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  1. Hi folks, I have been lurking around these forums for quite some time now and very much enjoyed it, especially the work in progress and ready for inspection sections. I finally summoned my courage to present some of my own models to the community hoping to receive some honest feedback which will ideally permit me to improve my skills or to question my techniques. This is the recently released Fw190F-8 by Revell, built OOB. Just some minor adaptations like drilled out guns, braking wires and antenna cable (stretched sprue). I use a mixture of Mr Hobby and AK acrylic colours. Although the FW190 is a very popular model, I hope that this will be of some interest to you. The built was hassle free and quite some fun. As mentioned - any constructive criticism most appreciated. Thanks for watching!
  2. Hi folk's this is my build for this GB. There's a little warpage on the upper body part but sorted and the door's now fit perfectly.Three tone NATO paints bought ready for later.
  3. Hello Everyone, I'd like to join with a Revell Sea Hurricane IIc. 1/72 Built OOB. (I hope...) It's been 6 months since I touched a kit, so this would be good for me to get back into the groove.
  4. Hello all. I present you my last build 1/72 king tiger from revell. I liked the kit. The build was flawless. No need for extra efford. The paint scheme was choosen to be ambush camouflage used in the battle of the bulge. All painting process was completed with brushes only. The weathering was completed with oils and acrylics. All comments will be welcomed. Happy modelling
  5. Well now, I've been desperate to get started on my Miniart Panzer III Ausf B for weeks, so I'm really pleased to finally be starting this little Opel Kadett car. I don't know what happened either! I think @Phil1960 and his Citroen are to blame, alongside my fear of tackling any of the 'full interior' tank kits that I can't resist buying. So my first 'full interior' will be a few seats, a steering wheel, and a few pedals. It looks to be a fun little thing to build, let's hope I get to step 20 - glueing the roof on and sealing up the interior - without too much anguish It doesn't look very sporty. 129 parts according to the box. Some of it looks very fragile, and lots of potential crookedness if the panels don't go together well. There's a nice little engine that I might need to show off. The front axle looks too narrow on this picture. We shall see! I hate rubber tyres, so I've got these. They're meant for an ICM kit but I'm hoping that they fit OK.
  6. Porsche 917KH Le Mans Winner 1970 (07709) 1:24 Carrera Revell The origin of the 917 begins with the 908 race car, which was developed at the end of the 60s to take part in the Group 6 Prototype championship that had been developed by the predecessor to the FIA, who had included easement to increase participation, allowing larger engined cars to race, which Porsche took full advantage of. The 917 ran a type 912 engine, which was a flat-12 created by mating two flat-6 engines from their stable, with power transferred by a four or five gear transmission. They used clever techniques to save weight, including advanced metals such as titanium, and doubling the use of some of the tubular framework to also carry fluids around the car’s chassis. The rest of the frame was permanently pressurised to help detect fatigue or damage cracks by measuring a drop in pressure inside the frame, and the child in me kind of hopes that they used Helium to save even more weight and make the driver’s voice squeaky after a crash! The area taken up by the engine pushed the driver’s feet past the front of the chassis, and the rear was covered by a long sweeping cowling that was initially longer, and could actually generate lift at particularly high speeds. The shortening and aerodynamic improvement of the cowling resulted in the K variant that stands for Kurzheck, which translates in modern terminology to “hatchback”. This variant had much more efficient aerodynamics and downforce that allowed it to corner faster than the earlier marks, although those were still used for particularly fast, relatively straight tracks where downforce wasn’t so crucial, and where the conditions allowed, the 908 was still used on occasion. Although 1969 wasn’t a resounding success, 1970 became an exceptional year for Porsche, and as the engine had been successively bored out to 5L, it was producing over 600bhp by then, so was winning more often than not, the 917K winning 7 out of the 8 races it was entered in thanks to its power, handling and of course the driver’s skill from within the cockpit. The reputation of the Porsche brand had been boosted massively thanks to these successes, and were considered by most to be the world leaders in this genre of motorsport, which they were more than happy about. Winning the 1970 Le Mans race made their smiles even broader than usual, and again in 1971, although they didn’t have it all their own way in ’71, as the competition had woken up and were making inroads into Porsche’s dominance. Later in the 70s the 917 went to America to compete there, and again in the early 80s, a change in regulations allowed it to race again in some events, the last being at Brands Hatch in the UK, where it retired with suspension failure bringing its surprisingly powerful performance to an end. The Kit This is a colourful reboxing of the Fujimi kit in a Revell box, adding some swooping white “eyelash” decals that emanate from around the headlights, depicting the attractive scheme worn by the 1970 Le Mans winning vehicle. The kit arrives in a medium-thickness end-opening box with a handsome painting of the subject on the front, and a banner that marks it out as a Limited Edition in red and gold. I guess the take-away there is that if you want one, get it soon before they run out of stock. It’s likely to be popular too, so I’d take them at their word. Inside the box is a large outer bag, with all the sprues inside also separately bagged, probably because they were delivered like that from the factory. There are two sprues of white styrene, two more in black, a small chromed sprue, a clear sprue, a H-shaped sprue with the four black, flexible tyres on each corner, a small translucent sprue of polycaps, the instruction booklet with colour printing and the profiles in the rear, which holds the safety sheet and the decal sheet inside. It’s all very nice and cleanly moulded, belying its 2003 origin, with no flash or mould damage evident, which is always good. The wheels are first to be built, making them in pairs due to the difference in size and width between front and back. The black hubs slide inside the tyres and are put aside while the brake discs and hubs are constructed, hiding a peg axle inside, with a polycap slid over the end of each one after closing up the assemblies, leaving the pegs unglued to allow the wheels to rotate. The front suspension is moulded into a section of the inner floor, and has a fire extinguisher and a ladder-like part layered inside along with some substantial detail painting, which as usual is flagged with letter codes that correspond with a table near the front of the booklet. The rest of the floor pan is prepared by removing some stiffening sprue sections and painting it up before lowering the front section into position inside, and adding the sides, coil-over shock absorbers, then control arms and the combined hub/disc assembly, and more anti-roll bars and the steering arm. Under the nose is