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This is the older Revell kit, the PAH.2, which came out in the very early 90's, not to be confused with the new mold Revell kit, which has very nice Tiger Meet decals in it and has a lot more surface and cockpit detail. However I decided as I got this for free, I might as well build it for what it is. Fit is generally pretty good, as mentioned detail is lacking somewhat, you do get decals for the instrument panel and seat belts but the decals in my kit were wrecked. Thus I sourced some from another helo kit so they are not 100% accurate. It makes into a decent shelf sitter, although I'll probably take it to a model show or two as a table filler. If you do want to build a very early Tiger then this is your kit. It's not a bad model, just basic. Thanks for looking.

Hi all, Latest off the bench is Italeri's H-19B Chickasaw, converted to a HAR.9 using the Airwaves resin nose peice and the excellent newly released Xtradecal Westland Whirlwind collection. The kit is missing a few aerials and type specific components, but looks convincing enough when built up. A very nice kit which builds up very quickly and has some reasonably good detail. Painted using Revell Aqua Colour and Hataka Lacquers. The fluorescent orange is particularly difficult to colour match as many photos show variations or fading of the paintwork, so I tried to match my previously built Wessex and Whirlwind as closely as possible. Weathering has been kept to an absolute minimum with just a custom black/brown oil wash applied around the RAF Blue Grey areas to simulate operational grime at sea. Many thanks for looking!

dear fellow modellers, I would like to show you this very small helicopter. It is one of the first designs by Kamov and made its first flight in 1949. The engine only had 55 hp. The kit is by AMG and consists mostly of photo etched parts, which makes building it a challenge, at least for me. The instructions were not very helpful in some areas and I had to rely on fotos to construct the complicated mechanical parts. One of the fotos available in the internet shows a Ka-10 landing on a truck, a ZIS 150. That would make a nice scene, I thought. As it was not possible to integrate a pilot figure into the seat and the control elements, I decided to show the aircraft in a kind of fictional scene after landing on the truck. The closest thing to a ZIS-150 I could find was a ZIS-164 by Armada hobby. That required some work to adopt the front grille. As all of the loading area was terribly warped, another kit by Trumpeter of a Chinese truck was needed to replace these parts. The figures are by CMK. Why one of the officers is holding a bottle...well, we don't know. Maybe he is saying: "Excellent landing, Comrade pilot, have a glass of vodka!" which is full of prejudices!! Hope you like the little scene! cheers, Norbert

Not sure if this really merits an RFI thread but it’s been on the shelf of doom so long I think I’ll do one anyway. Revell 1/144 Apache US Army completely oob, a nice little kit.

