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Antonov An.225 Mrija (04957) 1:144 Revell Beginning life as an enlargement of the An-124, the An-225 was developed to carry the Soviet Buran Space Shuttle, which obviously wasn't to be a long engagement, and after a period in mothballs, it was re-engineered to be used by Antonov for carrying oversize loads, which it now does all over the world. There is only one airframe in existence due to the expiry of funding during construction of the 2nd airframe, which after more than a few false-restarts, only now might see completion to be used by another carrier in China. It holds a few world records for wingspan of an operational aircraft and for carrying the heaviest single load. The conversion of the An-124 involved lengthening the fuselage and wings to accommodate another two engines, and of course the number of wheels and gear legs were increased too to spread the load around, with the innovative "kneeling" nose wheel arrangement that makes loading cargo through the front visor an easier task. Its first commercial flight involved transporting four main battle tanks, a task that gives an idea of the huge capacity in terms both of volume and weight that this monster has. It has been surprisingly active, as its capacity and cost hits the right spot on more occasions than you would think. It also pinched the title of largest cargo plane in service from the American C-5 Galaxy, which it is fairly substantially bigger than, even in 1:144. The Kit This is a re-release from Revell of their completely new tool. At first look it might seem an odd choice when you consider that there is only one airframe extant on this blue marble of ours. That said, it is a stunningly massive monster of a gigantic behemoth. Seriously though, if you've ever seen this aircraft at a show or in the air, it will have made an indelible impression on your retina, as your mind struggles to comprehend just how large it is. The same thing will probably cross your mind when you admire the box on the shelf of your local hobby shop, or when it arrives at your front door. It's a big'un with the box measuring 43 x 60 x 12cm, and yes. It's also a top-opener, which is nice. There are only seven sprues of white styrene, plus one of clear parts, but with the exception of the clear parts, they're pretty large sprues, and there are a lot of parts. The boxing is very much a paired down version of the original kit, there is no separate nose, no interior and no landing gear, indeed a stand is now included to display the model on. First impressions are excellent. The quality of the tooling is very fine and crisp as befits a 1:144 model, with lots of detail.. The breakdown of the parts also shows a great deal of thought has been put into the construction and long-term welfare of the model once it is on display. Construction begins with the interior structure that will support the massive kit, there are to bulkheads and a linking part. The tiny cockpit is a single part that is painted up and attached to the top of the roof at the front, while another spacer is fixed to the roof toward the rear of the assembly. At this point the fuselage is still open aft of the wing leading edge, which is closed by the large T-shaped insert that has a sturdy spar applied to its inside, and includes the inboard upper section of the wings for strength and to prevent any tricky seams being pulled open by the weight of the wings. At the rear another spar is installed in the tail to accept the empennage later in the build. The canopy is fitted at this point too, sliding in from the front. A similar insert is fitted under the fuselage straddling the main gear bays. As already mentioned, the upper wing root is a single part that spans the fuselage, and has a stiffening spar fitted to stop the model's own weight from pulling it apart. The upper wing panels are attached to the end of this centre section, with a portion of the spar and a U-shaped mating surface also helping seam integrity. This is all then hidden away by closing up the wing using the full-span lower panel, which is repeated on the other side, with clear wingtip lights added. The Mrija's angled H-tail is next, with the upstands and the horizontals made up from two parts each, fitted together over the aft spar to obtain the correct angle, with the uprights perpendicular to them, as shown in a scrap diagram. The two dorsal humps over the wing roots are made up from two parts each and applied to the surface on their raised positions. At this stage the 225 is looking like the world's biggest glider, as the wings are devoid of engines, of which you must now build six. The internals are identical, so with the fan, trunking and intake lip added together, they are inserted into the six external housings and pylons that are all different, so take note of which construction step each one represents with a mark inside the pylon or similar. Each wing also has six flap actuator fairings, which are two parts each and again fit in only one slot on the wing, so be careful not to get them mixed up. With those in place, the engine pods are added to their recesses on the wing, locating with two pins for additional strength. As this is the in-flight option has all the bay doors fitted flush. After a few aerials are fitted on the nose, additional drawings show how the two open options should look once complete. Markings One airframe in existence, so there's one scheme, right? Not quite, this decal sheet has markings the airframe wore 1992 to 2007, and the slightly different ones 2007 to 2008 The decal sheet is very long, as it has a set of cheat lines, they are printed for Revell by Cartogrf (designed by Daco), with good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The only thing that I will mention is that the yellow in the Ukrainian national markings is printed as orange for some reason? Conclusion It's hard not to be impressed by this kit, and not just from a point of view of size. The quality of the tooling is excellent, the level of detail is first-rate, and the engineering expertise that has gone into creating it is impressive, demonstrating a desire for the complete model to sit on your shelf for years to come without concern for it pulling itself to pieces under its own weight. Splendid! The price-point represents good value when compared to other similar-sized kits, and what's included improves that further. If you have the space in your stash and/or on your shelf, there's nothing holding you back, and even if you don't have the space, when has that ever stopped us? Extremely highly recommended. Revell model kits are also available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Heinkel He 111 H-6 (03863) 1:48 Revell The He.111 was originated in secrecy, disguised as a civilian transport in the mid-30s, but once Nazi Germany came out of the closet and disregarded the Versailles agreement, it immediately became clear that they were rearming in a major way. The early civilian and military variants had a more traditional stepped canopy, and there is a famous piece of film that is used and reused in documentaries showing a D or "Dora" variant dropping bombs during the Spanish Civil War as part of the Condor Legion, which was Hitler's proving ground for his new designs and Blitzkreig tactics. Various revisions followed until the P, which introduced the now-iconic stepless fully glazed cockpit, which improved both aerodynamics and the pilot's situational awareness. The P series saw limited action in WWII as it was replaced by the more competent H variant, substituting Junkers Jumo 211 engines, detuned to give it the throbbing beat that was to be heard over Britain almost until the end of the war. The H-3 had an improved version of the engine and increased numbers of machine guns for self-defence. As is often the case with wartime development, the end of the Battle of Britain saw the introduction of the H-4 with better engines and external bomb racks. The H-6 had improvements in design. The Jumo 211 F-1 engine gave it increased. Defensive armament was upgraded with one 20 mm MG FF cannon in the