her little brother visit there's a strip of duct tape along the glass book case protecting the 1/48 models.

If Monty Python had written a script on going after a Zeppelin flying over London I'm positive the crew would have been given a Sage 2 as their aircraft. Only one prototype built and it crashed. Two questions come to mind 1) why did Spin even do this kit and 2) what on earth was I thinking to even buy one? I'd ordered this from Hannants and was working on the Nieuport 10 when the box arrived from the UK. I looked at the low number of parts, the nicely cast thin wings and thought 'why not' let's give it a "spin" (bad pun). After a Google search for "Spin 1/48 Sage 2' all I saw were in-box reviews with no one actually building this kit (or at least posting photos of the completed model) so there was yet another a challenge - can it be built? The parts are actually well cast although the detail is a little soft in places around the sides near the engine. The clear sheet wraps around the cockpit and after several dry runs I think it's going to fit perfectly. I initially thought of using Canopy glue to attach it but am now going to use double faced tape so I can pull it back and reposition it as needed. I spend considerable time painting the cockpit but after attaching the top wing I might as well painted it in pink and purple dots as no one will see it. The Gnome engine, if actually seen, I'd replace, but the huge spinner hides it so am going with the kit's casting. Not much rigging on this little bird either so that's another plus. The casting on the top wing has a lip on the bottom to mount the window structure into. I removed the lip in the front of the wing and narrowed the 'V' casting in the back of the wing to get it to sit inside the cockpit area. Normally I use acc but used 5 minute two part epoxy to attach the wing as I feel the epoxy will hold better in the long run and I wanted some time to get the wing on straight which acc sets up too quickly. As you can see some of the detail parts aren't all that bad and the flash is thin and easy to remove. Here's the Gnome, several casting bubbles between the cylinders and tubes. Once the huge spinner is attached this will be hidden.

I've finished a few long-standing hangar queens this year and built a few from scratch. One or two more to complete before the year is out, but surprisingly productive! First up is my Eduard 1/48 'Weekend Edition' Fokker Dr.I in the celebrated scheme of Leutnant Friedrich Kempf. It's an aeroplane I'd wanted to build for years and this kit is pretty stat-of-the-art so the mistakes were all mine to make! I think really it's just a couple of mis-glues on the rigging wires, which look a bit messy in close-up pics but it all looks nice enough on the shelf. Camo was done with a base coat of Tamiya Buff, then dry brushing Tamiya Olive and finally deepening the scrubbed-in sections with Tamiya Olive Drab. This was the kit that broke my modeller's block and got me back into the painting and gluing business. My other half is overjoyed (!?)

