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Hi all I've recently become the custodian of my Great Grandfather's 70cm, wood and tin model of HMS Westminster in which he served in 1919 (I have a letter from that date but don't know from when and to he was on Westminster). I've done a bit of research and it looks like it was on patrol in the Baltic supporting the white Russians at that time. Overall its not in too bad shape, the lights don't work anymore and the railings and rigging are mostly snapped, along with a few of the masts. I'd like to restore it but I know next to nothing about ship modelling and certainly not one made 100 years ago with no plastic involved, so i've come here for advice! So step one will be to de-dust the model (also happy to take recommendations on the best way to do this as i was just going to use soapy water and cotton buds) and refit most of the loose superstructure. I'd like to know what people would recommend for re threading the railings. He seems to have used a very thin twine but there's absolutely no 'fluff' so it looks like metal- any recommendations on a modern equivalent that I'd be able to use? Apologies if this is in the wrong section- maybe WiP would be more appropriate! Its a cracking model and completely scratch built which leaves my modern approach to modelling look extremely lazy in comparison but its been good to learn that modelling certainly runs in the family! Any tips greatly appreciated! You can see the 'thread' railings a bit better here: I'm also struggling to see what would have fitted into the two holes here:

This build thread describes the construction of a 1/350 scale model of HMS Prince of Wales (R09) which was displayed by Airfix at SMW 2019, Telford where I am shown with Darrell Burge, Hornby Brand Manager: Background to this build In April 2014, the Royal Navy contacted Airfix to commission a model of HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) that was under construction in Rosyth Dockyard. Airfix asked me to scratch-build a 1/350 model which was subsequently displayed at the naming ceremony of HMS Queen Elizabeth in Rosyth on 4th July 2019. Thereafter it’s permanent home was the Wardroom of HMS Queen Elizabeth: Pic 001: In April 2019, I was again commissioned by Airfix, this time to scratch-build a 1/350 model of HMS Prince of Wales, the second of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. It would be shown at SMW 2019, Telford and thereafter it’s permanent home would be the Hornby Hobbies Visitor Centre in Margate. I hope that you enjoy following this build which may seem a bit unconventional in some parts. There were some problems to overcome but the worst difficulty was having to cope with severe concussion that I suffered five weeks before Telford. It was touch and go as to whether I would complete it in time but I only managed it by leaving off photo-etch and some other small details. To use an old Chinese proverb “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”. This is the first of many sheets of plastic card used in the build: Pic 002: Although this build would be constructed mainly of plastic card, I would be using a Tamiya 1/350 USS Enterprise hull to give it some inner strength. The hull was shortened in length, all sponsons removed and keel removed and openings blanked off with plastic card. Plastic card was used to fill in the missing parts of the sides and clamped. Note that I have used the cut out section of hull to brace the new join of the midships and aft sections of hull: Pic 003: Forward section (bow excluded) glued in place: Pic 004: Putting aside the hull to dry, I cut out the Flight Deck. Being 80cm long, it would be a right handful in the confines of my modelling den: Pic 005: This situation was made worse by the fact that I was building two at once (a waterline version for myself) Pic 006: Once the hull had dried, I drilled four holes which were fitted with four 80mm M6 bolts epoxied in place. The model was then secured to a temporary chipboard base that would be used until the final day of the build (the Flight Deck hasn’t been glued in place yet): Pic 007: The most complicated part of this build is the construction of the Forward (Ship Control) and Aft (Flyco) Islands. Because of this, I decided to build the islands for both ships at the same time. Here are the Aft Islands: Pic 008: The plastic card is rather thin (0.20mm) and requires plenty of framing to prevent "dishing" of the panels: Pic 009: Pic 010: Here the two islands have been placed on the Flight Decks of the two builds. You can see the full-hull version to the rear: Pic 011: Bit more work: Pic 012: I do like using lots of filler: Pic 013: Sanding of filler was completed and then I moved onto the assembly of the Flying Control Rooms: Pic 014: I did consider having acetate glazing but after some experimentation I decided that it would not be easy to do a good job: Pic 015: Another view showing the multiple facets of the Aft Island: Pic 016: View from ahead: Pic 017: Having applied filler to the Aft Islands again, I started construction of the Forward Islands (Ship Control): Pic 018: I just can’t leave the Aft Islands alone. The filler around the Flying Control Rooms (FCRs) has been sanded and I have been adding some of the many platforms: Pic 019: Filler applied and sanded again. You