Bristol Sycamore Mk.4/HR.51 RAAF, RAN, RAF & Civilian Service (RRK48004) 1:48 Red Roo Models Even while the guns of WWII were still firing, Bristol were developing the rotorcraft that became better known as the helicopter. Their project wasn’t the only one in existence, as the Nazis were also developing their own helicopters at around the same time, sending a small number of their early prototypes into service before the Allies, although to no avail. The Bristol project became the Sycamore, and it was the first British helicopter to reach production, and also the first to be registered as safe for flight by the British authorities just before the beginning of the ‘50s. It went into service with the RAF in time to take part in the Malayan, Cyprus and Aden emergencies as battlefield taxi, medical evacuation, and as cargo transport. Although less than two hundred of the type were built overall, a substantial number were built for the post-war reconstituted German military, and small numbers were used by the Australians and Belgians. They also saw civilian service in reasonable numbers, and stayed in service with the RAF for a long period, with the last one leaving service in the early 70s, while the Australians struck theirs off charge in the mid-60s. The Kit This is a re-boxing of AMP’s 2018 tooling of this early chopper, but with additional parts to represent the aircraft and types that are mentioned on the box top, and in their usual fashion, they are heavily focused on antipodean airframes, which is only fair given their location and expertise. The kit arrives in a thick card box with a picture of some of the decal options on the top, and inside the captive lid is the AMP plastic, which extends to four sprues in grey styrene, plus two smaller sprues in clear plastic. In addition, there are two frets of Photo-Etch (PE), two sections of clear acetate with printed shapes, two small blank pieces of blue decal paper, two decal sheets, and a thick colour laser printed instruction booklet that has colour profiles and reference photos in the rear, plus a separate sheet that documents additional positioning of stencils and the painting of the rotor blades. The styrene parts are well-moulded and have good detail, but as these are medium-run moulds there are the occasional sink marks that are a feature of thicker parts, where the styrene shrinks as it cools, which is more evident in the bulkier areas. There are only a few however, and if they are tackled before construction begins, they shouldn’t pose any real issues. The detail more than makes up for it, and the crew cabin is moulded in clear styrene to ease fitting and masking of the windows, which is always a good idea that is often found in helo models, as they tend to have excellent visibility thanks to huge expanses of perspex. Construction begins with the cockpit, which will be highly visible on the finished model, and this work starts with the two crew seats, which are well-detailed, having separate rails, cushions, backs and armour, plus PE stays that link the two cushions, and lap belts for the crew. The instrument panel is a kidney-shaped unit with instrument backs on the backside, and a decal placed over a coat of white paint, then a PE surface to depict the details and instrument bezels. It will be sensible to take care in aligning the layers, which can be done by using Klear as a glue and to make the dials shiny after painting. It is supported by a long tubular arm that later suspends it in front of the crew without impeding their view. A set of seatbelts are also made up for the three canvas passenger seats that later fix to the rear bulkhead along with circular headrests and more PE supports, leaving the bench seat parts on the sprues. The seats are glued to the cockpit floor after adding the pilot controls in tandem along with the centre console and rudder pedals, the latter made from PE and fitted to the front of the cockpit floor alongside a fire extinguisher. The rear bulkhead clips into the back of the cockpit floor with the three canvas seats as previously noted. The semi-complete assembly is slotted into the opaque plastic underside of the fuselage, which is in turn joined to the aft fuselage halves, taking care to cut the slot in the starboard side if you are modelling a military version. The cowling over the power plant is first detailed by adding a number of PE louvers into the engine intake at the front, and an axle that projects from the underside of the rotor head into the interior. It is then glued in place in anticipation of the clear fuselage and windscreen parts. The clear parts are prepared with small handles, then it would be an idea to make some masks for the inside of the windows so that the interior can be painted a suitable shade and not left shiny when painting it externally. Before these assemblies are fixed to the model, the rotor-head is created, which is a process that will result in an excellent focal point for your model. You are incited to take care removing the styrene parts from the sprues as they are delicate, and that seems a sensible precaution. They will also benefit from scraping of the seams to give them a more realistic appearance before you start putting things together. The main head part is the basis for the forthcoming work, which includes plastic and PE parts to give the assembly a highly realistic look. A scrap diagram shows the completed assembly, and you might miss the second diagram that is for extended blades – I know I did for a moment there. The key step is installing the triangular blade holders that all point in the same direction for stowed blades, and in-line with the rotor-head when extended for flight. The cockpit clear sides and roof are added to the model next (don’t forget to remove any masks!) along with the main gear, which are each two-part wheels with two more parts for the struts, the starboard unit having a box fairing near the top. A small highly detailed winch assembly is attached to the starboard side of the engine compartment, and a long strut stretches diagonally down the side of the fuselage, partially in the slot cut in the fuselage side earlier for the military version. The rotor suppports are added to the tail boom to hold the stowed blades later, and the nose of the model is glued into the front after adding a coaming to the inside, where you might want to fill two tiny sink marks at the ends, and a PE windscreen wiper on the outside. Also on the starboard side is an engine exhaust, which is covered by a bulged fairing to the front, presumably to avoid burning the legs of the crew or passengers. On the port side are a number of tubular step frames, a filler cap and a rear-view mirror, the head of which is PE, so the back side should be painted with the shiniest metallic you can lay your hands on. The steps are replicated on the starboard side too, with more small parts and the front landing gear leg on the underside. The tail boom also has a long, slender and angled bumper fitted, a small stabilising surface, and of course the three-blade tail-rotor and crown. The final task is to install the rotors stowed or in position for flight, attaching to the appropriately configured rotor-head. Markings The booklet contains a general stencil placement guide, and there is another loose page with additional guidance and details to paint the main rotor blades and the tail-rotor in great detail. There are a generous six decal options on the sheet, with a broad range to choose from. From the box you can build one of the following: A91-2, 1 Air Trials Unit, Jan 1955 XN448, 852, 723 Sqn. Fleet Air Arm, RAN, Jun 1960 XG544, 118 Sqn., RAF Aldergrove, Northern Ireland, 1962 XG548, Joint Helicopter Unit, HMS Ocean, Suez Crisis, 1956 VH-INO, Australian National Airways Pty Ltd, May 1956 VH-INO, Australian National Airways Pty Ltd, Flying Billboard for Thorn Atlas (Thorn Australia) The Thorn Atlas decal option has a large pair of colourful backgrounds to the logo, which aren’t included as decals, but are supplied as pre-printed stencils on the acetate sheets. You are instructed to cut out the templates and spray the colour onto the provided decal film, which you can then overspray with clear gloss and apply to your model after cutting them out close to the painted areas. You could of course use the templates to make a tape mask and spray them directly onto the model, so now you have two choices of how to do it. Decals are printed under the Red Roo banner, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a satin carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Early helicopters are usually a weird, ungainly looking bunch, but apart from the Sycamore’s unusual nose-up ground stance, it is a surprisingly modern-looking aircraft. The base kit is good, and the Red Roo additions make it better. Add a bunch of well-researched, attractive decal options, and we have a winner. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi folks, I am planning to scratchbuild a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter but am lacking some details. I have plenty of Plan and Profile diagrams but do not have any cross-section views, which would be needed for me to get the contours and dimensions right. Can anyone here help with such information, measurements and frame/cross-section plans please? cheers Mike

