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Morning All, Well here's my start. Didn't feel the need to add a picture of the kit since Jobba already took care of that for his build. The kits' been washed. Didn't use to do this all the time but since switching to acrylics it's mandatory. Was reviewing my references and noticed a couple of things that are missing from the kit. So I will be attempting to replicate them. For example the some aerials for the Loran, Carpet III and possibly the Piperack systems. Will also build something replicating the Jostle IV for the port bombay. The instructions say the front radome is painted over but my reference states it is off white with tape or filler over the joints. We'll go with the reference unless something else to the contrary arises. Lastly it seems per my references that all the guns will have flash suppression added. May also add other bits here and there as they come to light. I am also using the Eduard mask and seat belts. Looking forward to seeing how the Airfix B-17 compares with the Revell kit. All the Best! Don

My next 'large' build is Airfix's 1:72 Avro Shackleton AEW.2. Having just finished a B-17G and previously a Dornier, I thought it time to embark upon another RAF classic. I have only seen one Shackleton in the flesh as it were, at Long Marsdon airfield. Once part of a museum the aircraft has been left to decay, it is both a sorry yet haunting spectical and I feel a beautiful aircraft. The large box contains a set of detailed instructions, a colour scheme sheet, and seperate decal sheet. There are 6 detailed grey sprues (with little to no flash), and a small clear sprue. With 424 pieces the kit looks pretty complex, and will be pretty big once complete. Airfix offer a choice of 2 aircraft (I would say paint schemes, however they are painted the same), 'Dougal' or 'Ermitrude', I have decided to build 'Dougal,' the aircraft which currently resides at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. I have found several online links to this aircraft, including a virtual tour, which will hopefully mean I can make my build as accurate as possible.

Hi all I have been doing a bit of this. I remember watching these fly in and out of Lydd Airport in the late 70s although not in Silver City livery along with Heralds and Viscounts. I am using the S&M Decals and the Aircraft is named City Of London. She is quite a biggie Here she is next to a Maquette 1/72 HP Dart Herald Sprayed with acrylic car paint, I don't usually spray paint but with something this large, I hope you will forgive me. Decals started This is the first time I have used the S&M Decals, They did crack in a few places but it might have been the sheer size of the decals or could well have been my fault. Oh dear This side went on better. I have been touching in the damaged bits to the decals with paint. Thanks for looking All the best Chris

Hi all, Well this is a real turn out for the books, I've been commissioned to build another Airfix RN Sea King HU5, by another member on the forum and he has agreed that it should go up as a WIP. So the bits that I was sent for the build. Decals are from the new Xtradecal sheet, they look rather good but it's a shame that they didn't provide some of the stencils. Bits will be liberated from the Revell kit to make up some of the RN specific Fit out, Large radome, Orange crop boxes, etc,etc. I'm not detailing up the interior as my previous build but the cockpit will get a few extras, no crew this time as this will be on the ground. I've got a few things to prep yet before I get started on this and once done I'll get cracking with the build. This one will be Rescue 27 so I'll be on the hunt for more ref pictures, lucky that I saved all the others from my own build. So chaps, stay tuned Regards Dan

Hawker Siddeley H.S. 121 Trident 1C G-ARPC, British European Airways, early 1970s. Airfix 1:144 kit with decals from a TwoSix Decals sheet. Although I am mostly a military aircraft modeller I sometimes make incursions in other fields. This is perhaps my most serious attempt at an airliner so far (the second) and a project I really wanted to do since I was given this kit back in 1990s. Fortunately Two Six released a sheet covering the livery I wanted instead of the British Airways scheme that came with the kit. I built this kit in 2013. The white was airbrushed but the remaining colours (the main ones being Xtracolor) were brushed on. It didn't come out perfect precisely due to the painting but I'm pleased with it nontheless. As always, thanks for looking and comments are welcome. Miguel

This is a kit I built back in 2006. It's an Albatros D.V flown by Manfred von Richtofen with Jasta 11. He was shot down in this aircraft on July 6th, 1917 by an RFC 20 Sqn FE2. He crash-landed behind German lines near Werwicq in Belgium with a severe head wound. It's the old Airfix 1:72 kit (Aces edition) with Airwaves etched parts added. It was completely painted by brush with only the varnish being airbrushed. The markings were overpainted on the wings and the tail so I had to paint over the decals deliberately. The rigging is partial with some of the main wires being done and like that give the effect of being rigged. Thanks for looking and all comments are welcome. Miguel

Hi all - A very popular kit round these parts, here is my Airfix Hawker Typhoon in 1/72. I found the kit to be pretty good but not without problems - most of which were of my own making I'm sure. I did a few firsts on this build such as riveting, painted invasion stripes and doing a RAF camo scheme with an airbrush, most of which came out pretty well. I added an Eduard PE cockpit but aside from this, everything was out of the box. Painted using Tamiya Acrylics with a some Vallejo model air. Weathering using oils and pigments. WIP is here: Feedback and comments are welcome - thanks for looking!

