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Over the years I have built multiple kits of some aircraft types and the 3rd most numerous is the Harrier, falling in between the Fw 190 and Bf 109 though way behind the Spitfire. The first Harrier I built back in 1973 was the prototype, and since then I have built another 9 in various versions, including 3 Sea Harriers, but somewhere along the line the P.1127 got lost/thrown out, and for a good few years I have intended to replace it. I must have missed the 2nd boxing released apparently in 2000, but when I heard that it was to be released as a "Classic" this year I placed an order. It was due in July but actually arrived today! So - Harrier number 11 will be started before too long. In the instructions Airfix credit Roy Cross with the artwork. Pete
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Hi All, Now, what is it I enjoy doing again? Oh yes, modelling WWII aircraft! For the last 5 months I've been on a bit of a treadmill with a commission maritime project. With the future of the rest of the project a little uncertain, I've decided to take a bit of a break from it and revert to that which gives me joy. I have been following along with @Heather Kay's wonderful Manchester build, and it inspired me to have a go at a 3D printed conversion kit for the Airfix Lancaster (A08013A for those of you wondering) to see how well I can integrate with the original kit parts, rather than cutting and shutting as is the norm with conversion kits (although Heather has made a great silk purse from what appears to be a bit of a sow's ear). To that end, I've got one of these winging its way from t'internet: My plan is to design and 3D print as follows: - Complete new wings & flap assemblies at the 90' wingspan - Vulture engines, integrating the kit undercarriage into the nacelles - New tail assembly (not sure yet whether to model the vertical stabiliser with the smaller vertical rudders, or use the kit parts for a later model) - Remodel the interior, including provision for the second pilot position - Vacuum form new dorsal turret and nose blister using 3D printed bucks - Maybe model the ventral turret, depending on the aircraft I choose - Lots of other things which I have yet to get my head around I suspect that some aftermarket parts may also find their way into this build - a mask set at the bare minimum! This is a bit of a placeholder as I have no doubt it will be a long-term endeavour. I may also kick off a couple of mojo-restoring builds too, but it's good to be back in the kingdom of wingy things! Thanks for looking, Roger
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Hi All, Whilst waiting for various things to fall into place before I get on with my 3D conversion of Airfix' Lancaster to a Manchester, I fancied a nice, low stress build to ease myself back into wingy things. What better than Auntie's lovely little Tiggie? I have built (but not finished) this kit before, so I know it to be vice free and fun. Here's the box art: Here's the sprues: I have Xtradecal's 'de Havilland Tiger Moth Pt1 FAA, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF & SAAF' decal sheet, and shall probably choose one of these schemes: I've actually used the decals for the camo RAAF scheme, so shall probably choose either the FAA scheme at top, or the yellow RAAF version (of interest that this was based at RAAF Mallala, just north of Adelaide). This will hopefully be a fun build, Thanks for looking, Roger
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Hi everyone, I am likely not going to finish on time my Typhoon in the Frog GB, I have barely started the Kingfisher in the US Navy GB, and to add insult to injury I am entering this Airfix GB with a Spitfire Vb... I am telling myself that it is going to last for a very long time. So no problem! Here is the kit I am planning to build: I built that kit when it first came out in 1975, and I loved it. This new boxing offers the same plastic for Mk Vb, as well as a new set of wings for a Mk Vc and a tropical air filter. I remember mentioning on BM that I was tempted by the Mk Vc, only to be shot down in flames by many Spit afficionados (and Heaven knows there are tons of them on BM): Wings too thick, you bloody Frog have got rocks in your head to build this kit, etc. So this project was shelved, and then I decided to revisit the Mk Vb that has left me so many great memories. So here I go: It is intended to be built as a Mk. Vb Trop, with clipped wings (please forgive me), from the South African air force in Italy, 1944. More to follow later. Cheers JR.