an intake that consists of two parts that slide into two notches in the front of the floorpan. The reason the front suspension is made first is because the poor driver basically sits over it, so his dashboard is built next under a deep coaming, with the instruments, steering column and wheel plus a supporting framework stretching forward into the nose, and locating on a pair of holes in the base. The driver’s larger seat with decal belts is placed on the right on cross-members, with a small co-driver/vestigial seat on the left. A full engine isn’t in the purview of this kit, but you do get a representation of the upper section that is built up with the rear suspension, transmission and structural elements that are inserted behind the firewall bulkhead that separates it from the cockpit. The rear discs and drive-shafts are installed either side of the transmission, then the relevant metal framework is placed over the power pack in three layers, the uppermost layer also mounting the exhaust trunking and what looks like a spare rim, although it has different spokes than the others, and can’t be, surely? Over the engine is the air intake pathway that consists of three parts, plus a pin in the underside that allows the impeller in the middle to rotate. After the last of the supports are installed, the rear wheel arch liners are added to the framing, and the four wheels are pushed onto the polycaps without glue, taking care to put the bigger, wider tyres on the back end. The bodyshell is moulded in white, which should make painting it red easy enough if you’re not a fan of primer, and it is split into forward and rear sections at the back of the crew compartment. The forward section has a lower rolled-under fairing fixed under the nose, and an inspection panel over the driver’s feet, with the overhead crescent-shaped window optionally painted red to block out the sun. The rear half has two NACA vents added on the fairing behind the cockpit, and a slim bulkhead at the very rear, which has two holes drilled in each side to accept the simple rear light clusters, which are painted before application. Some little chrome intakes and a fuel cap are fitted into position, then the detailing of the forward half is detailed by adding chrome lamps with clear lenses in the headlamp cut-outs that have been painted black previously, and another pair inset into another recess, covering them with lozenge-shaped lenses later on. The windscreen and grille are added from the outside, and the rear-view mirror is glued into the roof from inside, with a few more chrome intakes added on the door surfaces. The twin windscreen wipers are mounted on a single arm that fixes to small holes on the scuttle, and the two door windows are fixed in place with a red rim around each one. The two halves are brought together, then another cap is pushed into its hole from below, with a small cut-off lever at the front left on the scuttle. The body and floorpan are clipped or glued together starting at the nose, and locating on a number of pegs that slip into holes in the underside. Markings As this is a special edition, there is only one decal option on the sheet, which is the vehicle that won the 1970 Le Mans race. It is painted bright red, with white stripes extending from the headlamps, and running around the side. The rims are black, which gives it a striking appearance from every angle. From the box you can build the following: Decals are by Zanchetti, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The eyelashes are linked together by the carrier film, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with narrow stripes folding up on each other, which should be quite a relief. Conclusion This is a really nice kit of an attractive design by Porsche, in an eye-catching livery that won perhaps one of the best-known races in motorsport. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  7. Hello fellow modelmakers! I've recently started a new project: the 214 Class submarine, from Revell in 1/144. This is the boxart: The build is straighforward, and in few steps you have an idea of the size... The model, isn't precisely small. I love it. I did a first test of the periscopes, snorkel, etc. displayed at the top of the sail: Revell offers the choice of displaying all of them, (...seven in total), or show all closed. If you chose the first option, the observation hatch also remains open. Below, both pieces. But I think submarines never display all this instruments alltogether at same time. So, I decided to show only: the snorkel, one antenna (instead of two possibles), the radar, and two periscopes (instead of three). And also, the observation hatch closed. Then, I did a mix between both pieces, in order to get my goal. Below the result. Alon all the model, there are several gaps to fill in. For this, I use Tamiya Putty, after masking with tape: After sanding the putty, I put the rest of small pieces (bollards, pennants, etc...), and the model was ready for a first coat of primer: This, is after the airbrushing the primer: And this, is after a first layer of paint. The colour has not yet been decided, It might be darker. I hope you like it. See you soon, and thanks for watching!
  8. Just got these tiny wee things from Messrs. Kingkit for a bit of Christmas fun.
  9. My first Spitfire in 1:32. The kit was nicely detailed, but suffered from fit issues mainly on the wingroots. I first attempted to place a spreader, but after adding the cockpit I noticed it widened the fuselage enough to make the roots meet the wings. Decals were the best part of the kit, they conformed to the panel lines without the need for Micro Sol. I did use it to make the lower roundels conform to the many bumps of the lower wing. Here are the photos. Hope you guys had a nice Christmas!
  10. After building (but not getting bored of) lots of Bf 109s and Fw 190s, I decided to pick this 1:32 Spitfire Mk.IIa from Revell. I read about its inaccuracies, but they don't detract the fact that the aircraft will, most likely, look like a Spitfire. I'm aiming for a start past December 6 of this year.
  11. Hello all! I'm pleased to present my latest effort, the Revell 1/72 SR-71. The Blackbird is an awesome machine and I'm really pleased to have this one on the shelf, it's just such a cool looking aircraft. The kit is fairly simple, there aren't many parts, though I picked the Revell version because it came with a nicely detailed cockpit and pilots, even though you can't really see them! I made the kit without any extra scratch building, though sanded off the panel lines and rescribed the whole thing. It also needed a thorough filling and sanding job on the seams on the underside. I used an airbrush for most of the painting with a matt black preshade followed by very dark greys - Tamiya rubber black and nato black. The decals were interesting! They go down really well and didn't have any trouble with silvering but the instructions are all over the place - basically ignore the numbering - and a few are reversed; bonus points if you can spot these! Finally she was weathered with a thinned oil paint light grey panel line wash and some ground-up pastel pigment dry brushed on. It still needs a stand to finish off but thought I'd get the RFI up anyway, I'll add an extra photo when I finally get around to it. Thanks to everyone who had the patience to follow along (things did not move quickly on this build!) and who provided comments and encouragement along the way, the WIP is here: Anyway, enough from me, enjoy the snaps!
