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Hi all. This was a build to fill a gap of three weeks between my last GB projects and my hosting of the Panzer III Single Type Group which starts this Saturday - 6th February 2021. This was a bit of a rush job for me but it was a very straightforward project. These toon kits are great fun! Kit: Meng Toon Panzer III Paints: Acrylic Revell, Humbrol, Citadel and Railmatch all applied by brush Extras: Decals - crosses and numbers from the spares box, Vallejo Rust Texture and European Mud Thick texture WIP: Here The above photos were taken with it on some Gaugemaster 12mm Grass mat against my Spitfire base sky photo backdrop. Some photos against a white background: I also took a few without the Schurzen - just to prove I had painted and weathered behind it: As I mentioned - it was a fun project. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix PS - please make sure you join us for the Panzer III STGB which starts this Saturday 6th February 2021 here: - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/forum/722-panzer-iii-stgb/

250 StuG.III Ausf. F/8s were produced from September to December 1942. The F/8 made use of an improved hull design similar to that used for the Panzer III Ausf. J/L and had improved rear armour. This was the 8th version of Panzer III hulls, hence the designation 'F/8'. The hull had towing hook holes extending from side walls. 30mm thick plates of additional armour were bolted on to speed up the production line from October 1942. From the F/8 onwards, the 7.5 cm StuK 40 L/48 gun was standard until the very last of the Ausf. G. I'm thinking of making this Dragon kit as one of the ones based in Sicily: Back of the box: I was very lucky when I found this kit, which was reduced in price, in the old Ian Allen bookshop in Birmingham before it closed down: I always used to enjoy hunting through the stack of reduced kits in that back kit section upstairs. I managed to get quite a few Dragon kits, including several Dragon Panzer IIIs as well. I was also lucky, in that this kit included Magic Tracks as well as the normal DS tracks usually included in this kit. Most versions of this kit only came with the DS tracks alone. The reviews I have seen only seem to have the DS tracks so I assume this boxing was a limited run: I will probably add a figure or two, some stowage and make a base for it. Can't wait to get started. Kind regards, Stix

PK553 of No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, RAF Ouston, 1948. From the Airfix website: Spitfire PK553 was produced at the Castle Bromwich factory as part of contract B981687/39 and issued to No.607 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force. The RAuxAF was a force of paid volunteers who acted as a reinforcement reserve force for the Royal Air Force, giving up their evenings, weekends and holidays to train and serve in this essential force, following the end of the Second World War. RAF No 607 Squadron reformed on 10th May 1946 as a RAuxAF day fighter squadron at Ouston, in Northumberland, initially flying the Spitfire Mk.XIV and later the Mk.22, before eventually entering the jet age with the de Havilland Vampire. This was my build for the Spitfire/Seafire STGB. I originally bought the kit for £6.99 from a toyshop when I was in there and just wanted to buy a kit. If it hadn't been for me not having much time for the Spitfire GB, I probably wouldn't have made it for quite a while yet. When I saw the box in the stash I thought it would be a suitable kit - in that it would be very quick to build. But, when I opened the box, I realised I had forgotten that I had bought the Eduard etch set for it. This would obviously make it longer to build but I decided to go for it anyway - and I'm glad I did. I actually enjoyed the build despite a few 'operator error' issues!! I can certainly recommend it as a nice, cheap kit. I did originally plan on making it as the aircraft that took part in the Cooper Trophy Air Race in 1948. However, when I started looking online for information about it, I realised that most of the models from this kit were based on that version (with the big, white number 4s and red tailband) with others based on the all over silver version, from 603 Squadron. The silver version was going to be a lot harder for me to do as a brush painter but, luckily, Airfix does provide the decals in the box to make the 'vanilla' version of the aircraft which took part in the Cooper Air Race aircraft - I presume pre-race. I rather liked the idea of doing the less popular version. The photos of it can be found below. The WIP can be found: HERE Kit: Airfix A02033 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire F Mk.22 Extras: Eduard 73436 Photoetch set Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel, Railmatch acrylics all applied by brush Hopefully you will be able to see some of the cockpit detail here - it's not easy to see into a 1/72 cockpit with an iPad camera! Same views as the first ones above, but with the Spitfire on my Spitfire display base. I also used a small cut-off section of slabbed area, from a previous base I had made, for it to sit on The background is a copyright free photo I found a long time ago on the internet. I really enjoy working on the cockpits of aircraft, but of course, a lot of the work gets hidden inside the fuselage once the model is complete. So here are a few photos of the cockpit before it was sealed away: A few in black and white: Thank you to everyone who commented and offered suggestions in my build thread. Thanks also to Patrice @TEMPESTMK5 for hosting the STGB so well. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix

I have managed to drag a few over the finish line this past year despite life getting in the way at times. Every build was done in GBs. First one finished was mostly completed in 2019 in the T-55 STGB: Tamiya's 1/35 Tiran 5 The WIP can be found HERE The RFI can be found HERE The vignette photos can be found HERE Next was another tank - this time: Tamiya's 1/48 US Main Battle Tank M1A2 Abrams The WIP can be found HERE The RFI can be found HERE An aircraft build next in the In The Navy GB: Airfix's 1/72 Grumman Martlett Mk.IV The WIP can be found HERE The RFI can be found HERE The vignette photos can be found HERE Quick build in the summer Blitzbuild GB next - only project where I used rattlecan red paint: Revell 1/24 Easy-Click System Kit - Porsche Diesel Junior 108 Tractor The WIP can be found HERE The RFI can be found HERE Another aircraft this time built in the Spitfire/Seafire STGB: Airfix's 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire F Mk.22 The WIP can be found HERE The RFI can be found HERE Back to a tank in the T-34 STGB: Tamiya's 1/48 SU-122 Tank Destroyer The WIP can be found HERE The RFI can be found HERE The vignette photos can be found HERE For the Battle of Britain GB I decided to motorise the prop on a Hurricane and include a bit of a vignette: Airfix's 1/48 ‘Ready for Battle' Vignette - Hurricane P3522 - GZ-V - Biggin Hill, August 1940 - The WIP can be found HERE The RFI can be found HERE The vignette photos can be found HERE This project is still in progress but should be completed by the end of the year - the Pz.III is complete but I am going to add a base and a figure or two. I will update the photos once it is finished. Tamiya's 1/48 Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.N - Tank No.04 Tunisia 1942 The WIP can be found HERE The 1/72 Panther Mk.V, which I had in progress in the Panther STGB, was actually finished yesterday (29/12/20). It's a Zvezda Snap Kit but I have added a few extra bits and bobs from the spares box plus some wire and mud products. Pz.Kpfw. V Panther Ausf. D - Panther Mk.V - No. 445 - Pz.Abt. 51 - 'Operation Citadel' - Kursk - August 1943 The WIP can be found HERE Lots more photos can be found in the RFI section HERE The Zvezda Snap Kit was a fun way to finish the year! A big thank you all the hosts of the GBs I have taken part in and all the fellow modellers who have taken the time to kindly offer advice or support in my threads. Without these interactions I know my builds wouldn't be what they are. Again - thank you. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix PS Hopefully I'll see some of you in the Pz.III STGB in February and also in the Less Than A Tenner GB starting in May.

This was my project for the MTO GB. It was a fun kit to build – as most of Tamiya’s 1/48 Armour kits seem to be. Pz.III No.04 was part of the 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion, which was part of the Afrika Korps in North Africa. Following the Allied landing in French North Africa the Battalion, with its 16 Panzer IIIs, arrived in Tunisia between November 1942 and January 1943. Initially only three Tiger Is of the 501st landed at Tunis on 23 November 1942. These first elements of the battalion, along with four Panzer IIIs, were organized with other units into Kampfgruppe Lueder. They were involved in fighting just over a week later during the Axis counterattack on 1 December, destroying nine US and two British tanks on the first day while relieving German forces. I have done my version as part of a small vignette with the crew using the radio to get their orders. The base was one of my slightly rushed simple ones, using a bit of 4mm MDF and some household filler. Kit: Tamiya 1/48 Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel, Railmatch and Vajello acrylic paints – all applied by brushes Extras: Lead wire, fuse wire, splatter guard mesh, stretched sprue, styrene strip, plasticard, Redog Models and Tamiya stowage, Tamiya 1/48 figures, 4mm MDF, household filler, Army Painter grass tufts. The WIP can be found HERE The Pz.III on its own against a white background: On its base with the figures: I also took a set of photos against the desert photo backdrop I have: Thank you to everyone who commented and offered advice and encouragement in my build thread. Thank you also to Patrice @TEMPESTMK5 for hosting such an excellent GB. Looking forward to the next one! Kind regards, Stix PS. IF YOU LIKE MAKING Pz.IIIs - PLEASE JOIN US IN THE Pz.III STGB WHICH STARTS ON THE 6TH FEBRUARY!