This is my first post in this site. I present you my latest work with my Kiowa warrior in Greek version.This is the Academy kit with the old MRP mold. With this kit i bought the special Pro-cal aftermarket resign kit which converts the kit in the Greek recent version that my country added to the armed forces. The color i used is the AK Helo drab. In this work i decited to create all the possible details like wires in the pylons-missles and back fuselage until the back rotor, quite a hard work to do but the result looks very nice. Finally i added all the details for a stopped helicopter according to the real photos i studied.In the end i decited to build a simple diorama as you see with many scratch builds like satellite, wires, hf antenna, Barrels for spare parts, trush barrel, power suply generator etc. The helipad is created by plaster and lots of airbrushing. I believe that i have a good final result after all.. (Excuse my English..)

This is a 1/72 Bell TH-57A SeaRanger US Navy basic/advanced helicopter trainer using the Matchbox OH-58 kit and the M&E Models conversion. The M&E conversion was injection molded plastic, not resin, and dated back to 1989. It is for the early TH-57A and was designed for the Matchbox kit. It consisted of 2 fuselage haves molded in very thick translucent plastic, a tail boom, white metal rotor parts, and decals. The interior, fins, skids, and tail rotor come from the Matchbox kit. The Matchbox interior only needed slight trimming of the bulkhead tops, and while the TH-57 instrument panel was just a centrally located pedestal the kit part was the full width of the from of the cockpit so needed more trimming. Missing were the collective stick and rudder pedals which I added, but given the translucency of windows are hard to see. The rear rudder fin needed to be shortened. The main rotor was left as an exercise for the builder and I made it out of 2 laminated .015 strips of styrene mated to the white metal rotor head. Here are some construction pictures: Note the white strip of styrene around the top of the "dog house" that forms a little lip that was missing from the fuselage halves. This is what you get from M&E Here it is assembled with the Matchbox parts in in green and brown. Note that the rear of the main skids needed to be shortened a little to give it the right TH-57 stance. Later to be added were 2 exhausts on the top of the dog house. I made them from brass tubing which I found hard to work with and cut and I am less then satisfied with the results. While there seem to be many pictures of the TH-57B & C, pictures of the A are harder to find, but I did find this one: and used it as a model for painting and decaling. The M&E decals where for a US TH-57A (which deviated slightly from the above picture), and an Israeli and UK Bell 206. I did a test of one of the UK decals and it fell a part in the water. So once again MicroScale Decal Film came to the rescue and mostly solved that problem. So after all that, here it is: As an aside in my research I cam across this web site: http://www.jetwashaviationphotos.com/us-navy-air-training-command-.html Which has a lot of good information about US Navy pilot training including this chart: which I found very useful. It is a little dated since the TC-12's have been retired and replaced by T-44C's and the TH-57 is in the process of being replaced by the Leonardo TH-73A Thrasher. Next up in the Italeri F-100F Wild Weasel using the Blackbird wings Enjoy.

