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I am leaving my workbench for university! I will be studying Aero-mechanical engineering at the university of Strathclyde. These two models will be my last for a while... I actually started these years ago (B in 2020, D in 2021) but got bored of them, recently came back to them and fixed them up. Without further ado, here they are: P-51B 42-106750 and P-51D 44-15648 P-51B 106750 Historical photo from 1945 in Italy P-51D 44-15648 Historical photo of the aircraft from Italy during the second world war. Thanks for looking! I will definitely be staying active on the forums despite not making models, I do hope I can make something again soon.

Hi all. Our state show (QMHE for the locals) finished a week ago and as per usual I snaffled a few kits from the retailers, second hand dealer and the Sunday swap and sell. One of them was the 1/48 Academy Grumman F3F-2. Accurate Miniatures initially released the kit in 2000 and as most are aware they folded quite some time ago. Thankfully, numerous manufacturers have bought the moulds and those kits are now available again. Over the last few days I've painted and assembled the interior and engine. A small photo etch is provided that spruces the engine up with ignition leads. Followed by some painted and weathering it's come up a treat though I've made a tiny modification. The drive spline that attaches to the back of the propeller hub was a tight fit. I've installed some tube into the engine with an ID of 1.2mm and a corresponding piece with an OD of 1.2mm into the back of the prop hub. It allows a snug fit and aligns the prop with the centreline of the engine. The interior dresses up nicely with some paint and dark washes. I drilled the instrument faces so I could lay the decal onto the back of the IP. I sanded the IP thinner than it was but not thin enough as you can't really see the dial faces. For anyone building it I suggest laying the decals straight onto the painted kit item. Considering this a 23 year kit, everything so far has gone together effortlessly. More soon. Cheers, Mick https://i.postimg.cc/6qcMfT5G/IMG20230827123422.jpg

As mentioned in my other thread, a change of plan. Planning a Coastal Command build, I picked up this book: That contained this profile: Which was already piquing my interest as a future build, until I read the section on this aircraft (the only B-17 to get its own section) and realised the importance of the aircraft. This was used by the High Altitude Flight to test humidity and other atmospheric conditions at extreme altitudes (up to 37,000 ft), compiling a data set over the course of many missions that is still being widely used today and was vitally important during the war to predict the formation of contrails. Given the historic status of this aircraft, I’ve decided to bump it up the queue and put the other build on hold (although I will attempt to get that built in the GB after this if the time allows). As for the kit, Academy seem to be the only ones making a B-17E kit in 1/72 right now: As you can see, it’s all sealed up still, plus there’s a set of Armory wheels: I’ll need to do a few alterations to the kit for this. Firstly, FK192 was fitted with an astrodome (I’m hoping I can just take a mould of the one from the Revell kit for this), plus she had all guns and turrets removed to raise her service ceiling for the tests. I also need to investigate the psychrometers fitted to find some photos to base them on. I also need to hunt out a suitable colour for the deep sky undersides, which is aided by both colour photos of other Fortresses in this scheme and a reproduction of the colour chat in the book. Yes, I know about reproductions of colour charts, but said chart also includes all the other RAF blues, so at least gives me a guide for the relevant hue. FK192 appears to have been the only Fortress delivered in the high altitude bombing scheme to have not been repainted, probably due to spending 13 months in Montreal as a training and transport aircraft before being delivered to the UK for the high altitude testing. James

Hi all Just finished this one It's the Academy Hawker Typhoon Mk.IB Finished with Tamiya acrylics, water colour panel line wash, pastels and silver pencil for weathering and a final flat coat of Model Master Flat Clear Lacquer Gloss coat before decals was Future/Pledge thinned 50% with Tamiya X-20A The notoriously horrible Academy decals gave me a hard time but I have now got a system that seems to tame them Good gloss coat on model Very hot water for immersion of decal Pool of Micro Set on model to lay decal on Once settled into place hit with lots of Micro Sol Once that settles hit carefully only on the decal surface with Tamiya Mark Fit Strong Even then you can't 100% guarantee they'll be right!! The tailband over the fishplates was so bad I ended up masking it off and spraying over the decal to try and tidy up Probably if I do another one I would spray the tail band and the stripes and just forget about the decals Here's the pics Thanks for looking Cheers!

