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Hi All, I've had a couple of false starts in recent times, in part due to a serious slump in mojo. With my Beaufighter and Fulmar temporarily consigned to the 'meh' pile, I needed a serious motivational boost. I've been lusting after Tamiya's Swordfish for many a moon, so a couple of months back bagged the PE set, without having the kit itself! Then last week I received an email to say that the kit was back in stock at my (not very) LHS. Quicker than you can say 'Carrier-based Fleet Air Arm Biplane' I wielded my credit card details, and a nicely packed box arrived a short couple of days later. Here's the boxart: Here's the PE fret - a bit rich to have to pay extra for a kit this expensive, but there you go: For experts, indeed. Does anyone here know one? I've also invested in a set of Eduard seatbelts and an etch set - yes I know it's for a MkI, but I won't tell if you won't... Here's the lovely sprues - detail looks girt lush, as they say in Bristol: And the decals - typical Tamiya fare: I'm going to complete as the box scheme, which is LS276 of 836 Sqn FAA, which served aboard Merchant Aircraft Carrier Amastra in 1943. Here's a photo of Amastra, which was one of 10 Royal Dutch/Shell oil carriers converted to MACs: A limited search has not turned up any photos of LS276, but here's another aircraft from 836 Sqn: These aircraft were unusual in that the 'Royal' Navy was replaced with 'Merchant' - initially a joke played by the sailors on the aircrew, but eventually a source of some pride. As my Grandfather served in the Merchant Navy throughout the war, this will be my small tribute to him and all the other brave men who served in this often forgotten but critical service. Anyway, on with the build! Let's hope that the mojo returns, Thanks for looking, Roger

While looking for VF-85 Hellcat photos for @Corsairfoxfouruncle, I found this excellent photo collection of USN and FAA Hellcats; some very interesting photos, many of which were new to me, and I hope to you, as well. Mike https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/aircrafts-2-3/f6f-hellcat/ https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/aircrafts-2-3/f6f/

On 20.11.1941 Lt P N Charlton flying Hawker Hurricane I (Trop.) W9327 OL*W of the Royal Navy Desert Fighter Flight intercepted and destroyed three Ju87s. Later in the same flight Charlton was hot down by a 'friendly' Tomahawk, later awarded DFC by RAF. This is my representation of Charlton Hurricane. I must thank and both @Beard and @tonyot for their help with the general appearance of this aircraft. Kit is the Airfix 1/48 Hurricane MkI(Trop.) boxing, paint is Xtracrylics, decals came from the kit or from Xtradecal generic set, the Squadron codes were sprayed using templates I made. I hope you like these rather cruel photographs.. On the shelf with Sea Hurricanes and a Martlet MkII Thanks for looking in..

I hope you don’t mind me joining in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations Group Build with this offering. I am going to build the Special Hobby 1/48 Blackburn Skua using the ‘Norwegian Campaign’ boxing but it will be built as L2927/A of 803 NAS HMS Ark Royal, Mediterranean Aug ‘40. I’ll talk later in the build about why this particular aircraft but for now here are a paltry starting efforts. First off the box and sprue shots. Not many parts.. I thought I would start with the engine. Crankcase, cylinders and Exhaust are separate resin parts. All need fitting.. Then you slap some paint on, fit the exhaust collector ring, mounting frame. It is all a bit fiddly but slowly does it. The cowling was held together with tape and the engine assembly dropped in a regular intervals to make sure it fitted. The assembled unit, exhaust collector ring fitted into cowling/ front of the collector ring and some filling done (liquid sprue) to bring the two units together. . I need to do more work about joining the front and rear parts of the collector ring before painting up in scorched metal.. I also put the first coat of paint on some cockpit elements and decided to make the radios in the TAG cockpit a little more 3D.. . I’ve found a better picture of the radios so they might get a repaint (or printed front). Any comments welcome. Thanks for stopping by..