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- Spitfire Mk Vb
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Gloster Meteor F.8/FR.9 (A04067) 1:72 Airfix The Gloster Meteor was the first British active-service jet fighter, and the Allies' first operational jet aircraft during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft itself began in 1940, although work on the engines had been underway since 1936 using the diminutive E.28/39 Pioneer airframe. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27th July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF, although it was initially forbidden from operating over enemy territory for fear of a downed aircraft giving away precious secrets. Nicknamed the "Meatbox", the Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in terms of its aerodynamics or engines, but proved to be a successful combat fighter through successive upgrades of the basic design, with several major variants incorporating rapid technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces, and remained in use for several decades overseas. The Meteor saw limited action at the end of the Second World War, primarily intercepting V-1 ‘Buzz Bombs’ as they flew over the British coast, which was a task they were well-suited to. The F.4 was the first major variant after the initial wartime jet, and by the time the F.8 came into service, the airframe had been subject to substantial upgrades, shortening the wings that mounted more powerful Derwent 8 engines, lengthening the fuselage by over 30 inches, adding greater capacity fuel load, and a new tail to improve aerodynamics and prevent instability when ammunition was fully expended. It was also fitted with a Martin-Baker ejection seat, starting with a Mk.1 that was superseded by the Mk.2 later in production. The FR.9 was based upon the F.8 airframe, but with a new nose that mounted cameras to add reconnaissance to its list of capabilities. Meteors of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) provided a significant contribution in the Korean War, flying many sorties against Mig-15s that were superior in most respects, suffering mounting losses before they were re-tasked with ground attack roles where they excelled due to their ruggedness. Several other operators such as Argentina, Egypt and Israel flew Meteors in later regional conflicts with variable success dependent upon the opponents that they flew against. Specialised variants of the Meteor were developed for use in photo-reconnaissance and as night fighters before they became too slow and vulnerable to the more modern, swept-wing aircraft that were coming into service. The Kit This is a reboxing with an extra sprue of a recent tooling from Airfix that had a lot of 72nd scale modellers champing at the bit for a modern tooling of this important early British jet. It arrives in a small top-opening box in the usual red Airfix theme, and inside are five sprues in dark grey styrene, a clear sprue, decal sheet and the instruction booklet that has colour profiles printed on the rearmost pages, plus a stencil diagram on the back page. There is plenty of quality detail moulded into the sprues, so it should build up into a compelling replica. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with a C-shaped assembly that is made of two sections to form the side walls and rear bulkhead, which is attached to the floor on four tabs at the sides, then has the ejection seat made up from five parts, with a pair of stencil decals applied to the sides of the headbox, latching on the rear bulkhead with a tab and slot. Behind the seat is a short deck that is shown again in a scrap diagram to correctly place it against the rear bulkhead. The control column, instrument panel with decal, and the two-part gunsight are added to finish off the cockpit, then if you are modelling a Meatbox with wheels down, the nose gear bay is inserted into the lozenge-shaped hole beneath the forward floor of the cockpit, after which it can be inserted into the starboard fuselage side, with a scrap diagram showing the correct location, and advising you to place 8 grams of nose weight under the floor. For the wheels-up option, the insert is left on the sprue, the nose bay is covered over with a single part representing the three bay doors, which has tabs to help it fit flush with the rest of the fuselage. Closing the fuselage involves painting the cockpit walls silver, filing a small depression in the centreline under the cockpit, and placing the rudder without glue between the two halves so that it can be left movable if you wish. The wing lowers are full-span, and in preparation for further work there are several flashed-over holes inside that should be drilled out if you are fitting drop-tanks, semi-conformal belly-tank or the official Airfix stand that requires two 2mm holes. For the wheels-up option, a single part that spans the two main gear bays and the belly is inserted inside the lower wing, and the engine nacelle interiors are both painted silver in preparation for installing the engines later. The first step involves inserting two spars that have the rear faces of the engines and their supports moulded into each end, then the front spar, which has the aerodynamic horizontal splitter that is visible through the intake. The spars also have bay detail moulded into them, two small sections of which should be removed from each side to facilitate the wheels-up option. The side walls of the bays are then inserted between the front and rear spars, boxing in the bays that are finished off by the moulded-in detail on the inside of the upper wings. The exhaust pipes are each assembled from two halves and are glued to the rear bulkhead, then the front face of the centrifugal jet engine, which looks considerably different from the more advanced axial flow engines used in the Me.262 and most modern jets. Before closing the wings up the underwing landing light is inserted under the port tip, with a tiny recess inside that could be filled with silver paint to replicate the bulb. Before joining the two main assemblies, a trailing-edge root fairing is inserted under the fuselage, then the wings are brought in and glued, with two-part ailerons added to the trailing edges. The exhaust fairings are each