  12. I’ve been a BM member for about a year now and this is my first WIP. I feel slightly apprehensive about this because: (a) I’m a comparative novice. having only just come back to the hobby last year after an absence of half a century; (b) I’m assembling a kit under the critical gaze of fellow Britmodellers many of whom are extraordinarily talented and experienced and; (c) carrying out the conversion is going to be complex. I bought the Revell Victor before the Airfix one came out as it was the only one available, and I wanted it to accompany the Airfix Vulcan which was my ‘first’ build last year (and blimey that was challenging). I've since added a couple of the new Airfix Victors to my modest stash, but they're B2 and K2 variants, so I decided to convert the Revell one into a B1 as I think it's the most 'pure' in shape and form. I have no idea how long this will take but I hope I’m up to the task. Please do give advice, point out errors and comment generally! So, here goes: I started with the cockpit. The Flightpath set contains some nice photo-etch for the instrument panel but as there is nothing for the rear crew’s panel I thought I’d make one. It’s not based on reality but I’m fairly pleased with the way it turned out, even if it is a touch over-scale. I made a mistake on the crews’ seats. I’ve seen the Airfix model features swivel seats but the Revell one doesn’t, so I decided to add interest into the rear of the cockpit by showing them turned. I then discovered that this wasn’t a feature on the early Victors because the seats were fixed. But having cut and glued them in place I decided to leave them as they were. My initial plan was to include the three crew members, so I decided not to paint the seat pads, just the backs and sides. I also made a table for the rear crew. Crikey, the camera doesn’t lie does it. They look terrible... I’ve dry-fitted the cockpit into the fuselage halves to see how it fits, and how much is likely to be visible. No-one is ever going to see anything of the crew other than the pilot and co pilot... At this point I thought I’d dry fit the resin intakes to see how they fit. They’re really very nice and hopefully won’t need too much filler (at least on the top). The underside is going to need a bit of filler though... They don’t seem to quite fill the slots in the fuselage on either side... Having done that I set about chopping the kit’s wings. Gulp. Not having done this before, I measured once, twice and three times before cutting but they didn’t fit the resin particularly well (and I didn’t take a photo). So I cut again, but this time along the wrong panel line and with a dry fit look as though they will go together quite nicely. I'm hoping no-one will notice that they're roughly 1.5mm shorter than they should be!.. I’m puzzled by the shallowness of the rear jet exhaust ends though. They have very little depth, so I’ve decided to deepen them a bit. I’m scared stiff of wrecking the resin parts so I’ve been really careful, and held the drill bits in my fingers and turned by hand.It’s going to be a slow job. This is where I am with that so far... As a diversion from drilling resin I thought I’d take a look at the wing assemblies and slice some carrots. What bothered me was glueing the sections together so that they all joined at the correct angle. So I enlisted the help of a couple of flexible steel rules to act like spllnts... That seemed to work. I’ve also added the metal wingtips... At this point I thought I’d attend to the pilot and co pilot. I have no idea why I’ve turned both their heads slightly towards port, but I have. I’ve added some very simple detailing with strips of masking tape to their seats, and added the photo-etched pull handles... They’re now sitting in the cockpit. Incidentally the blunt nose pitot thngy was broken in the box. I'll be replacing it eventually... And so far she looks like this. Still dry-fitted apart from the cockpit and the plastic parts of the wings. I've filled the joints with plasticard and a touch of filler. There's still an awful long way to go. I might have it finished by Christmas 2019 ! All comments welcome.
  13. Hi everyone, This build has been a long, long, time coming but what better time to start it than after a first COVID vaccination! To cut a long story short, over the years I've often seen the helicopters of the Midlands Air Ambulance charity flying over- whether it's coming into the QE Hospital in Birmingham, flying over our home now and again, returning to Cosford, or even while out and about. They do remarkable work and it's only right that I have a go at modelling such a fantastic machine. My previous foray into a 1:72 G-OMAA can be found here, but this time I will have to make my own decals and have a much better go at the interior. Here's the base kit: Colour scheme-wise, there are a few variations when it comes to decals. Although the 2 photos (from Cosford 2019) shown below would be good to use, I also have other reference material with the "Babcock" logo replaced by the "Bond" logo- it's a minor point, but I think the white lettering makes for a slightly more aesthetically interesting model. As you can see from the above, there are a lot of decals to try and replicate. Let's get cracking! All the best, Sam
  14. German Submarine Type XXI (05177) 1:144 Carrera Revell The Type XXI U-Boat was an advanced ocean-going submarine that mercifully for the Allies, arrived too late to see meaningful service in World War II. It featured several important innovations including a super-streamlined hull, a snorkel for the diesel engines that allowed it to run submerged for extended periods, and a huge battery capacity that endowed it with unprecedented underwater speed and endurance. Facilities for the crew were also much improved over the previous generation of boats, with individual showers and freezers for storing food amongst the home comforts available, setting the standards for post-war submarines once the war was over. One example of the type, U2540 was launched in early 1945 but never actually made it as far as a combat patrol due to fuel shortages. Instead, she was scuttled in May 1945, only a few months after her launch. Some 12 years later, U2540 was salvaged and returned to service with the Bundesmarine as the Wilhelm Bauer. Following retirement from service in 1982, she was put on display as a museum ship at Bremerhaven, where she remains to this day. The Kit This is a reboxing of the 1990s era kit of the Willhelm Bauer, but with the cut-away option removed, leaving it with a much shorter parts list and possibly wider appeal, as not everyone wants to spend the time building the interior of a kit. It arrives in a long end-opening box, and within are just two large sprues in grey styrene, a small sheet of decals, folded-up old-skool Revell instruction booklet printed on rough paper in black and white, and obligatory safety sheet. Regardless of its era, the exterior detail is crisp and consists of both engraved and raised details, and there is little in the way of flash to be seen anywhere, which bodes well for the completed model. Construction begins with the dive planes, which are assembled on a platform that uses two rods and a cam to allow the planes to move in synchronisation once installed in the slots on the sides of the hull. Two more slots at the bow are filled with inserts to represent the torpedo tube recesses, and at the rear the aft planes that mount the screws are each made from two halves, a tip with deep sink-marks in both sides, and the propulsion screw, slotted into the respective side of the hull before closure, which is next. The two halves are brought together, trapping the central rudder at the rear, and the two deck plates between the tops of the hull, then adding the steering vanes behind the outboard screws, slipping their axles into the holes in the hull. A four-part base is included on the sprue, and that’s of use now because otherwise your model will roll all over your workbench. Even if you plan on putting a more attractive base on your model later, this may be useful whilst building the model. The conning tower, or sail if you prefer is the next to be built, starting with an insert added to an