Hi All, I've had a pretty reasonable year in terms of output - 12 models completed in all, so an average of once per month. It's not been that consistent really - I had a purple patch when I lost a job, and have slowed down since I got a new one! I hope you all enjoy, and let's hope that 2021 is a little less interesting! Anyway, down to business. First cab off the rank was Airfix' lovely 1:48 Boulton Paul Defiant, built as PS*V of 264 Sqn RAF, Martlesham Heath, June 1940: Next was an Airfix Sea Hurricane MkIB of 880 Sqn FAA, as flown by Lt 'Dickie' Cork DSO DFC from HMS Indomitable during Operation 'Ironclad', the campaign to recapture Diego Suarez in Madagascar, 1942. No WIP for this one, so there's an RFI link: Next, one of my favourite builds of the year, an Airfix 1:48 Supermarine Walrus, finished as an aircraft of No. 5 Communication Flight RAAF, based in New Guinea in 1943: Next, Tamiya's wonderful 1:48 Republic Thunderbolt MkII, finished in a SEAC scheme as RS*B of 30 Sqn RAF based at Chittagong, India, March 1945: One of my next favourites for the year, and my best attempt at some scratchbuilding yet, was Trumpeters 1:48 Westland Whirlwind, finished as P7116 of 263 Sqn, RAF Colerne, Winter 1941/2: Next up was a 1:48 Martin Maryland, presented as AH284 of 39 Sqn RAF, North Africa 1942 - probably my most challenging build of the year, and to my mind one with plenty of room for improvement: Next a change in scale for Airfix' 1:72 Vickers Wellington GR MkVIII, finished as HX379 of 172 Sqn, operating from RAF Chivenor in 1942: Next another 'quickie' build, Airfix' Hawker Hurricane MkI, finished as V6799 of 501 (County of Gloucester) Sqn, RAF Kenley, October 1940: Still with me?! A more unusual subject next - Academy's 1:48 Vought Chesapeake, finished as an aircraft of 811 Sqn at RNAS Lee-on-Solent in July 1941: I continued the FAA theme with a far more versatile aircraft - a 1:48 Special Hobby Fairey Firefly MkI, finished as Z1830 of 1770 Sqn FAA, which flew from HMS Indefatigable in July 1944: Next another challenging build - Eduard's 1:48 Westland Lysander, finished as a SEAC Special Duties aircraft V9289, a Lysander MkIIIA flown by 357 Sqn RAF, formed in Didri, India in February 1944: Last but certainly not least, Eduard's 1:48 Bell Airacobra, finished as A53-6 of 82 Sqn RAAF, based at RAAF Bankstown NSW in 1943: UPDATED 30TH DECEMBER My final build of the year is Special Hobby's 1:48 CAC CA-13 Boomerang, finished as A46-199 'Home James' of 4 Sqn RAAF, based in New Guinea in 1944, flown by Fl Lt Jack Archer: And that's the year done! I've really enjoyed being part of this great community over the last 12 months - the banter, positive comments and genuine support have been a real beacon in what's been a tough year for everyone. Thanks to those of you who have been so kind and supportive (you know who you are), and I look forward to sharing another year with you all! All the very best and season's greeting, and above all thanks for looking! Cheers, Roger

Well, my parcel from Poland arrived on Wednesday, it took a wee bit longer than previous parcels from Arma Hobby, but considering the postal situation at the moment it was still reasonably quick, only 12 days. The sturdy card box contained one Expert Set FM-2 Wildcat and 3 sets of Overtrees neatly wrapped in bubble wrap, I've got a few sets of decals for Martlet/Wildcat VI's, so there's a fewe schemes for me to choose from. Wednesday afternoon the Expert Set was unboxed and had a good fondling whilst I perused a selection of references. Box and contents:- The overtrees supplied are just the two grey sprues and the clear sprue, nothing else. The kit comprises of a main sprue for the FM-2 / Wildcat VI release:- Plus a common sprue for this and the forthcoming F4F-4 release:- The clear sprue is also common with the F4F-4 release, as it contains the lower fuselage windows and wing landing light cover not used on this FM-2 / Wildcat VI release. Also shown here are the small etch sheet and the masking sheet for the canopy and wheels which are only included in the Expert Set:- And here's the decal sheet from the Expert Set which covers 5 US FM-2's, and 3 FAA Wildcat VI's, all of 882 NAS on HMS Searcher, 3 individual code/serials being supplied for the same basic scheme:- If you want to see photo's better than my phone snaps above, there's more on the Arma Hobby website, unfortunately the links they provide on this page for the instructions don't seem to work for me. Initial impressions? It looks like a top quality product, with pretty much all you'd need to build a well detailed model straight out of the box.