nose, one MG 15 in the ventral turret, and in each of the fuselage side windows, some carried tail-mounted MG 17s. The performance of the H-6 was also improved; he climb rate was higher and the machine could reach a slightly higher ceiling. Overall weight of the H-6 increased to 14,000 kg (30,600 lb). The Kit This is a reboxing of the excellect ICM kit, ICM have raised their game substantially over the recent years and Revell are tapping into this with their homemarket distribution system. The kit arrives in their lidded top-opened with a glossy card lid and painting to top it off, with 11 sprues in medium, grey styrene, and two in crystal clear styrene, an instruction booklet in line-drawn colour, and a long decal sheet that can be found ensconced within the booklet. On opening the bags, it is very apparent that this is a modern tooling, with lots of lovely details, crisp moulding, and some very clever engineering on display. This version also includes torpedoes which the variant could use. Construction starts with the two wing spar parts, which are separated by the gear bay roof assemblies and a walkway part. Additional detail is added to the bulkheads along with the fuselage walkways and a smaller bulkhead toward the tail, with the lower portion of the mid-upper "turret" ring attached to the floor. The cockpit floor is then assembled with rudder pedals, instrument panels, seat and control linkages, slotting into the front spar once finished. An additional chair and the overhead instrument panel are installed later in the build. As a prelude to closing up the fuselage, the tail wheel is fitted together, which has the wheel moulded-in, and consists of three parts. Preparation of the fuselage halves involves adding the inserts into the wing roots and making good the join; inserting the paired side windows; adding ammo can racks; radio panel; the pilot's control column, and more glazing in the ventral gondola. The spar/cockpit assembly is then fitted to the starboard fuselage half and the port side is added along with some glue. The rudder is separate and fits to the fin with actuators, then the missing fuselage panels between the spars are added, which of course will need painting and fettling in if you're bothered about the "endoscope brigade". If you are intending to fit the tail armament option then the tail cone will need to be sawn off and the new one added. The mid-upper insert is designed to cater for different "turret" installations, and has a lovely serrated ring moulded-in, with controls and bracing strut added before it is installed into the fuselage opening, closing off much of the rear fuselage. You can pose the bomb bay open or closed by selecting one of the two panels, one of which has opening for the bomb bay, where the bombs are suspended tail-first in a framework that is peppered with lightening holes so that the included bombs are visible within. With the bomb bay finished, it is inserted into the fuselage from below, filling yet another gap in the skin. Even if you are leaving the bays closed, the bomb bay can be seen from the side windows, so it's best to build that assembly and install it anyway to prevent that section from being see-through from the sides. Racks for either bombs or torpedoes are added to the underside. The bombs themselves are built up from two halves that have two fins moulded-in, and a single part that fits on the tail forming the other two fins in a cruciform layout. To these are added stiffening brackets, with two bombs in total to make externally or two torpedoes. These are two part main bodies with main propeller and a 6 part tail to be made up and added. At this point the wings are begun, with the lower sides added to the fuselage/spar assembly first. The ailerons are separate, and are built up before the uppers are added, as are the elevators, and the two engines, which are provided in their entirety, along with much of the ancillary equipment and engine mounts. The completed Jumo 211s are fitted to the front of the spars and depending on whether you want to display them or not, and then enclosed by cowling panels, radiators and the intake/outlet ramps. The bottom cowlings can be split to reveal the engine detail, which is a good way of showing off the detail without ruining the lines of the aircraft. The upper wings and ailerons are fitted, the remaining cowling panels with the exhausts are added, with the latter having a decent indent at the tip to simulate being hollow, and finally the nose glazing, which has a machinegun and the aforementioned overhead instrument panel, which is moulded in clear styrene and is provided with a decal for the instruments. The nose "cone" is a separate clear part, and it too is fitted with a machine gun with a choice of single or twin drum mags and dump bag for the spent brass. Another two MGs are fitted to the front and rear glazing on the gondola, and the mid-upper gun is added to the turret ring, along with the protective clear shroud at the front. A different nose cone is provided if using the heavier armament and a different underside blister noses is included. A new clear rear blister nose is also included in the new box. A new open or closed top blister is also included. The main wheels are each built up from two halves, and placed between the twin legs that have the main retraction jacks moulded in, and secured with a number of cross-braces between the two legs. An additional ram is fitted within the bay, attached to the rear cross-brace. The gear bay doors fit to the bay sides with large tabs, as do the bomb bay doors if you are using them, and these last parts have the correctly separated four "petals" that are seen on the real thing, rather than a single panel. The props are made up from a single part with two part spinner and back plate, which fit onto the engine's output shaft through the vented front of the cowlings. Markings There are tow decal options included in the box, one of which share the same RLM70/71 splinter pattern over RLM65, and the other is in the ETO scheme as per the box top. From the box you can build one of the following: 1H+MM, 4./KG 26 Sicily Aug 1941 G!+EH, 1./KG 55, Russia, Aug 1941 Decals are designed by AirDOC and printed in Italy. These can easily be cut off before they are applied however, so it's not an issue. No swastikas are provided so the modeller will have to source these. Conclusion The He.111 is a truly iconic shape, and we're long overdue a new tooling of the type in this scale. This is a great kit for Revell to have in their inventory. Very highly recommended. Revell model kits are also available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Hi Folks, its been a long time since I've posted any builds. That's all down to the fact that we have recently moved house, most sensible people at our age downsize but we broke with convention and went big, very big! But's that's another story. Anyway after setting up my new man cave and every thing else to do with a new house it was time to get back into modelling, I thought I would start simple with a Spitfire and a Mustang. First the Spitfire, I had picked this one up for a tenner from Hobbycraft, and was really disappointed. Raised panel lines and only 34 peices (well what did I expect at that price). Lots of flash, but to be fair not a bad fit when that was taken care of but the cockpit canopy was a terrible fit. It was at this stage I thought I would experiment, I've always fancied having a go at Invasion Stripes so this was going to become more of a paint mule. So here it is completed, apologies to the purists amongst you, I'm fairly certain that no Mk2's made it to D-Day although if you Google Mk2 Spitfire with Invasion Stripes you do see a Spitfire with these code letters having Invasion Stripes slapped on, I know there's a lot of things wrong with it but as usual welcome comments and critisisms. As I said a totally fictitious aircraft, this is another one that will be donated to an elderly aunt who was associated with the Spitfire factory in Birmingham during the war. Fortunately she likes Spitfires in any colour or size. Thanks for looking.