Welcome to Chocksaway’s plastic shelf-filler model builds for 2016. (Yes, I'm still here.) A funny old year - I lost the modelling mojo for most of it and had to do some rapid builds to support the club's display at SMW, now we - West Middlesex Scale Model Club - have returned to the IPMS fold. Onwards and upwards then .... First up, a pair of Hurricanes using the new Airfix kit. The first is a fabric-winged Hurricane Mk.I, flown by Sqn Ldr John "Downwind" Gillan, 111 Sqn RAF, on 10 February 1938 when he managed an average speed of over 400 MPH for his Edinburgh to Northolt flight (Airfix 1/72nd). And this is another: Hawker Hurricane Mk.I, VY.G (serial unknown), 85 Squadron, RAF, Lille-Seclin, May 1940 (Airfix, 1/72). A further step back in time now to WW1. Here's a Sopwith Pup, B2192, as flown by Captains Foote and Balfour of the Gosport School of Special Flying, circa 1917. (Flashback, 1/48th). There's some dispute over the stripe colours - I went with the black and white option. Continuing the WW1 theme, this is the Fokker D.V flown by Theodor Osterkamp in 1918. (Eduard Weekend Edition, 1/48th) And now the well-worn joke about a pair of old Fokkers: a Fokker Dr.I (serial unknown) flown by Staffelfuhrer August Raben, Jasta 18, 1918 (Revell 1/48th). And this is Fokker Dr.I, 546/17 from Jasta 11 in early 1918 (Eduard Weekend Edition, 1/48th). And now back to something more modern, though the plastic probably isn't. This is the Lockheed-Martin X-35B protoype (Panda Models, 1/48th). So far, so good. At this point in the year my mojo disappeared. To get it back - some 6 months later - I re-visited one of my favourite genres. At this point, I should say this ... WARNING - The rest of this thread contains images that some model makers may find offensive. Withdraw now, to save elevating your blood pressure and having to wipe spittle from your keyboard and display. Please note that no resin or photo-etch was harmed in the making of the following models. Any similarities to the real aircraft are entirely coincidental. ... .... ..... ...... Now for some Eggstreme modelling .... Grumman F-14B Tomcat - "Thief of Baghdad" (BuNo not known), VF-24 "Fighting Renegades" based at NAS Fallon, 1991. McDonnell Douglas RF-4E Phantom, 35+76, AKG 52, West German Air Force, Tiger Meet scheme, 1984-85. Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor (Block 40), AF 10-4195 (Pre-delivery scheme - mint and chocolate egg) Kawasaki T-4, 15-5666, 6 Hikotai, Tsuiki Airbase 50th Anniversary special markings, JASDF Grumman A-6A Intruder, 151816 / NL-406, VA-65 “Tigers”, June 1966 Lockheed P-38 Lightning F-5B, 4268213, GIR 2/33, Free French Air Force, Bastia, Corsica, 1944 Boeing 747-100, N479EV / 979, Evergreen International Aviation, 2009. Lockheed-Martin F-16 Block30D, 86-0305, 18th Aggressor Squadron, Eielson AFB, Alaska, November 2007. [Thanks Julien - see, I did finally get to use the decals!] Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero - BI-12, ATAIU-SEA, Tebrau AB, Malaya, 1946 F-47D Thunderbolt - 473, Cuban Army Air Force, 1956. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse ... The "Flying EGGSTEAD" (Exhaust Gas Generated System: Thrust; Elevation; Attitude; Direction) made by Bristol Engines. Not to be confused with the Rolls-Royce TMR (Thrust Measurement Rig). And my only Harrier build of the year (I know, shock horror!) ... Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1, XV741, 1(F) Squadron, RAF from the Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race in May 1969. Lift-off from St. Pancras, New York bound. McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle, AF 79-041, 173rd Fighter Wing, Air National Guard, Kingsley Field, Klamath Falls, Oregon. Two from the 100 Hours "Soccer" War ... North American F-51D Mustang - #407, Salvadoran Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña, (FAS)), July 1969. Chance Vought Corsair F-4U 5N, FAH-609 flown by Major Soto, Fuerza Aerea Hondureña, July 1969. Continuing the Central American theme ... North American Mustang F-51D, #312 - Fuerza Aerea Guatemalteca (FAG) Aerobatic Team. Yes, it was meant to be similar to the USAF Thunderbirds scheme. A6M2-N Rufe, R-106, 5th Kikutai, Kiska, Aleutian Islands, September 1942. Ducks from the fridge door, in case you're wondering. And finally ... Shenyang Aircraft Corporation J-15 "Flying Shark", #556, People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). And here's how they all came together with my previous eggplane builds at SMW 2016 - for those of you who forgot to stop and have a look ... Happy Modelling New Year. PS - if you have been affected by any of the images seen in this thread, please go here or here

Just started this one, picked it up at Telford for £12! I hope to post up the progress although it may be slow, never actually rigged a 1/72 biplane so why not start at the deep end 😬 Started with the two engines, found them fiddly due to the fact tamiya cement wouldn't react in its usual manner, so I may switch to revell or humbrol. The kits seems relatively simple (famous last words) and I hope to keep the wings separate for painting as the dazzle options are quite complex, I'm also hoping to rig the main wings before attaching them. Everything does look a bit flashy and bulky, especially the canopy but it should all be fine once it comes together as a completed model. thanks Jason

I came across this site featuring re-coloured black & white photos by a young Brazillian lady, Marina Amaral. She taught herself from a young age to use photoshop to apply colours, and carefuly researches the correct colours forn uniforms, medals and all details. The results do bring an astoninshing reality to the photos. She does all sorts of subjects, a few of which are WW1. my favourites are; Manfred Von Richthofen French Soldiers A sniper of the 6th Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment Herman Goering at Nuremburg And WW2 303 Polish Sqn pilots Wounded soldier on Omaha beach 440 (Canadian) Sqn Typhoon pilot French boys & knocked out German Tank, Falaise pocket. Full set of historic photos she has worked on here There are some astonshingly old one from the American Civil war. Cheers John

Following on from my 1/72 scale WW1 fighters, I decided to up the scale a little with this kit that I found for £12.50. Hope you like it, still learning but starting to get a little better.