Hi All, This is my attempt at Special Hobby's lovely Firefly MkI, modelled as Z1830 of 1770 Sqn FAA, HMS Indefatigable, July 1944. I have not found any photos of the actual aircraft, but apparently it was the first production Firefly MkI and thus has the 3-bladed propellor, early canopy hood and the unfaired Hispano cannon (that's SOOO unfair!). 1770 Sqn took place in Operation Mascot, which was the unsuccessful attack on Tirpitz when she lay at anchor in Kaarfjord, Norway. Here is a link to the WIP if anyone is interested: Special Hobby's kit is a lovely offering with the usual vague engineering and part callouts. There were a couple of 'improvements' made along the way: - Added instrument panel transfers as the one supplied with the kit was rubbish - Cut both canopies as they were presented in the closed position only - Addition of scratch-built navigation light and housing on the port wing - Addition of front antenna as there was no component in the kit Aside from that is was a very pleasurable build apart from a transfer drama - all fixed in the end. Painted in a mixture of AK Interactive and Vallejo acrylics. So onto the photos: And here's a final one with my recent Chesapeake - two aircraft with very different levels of success in their operational history: Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, Flushed with the success of my recent Chesapeake build, what better than to follow up with another single engine, twin seat FAA aircraft?! This one was decidedly more successful than the Chesapeake, however. I have the Trumpeter kit in my stash, but following @85sqn's advice (thanks Nick!), I'm leaving the Trumpy kit where it is and building the Special Hobby kit instead, which looks to be a far superior offering (and largely accurate, unlike the former ). I'm planning to build it as Z1830 of 1770 Sqn FAA, which flew from HMS Indefatigable in July 1944. This aircraft participated in Operation Mascot, which was the unsuccessful attack on the Tirpitz at anchorage in Kaafjord, Norway. And so to the kit. Here's the box artwork: And here's the sprue shots - detail looks good! There's a few resin pieces, including the undercarriage bays and some beautiful exhausts: The transfers look pretty good (although the IP decal is complete bobbins) I wouldn't say that bears too much resemblance to the real thing - have to do something about that! Anyway, on to the build. The kit only provides for a closed canopy, so I bravely decided to see if I could separate the canopy components. I started with the pilot's canopy, as if I stuffed it up I could always build the other version - I'm not as daft as I look I used masking tape over the joint, and after a few nerve-wracking minutes with the razor saw ended up with this Next I taped up the Observer's canopy - the stakes were somewhat higher for this one as there was only the one component: The first cut is the deepest (cue the music): And here's the lot after cleanup: I was this relieved! Next I primed all the cockpit components and gave them a squirt of interior green: Lastly I turned my attention to the instrument panel. Here it is after painting and drybrushing: Out came the trusty Airscale instrument transfers: And here's the final result after Microscale Gloss over each instrument (it's not quite dry so is a little milky): Not unhappy with that. Anyway, that's all for today, Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, This is my attempt at the Chesapeake, as the SB2U-2 Vindicator was called in FAA service. A batch of 50 Vindicators was originally earmarked for the French Navy, but following the fall of France the order was diverted to the FAA. The Chesapeake was modified to FAA standards, including an extra fuel tank, armour for both crew and 4 wing-mounted 0.303 machine guns. The aircraft were delivered to 811 Sqn at RNAS Lee-on-Solent in July 1941, where it quickly became apparent that the modifications to the aircraft had made it even more underpowered for their planned role of anti-submarine patrol. They were replaced within months by Swordfish and relegated to training duties or squadron hacks. Here is the WIP if anyone is interested. Academy's kit is a re-box of the Accurate Miniatures kit, and includes decals for 3 FAA aircraft as well as a French Aeronavale aircraft. The kit is nicely detailed, although the colour schemes are a little spurious, so good references are key - the decals however seem pretty accurate, down to the non-standard font used for the aircraft serial number. I chose to complete as AL924 of 811 Sqn FAA in July 1941. Here's a photo of the actual aircraft: Here's another shot of a sister aircraft which shows the unconventional font used on the serial number, which the kit decals capture correctly: Following @Dana Bell's references I chose to complete the interior in Dull Dark Green (Bronze Green) with natural metal and doped fabric fuselage sides. The pilot's head armour and headrest were scratch built, and holes were drilled in the wings to represent the 4 wing-mounted 0.303" machine guns. The kit was painted in acrylics using a speculative 'Sky' underside, and EDSG/DSG uppers in the standard TSS scheme as noted in the references - I chose to add doped linen patches for the wing guns, as I thought this to be most likely. Anyway, on to the photos: Although this aircraft had a short and undistinguished FAA career, it is certainly an interesting subject. The kit builds up into a lovely representation of the aircraft and those with more skill could go to town on the highly visible interior. I've thoroughly enjoyed building this interesting footnote in aviation history! Thanks for looking, Roger