These are a few recent builds of 1/72 scale Typhoons. All carrying Centenary celebration schemes. 29(R) Squadron Centenary Typhoon FRG.4 ZK353. ZK353 was marked with Typhoon Display Team corporate logos as well as commemorating 100 years of 29(R) Squadron. The aircraft was flown throughout the 2015 display season 6 Squadron Centenary Typhoon FGR.4 ZK342. In 2015 ZK342 recieved a scheme to commemorate the centenary anniversary of 6 Squadron. The tail and spine were covered in a desert camo scheme representative of that worn by the unit when operating Hurricanes during WWll Xl(F) Squadron Centenary Typhoon FGR.4 ZJ925 In 2015 ZJ925 was painted in a scheme to commemorate the Centenary of XI(F) Squadron. The tail and spine was black with gold squadron Crest and carried the code DXI. The aircraft was used on normal operations and also deployed on exercise to Kenya and Turkey

Hi folks, Well, as a not exactly even keeled singer from Boston used to sing, I'm back in saddle again. New home away from Paris, and a very nice 20 sq meter room in the basement just for me and my models. After a 10 month hiatus in modelling, I decided to tackle something I knew before going for stronger stuff. And I think I kinda know Revell's Tornado quite well. So : - one Revell IDS Tornado: check - one Mission Mark Decals "AMI Tornado before turnig grey" decal sheet: check - HARM missiles and pylons from Kinetic Hornet kit: check Let's roll. As usual, I carefully ignored the instructions (they are often wrong and induce an overuse of putty I'm totally not interested in). First things first: the air intake veins with the auxiliary intake doors fairings: Intake veins assembled and glued to the fuselage bottom: Quite a bit of flash on the wing glove seals parts: The wing gloves are glued to their fuselage sides and the sides are glued to the fuselage bottom: Wing pivots are glued in place (instruction are wrong there about which part goes where, something you'll have to get used to on Revell Tornadoes). Wings are assembled and glued on their pivot. There was a melted hole on the fuselage top I don't know the origin of. Well, it happens. The airbrake are glued to the fuselage top. With a bit of caution, no putty will be needed. And the fuselage top is glued in place. A bit of persuasion will be needed, but nothing much. The intakes are built (this is the messiest part so far, I used cyanoacrylate and accelerant as a putty for the joint lines under the intakes) and glued to the fuselage. The joints are rather clean so far: The airbrakes region will need some work, but nothing serious: The front end is quite good: I ground away the bits inside the upper fixed part of the wing: Then I glued them in place and added the fin: To be continued ith the cockpit. Cheers, S.