single parts, with intakes fitted to the front, which Julien will tell you have panel lines inside and aren’t completely smooth. He says that a lot. The tail fin and rudder are already complete, and are joined by the elevator fins that are made from top of bottom halves, while the separate elevators are each single parts so that you can deflect them if you feel the need. At this point the Meteor has no nose and only half a nose gear bay, the main mechanism projecting from a bulkhead, which is made up from three parts including the upper gear leg that are applied to the bulkhead in order, which is then inserted into a choice of two two-part nose cone, the FR.9 option having camera windows on each side, then the assembly is glued to the front of the fuselage to finish it off, giving the modeller a pair of hollow gun troughs on each side as a by-product. The Meatbox’s wheels were covered at the top with a mudguard, which makes the building of the assemblies slightly unusual, as the wheels are each two parts that have a narrow top section to fit inside the halves of the mudguards that are moulded into the gear struts. Each one is made up in half, then is joined together into handed assemblies before being glued into slots in the gear bays and completed by adding retraction jacks and bay doors on each side. The nose gear lower section is made in the same manner, and is glued into the top half of the leg to be joined by the three bay doors and the door opening mechanism. A pair of two-part drop-tanks are supplied for under the outer wings, with a further conformal ‘pregnancy’ tank under the centre, and a choice of open or closed air-brakes that are added under the inner panels, using different parts for each option. The airframe is completed by fitting the various antennae, cannon shell chutes, the pitot probe, canopy and windscreen, plus the optional pilot. The windscreen has a styrene part inserted within before it is glued to the front of the cockpit, while the sliding canopy has a a solid rear fairing inserted from below, which fixes to the raised track aft of the cockpit so that it can slide. The optional pilot is the usual hands-on-knees type, wearing a modern(ish) hard helmet, as was becoming more common after WWII and the introduction of ejection seats. The FR.9 nose is tipped with a clear lens. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet, one F.8 in high-speed silver, the other an FR.9 in green/grey camouflage with a PR blue underside. From the box you can build one of the following: Meteor F.8 No.77 Sqn., RAF Williamtown, Royal Australian Air Force, 1955 Meteor FR.9, NO.79 Sqn., RAF Benson, Royal Air Force, 1956 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This is a great new boxing of this important post-war British jet, and arrives with plenty of detail that should satisfy the majority of us, adding a reconnaissance variant to round out this boxing and fill a gap in available variants. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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I built this kit only last year as the JV 44 subject with "candy stripe" undersides, and it has already been built at least twice already in this GB. But it's too good to pass up. It's always a kit I've had a soft spot for, having first built it in the early 1980s. If Airfix doesn't have a new Dora in its plans, then a Vintage Classics release of this would be very much welcome. The original Ken McDonough artwork for the first kit I built, and the near-identical boxing that I built last year: This is in the stash from the early 1990s, and is the kit I'm building this time. The gloriously inaccurate painting guide. All parts present and correct. I will probably replace the drop tank with something better, but keep the pylon. Now for a detour. The Italeri kit is of a similar vintage, and was re-released earlier this year with a superb new decal sheet. Were it not for this re-release (of which I've bought two), I might not be building the Airfix kit now. The rear box cover doesn't even convey the full variety of these schemes, as some have different wing and fuselage camouflage colours. "RLM 84" is probably a later variant of RLM 76. Of these 6 schemes, B is out because I did it only last year. D and F both have a flat canopy, which the Airfix kit doesn't have, and scheme D also has a bomb. No problem, as the other 3 are all good options. Scheme A is the one I've chosen:
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2024, finally completed this one. I started many years ago to lobby Airfix on every page I could for a Mk XIV, with the option for an added larger fin for a MkXVIII option. They finally did it! (I'm sure I wasn't the only one!) But it’s taken a few years to get around to building and finishing one of them. This is without doubt my most favourite Spitfire mark and paint scheme. 28 squadron based at Kai Tak in late 1950 – with Korean war theatre stripes. This kit has had some not great reviews – poor fit in places, particularly the fuel tank cover. I didn’t find this too bad. There are some thought out parts and fitment – it’s well designed, I thought. My only negative about the kit is that some of the parts are a bit soft in detail and require resin replacements – the gun barrels are the worst. As it happens, I don’t replace these on this kit, but I will in future. I really tried very hard to make this a very beat up and dirty airframe. There are some reference photos of this machine at Kai Tak looking very untidy indeed. But looking at my final photos I think I could have gone a lot further! My build was from the box except the following: Drilled out exhausts. Resin wheels. Under fuselage camera ports x2. Re-scribed upper and lower wing panels. The Airfix kit is really a Mk XIVe and the outer .303 bays are still marked. On the XVIII these are not there as the wing was a strengthen redesign with the space being used for survival equipment. Under wing signal lamps rather then centre fuselage. I used the kits rockets to provide the rails only, chopping off the actual rockets themselves. PE seat belts as usual. Aftermarket decals were used; XtraDecal sheet X48230 to represent a machine from 28 squadron in late 1950. The black and white stripes are hand painted. Here's some photos...