This is the first time in many years that I've attempted a group build of any type, and although my track record has been abysmal in the past, I am actually really looking forward to getting started on this. I'll be attempting a Corsair Mk.I of the FAA, JT228, code 6A of 1833 RNAS Macrihanish in 1943. The kit is the Tamiya F4U-1D in 1/48th scale. I'll be using Xtradecals "Yanks with Roundels" set X48102, and going with their recommendation that the aircraft was still in US equivalent FAA colours, so ANA 603 Sea Gray, ANA 613 Olive Drab and ANA 602 Light Gray. Probably Humbrol enamels for those, although I may test the Xtracrylix Olive Drab and see how that looks - either way, it will be brush painted unless I cannot get the effect I'm after with the camo demarcation. In addition, I have the Ultracast replacement seat with Sutton harness, and replacement exhausts. I'm still undecided about a replacement engine, but have time to make up my mind on that. The kit is un-started - I have kept it locked away in a cupboard to stop me even thinking about getting stuck in - but I will be studying the instructions between now and Friday to try and make sure I don't commit the usual Laidlaw stupidities. Well, I can dream. I'll be adding representations of the fuselage-side air intakes and the ventral exhaust, and will be clipping the wings to the "short short" position, as that's what I believe the Xtradecal instructions show. If anybody knows differently, I'd be grateful for the information. Kit, decals and resin bits: Decals/transfers/stickers: Resin bits: Runners:

Good day all, hope you are all safe and sound where ever you are. I'm just setting up my page for this GB. Really looking forward to this build and I have chosen Tamiya's epic 1:32 kit of the Birdcage Corsair. I came across the kit just after Christmas and was really looking forward to a later mark as I wanted to do a MkII but due the stock having a great price this was the last remaining and I couldn't turn it down, it worked out at around 60 quid! Now I prefer to model Fleet Air Arm aircraft and they did operate this type of aircraft as a MK I, it never really saw much operational action as it was mainly used as a trainer and was stationed mainly stateside and Canada. This particular build will be of JT190 which was flown by the late Lt Cdr Jack Sewell a FAA Fighter Ace, based at NAS Brunswick in Maine. I still have much to learn about the pilot and aircraft and will hopefully share that over the course of this build. The kit is quite huge and there is a lot of detail in there. Its the first time I've really tackled something in 1:32 so I hope that I can do it justice. I'm building straight out of the box with the exception of a fabric harness (I am assuming that the Mk I's still retained their American harnesses as they were based in US and hadn't really been British-ised yet), I also ordered a set of cockpit label decals to add a bit more depth to the cockpit, they haven't arrived yet so hoping they are not far off. As for the decals, well I haven't had any luck in getting a set in 1:32 so another first for me is painting the markings as opposed to sticking them on, we shall see how that goes! I do have a 1:48 'Royal Navy' and serial letters that work out to roughly the correct size so the serials wont be a problem. Just need to find some colour matching for the roundels. This aircraft was also marked up as '7M' and that will be slightly easier to mask and paint as opposed to any other number/letter combo. Here is the obligatory box top I wont go into every sprue shot as there are a lot of them and this kit has been well reviewed elsewhere on the web so I will save my Flickr size but heres a little selection of parts post washing, there are a fair few to count! It all looks a little daunting at the moment, I just hope I can complete it in time and do it justice, but we shall see. Until later, stay safe! Bob