I present my Revell Airbus A319 in the retro BEA ‘Red Square’ Livery to commemorate 100 years of British Airways. I love this livery, it really brings a sense of the past depicted on a modern Airliner. I have another retro scheme I am working on which is the B744 in the BOAC livery. The build was OOB with the Decals from Classic Airlines. This was originally going to be an Alligent Air A319 but I made a complete mess of it at the time, and what I was left with was something that was fit for the bin... I saw these decals a while ago and knew I had to do this lovely scheme. I tried to tidy up the kit as best I could, then repainted it. I was tempted to buy another A319 kit but seeing as it has ceased to be produced anymore and the prices for them on eBay are obscene, I opted to give it a new beginning. The paint used was Humbrol Gloss White for the upper fuselage. The lower fuselage and engine nacelles I initially went for Halfords Racking Grey then went over it with Revell 371 Aqua paint. The wings were done using Revell 371 and then the coroguard a lighter version of Revell 374. I have now managed to pick up some Holts grey that I will be using on my future Airbus builds. Blacks and metals were various Revell Aqua colours. The decals are lovely, and laser printed. They are very easy to work with and manipulate around the curves of the nose. They are translucent though, and I wish I had filled the windows in when I made the kit over a year ago... they really look great on the model. As always thank you for looking and any constructive feedback and comments are very welcome. Regards, Alistair I was too excited to share this with you that I forgot to add the antennas... Here is the progress I have so far with my BOAC 744...

