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It´s a long way to Mukumbura..... My dad´s next project, soon to be started DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr gonna do the lower scheme DSC_0011 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

Good evening all, Tonight I have for inspection the well known Airfix Mustang. I won't run through the build process as everyone should be aware of it by now. As usual, I wanted to pick a less common scheme - this often proves to be the most fun part of model building (the research and gathering of pics). Accordingly, I used an Xtradecal sheet to build an Italian Mustang from shortly following the war, while Italy was awaiting Vampires. They also used P47s, Spitfire Vs, P39s, and heavily modified P38s in this time. In a break from tradition, this one was brush painted instead of spray painted. I think the results are slightly better, as the finish looks a little tired, but in the future I may stick with the rattle cans for the sake of expedience. Right, the pics - Next up will be a Gladiator or 3, the PRU Hurricane (Honest! I just need varnish.) and a 109G. A Defiant may sneak in as well if I get around to finding a spare roundel. Thanks all, Best, Tweener

Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my 1/72 Airfix P-51D Mustang, converted to RAF standards, using Freightdog resin conversion (FDR72013). Painted with Mr.Hobby acrylics, photos by Wolfgang Rabel. Markings from Xtradecals (X72131), representing an aircraft of RAF 19. Squadron, based in Peterhead, early 1945. I added metal gear legs from Scale Aircraft Conversions for better stability. The kit's antenna was covered in flesh, so I replaced it with a piece from my spares box. Painting the yelow-black stripes on the nose was a challenge, because masking tape does not work well on small diameters. I had to touch-up the lines by brush. Thank you for your interest, best greetings from Vienna! Roman

I have wanted a 1/48 Chipmunk for some time so when the Airfix kit came out it was a must. I wanted an RAF red & white one but the kit only comes with the scheme for a preserved example that retired from the RAF in the 50s, so I used the Xtradecal set for decals of an example still serving into the 80s. I couldn’t help feeling that the crank case of the Gypsy Major was about the size of a small electric motor, and the main lights could be made to work. So this is her finished. Motor running And lights And with my JP T4 A nice kit to build, a lot easier if you don’t try to stuff electrics into the tiny body! Thanks for looking

.... next up, a dirty mud-moving Phantom, trying its best to do Air Defence. 111 Sqn formed up on the FGR.2 Phantom at RAF Coningsby in 1974, but quickly moved to RAF Leuchars as the Phantom took over most Air Defence activities from the Lightning. In comparison to 43 Sqn's (RN surplus) FG.1s already at Leuchars, the FGR.2 was optimised for ground attack and reconnaissance and not quite so suited to QRA. As soon as ex-RN Phantoms became available in 1979 as HMS ARK ROYAL Paid off, 111 swapped over to the FG.1. This and the RN's extra dark grey Phantoms are what I envisage whenever someone says Phantom. Ugly and mean looking, they convey brute strength and aggression in a way that no modern aircraft can do. These are a mix of Xtradecal markings with a few smaller Modeldcal ones thrown in to backfill those that were missing. I've fitted a gorund attack weapon load just to emphasise that it is not an FG.1. I asume that 111 retained this capability throughout their time on the FGR.2 and certainly one of the roles of the Leuchars based aircraft was support to RN ships, for which it would be a reasonable load (not as good as a Buccaneer though!). Once again, I really love these Fujimi kits, this one being the improved (H19) version with dropped flaps and corrected auxiliary air intakes. I didn't use the vinyl wheels as I have heard that they deteriorate quickly with age. As usual, paints are Humbrol enamel, applied by hairy stick and trembling hand..... FredT With a"pretty" F-4N: When the sun comes out and i can find a bigger table, I will do another group shot with the rest of my F-4s,

So the first finish of the year is Airfix's Bristol Beaufort, a very nice kit that built up well except the mistake I made using the wrong turret fairing so my turret is a bit lower than it should be and I separated the clear parts from the sprue several months before fitting and I had problems getting a good fit. Made as a Malta based Mk1A circa 1942 using the Xrtadecal sheet and 2 resin guns added. Painted with Tamiya, Mr hobby and Vallejo acrylics, weathered with Flory Dark Dirt wash and Mig Ammo powders. There has been some comment on the WIP that these particular colours may be incorrect but I like the look. As usual all comments welcome. Beaufort is slightly smaller than the Beaufighter.

Here’s my 1/48 Airfix Chipmunk T.10 in University of Liverpool Air Squadron markings. These aircraft were based at RAF Woodvale. This was a fun and easy kit to build. I used the Kits-World 3-D printed instrument panels and seat belts, which were a measurable improvement over what’s supplied in the kit. I’m already planning my next one.