So I'm playing the Battlefield 1 beta, for some who may not know is the next upcoming Battlefield game which is set in WW1 for a change. Its coming out in October. On the beta there are multiple weapons, tanks planes things to do. For me is flying the planes and one of them is a fighter bomber called the CL II which is German. After flying that and getting quote a few amazing kills I adore the thing. Now I want a model but am finding it difficult to find one. Does anyone know where I can buy one in 1/72?

A Danish expedition has found the wreckage of a German submarine from World War I. The wreckage was found around 10 kilometers (six miles) off the west coast of Jutland, Denmark. It includes 18 intact mines and six torpedoes, according to the diving expedition firm, JD-Contractor, that found it. The submarine is reported to be UC-30, but this is yet to be confirmed by the Danish Maritime Authority. UC-30 was a German minelaying submarine used during World War I. The U-boat was ordered in August 1915 and commissioned the following year. In four patrols, UC-30 was credited with sinking five ships, either by torpedo or by mines laid. UC-30 was mined and sunk off Horns Reef on April 21, 1917. In June 1917, the remains of a man in German uniform were washed ashore in Bjergehuse, Denmark. The remains were buried at the local parish and later identified as the captain of the submarine, Kapitänleutnant Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Maximilian Stenzler. In November that year, Stenzler’s remains were returned to Germany and buried in the family grave in Stralsund. The Danish Ministry of Defence will now assess what to do with the unexploded ammunition on board the wreck. General characteristics Class and type: German Type UC II submarine Displacement: 400t surfaced, 480t submerged Length: 49.45 meters (162 feet 3 inches) o/a Beam: 5.22 meters (17 feet 2 inches) o/a Draught: 3.68 meters (12 feet 1 inch) Propulsion: 2 × propeller shafts, 2 × 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines, 2 × electric motors Speed: 11.6 knots surfaced, 6.7 knots submerged Range: 9,410 nautical miles at 7 knots surfaced, 53 nautical miles at 4 knots submerged Complement: 26 source and video: The Maritime Executive

Halberstadt CL.IV H.F.W. 1:48 Mirage Hobby The Halberstadt CL.IV was designed as a follow on from the same companies CL.II design. It incorporated many changes based on comments and feedback that the company actively sought from front line units. A major aim was to make the airframe lighter whilst retaining its strength, and the way this was done was by shortening the fuselage. The tailplane, fin and rudder were redesigned to compensate for the shorter coupled arrangement. The new aircraft utilised the same Mercedes D.III as its predecessor, but the improvements meant that it was actually faster and more manoeuvrable. Production was also undertaken by the Roland company, but they 'improved' the aircraft by lengthening the fuselage by some 15 inches, and reworking the wing design. The new wing proved to be weaker than The Halberstadt original, and thus delays were incurred with Roland production while they corrected this mistake. The CL.II and IV proved to be very useful ground attack machines, working in cooperation with German ground troops by flying in advance of them and softening up targets. This concept was later developed into the 'Blitzkrieg' used so effectively in the opening years of the second world war. Typical of the Halberstadt 2 seaters was the bathtub shaped cockpit opening, enabling both occupants to work in close proximity, and with excellent communication with each other. The kit. Mirage Hobby have released Halberstadt CL.IV H.F.W.(Early production batches/ short fuselage) version as a follow on to their earlier CL.IV and CL.II kits. The kit comes in a large box (for a 1:48 biplane) which is pretty well filled with plastic parts, decals and instructions. In fact the first thing to strike me was just how many plastic sprues there are in the box, full of parts. It is fairly obvious that some of the sprues are common with the other Halberstadt kits, which both makes sense and leaves you with useful parts that can go into the spares box. The plastic is a medium grey shade, forming sharp mouldings and very little flash, although there are a few minor sink marks here and there. The overall quality is very good, with some very fine parts and excellent detail. I was very impressed with the jackets on the machine guns, which have real depth to the fretted slots, and I would be tempted to use them as they are without using the etched brass alternatives. They really do look good enough to do that. The wings are single surface (I.E not a top and bottom to be glued togethcdr) and plain rib tape detail and fine trailing edges. There is a very subtle fabric sag effect, just visible between the ribs and out on the tips, which should look good once the lozenge decals are on. However it is very restrained and may also not be that noticeable, only a build up will tell. A complete Mercedes D.III engine is provided, although the detail looks a little softer than on the rest of the kit, it should still look good when built up. Advanced modellers may wish to wire up the magnetos, but very little will probably be seen once it is installed. The cockpit interior is fully provided for, with framework, bulkheads, fuel tank, instruments, radios, seat belts, ammo drums, etc. Mirage have packed a lot of detail in there, using etched brass where necessary, and it should make up into a highly impressive unit. The etched brass fret even provides a template for marking and cutting out the cooling holes in the engine cowlings for one of the versions. Instrument faces are supplied on a sheet of clear film, which will need painting white on the reverse side. While not as easy to use as decals they do give a superior glazed look when finished. The struts and undercarriage legs are very finely moulded with a 'scale' thickness to them. The fuselage interior framework looks a little more substantial, and will benefit from mould seam lines being scraped down. Decals. Four sheets printed by Mirage themselves are provided, one with all the national and unit markings to cover three different options. Two sheets of 5 colour lozenge are supplied for upper and lower, also containing plenty of rib tape material in narrow and wide strips. They are laid out as bolts of fabric material, for the modeller to apply diagonally to the flying surfaces. Again the printing is excellent, and the colours are to my eye exactly right. Lozenge colours are a source of disagreement among modellers, but I like these a lot. They have a good tone & density and no one colour overwhelms the others. Finally there is a sheet of mottle, to represent the stippled brush effect that Halberstadt applied to their fuselage sides and top. It will need cutting into shapes to apply, but should give a far better representation than most could achieve with paint. It is a lovely blend of greens and purples, and plenty is supplied. The quality looks extremely good, up there with the best producers. The printing is very sharp and everything is perfectly centred. The white borders to the Eisenkreuz are perfectly symmetrical around all four arms, for example. Carrier film is very thin, and occupies no more surface area than it needs to under each printed subject. Best of all, the colours are exactly right with the lozenge sheets being near perfect. All in all, very impressive. Conclusion. This is a very well presented kit and should build up into an impressive model. As there is a lot of fine detail and construction work it is clearly aimed at the serious/experienced modeller. Everything is in the box to produce a real winner, with no need at all for any aftermarket additions. The whole package is very well thought out, with good quality plastic parts, useful brass etch, and superb decals. The only (minor) criticism is that there are a few sink marks to be seen, but the sort of modeller who would build this kit will deal with those without even blinking. It is nice to see aircraft like this getting attention from manufacturers, particularly as there are very few Great War 2 seaters available in 1:48. This one is an essential addition to any collection. Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