So far i've built a 144th scale and 2 of the 72nd scale This happens to be my 4th overall build ever...48th Scale...and am still learning... I went for the #32 French Rafale M instructions from the box Since I have to use locally sourced resources...like student/fabric acrylic colours instead of pro grade airbrush paints, I had to experiment a looooooot right from making DIY thinner to using inks for transparent parts to using clear epoxy glue as glass on GBU sensor tips I also had to learn how to use soft pastels as weathering powder...that was fun It's mostly OTB, but I call the build custom ...because the reffernce of #32 rafale m was clean and I wanted to throw in as many learning opportunities in this build as I could... that includes some differently coloured panels (which also serve as excuse to cover up scratches i accidentally caused ) The cockpit has mostly a standard build because I wanted a closed canopy but added some scratch-built details on the Seat like belts and pipes, mirrors on canopy etc (see build log image) Added some wires and stuff to landing gear detail Obviously there are mistakes and errors ..tons of them...some mine...some resource limitations...and some revell's doing (Light on the right is supposed to be green but the instructions said blue...and i was sleepy )... Colours are all mixed from standard Six pack of student acrylic colours so i'll take creative freedom on colour accuracy but tried my best Find my Full Album (45 images) on Flickr Here --->

OK so I couldn't let all you 'rebel scum' have your own way in the group build I'm going to be building this: It's a Revell kit, but a rebox of a FineMolds kit, it's pretty pricey (for what you get), though I didn't pay full price for it. It's a pretty simple kit, all the parts come in a standard, pretty flimsy Revell cardboard box that opens on the ends. It includes some decals for the interior, etc. A colour instruction booklet 3 grey sprues (one entirely for the stand, other than the tiny Vader) and a clear sprue for the window/top hatch, all shoved together in a single bag (other than the clear parts in a separate bag inside). Note one of the pieces had detached in transit/storage and the handlebars/yoke has one of the very flimsy arms bent out of shape/almost about to snap off, the mouldings however seem pretty crisp with little or no flash, injector marks, etc. It seems like it'll be a pretty quick and fun build other than masking the canopy bits, I have no idea on how Revell rank their kits (this being the top level 5), I'm fairly sure I've built more complex aircraft from them before at lower ratings.

Good evening all, This is my latest completion, it started out as a Canada Day quick build back in July but like all builds it dragged on a bit! Although 4 months for a build is quite quick for me lol! So this is the Revell version with a few slight modifications. All the sticky out bits were removed as the fuselage was relatively clean. I did have to make two additions, one on the tail and one under the cockpit. These were made from plastic square section rod shaped appropriately. The seats were reshaped as the kit ones are incorrect and the sponson internals were boxed in. The only extra I added were Airfix intakes as they were deeper and looked better than the Revell offering. I used Model Master Acrylics for the paint finish, the colours aren't 100% accurate but good enough and the decals are from a Cutting Edge set for Seakings. Unfortunately this lacks severely in stencilling which is quite prominent, I used what I could from other sets but didn't go overboard. I also had a major disaster for the "Royal Canadian Navy" decals. While I was doing a little touch up I pulled half of the letting off with tape but alas not much I can do about that. So here she is Seaking 4001 of the Royal Canadian Navy. Cheers now Bob

I want to start a second build. It will be the 1/2700 Revell Imperial Star destroyer. It is from origin a Zvesda kit that Revell has reboxed. It will be straight from the box. I think that the most work will go into the painting. Here are the pictures. The box and content. I have already made a first start, with mating the front and back hull parts. It is massive. The length is 60 centimeters. This now kneeds to dry before I can go further. Cheers,

Boeing 727-31C Trans World Airlines, early 1960s Revell 1/144 727 kit with all surface detail sanded off and rescribed Finish is Halfords Appliance White, AK Extreme Metal Polished Aluminium and various Xtracrylic greys Decals from Classic-Airlines.com This is the scheme in the early Airfix 727 kit and I think it's one of the most attractive 727 schemes. Not entirely happy with the nose and nose gear areas on this one. I shortened the kit nose leg and fitted some smaller nosewheels which improved things.

