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Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my 2022 production line, all in 1/72 scale. Finished model photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. This was a year of many changes. I quit my job, inherited a house, and moved from the city to the countryside. Once primarily an aircraft builder, my output of small-scale AFVs has been increasing, and they are making up almost half of my total builds now! I hope you like my selection, and thanks for your interest in my works. JANUARY 1/72 Italeri IS-2, with CMK figures, Blackdog stowage, OKB Grigorov tracks and Colibri decals. 1/72 Kovozávody Prostějov Ilyushin Il-2M, with Quickboost gun barrels. 1/72 Heller Sherman M4A2 built as a British Mk.III, with figure, brushguards and antenna socket from Dan Taylor Modelworks. The antenna is a piece of stretched black sprue, the towing cable is from Eureka, and stowage is from Milicast. Markings represent a mid-production vehicle of the Junior Regiment of C-Squadron, 27th Armoured Brigade, in France, 1944. 1/72 UM SU-85M with resin tracks from OKB Grigorov, CMK resin fuel tanks and Dragon spiderwheels. 1/72 Tamiya Fw-190D with photo-etch from ResIm and markings from Eagle Cals, representing an aircraft of JG301. FEBRUARY 1/72 Dragon Panzer IV Ausf.J "Final Production", built from the box. 1/72 IBG Fw-190D, straight from the box, in markings of JG2. MARCH 1/72 Arma Hobby P-51B out of the box. APRIL 1/72 Zvezda Sherman M4A2, with stowage from Sandsmodels and BlackDog, steel towing cable from Karaya, photo-etch brushguards from Dan Taylor Modelworks and antenna from stretched sprue. 1/72 Airfix DH Mosquito B.XVI straight from the box, with slightly silvering decals. 1/72 IBG Ford Maultier with Modelltrans resin tracks. A bit out of my usual interest and scale, this is the 1/87 (HO) Trident Steyr 4K 4FA, as used by the Austrian Army. A commissoned build. MAY 1/72 Airfix P-51D Mustang, converted to Mk.IV using Freightdog conversion and markings from Xtradecal, representing an aircraft of 19. Squadron in Peterhead, 1945. 1/72 Revell Heinkel He-177 A-5, markings from Eagle Strike. 1/72 Stransky Kits Bücker Bü-181 "Panzerbücker" 1/72 Academy Ford GPA with Blackdog stowage. 1/72 Tamiya Bf-109 G6 in colorful Romanian markings, decals from "Romanian Roundels Over Czechoslovakia" (DK72088). "Tumpi-Bumpi Flostomok" was the mount of Lt. Baciu from Grupul 1 Vanatorare, in May 1945. JUNE 1/72 Dragon Heinkel He-219 A2 with photo-etch from Eduard, resin wheels from True Details and decals from AIMS, representing an aircraft of NJG3. The mottle scheme was free-handed, using my trusted Harder & Steenbeck airbrush with 0,15mm nozzle. 1/72 Kovozávody Prostějov Spitfire Mk.XI in colors of the USAAF. JULY 1/72 Airfix Hawker Tempest, straight from the box. AUGUST 1/72 Dragon SdKfz 165 Hummel, from the box. 1/72 IBG Cromwell IV with resin tracks and wheels from Tank Models, etched antenna socket from Dan Taylor Modelworks and stowage from Modelltrans. Markings represent a vehicle of the British 6th Airborne Armoured Regiment, 6th Airborne Division, operating in Normandy in summer 1944. SEPTEMBER 1/72 Hasegawa SdKfz 251, converted to a battlefield ambulance by covering the (poorly detailled) interior with Sandsmodels tarpaulin and adding Aleran Miniatures red-cross decals. 1/72 Hasegawa SdKfz 234/3, built from the box. 1/72 Finemolds Bf-109K4 with etched parts (armored headrest, seatbelts, antennas) from a Brengun set and a pitot tube from Master, markings from the box. OCTOBER Another 1/72 IBG Fw-190D, this is the "Over Czech Lands" boxing, representing an aircraft of the 211 XXX Werknummer range, identified by the late three-piece gun cowl with small round bulges in the lower rear position. Decals from Eagle Cals (#108) 1/72 Academy Dodge WC54 Ambulance with stretchers from Milicast. The red-cross decals were sprayed using a paper template. 1/72 UM SU-76M Soviet assault gun with metal barrel from RB Productions. 1/72 Zvezda Yak-9D with decals from Printscale. NOVEMBER 1/72 Dragon Sherman M4A3 with sandbag armor from Blackdog and figure from Milicast. 1/72 Dragon Sherman M4A4 dressed as "Philippsbourg" from the Free French Army 1945. I added OKB Grigorov resin tracks, Eureka towing cable, Milicast figure and stowage and Peddinghaus decals. The antenna is from stretched black sprue. 1/72 Arma Hobby Yak-1B, built from the "Expert Set" box. DECEMBER 1/72 Valom C-46D Commando in markings of "Operation Varsity", March 1945. I wish you a great holiday season and a lucky new year. Greetings from Austria, Roman