*Well quick for me!! Having finished my 1/72nd Panther and my 1/48 Pz.III a few weeks ago, I decided I wouldn't be able to fit in a proper full build before the much anticipated Panzer III Single Type Group Build starts on the 6th February. So I checked through the stash for something fairly quick to make and figured one of Meng's Toon kits fitted the criteria. As this is a toon kit of a Panzer III, I also figured it would make a good promotional project to promote the Panzer III STGB which starts on the 6th February. Oh, by the way - did I mention the Panzer III Single Type Group Build starts on the 6th February? I started work on this kit last week and my aim is to finish it before the Pz.III STGB starts on the 6th February. Please note - I am not intending for this kit to be part of the actual GB - it will be finished before the GB starts and will not appear in the gallery. So, this is the artwork on the box: Contents of the box: Sample of the instructions: I have made a start on the lower hull - doing some cleanup and assembly. I also got the wheels, return rollers, drive sprokets and (now) idler wheels ready for painting - you can probably see I have cut the teeth of two off the drive sprockets - there's usually only two drive sprockets - one each side - on a Pz.III - to create the idlers: First bit of paint on - Revell's Aqua (acrylic) Panzer/Tank Grey - which I applied with a Humbrol, medium flat brush: One of the reasons I decided to make this project was because I'm thinking of doing a grey Pz.III in the upcoming STGB - so it was a good oportunity to check the new pot of paint was okay. And it seemed to go on very well. I have also started to clean up and add some parts to the upper hull: More soon. Comments and suggestions welcome. I'm afraid this won't be much of a WIP thread as I'm just going to be adding stuff to it when I get time - and I am struggling a bit for time at the moment. Kind regards, Stix PS - Please don't forget the Panzer III Single Type Group Build starts on Saturday 6th February.

I had originally planned to be part of this STGB right from the start, but, a combination of less modelling time generally and, as a result, my MTO GB Pz.III build taking longer than expected, has resulted in me starting with only about a month to go!!.......and part of that month includes Christmas, with all it's distractions! I had originally planned on building something in 1/35. I have some rather nice Dragon kits - some with Zimmerit. Then, as time went by, I thought I would do something in 1/48 - the Tamiya range in 1/48 usually produces some fine looking models. But a week or so ago I decided to drop to 1/72. I have a nice Dragon 1/72 Panther G kit, with Zimmerit, but I purchased a large set of PE to go with it - so far too much to be done in a month. So here I am with a Zvezda snap kit. I have made a Tiger I from the Zvezda snap kit range and it resulted in a rather nice model. I'm hoping this one will be okay too. There are a couple of known issues with the kit which I think I have a plan for sorting out - and I may see if I have some mesh of some kind for the grills on the rear deck 🤞 I think I'm going to make it as Panther 445, a tank that was with the Pz.Abt. 51 during 'Operation Citadel' near Kursk in August of 1943. Kursk was the largest tank battle of WW2, Kursk was also the first time that the Panther tank was used in combat. So this is the kit I am going to use: A photo of 445 after it was knocked out This Panther received mine damage and was abandoned. You can see the damaged road wheel rim beside the crewmen. I may try and get this started this weekend alongside doing more work on my Pz.III. I'm not doing the knocked out version but a version of it before this and I may try and make a small base as well. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix

Not sure how much time I'm going to have for this project with everything that’s going on, but it is THE Battle of Britain 80th Anniversary GB!! This was a birthday present from a colleague at work a few years ago: I'm going to at least try and get the Hurricane finished (hopefully with the prop motorised) and then see how many of the other bits and pieces I can complete before the finish. Really looking forward to the GB! Kind regards, Stix