can see that I have also added window wiper boxes above where the FCR windows will go: Pic 020: I then cut some "T" section plastic strip to go around plastic card discs to represent the platform for the Type 997 Artisan 3D Radar. Hopefully, when painted the ends of the "T" will look like thin rods like on the original: Pic 021: They were then glued in place and I started on the platform on the starboard side of the Aft Island: Pic 022: Once the platform had been sanded I started on the overhang of the Bridge on the starboard side. As you can see, I have glued strips of plastic card to the bulkhead first and built the overhang around them: Pic 023: One of the islands once the overhang has been completed: Pic 024: Green blobs on the Aft Island denote the locations of watertight doors: Pic 025: WEM watertight doors have been glued in place on the Aft and Forward Islands. Note that the watertight doors do not sit flush with the bottom of the bulkheads but are raised slightly: Pic 026: Taking a break from the island activity, I turned to the stern. The transoms for both versions were fabricated and the various openings cut and drilled: Pic 027: Turning to the hull briefly, I screwed hardwood dowelling inside the hull to give it some rigidity, a necessity as the plastic card is more flexible than the original dark grey plastic. The silver fitting at the stern is only temporary and supports the stern ensuring that the top of the hull remains horizontal. It will be removed once the ship is bolted to a temporary base: Pic 028: The full-hull version will be permanently mounted on a base 800mm long and here I am drilling the locating holes for the 80mm M6 bolts. The base won’t be fitted until the very end of the build: Pic 029: I have started to apply mahogany stain. So far I have applied three coats but I will need another two coats. Once finished the base was stored safely until needed: Pic 030: Now the base has been fitted I turned my attention to the Flight Deck and here I have marked the outline of the hull: Pic 031: I glued pieces of plastic card to the underside of the Flight Deck which ensure that the hull will be correctly aligned: Pic 032: First piece of Flight Deck glued in place. Note the plastic card "tab" glued to the front of the Flight Deck that will support the midships section of Flight Deck: Pic 033: The midships piece of Flight Deck glued to the hull and clamped. I couldn't resist putting the Islands on: Pic 034: Bow section of the Flight Deck has been glued in place: Pic 035: That's all for now. Dave

Hello again, seems like only a few days ago that I was writing up last year's build log. Time flies! But, I was determined to make the best of this rather trying year... Anyway, here are this years completed models, although a couple were shelf queens from yesteryear. First up, the Lift Here Models Piper PA-58 -- last of the Mustangs: For those interested, the build thread is HERE Next up, the first Great Blue Whale, the XA3D-1 conversion of the Hasegawa A3B: XA3D-1 Build Thread HERE Next up, the Wingnuts Models XP-72 resin kit: XP-72 Build Thread HERE Next up, a more ambitious project, the kit-bash of the Academy P-47D Razorbaxk into the XP-47B prototype: XP-47B Build Thread HERE Next up, another resin kit, the LF Models Curtiss XP-42, a variation of the P-36/P-40 family: XP-42 Build Thread HERE Next, another LF Models resin kit, this time the Curtiss XP-31 Swift: More XP-31 Photos HERE XF-91 Build Thread HERE Another resin kit, this time the Anigrand Bell XP-83: XP-83 Build Thread HERE And last one for the year, a kit-bash of the Academy P-47D Razorback into an XP-47J Superbolt: XP-47J Build Thread HERE Not a lot of models this year, but some welcome additions to the collection. For those interested, the pertinent articles contain custom artwork that you are free to use for any non-commercial purpose. Thanks for looking, Ed

The obligatory scale shot (couldn't find a match so used a €1 coin) It's a nice size. Looks purposeful (possibly menacing ) from this angle. So there we have it. But as my sole 1/144th build (possible ever) it's looking awfully lonely on the shelf

I am working on three scratch-builds, all of which have un-cowled motors. Since a bare motor is a natural focus, and making motors in 1/72 is a project in itself, I am treating the motors as a stand-alone project, getting the trickiest bits out of the way of the builds at the start. One of these projects is a pioneer era pusher machine, which was powered by an early Curtiss V-8 engine. After a couple of false starts, I have finally got the basic item in hand. I had to do something resembling precision work on the cylinders, which I don't like and try to avoid. My instinct is to employ the old sculptor's maxim, suitably altered for plastic modeling --- take up a piece of plastic and remove everything which is not the part you want. But with the varying rings and steps, this was not going to be a good method for the cylinders of this motor. I used 'flying jigs' to get the pieces uniform. The pieces were measured against, and in some instances attached to, stock strip pieces of known thickness, and sanded down to match these standard pieces. This shows the principle, though it is from an earlier run. From left to right: finished cylinder, dressed cylinder piece on the 'flying jig', raw cylinder