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So...... time for a much needed Tamiya build. After the Bordermodel Stug i want to start a new diorama with some Tamiya builds and some leftover bots and pieces from other kits. i think these 2 models will make an excellent scene. I still have some resin figures in the stash but i also ordered some new ones: I'm thinking France early 1940 or Operation Barbarossa. The kits itself look really good for their age. The krupp got new molds in 2003 i think and there is an excellent driver figure in there. Anyhow, i think these models are just what i need, simple oob, tamiya fit. So let's crack on shall we? Cheers guys 🍻🍻🍻

Hello to all, After the amazing saga my last build has been (a vintage race car, the Fiat 806 Corsa at 1/12 Italeri, see if interested the summarize here: Of course, many builds have ever been dedicated to the Tamiya P 51D Mustang, especially on Britmodeller... I saw particularly the Squibby one, begun very recently and very nice, that will be definitely a source of inspiration. But as every build is different and personal, I decided to dive again in the Brit bath! I must precise too that I will take a good part of my inspiration in the great Juan Manuel Villalba DVD, for which I made the translation in french for the subtitles. Juan is a very famous modeler and a real gentleman, who learnt me a lot in model making and photography, he is a master and a friend, even if we couldn't meet up to now (we live far away one to the other one, pity...). Before beginning the build, a word of history: John Brooke England was born in 1923 at Caruthersville, Missouri. His service number was O-739263 and he joined the 362nd FS of the 357th FG in April 1943 as a 1/Lt meaning that he was part of the original cadre that left the ZI in November 1943 for the UK. He was promoted to Captain and then to Major. He took command of the 362nd FS on 25 August 1944, while he was only 21. He served two tours with the 357th FG for a total of 108 operational missions giving a total of 460 hours combat flying time. He was the second highest scorer in the 357th with a total of 17.5 victories. England finished his second tour and rotated home on 26 January 1945. He remained in the service after the war and was killed in an F-86 crash in November 1954 in France. I began my build logically by preparing the parts of the section 1 and some other ones, placing them in a box with compartments, that I got in the Italeri's kit (one of the best part of this kit, definitely 😞 N.B: I just made the photo, so the radio compartment is ever begun... After the parts preparation, I began the cockpit by removing some details to replace them by new ones (arrow 1, and the radio). I didn't use the Eduard P.E part 47, too thin, and replaced it by 0,3 mm thick tin wire (arrow 3) I must precise now that, differently with Juan, who made the radio by total scratch (amazing), I used the very recent Eduard photoetched set for Airfix kit (ref. 49853), that I had to adapt to the Tamiya kit: N.B: here too, I just made the photo, some parts have been removed and ever used. The screws on the side were made from very small portions cut in 0,2 mm thick tin wire (Juan cuts in stretched plastic). The tabs come from another Eduard PE set. N.B: I had to adapt the A 17 Tamiya part to the Eduard 42 one, smaller (for Airfix) and accidently, I cut a portion of the floor and radio support. Of course, I will do the necessary correction... IMPORTANT: I have decided (lately, I had to edit my posts) to number the pics: - the assembly pics will be numbered in yellow - the docs will be numbered in black (white if the background is black). The different versions (enlargements, fe) of a same doc will have a letter a, b, c... after the number. So, it will be easier to mention a pic in the debates we should have. GLOSSARY: this glossary will refer to the numbered docs. Of course, it will be actualized along the way... - 108 gallon paper tanks: 20a, 23, 23a, 94, 94a, 95, 96, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 119, 128, 129, 131, 132, 133, 134a, 137d - radio compartment and fuselage tank: 1, 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2, 3, 4, 4a, 4b, 6, 7, 8, 9, 9a, 10, 11, 12, 15, 26, 30, 65, 66 - outside, rivets: 90, 97, 97a, 97b, 98, 98a, 98b, 99, 101, 102, 103, 103a, 104, 104a, 117, 118, 137b c d, 138a b c, 139 - gear strut and wheels: 23a, 23b, 106, 106a, 120, 134a, 137b - tail wheel: 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 130, 138b - John England: 24, 24a, 24b, 24c, 25, 106 - joystick: 46, 49b, 62, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76 - Missouri Armada: 20, 20a, 21, 22, 23, 23a, 100, 106, 118 - left panel: 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 57, 58, 58a, 59, 60, 60a, 74, 84, 85, 88 - right panel: 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 88 - pedals: 52, 79, 80 - cockpit floor and details: 46, 46a, 47, 48, 48b, 49, 49a, 49b, 61, 62, 62a, 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, 80, 81, 82, 83 - seat, seat support, cushion and seat belts: 5, 5a, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 18a, 30, 31, 32, 33, 33a, 34, 35, 36, 37, 37a, 38, 39, 40, 137c - instrument panel: 87, 88 - canopy and rail: 18a, 18b, 19, 27, 28, 29, 89, 90, 91, 91a, 92, 92a, 93, 101, 118, 137a - radiator area: 77, 78, 86, 137d, 138a - helix and nose: 104, 106, 118, 134b - landing gear wells: 138a N.B: Lately, I have abandoned the idea of numbering the docs, for several reasons, among others : - some docs that I first considered as very important had finally to be not good. It is the case for example of the ones showing the rivets lines 97 and 98. - it is difficult (and sometimes unfair) to decide that such a doc is more important than another one. - numbering the docs is time consuming and we can refer easily to a doc by mentioning the post#. - small and small, a lot of docs and infos have been brought in the thread, which has turned in a real reference one, thanks to the contribution of experts on the matter. Thank you for your comprehension, I hope you will enjoy the thread...