EX518. 1:48 Nieuport 11 Express Mask. Released to accompany the Nieuport 11 kit is a set of masks in Kabuki tape. A distinguishing feature of many Ni-11's was the painted edging applied to wings and tails. This set makes simple work of masking it up, with full size shapes to apply to the wings and tails. Both upper and lower masks are supplied, as the edging went around all edges. A pair are also supplied for the rudder, and finally the wheel centres, and the windscreen. I have always found that spraying gives the best results, with kabuki tape giving the sharpest and best result possible. This set will make light work of what would otherwise be a difficult and time consuming masking job. Also reviewed, The Nieuport 11 Weekend edition kit Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Nieuport 11 Eduard 1:48 Weekend edition The Nieuport 11 first appeared over the western front in early 1916, and made a massive contribution to ending the 'Fokker scourge'. It outclassed the Fokker Eindekkers in almost every respect, except perhaps that it did not posses a synchronised gun firing through the propeller. Its single Lewis gun was mounted on the top wing, and fired over the propellers arc of rotation. Its main innovation was the use of a sesqiplane layout, with a larger top wing and small narrow chord lower wing, connected by 'V' interplane struts. This gave both excellent manoeuvrability and field of view. The arrangement could be fragile in a dive however, and care was needed to avoid flutter and tearing the wings off. Known as the Bébé due to its diminutive size, the aircraft served in the front line for over a year, and was used by the air forces of France, Britain, Italy, Russia, and Belgium, with a total of over 7,000 produced. The Kit First released in the early 2000's, this latest release is a very welcome reissue. Offered as a 'Weekend edition' the box art features Armand de Turenne's tricolour painted Ni-11, with a small profile Raoul Lufbery's machine below. Inside are two sprues of beautifully moulded parts that are still as good and crisp as they were when first released several years ago. Everything is flash-free, and what few ejector pin marks there are, are well hidden where they will not be seen. The fuselage mouldings are especially good, with beautifully fine stitching and rivet detail. We are also supplied with a very nicely moulded little pilot figure, unusually in a standing pose to display by the finished model. This is a very nice touch, and most welcome. The smaller parts are all supplied on the second sprue, and again all is very finely moulded to an excellent standard. Several parts are not required, such as the Le Prieur rockets and their associated 'V' struts, and the headerest for the almost identical Nieuport 16, which is also kitted by Eduard. The model itself goes together very easily and accurately. I know because I have built several over the years, in both Ni-11 and NI-16 issues. There are no pitfalls to watch out for, it is pretty much a trouble free build. A couple of simple suggestions though; - Glue the cabane struts B30 and B31 to the unpainted fuselage before painting. This will give a nice strong join, and does not interfere very much with painting anyway. - Unusually, Roundels are carried on the under surfaces of both wings. Paint the underside of the top wing and apply the roundel decals to it before assembly. The Roundels cover the mounting holes for the tops of the 'V' struts, and you can't put them on after it is all assembled. There is a reason that I know this! A small clear moulded windshield is provided. This is actually mostly frame to be painted, with a central section left clear. Rigging is fairly minimal, and can be done fairly easily with stretched sprue. Alternatively, Invisible mending thread also works, and is my preferred method. Marking Options. Two options are supplied, the very attractive Tricolour machine of Armand de Turenne as featured prominently on the box art, and the more drab version flown by Raoul Lufberry. The box art and instructions depict very different shades of blue on the forward fuselage of Turenne's machine, dark on the box and overly bright in the instructions. The most likely shade is probably that of the roundels, so personally I would match my paint to the roundel blue on the decals. Conclusion. This is a lovely kit of an equally lovely little aeroplane. The mouldings are first class, and from experience I know that it is a trouble free build. With care it can be assembled without any need for filler, it is that good. It is also an ideal 'first biplane' as the inverted 'V' cabane strut and normal 'V' interplane struts make alignment virtually foolproof. Rigging consists of 3 lines per wing, an 'X' on the undercarriage, 2 tiny lines to the rudder, and 2 runs per fuselage side to the elevators. All very easily done with stretched sprue and white glue. The finished model beautifully captures the light and delicate look of the real Bébé , and is no bigger than a 1:72 Spitfire so you can build an display lots of them. It is hard to choose a favourite among Eduards exquisite range of WW1 aircraft, but this is definitely in my top 5. I am very pleased to see it available once again. This is one I made a few years ago, albeit not the same version as this release. It has the Le Prier rockets which were intended for Balloon busting, but were found to be inaccurate. Note the outlining on the flying surfaces, (see masking review) Highly Recommended. Also available is a Mask set Review sample courtesy of