piece on the 'flying jig', and raw cylinder assemblies. On this run, the upper step was 2.5 mm, and the lower 0.75 mm. This did not allow for the irreducible thickness of the base ring, and so on the finished item I reduced the lower step to 0.5 mm. This necessitated boring all the way through the lower piece, and fixing the wire pin in the upper piece. On my first run at this, I made the block too thin. On my second I spaced the cylinders too wide. Further, in both of these, the block was patterned on the OX-5 motor's block. The commercial success of the Curtiss OX-5 motor drowns the earlier V-8 models Curtiss produced, and while the various permutations from the model O on are basically similar, there are a lot of detail differences. OX-5 material can be used as a guide, but by the end-stage, period photographs have to be employed, and given the vagaries of such things, I have had to employ a certain amount of creative gizmology in here. When I began the final run, I started by making the cylinder mount. It is hollow, with a base piece of 15 thou card, 11mm long and 5mm wide, a spine piece 2.5mm high down the center, and side pieces tented in. Shaved discs of 2 mm rod are attached. Here are the new cylinders with the some of the receiving holes bored in the cylinder base. Here are the cylinders attached. Here is the cylinder assembly mounted to the second OX-5 pattern block. The block is 3 mm wide, made of three pieces of 1 mm sheet laminated together. Here is the start of detailing. A further disc of shaved 2 mm rod tops each cylinder, with a head piece of slightly thinned 2 mm rod atop this. Curtiss cylinders were held down by four long bolts and an 'X' fitting over the cap. The block has been re-shaped to the earlier pattern. Here are the fuel feeds and rocker arms in. Here is the current state, with water lines and exhaust ports in, as well as sundry other 'works' shown in photographs.... Further work on this motor must await mounting on its trestle above the lower wing, so it can tie in with the radiator and fuel tanks and wing assembly. Putting together two Armstrong-Siddeley Jaguar motors for a brace of Fairey Flycatchers has proved quite a project. There have been several false starts, some of which can be seen here in this earlier thread: Going back to those in that thread after some work on the Curtiss V-8, I was not satisfied with them. The cylinders were too fat, and shaping the heads of the cylinders was not going well; the rear row interfered with getting tools onto the front cylinders. I checked available materials against the Grainger drawings, and found that while the Evergreen 2.4mm rod I usually use was indeed too thin, some Plastruct 2.5mm matched perfectly the widest part of the cylinders in the drawing --- the difference of 7 thousandths of an inch mattered. It was also clear that here, too, I was going to have to be precise in making the cylinders (all twenty-eight), because the heads were going to have to be shaped before the cylinders were attached. I made new crankcases, again of two circles of 2mm sheet. I discarded the idea of indicating the base rings. They are not prominent in photographs of Jaguars, and would make it harder to calculate cylinder length. I marked them for cylinder locatuons from one of the earlier motors, and drove large locating holes, to allow for a bit of wiggle and adjustment of spacing and alignment as things progressed. The cylinders I made as before, putting a taper in the end of the rod, scoring 'fins' in with the blade of a razor knife, and then cutting at, or close to, anyway, the proper length (in this case, 4mm). Cooling fins are one place where I take refuge in scale fidelity --- these are always grossly over-stated in motors on models, especially in 1/72 (if properly scaled, the fins would have a thickness of three thousandths of an inch or less, well under a tenth of millimeter). To get the cylinders to the same length, I employed an improvised jig, made of two pieces of 2mm sheet laminated together, with a shelf on which the tapered end of the cylinder piece could rest, while the cylinder piece is tacked into place against the 'height' guide with a dab of CA gel. Once in place, they are trimmed down, with knife and sanding sticks, to match the height guide. Since the item accommodates seven cylinder pieces, each row of cylinders is done at one go. To prepare the tops of the cylinders, half of which must be cut down, a groove is sawn into the cylinders with a razor saw, once height is uniform. It is no trouble to crack the pieces off the jig by working a knife-point into the seam. Here is one rune with two remaining cylinder pieces on the jig.... The rear half of each cylinder top is removed once the piece is off the jig. A pin of 20 guage steel beading wire is put in the open end of the cylinders. Here is the front and rear of one of the assembled motors.... Next step is shaping and attaching the crankcase fronts. Circles were made of 3mm sheet, and their centers marked and pierced, with the rear face being attached to a toothpick for working.... They are then popped off the toothpicks and attached to the front of the motors. Next steps here will be adding a 'collar' at the rear, and putting in the fuel feed lines at the rear, followed by valves and associated 'works' in front, and finally the exhaust stubs.