Hi All, My next project is Academy's 1:48 Chesapeake MkI, as the SB2U-2 Vindicator was called in FAA service. A batch of 50 Vindicators was originally earmarked for the French Navy, but following the fall of France the order was diverted to the FAA. The Chesapeake was modified to FAA standards, including an extra fuel tank, armour for both crew and 4 wing-mounted 0.303 machine guns. The aircraft were delivered to 811 Sqn at RNAS Lee-on-Solent in July 1941, where it quickly became apparent that the modifications to the aircraft had made it even more underpowered for their planned role of anti-submarine patrol. They were replaced within months by Swordfish and relegated to training duties or squadron hacks. Despite an inauspicious and short career the Chesapeake make an interesting addition to an FAA collection. Released in 2019 Academy's kit is a reboxing of the Accurate Miniatures kit. Here's the box art: Here's the sprue shots. Detail looks to be fine and crisp, although the wing fabric effect looks a little exaggerated on initial inspection: The decals look to be very nice and in good register, with options for 3 FAA aircraft and an Aeronavale version. I'm going to complete as AL924 of 811 Sqn FAA. Here's a photo of the aircraft: Here's another shot of a sister aircraft which shows the unconventional font used on the serial number, which the kit decals capture correctly: Here's artwork of the aircraft - there is much speculation as to the colour scheme, so I shall do some further digging. My initial feeling would be to complete in ANA equivalent colours, but I'm not committing to that just yet. Here's a couple of shots which show interesting detail: Anyway, on to the build! Thanks for looking, Roger

Evening all. I’m just putting down a bookmark for this GB. I will get round to starting this soon but modelling is on hold at the moment for various reasons. As the title says I’m building the old Hasegawa birdcage Corsair. It is a kit very much of it’s time with a spartan cockpit and raised panel lines. I have built the Hasegawa F4u-1a and it is a nice simple build and I expect this will be no different. This will be FAA F4u from 1835 squadron in extra dark sea grey/ slate grey over Sky. Having done some reading tonight I believe 1835 Squadron was once of the first to get the Corsair in 1943. Here are some pics. Decals are from the Skymodels sheet. Hopefully I’ll be able to start this soon but I first have to finish my Spitfire IX for the GB. Cheers Allan

I completed this on the fourth of August, and it's memorable for me because 1) it's a completed model, 2) it's the first completion I've ever achieved in a group build, and 3) I did it, start to finish, in a little over two months. Here's the WIP as a reference: I'm still having issues with lighting so the photos are a bit contrasty, but here they are.

My entry into the Journeys End Group Build. Supermarine Seafire MkIII LR866 / S121. 887 NAS HMS Indefatigable Japan. Sub Lieutenant Victor Souter Lowden Following the release of the Atomic bombs on Hiroshima 6th August and Nagasaki 9th AugustAmerican Tasks Force 38 remained off the coast of Japan. It was joined by a token Royal Navy group built around the carrier HMS Indefatigableand the battleship HMS King George Vwhich was designated Task Force 38.5. Strikes were ordered to commence at dawn on 15th August. At 0400 hrs a Firefly Ramrod was launched followed by six Avengers from 820 NAS with an escort of eight Seafire L Mk IIIs from 887 and 894 NAS. Five L Mk IIIs led by Lt F Hockley (894 NAS) would provide close and middle cover while SLt V. Lowden (887 NAS) would fly top cover with three remaining Seafire F Mk IIIs. As the Avengers approached their designated target, Kisarazu airfield, they found it shrouded in cloud, forcing them to attack their alternate target – a chemical factory near Odaki Bay. Odaki Bay airspace was a busy place on the morning of 15th August, not only the fourteen aircraft from HMS Indefatigablebut also six Hellcats and an unknown number of Corsairs from USS Yorktownheading for the airfields at Atsugi and Hokodo As the Fleet Air Arm aircraft climbed through low cloud to 6,000 to 8,000 feet a gaggle of a dozen A6M5 Zekes was seen coming down from the three o’clockhigh position. The diving Zekes passed the top cover and headed for the Avengers and close escort Seafires. Sufficient warnings were given to counter the bounce, but R/T failure doomed Fred Hockley and he was shot down in the first pass (the last Royal Navy Casualty of WWII). SLt Hockley managed to bale out of his Seafire but he was later captured and executed by his captors. The remaining Seafires turned into the Zekes. With the first element of Zekes out of range SLt VS. Lowden moved his flight into line abreast and engaged the second group of Zekes. The first Zeke was shot down was at long range, Lowden, opening fire at 800 yards and closing to 450 yards with excellent marksmanship. His port cannon jammed causing the aircraft to yaw as the starboard cannon fired but he hit a second Zeke at 250 yards and blew it up with three short bursts. His third victim was engaged at short range but as three more Zekes approached he left it to Slt Williams who had already destroyed an enemy aircraft in the first phase to finish it off. Lowden was forced to fight the new arrivals in turn and, when he ran out of ammunition, he pulled through into a 425 knot dive to disengage. Only Fred Hockley was lost during the engagement. Vic Lowden was the last to land, with no ammunition and a badly over heating engine. At 0700 a signal from Admiral Nimitz had been received which cancelled all further strike operations. CAP however was to be maintained. World War II was over. Slt Victor Lowden had launched at war and landed at peace. Lowdens Seafire that day LR866/S121 had been in service with 887 NAS for nearly two years by this time. I have chosen to portray LR866 as a rather war weary aircraft although I have no proof that it wasn’t repainted recently prior to August. 887 NAS used the 90 gallon slipper tank to extend their range for sterile operations against the Home Islands.. Thanks for stopping by..