Hi all, I've been building for magazines and websites for the last few models I've done, so it's been ages since I've done a WIP thread. I felt like doing something simple after the recent stuff, and was perusing the stash and came across this: I bought it ages ago on a whim, and I don't usually do 1/72 stuff, but having built a couple of 1/48 Airfix planes recently I thought I'd give it a go. And I'm glad I did! The parts breakdown shows much more detail than previous 1/72 planes I've built. Don't worry about the bent prop, luckily that's not the one I'll be using... The panel lines look a little deep, but the surface detail is streets ahead of what I remember from Airfix: I mean, look at that tailwheel! In the old days, you were lucky to get a stick with a round blob on the end. I'm going to get going on this soon, as I'm intrigued to know if it fits together as well as it looks like it will...it might even be at Telford! More when it happens, Dean

After the FG.1 (link) , Airfix is to release in October 2018 (?) a 1/72nd McDD Phantom FGR.2 kit - ref. A06017 Schemes: 1) XV466 D, No1435 FLT, RAF Mount Pleasant November 1991 2) FGR.2 XV469 H 2 Squadron June 1976 3) FGR.2 Phantom XV408 92 Squadron RAF Germany Source: https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/new-for-2018/mcdonnell-douglas-fgr2-phantom-1-72.html V.P.