For my second entry I am building this Hobby Boss Eurocopter Tiger as an Australian Army armed reconnaissance helicopter. Ironically it has recently been announced that the Tigers will be replaced by AH-64E Apaches. The Tigers had a troubled history, lengthy maintenance requirements resulted in high operating costs and low availability. In addition there were problems with communication and data links. A look at the parts: The instructions are of the exploded diagram style: I also have the Ronin Decals sheet which allows any of the Australian Tigers to be modelled the decals come with a very useful set of detail photos: some parts of the defensive suite will need to be scratched and, somewhat dauntingly, so will the very long towel rail aerial on the port fuselage. A quick start today with some of the major components cleaned up and dry fitted: fit is quite good and it goes together well, the cockpit tub is a very tight fit care will need to be taken to get the nose to close up properly to allow the canopy to fit correctly. Thanks for looking. AW

Good day! Here is my latest work, Kittyhawk's UH-1D Huey in 1/48 scale. The model itself is not as good as Tamiya or Edurad, but it is by far the best one in 1/48th scale. I had some minor problems during the assembly, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. The major drawback are the instructions, so keep that in mind if you want to build one. Referneces and photos are crucial with this build. I have to thank mr. Floyd Werner for all the provided photos and information. Without them, I would be lost. Enough talking, enjoy the pics. Model: Kitty Hawk 1/48 UH-1D Huey Extras: Eduard 49861 - interior Eduard Fe862 - seatbelts Eduard EX564 - masks Eduard 49022 - Ammo boxes Paints used: MRP Weathering: Ammo Mig products. Some historical photos. Note the interior green door and aeleron. Same helicopter at the beginning of the tour. Side doors were still installed. But they have been removed later on during the tour.

This is Shark 20 as she would likely have been during the Sydney-Hobart yacht race rescues in December 1998. Built under the Sea King Group Build but completed too late to include in the gallery. This is the most complex buld to date during my middle-aged modelling renaissance and I think at times I bit off more than I could reasonably chew. I failed to finish off some of the details but have done enough for me to call her done and move onto a (hopefully) simpler build. Painted in Gunze H307 (FS 36320) with some light panel line detailing and exhaust staining around the rear of the fuselage. The build thread can be found here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234975709-westland-sea-king-mk50-ran/ Thanks for looking, Andrew

Finally finished this which has been on and off the shelf for around a year. Cheers, Sam

I recently did my last WIP post on these, so its time for a final post for these. Both Gazelles are the Airfix offering, one from the 80s and the other from the 90s/00s. The first one i started (back in March) got to the end of the painting stage and it all went a bit wrong when i found out i had completely messed up the canopy. It took me a fair few months to know what i will do with it. I decided to do it in the scheme of XX453 used by Qinetiq in a fictional diorama with it in storage, getting brown paper getting applied to the glass. (The wonky antenna has since been fixed) The later kit had decals for a pair of HT.2s, but had the GOA on the top section of the canopy. Due to this of course i had to look at AH.1s and found a very nice desert scheme. This one is XZ347 used by the AAC. This one also has a base but it is very quick, and one day i will make one it deserves.

Dear all, Please find below some images of my recently finished SAMI review kit of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300. The VS-300 was the first practical US-designed helicopter and pioneered the now familiar lay-out of a main rotor and small tail rotor. The kit is a reissue by Brengun of the Extratech multi-media kit. The review article will appear in one of the upcoming issues of SAMI. Peter