I posted up an earlier run at this a while back: Even as I was posting it, possible improvements to methods were occurring to me. I have gone ahead and implemented these, with some success. I made seven spoke wheels (with 7mm/in scale 20" outer diameter) this past weekend, at the rate of about one and a half hours per wheel. I think I have gotten this to a true 'production' state. The completed wheels I think are much improved, easier to handle in the finishing stages, and 'finer' in the size of their components. Here are the jigs and tools used in making and assembling the wheels. The jig at the left is for weaving the spokes onto a wheel half. It finally occurred to me to have wife print out something with eight points. However, the eight points, probably owing to distortion in being blown-up from a small original, do not quite align correctly. On this, the notches at the points were adjusted till all the lines crossed precisely over the center dot before the central spacer, of 0.75mm rod, was placed. The jig in the center is to hold the wheel halves aligned when they are attached to the axle/spacer. It began as a weaving jig, but failed in that because I had assumed the points were aligned truly, so that it produced off-center spokes. The four rods of 1mm rod around what was originally a centralizing collar hold the alignment. The center was cut out to give a good view of how the spokes were lining up. The item at the right is the tool for fastening the wheel halves together. Its base is an earlier weaving jig ready to hand for the purpose. A ring off the tubing stock is in the center. Four long pieces of 1.5mm rod are attached and form a guide. The wheel halves, joined already to the axle/spacer, are placed inside. A length of tube then presses down, guided by the rods, and applies uniform pressure to both wheel halves, while the rods preserve external alignment. This item also has the secondary function of holding the wheel halves while their mating surfaces are marked for notching. Here are the pieces employed.... At the top are two raw wheel halves freshly cut from the tube. Beneath these, at the left is a wheel half tinned down and marked for notching, and at the right is a notched wheel half ready to receive spokes. I had tried notching in earlier experiments, but discarded it as it weakened the wheel halves and they bent in assembly, but that was in the early going, and the assembly tool now removes that difficulty. On the near right is a finished axle/spacer, and on the far right is the 'raw' item. A hole is put in a square of 0.75mm sheet, a length of 0.75 rod is put through and fastened. The square is clipped and sanded down till round, and while of greater diameter than the rod, not greatly so. The rod is then trimmed down. It is important one end be longer. Both must be sanded to a bit of a point. On the left is a notched wheel with its spokes. The spokes, pressed into the notches, work to center the wheel half. These are glued in, being sure the spokes are deep in the notch, and the notch filled above them with CA gel. The notches are put in with a knife-edge needle file. Once the wheel half is cut off the weaving jig, an the excess trimmed, the mating surface can be sanded flat with a fine grit sanding stick. The notches fix the spokes firmly enough in place to allow this it very little risk of disturbance. On the right is a wheel half with spokes trimmed, and the wheel's axle/spacer affixed. The short end goes into the lower wheel half. Here is the second wheel half also attached to the axle/spacer, correctly aligned. The longer end of the axle/spacer allows glue to be applied after the second wheel half s aligned, before it is pressed down onto the 'step' of the axle/spreader. Here are the joined wheel halves in the assembly tool. Glue (CA gel) is applied in a manner which avoids the rods. The length of tube is pressed down; it can be held in place between thumb and middle finger, or placed on the bench and pressed down. After a ten count I apply liquid patience, and continue to hold for a slow sixty-count. A Once the 'plunger' is removed, a knife-point will lift the wheel off the base, and it can be lifted out readily. One the left is a wheel fresh out of the assembly tool; on the right is a finished wheel. Finishing consists of clipping the excess off the axle/spacer, and dressing it down with a 'swizzle-stick' sanding stick. Examine the outer rim for un-glued seam, and apply a bit of CA gel smoothed down with a tooth-pick. Sand the outer rim down smooth. Then You can sand down the sides of the tire with a heavy grit sanding stick, keeping it tilted slightly away from the center and the spokes. Though you should not hold the wheel in a death grip, you can hold the center while you do this with reasonable safety. Sand down close to the 'points' of the notches (the dark color of the set CA gel will be visible). Finally, knock down the edges of the outer rim to give the thing a bit of rounding, and end with some smoothing from a fine-grit sanding stick. Here are the weekend's production.... The penny is for scale, and the wheel from an Eduard N.17 kit shows how how undersized these 20" wheels are to the more usual items. It would not be difficult to scale this up to produce wheels of the diameter of that kit piece. At that size, a dodecagon rather than an octagon might be employed, though an octagon would certainly do. At any rate three wheels will be selected from those pictured here for incorporation into a scratch-built model of 'El Somora'.... I will leave you with the contents of the 'swear jar', all the various earlier wheels and attempted wheels which have gone before....