Hello to all, Even if my endless Ford Mustang 1964 1/2 Convertible at 1/16 scale is not over: I begin a new build and thread dedicated to the 2014 Honda Repsol 213V Tamiya at 1/12. Even if this awesome GP motorbike will require a lot of care, it should be more simple than the Mustang, for which a lot of scratch was and still is necessary considering the quite poor AMT kit and the fact that I made a conversion from a Coupe to a Convertible. As my Mustang project is the priority, this Honda build will go on very slowly first (that is why I hesitated to open a new thread now). Here are below the first pics I made, engine build: N.B: I painted the clutch but in fact, I should not use the Tamiya part, that is not very realistic. I ordered a Top Studio detail set in which a more convincing PE/ resin clutch is provided. But I should not get this set before several weeks... Talking about detail sets, I will certainly order also the Tamiya detail set (front fork ref. 12667), waiting the latter to be in stock again on Passion 132. Cheers, O

So my shelf of shame is getting a bit busy, a change of job and various other factors seem to have reduced my ability to get things fixed together. This is my entry (there are more to come for the GB, if I can get the time). I originally started it in the classic Japanese GB, thread here: Alpine Renault A442B Turbo - Big In Japan - Classic Japanese Kits GB - Britmodeller.com The kit is a pretty simple affair but seems to have been fighting me all through the build. The kit supplied decals have seriously yellowed over the years, though are actually usable (if a bit brittle), the aftermarket ones however had their own issues - firstly they didn't supply the larger area ones (for some of the white areas and black ones) and the white decals are somewhat less than opaque - especially on the bright yellow background. I used the kit decals for the black areas, decided to overpaint the logos (badly) and will attach the decals on top. The actual areas I masked seemed to come out relatively well (the large white areas at the front and rear) - though it was a bit of a struggle initially getting enough white primer and gloss white on to cover the kit plastic yellow, only to overcoat most of it with yellow! I should have masked up and airbrushed the black too, and done the smaller areas in white in hindsight. Here's a shot of the side, showing just how badly my brush painted black bits are on the sills, also the difference in colour between the white areas - the lower left one is just the kit decal (and appears to have a bit of a weird yellow/orange tint) - the other two however, I'd come up with a cunning plan.. As you may have noticed in the previous image there is a small piece of paper at the front. I used my scanner/printer to effectively photocopy the decal sheet - this can then be transferred (using masking tape, which takes up the print) to the backing of some white decal sheet, cut to size (slightly smaller to fit inside the black border) and applied as a second layer of white! The decal film sheet itself isn't completely opaque but together they do a good enough job. You can use the inkjet to print directly onto the other side of the decal film (I did try this) however I guess because the film is plastic and non-absorbent the ink never seems to dry and easily smudges - not a problem in my case as I was cutting off the exterior print and not needing an actual pattern. The reverse image method (on the back side) seems better as I don't need to worry about the masking tape ripping the film and it gets discarded when you water slide the backing off - for my needs it's fine as the decals are pretty much mirrored left/right on the car. Other than the white translucency the aftermarket Shunko decals have given me other issues - they supply the black stripes to go around the white areas painted which have been somewhat of a PITA as they are thin and prone to snapping but on the bright side they do distract the eye/cover any minor mistakes on the masking. In hindsight I should have probably just placed all the original Tamiya decals on and then over applied the aftermarket ones for most of the white areas (I did that for the decals on the air scoop and I think it looks fine). There is a reason some kits end up never getting finished but I'm hopeful I can at least get to the point of calling this one done, even if it has tested me along the way!