Welcome to the Helicopter, Autogyro and STOVL GB. Duration: Saturday 27 June to Sunday 18 Oct 2020 Host: @JOCKNEY Co-Host: @Col. So all the usual rules apply but the most important one is to have fun and enjoy your own build and encourage everyone else with theirs, so the rules cover the usual points: 1) The subject of your chosen model has to be either a helicopter, an autogyro or a STOVL Aircraft. 2) The model kit and any aftermarket components can be of any scale or build material, additional GB points for Vacform and Scratch building. 3) All models must be less than 25% complete at the start of the build. If in doubt, please ask the GB hosts, we are very flexible as we want to see as many completed builds as possible. 4) All builds must have a WIP thread showing progress, models cannot go into the gallery unless there is a build thread for them. If you are building two or more similar models or there is a strong link between the subjects, then they may be combined in the same thread, or separately if you prefer. 5) No buying/wanted or selling in the GB please. Please use the buying and selling section in Britmodeller for this 6) There may be a poll to vote for your favourite build in the Gallery at the end of the GB. You do not have to put your competed build in the gallery or take part in the poll if you don't want to. 7) Please be polite and constructive with your comments to member’s build. I would encourage everyone to support others builds, lots a humour, and advice is the order of the day. Please do not leave comments in the Gallery thread but rather put them in the relevant subject thread. With so many different subjects to choose from this should be a really special GB. Good luck everyone Cheers Pat & Col

What a joy to see a civil Sikorsky S-51 released by LF Models! And with a Los Angeles Airways option (there are three different options in total), none the less! Los Angeles, the city that we, its dwellers, love to hate. I live now in the same county, but not fortunately anymore in that city, for which I praise and thank all the saints of all religions, those already invented and the ones to be invented yet. I rushed to buy one. And what a pleasure it was to open the box and see what looks like a nice molding, plenty of detail, a photo-etched set and decals, accompanied by nicely printed instructions. Thanks LF for releasing a very nice kit of a civil helicopter for us suffered and often dismissed civilized builders! I have built LF kits before, and this new offer is above in quality from what I had built. LF offers, separately, the option to purchase painting masks for the decoration and another set for the transparencies, which are NOT included with the kit. I immediately plunged into frantic research. To my luck, I found some pictures of the intended model, and even some movies. Here are some of the things I noticed: the green color suggested by the kit for that livery may be a little light. Color photos of the Sikorsky S-51 and other Los Angeles Airways helos show a darker hue, consistently. I even found a color photo with a sign of the company logo in a darker green. A mystifying detail: while some of these S-51 LAA helos have the exhaust to the left as shown in the kit, some have it to the right (no, the photos are not reversed, they are oriented the right way). Hum. Photos and clips suggest that at least some of the helos had the tail rotor blades painted a warning red (which looks a tad faded), not black as depicted in the kit. Some stills show a narrow red line separating the green and the white, at least in the cabin area. Pay attention to the P.E. details, as not all helos had the belly elements the same way. I have seen before Sikorsky logos where the "S" is blue, but, lacking evidence, I'll take the all-gold logo offered by LF. You get two sets of blades, earlier and later styles. Check your references! The transparencies look good. Now, I have been in love before, and at the beginning all is roses, but things change as you start to build. We'll see what's the case with this kit, but so far, I am very enthusiastic about it. Very nice choices: Things very reasonably packed, colorful and quality-printed instructions: The goods, nice!: All contents come in re-sealable bags, well done!: Fair, clean moldings with good detail: Hum, I would like to open that door...I am surprised that it isn't an option in the kit already: Nitpickings start here: Why, oh why, do so many manufacturers chose to represent in their instructions very small parts and sub-assemblies with very small drawings? Maybe blow-up drawings, representing small things with bigger drawings? so we don't have to guess what the heck is going on there and/or run for the magnifier? And would it be possible to proofread the translations into English by a professional, or even an English-speaking modeling enthusiast you may be in touch with? As you sell your products through British and American distributors, what about them having a look at the translations? Or asking an English speaker as native language to have a look at the text included in the kit, giving him/her a production sample? Many will be happy with that simple arrangement.

I'm having to take a break from modelling due to eye strain. (Yep, from modelling, yep that's what you get for doing 1/144 scale) I thought I would show what I've been working on for a while.