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Bristol 192 Belvedere (A03002V) 1:72 Airfix Vintage Classics Based upon the cancelled Bristol 172 civilian twin-rotor helicopter, the 192 was developed in the late 50s, while two other Navalised options designated 191 and 193 also fell by the wayside. The 192 shared much of the development efforts expended on the 191, the extant prototypes serving as test airframes for the 192, trialling Napier Gazelle engines, and stress testing the airframe. The Naval origins of the design also had drawbacks, forcing passengers to climb four feet to the bottom sill of the door hatch, as the type had long gear legs that had been mandated for an anti-submarine role, and the engine placement was less-than-ideal, making transitioning between cockpit and passenger compartment difficult, thanks only to a bulge on the port side of the cabin. Engine location also prevented a rear access ramp that further inconvenienced loading and unloading, especially in a hurry. The rotors were synchronised by a gearing system, and after the first few airframes, the initial wooden blades were replaced by metal units, with four blades per hub. The HC.1 entered service with the RAF in 1961, with a capacity for carrying eighteen fully-equipped troops or 2.7 tonnes of cargo, if it would fit through the side door. Only twenty-six airframes entered service in all, and although there were other variants planned, such as re-engining the type with Gnome engines, and a civilian variant called the 192C, nothing came of these, making it the only indigenous twin-rotor helicopter to see service with British forces, the rest being of American origin. There were three squadrons equipped with Belvederes, and the last airframes went out of service in 1969 to be replaced by Westland Wessexes, a license built variant of the Sikorsky H-34. Today, there are three complete airframes in museums in Weston-Super-Mare and Hendon, plus a nose section in WSM, which is quite a proportion of the total built. The Kit This is a reboxing by Airfix under their Vintage Classics range of a tooling that originated in 1959, which makes this reviewer feel quite young by comparison, and that takes some doing these days. The kit arrives in a red-themed top-opening box with a reproduction of one of the early box artworks on the front, and inside are four sprues of grey styrene, a separately bagged clear sprue, new decal sheet, and instruction sheet that is printed in spot colour on matt paper, with profiles on the rear pages of the gatefold booklet. Detail is as you would expect for a kit of this era, with thousands of fine raised rivets covering the exterior, the rotor blades and other appendages, plus a pair of civilian-looking pilots that were probably tooled that way because the usage of the type wasn’t yet set in stone when the model was tooled. Construction begins by installing the side windows, engine intakes and the rotor heads in the fuselage halves, closing the fuselage around them and dealing with the seams in your preferred manner, deciding whether to remove all the rivets, or keep them, as you see fit. Inverting the fuselage allows you to apply an insert into a cut-out under the rear, two stabilisers to the sides with supports, plus end-plates for one decal option, followed by the aft landing gear, which also have supports above, and a wheel on each end of the axle. A similar axle is applied under the forward fuselage, although the supports and gear legs are combined in one part each end, completed by adding the wheels to the ends, fitting two inserts under the nose, and the forward cargo door in either closed position or opened with a strut holding it at the correct angle. Posing the door open will expose the bare interior, so unless you plan on putting something or someone in the way to hide that fact, you might want to do some scratch building of a basic interior around the door, although you could always rely on dark paint inside to hide the absence of detail. Even though this kit is from an era when you were lucky to have a pilot’s head moulded into the fuselage, there is a cockpit included, with two separate seats that fit either side of a moulded-in centre console. The crew are posed with their hand by their sides for ease of moulding, and as mentioned earlier, they are dressed more like civilians than RAF personnel. A bulkhead is fitted into the open front of the fuselage, placing the cockpit floor on a raised dais in front, then closing it in with the two clear nose halves, which makes a simple job of masking the windows cleanly, and cutting down on the likelihood of glue or seam-filling marring the finish. The model is completed by adding four blades to each rotor head, meshing with the head for a strong join. Markings There are two very similar decal option on the sheet, probably due to the relatively short service of the type. From the box you can build one of the following: Development Trials, Aircraft & Armament Experimental Establishment, Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, England, late 1959 Belvedere Trials Unit, RAF Odiham, Hampshire, England, October 1960 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin satin carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This kit has nostalgia oozing out of the box, and while it is older than many of us, there’s still a quaint charm to it. The raised rivets are unusual these days, and there is a little flash and some minor mould damage that you may encounter, but this is your only option in this scale at time of writing. Highly recommended with the above caveats. Review sample courtesy of