Here's a build I did over on the 'Africa' GB if you care to have look. It was bit tougher than expected, I really think Airfix should do a re-tool like they did with their excellent B-25, I'm sure it would be a winner as the Hasegawa one seems impossible to obtain and expensive when you can! Lots of mould mark removal, lots of test fitting and lots of sanding was the order of the day. I started to lose interest and perhaps could have spent a bit more time on finishing the joins, etc, but I think I got a reasonable result. I was told about the elevators being too big but didn't bother correcting that, they do look too big compared to photos! GUESS WHO FORGOT TO ADD NOSE WEIGHT! I've done nothing but tail-sitters since getting back into modelling a few years ago and just totally forgot . I added guns out of the spares box and had to scratch-build something for the turret to mount the guns but apart from that it's OOB. Vallejo ModelAir Dark Olive Drab and Dark Earth for the uppers, I didn't have the other Green used for the splotches on the wing leading and trailing edges and what I did use didn't make a good enough definition but it's there! I used Medium Sea Grey for the lower colour as I didn't have Neutral Grey, but looks Ok to me. Decals went on well with Humbrol Decalfix after a coat of 'Klear'. Vallejo Matt varnish was airbrushed to finish. Minimal weathering as usual for me even though photos of (USAAF ones anyway) these aircraft always seem to show an extremely worn finish. Comments and Criticism welcome. Davey.

I've not been overly active on modelling for a few months, but last week I got some mojo back and joined in the Nordic Group build (C-47 WIP there). That has spurred me on to get more modelling done in general and so I finally got round to producing this RFI which is one of two 1/72 Mustangs I built for Telford 2019 as part of our "animal theme" club display. The second build is a Swedish J-26, shown here: The model represents an Italian Airforce F-51D of the Aeronautica Militare, based in Italy in 1952. The excellent Xtradecal sheet 72270 was used for the main marking, but all stencil data is from the kit. The model builds up very well apart for some minor sink marks around the wing LE area. It was interesting to build this in parallel with an Italeri F-51D. IMHO both are reasonable kits, with Airfix being a little more state of the art. More on the Italeri build in that RFI when I post it later today. Internals were finished in Tamiya Interior green and black as appropriate. External was Alclad over most of the airframe, with Tamiya acrylics for tyres, anti-glare, propeller and prop hub. Fuselage and some parts of the wings had a Flory wash of mid grey. No WIP was produced as at the time I was building three 1/72 aircraft and a 1/35 "figure" all in the five weeks leading up to the show - an absolute record for me! So @Courageous after much nagging encouragement, and @RidgeRunner, you have both seen them in the flesh, here they are in the RFI................ and I hope you notice Martin, I have fixed the canopy sit! A few fairly close up shots of the interior, some taken during the build: And finally a few shots of this one, with it's Swedish companion. RFI for that will follow in due course. And for those who like me can't resist merlin engined fighter aircraft here are some stable mates. Fear not Griffon fans, I have a number of those beauties to be built over time! Thanks for looking Terry

My entry for this GB will be the Tamiya Mosquito FB Mk VI, finished as HJ675 "YP-V" of 23 Squadron. This squadron was posted to Luqa (Malta) in December 1942 with Mosquito NF II aircraft but transitioned to the FB Mk VI shortly before moving from there to Sigonella (Sicily) in September 1943. One flight of the squadron was also at Pomigliano (near Naples) for most of the same period before 23 Sqn moved to Alghero (Sardinia) in December 1943, staying there until May 1944 when they moved back to England at Little Snoring. Apart from an Eduard cockpit etch this will be built OOTB, though I might invest in a set of masks as there is rather a lot of glass! I've just finished reading "The Red Eagles - a History of 23 Squadron" but will need to re-read the section covering their time in the Mediterranean to decide exactly which weapons to use on this model. As I've two Phantoms in the Vietnam GB and have just entered the Tornado GB, this one will probably be a few weeks before any real progress is made. Oh yes, there's also the Interceptor GB where another two 23 Sqn aircraft may well make an appearance!

Here's the third Kittyhawk I built for the ANZAC GB currently running. This is the Smer kit with spare bits from Special Hobby kits (cockpit parts, exhausts and drop-tank). Not a great fitting kit but nowt a bit of modelling didn't solve. The canopy was far too narrow to fit, I scraped some plastic from the fuselage and the canopy but you would end up with a step in from the sides so just glued it on with tube cement and taped it down to stop it from springing off. Not my best effort, got fed up with it and I just wanted to get it done, so rushed at the end, but I think it looks a fair representation of a desert Kittyhawk. Vallejo ModelAir paint throughout, Klear Gloss and Vallejo Matt varnishes. Xtradecal markings. Comments and critique welcome. Davey.