Hallo We found some pictures from my father in law. Maybe it is of interest. Happy modelling

Hallo During getting order in our apartment, my wife found pictures from her father. This photo is taken in May 1940 in Charleville in France. No more information. Maybe it is an idea for a model? Happy modelling

Hallo Both pictures are taken 1940 in France. From my father in law. Maybe somone knows which types this tanks are? Happy modelling

Hello everyone! I am a new member and loved the healthy forum here so I simply had to join! i am going to build a model warship for the first time and wanted to document it as it will help me keep track and I spire to keep going but most importantly a reference for others to inspire. I laugh and joke with my best buddy about how funny it was when we were 14 to smash out a model in a weekend. the results were simply terrible but we definitely had our fun whilst at it! over time one matures and takes a deeper intrest into the history of the models that peaked our modeling tastebuds. one also appreciates the time and effort put into models and is extremely rewarding when it is backed up with so thi g as rich as the history too. When I was young(er) I enjoyed being a part of the Marine Cadet Detachment of the Sea Cadet corps TS Wizard (training ship) in Wood Green. It was my first introduction to the Royal Navy and inevitably inspired a deeper into rest into the history of it and more broadly the navies it dealt with. with this I have decided to build a model of HMS Wizard as it would require some proper research and holds a little place in my heart as it was the catalist for my love of naval history and engineering. Please follow this thread to witnes my maiden voyage into maritime modeling. commentry, experiences, pro tips and contructive criticism is advocated here to better the experience

Hallo I have 10 kits from the 109 Gustav. From version 2 to 14. All sorts of kits. The Tamiya and Zvezda G-6 and several Eduard editions. My question is: The Gustav was in reality criss-cross converted. GM-1, MW-50, upgrated hood, Mk-108 and so on. The situation is, that nearly no kit represents the aircraft I want to build. If it is so, in detail I miss hatches, or the wrong hood. The difference with upgraded vision improved hood to the standard Erla hood is too big, to be ignored. Especially on the aspect of aerial. AS will be AS. No conversion intended. To much work! On the other side, for planes of JG-300 / 301 / 302 the landing light is mostly omitted. I intend to build the aircraft I intend, and not to stick on the decal option the kit has. Lots of decals I have, lots of masks too. I need to know a scribing tool to make the missing hatches in fuselage or wing by myself. I need to know where to get dash boards for the improved blind flying and radio equipment for the night fighter versions. I need to know aftermarket hoods for upgraded vision improved hood / not Erla. If you can help me, I would be happy. Thanks in forward. Happy modelling