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt - WZ-P - No.226551 As flown by Lt.Col. Benjamin Mayo, 84th FS, 78th FG, Duxford Air Base, 1944 Kit: 1/48 Tamiya "Bubbletop" Paints: Citadel, Humbrol and Revell - all applied by brush. Built mostly OOB apart from a few bits of scratch-built plastic and wire in the cockpit and wheel wells. This was built as part of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt STGB Work In Progress: Here This build represents a number of firsts for me. It's the first non-Spitfire aircraft build since getting back into making kits again a few years back (I'm not counting the Captain Scarlet Angel's Interceptor here!). I'm pretty sure I only made one American aircraft when I was a child which, I think, was a Hellcat. This is also the first time I have attempted a brush painted NMF on such a large area. With regards the NMF paint - I got a lot of advice from fellow Britmodellers, thank you, and did some practicing on some scrap bits before deciding to use Citadel's Runefang Steel - I've not really used much Citadel paint in the past either. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed building this kit - it is a well detailed kit and the fit is excellent. Some photos: The detail in the cockpit was excellent but I couldn't get any decent photos yesterday so here are a few from during the build: Photos of the undersides added 04/04/16: Edit 04/04/16: I have now added some photos of the detail on the undersides (above). I'll also do some more B&W versions when I get chance. Edit - B&W photos added 09/04/16 As always: comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix

Well it's been a while since I’ve made any aircraft kits but two GBs have got me back into building 1/72nd aircraft. This build was for the ‘In the Navy’ GB that is still running down in the Group Build section. I have previously built Airfix’s 1/72nd Wildcat as if it were in flight so, when a colleague at work kindly got me this Martlet for a birthday a while back, I thought - rather than make it with the wings out, I would do them folded. The ‘In the Navy’ GB seemed the logical place to make it in this way and I had some ideas for how I would display it. This particular Mk.IV Martlet - FN142 - is modelled when it was based on HMS Formidable in November 1942. This is a photo of the actual aircraft: This certainly isn't a diorama - it barely qualifies as a vignette but, my intention from the start was to display it as if it were on the deck of HMS Formidable - although my idea changed a little as a couple of things became obvious. The first was that the plastic I had chosen for the deck was too thick for me to cut neatly enough in a curve. My original idea was to have the Martlet on one of the aircraft lifts but the ones I could see seemed, in photos of the actual deck, to have rounded corners. The other thing was that I was going to have it surrounded by mechanics working on it. I purchased a couple of boxes of the new 'Classic' 1/76 figures from Airfix. In my opinion they are terrible!! They look way too small and the material they are still made from is rubbery and really difficult to remove seams from! So there are only three figures in my small scene and they are away from the aircraft so it's harder to tell how small they are. Kit: Airfix 1/72 A02074 Extras: Plasticard, plastic rod, lead wire, Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch acrylics all applied by brush. Base: Wilkos picture frame, Evergreen styrene sheet, Airfix 1/72nd figures and Academy stowage items. The GB WIP can be found: HERE The RFI for the Martlet itself can be found: HERE The title of my vignette comes from the idea that there must have been a discussion, at some point, about the name change - here it's an American commander and two RAF chaps. A few photos of the overall base: So a big thank you to my colleague at work for buying this Martlet for my birthday and thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and make suggestions in my build thread. Thank you also to @rob85 for being the fantastic host of the GB. Kind regards, Stix

Hi all. I was intending to make something in 1/35 for this STGB but there are so many GBs I want to take part in over the next few months, that I have opted to do something in 1/48 instead. Luckily this kit arrived in the post last week. I have made one of these SU122s before and thoroughly enjoyed making it. Last time I did it in plain Russian green - this time I'm going to try doing a winter white-wash version - over Russian Green. I'm also going to try doing my first winter scene on the base. I've bought a variety of winter based scenery products over the years but haven't used them yet - well apart from the Vellejo snow product which I used on my Winter Pz.IV a couple of years back. So this is my collection so far for this project: I may add a few other bits and pieces as I go on. I have a GB starting in a month that I want to take part in as well, so I may end up with two GB projects running at the same time. I'm looking forward to getting started next weekend. Kind regards, Stix