Hi again, This is my latest build. It's looking like my camera skills haven't improved one bit, I need to figure out a better location/setup to take photos of my models, sorry about that. Anyway, this is the build: Kit: Revell F-89D/J (No. 4568) Model: Northrop F-89D Scorpion (USAF) Scale: 1/48 Aftermarket: None Paints: Vallejo Model, Air & Metal Color Weathering: Oil paints, Flory Models Wash The kit was by no means perfect (it's from the early 90's) - nor was my build of the kit ( I can point out dozens of mistakes...) - but all in all I'm still very happy with the overall look. I did not stress about it too much but was just enjoying the build and was in awe how cool a plane the Scorpion really is So I hope you enjoy. All comments & constructive criticism are welcomed! One thing that I'm trying to figure out the best way to weather raised panel line kits, washes don't really work that well. Maybe some airbrush magic? Would love to hear your thoughts on that. And here's a shot with Monogram F-102 Delta Dagger I did earlier this year. Big planes, both of them!

Hi all, here are the final pictures of the Mistress of the dark's cool ride. For such an old kit I was surprised how well it went together, once I had got the Leopard skin effect sorted out, I relaxed and really enjoyed getting this kit built. The purple flecks in the paintwork are not easy to photograph as it's very subtle, but really adds to the macabre theme I think. It's not a paint but a salt crystal sized powder that is added to the lacquer and sprayed over a black base, never seen the product for sale as I have to admit I have had the tub on my shelf for 30 years! As for the Leopard skin effect, well it was bought off eBay in small sheets; it’s decals for ladies finger nail art. I bought enough sheets to cut the shapes out and they bedded down nicely with some Tamiya X20A thinner, as they are a little thicker than normal decals, the random pattern helped conceal the joins, once all dry I gave the decals a flat coat of clear and a wash with some AK enamel engine grease to pick out some details in the seats. I hope you all enjoy the pictures.

I present my Revell Airbus A320 in 1/144, in the sadly no longer with us, Air Berlin livery. This build was OOB even using the Kit Decals and complimented with AA Cockpit and Cabin Decals. The background story of this build wasn’t a good one, it has sat on my shelf for a long time now feeling sorry for itself as I had made a major error trying to fix the Cockpit Windscreen clear part, and it was an horrific mess. Having started using AA Decals I decided to try and give it a new lease of life and give it a livery to take up it’s place on my shelves. I filled and sanded then filled and sanded some more to try and get a smooth and even finish on the cockpit. The masking job was fun... the kit instructions advise photocopying the decals and cutting out the red and silver lines to use as a template mask for the red lower fuselage and tail. I did this then finely drew a pencil line to mark off the fuselage then used that as my guide to achieving the Red section using my tamiya masking tape to hopefully achieve a cleaner finish using the paintbrush... I’m not fully happy with it, but it is looking ten times better than how it did doing nothing... The White was brush painted using Humbrol 22 Gloss white and the red section was Humbrol Red 60, which is a Matt finish. The kit recommends using Revell Gloss Red, but I was out of that and I don’t think it looks too much off colour. Wings and stabilisers are Revell 371 and my own lightened mix of Revell 374 Aqua colours for the coroguard sections. Silver 90 leading edges. Thank you for looking and as always any constructive criticism or feedback is very much appreciated... she’s not my favourite as I don’t think it looks like a particularly clean overall finish. Regards, Alistair

Ready for inspection is my Revell 1:72 Handley Page Halifax B Mk.III. I have built the kit straight as it comes from the box, using Vallejo acrylics. The kit went together with relative ease, it didn't require too much filler, and has a nice amount of detail. I have attempted adding some highlights to the top coats of paint, and am happy with the overall effect. It has been a really enjoyable build and I heartily recommend the kit. Thanks for looking.