opening in the port half, then bringing the two halves together, and inserting the two turreted guns in the holes fore and aft of the tower, securing them with styrene washers that you glue to the peg on which they rotate. The 20mm anti-aircraft guns are separate from the turrets, so can be left to pivot if you so wish. The base for the forest of masts in the centre of the sail also has the three crew recesses moulded-in, and a plate that glues under it to provide a base. There are a total of four tubular masts with various equipment at the top, two of which are joined together near the tip, and these are joined by a pair of short whip aerials, square and circular aerials, after which the sail is glued onto its location near the centre of the boat. The final step is likely to be carried out after main painting, and includes a quantity of scratch-style work. You are advised to make up thirty-eight vertical railings of 7mm in length and 0.5mm diameter from stretched sprue, although I’d be making mine from wire for strength. Then you are shown how to link them together in two overlapping runs with thread or wire, plus another two aerials that are strung between the ends of the deck and the sail, as per the accompanying diagrams. Markings There is only one set of diagrams for the main hull printed in greyscale, but there are five decal options for the modeller to choose from, all with a pair of scrap diagrams for the sides of the sail, which is where they differed for the most part. From the box you can build one of the following: U3504 Commissioned 23rd September 1944, scuttled 5th May 1945, Wilhelmshaven U2502 Commissioned 19th July 1944, sunk 1st January 1946 in Operation Deadlight U2514 Commissioned 19th October 1944, sunk 88th April 1945 at Hamburg by bombs U2540 Commissioned 19th October 1944, scuttled 4th May 1945 near the Flensburg lightship U3501 Commissioned 19th October 1944, scuttled 4th May 1945 at Wesermünde Decals are by Zanchetti, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. You should note that the decal for the Kriegsmarine flag is printed without the swastika in the centre. Each decal option has a plaque at the centre of the decal sheet, tailored for application to the supplied stand. Conclusion This is an interesting update of a nice model. At just over 53cm (21”) long, it’s an impressive size, and time has been kind to the moulds, so the build should be straight forward. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  15. Those who have followed my recent builds will know of my affinity with the 747. Whilst my current 747-436 tribute build is stalled (I'm still waiting for replacement decals), I thought I would turn my attention to some more modern 747 kits. Hopefully they will be far less hassle and go together much more easily than the venerable Revell 747-400! The only modern version of the 747 is the -800 variant. Both Revell and Zvezda have 1/144 versions of this aircraft, but which is best? There's only one way to find out - build them both! To start, here are the two boxes: First impressions - the packaging on the Revell box is superior, as are the decals. The quality of the sprues looks pretty comparable - time will tell as the build progresses... More on that later! Regarding the schemes, I am going to venture into the world of custom decals and build these two as 'what ifs'. Both models will be finished in a 'Utopia' or 'World Image' livery, used by British Airways at the turn of the century and then dropped in favour of the current 'Union Flag' scheme. It was a bit marmite(!), but I quite liked it and thought it would be an interesting side project to design something completely different and previously unseen on a 747. One model will be finished in the 'Youm al-Suq' design, representing Saudi Arabia. This scheme was only ever used on two aircraft - an Embraer 145 (G-EMBJ) and a 737 (G-GBTA). Images of these two aircraft can be seen on the artist's website: https://www.shadiaalem.com/british-airways-utopia-project I purchased some decals designed for the 737 and set to work on photoshop, amending the design to fit a 747. Here's the original decal: Then after many, many hours of work, I created something 747 sized: The other airframe will receive a variation of the 'Colum' livery used on my tribute build. This design was quite well received and there were several different versions of this design in use. I am basing my decal on G-BGDR, a 737-236. I bought these decals earlier in the week and have a few hours of work ahead of me... Here's how they look, compared with the 747: Obviously they need enlarging and I will have to make a few modifications and additions along the way! I hope to turn my attention to these two models soon - I need a break from the endless round of filling/sanding/priming which seems to be happening with all my other projects at the moment! Just gluing plastic together will make a pleasant change...😀
  16. Hello guys! I'm pleased to show you my first Allied Pacific Theatre Corsair. I've been wanting to make one for a long time, but I needed the correct paints. After much searching, I came across Vallejo's Model Color line. The Vallejo paints were Dark Sea Blue and Intermediate Blue. The White and varnishes were from the Revell Aqua line. This kit was originally released in the 70s, and remained the only F4U-1A in 1:32 until the arrival of Tamiya's kit in 2013 (Birdcage), which spanned a nice family of big scale Corsairs. Here are the photos. Next time you'll hear from me will (hopefully) be with an Spitfire in 1:32.
  17. This Corsair came with me from the LHS last week. I also bought two Vallejo Model Color bottles (Dark Sea Blue and Intermediate Blue) so I can paint the aircraft as accurately as possible. Both paints were tested on a paint mule, and found out the paint applied over unprimed areas tended to lift if masked. That's why I'll be priming the entire model (something I don't usually do) in light grey, so I can then lay down the camouflage colours. The kit is of the raised panel line style, unsurprising since this model was released in the 1970s. It's been reboxed multiple times until 2013, the printing date of the kit's decals. There aren't a lot of parts, and some of them have a bit of flash, but nothing a sharp scalpel can't solve. I'm aiming to start on this one after December 22 of this year (hopefully). Edit: Startes the kit yesterday. I just couldn't resist.
  18. This 1/72 Revell F-89D/J Scorpion was entered in the FB NordicPower Group Build. F-89D FV-237 belonged to the 57th FG "Black Knights" stationed at Keflavik, Iceland 1962 Thanks for watching! Cheers, Luka
  19. CH-47D Chinook (03825) 1:144 Carrera Revell The CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor heavy lift helicopter, developed by Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol since 1962. Its incredible longevity is testament to the quality, flexibility and robustness of the original design. Over 1,200 examples have been produced, and the type has seen frontline service in conflicts such as the Vietnam War, the Falklands Conflict in British service, both Gulf Wars and Afghanistan where its utility was so much in evidence that many airframes became worn out by the end of their time there. In its capacious loading area, the Chinook could lift a 24,000lb payload or carry anywhere between 33 and 55 troops. The CH-47D was fitted with more powerful engines than its predecessors, adding an additional 2,000lbs to its internal or external carriage capacity. It is often used to carry 105mm howitzers, associated equipment and crew, as well as the usual troop transport role, with improved avionics leading to a production run of just over 20 years, with moderate overseas sales, serving alongside the comparable MH-47D that was used primarily by Special Forces with in-flight refuelling capability amongst other alterations to suit its cloak-and-dagger role. The Kit This is a reboxing of Revell’s 2000 kit, although it has also found its way into Academy boxes in the past, and the sprues have a ‘not Revell’ feel to them, as they’re not moulded in Revell’s usual style or styrene colour, and the bags are heat-sealed. On the underside of the floor part is a small logo of Ace Corporation of Korea, which finally gives the game away. Inside the small end-opening box are four sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue, small decal sheet, colour instruction booklet with profiles on the rear, and that annoying safety sheet. Can you tell I don’t like them? Bearing the scale of this kit in mind, the detail is good, including cockpit and engraved external details, plus a well-detailed floor and seats, but no interior detail in the fuselage halves, with a lot of ejector pin marks within. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is built up on the front of the floor, painting the floor as indicated using Revell’s usual letters-in-flags and an extensive key at the beginning of the instructions. The cyclic and collective sticks are inserted into the floor, and the instrument panel is mounted on a raised area at the front, adding a decal for the instruments before fixing the two pilot seats and two bulkheads behind them, the front of which has quilted insulation engraved on the surface. The two fuselage halves are prepared with a dozen circular portholes in the sides, with a choice of a blown alternative for one on each side, and two doors per side, held flush with the outer skin by a pair of supporting tabs. The fuselage halves are then brought together around the interior, taking care to fill the ejector pin marks and paint it up if you think they will be seen. At the same time, the two rotor heads are built from two parts each and trapped in the turrets fore and aft in the roof. These are left loose in case you want to play choppers and spin the blades later. The floor inside the fuselage is exposed until the external skin is inserted into the gap after drilling out some holes in it beforehand, and making up the two-layer access ramp, which has two T-shaped pins inserted to act as the pivot point when it is trapped between the floor and outer skin. Another small rounded skin insert completes the rear overhang, and at the opposite end the one-piece crystal-clear canopy is first drilled out very carefully on either side of the upper nose, then glued into the opening in the front of the fuselage. The rear rotor turret has two inserts, one fore and aft, in order to detail the structure accurately, and is joined by the two powerful engines, which are made from two halves, plus a long intake baffle on its own pylon in front of the main part. An engine is built on each side of the fuselage, and both have a conical filter fitted over the intake to reduce FOD ingestion during dusty take-offs and landings. Underneath, the fixed landing gear legs are each a single part strut, with twin wheels fitted at the front, and singles at the rear, plugging into the underside, and joined by a small forest of aerials and sensors between the front wheels, then moving aft, the winch hatch can be covered by its door, or you can install the winch on its cross-member in the opening, with another winch further to the rear. If you've elected to pose the back door open, there are a pair of ramp extensions included on the sprues for vehicular access. The exterior is detailed with a pair of antennae in the nose where you drilled the holes earlier, a blade antenna is mounted on the roof, and an extended rail antenna is created by either installing the individual supports and linking them with a piece of fine wire or thread, or using the alternative single part that depicts just the front portion if you don’t feel up to the task. A pair of strakes are finally mounted on the sides of the fuel sponsons to finish off the fuselage. The big rotors that give the Chinook its ‘WOKKA’ sound are each three blades that are installed on a central head, with a tiny pin ensuring alignment underneath, so go easy with the glue and keep them straight. The rotor bases each have a central pin and three more locating pins that line up with the actuators of the rotors, and are glued in place on each one to finish them off. Markings There is just one decal option on the small sheet, and it’s a green US Army bird. From the box you can build the following airframe: Boeing-Vertol CH-47D Chinook, A Company, 5 Battalion, 159 Aviation Regiment, US Army, Giebelstadt, Germany, 1994 Decals are by Zanchetti, which is a guarantee of good sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This is a well-detailed exterior model of the doughty Chinook in teeny-tiny scale, and with a little effort you can open it up at the rear, which isn’t usual for the average 1:144 scale kit. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  20. Hi dear folks, this is my recently finished Revell's 1/48 scale Rafale C. IMO one of the prettiest combat aircraft ever made and it definitely fulfills Marcel Dassault's credo, who famously once said - "Ce qui est beau vole bien" - If it is beautiful, it will fly well. It's an older kit but it checks out. It's a bit basic at times but only in areas which are barely visible anyway, like the open air intakes. They are deep enough to look good but if you look straight into them, you will see the light coming in through the gear bays. Everything else is neat. The panel lines are very fine and considering the kit is more than 20 years old, I had no problems with flash or any warped or damaged parts or forms. The kit also nails the shape of the forward fuselage which is crucial to the planes good looks! Had an absolute blast building it. The fitment is superb, the only problem I had was the refueling probe, which ended a bit askew 😅 It was primed as usual with Tamiya grey primer, pre shaded with darker grey and finished using mostly Vallejo and Tamiya colors and AMMO washes. Although I like filthy and well used planes I went easy on the weathering this time as the real Rafales look remarkably clean. The decals are sharp but are printed on a rather thick film and did not respond that well to decal softener but with a little more patience they were still pretty easy to handle. The whole kit was sealed with Tamiya semi gloss varnish. A nice and easy kit that's great to build and looks awesome quite quickly - a big Thanks for watching. Hope you like it and I wish you a great remainder of this weekend!
  21. For a year and a half I've been working on my "Hawker Hurricanes around the world" project in which I am modeling Hawker Hurricanes in the markings of all the air forces with non-RAF insignia (it's a long list!). In all my research I kept coming across this beautiful royal blue Hurricane that participated in the King's Cup Air Race at least a few times, including in 1950. It is the last Hurricane ever built, an Mk IIc, which Hawker kept and (I believe) continues to own (although it looks nothing like the above photo today!). G-AMAU does not perfectly fit with my Hawker Hurricanes around the world theme, but last year I did a "civilian interlude" and built another Hawker-owned Hurricane, G-AFKX: This GB gives me a good excuse for a second civilian interlude! One goal of my project was to build a variety of 1/72 Hurricane kits, and while my wife joined the project and used the Revell Mk IIc kit to build Greece, I myself haven't actually built the Revell kit, so I picked up another one which will serve me nicely for this build. The kit is cheap and you get what you pay for (lots of flash, for example), and I considered buying an Arma Mk IIc, which are vastly superior, albeit much more expensive, but the deciding point was that the cannons are removed on G-AMAU, and Revell's wings are already molded without the cannon fairings so will be easy to modify. It would feel sacrilegious to me to cut up an Arma wing... I ordered the Lifelike decals from a shop down under, and they arrived this week: Besides the fact that the cannons are removed, another modification to be made is this racing Hurricane carried Spitfire-style exhaust stacks, and I think I have a spare set from an Eduard Spitfire kit that I can use (will need to test fit to be sure). Otherwise I think #41 will be largely OOB. I have to confess, I already began cleaning up some pieces and assembling the wings, but should be able to resist getting much further before start date... looking forward to this GB, I expect lots of interesting subjects in the gallery!