This was my project for the T-34 STGB. The GB is still going on so, if you are a fan of WW2 Russian armour, it's well worth checking out. The SU-122 was the first major variant of the T-34 chassis. Around 1,150 of them were built between 1942 and 1944. Weighing in at about 30 tons and with a crew of 4, the SU-122 was not originally designed as a tank destroyer but was supposed to be used against German fortified positions, strongholds and for ranged infantry support. After crew training, the first units of these were active in late 1942 and early 1943. The regiments they were part of were made up of two batches of four, older, SU-76s and four SU-122s, led by a SU-76 tank destroyer acting as the command vehicle. The idea was that the SU-122s were to be covered by the SU-76s. As the war progressed SU-122s did end up attacking German armour, including Tigers at Kursk during the summer of 1943. They used howitzer HE rounds to dislodge turrets and damage tracks - but this was only effective at close range. The version I have based mine on was a regimental, early production model, in December 1942 - operating on the Leningrad front in the Smierdny region. More information about the SU-122 and it's variants can be found online here: The Tanks Encyclopedia This is only the second time I have attempted a winter whitewash finish. To get the effect I did, I first painted the tank in the basic overall green colour, weathered it and then applied the whitewash using a stippling brush and very, very thinned Humbrol Matt White paint - built up in uneven layers very slowly. Once dry, I applied more weathering. More details about how I painted it can be found in my WIP thread. Kit: Tamiya 1/48 Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel, Vallejo and Railmatch acrylic paints all applied by brush Extras: Vallejo Mud and Snow products, Tamiya figures, Tamiya Road Signs, Redog Resin Stowage, Aluminium foil, string, MDF, mounting board card, filler, Wilkos picture frame, Army painter tufts, twigs and fuse wire. The WIP can be found: HERE The photos of the basic scene can be found: HERE Here are a few photos of my SU-122 on it's snowy base. More photos of this scene can be found: HERE Big thanks must go to @SleeperService for a great GB and also to everyone who contributed to my build thread. Without everyone's input this project wouldn't be what it is. Thank you. Kind regards, Stix

Well it's been a while since I’ve posted anything in this area, but two GBs have got me back into building 1/72nd aircraft. This build was for the ‘In the Navy’ GB that is still running down in the Group Build section. I have previously built Airfix’s 1/72nd Wildcat as if it were in flight so, when a colleague at work kindly got me this Martlet for a birthday a while back, I thought - rather than make it with the wings out, I would do them folded. The ‘In the Navy’ GB seemed the logical place to make it in this way and I had some ideas for how I would display it. This particular Mk.IV Martlet - FN142 - is modelled when it was based on HMS Formidable in November 1942. This is a photo of the actual aircraft: The build itself was enjoyable and the detail out of the box is pretty good. The only additional work I did was to add some extra detail at the wing joins (using bits of plastic and lead wire plus doing a bit of drilling) and introduced a droop to the elevators. Kit: Airfix 1/72 A02074 Extras: Plasticard, plastic rod, lead wire, Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch acrylics all applied by brush. The WIP can be found: Here Some closer views - I'm not sure I should be doing this in 1/72 as it's brush painted! From the start of this build I wanted to display it as if it was on deck of HMS Formidable. Just a couple of photos here and the rest will be in the diorama/vignette RFI section. More photos of the deck vignette can be found: HERE So a big thank you to my colleague at work for buying this Martlet for my birthday and thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and make suggestions in my build thread. Thank you also to @rob85 for being the fantastic host of the GB. Kind regards, Stix

So my 1 and only lockdown build. Being a key worker I am either at work or at home looking after my daughter. Here is the Tamiya Tiger 1, and Brush painted. First time I have done track links and have to say what a pain. Over all a fun build and enjoyed the painting. Regards daron

The new(ish) Airfix Martlet in 1/72 will be my entry (possibly the first of two) for this GB. These are the bits and bobs I'm thinking of using: I have previously made Airfix's 1/72 Wildcat as if it was in flight so with this one I'm intending to do it with the wings folded. I must also add that this kit was bought for my birthday a couple of years ago by a colleague at work - so a big thank you to them. Kind regards, Stix

This is my first ever aircraft build which I built as part of the Blitzbuild GB, having built my first ever Tank in a previous one. It was a fun build with somewhat challenging decals! I hope you enjoy my little Egg plane, it was great fun to build as quickly as I could. The kit came with a little pilot: Just to show how small she is:

This was my project for the T-55 Single Type Group Build down in the Britmodeller Group Build section. The Tamiya kit was a joy to build although I had a couple of fit issues early on - which surprised me for a Tamiya kit. Nothing major - just a few wishy-washy connection points/areas. Of course it could have just been me that was the issue! Early on I decided to replace the band tracks with some individual track links from MiniArt and didn't want to use the mesh provided by Tamiya so got the relevant grill set from Eduard. For this project I decided to try some slightly more restrained weathering than I sometimes do - I didn't use any weathering products such as Mig Muds (or their sand equivalent?) which I often use. Kit: Tamiya 1/35 Kit No. 328 Extras: MiniArt Track Links Set No. 37048, Eduard Grill Set No. 35257, thin wire for the aerials, spare PE bits from my Typhoon build for the jerry can strap buckles, painted masking tape for the straps and various stowage items from a variety of old kits and stowage sets. Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel, Vallejo and Railmatch Acrylic paints all applied with brushes The WIP can be found: Here Vignette photos on a display base can be found: Here I had planned a fairly complex display base for this Tiran 5 but the time limitations of a STGB (3 months) meant I ended up doing a fairly simple idea but I did include the two figures Tamiya provided in the kit: The base I did end up making includes some basic ideas from my originally planned design: More photos of it on it's base can be found: Here Thank you to anyone who kindly took the time to comment in my build thread. Kind regards, Stix

Hi everybody. I hope everyone is keeping well. This was a project that I finished a month or so back but, with what's been happening with the current circumstances, I have found it difficult to find much time for modelling or getting onto Britmodeller. I'm trying to make up for that a bit today as this is the first day for a few weeks that I haven't been constantly trying to do my job remotely from home. This was a project that I began right at the start of the year as a stop gap between GBs. I wanted something relatively quick to make and, as I had made another modern 1/48 armour kit from Tamiya a while back, I fancied having a go at another. This kit has been really nicely detailed by Tamiya and, for the most part, it was a typically straight-forward build. I found a couple of parts were a bit hit'n'miss in terms of location but other than that it was a really fun project. Kit: Tamiya No. 92 Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel, Vallejo, Tamiya and Railmatch Acrylics all applied by brush Extras: Tamiya stowage set items and stretched sprue antennas The WIP thread - what there is of it - can be found: Here I've tried to be a bit more subtle with the weathering than I sometimes am. I was intending to use this as an experiment for some heavier techniques but, when I looked at some of the photos of these actual tanks - in the time period suggested by Tamiya - they were not always that heavily weathered, so I thought I would practice some lighter techniques instead. All the weathering is done with standard acrylic paints applied with brushes including stippling brushes. A few photos with a desert photo backdrop and the Abrams on the chipboard surface of my work table: And finally some photos of the Abrams with my build of Tamiya's Japan Ground Self Defence Force Type 10 tank: I can thoroughly recommend both of these kits for anyone who enjoys building 1/48 armour. Kind regards, Stix

Well it's been a while since I posted anything in this section but I have just finished my build of Tamiya's 1/48 Razorback Thunderbolt in the P-47 STGB. I have built it as the P-47D of Captain Walker "Bud" Mahurin in 1944. Captain Mahurin was the first American pilot to become a double ace in the European Theatre. According to Wikipedia he was the only United States Air Force pilot to shoot down enemy planes in both the European and Pacific Theatres and the Korean War. During World War II he was credited with 20.75 aerial victories, making him the sixth-highest American P-47 ace. He was credited with shooting down 3.5 MiG-15s in Korea, giving him a total of 23.25 aircraft destroyed in aerial combat. More information about him can be found here. I had a thoroughly enjoyable time building this Razorback P-47 - just like the 'Bubbletop' version from Tamiya (which I made a couple of year's back ) it is a beautifully detailed and very well engineered kit. Kit: Tamiya 1/48 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt "Razorback" Paints: Revell, Humbrol and Citadel Acrylics all applied by brush Extras: Various sizes of lead wire for wiring - break lines, etc. - and some styrene in the cockpit and wheelwells. Work In Progress thread: Here This first set of photos was taken on my Spitfire display base with the photo backdrop and Gaugemaster Meadow mat over the base: This second set of photos was taken against a white backdrop - I always think the colours show up better with a white background: Some photos of the undersides: The cockpit before being sealed up: I had intended to make this a really weathered version of a P-47D but, when I looked at the photos of the actual aircraft from that period, it looked in pretty good shape and certainly wasn't heavily weathered. So I cut back on what was going to do in terms of weathering. I was going to do a lot of chipping but ended up doing a lot more subtle version - so much so, that in most photos it doesn't really show. This photo shows some of the restrained chipping I ended up applying: And finally a couple in black & white: As I mentioned earlier - this was a thoroughly enjoyable project and part of that was due to the fellow modellers who contributed with advice and support in my build thread - thank you to anyone who took the time to comment. I would also like to thank TEMPESTMK5 for hosting the great STGB. Kind regards, Stix