This is the Revell model of the P1099B, an aircraft that never left the drawing board in terms of design. It's a rather ugly aircraft but that's kinda what I liked about it when I bought the kit. According to the instructions this aircraft was from KG 76, a bomber squadron, so I found a much larger pistol packing devil for the side of the aircraft, I think it came from a KG 76 Junkers 88 kit. Since it was a fighter bomber, I also added a bomb and rack under the fuselage from an Me 262. Colour scheme is RLM 82 light green with RLM 83 dark green patches over RLM 76 blue. The squiggles are RLM 76 which I applied with a brush to get the nice hard edge. This was based off an Me 262 camouflage schemes that I liked. Overall the kit is good fitting, although there was some filling and sanding required on the engine nacelles and the nose wheel insert. Some weight was also required to prevent tail sitting.

Evening all, just finished this one. Revell's Hawker Hurricane IIc modified to represent one of the IId's supplied to Stalin as a sweetner after Churchill told him he couldn't have any Typhoons. I used the AML decal for Hurricane in Soviet service part 1 as the set came with the cannon required to make the flying tin opener! The Revell kit is not to bad for its age but the panel lines are a bit vague in places and the cockpit doesn't resemble the real aircraft. I removed the 20mm cannons and the bulges on the upper surface and filed the spent case ports on the under side and positioned the cannons over the bomb rack mounting holes. Finished with Tamiya acrylics with a basic oil wash on the panel lines. As always all comments welcome. A quick size comparison against its replacement. The decal set came with 2 pairs of 40mm cannon so I can build a second Hurricane, I was think about Johnny Reds Hurricane with cannon and rockets as featured in the Battle comics.

Hi there, I am hoping that I can pick the brains of those of you who have experience airbrushing with Revell Aqua acrylics, as I am having a real battle getting a smooth finish on a Ferrari 458 build. I have a H&S Evolution, and used Humbrol grey spray primer prior to spraying. After reading as much info as possible, I thinned the paint to the 'semi skimmed milk' consistency using de-ionised water. I sprayed in light coats, gradually building up the thickness. However, for some reason, I am getting a rough sand paper-like finish, usually semi-gloss. I have changed the air pressure from 25 psi sprayed at about 10/12 cm distance to 15psi sprayed at half that distance. I also thinned the paint less the closer I was to the model. I have now stripped it three times and have no idea how to solve this, apart from sanding with 5000 grit then covering with Alclad 2 Aqua Gloss in the hope it will look OK. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have a few images but am not sure how to post them? Many thanks, Ant.

Line Engraver (39080) Revell Revell have a growing line of tools that they offer to the modelling masses via their extensive dealer network, allowing modellers to pick up tools on a whim from a shop that might otherwise not stock more esoteric brands. The engraver arrives in a large blister pack with card backing that is covered with the distinctive Revell triangular patterning. Cutting the pack open at the sides reveals the inner layer of clear plastic that traps the scriber between it and the outer blister. I pushed it out from behind and it pinged across the workshop before I could get it under control – avoid doing that if at all possible! Once I'd recovered it from the floor without damage I had a good look over it and it bears a resemblance to many other tools out there, but with the Revell logo printed on one side in colour. It has a tough metal blade at the business end with a scalpel-like cutting surface perpendicular to the handle, which invites you to use the very tip to score lines on your project. It's worth mentioning here that it's a sharp blade and more than a little bit stabby, so take the same precautions that you'd take with a standard scalpel or craft blade and you won't end up losing any/too much blood. Please be careful - we don't have 10 fingers for nothing you know (ok, 8 and two thumbs). As with most engraving tools you draw the blade toward you, which is where the "never cut towards yourself" rule goes out of the window. It's best to proceed with light strokes too, so that if you over-run you don't ruin your hard work. With that in mind, when I demoed it I made a number of lines with an increasing number of strokes of the tool. It doesn't show up too well on white styrene, so I primed the opposite side of the test card with some Tamiya primer, so you can see the white lines it makes as it cuts through. You can thank @Julien for that surprisingly simple but good idea. This is a true engraving tool, and it cuts a fine V-shaped groove in the styrene, rather than pushing the styrene apart like the tip of a needle does. This results in little curls of plastic as you engrave, and when you have finished, a burnish of the edges with a cocktail stick will remove any burrs and soften the line just enough to look professionally done. The other notable feature of the engraver is that successive strokes don't widen the groove very much, so your panel lines won't end up looking like they've been done by the Matchbox panel line guy of yore. You can use Dymo tape, a metal rule or PE template to make your marks straight and/or curved, and as always practice makes perfect. Conclusion This kind of tool is an impressive engraver that takes little skill to use, and with a bit of practice can create nice crisp lines with 2-3 passes of the tool. Thanks to Revell's market penetration and distributor network you should be able to pick one up if you suddenly need one when you're at a bricks & mortar model shop. Very highly recommended. Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Details to be added later . V-P