Hallo While doing our Christmas cleaning, we found a pile of photos. The pictures are from a flight with an F-156. It must have been around 1997. At that time, this aircraft was privately owned at the Wiener Neustadt airfield. The pilot of this machine had a model shop. After we started building plastic models, back then as beginners, we got interested in these old types of planes. My girlfriend at the time put me in touch. The aircraft itself was essentially original. The entire control, cockpit, etc. There was only the extension for the officially prescribed radio. The pilot who flew this machine was a very old gentleman at the time. At a young age he was stationed in the far north as a Ju-88 operational pilot. The operations were directed exclusively against shipping traffic. Allied supplies to Russia. Flying in the far north is no easy task. Light, weather, magnetism, loneliness. That is why radio navigation was of great importance. The lonely radio stations were vital. To secure this thread of life, this pilot was often on the route with the Fi-156. Visits, celebrations, equipment were the purposes of his countless non-operative flights. Hence the familiarity with this type of aircraft. Flying was really fun. We did a proper short takeoff and we went backwards. Rarely have I flown as stable and safe as with this aircraft. Note as a model builder: We built 3 storks. One from Esci, two from Tamiya. While the Tamiya kits are pretty nice, they have the pathetic flaw of making the plane look stupid. The wing and the landing gear are not corresponding at all. Wing positve dihedral as if in flight, landing gear as if on the ground. That's what I said to the people at Tamiya in Shizuoka in Japan personally, but it was ignored. I would like a kit for Christmas with which I can represent a stork on the ground with a negative dihedral and spread legs, and one kit in flight on a stand with a positive dihedral and hanging landing gear. Please look at the pictures. @Julien, I have some more for a Walkaround, if wanted. Happy modelling

After a fair bit longer than I thought it would take I finished the Saipan Sherman, I really enjoyed building this wee heller kit in 1/72. The background to this build is that during the invasion of Saipan in WW2 , three separate USMC shermans became stranded in the shallow lagoon surrounding Saipan, where they remain to this day. See below for the video that provided me with the basis for this diorama. My build is a bit of a composite of the three wrecks. I hope you like the results! Regards Mark

Hallo This is now my second Ju-88 from ICM. I built before my A-5 version. I will make the aircraft from KG 54 Totenkopf. Operative in Brindisi in Italy around 1943. I will make the aircraft from KG 54 Totenkopf. Operative in Brindisi in Italy around 1943. Brindisi is in the middle of the heel of the Italian boot at the eastern coast. In this area there occurred one of the biggest environmental pollutions. Here is the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_John_Harvey From Wiki German edition translated / English version of Wiki this subject is omitted! The most momentous air raid occurred on the night of December 3rd, when II. Gruppe, together with other squadrons, attacked the port of Bari. 18 ships with a total of 71,566 GRT and 38,000 t of cargo were destroyed. The Liberty-class freighter SS John Harvey exploded with a cargo of 2,000 AN-M47 bombs filled with a total of 480 tons of mustard gas. 1000 soldiers and civilians perished. The Allies concealed the consequences of the mustard gas on those affected. The camo is interesting, a good difference to the splinter scheme of my A-5. I will use Montex masks. Which individual a/c I will do, my options are from the same squadron LR or LA. Now, to face the main issues on this kit. The cockpit is wrong. We face here a flat floor, which is not so at all in reality. We have three possibilities. · To leave it as it is · To use a resin aftermarket cockpit · Or to make some scratch I decided after my experience with the resin from AIMS for the third choice. To avoid fitting troubles with the glass and fitting problems with the Bola. (Boden Lafette) The downward gondola. To improve the fuselage stiffness close to the wings I made one bulkhead in scratch. Before continuing with the build I emptied one sprue and did the main gear already. One error in the instruction is obvious. Look at the picture 48! The gear main mount is too small in gauge. About 1 mm. I had this problem when inserting the gear on my A-5 already. In this kit the difference is more. So I increased the gauge with steel wire to the proper distance as required. Meanwhile I did also the wings. Assembling, grinding, and filling. I inserted the landing light, after spraying the backside with Aluminum. At the wing tips I drilled holes, since this kit omitted the position lights in red and green. Well, it is done! So far this day. Happy modelling