Hi folks, another Tamiya Me 262 for the WW2 Twins GB- this one being Galland's 262 with JV 44. Kit is Tamiya with KitsWorld decals and sprayed with Vallejo acrylics as usual. Thanks for looking in!

Very straightforward build, I used Value Gears' kit-specific stowage plus other 'stuff' scrounged from the spares box. Tamiya lacquer paints mixed & lightened by eye. One of my fave WWII vehicles and a huge step-up from the old Academy kit (which did sacrifice some bits & pieces to make this one). Please feel free to make any comments, ask any questions or criticisms. Belated HNY all from the other side of the planet. Cheers from a very sunny and warm New Plymouth. Ian.

Hi everyone. I’ve been lurking over in the figures section for a while, building up the where-with-all to get seriously stuck into my scratchbuilt Italian tank crew, but as a(nother) diversion I cracked on with a quick Tamiya old-school build. Sherman aficionado’s please look away – it’s OOB and uses the parts I liked the look of best from the selection provided rather than those that might be most correct. I drilled out the MG barrels, replaced a few handles with wire and filled up the rather obvious sponson voids, but other than that, it’s pretty much as Tamiya intended back in the 80’s/90’s. The destructions indicated that “Hurricane” should have sand shields fitted and be painted OD plus a rather dark red-brown. Looking at some images online though, convinced me that the shields should go and that the brown should be a lighter mid-earth tone, so that’s what I went with. In a flight of fancy, I imagined that the crew would have been commanded to add the brown in the field, and would have been unlikely to have spraying equipment, or a budding Michaelangelo among their number, so I replicated crude, brush applied brown paint using a scale 6 inch brush, badly applied. VERY tricky for a true artiste like myself to replicate of course, but sacrifices have to be made…. I supplemented the kit stowage with a couple of tissue paper/PVA tarps and a bit of embroidery thread. I decided to go a bit thicker than usual with the mud, so applied a mix of tile grout, finely crushed cat litter, tea leaves, “earth” pastel powder, a little static grass and diluted PVA. I then went round with my more usual pastel dust and white spirit thin mud on top. Another quick (although pretty glacial by Maddoxx standards) and thoroughly enjoyable old-school Tamiya build. Right… where’s the FIMO? I really must get on with those Italians…..

Hi all, recently finished this Tamiya Bf109E-4- the second build from the Aims JG 54 decal sheet I have. By far the most challenging scheme I've attempted with the sawtooth mottle and Balkan campaign RLM04 markings- I'm glad I gave it a go though as I think this is the best finished product I've done! Painted with Vallejo acrylics, with the yellow being Ammo RLM04. JG 54 Fw190 in the works now, thanks for looking in!

Hi all, another Tamiya 262 from me here for my 2nd build of the GB. Using Kitsworld decals again to build Adolf Galland's Me 262 from JV 44. I also have Montex masks for the canopy which will make life easier. Standard 76/81/82 scheme here with some mottling, should be a nice challenge. Made a start last night assembling the interior components, once they're sprayed and fitted the kit really does just fall together in no time. Thanks for looking in!