In 2022, Academy is to release a new tool 1/48 Mitsubishi A6M2b Type 21 Zeke/"Zero" - Battle of Midway - kit - ref. 12352 Despite rumours It won't be a rebox from the recent Eduard kit (thread) dixit words from M. Vladimir Šulc, boss from Eduard–Model Accesorries ltd., as from M. Gustav Jung, boss from Wolfpack Design, who's closed ties with Academy Hobby Model Kits - see here: link Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4666693050091873&set=pcb.4666695563424955 V.P.

ICM's OV-10 is out so I decided to remove the Academy kit from my stash by building it. Here is the result:

Heres my latest finished project, this is based on the Hawker Hunter Aviation group, its the academy kit with some after market pieces and some scratch building, the words are all individual letters and the camo was my first attempt at splinter cell camo with an airbrush. The decals are from old kits leftovers and some like the 91 I only had in black so I used them and repainted them.

The Boeing XB-47D Stratojet in 1/144th. The Boeing Stratojet is probably one of the nicest looking jets of the early jet age. In 1/72nd scale the Stratojet is very large model, and I have built two or three in the past. So, for a more manageable scale, I decided to use the Academy offering in 1/144th scale( Kit no 4443). The kit has been issued in differing guises over the years from the Hobbycraft variants B-47B, B-47E, and RB-47H issues, to the Academy B-47B variant boxing , and latterly offering by Academy which contains parts and decal options for all three that the separate Hobbycraft boxing's offered. So, for this particular build I wanted to replicate the XB-47D experimental version of which there were two airframes. These were conversions of the B-47B airframes each with two enormous Curtiss-Wright WT49 W-1 Turboprops driving 15ft 'Paddle Type' propellers in place of the twin podded jets under the inner wing. Two airframes were 51-2103 and 51-2046 with the former first flying on 26th August, 1955. Each Wright WT49 Turboprop developed 9710 horsepower and each 15' Curtiss Electric propeller had automatic feathering and also provided some ground reversing propulsion. My start point was an Academy B-47B/E boxing pictured, and the RetroWings XB-47D conversion set (RW44092), also pictured. I would probably need to rob my decal bank to make up the serials. My aim is to create something a little different than the normal B-47's seen on club tables or at shows. Anyway, onto the build......... The parts are crisply moulded and well detailed for this scale. After a little cleaning up the cockpit and undercarriage bays were painted in a Zinc Chromate Green type of colour, my mix is Tamiya Yellow Green XF-4 and Olive Green XF-58 roughly at a ratio of 3:1. Once dry the seats were painted up using various blacks, greys, greens, reds. To create a representation of seat belts I painted some thin paper pale brown, attached with PVA glue and some dots of black and silver to suggest buckles. I plan to add two instrument panels from thin plasticard and to be painted up to suggest instruments as the build enters its final stage. The XB-47D was converted from B-47 airframes so the panels in the fuselage were removed by gently scoring along the indicated lines and the early type RATO panels supplied in the kit installed. Some trimming and shims were needed to get a nice finish. I also found it helpful to add a brace behind the RATO panel to prevent distortion when filling/sanding. This meant that the rear wheel bay needed to have some plastic removed from either side to allow fuselage to fit correctly, luckily the plastic is thick enough to be adjusted without affecting the bay detail. Once done the cockpit was attached, wheel bays inserted into fuselage and once set the halves will be joined ensuring as good as a match as possible to minimise any filling. I will also attach the clear nose part for this version, the XB-47D was based on the B-47E, but the airframe retained the early more glazed nose of the B-47B rather than the solid of the B-47E, also the early internal RATO fitment of the B-47B. The wings were next up, and the outer engine positions cleaned up as there was a small gap at the rear of the fairings. This still needs a little more attention and some rescribing the lost/filled panel lines. Whilst on with the wings, I modified the flap layout and re-scribed the new altered flap using the resin flap inserts in the conversion set as a guide, rather than cutting the flaps out an the inserting the resin supplied flaps as indicated in the set. As for the new engines and pylons, I'm still mulling over the best way to tackle these.