Hi All, With my other current WIP (1:32 Spitfire Mk.IXc) on hold pending some decals arriving *drums fingers*, I thought I'd get another project going. Although 1:48 is my normal stomping ground I couldn't resist straying into the gentleman's scale in order to build a Beaufort, which I've been lusting after it since its release. I've been unable to order this kit anywhere locally, so after seeing @tonyot and @Rabbit Leader's inspirational joint build (wonderful work gents), I could contain myself no longer and ordered one from the big H at exorbitant cost (including shipping of course). A few short weeks later this lovely little box landed at the portcullis of Dunny Towers: Beautiful box art showing the enormous danger that these brave crews flew into. Although there are many interesting schemes for the Beaufort (including some lovely Aussie versions!), the combination of DSG/EDSG over Night is an irresistible one, so I'm going to complete this as the lower scheme, L9866 of 217 Sqn, based at St Eval in Cornwall in Feb 1941. This aircraft was flown by Sgt John Rutherford (pilot), Sgt Thomas O'Byrne (navigator), Sgt William Browning (W/Op), and Sgt John Wood (AG). The crew were all lost in the 1st Feb attack on the German cruiser Admiral Hipper whilst she was moored in Brest Harbour - the aircraft was thought to have been shot down by a Bf109-E4 of II./JG77. Brave men indeed. I can't find any photos of L9866, but I have found some lovely colour pics of other 217 Sqn aircraft (both copyright World War Photos) Here's another one, showing that both TSS and TLS were applied to aircraft from the same unit: All these shots show some interesting details such as the EDSG spinners, aircraft ID letter on the glazing, as well as the general wear & tear on the airframe which I shall do my best to replicate. On to the kit! Here's the sprue shots: The detail looks lovely, and the mouldings are nice & crisp. I know that everybody has raved about how well this kit fits together, so I hope it will be a pleasure to build. Here's the decals, which look lovely, along with an obligatory set of Eduard masks - the build will otherwise be OOB. I'm looking forward to this one! Thanks for looking, Roger

Here: New film by 3D animation with ALL cockpit details: https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/21808-junkers-88-a1-detail-photos/ Happy modelling

Does anybody ever corrected frames? Cockpits have usually external and internal frames. Mostly all kits the cockpit clear parts show just external frames. Even if there is just an internal frame. No matter which type. Ju-88, Ju-87, Me-110, Helifax,. I think about removing the external frame, and just spraying inside. Has anyone experience on this matter? Happy modelling

Hallo This is my Ju 88 A-5 in 1/48 from ICM. Since this kit has some flaws in geometry in the cockpit, I got the resin AIMS cockpit. This is fine, but you create some longitudinal displacement. This displacements accompany through the finish of the model and cause some sever headache. Most of the vertical positions are fine, but not all of them. Here meets two flaws and one single place. The trim wheel from Eduard is too big! So it causes an intersection with the horizontal cockpit panel. This horizontal panel has all the control levers. Here is one point: Exactly under the trim wheel is the throttle double lever inside and outside both sides the propeller feather control. This detail is in the original Luftwaffe manual by page diversion omitted! And Eduard etched parts, also do not show the throttle lever. I also show you some other details from the manual, which may be unknown to you. The rudder break. Eduard has this part in the interior set. The hydraulic lines, I made it with lead wire. Here number 5, the bombardier control stick, just used in attack! This control stick has to be stowd! Eduard set has the fixing here number 1! The seats of pilot and radio operator. The seats for bombardier and gunner in ready position. The bombardier seat in stowed position. I could not make it. So far some details explained. So have a look and get some inspiration for creating a more accurate Ju-88, as the kit provides it. Used aftermarket parts: · Resin AIMS cockpit · BIG Eduard set · Montex masks · New Ware masks Happy modelling