While waiting for a replacement windscreen from Zvezda for my 1/72nd C-130, I built the Tamiya 1/48th P-47D Razorback. I've had this kit in the stash for many years but something else always pulled me away from building it. Since I am not sure how long it will take for Zvezda to get the part to me to continue the C-130 build, I wanted something that would be "quick". This one was fairly quick, for me, but painting took quite a while, even with the relatively simple color scheme. I painted on the stripes and tried a new metal finish (for me). I also had an Eduard color PE set for this one. Overall, I am happy with the result. Of course there are some things I think I could do better with. I used an aftermarket seat with molded on belts, Quickboost I think. Paint is the Vallejo Metal Color Aluminum with a few panels in a mix of Aluminum and "Silver". The paint set had 4 colors included, but the other 3 were quite a bit darker than the aluminum. The darker panels are a 60/40 mix of aluminum and silver. The white stripes are the undercoat of Tamiya spray can Fine White Primer. The black stripes are Testors flat back, and the forward antiglare panel is Model Master Olive Drab. Decals are a mix of kit stencils, Eagle Strike, and Superscale. I painted the cockpit in my version of Dull Dark Green, an ancient tin of Humbrol 88 (pushing 25+ years old and still working well.) However last week, on Hyperscale, a discussion erupted concerning P-47 cockpit colors. I don't think there was any confirmation on colors for various P-47 models (C, D, G, M, N). Interesting food for thought... Background on this one: While researching the 23rd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group, in WW2, I always thought that they started D-Day carrying bombs for close air support or battlefield interdiction. Most, if not all, USAAF fighter wings were tasked with air superiority for the first missions of the day. The 36th was no exception. In reading pilot accounts, most flew 3 or even 4 sorties on June 6, 1944. The first 2 sorties were air superiority, and following tasking was for air to ground. I wanted to show this aircraft ready for it's first mission that morning. I choose tail number 42-26043, a P-47D-22-RE. This ship was lost to flak near Mortain, France on 7 Aug 44. Pilot James "Mose" Cole was KIA. I wasn't sure of the in-squadron letter so I chose "J" because I had a J on the decal sheets and my wife's name starts with "J". It wasn't until after the 36th moved to the continent that colorful engine cowling and tailplanes appeared. Even though it's just silver, black, and white, mostly, it still has some color pops here and there. I kept weathering to a minimum since the aircraft were fairly new, having only been in operation for a few weeks before the invasion, and the stripes had been painted only hours before the first sorties on D-Day.

Hi All, This is my second post on Britmodeller, it is a Me262 A-1a from Tamiya upgraded with Aires aftermarket for cockpit, wheel bays and engines. Hope you like it! Happy modelling, Alex

Here is my 1/24 Tamiya Porsche 934, built to represent a car from the Max Moritz Racing Team in 1976. In addition to the kit decals, I also added some decals from Decalpool for the Shell and Dunlop logos. I also added seatbelts from Studio27. The body was painted with Splash Paints Jägermeister orange and clear coated with Gravity 2K. This was meant to be a quick and easy build, but some setbacks along the way made it take several months to complete. It's not my best work, but I'm just happy it's finally done! Questions, comments, and especially critiques are most welcome. - Justin

Here's my first completion for 2024. Fantastic kit from Tamiya, brilliant engineering & very accurate. I didn't ever consider the F-35A to be a great looking aircraft & was mostly put off doing one as most kits representing the RAM strips were grossly overscale, but finally here's a kit that looks a bit more sensible than the others. That's my opinion & I'm sticking with it. I hope Tamiya engineer an F-35B & C to this same standard in the One True Scale! Only then will I consider building any other versions. 😉 So I've used the new generation AK acrylic Have Glass Grey which I found to be too light in tone, so a very small amount of black was added to darken it. Then AK FS36270 was used for all the lighter grey panel strips. There are decals for all the RAM strips but they were masked & painted instead. I just thought the grey decals for the panels was too contrasty for the HGG. All the lighter grey panels were then over sprayed with with the HGG. Decals are both from the kit & the Furball sheet "F-35 Anthology JSF Pt.4" This is the flagship airframe for the resurrected 495th FS "Valkyries" at Lakenheath. 19-5495 "Freyja" Only addition is some wire to represent the main wheel brake lines. Just wish that the canopy could have been posed either open or closed but in this scale that would have been a tricky job. Still undecided wether to change it to closed. Next to come is the black tail F-15C of the 493rd 86-0172.

