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Short Sunderland Mk.I/II "Flying Porcupine" (SH72438) 1:72 Special Hobby The Sunderland was developed by Short Brothers to an RAF requirement R.2/33 for a long range general purpose flying boat. It is thought Shorts took their work on Imperial Flying Boats to design the Sunderland, however the RAF requirement was released before the Imperial Airways requirements, and Short's decided to pursue both at the same time. The Sunderland would be a large four engined flying boat with both defensive and offensive armaments. The large wings which would mount 4 Bristol Pegasus engine were able to hold 200 Gallons of fuel giving the aircraft a 14 hour range. For defense initially four guns were mounted in a rear turret, two guns in the nose turret, and two guns on each beam. Later a dorsal turret would be added. Offensive weapons were carried internally and winched out under the wings through doors in the aircrafts sides. Later aircraft would also gain 4 fixed forward firing machine guns. German pilots nicknames the Sunderland the flying porcupine and there are numerous cases of Sunderland fighting off superior numbers off attacking aircraft. Radar fitted to these flying boats enabled them to become accomplished submarine hunters. Production shifted to the Mark III in December of 1941. This had a changed hull to improve seaworthiness. With 461 built this was the most numerous mark. The Kit This is a new boxing of the Mark III based on Special Hobby's new tool Mark V from 2019, with new parts for earlier marks. The parts on the sprues enable different marks to be made. In addition for early aircraft this kit contains a small 3D printed set of prop control units as later marks had covers on these. This is an impressive kit with good quality large mouldings and a full interior. Construction starts in the cockpit. The instrument panel and pilots seats are built up onto the deck with the control columns being added. The cockpit bulkhead goes in and there is an additional seat to fit on the bulkhead. At the other side what appears to be the navigators position goes in. The lower deck under the cockpit then is assembled with its bunk areas for crew rest on those long flights. The next stage is to build up the weapons carriers and the rails which winch them out under the wings. 8 bombs are provided. The top and main decks can then be joined and the weapons section added to the rear of this sub-assembly. To the front is added the mooring deck/access to the front turret with a realistic grating effect to the floor, Additional parts can now be added inside both main fuselage halves before you can think about closing them up around the main internal section. The modeler can have the weapons windows open or closed but this needs to be done now as they swing inwards. At the rear of the main cabin the gunners position and access to the top turret parts need then to be added. At the bow the anchor needs to go in. Only once all this is done can the fuselage be closed up. The exterior now needs to be looked at, The main top insert for the turret goes in, then underneath the hull step part is added. Both of these being inserts to allow for the different marks to be kitted. At the rear the vertical fin and separate rudder go on, then the tailplanes, here the moving surfaces are moulded in. The main wings go on next. These are conventional left/right upper/lower surfaces; again the moveable surfaces are moulded in. The wings have large tabs which slot into the fuselage which should help then fit on correctly and not droop over time. If you opted for the bombs slung out under the wings now is the time to add the racks there. We are now on the finishing straight. Still on the main wing the four engines are assembled, each with its own resin exhaust. The two main wing floats then go on. Next up its the gun turrets. All these are fitted from the outside which is a great help when it comes to masking and painting them as separate items. The front turret can be mounted slid back for mooring or in its forward position. The front boarding door can also be open as all the structure behind it is in place. The props and exhausts go on here. The last step is to attach all of the external aerials. Given there are four on the top, eight on each side; and two on the wings it's probably better left until after painting! If wanted by the modeler then beaching gear is provided for the aircraft. Clear Parts These are of the same excellent quality as the other kit parts, and again it can be seen there are parts for other marks on the clear spure. Markings The decals are printed by Cartograf so that guarantees there will be no issues with them. A generous four aircraft can be modelled using the kit decals, Mk.II W3983/RB-R, No.10 Sqn RAAF, Pembroke Wales, 1941. In 1943 this aircraft was damaged attacking a U-Boat and towed in Gibraltar for repairs. Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey over Aluminum. Mk.II W3981/ZM-W No.201 Sqn RAF, Pembroke Wales,1941. In Dec 1941 she was transferred to Alexandria for transport duties. Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey over Sky Grey Mk.II L2160/NM-X. No.230 Sqn RAF, Detached to Greece April 1941. Dark Earth/ Dark Green over Sky. Mk.II T9114/E, No461 (RAAF) Sqn, Pembroke Wales 1943. Late Extra Dark Sea Grey/Dark Slate Grey over White High Demarcation Scheme. Conclusion This is great new tool of an important though often overlooked aircraft for the RAF. The kit is very detailed indie and out. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Short Sunderland Mk.III "U-Boat Killers" (SH72304) 1:72 Special Hobby The Sunderland was developed by Short Brothers to an RAF requirement R.2/33 for a long range general purpose flying boat. It is thought Shorts took their work on Imperial Flying Boats to design the Sunderland, however the RAF requirement was released before the Imperial Airways requirements, and Short's decided to pursue both at the same time. The Sunderland would be a large four engined flying boat with both defensive and offensive armaments. The large wings with would mount 4 Bristol Pegasus engine were able to hold 200 Gallons of fuel giving the aircraft a 14 hour range. For defence initially four guns were mounted in a rear turret, two guns in the nose turret, and two guns on each beam. Later a dorsal turret would be added. Offensive weapons were carried internally and winched out under the wings through doors in the aircrafts sides. Later aircraft would also gain 4 fixed forward firing machine guns. German pilots nicknames the Sunderland the flying porcupine and there are numerous cases of Sunderland fighting off superior numbers off attacking aircraft. Radar fitted to these flying boats enabled them to become accomplished submarine hunters. Production shifted to the Mark III in December of 1941. This had a changed hull to improve seaworthiness. With 461 built this was the most numerous mark. The Kit This is a new boxing for the Mark III based on Special Hobby's new tool Mark V from 2019, with new parts. The parts breakdown on the spures would also indicate other earlier marks are planed as well. This is an impressive kit with good quality large mouldings and a full interior. Construction starts in the cockpit. The instrument panel and pilots seats are built up onto the deck with the control columns being added. The cockpit bulkhead goes in and there is an additional seat to fit on the bulkhead. At the other side what appears to be the navigators position goes in. The lower deck under the cockpit then is assembled with its bunk areas for crew rest on those long flights. The next stage is to build up the weapons carriers and the rails which winch them out under the wings. 8 bombs are provided. The top and main decks can then be joined and the weapons section added to the rear of this sub-assembly. To the front is added the mooring deck/access to the front turret with a realistic grating effect to the floor, Additional parts can now be added inside both main fuselage halves before you can think about closing them up around the main internal section. The modeller can have the weapons windows open or closed but this needs to be done now as they swing inwards. At the rear of the main cabin the gunners position and access to the top turret parts need then to be added. At the bow the anchor needs to go in. Only once all this is done can the fuselage be closed up. The exterior now needs to be looked at, The main top insert for the turret goes in, then underneath the hull step part is added. Both of these being inserts to allow for the different marks to be kitted. At the rear the vertical fin and separate rudder go on, then the tailplanes, here the moving surfaces are moulded in. The main wings go on next. These are conventional left/right upper/lower surfaces; again the moveable surfaces are moulded in. The wings have large tabs which slot into the fuselage which should help then fit on correctly and not droop over time. If you opted for the bombs slung out under the wings now is the time to add the racks there. We are now on the finishing straight. Still on the main wing the four engines are assembled, each with its own resin exhaust. The two main wing floats then go on. Next up its the gun turrets. All these are fitted from the outside which is a great help when it comes to masking and painting them as separate items. The front turret can be mounted slid back for mooring or in its forward position. The front boarding door can also be open as all the structure behind it is in place. The props and exhausts go on here. The last step is to attach all of the external aerials. Given there are four on the top, eight on each side; and two on the wings it's probably better left until after painting! If wanted by the modeller then beaching gear is provided for the aircraft. Clear Parts These are of the same excellent quality as the other kit parts, and again it can be seen there are parts for other marks on the clear spure. Markings The decals are printed by Cartograf so that gurentees there will be no issues with them. A generous four aircraft can be modelled using the kit decals, EK591 - 2U, No.422 Sqn Royal Canadian Air Force, Castle Archdale Northern Ireland, Early to Mid 1944. On 10th March this aircraft sank U-625 EJ168 - J, No.343 Sqn (French) RAF, Dakar 1944. Aircraft of this Sqn normally flew with the Dorsal turret removed. EJ134 - N, No.461 Sqn Royal Australian Air Force, Pembroke Dock, 1943. This aircraft successfully defended itself againt 2 JU 88s, and 2 Fw 190s on 13/02/43. Then on 02/06/43 it was attacked by more Ju 88s shooting down 3 of them, the aircraft ditched in South Cornwall and was wrecked. DV969 - E, No.10 Sqn Royal Australian Air Force, Pembroke Dock, spring 1943. On 31/05/43 she managed to sink U-563, then on 27/07/43 escaped four Ju 88s. Sadly on 21/09/43 she encountered more Ju 88s and was shot down over the bay of Biscay with the loss of all the crew. Conclusion This is great new tool of an important though often overlooked aircraft for the RAF. The kit is very detailed indie and out. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi all and here's my first finish of 2020 - Revell's re-boxing of Heller's CL-415 Fire Bomber in Canadian Gov markings. First started for the Flying Boats GB here last year; never got finished for that but now all done! The short build thread is here but to recap: Kit: Revell 04998 CL-415 Build: OOB Paints: Tamiya Pink primer from a rattle can, Revell Aqua Colours with an airbrush. Klear, Flory Models Wash Decals: From the box...they were shocking. 😧 Extras: 30g of lead sinkers in the nose and Metal u/c set from Scale Aircraft Conversions Notes: The extra kit parts for the 415 model (new engines/Aerodynamic bits) don't fit very well. I think the metal u/c set is needed as the kit parts are very skinny and not sure the would take the weight. The decals didn't actually stick and had to be stuck down with multiple coats of Decal setting solution and Klear. Trying to fit her on the table for a photo was a laugh...just managed it! Revell CL-415 Done_1 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Revell CL-415 Done_7 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Revell CL-415 Done_5 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Revell CL-415 Done_8 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Revell CL-415 Done_13 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Revell CL-415 Done_11 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Happy to finish it and something different for a change. Thanks for looking and happy modelling. Cheers, Dermot

My Do-X X1 and X1a kit quality got better than last year's. Especially, fuselage surface condition. And in these 3D fabricated kits, I included side fuselage sticker to cover outer surface but side fuselage only. Moreover, I added sandpaper set to remove texture. X1 https://www.ebay.com/itm/113708991824 X1a https://www.ebay.com/itm/113708990321 About vanishing surface texture

RAAF Short 'C' Class Empire Flying Boat Conversion 1:72 Red Roo Models During the early stages of WWII before Aircraft production was kicked up a notch many air arms found aircraft in short supply and looked for civilian aircraft to fill the gap. The RAAF was particularly short of long range assets. There were though a number of Shorts C Class Empire Flying boats in the country which were pressed into service. The RAAF would use five of these aircraft which would be serialed A18-10 through A18-14. Aircraft from Imperial Airways were impressed into service, where as Aircraft owned by Quatas were subject to a formal charter. Some of these aircraft would be fitted with bomb racks, and a nose aiming position, and they would receive upper defensive gun mounts. Other aircraft not fitted for bombing would also receive upper gun mounts. In all cases the gun mounts were open with a wind deflector fitted in front. Two of the aircraft would also gain camouflage colour schemes. None of these aircraft would go on to survive the war. Only one was lost to enemy action, the others to accidents. The Conversion The conversion from Red Roo is for the CMR Kit and contains; 1 clear resin bomb aiming copula, 4 bomb racks, 2 browning 0.5cal machine guns, 2 Lewis guns, 2 scarff rings, 2 azimuth arms, 2 wind deflectors, 1 template; and the decal sheet. There is a clear acetate sheet which contains a template to scribe a new hatch on the left rear of all four aircraft. This hatch retracted internally and allowed use of a Lewis gun from this position. A similar but larger hatch was located on the right hand side. This allowed engines to be loaded into the aircraft, and again a Lewis gun to be deployed. The instructions are comprehensive and need to be studied depending on which aircraft is to be modelled. Some had the bomb racks and associated bomb aiming window, and some did not. Again top armament options varied between aircraft. The metal parts are brass and so quite soft, care will be needed in handling these. A full sheet of decals is provided for all marking options. This includes serial numbers, code numbers, roundels, and fin flashes. The look to be colour dense, with no registry issues. Conclusion The service of these Flying boats is only a small part of the RAAF in WWII but still worthy of note. With sets like these the modeller has a chance to build one of these 5 historic aircraft. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of