Although I don't build aircraft often, this is a kit that's been in my stash for a few years now, which I've just completed - my build of the Academy 1/48 F-4 Phantom, painted with Tamiya paints and weathered with oils and Tamiya weathering pigments.

"What's a Lockheed Gold Star?" I hear you ask: the answer is a silly idea I had whilst looking for a scheme for a 1/48 T-33 which I bought on impulse. It was an Academy kit, and I almost did one of the box schemes, but I was in a silly mood so this won out. No elaborate back story, simply that there was no Folland Gnat in my alternative world, which not only allowed me to put a classic scheme on this classic trainer, but meant I could use a serial that had belonged to a Gnat irl. As for the name "Gold Star", it continues two de-facto series: Lockheed aircraft carrying names relating to stars; and the RAF naming trainers after something academic. OK, perhaps not as academic as naming it after an Oxbridge college (eg Balliol), an Ivy League university (eg Harvard) or a teacher/professor (eg Magister), but still vaguely to do with school. Markings were a mixture of decals and sprayed with home-cut masks. It was done very quickly as a mojo-restorer, so don't look too closely at any imperfections, of which there are many: just see whether you agree with me that this classic trainer looks rather good in a classic trainer scheme it never wore in reality. I thank you.

Hobby 2000 rebox from the Academy 1/72nd Boeing B-29 Superfortress kit. - ref. 72069 - Boeing B-29 Washington B.1 - Limited Edition Sources: https://hobby2000.pl/index.php?id_product=94395&rewrite=p94395-hobby-2000-72069-washington-b1&controller=product&id_lang=2 https://ksmodel.pl/sklep/szczegoly/hobby-2000-72069-washington-b-1-limited-edition-1-72-27516/ https://www.facebook.com/commerce/products/h2k72069-washington-b1---academy-+-cartograf-+-maski/6254762827937321?ref=mini_shop_items_for_you&referral_code=newsfeed_carousel_ad - ref. 72070 - Boeing B-29 Superfortress - Limited Edition Sources: https://hobby2000.pl/index.php?id_product=94396&rewrite=p94396-hobby-2000-72070-b-29-superfortress&controller=product&id_lang=2 https://ksmodel.pl/sklep/szczegoly/hobby-2000-72070-b-29-superfortress-limited-edition-1-72-27517/ https://www.facebook.com/commerce/products/h2k72070---b-29-superfortress---academy-+-cartograf-+-maski/6432480750131509?ref=mini_shop_items_for_you&referral_code=newsfeed_carousel_ad V.P.

Good evening. As you can see by the sale stickers (and price!) this has been in the Vault for some time. With the joy of a cost of living crisis, I will be building this out of the box, so that will mean the original "bang seat" with the included flight crew present to negate the need for aftermarket belts. Looking forward to this. Icarus

I have been looking forward to making this for a little while now. I wish I could make this into an UK Apache but there doesn't seem to be any decals, I suppose I could scour my leftovers and add an union jack or something. 🤓

Hobby 2000 from Poland (link) is to rebox the 1/72nd Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina kit from Academy. - ref. 72065 - Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina - European Theater of Operations (ETO) https://ksmodel.pl/sklep/szczegoly/hobby-2000-72065-consolidated-pby-5a-catalina-eto-limited-edition-1-72-27460/ - ref. 72066 - Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina - Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO) https://ksmodel.pl/sklep/szczegoly/hobby-2000-72066-consolidated-pby-5a-catalina-pto-limited-edition-1-72-27461/ V.P.

This is my build of Academy's T-34/85 with bedspring armor. Painted with Tamiya lacquers, and weathered with oil paints and pigments.

I model aircraft, but I've been thinking a truck of some sort to complement some of my 1/72 Gustavs could be nice (see my Minor Gustavs project) . This GB seems like the opportunity! I have this kit to use with both a fuel truck and a Schwimmwagen (not sure how that translates...)... and what's that little cart thing next to them? Probably a loader of some sort, I would think... Maybe I have a transport, a loader, and a carrier all in one box here!

Hello everyone. Sneaking this model in by stealth. 👻

Joining you with this kit. To build as RAAF version, with these Frog decals. Here are the parts, some painting, but no construction. Some of you may recognise that light blue from my recent PB J Mitchell. Well this will also be re-airbrushed, similar colours to my Avenger. This kit cost me £5 from Chelt Model Centre in 1999, and has remained untouched ever since. With me wondering - why did I buy that?