Dear all, I'd meant to post this link some time ago to the website for Puddletown bookshop in Dorset. There's a great stock of books on subjects of interest to Britmodellers, such as aviation, military history and so forth. A large number of the books are contemporary with their subjects and go back to the start of the 20th century. Having mentally spent several hundred quid there I thought others might find this of interest http://www.puddletownbookshop.co.uk BTW I've no connection with the place, either commercial or personal. Regards to all, Tony

This is my first proper post on here and looking at some of the work on show, I can't help but feel a little daunted. More so for the fact that I haven't made a plastic model kit for about 30yrs. I do make Scratch built ships that I set up with RC to sail on the lake, but having two young boys has brought me back to my childhood passion, for their benefit entirely of course I decided that my first foray back would be a cheap and simple kit that I could practice on. I do like WW1 aircraft as they had great character so I picked up a Revell 1:72 Sopwith Camel and intended to do it straight out of the box with no modifications and in the livery as flown by Lt L.S Breadner, No.3 Naval Sqn, Royal Naval Air Service, Walmer, Dec 1917. So here's how its gone. Hope it helps the total beginner's and any tips from more experienced modellers are most welcome indeed.

I really enjoyed my first foray back into plastic modelling for 30 odd years with my 1:72 revel F.1 Sopwith Camel (see Ready for inspection if interested). So much so that I decided to make a couple of adversaries for it. Here is my second model, a Fokker D VII out of the box with no additions and in the livery of Ja Sta 11, 1918, Obit. Rudolph Berthold. Please feel free to comment good or bad as I have so much to learn. I hope that you enjoy it. Deano

Morning all, I haven't done a WIP in a while so I thought I might have a go with the new Airfix BE2c (1:72). I'm planning to do this as an "out of the box" build-apart from one or two scratchbuilt details along the way. First, the kit. A nice, small and sturdy box The contents. Exceptionally good decals, very neat! Clear windscreens without any blemishes, the only problem is that they are terribly small! The sprues- one or two ejector pin marks on the inside of the fuselage- but these are out of sight when the cockpit is fitted. Sam