Well - the 'new' Revell MH-47 which includes decals for ZH903 landed on my actual doorstep this week. The real ZH903 has landed not far from my doorstep in the last couple of years. Also ZH900:

Ok,folk's here's the premise,operational commitments meant that the dedicated VIP Voyager was needed for it's original tanking role,it was decided that due to the new trading partnerships being forged around the globe government ministers and Royal family members needed to fly the flag in a manner akin to the US Presidents Air Force one so a new a-550 was ordered for this role.Making and winning the case was Airbus as compatibility with the current RAF fleet meant costs were by far the most competitive.No drab gray aircraft for this one full hi viz marking's are the order of the day

Hi all, this is going to be my Halloween season build for this year, should be a lot of fun. I don't intend on using the leopard skin decals they are way too naff for my liking, and I won't be painting them on, not sure what I will come up with yet, but I have an idea! As for the paint job, well I intended on painting the car in a metal flake black, with purple flecks in the lacquer. This is a 60's kit (re boxed in the 80's) and it sure does show its age, makes you appreciate how good modern kits are, but I guess it's all modelling at the end of the day; this kit was bought out as a replica of the actual convertible that Elvira drove in the movie. Among the creepy extras the front grille has a ghoulish spider web. Stay tuned for the next update.

I am currently working on a Revell 787-8 kit in 1/144which will be displayed in the Qatar Airways livery. I like the kit, I tend to find that the larger Revell kits go together really well and they are easier to work with than the smaller variants in 1/144 Scale. I had to make the antennas as they aren’t supplied in the kit, and I think with more practice I can make the missing ‘bumps’ on the upper fuselage. I think I am becoming a big fan of the Zvezda brand of kits, the only thing that would improve them overall is the kit decals having more detail. I am going to attempt some Authentic Airliner decals for the first time with this build and hope it will add to the ‘realness’ of the model. It is fully built now, and will start with the main decals soon and wait for the windows and cockpit decals to arrive to complete the model. I built the base board myself using an old piece of cardboard, to help display the larger models as my smaller one would look out of place with the 787 on it, and I plan on building an A350 and B773 soon too. My daughter was quite upset that the people couldn’t get on to the plane so I had to make her an Airbridge to enable them to get on and off... the things we do for children . My photos show her arriving on stand and then with the Airbridge attached. Will post more photos as the model progresses and the finished product in RFI once done . Regards, Alistair

I've had this kicking around the stash many years. I really like the Revell Luftwaffe '46 kits and wish they'd have done more of them. I just like how absurd this thing is, two seats, twin 30mm in the cockpit, 20mm barrettes and a forward firing 20mm in a mini turret thing. It's great lol I lost the decals to it, but that doesn't really matter, hell I might even make it Hungarian or something. I've also gotten rid of the box as it;s one of those horrid side opening things that get crushed in the stash, although the artwork is cool, fighting B-29's and all. I'll build this in between my larger project which is a 1/32 Su 25.