Hi All, After some incessant online bullying encouragement from fellow Britmodellers @mark.au, @bigbadbadge and @AliGauld I felt pressured to the point of tears decided that I really, really wanted to model another Swordfish. Just last year I had a crack at Tamiya's incredible 1:48 Mk.II, so this time round I thought I'd stick with gentleman's scale, as I seem to be having a good run down in the smaller scale. Here's the Mk.II build if anybody is interested: Anyway, here's to the kit. Here's Airfix' box art: Here's the sprues: Here's the decals, which look lovely: A mask set from Eduard: Why oh why did I bother?!I've also ordered a PE rigging set from the good folk at Red Roo models. There are decal options for two aircraft, one of which was involved with the infamous 'Channel Dash' action against the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen. Much as that is tempting, that is not where we are headed with this build (note the '4' in the decals, which may become important later 🤩). The aforementioned Mark is currently making a beautiful job of Tamiya's 1:48 Mk.I as 815 Sqn aircraft L4A, which was involved in the action on the Italian fleet at Taranto on 11-12th November. During this attack 21 Swordfish from 815 & 819 Sqn FAA flying from HMS Illustrious attacked in two waves, causing considerable damage to the Italian fleet. The aircraft in both waves carried a mixture of torpedo, bombs, and bombs & flares. Mark's subject is the torpedo-carrying aircraft of the commanding officer Lt Cdr K Williamson, which was shot down in the first wave. His beautiful work has inspired us gullible fools intrepid fellow FAA fans to build other aircraft from the same raid. @bigbadbadge has just kicked off with his bomber, so I am going to model one of the flare-dropping aircraft (hence the title of the thread). I think at the time of writing @AliGauld is still sitting on the fence, but he does have a few builds on the go... So, the aircraft I shall model is L4F of 815 Sqn FAA, crewed by Lt R Skelton and S Lt E A Perkins. After dropping flares over the fleet this aircraft successfully bombed the Taranto oil installations before returning safely to 'Lusty'. As yet I do not have any photos of this aircraft, nor do I have a serial number - any information would be gratefully received (I know that @iang has been most helpful in Mark's build - I'll also shout out @Grey Beema). So the aircraft will be finished with the S1E scheme, with a black distemper finish on the undersides reaching high up the fuselage sides. I shall furnish further information as the build progresses, but Mark, Chris & Alistair - I hope you are happy now? 🤣 Just joking - really looking forward to this one (enough to put a 1:48 Blenheim Mk.I on ice) Cheers, Roger

I am well aware that at the moment it may not be welcome to spend time building models of Russian vehicles. But after all we are also building those related to Nazi Germany, aren't we? I found the perfect Modelkrak resin kit of the T-37A floating tank. The problem is that it presents an Izhorsk-built variant, while almost all photographed T-37As from the Winter War, the invasion of Poland or the Barbarossa Operation are tanks produced by the Podolsk factory - a modification (theoretically feasible) would devastate the sophisticated details of the turret and the hull uppersurface. Unfortunately, the tanks from the Izhorsk factory appear only in the photos of the pre-war maneuvers in Ukraine and the clashes on the Khalkhin Gol river. But there are also photos of such tanks in Wehrmacht markings, and the Germans surely did not capture them in Mongolia 😆. Does anybody have a photo or a colour profile of the Izhorsk-built T-37A from the 1941 Eastern Front? Cheers Michael