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Hi All, This is my build of the Lancaster Dambuster. I've used the 1/72 kit from Airfix. The open Merlin engine is from an Aires detail set and gun barrels and main wheels are from Quick Boost. For colouring I've used Gunze Acrylics and Alclad for aluminium finish. Weathering and exhaust streaks where done with oil washes and oil paint. The build was straight forward. A friend of mine a professional photographer took these photos, hope you enjoy it. (In the first picture there is a big gap between fuselage and canopy, the canopy is detachable and I didn't put it on properly, I only noticed after the photos where taken, the photo is more to show the engine) Cheers, Alex P.S. I got asked to show some close up pictures of the Merlin Engine, hence I am adding the 2 additional photos below.
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Joining in with this, which I'm pretty sure is the oldest resident of my stash. It's clearly just been waiting for the right opportunity to build it! This Aircraft of the Aces boxing dates from 1988, athough the kit itself is 10 years older than that, and represents Bob Stanford-Tuck's Hurricane from 257 Squadron at Coltishall. Not a huge amount of parts; Or instructions for that matter; Wish the red centre wasn't separate on the roundels. Anyway, chocks away and let's get started!
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This is a fabulous kit by Airfix, very little filler needed and slots together really well. This particular Javelin was originally built as an FAW.7, and subsequently converted to FAW.9 standard before being one of the first pair of the latest version to be delivered to 25 squadron in December 1959. XH768 went on to serve with 11 Sqn after 25 disbanded and this airframe is now preserved in Italy (marked as XH707), having had a recent restoration: https://www.museoaviazione.com/en/gloster-javelin-faw-mk9-restoration-2021/ All comments and discussion welcome as always …
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de Havilland Tiger Moth (A02106A) 1:72 Airfix The de Havilland Tiger Moth was one of the most important and widely produced trainer aircraft to have seen service with the RAF. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland himself in the 1930s and was based on the Gypsy Moth, suitably redesigned to meet Air Ministry Specification 13/31. In comparison to its predecessor, the Tiger Moth's wings were swept and repositioned, and the cockpits were redesigned to make escape easier. The airframe was also strengthened and the engine exhaust system was re-engineered. The Tiger Moth entered service with the RAF in 1932 and remained in use until well after the war. Over 8,000 examples were completed, and the type also served with the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force as well as a great many other military and civilian operators. In service it proved itself to be ideally suited to its role, being easy enough to fly, but challenging enough to weed out weaker students without killing them. It was also cheap and easy to maintain. Further variants would be the DH.82C fitted with an enclosed hood for cold weather operations in Canada, and the Queen Bee, which was an unmanned radio-controlled target drone that resulted in a thinning of the herd of surviving airframes. Always popular with civilian users, many Tiger Moths found their way into private ownership after the War, with many maintained in flying condition to this day. The Kit This is a reboxing of a 2013 tooling from Airfix, and arrives in a small top-opening box with a painting of the subject matter on top, flying against a reddish sky. Inside the box are three sprues of grey styrene, a small clear sprue, the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on matt paper, plus a separate glossy sheet detailing the rigging process. Detail is excellent for the tiny size of the aircraft, and includes moulded-in features in the cockpit interior, and well-defined ribbing and scalloping of the wings, plus a couple of pilot figures, one of whom has no lower legs. There are a few ejector-pin marks that you may want to fill in the cockpit, although they may well be invisible once the model is completed. Construction begins with the cockpit, starting with a skeletal floor with rear bulkhead moulded into it, onto which the semi-conformal front seat and fairing, plus the rear seat are fitted, adding control columns into the sockets in front of each seat. You have a choice of installing the pilots at this stage, using the chap with complete