I started building this Seafire as part of the Spitfire and Seafire Group Build but unfortunately ran out of time. At last I have managed to finish it. Supermarine Seafire NN341/3A 886 NAS 3rd NFW Lee on Solent June ‘44 Lt RM Crosley ‘D’ Plus 1, Wednesday 7th June ’44. “Lo and behold I saw another one like the first (Crosley had tried to stalk an aircraft a few minutes before), heading in a straight line for Deauville. This time I determined to take a good overtaking speed to make sure what he was, quickly. The top of the cloud was about 2000 feet below me and with 18 pounds of boost, everything shaking and clattering at about 360 knots on the way down, I was catching up fast. I still wasn’t sure whether he was one of ours. I got in behind him, very close indeed before I saw the black crosses on the side of his fuselage. I skidded behind him again as best I could without wasting time. He still had not seen me, but there was not much time left as I was going too fast for comfort and was overtaking him. I pressed the gun button at about 150 yards range for about two seconds, seeing many hits with the cannon on his wing and port fuselage. I pulled up to the left to avoid hitting him. I also felt as if he might have a number 2 up-sun of me, ready to pounce. I still could not understand how anyone could be so stupid to fly alone in full view of everyone above him and towards a beach-head crowded with our own fighters, unless he was a decoy”. “I reversed the pull up and had a look for him. I just caught sight of him, end on, before he hit the ground at the edge of the cloud cover, 3000 or 4000 feet below”. “I flew back weaving all the way expecting a furious German to come at me at any moment”. “On landing I found that I had only used 20 cannon rounds per gun”. RM Crosley ‘They Gave me a Seafire’. Kit:- Special Hobby 1/48 ‘Eyes of the Fleet’ boxing. Paint:- Xtracrylics, Tamiya. Decals:- Kit & generic Xtradecals set. Thanks for looking in..