My entry for this GB will be an Airfix 1/48 Gloster Javelin FAW Mk9R - as flown by the CO Wing Commander A.J. Owen circa 1962 I've got some Eduard etch that was being sold at the Driffield show a few years back - it was half price! I'll certainly use the cockpit set and being black there is no need to worry about matching Eduard's colour. Not sure about the wheel well and air brake etches but will decide when I look at the plastic in detail. The only online picture I can find of this airframe (XH889) is from 1961 and has the code letter "L" - perhaps the WingCo changed it to "O" to match his surname when he took over the squadron in 1962? Mike

Good evening, checking my Xtradecal 72314 Starfighter collection sheet, I noticed it is quite out of register - i.e., the white border around the black German iron crosses, numerals and "MARINE" markings is about twice as big on the right side as on the left. This is not the quality I would expect from Xtradecal. When browsing the Hannants website, I can only see a sales@hannants.co.uk mail address. Is this the correct one, or is there a seperate one for customer service? Cheers, Andre

My entry will be ZE967, a Tornado F3 of 23 Squadron, based at RAF Leeming. This Hobbyboss kit was purchased at least five years ago and it's time it was built: The Xtradecal sheet covers this airframe, Mosquito FB Mk VI (Mediterranean Theatre GB), Lightning F6 (Interceptor GB?) and two Phantoms (RAF Leeming and Falkland Islands) - the latter are part of my own KUTA build. The Tornado won't get started for a couple of weeks at least as I'm also building two Phantoms for the Vietnam GB.

I've recently completed the conversion of an AMT KC-135 into an RAF Airseeker/Rivet Joint. I used the Combat Conversions resin set which provides new CFM-56 engines, new nose, cheek blisters and the various aerials and sensors that adorn the aircraft. The decals were from the Hannants' Xtradecal range. Paints were a mixture of Revell and Xtracolour enamels. Regards, Rob

Morning all, Xtradecal sheet 72-113 is for Hurricane IIc's, one of the options is BP588 coded RS-X of 33 Sqn RAF, at Benina, Lybia in late 1942. The aircraft is in the standard desert scheme except for the codes and the spinner. The codes are given in black, which is unusual but is there anything to substantiate this? Secondly, the spinner is shown as red for the forward half and black for the rear half, again this is unusual but is it substantiated anywhere? I've tried Googling for images of the aircraft and I get a lot of pictures of built models or profiles. While these show the black codes the spinner is either all red (which would be the standard colour scheme), or black. As @Troy Smith says, never trust a profile without a photo. I quite like the red and black option though

Well, here is my first participation in a group build! Having been "Furloughed" by my employer, the "Leg Iron" decided there was alternative employment available "around the house", thankfully, the council has closed the tip and all non essential shops have also put the shutters up, which left little to do but show her the email from work which stated "You are not to carry out any work"! Awesome! So here she is, my entry in the Group Build! The venerable Revell Lancaster! I`ll only be using the stencils from this decal sheet. Lots of nice grey plastic, I have an Airfix Lancaster in the stash but I am saving that for conversion to a Lincoln (Once Blackbird models have the conversion back in stock!). I am quite impressed with the quality of detail in this kit, which I picked up for £15! This box of bits has been sitting in the stash for about a year, the Freightdog ASR III/GR 3 conversion, new wheels, Lincoln rudders, a whole heap of intakes, two vacform domes and a hoofing great airborne lifeboat! And finally some decals, there are two Maritime schemes in this set. So without further delay, lets get this show on the road! Cockpit assembly took very little time, although there are a few ejector pin marks that needed filling, I think that even with the huge expanse of canopy very little is going to be visible once the fuselage is buttoned up. I chopped the lower wing at the bend line just outboard of the inner nacelles to correct the dihedral The outer wing was then glued in place, but not down the cut line, the cut extends into the leading edge back as far as the nacelle join, when everything is cured, I shall slip a shim into the gap in the lower skin and this will push the wing tip up and increase the dihedral! The cockpit is assembled, It is a little basic, but I will add a few bits and bobs, trim wheels and the like, and somewhere for the flight engineer to park his backside! I will not however be putting any charts or maps on the navigators table. You might get away with that sort of behaviour in the French air force, but in the RAF, such things as Maps ,Charts and Logs are controlled documents, collected by the Navigator from the Navigation section prior to sortie they would be returned to the Navigation section once back on Terra Firma and following debrief, before the Navigator headed to the Officers Mess for a skin-full of pop to calm the nerves which have just taken a jolly good eight hour hiding from the boyish antics of "Biggles" in the drivers seat So a productive first day, all "Win Column" so far! Ta for lookin` no G! Granto