hi all, As this is my first WIP report., i thought that i would start with something a little bit different, namely the Academy 1/48 MH-53 Sea Dragon. I managed to pick up the kit itself very cheaply on a trip to Heiden model show in Germany. Then along came some help from an under-the-table Big Ed set from Eduard at a Cosford model show and the update set from Wolfpack, mainly for the seamless exhausts. The only thing that was lacking was some decent markings for a Japanese helicopter based at Iwakuni in the minesweeping role. Wolfpack did an extremely over-priced special edition of the decals and kit (which of course i didn't need), so it was a case of waiting patiently until the decals were released separately, which happened just recently. This event was combined with some fantastic walkaround photos of a JMSDF MH-53 from a Japanese modelling friend and i found myself unable to put off the build any longer. So here goes.................. A very big box The contents The only reference book i could find The decal sheet I had already started the rotor head and added some extra detailing before i decided to do the work in progress report, so here are the photos so far. The kit doesn't include any extra pipework and the rotor head is quite bare, so something needs to be added. All good fun but taxing on the eyes and patience even with a large magnifier and good light. The colours on the rotors are used to code each blade to each arm. The red one has no hydraulics as it doesn't fold, so at least you only have to repeat the pipework six times! A bit more painting and weathering, then it's on to the tail rotor Andy

Really nice kit and perfect decal as you can see.A little trouble in cockpit fitting,hatch door is 0.5mm wider.The rest of the kit is fine.

This is my 1/72 Gyrodyne QH-50C DASH (Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter) 3D printed by Shapways. My understanding is that these were used as anti-submarine homing torpedo delivery devices for ships had sonar and other submarine sensors but that were too small to carry a full size helicopter such as a SH-3 Sea King. As anyone that has tried to fly an RC helicopter can attest they were very hard to fly, especially with 1960's technology, so they were somewhat dangerous and accident prone and were eventually replaced by SH-2 Seasprites. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrodyne_QH-50_DASH for more information. It comes from Shapeways as a 3d printed block: with an instruction sheet The block also has a template for the wire used for struts, and the landing gear You just need to supply the .02 wire, .01 wire and decals. I could not find any suitable .01 wire so I either left it out or used the .02 wire. Once separated from the block you have the following parts Because of the way the 3D printing process works all of the hole for the wires are "printed" into the pieces and just need to be cleaned out of the printing powder with a small drill bit. Also because of the printing process the parts have some striations and are little grainy. After printing they tumble them to clean and polish them smooth but this doesn't get into all the nooks and crannies of the block so some clean up is required. Because of this I used Eduard Brassin Mk. 44 torpedoes rather end the one supplied. Assembly was straight forward. I used CAA glue and epoxy. And hear is the results. Here it is between an SH-3 and SH-2 for size comparison Next up is the Olimp/ProResin Edo OSE-1 floatplane. Enjoy

Based on the Italeri kit for the Bell OH-13S, I build the H-13E used in Korea almost exclusively for MedEvac applications. For this purpose, the engine and tank had to be modified, the entire grid frame shortened, baffles attached to the tail fin, the instrumentation modified and of course the distinctive stretchers with the protective hoods on the outriggers had to be built. Also the engine had to be modified, because early models were not equipped with Lycomings, let alone turbo engines. After all a wild mix comprising of a detail set from CMK, a small set of etched parts from JADAR-Model, parts from the Pavla kit, a 3D printing as well as self-build parts from thin sheet metal, medical supplies, finest nylon yarn, lead wire, rod and sheet were used for the model. The whole misery is described here in this build report in the German "Flugzeugforum". (You need to be logged-in to see the pictures, unfortunately.) But it is worth it… Since the helicopter was in massive use in the Korea-war, there are no well documented individual models, which were flown by a later known pilot, for example. My H-13 is a typical representative of these helicopters, which were memorialized in the film and the TV series M*A*S*H. I have built an average type from all available picture material. Not even a list of assignable serial numbers could be found, and I actually even bothered the manufacturer Bell (now Textron) with it, but they say that they have nothing to do with the old military models anymore. It was the first time ever that I took part in a competition with this model and actually made second place in 1/72 against very good modellers in 2017… But you better form your own opinion.