Well it’s been a while since I've built anything in this section of Britmodeller - I've been spending most of my time in the Group Build section recently. Anyway, I have a bit of time before the next GB I want to take part in - so I had a quick look through the stash to find something relatively quick to build. I've been building a Tiran 5 recently so thought I'd like to do something more modern again. Also, having been looking at some of the excellent AFV 1/48 models being built here, I decided to do something in 1/48 - and this is what I have decided on: I've made Tamiya's 1/48 JGSDF Type 10 Tank back in 2018 and this M1A2 looks to be of a similar high quality. I hope so. I'll post some photos of the box contents later. Kind regards, Stix

Hawker Hurricane Mk.I R4118 Take off at the Victory Show 2015 Well it's been a while since I have posted anything in this section but here is my project from the recent Hawker (Siddeley) GB. The project itself started when I discovered that the 1/48 new tool Airfix kit, I had in the stash, included the decals for the restored version of Mk.I Hurricane R4118 which I had seen at the Victory Show in 2015. I had taken lots of photos of it at the show and also taken some video of it in flight and taking off. I am very lucky in that we live less than a mile from where the Victory Show takes place and can walk there. We also get quite a few of the aircraft flying over our house depending on the display lines. For more details about R4118 there is a great website with loads of fantastic photos and information which can be found here. My build was pretty straight forward but I discovered fairly early on that, although R4118 can be in theory built from the kit, there are some differences between what's in the box and some areas of the restored version. @Troy Smith first alerted me to the fact that the restored version has a different spinner and tailwheel. Troy very kindly offered to send me the correct versions which he did and I have included them on my build. Studying the photos I had taken at the airshow (here and here) and on the R4118 website also demonstrated I needed to add a few other bits and pieces if I was going to make it closer to the actual restored version I had seen. Kit: 1/48 Airfix Hawker Hurrican Mk.I (new tool) A05127 Paints: Revell, Humbrol and Vellejo acrylics applied by brush Extras: Airfix propeller motor, Hurricane Rotol spinner and 'knuckle' tailwheel courtesy of @Troy Smith Undercarriage break lines from lead wire Radiator intake rod from styrene rod Carburettor air intake grill - Eduard PE part from set for Italeri MkI Hurricane Propeller decals from Italeri MkI Hurricane kit Aerial wires (?) - from EZLine Aerial wire brackets - styrene Aerial wire adjuster - PVA glue Various rods and bits on the upper fuselage and nose - styrene rod Base - Wilko picture frame with Gaugemaster grass mat Support - 6mm aluminium tube Battery holder, wires and switch WIP: Here My video of R4118 taking off at the Victory Show in 2015: Here Wobbly video of the propeller running on my kit: Here The first set of photos here were taken with my Spitfire display base as a background - it has a sky backdrop: This next set is against a plain white background. The first photo shows the prop when its not spinning: [/url] This one from below was taken before the kit was finished: The main difficulty for me was not doing much weathering. With previous aircraft builds I have a added a fair amount but, as this was done as the restored version at the Victory Show in 2015, I wanted to do it as clean as it actually was. While building mine I kept seeing other models of beautifully weathered Hurricanes and thinking I could just add...........but didn't. The Hawker (Siddeley) GB was thoroughly enjoyable and thanks to @Col. for suggesting and being the host of the GB. Thank you to everyone, especially @Troy Smith, for all the support and comments during my build. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix

This is going to be my build for this STGB: When I saw the tracks that Tamiya include in the box and read some of the reviews, which suggested they are a bit too short/tight, I decided to get some of these from MiniArt: Tamiya only provide some mesh for the engine grills so I also decided to get some from Eduard: Really looking forward to getting started on this next weekend. Kind regards, Stix