legs in the front, and the shortened legs at the rear, both with moulded-in parachutes and leather flying helmets with goggles as befits the period. The port fuselage half can have the two crew doors cut away along the engraved line on the inside, and if you select this option, you should also drill out a pair of flashed-over holes under the cut-outs, which will hold the new door parts in place with less concern about knocking them off accidentally during handling. The same process is then carried out (or not) on the starboard fuselage, painting the cockpit interior once you have completed any surgery, and remembering to paint the inner faces of the open doors as required. The port fuselage has the two instrument panels and their decals applied, accompanied by the cockpit assembly, after which the fuselage can be closed and the seams dealt with in your preferred manner. The engine cowling is a separate moulding that is ostensibly complete, needing just an intake on the starboard side, and the exhausts from the inside, slotting into a groove that holds the carrier for the four stubs that merge into one at an angle. The two-blade prop is fixed in place by a pin inserted from the rear, taking care with the glue if you want it to remain mobile. Installation of the lower wing is next, which is a single part with a narrow strip that nestles into a groove under the fuselage to obtain the correct dihedral. The upper wing has a radiator insert added to the underside to prevent sink-marks due to over-thick plastic, and this has two sets of cabane struts installed to its sides, ready to join it to the fuselage with the two pairs of interplane struts further outboard. Both strut pairs have sections of sprue between them, and you are instructed to leave these intact until after the wings are mated, to ensure they are correctly oriented, and you are assisted with this by the letter L or R stamped into the sprue along with an arrow to designate the front, which is very helpful. The elevators are a single part that fits in a recess in the rear of the fuselage and is supported from underneath by a pair of diagonal struts, with a tail-skid slipped into the rearmost tip of the fuselage. The tail fin with integral rudder slots into a recess in the top of the elevator part, completing the empennage. The final steps involve installing the main gear legs, which consist of a bow-tie framework with stub axles, and a pair of supports that link it to under the nose cowling, fitting the wheels to the ends of the axle so that the model can stand on its own wheels for the first time, and at this stage you may want to sand a little flat-spot at the bottom of the wheels to give the impression of weight on the tyres. A pair of three-pane windscreens are found on the small clear sprue, and one is inserted into the depression in front of each cockpit cut-out, using a suitable non-fogging glue to fix them in position. The last step shows the sprues between the interplane struts being cut away and made good, at which point you may have to do a little touch-up painting if you use that technique. The main instructions don’t mention rigging, and we haven’t either yet. A separate sheet of diagrams shows where rigging will be required from the front, with letter codes indicating detail drawings from the side that will be useful in assisting you with placement, as will the box art and any reference material you happen to have at hand. Markings There are two entirely different decal options in this boxing, one in US service in England, the other in the antipodes in service of Australia. From the box you can build one of the following: 353rd Fighter Group, USAAF, Station 366/RAF Metfield, Suffolk, England, September 1943 - Pilot: Maj. Glenn E Duncan HMAS Albatross/NAS Nowra, Royal Australian Navy, New South Wales, Australia, 1950s Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion The Tiger Moth is a small aircraft, but well-loved. This kit from Airfix might be a little over 10 years old, but the detail is excellent, and the build should be straight-forward. If you’re feeling “advanced”, you can add rigging to the build process, which should result in a well-detailed replica of this biplane trainer. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my 1/72 Airfix Me-262 A2 "Blitzbomber", built with the addition of Eduard photo etch and resin wheels. Pitot tube from the spares box, brake lines from stretched sprue, and vacu canopy from Rob Taurus. Painted with Gunze/Mr.Hobby acrylics. Photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. The Airfix Me-262 kit is precise in shape and outlines and features an open landing gear bay (a detail other manufacturers have missed). Unfortunately, it suffers from fit problems with the engine/wing assembly. This is not difficult to correct, but comes unexpected on a modern tooling. I damaged the kit's canopy hood when cleaning up the sprue gates and replaced it with a vacu piece from Rob Taurus (intended for use on the Revell kit). The mottle scheme (RLM82/83) was airbrushed free-hand. Thank you for your interest. Best greetings from Vienna!