Hi All, Whilst my Sunderland build is still chuntering along, I fancied a bit of light relief after marathon sanding and scribing sessions (I also thought it would be polite to give @AliGauld a bit of clear air, as our builds appear to be converging to alarmingly similar stages, and he started first!). Anyways, I've had ICM's lovely Gladiator Mk.II sitting in the stash for at least a couple of months, so I thought I'd run both builds in parallel (what could possibly go wrong?!). Here's the box art: This is my first ICM kit, and initial impressions are certainly favourable. A nice sturdy box, and some jolly nice artwork to boot! Here's the sprue shots: Detail and quality look to be superb. Here's the decals, which also look lovely: I've got a couple of extras for this build - Yahu instrument panel and Eduard harness: I also had some of these sent over from the UK after I'd seen them used to great effect on other builds: I've also invested in a set of Montex masks, which allow for 2 schemes: Now I'd had my heart set on a DE/DG/LE/LG colour scheme, and was surprised when the Montex scheme showed up as DE/DG over B/W, and looked... well, rather dull! Nevertheless, I started to do a little due diligence on the scheme, N5581 of 615 Sqn RAF, which Montex have based at RAF Kenley in August 1939. A quick trawl of t'internet has the same aircraft: This time based at RAF Ford in the same month - hmmmm. Imagine my further confusion when searching on 615 (County of Surrey) Sqn (as noted in the above pic), there appears a completely different squadron code ('KW' as opposed to 'RR'), with one of the box schemes being the former based at St Inglevert (Northern France) in April 1940. Without digging into the history of 615, I am guessing that they vacated St Inglevert in a hurry in May 1940, and presumably remustered in England shortly after? Anyway, here's the box scheme of the France-based aircraft: It does have the 4-colour upper camo, which ticks a box - some rather fetching red hubs too 🤩. Also, I did find this: So, the top scheme is the Montex one, the second is the box scheme (although this time in December 1939), and 3 & 4 are also strong contenders for unusual camo!! Here's a photo I found of the bottom aircraft, which is in standard DFS colours of DG/OG over MSG. Here's a photo I found of said aircraft: I haven't seen a Gladiator modelled in that scheme before, so some marks for originality! I now don't know whether I'm Arthur or Martha as far as the schemes go, so I think I'll just go and throw some primer around and not worry about it for now! Thanks for looking, Roger

Found this short video of Horbaczewski's Mustang Mk.III PK-G probably taxiing on an RAF airfield during the D-Day landings. It sports a full suit of D-Day ID bands on the rear fuselage and wings (with the fuselage ones being irregularly painted). The aircraft is also carrying two bombs under the wings. Does anyone know if this P-51 flown by Horbaczewski flew as a pure fighter (no bombs, just the external fuel tanks) over the skies of Normandy?