  22. Wiesel LeFlaSys BF/UF (03336) 1:35 Carrera Revell The Wiesel was a development initially at the request of the Bundeswehr for a light-weight, air transportable light armoured vehicle that was cancelled before the designers Porsche could complete the prototype, but because of interest from other parties, development of the type continued, ensuring that it remained able to be carried by most NATO cargo aircraft, keeping the weight down, while remaining suitable for purpose and capable of carrying out its duties. It was named the Wiesel, which unsurprisingly means Weasel in English due to its speed and agility, and the Bundeswehr eventually bought over 300 vehicles once it was complete. Toward the end of the 90s it was decided that a new version was needed that was larger, while retaining the same qualities, with design work undertaken by Rheinmetall Landsysteme, as the company was then known. The chassis was extended with an extra road wheel to total five axles, and it was powered by a 1.9L Volkswagen turbo-diesel engine that was mated with an automatic gearbox for ease of use, ease of maintenance and availability of parts. It was named Wiesel 2, with the original version retrospectively referred to as Wiesel 1. There are several variants of the Wiesel 2, some of which look a little strange, but are capable performers despite the top-heavy look of some of the air-defence vehicles that have missiles in pods above the roofline. The Air Defence systems are named LeFlaSys, which stems from a concatenation of the German leichtes Flugabwehrsystem, or Light Air Defence System in English. The Air Defence battalions have command vehicles that aren’t equipped with weapons other than a self-defence MG3 machine gun on the top hatch, and the crew inside are tasked with managing the operations with which the vehicles are entrusted. The crew consists of the driver under the front hatch, the vehicle commander who can pop out of the top hatch to operate the gun if required, and the battalion commander, with the total interior spare now twice that of the earlier variant at 4m3. Troop carrying vehicles can seat up to seven soldiers in that space who are protected from small arms fire up to 7.62mm by the armoured shell, exiting through the rear door that is common to most variants. The Kit This is a reboxing of the 2010 tooling from Revell, with the new parts that were tooled for the 2014 triple boxing that included this variant of the vehicle, plus a radar equipped Wiesel and a missile carrier to depict the whole LeFlaSys system. It arrives in the usual shallow end-opening box that makes some modellers cry due to the ease with which it is crushed, and inside are three sprues in light grey styrene, a pair of Diehl Type 622 tracks in black flexible plastic, the instruction booklet in colour, with two lengths of bright metal wire taped to it for you to depict the aerials that are prominent on this type of vehicle. The Weasel is a small vehicle as you may have already guessed, but the detail is good, covering the exterior of the body, the road wheels and suspension, plus all the anti-slip patches that cover the upper surfaces. Construction begins with the body shell, building up the sides and rear on the floor, which has X-shaped stiffeners engraved on the underside. The narrow front and sharply sloped upper close up the body, except for the two hatches that will be filled in later. The road wheels, idler wheels and drive sprockets are all made from two halves, but aren’t installed until the idler mechanism and the other suspension swing-arms are fixed to the sides, with two small return-rollers attached to stub axles above them. The tracks are flexible, and are glued together after removing the overflow tabs on the sides of the runs, which also act as ejector-pin points to preserve the detail. You aren’t told what type of glue to use, but I can confirm that liquid glue does not have any effect on the material, so super glue (CA) is going to be the best bet. If you put the joint on the lower run, it is unlikely to be seen after any painting and weathering is completed. They slip over the road wheels without glue, but if you want to depict sag, you may consider adding some glue to the process to replicate that. The rear of the vehicle is detailed with light cluster boxes that have short mudguards and reflectors moulded-in, with a Leitkreuz “light cross” convoy aid on a shield that hangs from the rear of the vehicle, which you get a choice of decals or hand-painting it as you see fit. Several loops and grab handles are added to holes and depressions in the rear of the hull, with a few more fitted at the front. The right side of the vehicle has a half-length fender slotted into the front, with a hazard light to be painted red near the front, or snipped off and replaced by a piece of profiled clear plastic. More loops and an aerial base, then some pioneer tools are glued to the right side, with more equipment and another antenna base on the left, however the left side has a full-length fender that has the exhaust stretching back from the location of the motor, which is then covered over by a part that represents the perforated shield that protects the crew from burns. Clearly, this would have been better depicted by Photo-Etch (PE), but Revell generally don’t include this medium and not everyone wants to wrangle PE, as it takes a little experience, tools and some swearing to become competent. Looking at photos of that area however, very little can be seen of what is beneath the shield, so adding a little black wash to accentuate the depressions may well be sufficient for realism’s sake. Another grab-handle is placed next to the driver’s hatch, with a tow-cable neatly coiled on the centre of the glacis plate, and the commander’s cupola is made up from the base, brackets for the MG3, and the hatch itself, adding it to the hull along with the driver’s simple one-part hatch and a block of hidden equipment scabbed onto the deck on the opposite side. The anti-slip patches are all raised and have a very faint texture to differentiate them from the smooth deck. Some modellers use pumice powder glued to the surface with PVA to enhance the texture, but with the number of panels, you’ll need to take a bit of time to do it well. The smoke discharger fan at the front of the glacis is protected by a cage that is built out of four parts, with the discharger base and the four barrels mounted onto lugs on the sides before it is glued to the deck along with an L-shaped ancillary part. Additional lumps and bumps, lights and rear-view mirrors are dotted around the front of the glacis, including another antenna base, which is where the wire comes in handy. The instructions don’t give a length to cut the wire, but some pictures show that they are longer than the instructions would imply if they were 1:1, but others seem about right. The length of the antenna is usually a multiple of the frequency that they are transmitting and receiving on, so different lengths are entirely possible. They generally stand bolt upright though, so remove any curve from the wire before using it (easier said than done), or use some 0.5mm carbon fibre rod that you can buy online relatively cheaply. A communications expert is bound to come along with an appropriate length for the antennae, so watch this space, or check your references if you’re impatient. The MG3 machine gun is well-moulded, and bears a distinct family resemblance to the WWII era MG42 that most modern machine guns are based upon. It has the cocking handle and ammo box applied to the sides of the breech, and the mount is detailed with a long twin-rail support with a hoop over the rear, and a further support that should allow the gunner to keep on target despite the recoil. The gun’s rear slides into the covered area at the rear of the mount and glues to the front. The last part is optional, and is a single part moulded as a stowed camouflage tarpaulin that is strapped to the hull. A three-tone camouflage pattern is shown next to the colour rendition of the part, and the final step shows it in place on the glacis. Markings There are three decal options on the small sheet, all of which share the same three-tone NATO camouflage despite the difference in shades shown on the profiles due to the printing process, but there are dozens of digits supplied to personalise the number plates should you have something else in mind. From the box you can build one of the following: LeFlaBttr 100, Borken/LeFlaBttr 100, Seedorf, 2005/7 LeFlaBttr 300, Hardheim, 2011 LeFlaBttr 300, Hardheim, 2009 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion The Wiesel 2 is a curious little vehicle, but it’s clearly useful and it has seen extensive service, since the original was replaced by something very similar. The kit is well-detailed, and having 120 extra digits for the number plates gives you endless choices of which one to represent. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  23. Unimog 2T MilGl (03337) 1:35 Carrera Revell Unimog was the brand-name used by Mercedes for their truck, tractor and commercial vehicle range that began post WWII as an agricultural brand, initially built by another company for them whilst using their engines. The name derives from a portmanteau of “UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät”, or Universal Motor Machine literally translated. The range broadened in the late 40s and early 50s to include trucks, of which the 404 series was one, entering production in 1955. It is a small (1.5 tonne) 4x4 truck that was driven by a 2.2 litre M180 straight-6 Mercedes engine and has impressive off-road performance due to a change that had been required by a customer, the French Army, who wanted the spare tyre to be stored clear of the load compartment. The designers altered the shape of the rear chassis rails to allow the wheel to sit under the floor, the downward sweep giving the chassis extra flexibility that smoothed the ride on rough surfaces, assisted by coil springs, rather than traditional leaf springs. The four-wheel drive system could be disengaged on smoother ground, leaving just the rear wheels engaged, thereby saving fuel and wear on the front drive-shafts, and generally improving performance all round. The 400 series was the most numerous of the Unimog line, and was available as a short or long-wheelbase chassis, with the shorter option phased out at the beginning of the 70s, while the longer wheelbase continued on for another decade before it too was retired. The 437 was introduced late in the 19880s and is more of a heavy-weight that is modernised and continued to be upgraded as time went on. It is easily discerned by the squared off cab, and is available in U and L derivatives, standing for short and long wheel-bases respectively. Many variants are used by the post WWII German Bundeswehr, the 2T MilGl being one of them, certified for a load of, you guessed it, two tonnes, with a load bed that has a canvas tilt to protect the load whether it is equipment or soldiers. A total of over 62,000 of the 404S were made over its lengthy production run, with many of them still on and off the roads to this day due to their rugged engineering. The Kit This is a reboxing of the original kit that was tooled in 1995, and although it is heading toward 30 years old, it has decent detail throughout, although there are doubtless some areas that the more detail-oriented modeller might want to upgrade. It arrives in a slim end-opening box, and inside are four sprues and a cab in pale greenish grey styrene, a flexible sprue containing five sturdy tyres, a clear sprue, the instruction booklet in the old-skool Revell style on matt paper with a rough texture that invites comparison with cheap toilet paper. Ouch! It’s a product of its era in this respect, and the instruction steps are also monochrome, as are the painting and decaling guides in the rear. You get a full engine and chassis, plus drive train representations in the kit, as well as the expected cab interior, so it’s a great canvas to work your wonders upon, whether you’re an out of box modeller or otherwise. Construction begins with the engine, which I suspect is the straight 6-cylinder 5958cc diesel engine, judging by its tall, narrow appearance. The two block halves are brought together, then detailed with the complex belts at the front, and some ancillaries on the side. The motor is dropped into the front of the ladder chassis after adding a dropped hook, then the drive-shaft to the rear is inserted into the back of the engine, linking into the two-part transmission with a further drive-shaft heading back to the rear axle. The tubular muffler and short exhaust pip are fitted to a nub on the left side of the chassis, with the long snaking pipe linking the box to the engine and painted a grubby, rusty colour. The big front springs are made up from the two halves and a bottom cap, and these mount on the circular protrusions from the sides of the chassis, ready to accept the front axle, which has disc brakes on pivots installed in it during closure, then detailed with various steering and suspension links. Similar two-part springs are made up for the rear and mounted on large pivots top and bottom, then slipped over the rod passing through the chassis. This allows the rear axle to be made up with disc brakes at each end and inserted into the bottom of the suspension unit, again getting suspension links and a pair of shocks to improve handling during off-road adventures. A pair of cylinders and their associated hoses are attached in front of the rear right wheel, with another shorter one inside the chassis rail, which looks like the air brake system, as it includes a four-port manifold in the hose area. The fuel tank and a stowage box are each built from two parts, and the former has the mount moulded-in and a cap fixed to the top, while the latter is mounted on a separate bracket so both can be installed on the right chassis rail between the wheels. A foot peg and another on the other side are fixed in front of these items, with an empty bracket just behind it on the left side. At the rear of the chassis the light clusters are built up on L-shaped brackets, with clear lenses that need painting with appropriate clear shades, and finally the four flexible black tyres can be installed on the axles, after adding the two hub halves and a free-wheeling cuff in the centre, gluing them carefully if you want the wheels to rotate. The cab is begun with the floor, adding the three pedals in the left foot well, and the dash board with decals plus the gear and handbrake levers in the centre console. The driver has a separate seat, with a wider one for the co-driver that could seat two, and both have pencil-roll upholstery moulded-in, mounting on two raised lines in the floor. Finally, the steering column with stalk and separate wheel is inserted into a hole in front of the pedals, completing the interior. The cab outer is moulded separately with what must have been early sliding moulds, creating a five-sided part that just needs doors windscreens and a roof panel. The radiator grille is a separate part too, and is first to be glued to the front of the cab, with the windscreen and rear-view mirror following it. The two doors are prepared by adding three-part hinges, a quarterlight and the door card with two decals on one, one on the other. These are then inserted into the cab, and is joined by the ribbed roof panel, which repeats the hole for the machine gun ring, and also has a small hatch added to the left wing, plus a snorkel for deep-water wading on the right side, after which it can be mated to the cab interior. The machine gun ring on the roof has a circular hatch, a raised ring, and a depiction of the MG3, which is a direct descendent of the fearsome MG42. Underneath, the inner wings are glued to the cab floor, and a pair of crew steps hang from the sides under the doors on a pair of pins. The load bed is moulded with the tilt erected, and the four sides have the short upstands moulded-in, and also have some creasing of the canvas engraved into the surface. Some of the creases would benefit from softening, but that’s entirely your choice. The four sides are topped off with the roof, and then the floor, which has no detail on the top, but with the benefit of some quick research, that’s not too far from accurate. The first (and only) picture I found of the inside has one single panel line running transverse about a third of the length from the front, which shouldn’t be too hard to replicate, even if you only have a needle. Not very grippy though! Bear in mind that was a slightly non-standard dual cab variant, so further research might be in order. Inverting the load area allows you to add the various ribs and stringers, plus stowage boxes, four mudflaps, and more stowage behind them, and a rack for fuel cans near the front on the right. The cab and chassis are mated, using up the fifth tyre and hub parts to put a spare on the bracket installed on the chassis rail earlier, then the load bed is also mated with the rear of the chassis. A shield-shaped part is fixed to the rear bumper iron with added decals, then the front bumper has two lights inserted in recesses and fitted to the front of the vehicle. The cab then has windscreen wipers, a number of grab-handles and some corner lights fixed to the bonnet, with a pair of large wing mirrors attached to each door. Between the cab and load area, a shallow “spoiler” is glued onto the back of the roof to smooth the airflow between the two parts of the vehicle, and a curved plate is attached to the back of the machine gunner’s position on the roof. Now for the paint. Markings There are four decal options included on the sheet, although the diagrams are all monochrome, relying on black, white and half-tones to replicate the three colour NATO camouflage for some of the vehicle and two of the tilts. From the box you can build one of the following: 4./Panzerbatallion 33 (Green, Brown, Black Camo all over) 3./Wachbatallion BMVg, Siegburg, 2007 (Green, Brown, Black Camo, green tilt) ISAF, Kabul, Afghanistan (Sand chassis, Sand, Brown, Black tilt) Königlich Belgische Armée, 2004 (Dark Green) Decals are by Zanchetti, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It’s not the newest kid or kit on the block, and neither are the instructions, but it’s a solid kit of this Bundeswehr staple that has been through many changes through the years. Recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  24. Whenever I participate in a GB I usually jump way overboard and rarely finish anything. To remain true to my inner character, I decided to leap into this one as well, even though that Tomcat really should be finished instead. Or the Tonka. Or the Gannet,, or all the other ones that are stored... But one must look forward and not backwards, so here goes! I have one new Revell Shack, in a lovely livery: Strangely enough it comes with some new style instructions that are both readable and easy to understand: That was a welcome change from team Revell! Just get rid of the end opening boxes and all is well. Key features for me to choose Revell over Airfix is , well. it's an MR3 with nose gear! It looks almost modern (well...) and the red wing tip tanks is really dashing. But the major thing is this: Rivets! And lots of them too. 🤩 To please @trickyrich I tried to get hold of as much AM stuff as I could, but I had to stop here That big etched fret will be a challenge for sure. Sooo...can I start now?