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As threatened, I'm adding in this build of the very simple MIG-15 since I'm on a roll with silver paint (on the 707). I built this one as a youth, wheels up on the stand, of course. A bit of history on the header card, as usual. Did the packers ever get the staples in a neat line? All the parts are there and look flash free - lovely classic silver plastic. Instructions and paint scheme are very simple, Transfers look a bit yellowed so hopefully some sun will bless my modelling days and help to lighten.
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The TSR-2 first flew on 27 September 1964, which means the 60th anniversary of that milestone falls within the timeframe of this GB. So building this here seems particularly appropriate. Sydney Camm is reported to have said regarding the TSR-2 that: “All modern aircraft have four dimensions – span, length, height and politics. TSR-2 simply got the first three right!” Rising costs and a new Labour Govt saw the TSR-2 cancelled in April 1965, by which time the first prototype had flown 24 times. Enough to show its promise but so much lay ahead to prove it as an operational aeroplane. But still, what an aeroplane it promised to be: I'll be building mine from the Airfix 1/72 kit. As mentioned in the chat a while back I picked this up from a trader at the local model show last November for A$60 (about 31 GBP): That's a pretty good deal, although I didn't realise when I bought it that it had actually been started. Well, some of the key parts had been removed from the sprues and a little work had been done to the intakes and in the cockpit. But it all looks to be there: After market is limited to an Eduard PE set and masks, while the original decals look pretty decent. (Interestingly, what looks to be the original receipt was in the box too.) Information on the TSR-2, and building this kit, abound. Bill/Navy Bird has built perhaps the best Airfix 1/72 TSR-2 to emerge off a modelling bench: Mine won't be in that league, but I'll take inspiration and as many tips as I can from Bill's amazing work! The Wikipedia entry entry is also excellent and worth a read (not all are): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAC_TSR-2 (For example, I didn't realise the '2' in the TSR-2 name stood for Mach 2.) And this documentary is well worth watching, given it features interviews with a number of key players: One of those interviewed claimed it was Australia's decision not to order the TSR-2 that ultimately killed the program. I understand the logic - another customer would have increased the production run and thus lowered the unit cost, plus politically it would have been harder to cancel the project had it an international order - but that seems a stretch. But this RAF Historical Society publication from 1998 has a very well-research chapter discussing Australian deliberations that ultimately led to ordering the F-111. https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/research/RAF-Historical-Society-Journals/Journal-17B-TSR2-with-Hindsight.pdf Of course, politics played a part. But there were other strategic considerations at play too (including for better and for worse, gaining favour with the US.) Given Australia was a potential customer I have contemplated building mine in a RAAF WHIF scheme, but I think I'll stick with the classic anti-flash white of the prototypes (especially now that I think I have a handle on the scheme after my Victor build!). Like the TSR-2 itself, my participation in this GB is a little ambitious. Competing priorities might yet mean I'll have to, err, cancel my participation as I have a couple of other builds on the go/planned and then I'm hosting the upcoming F-35 STGB starting in August. But over-ambitiousness is the essence of this GB! And I'd love to get this into the gallery on 27 September... Thanks for looking, all advice, encouragement and admonishment welcome! Gerard
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My second build in this GB will be the Airfix starter kit Spitfire which i got in Lidl for £6 ish earlier in the year. The markings for DW K from 610 Squadron at Biggin Hill seems a very popular aircraft build for some reason with a lot of examples available in addition to this Airfix one. This aircraft was presumed destroyed and its pilot killed when it failed to return from a combat mission over Dunkirk on May 29, 1940. Pilot officer J K Wilson was 32 at the time. A total of three 610 Sqn aircraft were shot down that day by Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf-109s in the same combat zone. The plane and its pilot were never found. A photo available in the public domain, dated July 24, 1940, suggests that the DW-K registration was later assigned to another aircraft of the same type. The latter was itself shot down on August 24, 1940. Not that many parts, so it should be a nice stress free build hopefully. George