Since I was, at best, mediocre in my build of a 1/48 Tamiya Spitfire as I am trying to get back into this modeling thing, I was trying to decide which kit I could mangle next. I just happened to be on this bid site (addictions are a hard thing to oppress) and there was this 1/32 Hasegawa Zero for a ridiculously low price. So, I bid on it and ended up winning. Upon receiving the kit and opening it to see if it was complete or not, I found a Quinta Studio 3D cockpit set for a Tamiya Zero that retails for more than what I paid for the kit. Bonus, huh? I just happened to have a Tamiya Zero in the stash so why not build it and use the Quinta Studio set to enhance it. Then I got the brilliant idea of build both and if I am using the Quinta Studio on the Tamiya kit, use the Tamiya kit parts on the Hasegawa kit. Hence, this build took life. I am comparing the 1979 issue of the 1971 Hasegawa Zero kit with Tamiya’s 2000 new tool 1/32 A6M5 Zero. (I know the Hasegawa kit is old, but has it really been over 20 years since Tamiya came out with this first superkit?) First the obligatory box and sprue shots; Tamiya first: To go with the Tamiya kit I have the aforementioned Quinta Studio 3d set and Master metal gun barrels. Next is the Hasegawa kit The scheme right now for the Tamiya kit is the 204th bird. The scheme for the Hasegawa kit is the A6M5 C version. Before I can start, however, some attention has to be paid to the work bench as these kits will take a lot of space, so messes have to be cleaned! I decided if I do comparison builds with the idea I might start to make a dent in the stash. The 1/32 and 1/24 group The 1/32 and 1/48 group The 1/48 group And the 1/72 group I just need to live to be around 175 to complete all of these at my current snail pace rate of build. Now the issues I see with this build. I picked up a list of corrections for the Tamiya kit at this other site devoted to Large Planes (sneaky how I described that one huh?). I don’t know how many I will actually do based upon my laziness and skill level. In regards to the Quinta Studio set, it is for a different Zero version than I have so adjustments may have to be made. (Or I ignore it and blissfully know that 99% of the people that might ever look at my finished model won’t know the difference. As for the Hasegawa kit, there are 3 choices for markings but each marking is a different Zero version. I haven’t really closely examined the contents of the Hasegawa box and instructions, but I kinda doubt all options for the three versions are included and clearly delineated on how to do each one in the instructions. I am just guessing the kit is a mixture of different Zero versions. Anyway, that is where the start of this build is; the bare planning stages and get myself motivated to clean the work bench. I expect this to be done at my normal sloth like pace so maybe once a week updates. My work schedule is a bit intense right now, plus we have this drought thing going on in Texas and there is a bit more work involved making sure the cows and horses have plenty of food and water. Have to balance the hay needs, the lack of pasture grass, and how much they colic so nothing bad happens. Anyone who wants to see if I can muck this up is more than welcome to come along and all comments and suggestions on the progress (or lack of it) are more than welcome.

Build this severals years back, the only aftermarket parts used in the build are 3 PE clamps. Canvas tarp made from tissue paper. [/url]

Greetings to all, as this is actually my first build in a long long time ( started at 6 y.o. stopped at 12 due to school ), I'd like to thank you for accepting me in the group and I'm happy to share with you my efforts in building an iconic spitfire , its nothing compared to what I see here but, it's a start! By now I'm 24 and finally have the time to enjoy perhaps one of the best hobbies in the world as I have already managed to create a respectable stash. I tried to improve the frames by drilling the holes , I avoided any kind of wires running through , although I do regret it now.. All comments / criticism / tips are more than welcome!

Hi all, built for the ongoing Twin WW2 GB. Kit by Tamiya, with Quinta Studios cockpit decals and KitsWorld decals to create this 262 flown by Karl-Heinz Becker of 10./NJG 11. Thanks for looking in, check out the GB there's some cracking builds on the go.

