Search the Community

The next build begins This is a quick small build (pause for hysterical laughter) while I work on the drawings for what will be a very large complex build that I finally have the room for. This one is a small diorama of an ASR buoy that has ended up on the beach after a storm. It will be being inspected by some RAF personnel who have just rocked up on a Bedform MWD I'm sure a lot of you know about these buoys (or dumb barges) but I only found out about them watching the film "One of our aircraft is missing" As I understand it, the story begins the Luftwaffe general Udet deciding that too many aircrew were drowning in the channel and North Sea on the way home so he had these buoys built and anchored on the common routes home The British found out and decided to copy the concept with a more seaworthy alternative, the ASR Dumb barge, also know as "Cuckoo", shown here being anchored for the first time, all shiny paint... These were ~30 ft long, this is the best drawing available on line, there are a couple of others, but they seem to be copies of this image, with slight variations. You will note this drawing doesn't agree with the picture when you study it closely I couldn't find any model plans so I've drawn my own. It is in 1:48th and 1:72nd scale, with frame cutting plan at the former scale I'll be using One survives in a maritime museum on Scotland, but it has modifications from its time as a house boat, so be careful. This is a 3D scan of that survivor The other part of this diorama is a Bedford MWD. Now I've never built a truck, but my goal is to scratch-build it in metal and wood which could end up a complete disaster, but I'm going to give it a go. To help, I bought this Airfix kit (no longer available apart from really expensive on eBay). This will help me reproduce the components in brass etc But I'm getting ahead of myself, first the Cuckoo, which I know I can make. This will be ply on frame and then clad in 0.3mm copper. With the cutting plan, I had the perfect first project for my new toy, a desktop laser cutter/engraver Some hours later, and much frustration over file types, finally to the sound of "what's that burning..." drifting up the stairs Job done, it actually worked first time, amazing. The uncut rectangle on the right is for scaling in the control software How sweet is that Some 2x2 and 1x1.5 lime strip later And 0.5mm ply cladding started, its taking shape very rapidly Something a little different, really just playing with some new stuff and I get to build a war-time beach, possibly with a pill-box, we will see Cheers Steve

Hi all, so this is my first ready for inspection kit I have done, this Canberra will certainly not be my last Canberra. I hope everyone likes what I have done. That link above shows what happened with the build and why it started out as a pure classic airframes kit, but then changed into the classic airframes/ airfix hybrid that it now is. If anyone has any advice or tips on how I can improve my builds I am up for learning and trying those out.

I was sorting through some old boxes and came across an unbagged, unmarked, unidentified resin seat - it will be 1:48 scale but I don't know which model it is supposed to be, who the likely manufacturer is, or which aircraft it was designed for - any help with the ID would be most appreciated!

Hi all...back to modelling at a very slow pace.....I decided to give this old kit an opportunity. It's the old Esci kit, with all its pros and cons (been discussed before). In fact, this is an Italeri reboxing of the old kit, with slightly better decals. I wanted it to be an OOB work, so just added some riveting and a few scratchbuilt cockpit details. I painted it to represent an Ala de Caza nº 1 at Manises air base, around 1956. This is one of the few spanish Sabres wich served for a few years in its orifginal, early F30 configuration, with "6-3" hard wings. Hpe you'll like it. IMGP0008 by Arturo Navarro, en Flickr IMGP0005 by Arturo Navarro, en Flickr IMGP0006 by Arturo Navarro, en Flickr

Hello Chaps, It's been a while since I posted, but my excuse is, I've been busy with hosting "Buddy Builds" on YouTube and Facebook. My latest buddy build that began on July 1st and ends on December 31st is called "The Spiffy Tiffy" buddy build....it's going pretty well so far with 37 participants and 47 models being built. I'm building two "Tiffy's", the first I just completed this week- a 1967 tooling, the Monogram 1/48 Hawker Typhoon Mk.1b, and on Monday August 7th, I'll be making a start on the Airfix 1/24th scale kit! This Monogram kit is as expected for a 50 yr old kit, raised panel line and rivet details, minimal detail in the cockpit, but, with some TLC, the addition of scratch-built seat-belts, a whip antenna, a UHF antenna and some fuse leads for the rockets, it can look reasonable. So here she is...I hope you like how she turned out If you'd like to see my "Full Build + Final Reveal" video for this build, here's is my YouTube link to it: Cheers, Martin

Hello Chaps, This is my 4th and final post that will have me caught up with the builds that I couldn't post on here due to the "Photobucket Saga". Anyway, this one is the 2000 Revell re-boxing of a 1997 Revell/Monogram mold and comes with a nicely detailed cockpit and recessed panel lines. It goes together really well, was a pleasure to build and is a nice representation of the Me 410 and the decals went down really well without issues. There are some fiddly bits inside the cockpit that might be too fiddly for a beginner, but I'd imagine that anyone with half a dozen kit builds under their belt could handle it. I built this straight out of the box except for the addition of seat-belts which I made from wine bottle foil. So, I'm not going to say anything more about it except that if you have one in your stash and have been thinking about building it, you should enjoy it when you get around to it. I hope you like the following images as much as I liked building her.... So there she is and if you'd like to see how I built this model here are my YouTube "Build Update" and "Final Reveal" videos: Build Update #1 Video Link: Build Update #2 Video Link: Final Reveal Video Link: Thanks in advance for taking a look and leaving comments, much appreciated! Until my next build; the Airfix 1/24 Hawker Typhoon Mk.1B "Bubble Top" version, happy modeling and have fun! Cheers, Martin

Hello Chaps, This is another build that I completed during the "Photobucket Saga" preventing me from posting photos, but now, service has resumed. I built this kit straight out of the box except for after-market resin wheels and scratch-built seat-belts, and, I have to say that it was a nice kit that went together very well without the need for filler. It has a well detailed cockpit, but unfortunately, my photos do not include a view of the cockpit complete with the steering column and bomb-sight in place, but everything else is shown. This kit would be far improved if it had a fully loaded bomb bay with bomb bay doors in the open position to show its load, and, two BMW 801L engines that you could display with the option to have engine cowlings open or closed. Ha well, I can dream. Apart from those wishes, I really enjoyed the build. I borrowed a Luftwaffe Pilot and rear gunner/ radio operator from my Revell Pro-Modeler 1/48 Heinkel He 111 build to give an idea of the scale of this aircraft. I hope you like the following results of my efforts as much as I enjoyed putting it together.... Well there she is, the third Luftwaffe bomber added to my growing collection, now sitting next to my Ju 88A-1 Bomber and my Heinkell He 111 H-22 bomber. If you'd like to see my YouTube 'Build Updates" + "Final Reveal" videos for this build showing how I built this model, then here are the links to those: Build Update #1 Video Link: Build Update #2 Video Link: Build Update #3 Video Link: Final Reveal Video Link: Thanks in advance for taking a look and leaving any comments, much appreciated In the meantime, happy modeling and have fun! Cheers, Martin