Well, as I was damn fool enough to suggest this GB, I suppose I better step to the fore! This is a placeholder for my build which will proceed at a glacial pace whilst I continue my studies. My subject is Spitfire XVIe, TB702, GW-Y of 340 (French) Sqn RAF/GC4/2 "Île de France" whilst stationed at Linge-Drope in Germany in April/May 1945 (although one source says as late as July 1945). I'll be using the 1/72nd scale Eduard XVIe Early Overtrees, decals courtesy of Xtradecal. Pictures to follow when I have time. Have fun and welcome everyone.

Rather that return my pile of Storch bits to the garage, I thought I might as well see if I can get another finished model out of them. I think there's a complete kit left: I also have the Xtradecal sheet, which includes a nice Finnish example: It should make a nice companion piece for the Norwegian example. John

This is the second of two 1/72 Mustangs built for our club theme build this year, and was built specifically for Telford 2019. The other was the Airfix F-51D, RFI here: Building both together was quite an interesting opportunity to compare, and certainly I was able to use the Airfix internal detail as a guide to scratch building similar for the Italeri model, which lacks any real internal detail, except a rather good I/P. I did take some pictures of the additional detail I added at the time, but can't seem to locate them at the moment. If I do find them, I will share. Meanwhile, some of the shots here show the internals completed, most of the sidewalls are added scratch. The biggest challenge on the Italeri Mustang is the fit of the front windshield. Mine required extensive sanding to thin down the area where it meets the front fuselage, and filling in quite extensive gaps. All painting was done with tamiya acrylics, with top and bottom colours mixed to best match a selection of photo's showing Swedish upper surface green and lower surface gery/blue. The only colour ref I had for the Mustang itself was the Xtracolour instructions. Flory washes were used at the end, although dont really show up mush on the upper surface. Decals came from the excellent Xtradecal sheet X72270. The result is good enough for me eye! So here she is. A very difficult one to catch the colour properly. The actual model looks lighter and greener to the naked eye, and this first shot seems the best representation of the actual model colour wise, as do pics 11 and 12 below. Some detail close up shots And finally another shot with its Italian stablemate Thanks for looking Terry

I finished this model some time ago and only now got around to taking pictures. It’s the Airfix 1/72 rag-wing Hurricane in markings of 73 Sqn in France, May 1940 from the Xtradecal sheet.

Evening all. Here is my Airfix A-4b in 1/72. I used decals from Xtradecal x72151 representing a Skyhawk from VA-106 Gladiators. This one has been 90% finished for months so I’m pleased to finally get it done. This is my first Skyhawk and I’ve got several Fujimi A-4s in the stash. The Fujimi ones look nicer in the box but I’ll see when I get round to building one. Cheers Allan

Early on in the Eclipse project someone said he wasn’t sure you could aero-tow a delta wing. Mark Stucky spoke up. “I know you can because I’ve done it.” He explained that he had aero-towed in hang gliders many times. See Forger’s F-106 in 1/72nd scale.

A group build on A FB page got me started looking at the stash & eyeing a TR-1 kit I picked up a while back. I saw a U-2R take off & display at Mildenhall in the 80s (could well be 85) so I needed to make her a serial number who had at least visited the UK, even if they were never officially assigned to RAF Alconbury. Just to prove a point a U-2S visited a Mildenhall today. Anyway I got the HAS out at the weekend and tried to get some shots as the sun went down & cast long shadows. Hope you like them. And a couple on her own

Been given the go ahead to do my abandoned Phantom I started in last years '60's NATO/Warsaw Pact' GB. Got as far as assembling the main wing (doing an 'in-flight' aircraft, not done this since I was a kid!), and some cockpit bits. I obtained a set of pilots by PJ Products and a pack of Eduard AIM-9D's. I'm aware the RAF used G's around this period and that the D's are externally similar. Also the subject is an often seen photo of XV574 shadowing a Soviet 'Bear', using Xtradecal, erm….. decals. The main thing I have to do is shave off the Electronics whatsit's fairing from the tail-fin, hopefully it'll turn out OK. Hopefully will get on with this in the next week or so, last few things to finish off to our house extension we've just had done, carpet going in next week and bringing the rest of the household 'wares' down from upstairs! The last shot is a bit blurred, the auto-focus on my camera is knackered! Davey.