The Grumman F6F Hellcat – Airframe & Miniature #15 ISBN: 9781912932115 Valiant Wings Publishing The Book The book is perfect-bound with 224 pages on glossy paper, tons of photographs, diagrams and profiles, the modern pictures being in colour, while the contemporary content is going to be black and white due to that being the predominant film format of the day. It is of course written by Richard A Franks, with profiles by Richard J Caruana, isometric drawings by Wojciech Sankowski and models by a group of fine modellers. If you're familiar with the series, you'll know that the pages are broken down into the Airframe section that deals with the 1:1 real thing, and the miniature section that covers the scale models and has a number of builds, plus a host of photographic detail that will be of great help to the modeller. The breakdown in more detail is as follows: Airframe Chapters 1. Protoypes 2. Production 3. Reconnaissance, Night-Fighters, Drones, Test Airframes & Projects 4. Camouflage & Markings and Colour Profiles Miniature Chapters 5. Hellcat Kits 6. Building a Selection 7. Building a Collection 8. In Detail: The Hellcat Engine, Cowlings & Propeller Cockpit & Canopy Mid & Aft Fuselage Tail Wings & Control Surfaces Undercarriage & Arrestor Hook Armament Electrical Equipment Appendices I. Hellcat Kits II. Hellcat Accessories III. Hellcat Decals & Masks IV. Bibliography A concertina sheets of 1:48 Scale plans captive in the rear cover (equivalent to 8 pages printed on both sides) The scale plans are nicely thought out, and fold out sideways with the left-hand edge captive to the inside cover, and the isometric drawings by Wojciech Sankowski that pick out the differences between variants and sub-variants are a dream for anyone like me that struggles to remember the details that separate the marks. As usual with the photographs in these titles, they're excellent for the most part, and as good as they can be for the occasional slightly grainy one that is all that remains of this or that variant. Afterall, there's only so much that modern photo editing software can do. The builds by Libor Jekl, John Wilkes and Steve A. Evans are all first-rate too, with two in 1:72, one in 1:48, one in 1:32 and one of the immense 1:24 Airfix kit, all of which wouldn't look out of place on competition tables at the highest level. Conclusion This book is brimming with interest and information, with something for everyone – the modeller, the aviation enthusiast or history buff. My personal favourite parts are the variant isometrics as previously mentioned, but there is so much to enjoy and it’s all good. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I’m up and running, my entry into the Journeys End GB is:- Supermarine Seafire LF III LR866/S121 887 NAS 24th NFW HMS IndefatigableJapan Aug-1945 On 15.08.45 2 x Mitshibushi A6M Zeros were destroyed, 0.5 Mitsibushi A6M Zero was shared destroyed by S/Lt Vic Lowden Flying this aircraft. This was the last dogfight fought by British & Commonwealth forces in WWII. This is the Special Hobby 1/48 Seafire III ‘Last fight over the Pacific’ boxing. Typical short run kit but if you take your time they build up really nicely. I am building this in tandem with another SH Seafire III ‘Eye of the Fleet’ over in the Spitfire, Seafire GB which is headed for the paint shop, so today was catch up time for LR866. Mandatory box & Sprue shots.. I got stuck into this model and forgot to photograph the cockpit... Sorry... Cockpit is out of the box, with some extra plumbing and bits and bobs added. Surprisingly, no grinding out the fuselage to fit the cockpit (this is SH not Tamiya), I fitted the rather lovely, well detailed cockpit, (as you can see I slightly miss aligned the instrument faces with the etched panel) by taping the fuselage along the top and fitting from underneath then Tamiya Extra Thin around all of the joins with some liquid sprue as reinforcement. This is where I got to, hoped to get a little further, but it’s okay progress. Well we’re off anyway, hope to be finished by the time of the 75th Anniversary of the Dogfight... Thank for looking in....

Last November, during the BTE (Best Trip EverTM), along with @CedB, @Terry1954, @Navy Bird, and the Mighty @Procopius, I got to visit the FAA Museum at Yeovilton, and found this prize in the gift shop: While paying for my new treasure, the kind women behind the counter asked if I'd like to have the author, David Morris, sign it for me, he was standing right there! BTE. Here's a pic I snapped of KD431 in the exhibit hall: Hopefully, this one helps me rebound from multiple recent modelling setbacks, we'll see. I was originally going to attempt this in the upcoming STGB, but I'm afraid that it's too big a project to do under a time pressure, please pardon this sinner Dennis @Corsairfoxfouruncle - I'll attempt a RNZAF Corsair in that one. Well, I want to build it as close as possible to how it's displayed at Yeovilton, so that means opening up the panel between the engine and fuel tank, and scratch building a bunch of stuff to put in there. Panel removed with scribing tool, then razor saw. The wide portion of an eye dropper will be the fuel tank. By a stroke of luck, the plasticard I have lying around is exactly half the thickness of Tamiya sprue, so if I glue two pieces together it is the right size to represent the ducting header for the tubes going from the wing root air intakes. I'm not looking for 100% (or even 78%) accuracy, I just want it to look busy in there.