I don't mind confessing this step nearly bounced me off the project, and even now I am still considering improvements that might make the contriving of spoke wheels a more regular process with a smaller ratio of failures to acceptable outcomes. But I have got enough of the bugs out to present a method which can produce acceptable results. The method is derived from routines presented by the late Harry Woodman, master scratch-builder, whose book is available on-line, and highly recommended.... I don't mind confessing this step nearly bounced me off the project, and even now I am still considering improvements that might make the contriving of spoke wheels a more regular process with a smaller ratio of failures to acceptable outcomes. But I have got enough of the bugs out to present a method which can produce acceptable results. The method is derived from routines presented by the late Harry Woodman, master scratch-builder, whose book is available on-line, and highly recommended.... http://rclibrary.co.uk/files_titles/1216/ScaleModelAircraft_Woodman.pdf But his method was meant for 1/48 scale work, and probably (though this is not clearly stated) employed waxed sewing thread for spokes. Adjustments have to be made for work at a smaller scale, and employing monofilament ('invisible thread') for the spokes. The basics remain the same: two circles pressed together to make a wheel, sandwiching between them a spacer representing the axle, and a pattern of spokes attached separately to each circle and, in their centers, to each end of the spacer/axle. This crowns the spokes out as the unit is assembled. Alignments of various sorts are essential, and have to be got at least more or less right. Alignment of the spokes with one another I refer to as internal alignment: Half the spokes are attached to one end of the spacer/axle, and to the mating surface of one of the wheel halves, and the other half of the spokes to the other end of the spacer/axle and other wheel half's mating surface. When the mating surfaces of the wheel halves are brought together, the spoke patterns must be offset from one another, as this provides an optical illusion of more spokes than there actually are which is essential. Alignment of the wheel halve's mating surfaces with one another I refer to as external alignment. Ideally the things should go together precisely --- a small off-set can be made good, but too great a mis-alignment here will show, particularly at the inside where the spokes sprout, a place where the eye will be drawn. Alignment of the spacer/axle also has to be right, or at least to look right. If it is very crooked, and this can happen even if the external alignment is acceptable, the wheel will not look right. Three factors complicate the matter further. First, there is not a lot of 'give' in the monofilament. It must be very strongly attached, both at the rims and the center, and will only stretch a little. Second, the wheel halves are pretty insubstantial. In 1/72 scale they ought not be more than a half millimeter thick, and there should not be more than two millimeters difference between outer and inner diameters, in fact it really ought to be a bit less. This makes bringing them together against the strain of the monofilament crowning out at the ends of the spacer/axle difficult. Third, when cleaning up, after the wheel halves have been attached, care must be taken to keep sanding sticks and knife edges away from the spokes, and the assembly should be held only by the rims, never by the center. Nothing really can be done on the inside seam at all. It is made no easier by the fact that the wheels for 'El Sonora' are much smaller than standard. Wheels of Great War types generally run about 10mm outside diameter in 1/72 scale (or 15mm in 1/48), but the wheels on 'El Sonora' were only 20" in diameter, scaling out to an outside diameter of 7mm. After a good deal of trial and error, which exposed various problems in succession, I finally reached a point where I have been able to produce this weekend a five reasonably usable wheels for 'El Sonora' (which needs three). Here is what is needed for a wheel: The two wheel halves are obvious, the bits beside them are two thin discs made of small slices of 1mm rod flattened down hard in a smooth-jaw pliers, two thin slices of 1mm rod left as is, and a half millimeter disc of of 1.3mm rod ---these make up the spacer/axle and anchors for the centers of the spokes. The octagonal piece is the weaving jig for the spokes, it is 1mm thick. The square pieces, one of white and one of clear plastic, also 1mm thick, with holes in the center, are assembly tools. The tape is used to tack down the ends of the monofilament line at start and finish. The larger sheet of plastic is one means of providing a background against which the spokes can be seen clearly during several steps (they don't call this stuff 'invisible thread' for nothing...)