1:72 Airfix Nimrod MR2P “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord.” - Book of Genesis X - 8-12 The Nimrod holds a special place in my memories as an aviation enthusiast. Although sadly I never did have the chance to see one in flight, my local airfield of Coventry, has Nimrod MR2P XV232 in a live, engine-running, near taxiable state. Having had the opportunity to witness her complete her engine runs close-up, and even on one occasion, take the co-pilot seat onboard for one such run, has implanted many experiences in my mind with this machine. There is no other describable feeling as sitting, feeling the nose oleo underneath you gently moving under the force of each Spey 250 being brought to full power in turn. She's a characterful aircraft, one that impresses with her size in person, and from every angle, she oozes that true, esoteric 'Cold War' look. A distinguished jet, having been very versatile and dependable in her decades of service, through MPA, SAR, ELINT/SIGINT, and proposed AEW roles. That shrill note as she runs up her Speys, and the orchestra changes from a screaming, to a Vulcan-reminiscent howling through her intakes as they reach full power, accompanied by the blackening efflux pouring into the air behind them. Truly powerful stuff! As such, it is my intention to document my tribute to this aircraft here. This is my first post under a new account (I couldn't log into my old one, seems I have misplaced my password all these years)! Since then, much has changed, the modeling interest had waned greatly, but it's slowly returning! Years have clocked on, skills have been learnt, techniques refined somewhat, spray cans finally ditched in favour of airbrush, and the burgeoning 'shelf-of-doom', which I am desperately trying to whittle away at. This Nimrod will be my fourth of the Airfix kit... The first built almost 6 years ago as a child over the course of a long weekend, brush painted, warts-and-all, filler was not heard of... The second finished in 2014-15 with spray-paint as XV244 and uploaded to the RFI on here (Photobucket links back then, so now in the abyss)... And the third finished with some pricey, but superb, Tamiya lacquers as XV232 in her current Hemp scheme about a year ago. So, what is the plan with this one? She will be finished with all manner of paints, in an undecided scheme at the moment. 206 Sqn special XZ284, 120 Sqn special XV260 are two possibilities, since I adore the Hemp/LAG and coloured fin combination. Although still 'pie-in-the-sky' at the moment, the plausibility of a post-major overhaul bare-metal stripped 'Rod is always present. Construction begins with small components of the airframe first. Flaps first. As you can see above, they have been glued and the edges have not yet been tidied up. As I write these words, they have been and are ready to add to the wings when all is ready. Some annoying slithers of flash between the fuel dump vents, but easily cleaned with a sharp blade and fine sandpaper. The nose wheel bay box was up next. I started with looking at reference photos and walkarounds to find some images of this bay. Detailing was added with sheet styrene for the wall ribs and for the protective hatch on the forward wall. There is some pitting in the butt-join of the ribs to the lower edge of the landing gear doors, folded upwards into the bay, that cannot be seen when the bay box is put together, so they need not be tidied up. Look at the second highest rib on the righthand of the two large panels and you will see a small pit that is hidden by the step between it and the gear door. Another view of the work on the nosewheel bay. Here you can see the majority of the plasticard work added from reference photos. Some of it is for a cosmetic purpose solely, i.e the smaller square and rectangular panels are to hide the holes in the original kit part for the cockpit sections on the reverse side. Here I have dryfitted the nose wheel components together. You can see how the T-shaped rib structure and smaller details under the nose leg are now inconveniently hidden from all but the most prying eyes. But some comfort can be taken in the fact they are indeed there, and with paint and weathering the details should show better. I have not added any wire or stretched-sprue cable details at this stage. The aerials on the gear doors folded inwards, will be added with the Eduard exterior panel photo-etch set on order. Here are the wheel components all glued, sanded and ready for further processing and detailing. The main gear wheels are fairly competent out of the box, with the exception of wheel tread. As far as I am aware no aftermarket manufacturer offers these details. Mastercaster's wheels are slightly more refined in the hubs, and contain better and less generic brake disc details, but still, no tread. They offer miles better nose wheels as well, with accurate tyre thickness, hub diameter, and seperate guards for the correct wheel. I will elect however to use the kit wheels for the moment. Nose wheels will be discarded and instead Alleycat Models' resin nosewheels (along with the SCP intake and fin correction) set, has been ordered to use instead. Alleycat's nosewheels are equally impressive and just as accurate as Mastercaster's set, but with the added correction parts and lack of, IMO, less necessary main wheels, makes it a better value purchase for a budding Nimrod modeller I think. Nose wheel leg in this view has another horizontal 'rung' added at the apex of the V-section, that needs to be faired in a little better once cured. A brief showing of the standard kit cockpit parts. Eduard sells a comprehensive PE set that covers the cockpit in detailed panels, seatbelts, and gauges (as well as adding detail to the nosewheel bay), but little will be seen from the windscreen panes. So I will elect to keep these standard parts. The bulkhead and cockpit door in the kit is too short in height so out of view, this is being detailed and enlarged with strip plastic details. With some IP decals, and some neat seat painting and scratched details, I think the Airfix offering is a good base point for further work. And finally the latest port of call on the journey of making a Mighty Hunter - the engine intakes. Airfix has received some criticisms in the past for their inaccurate representation of the intake tunnels. They are slightly too oval, the outboard intakes appear to have too little of a hump in the upper wing like the real thing, and from what I see, the lips of the intakes are slightly too pointed, not more blunted as they should be. The grille between the engine intakes is also of the wrong shape and no matter how you attach the wing halves, you will be left with an awful seam to clean. Thanks to the Eduard exterior set again, a new grille of the right shape is included. Filling in the grille detail on the kit, and applying the grille on top, or even drilling the kit grille out and attaching the PE grille on top, should provide a convincing alternative to this very-visible part of the model. I have seen people elect to drill out the cavity and make the grille from strip card which is something to consider also. Alleycat makes a comprehensive Engine Set for the Nimrod, which fixes a lot of the shape issues of the intakes. However, for the surgery involved in cutting the wing parts and the already tricky join between intakes, fuselage halves and bomb bay skirting without added resin, brings me to choose to make my own modifications instead. Early days yet, but a plan of action is being drawn. The upper panel 'humps' and NACA intakes will be attempted, the reverser grilles will be added from the Eduard PE and in the correct location, unlike the Airfix kit again. Underneath the intakes the Airfix representation of the is wrong, so that will be corrected by me with thin tubing and drilled holes. The intake lips will be sanded to try to make them blunter. In the image the intakes have been glued, and roughly sanded. They received a finer sanding, followed by a dip in white latex paint, and have been set aside to dry. I am in awe of the WIPs on here, and I make no promises as to the quality or regularity of posts on here, being just out of A-Levels and always wanting to escape to airbases - but hopefully this won't be another project that burns out and gets relegated to the shelf of doom! The Eduard external photoetch set, Alleycat resin wheels, SCP intake, fin, payload bay, and canopy set have been all ordered today - hopefully in due course they will arrive and work can really begin. George (formerly G-EORG - cheesy, right?).