Wolfpack Design is to rebox (with upgrades ?) the Academy 1/48th Supermarine Spitfire F.Mk.XIVc - ref. WP14817 Source: http://www.wolfpack-d.com/htm/kit.html And soon http://www.wolfpack-d.com/catalog/htm/wp14817.html V.P.

There should be a modeller's confessional booth: "... it's been over 40 years since I built a Wildcat". To be exact, the only previous kit I built was the ancient Airfix FM-2/Wildcat VI. I put the blame on the lack of good kits. Until recently, the only kits I had in the stash were 2 of these, and a Hasegawa F4F-3, although the plastic is for an F4F-4, requiring work to obscure the wing fold, etc. Then there was the fact that this kit is derived from the old Frog kit, which made me reluctant to build it. Once the new kits from Airfix and Arma Hobby started to come on-stream, I sold one of these kits, but kept the other "just in case". Here are the contents. The artwork shows the Wildcat landing on a fleet carrier, surely incorrect for an anti-submarine patrol version, which would have operated from escort carriers. Be that as it may, the kit clearly does represent an F4F-4: double-banked 14 cylinder engine, folding wings, 6 guns, forward swept radio mast. Then there's the Frog angle. I've never seen the Frog kit, but it instruction are readily available, and this kit has the exact same parts breakdown, including the two-piece main wheels and distinctive Frog display stand. However, the level of recessed detail looks well beyond what Frog was doing in the early 1970s. This is clearly evident on the wings:

After vowing not to start another WIP after my recent Huey build I immediately went out and started........ a new WIP. Oh dear. Anyway here it is. I'm continuing my Aussie theme and building Academy's P-40N. After being terribly ham fisted and heavy handed with the Huey I'm going to try for a little more .....well....."restraint" this time around I'm underway so here's some photos.... Chocks away! This is the version I'm doing Sorry that photo was a bit hopeless IP came up well just with some black and then a white dry brush highlight. I'm going to "dab" a little gloss clear onto the dials for fun but I'm sure they'll never be visible when assembled! And this is the rest of the bits and pieces before starting main assembly Might pick a few highlights out before it get's buttoned up....again just for fun. Thanks for looking Here we go again! Cheers Bruce

Right, this is my entry to this group build. A true salty sea dog serving in the French Navy from 1964 until 1999, being then replaced by the Rafale. The Crusader received an upgrade sometime in the Nineties because of an unexpected extension of service life making it an F-8P for prolongé. I think the necessity was given by the delay of the Rafale. So I will convert the Academy kit to an Crusader prolongé of the French Navy and will give her a paint scheme commemorating the reaching of 100.000 flight hours of the type in the French Navy, hence the title of this thread. This build contains some 'firsts' for me. first ever participation in a grup build first ever aircraft build not oob first ever attempt at a conversion first ever use of resin parts So this build will be quite out of my comfort zone. I will use aftermarket as follows: Armycast wings update set Armycast decalset 'The Last Gunfighter in the French Navy service' Eduard cockpit set New Ware paint masks Okay, enough babbling, now the pics. Really looking forward to start this build next year!

Hi all. here is my last work . The famous " Marge " P38-J from Richard Bong. I choose to build an operational plane, instead of the real plane of the museum. i had this kit in my stash with the peddinghaus decals , before Tamiya released his P-38J; so i've decided to buy the Tamiya for another purpose... I've been using some decals from Tamiya, Peddinghaus and the generic set of Eduard stencils for P-38. Each of decals were excellent quality. A big Ed to improve the kit, full riveting. A lot of work to get a good fit and here is the result. i'm pretty happy of her : and just for fun : the fork tail devil...

Hi folk's just time for one more in the form of a little £5 E-bay buy,the kits OK for it's age and should pose no issues.

Joining you with this kit. Bought at IPMS Gloucester show in 2018 - prob to pose as an airfield prop. And that cheap price-tag would have helped the decision making. Parts, still sealed in bags. Offering these options. One is Vietnam in drab, the other Baghdad in Desert. I'll probably go for something anonymous that could be used at any airbase.