... The wheel halves are cut off the end of a length of tube with a 7mm outer diameter. The suggestion of 'roundness' can be given to the end of the tube before cutting off the ring, and once cut off, the excess can be sanded down to a proper thinness. The ring on the left is finished, the one on the right is straight off the tube. Here a wheel half is on the weaving jig, with the spokes in place. The pencil marks are measured to provide a placement guide for centering, double-face tape sticks the piece in place, the projecting piece of 1mm rod at the center spreads the spokes out. Both ends of th length of monofilament are taped down on the back of the jig. A dab of CA gel is placed between the paired spokes on the rim, and spread to cover them. Care must be taken to keep glue off the inside rim, and it s best to do this twice. Let the glue set ('liquid patience' can be used to ave time, but doing so will make it necessary to replace the double-face tape for each use of the jig). Test by a little nudge with a toothpick to see each spoke is firmly attached. Then clip the lines outside the rim, and lift the half-wheel with spokes off the jig.... Trim the excess monofilament off at the rim, closely (the stuff is very resistant to sanding, so get it right at the edge with the scissors or knife). Place it mating surface up on the opaque assembly tool, prepared with double-face tape, and glue one of the thin flattened discs in the center. Hold over a white surface while you do this, so you can see the center.... Place the wheel half mating surface down on a flat white surface, and glue one of the un-flattened discs of 1mm rod in the center.... Return one of the two wheel halves to the assembly tool, mating surface up, and fasten the half millimeter length of 1.3mm rod to the center disc... Leaving that piece in place, attach the other wheel half to the bit of 1.3mm rod, taking care to off-set its spokes from those of the other wheel half. This is where the magic begins to happen.... The wheel halves are still separated by a bit under a millimeter's distance, however.... Apply glue all around the mating surface of the bottom wheel half, taking care to keep it off the inside rim. Place the clear assembly tool over the upper wheel half.... Squeeze the assembly tool together, doing your best to see the wheel halves come together with their otter diameters closely aligned. You won't always succeed, but about two out of three times the result will be acceptable. Holding the sandwich firmly together for a minute of so will be enough for the CA gel to set. If it looks useable, douse wit accelerator and tend to the seam, thinning down the outsides of the 'tire' a bit as well. I am still mulling over ways to improve the final external alignment. I am thinking that a 'collar' of the tubing, with several lengths of stout rod, perhaps 1.5mm thickness, affixed to the outside of the 'collar', would provide a good resting point for the bottom wheel half, and a good guide for fastening the upper wheel half to the spacer/axle piece, and for pressing it down to mate with the bottom wheel half. Another length of the tubing could be used as a tool to press down the upper wheel half in this step. I expect I will give that a try before I actually put wheels on 'El Sonora', but as I have usable wheels in hand, and know I can do this at the rate of about forty minuted a wheel complete, I consider the problem solved, and now, with wheels and motor in order, I can move to making the airframe.... The aeroplane is 'El Sonora', a Glenn Martin 'Flyer' operated in Mexico starting in 1913. Work on its engine may be found here:

I thought I would take the opportunity of our Great War Centennial GB downstairs to post up my collection (to date) of models from this period. It has grown somewhat over the last nine years or so. All are in 1/72 scale. Some you may have seen, others probably not. First, the scratch-builds: This is the prototype Morane-Saulnier Type N (militaire), flown by Sgt. Gilbert in the summer of 1915. It is my first finished scratch-build, though the second I started. This an F.E. 8 of No. 40 Squadron, in late August, 1916. It was the first scratch-build I started, and was built in tandem with the Morane 'Le Vengeur'. This a Caudron G.3 of Esc. C11, at the Marne in September, 1914. This is the Morane Parasol Guynemer piloted in his first successful air combat, when his gunner downed an Aviatik in the French lines in July, 1915. This is a Breguet U.1 'affine' of Esc. BR17, on the Alsace front in September, 1914, flown by Sgt. France Vaurin. This one took quite a while, and is the one which left me convinced I could build anything.... This is a Maurice Farman MF 11, of Esc. MF62 at the Battle of Artois, September, 1915. It carries the unit's 120cm focal length camera, used for detail pictures of points already identified as worth especial interest. This is a Martinsyde G.100 Elephant, seconded after long service from 72 Squadron to 'Dunsterforce', flown by Lt. MacKay at Baku in September, 1918 (an especially odd little passage in the chaos of the east at that period). The nose was particularly difficult, being open and pieced by many louvers; everything in front of the cockpit, basically, is egg-shell thickness. This is a Caudron G.VI of Esc. C575, at Port Said, Egypt, in autumn of 1918. Known as "l'Escadrille de Palestine", C575 retained the Caudrons after the war, based in Lebanon. The camouflage pattern is largely conjectural, but this machine was painted in the 5-colour scheme. Wife did the escadrille markings. This is the Breguet AG 4, flown from Paris by M. Breguet and Lt. Watteau, on the flight which discovered the first signs von Kluck meant to pass east of the city, early in September, 1914. Short of 'Enola Gay', this may have been the most significant single sortie by an aircraft in history. This is a Vickers 'Bullet' (FB.19 mkII) of 14 Squadron in Gaza, in the summer of 1917. This is a Short 827, with floats removed and wheels fitted, operated by the R.N.A.S. 'up the Tigris' in autumn of 1915, in support of Gen. Townsend's 'Force D' at Kut al' Amara. These next are either conversions, or extensively re-worked for accuracy.... This is a Nieuport N.27 of Esc. N87, flown by Lt. Descours, early in 1918, made from an Eduard N.17 kit, well before Roden came out with their 'ropund-body' Nieuport range. Unit marking is hand-done using reverse masking on white plastice (this is before home decal printing, too). M. Descours, I learned later, had quite a career as a pioneering flier in Indo-China after the war. This is a Fokker AII (military version of the M.5 with long-span wings), in summer of 1915 on the Russian front. It is a conversion employing two Eduard E.III kits. This is an R.E. 8 of No. 5 Fighting School at Abu Suier, in mid-1919, the result of major surgery on an Airfix R.E. 8 kit. Here are more or less straight kit builds: though all are Great War types, not all are Great War subjects, being in post-war liveries... This is an Albatros D.III flown by Lt. Strahle of Jasta 18 in March, 1917: Roden kit, which is little rough at the rear of the cockpit, prepared to a profile by the late Dan-San Abbot. Nieuport 17 of No. 60, December, 1916, flown by Lt. Meintjes: Eduard kit. Albatros D.V of Jasta 4, July, 1917, flown by Sgt. Clausnitzer: Eduard kit. Bristol Fighter of No. 2 Sqdn, Ireland, 1920 (this particular machine crashed onto rooftops in Barrack St., Waterford Town): Roden kit. Fokker D.VII, U.S.M.C., Brown Field, Quantico, 1922: Roden kit (with scratch-built struts). Nieuport Scout (built as N.23) of No. 60 Sqdn, April, 1917, flown by Lt. C. S. Hall (KIA April 7): Eduard kit. Meant as a Sopwith Camel in U.S.N. service at Guantanamo NAS, 1922, but botched the center-section cut-outs, leaving them standard, and they were not: Roden kit. Ko-3 trainer (N.24.E-1), IJAAF, 1920: Roden N.24 kit. Here a couple of 'near things': First, a scratch-build that met a dire fate: All that was left to do on this was add a pair of oddly mounted Lewis guns, plus a bit of touching up and I managed to drop a large squeeze-bottle of white glue on it, shortly after this picture was taken. It is a Morane-Saulnier Type BB of No. 3 Sqdn, which was downed by Immelmann in March of 1916: a dying pilot brought it down intact, his wounded observer later died in hospital. At least one Vickers Vimy reached France for operational trials before the Armistice, so by a real squeak of a stretch, you could call this a Great War type; it is a conversion to trainer configuration, in late service with Jaguar radials replacing the original RR Eagles, serving at 5 F.T.S., Abu Suier, in 1930. In the WWI GB, I am doing a scratch-build of a Martinsyde S.1, also from the Tigris campaign of 1915, one of the two poictured here: Here is a link... http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/forum/478-world-war-one-100th-anniversary-group-build/