Does anyone have clear photos of the Supermarine Scimitar jury struts showing their attachment points to the wings - I assume there would be a small flap that opens to expose the attachment points - I've looked through the Scimitar File and Scimitar from the cockpit but nothing close up found. CJP

Hello, I’ll skip the kit introduction as Eduard’s Hellcat in 72nd scale is well known to the community. I’m not a Hellcat aficionado and actually decided to give it a try thanks to the good press and the generous dimensions of the model in this scale. My knowledge on the subject is quite limited and the documentation even less – the good old “In Action” booklet and the instruction sheet of the 1/24 Airfix kit! Subsequently I’ll heavily rely on community knowledge to guide me into the subject – a Grumman Hellcat Mk.I, obviously FAA, more precisely the JV131 with invasion stripes. The starting point is the Eduard ProfiPack dual combo (so 2 kits, a Mk.II or F6F-5/ -5N might come afterwards on the production line, who knows) and a several accessories (Big Ed set, various resins, etc.). Not sure if all those will find place in a single model. For me, the big “first” will be the rivet decal set – never tried it before; I’ll see. Please excuse the inherent English language mistakes that will be present in my post from time to time; obviously I’m not a native speaker but more of a “bad English” category. That being said, let’s roll. Started by removing exhausts pipes from the fuselage, not due to their representation – quite honest for the scale – but with the aim of simplifying the painting of the exhaust stains latter on; I’ll add some brass tube sections at the very end of the construction. I’ve also opened the tail wheel well; the blank proposal of the kit gives some sort of a toy appearance. I’ll recreate some dummy representation of the two fuselage frames in that area. Of course, the 2 ejector pin marks on fuselage inside are now visible and must be somehow handled. As my model will be a Mk.I – with the corresponding additional windows at the back of the cockpit – and because Eduard completely neglected any frame representation there, I’ve transferred the seat back panel to a piece of 1mm polystyrene and recreated the upper part of the back frame. Not 100% accurate, just to avoid a nasty void perspective. Still thinking if lower part of the abovementioned frame is needed. More to come; hopefully. Best regards, Iulian

Hi all. As I wait for the paint I need for my Buffalo I thought I would start another kit. Italeri’s 1/72 Sea Harrier, which I believe was originally issued by Esci and was highly thought of at the time. This will be a straight forward out of the box build, no resin or PE. I will be doing the top one here: Sprues: L Finely engraved detail and very little flash, there a few ejector pins to be filled. My only quibble is with the main undercarriage leg which has to be attached as the fuselage is closed up which makes adjustment for a level sit impossible, so 🤞everything lines up. Also the auxiliary intake doors are moulded closed and will need to be opened out. Made a start cleaning up parts and filling the ejector pin holes: Wings assembled and rear fuselage closed up: Started on opening up the intake doors (a bit rough at the moment): AW

During the recent Blitzbuild Group Build here on BM, I took the opportunity to drag out a long term stash resident the Frog Wildcat. Despite all the parts being off the spruces and the decals looking past their best, the kit turned out really well despite the interventions of our kitten that decided it would look much better on the floor with one wing removed ! The aircraft is a Wildcat Mk.IV. 896 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, HMS Pursuer, February 1944. Work in progress below I hope you like it, let me know what you think. Cheers Pat

This is my first work in progress post so please be gentle on me. This was going to be my winter project, then when I had to go into lockdown for 12 weeks it became my virus project. Unfortunately I have to go into hospital on Tuesday so this may be as far as I get. The kit is great so far, I am not sure if the kit is a lot better than the Typhoon or if I have got better, but so far there are no issues putting it together. I went for a cockpit upgrade kit and I don’t think it was worth it. The seat belts from HGW are excellent and well worth the investment. I have freestyled the inside of the back of the aircraft as I want to leave the bottom hatch showing. I have taken some inspiration from Nigels Modeling Bench but not followed him exactly. I have the Anyz engine upgrade set and brass undercarriage which I have to make a start on but I am leaving that until after my hospital visit. Eventually it will be finished in the FAA scheme as I am ex RN myself so it seemed the obvious choice. These close up photos show up errors and such that I just cant seen with the naked eye 😢

For this Group Build I am building one of the 806 Naval Air Squadron Fulmars flown by Lt William Barnes one of the top scoring Aces of the Royal Navy. The difficulty with aircraft flown by 806 NAS in 1940 is that the serials were not documented by the pilots but what is known is that Barnes flew 6A / serial unknown. So my model will be without a serial. I have built the Special Hobby kit before, there are plastic, resin and etch replacement parts in the kit and there are a lot of them... Obligatory sprue shots Cockpit progress to date.. No seats in yet, and lots of work with a paint brush still to do... Observers cockpit Hopefully I might get to spend a bit more time working on the cockpits tomorrow and get them close to being finished.... Thanks for looking in..