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Fairey Gannet AS.1 (816 RAN), 1:48 Airfix
kelly9mm posted a topic in Ready for Inspection - Aircraft
Hello, I’ve just completed my journey with Airfix Fairey Gannet and I’d like to share its results with you. I rarely build models in 1/48 scale but I’ve heard so many praises about this kit that I had to give it a try. So here it goes: Fairey Gannet AS.1, serial XA331 in the Royal Australian Navy service. It is shown in the livery of 816 Squadron RAN in 1957 (301/Y). The aircraft was attached to HMAS Melbourne which at that moment was using the Y code letter. The weapons bay doors are wide open to facilitate the ordnance loading process. The kit is quite ok. I didn’t experience any major fitting problems and I also appreciate the idea of providing two sets of wings, it spared me lots of cutting and sanding. The manual is quite comprehensible although requires additional pair of glasses to decode the diagrams and read all the part numbers (they are really small). It’s wonderful that it reminds you about the front weight, pity that you really need to stretch your imagination to fit it properly (this bird is really nose heavy). There are also some annoying simplifications (e.g. air intakes) which should’ve been easily avoided in a kit of this scale. I used the famous Cartograf decals for stencils only and they did the job quite well. In general, the kit is not bad at all and I had a lot of fun building the model. And the Gannet itself turned out to be so superbly ugly that I really fell in love with it 😍. The model was built basically OOB with only a cockpit furnished with Eduard’s PE parts. The roundels and other RAN insignia were painted. The Melbourne’s aircraft elevator deck built from scratch. Please enjoy and comment at will. Cheers, Marcin And a few cockpit close-ups:- 96 replies
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In 2020 Airfix is to release a new tool 1/72nd Bristol Beaufort Mk.1 kit - ref. A04021 https://uk.airfix.com/products/bristol-beaufort-mk1-a04021 3D render V.P.
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This was not surprisingly the first ever P-39 kit I built, over 40 years ago. I will be building the most recent rebox (A01039). The first box-art (presumably by Roy Cross) is my own scan: Curiously, both the box-art and paint and decal guides from A01039 portray an earlier version with the integral .30 wing guns. So accurate is this mis-representation that the vertical staggering of the guns is shown as it was on the real thing. My preference is for the USAAF subject. Red Air Force P-39Qs often had the .50 under-wing guns removed, which would require significant extra work that I don't care for.
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There was a time when this was considered state of the art, or maybe it was just me when I built it circa 1983 or 1984. Back in 2015, I managed to grab two second hand, both the original 1977 boxing, and the late 1980s Aircraft of the Aces edition: Then I got yet another as part of a second-hand 2004 Airfix fighter collection, same as the Me 262 which I am also building. This will be the kit I am building. It is basically the Aces kit: The mold stamp tells no lies:
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I will try again at this as this failed to get off the starting blocks in the 'South of the Rio Grande GB', so it should make Martin @RidgeRunner happy. The Honduran Air Force (FAH) acquired a number of Sabres, mostly ex-Yugoslav F86E(M)'s. Compulsories: Will be using the Airfix boxing. The plastic. Glazing. I have read that FAH Sabres were fitted with MB Mk10 ejection seats, so that'll be fitted. Kit decals on the left and Aztec decals on the right. Stuart
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I've been a bit quiet modelling lately. Or, at least, plastic modelling - I have completed a couple of wooden boats, with a third fitting out. Here, I hope to get back to plastic with an F=86 in Portuguese colours. The kit is (obviously) Airfix, with a few AM pieces: some decals, and a pilot. I might have a think about the little guy; maybe go for an F80 or F-100 driver? For what it is worth, I believe Portugal received F-86F-35 airframes, though these were fitted with F-86F-40 wings (the latter had slats).
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