Hi All, My latest completion is Special Hobby's 1:72 Boston Mk.III. I first started this kit in 2021, but an irretrievable decal disaster saw my first effort sail binwards (an act of which I am not proud). However, it continued to niggle me, so I recently purchased another kit and started the build from scratch! The reason for persisting with this model is that it depicts a rather unusual experimental camouflage scheme applied to AL468, an aircraft of 418 'City of Edmonton' Sqn RCAF, based at RAF Bradwell Bay, Essex in 1942. Aircraft of this squadron were tasked with 'Night Intruder' missions, whereby they attacked German night fighters at their home bases, often whilst they were in the circuit. AL468 was piloted by Sqn Ldr Burton-Gyles, who was credited with shooting down an enemy aircraft over the town of Beauvais. Most of these aircraft were painted in Night overall, but a couple were painted in the experimental Ocean Grey & Dark Green over Night, rather than the later standard Night Fighter scheme of Medium Sea Grey/Dark Green over Night. The following are excerpts from @Carl V's book on the subject - Carl and @dogsbody were kind enough to provide this information during my build (many thanks gents!). You can see the experimental scheme applied to TH-D in the middle photos. The cockpit close-up on the second panel is TH-O AL468, showing the maple leaf marking above the swastika - the aircraft also carried a distinctive 'O - Ottawa, Ontario' marking on the starboard side. Finally, the bottom artwork shows the scheme itself, Here's the WIP, if anyone is interested: Now the kit itself has a few foibles, mainly relating to the fit of the nose glazing, which was remedied by the addition of a 1mm shim to the fuselage. The aircraft was modelled with the ventral cannon pack fitted, but with the cheek gun blisters removed. I also modified the bombardier's position, removing the bomb sight along with a portion of the floor, as was correct for this aircraft (this from information kindly provided by @Scott Hemsley - many thanks Scott!). I made a few improvements, such as the addition of a life raft, clear wingtip lights, and Tamiya tape harnesses - otherwise the kit was pretty much OOB. Anyway, that's enough waffle - on to the pics! Finally, I couldn't resist a couple of shots with another unusual RCAF aircraft, just to show the difference between a 'light' and 'heavy' bomber 😉 Although this build has not been without its frustrations, I'm actually pretty pleased with the outcome. It's an unusual-looking aircraft and hopefully a fitting tribute to the brave Canadian crews who undertook the hazardous Intruder operations night after night. Many thanks to all who have provided help and encouragement along the way - it is sincerely appreciated as always! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My next build will be Special Hobby's Douglas Boston Mk.III Intruder. Here's the box art: Here's the sprue shots: The decals look nicely in register: There's a small PE fret: I'm going to model this as AL468 of 418 'City of Edmonton' Sqn, RCAF, based at RAF Bradwell Bay, December 1942 to June 1943. 418 had the highest kill tally of any squadron within the RCAF. Their hazardous Intruder missions were flown deep into enemy territory at low level, in order to engage night fighters taking off or landing at their home bases, all without the benefit of radar - brave men indeed. Here's the scheme: I cannot find any photos of AL468, but I am dubious as to the accuracy of this scheme. SH call out OG & DG over night, whereas I would have thought it would be in the standard night fighter scheme of MSG/DG over Night - I have asked the hive mind for clarification. In researching this kit I have found that there is potentially a nasty step between the fuselage & glazing, so I thought I'd investigate this early, so I could be prepared to shim the fuselage: Although there's a very slight step, it's nothing to write home about - maybe I got lucky? (or maybe the fuselage will push out with the interior in place - I shall proceed with caution). I'm off to start chucking primer around, so watch this space! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My latest completion is Special Hobby's Short Sunderland Mk.III, modelled as EJ134 'N-Nuts' of 461 Sqn RAAF, based at RAF Pembroke Dock, Wales, 1943, and captained by Flt Lt C B Walker. The Sunderland was known as The Flying Porcupine for its extensive defensive armament and ability to fight off enemy aircraft. 'N-Nuts' very much lived up to this name on 2nd June 1943, whilst on patrol over the Bay of Biscay she was attacked by no less than 8 Ju88s of KG40. During this protracted engagement the crew of EJ134 destroyed 3 of the Ju88s, severely damaging another 2. EJ134 also sustained significant damage as well as several of the crew being severely injured, and Sgt E C B Miles sadly succumbing to his mortal wounds. However, the crew nursed the damaged aircraft back to the Cornish coast without incident and eventually beached the aircraft on Praa Sands. There is an extensive account of the battle on the 'Aircrew Remembered' website - it is compelling reading: http://aircrewremembered.com/walker-colin.html I have found two photos of EJ134 - both of these photos are copyright Poole Flying Boat Celebration, and will be removed on request. Here's their website, which again is well worth a look: http://www.pooleflyingboats.com/archive/04 Changes-at-Poole-with-RAF-Hamworthy.pdf 461 Sqn were stationed at RAF Harmworthy near Poole before relocating to Pembroke Dock, and the website contains a wealth of evocative period detail. The first photo shows the ground crew in front of EJ134: The second shows 'N-Nuts' after ditching at Praa Sands: You can see the distinctive wavy camouflage demarcation on the rear fuselage in this photo. Here's a couple more very evocative shots showing Sunderlands at Pembroke Dock: I suspect these are newly-delivered aircraft, as there are no squadron codes applied. Right - to the build! Here's a link to the WIP if anybody is interested: Here's a couple of shots in progress to show the lovely interior detail: Finally, here's the finished article, which was mostly OOB save a set of Montex masks: Finally, I couldn't resist a couple of shots with another large Short Brothers aircraft - the Stirling Mk.I of PO Rawdon 'Ron' H Middleton VC RAAF, which has its own extraordinary story of Aussie bravery: A pretty imposing pair of aircraft, even in gentleman's scale! I've very much enjoyed the challenge of this build - the kit has the usual Special Hobby foibles but I believe it builds up into a pretty accurate Mk.III. I must thank @LDSModeller who was a valuable source of advice on Sunderland detail throughout the build, and @AliGauld whose parallel Mk.V build provided much inspiration along the way. Thanks also to all those who added words of encouragement throughout the build - as ever it is sincerely appreciated, Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My next project will be Special Hobby's 1:72 Sunderland Mk.III - oh boy (or should that be 'Oh Buoy'? 🤣). I've long loved the Sunderland - it's just such an interesting aircraft, with a variety of novel features not found on other types, such as the retractable bomb racks, the sliding front turret, and generally the fact that it's a mahoosive bl**dy flying boat. Inspired by @AliGauld's lovely Mk.V build (still in progress at the time of writing), I had to give it a crack! This will also be my second Short Brothers build, after I completed the 1:72 Italeri Stirling Mk.I earlier this year. I decided on the Mk.III as this was the prevalent Sunderland mark, and the one which undertook the brunt of the fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic. This is the SH boxart: Here's the sprue shots: Lawks - that's a lot of styrene! The boxing allows for 4 schemes - 2 RAAF, 1 RCAF and one Free French. Well, it had to be RAAF, so based on the fact that it also had to be DSG/EDSG over White I have chosen to complete as this aircraft - EJ134 'N for Nuts' of 461Sqn RAAF, based at RAF Pembroke Dock in 1943: Now the reason for the title 'The Flying Porcupine' is the Sunderland's exceptional ability to defend itself. 'N-Nuts' was a prime example of this capability, shown during an incident on 2nd June 1943, when she was attacked by no less than 8 Ju88s over the Bay of Biscay. During a protracted battle the crew of EJ134 destroyed 3 of the Ju88s, severely damaging another 2. EJ134 also sustained significant damage as well as several of the crew being severely injured. However, the crew nursed the damaged aircraft back to the Cornish coast without incident and eventually beached the aircraft on Praa Sands. There is an extensive account of the battle on the 'Aircrew Remembered' website - it is compelling reading: http://aircrewremembered.com/walker-colin.html Although I cannot find a picture of EJ134, there are some very evocative photos of 461 Sqn Sunderlands at Pembroke Dock - both of these are copyright Australian War Memorial (for discussion only and will be removed on request): Both of the following show 461 Sqn aircraft, and are copyright Aircrew Remembered (for discussion only and will be removed on request): The last two shots clearly show use of the beaching gear - as this is included in the kit I'll surely make use of this, and will also be attempting to replicate the heavy level of wear on these beautiful beasts. The build will be OOB with the addition of a set of Montex masks for the extensive glazing. I shall gird my loins as I think this may be a bit of a rollercoaster! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hallo I have two Hasegawa kits in 1/48 scale. I have two options of kill markings: 57 (in red &black, or on white background) 82 in red & black Both of them I want to build. The a/c with 82 kills is the overhauled Emil in 76/75/74 colors. The a/c with 57 kills is this still the a/c with original colors 02/65/71? The spinner? When did it change to the pointed version? Which details I have to be regarded too? Happy modelling