  25. Eurofighter Typhoon Bavarian Tiger 2021 (03818) 1:72 Carrera Revell The Eurofighter EF2000 Typhoon started out as the EAP programme in the 1970s engineered entirely by BAe, who were later joined by a number of international partners due to a supposedly common requirement, with the constituent partners changing over time to finally solidify with Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy remaining, while France went their own way with the Aerodynamics data to create the Rafale, which coincidentally has a similar general arrangement. Delays and cost overruns seem to be a frustratingly common factor in modern military procurement, and the Typhoon suffered many, resulting in the Germans taking delivery of the first airframe in 2003. Airframes of all users have since taken part in many operations as their operators become more knowledgeable with the type’s capabilities and a greater range of weapons are certified and reach service. The single-seater Eurofighter as it’s known in Germany is a great air show crowd pleaser due to its agility at all speeds, and the impressive tearing roar of its twin EF2000 jet engines that propel it forwards with an impressive 20,000lbft of power per engine with reheat engaged. The Kit This is a re-release of Revell’s 2016 tooling of the Eurofighter, with some handsome new decals from the Luftwaffe’s 2021 display aircraft that celebrates 60 Years of Jagdgeschwader 74. Inside are four sprues in pale grey styrene, plus two small sprues of clear parts, the new decal sheet that is slipped inside the colour instruction booklet, with three pages of profiles on the rear pages. Detail is good, and if you have seen their earlier kit of the same type in 1:48, they are put together in a very similar manner as you might expect, including a simplified take on the slightly tricky intakes on the larger kit that are renowned for being a wee bit too short. Construction begins with the Martin Baker ejection seat, which starts with the cushions that have belts moulded in, has the ejection pack and headbox fixed to the rear, and two L-shaped side panels added at the side before it is inserted into the cockpit tub and is joined by the clear instrument panel, which is moulded in clear for the sake of the rounded HUD screen at the top, while the rest is painted and has a decal for the MFDs, and two more for the side consoles. A short control column is fixed into the centre of the panel, and the completed assembly is glued into the starboard fuselage half on a number of raised locating tabs. After placing 20g of nose weight in front of the cockpit, the fuselage is closed up, although you could just as easily pop it in through the circular opening in the front of the fuselage, or even load up the radome with weight. The lower wing is prepared by drilling eight holes from the inside, using the pre-thinned holes as a guide, and painting the inside of the moulded-in main gear bays, then adding the nose gear bay, which has the floor of the twin intake trunks moulded into it, and has the variable intake lips at the front, which have decals that are marked as number 90, but the decal sheet numbering stops at 75. Before joining the wings and fuselage, the exhaust trunks are glued into the rear of the fuselage, painting the afterburners that are moulded into the back a suitable metallic shade. At the front of the fuselage, the upper intake trunk and integral splitter plate are fitted between the sides under the nose, with a divider slotted in between them. The lower wing is then mated with the fuselage, joining the two halves of the intake trunking, which may need some filling and repainting. The nose cone and canards, along with the upper wings and the sizeable tail fin are next to be fixed to the airframe, making it look more like a Typhoon, with a choice of styles of exhaust petals, either opened or closed with a metallic shade mixed up from two Revell pots, or maybe use a suitable shade from another brand for simplicity’s sake. The two wingtip sensor nacelles are made up from two halves each, and clip onto the tips using the usual slot and tab method, and the spine that allows Revell to offer a one or two-seater is inserted into the trough behind the cockpit, which also has the coaming installed in preparation for the canopy. The main gear wheels are each in two halves with brake detail at the rear, and are attached to the gear legs, which have the retractor jacks added to the sides, with each one handed. They fit into holes in the roof of the bays, and have doors glued to the inner and outer sides of the bays, the outer door having a link and landing light between them, while the inner door has a retraction jack of its own. If you plan on posing your model wheels-up, the same doors are laid flat over the apertures after cutting off any hinges. The same is true of the nose gear bay, although the wheel is a single part, and there is only one door that opens sideways, with a retraction jack moulded-in. The rest of the airframe’s parts offer you a choice between having the nose-mounted refuelling probe in the open or closed position by using different parts. The air-brake on the spine behind the cockpit can be posed open or closed, adding a retraction jack to hold it at the correct angle in the open position. The canopy can also be posed open or closed, and is prepared by adding a palette to the rear of the part, closing over the rear area, so make sure you paint it first. The windscreen is glued in place at the front of the cockpit over the coaming, then the canopy is mounted either in the closed position, or open by slotting the peg on the rear of the canopy into the slot in the sloped part of the deck behind the pilot. Because of the ‘blown’ nature of modern fighter canopies that improves the situational awareness of the pilot, the canopy and windscreen parts have a fine seam down the centre on the outer surface because of the three-part mould, which you can either choose to live with, or sand down with progressively finer grades of sand paper and polish back to clarity. The rest of the build revolves around the items carried under the wings, with a pair of large fuel tanks with separate aerodynamic fins and some bright decals for the wings, plus four AIM-120 AMRAAMs carried under the fuselage on semi-conformal stations, with alternative Meteors for those same positions. Under the wings are a pair of AIM-9 Sidewinders on pylons, again with alternative IRIS-Ts on the same pylons. Another fuel tank is supplied for the centreline, and it too has some bright decals that are applied over a white paintjob. Markings The decal sheet for this special edition is as comprehensive as it is impressive, with large decals for the blue tiger striped upper surface that has a wavy demarcation near the leading edges of the wings, a feature that is carried over on the upper surfaces of the canards. The tiger eyes near the rear of the wings are particularly well done, and there is a narrow clear section where the flying surfaces pivot, and the whole airframe is overlaid with stencils and the usual national markings worn by a standard Luftwaffe bird. Underneath the aircraft is a large circular logo with ’60 years’ underneath. Additional diagrams show the painting and decaling of the pylons and fuel tanks, as previously mentioned. From the box you can build this handsome aircraft: Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Do those eyes follow you round the model shop? Conclusion IMHO this is a gorgeous scheme that will appeal to a great many modellers, myself included, although 1:72 isn’t my preferred scale, so I’ll have to wait for another boxing of the 1:48 kit. This one has plenty of detail, the decal sheet, and it takes up a lot less space in the cabinet than the bigger one too. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
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