One of my P-47 builds will be replicating 42-29150, known as "Dottie Mae". This bubble top P-47 completed 90 combat missions in the ETO, before being lost while celebrating over a rescued concentration camp. While the pilot survived, the aircraft sank in the lake. It was finally raised in 2005, and being in excellent condition, was restored and returned to flying status in 2017. The aircraft is know owned and operated by Allied Fighters out of Chino, CA, and participates in local airshows. The kit I'll be using is Tamiya's 1/72 offering. I have heard many good things about this kit, and found a super cheap one at this years local IPMS show, and put it aside for this STGB. Berna decals will be used for this build.

Hello gang, first of all, best wishes for the new year and lotsa completed builds in 2024. Here is my take on a Malta Spitfire, I'm not pretending I have all the answers about that subject, just my interpretation. This is the the Tamiya 1/48 kit, painted with AK real colors and Gunze acryls. Plane is from the RAF 229 Squadron , in Ta-Kali, Malta, 1942. I worked from well known, B&W picture and tried to render what I saw on picture. Base camo scheme is DarkEarth/Middstone over Azure blue (from the AK real color range) while Middstone was over painted with extradark sea grey (Gunze range). I hope you'll like her, feel free to comment Best, Stef (#6)

I'll be joining this GB with an instalment from my Last Legs Ponies project. For that project I'm modeling American World War II fighters that ended their service lives around the Caribbean. It began with four (Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Dominican, and Haitian) P-51s (hence "ponies"), but has also included a P-38 in Nicaraguan markings and a P-39 based in Curacao. My entry in this GB will be a Colombian P-47D which I will build using the Tamiya 1/72 kit . . . . . . with AM from Quickboost . . . . . . and decals from Aztec. I began the kit some time ago (as documented in the Last Legs Ponies thread), but it's well under 25% complete as this GB begins. Looking forward to this!

This one will be built as a F-47D used by Yugoslav air force after WWII. Decals from Lift here for Yugoslav Bolts will be used. Which of the options, I havent decided yet. Yugoslavia had 150 Thunderbolts in use - acquired 125 F-47 from USA through MDAP and 25 directly purchased from France.

Have decided to build a second P-47 in this GB, so here are the obligatory photographs of the box and sprues. Kit is the Tamiya 1/48 Republic P-47D Bubbletop Thunderbolt The scheme is to be that of 258 Squadron in Malaysia during 1945. I fancy doing this scheme as its unusual to see a WW2 RAF aircraft in natural metal. Thanks for looking Many regards Matt

Hello fellow modelers, On New-Years eve I had the roll-out of my recently build model, Tamiya 1/48 F-14A Tomcat kit from the VF-84 Jolly Rogers...FEAR THE BONES ☠️!! It was a joy to build this shake-and-bake kit from Tamiya, the only aftermarket stuff I used were: PE seatbelts STEEL No. 49806 from Eduard; F-14 Alfa Probe AM-48-007 from Master-Model. I used my favorite paint, Gunze Aqueous: Grey FS16440 H315 - 10ml; Insignia White (FS17875) H316 - 10ml. For the panel lines, I used the PLW from AMMO: For the grey color: A.MIG-1602 Panel Line Wash - Deep Grey For the bottom Insignia White: A.MIG-1601 Panel Line Wash - Medium Grey For some subtle oil streaking, I used the oil paints from Abteiling 501: Black ABT110 - 20ml Raw Umber ABT007 - 20ml Enjoy the reveal pics and for everybody around the globe...Happy New Year ! Cheer, Jos

Hi, While I'm building the P-47M for the GB, I also have several Razorback P-47D's that I have started years ago. I'll have a go at finishing them (or some of them) for the inspiration gallery. There's one from the 353rd FG that would first in line. I think it will look great with those black and yellow diamonds on the cowling. My goal is to have (a couple of years from now) a fighter from each of the Fighter Groups of the 8th AF (including a P-47 of each Squadron of the 56th FG). With the "twin" GB of 2024, I could add a P-38 and of course a P-51 from that STGB. Cheers, Stefan.

Hi, Here's my P-47M. So far, I've only painted the prop. That must have happened when I was spraypainting other props and used up what was in the airbrsuh on this one. Dottie Dee II was in light and dark blue with NMF undersides and leading edges of the wings and horizontal stabs. This has not really been a productive year in modelling for me, so I'm hoping to do better with this one. Cheers, Stefan.