Here is my Dragon 1:144 Changhe (CAIC) WZ-10 attack helicopter which I built back in 2012. It represents LH95112, one of the prototypes, People's Republic of China, from 2004 onwards. Information then was sketchy and different prototypes had some different configurations. The only alteration I did was re-shape the tips of the main rotor blades from square to curved. The tail rotor is wrong. It should be an "X" rather than a cross but I left it as it came. The kit lacked a cockpit and I used a Matador Models white metal Mi-28 cockpit which fitted perfectly. The kit was fully painted with brush and only the final matt coat was airbrushed. Thanks for looking Miguel

Im About to start the Hobbyboss WZ-10, I Will be posting pictures of it WIP and when its done. P

Da Vinci's Aerial Screw (00515) 1:48 Revell Leonardo Da Vinci was a genius in no uncertain terms and his creations still provoke interest and admiration even today some 500 years later. He is primarily known as an artist of the high renaissance, although he often wasn't too keen on finishing his works so much of his output remained as sketches, which are just as amazing as his finished work such as the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. He was also intrigued by human anatomy and was a keen engineer and inventor, with quite a few amazing designs to his name, one of which bears a striking resemblance to an early attempt at creating a helicopter. His sketches were highly inventive, and although unlikely to have worked using technology of the day in some cases, they are still impressive even when viewed through modern eyes. The Kit Designed as a tribute to his original drawings and as a multimedia construction kit that can be built reasonably quickly by anyone from child upward, although with young ones a parent's supervision will result in a much better model. The set arrives in a black box with the finished model and a drawing of Leonardo (we're on first name terms) on the front. Inside is a double-layer plastic tray that is supported by a card frame inside which the instruction booklet, information booklet, material "sails", a themed A4 print, a three-sheet set of plans and a bag containing glue, cord and a small piece of sandpaper are held. The tray holds the laser-cut wooden parts in depressions and the two layers stick together using friction fit pegs moulded into them. Take care when you open the tray however, as it has a habit of trying to launch the parts into space or the jaws of the carpet monster. The instructions and the information booklet have been designed to resemble an ancient document, and are written in Italian, English, German, French and Spanish, although you won't need a mirror to be able to read them as the designers weren't as security conscious as the great painter. The larger of the two booklets contains the instructions, which have a multi-lingual first page and the rest is pictorial so no special language skills are required. Or mirrors. Construction begins with the platform that is made of a circular base and a two part second layer plus a vertical post that terminates in a point at the upper end. The turning mechanism is next to be made with pegs for the crew to push on installed in the upper half. This slides over the central pole/axle and is trapped in place by another ring and is braced with four diagonal struts, then the supports for the screw are glued into place in the slots cut into the ring and top cap, all of which is left to rotate around the axle when the outer floor ring is rotated. The long curved supports are then added to join up the "branches" and form the screw-shaped external edge of the sail. The three part material sail is glued around these rails and later trimmed neatly once the glue has dried, then a needle will be required to thread the bracing cords through the sails and tie them down onto the bases of the struts and eyes in the outer floor ring. A small wooden plaque is installed at the front with the name and date of the design. Conclusion I love these wooden construction toys/models and also have a fondness for Mr Da Vinci's work from my school days in A Level art classes. The parts are quite delicate even though they are made of thin plywood, so allowing an unsupervised child (recommended for 10+) to attempt assembly is perhaps not the best idea, especially as wood glue requires a fair bit of patience. Take a bit of time between sessions and things should go well, and ensure that you have a needle with a suitably large eyed to hand, as the cord is much thicker than cotton. Do a good job though, and it will look awesome in the cabinet, and at a price that isn't likely to break the bank. Very highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Hi everyone, This kit was given to me by my brother in law for Christmas, it is going to be air ambulance as I have a soft spot for these choppers seeing that I am a Paramedic, Helimed have helped me out more than once on a bad job. So I'm quite keen to try and do a decent job of this kit.First update is going to be the usual box, instructions, decals and sprue shots:The box with a nice piece of artwork:IMG_1061 by Neal, on FlickrInstructions in the usual Revell layout and their normal pain in the backside paint call outs:IMG_1062 by Neal, on FlickrIMG_1063 by Neal, on FlickrIMG_1064 by Neal, on FlickrIMG_1065 by Neal, on FlickrIMG_1066 by Neal, on FlickrA small sheet of decals:IMG_1067 by Neal, on FlickrThe sprue, not much flash on this kit compared to my previous EC-135, nice level of detail too for a small scale:IMG_1068 by Neal, on FlickrIMG_1069 by Neal, on FlickrIMG_1070 by Neal, on FlickrIMG_1071 by Neal, on FlickrSo I've already made a start on the build but will wait a bit to an update as I really need to finish my "Planes on a pole" sig entry before getting carried away with new builds.Take it easy guys.Neal