Hello, This question may seem odd, but when looking through Pz 4 models and I’ve noticed that there seems to be no Ausf. “i” variant, only Ausf. H followed directly by Ausf. J. I wonder if there was something special about the supposed “Pz 4 Ausf. i” or whether they’ve simply skipped the “i” version because “i” could be interpreted like a roman number 1 or something like that? This may be a silly question, I just couldn’t find results for Pz. 4 Ausf. i on the internet. Thank you.

Hallo This kit is the interior RFM in 1/35. Aftermarket are the track chains from Friul. The built was quite straight forward. I know already this tank quite well, not well enough to make mistakes. The assembly process is quite different to the MiniArt kit. This I will build next. I built the H Version already from MiniArt. Some parts are missing in the kit, like the two towing cables. I have only two grommets of proper size for one cable. Some other details are to question, but I have no clue who is right. MiniArt or RFM. The camo was a struggle. The green was to dark first, now think it is too bright. On the other hand it was spring time in Germany, when this tank was used. Well see by yourself. Happy modelli´ng

My second finished kit. Top notch Eduard quality. Easy cartograph decals. Any mistakes and inaccuracies are my fault, not Eduard's 😇 lost one gunbarrel, used piece of copper instead. Don't be judgemental please it's my second build and the learning curve is long. Enjoy guys.