ZY-Y - 247 Sqn. France, June 1944 This was part of my project for the D-Day GB. The kit is by Hasegawa but re-boxed by Italeri with new decals. There are some fit issues with the kit in a couple of places but other than those it was a fun build. As can be seen from the photos I decided, as it was going to be part of a small diorama, that I would have the prop motorised. The motor I used was from Airfix. I also used the PE set for this kit from Eduard. Kit: 1/48 Italeri/Hasegawa Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch Acrylics all applied by brush Extras: Eduard PE set, Airfix motor and Airfix pilot The WIP can be found: Here The diorama can be found: Here The Tiger 1 RFI can be found: Here Please excuse the blue colour of the support as these were taken before I knew how the final appearance needed to look. Before fitting to the base the blue was toned down a lot! With a sky background: One over the base

Time to declare my build for this first armour STGB. It has been a bit of a struggle to decide what to build and I've been torn between several different scales and manufacturers before going back to my original choice. I've re-decided on Eduard's reboxing of Tasca's M4A1 (Tasca kit number 35010). I've recently completed another 1/35 build which I thoroughly enjoyed so thought I'd stick in the same scale. So this is the kit box: ..........you can also see I've recently picked up the Haynes Owners Workshop Manual for £6 Good timing from the Works! I'm going to build the kit as “Goldie”: ...which landed at Normandy on June 9th and took part in the Battle of Bloody Gulch near Carentan, France, a week later. As I mentioned above the kit is a reboxing of Tasca's kit but includes some nice Photoetch from Eduard - although the version I'm building doesn’t use all of it: Looking forward to the weekend. Kind regards, Stix

"Report back........not bring it back!!" M4A1 vignette This was my project for the M3/M4 Sherman, Single Type Group Build down in the Group Build Section. On 9th June 1944 M4A1 Sherman Tank 'Goldie' was part of the 66th Armoured Regiment that landed at Normandy. During the landing it was fitted with wading gear but this was removed shortly after it arrived. A week after arriving the 66th was part of the 2nd Armoured Regiment and took part in the 'Battle of Bloody Gulch' which took place near Carentan. The German forces in the battle were made up from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division and 6th Fallschirmjäger Regiment. American forces consisted of the 501st, 502nd and 506th, Parachute Infantry Regiments of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, reinforced by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division of which 'Goldie' was a part. The German forces were decisively defeated during the battle and the American victory led to the linkup of forces from Utah and Omaha beaches, creating a secure lodgement area for further American operations. The headquarters of the German forces during the battle was a manor house in the area and the American soldiers nicknamed the road running past the manor "Bloody Gulch" after a place mentioned in a popular western movie. I have modelled my version on how 'Goldie' may have looked travelling across the countryside on it's way towards Carentan. The Vignette - One of the things that bugged me while I was making this project was that the tank commander figure seemed to be smiling - it just didn't seem to fit with the idea I originally had. So I tried to think of things that might have made him smile on the way to battle over the fields near Carentan. I have made scenes before where I have used road signs to indicate the location and then it dawned on me I could make the scene as if one of the crew had been sent to check out what the road sign on the other side of the fence said - but, rather than reading it and reporting back, he's broken it off and is carrying it back. In my head the crew member next to the Sherman is saying "He said report back...not bring it back!!...." .....anyway........ Kit: 1/35 Eduard/Tasca Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch Acrylics all applied by brush. Extras: Tank figures set from Dragon , stowage items from AFV CLUB, Tamiya and Dragon, plus Towing Cable wire kindly supplied by @modelling minion Base: MDF, filler, Woodlands Scenics mixed turf and various tufts from Army Painter. The fencing was made from wooden coffee stirrers and the signs are from Matho Models. The puddles were made from layers of Humbrol Enamel Gloss Varnish. WIP: Here More photos of just the Sherman and base, without the background, can be found here: in the RFI section These photos below were taken on my Spitfire display base which has a sky backboard: A couple of the above in black & white: ...and finally a photo of the base before the Sherman and figures were added: This was a thoroughly enjoyable project made in a great GB. It was the first all Armour GB on Britmodeller and the hosts @Sgt.Squarehead and @Ozzy were very attentive and supportive. Thanks must also go to everyone who took the time to comment or offer advice in my thread. Kind regards, Stix