Hi Chaps. After my LMF incident with the Vulcan (roll on Telford & hope my dreams come true I say) I bring you this little beauty. Airfix's very lovely looking Victor. The Victor is one of those quintessentially British aeroplanes, stung by Harris' and the Ministry's criticism of the Halifax in WW.2 and the plethora of new advances in engines and aerodynamics on the scene in the early 1950's the Victor was Handley Page's answer to the specification requirments. Keen to out do "those bar stewards at Woodford" or A.V.Roe & Co. as everyone else knew them HP went and snaffled some top German boffins, folk who had worked with the Horten Brothers no less, and got the back room boys at Radlett out of their brown jackets and into some lab coats and created the marvel of aerodynamics that is the Victor. The criticism that most stung over the Halifax was that there was no point developing it because of the small bomb bay, well the Victor righted that! The bomb bay of a Victor not only could carry any ordnance in use or planned at the time but it also backed up a a handy cathedral or bus storage depot... It's HUGE! The B.1 was pretty, briefly supersonic and flawed. The B.2 was an altogether more useful bit of kit, but still a little hamstrung as the RR Conways could not achieve full power due to inlet shape issues. King of the hill until the usual V-Bomber woes of Zinc based Duraluminum cracking issues, the Gary Powers incident and some ungainly big missile that Woodford designed especially so it wouldn't fit neatly under a Victor saw it relegated to Tanking from the late 1960's onwards. The mighty Victor has the last laugh, Last V Bomber to retire, 40+ years sterling service to the RAF. Please enjoy my rather swift and OOB build. Only mods is mine is NOT going to be a Blue Steel example, but rather a freefall bomber version, keeping it all HP. Enjoy. I have the Warpaint guide to the Victor as well, and some other bits of info about the house.

Hi everyone Each year I like to do a build for Nick Allen's IPMS 'Beyond The Box' SIG. The idea behind the SIG is to take a standard kit and turn it into something a bit different. We usually work to a theme - this year's was A Grand Day Out. Quite often we will use one of the Airfix 'Aardman' kits - either Wallace & Gromit or Shaun The Sheep, although they are becoming harder to get hold of. Anyway, for my build I decided to model the A35 as a photographer's van trading under the name of 'Watch The Birdie'. Chromework on the radiator done using Molotow Chrome. It gives a very nice shine but it's softer than Alclad Chrome. I used some 3D printed parts from Shapeways to replace the windscreen wipers and add the A35 badge. The replacement door handles were also 3D printed. Finally, the full scenario. Wallace is posing for photographs with his new bride, Gwendoline, and two wedding guests. The shot is ruined by Timmy the sheep wandering in and distracting the bride. She's looking at the viewer as if to say "What's going on?!" Gwendoline is totally scratch built - the only commercial item I used was a resin copy of Wallace's head. I also scratch built the bellows camera. I will bring the model to the Nationals at Telford. It will be on the Beyond The Box stand - just in front of the Airfix stand. Cheers Richard C

Just finished this one, Airfix's 1/72 Harrier GR3. Built in flight as a 3 Sqn aircraft with 4 SNEB's as often pictured during the 80's on low level range passes, OOB with Xtrdadecal's GR3 set. The base didn't come out as planned so went with a mirror instead, used an eight mm acrylic rod to mount the gr3. For a first in flight I think it works well although I will make more effort on the pilot next time. As usual all comments welcome IMGA0503 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0502 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0501 by neil Connor, on Flickr If anyone knows what that antenna on the spine is for I'd loved to know. IMGA0498 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0498 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0496 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0495 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0494 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0493 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0499 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0500 by neil Connor, on Flickr

Airfix's facebook page says they are announcing a new tool tomorrow in their workbench feature. It also feaures a cryptic clue!

Here's my entry to the GB. The recent new tool Airfix P-51D based in India so it ties in i think with the SEA (?) section. The Mustang wasn't prevalent in the Pacific until nearer the end of the war and was better known in the ETO. It is also rarer to see a Mustang with the Bazooka tubes, and according to references i have seen on the net this aircraft was definitively armed with them. Box Top and scheme photos.. More to follow shortly, thanks for looking, Cheers Greg

I'm quite happy with the resilt, although the Airfix kit can be pain in the (...) sometimes. But in the end it's a beautiful bird.. Cheers from Czech rep. Andrew

I am hoping to get this finished. I originally started it for the M3/4 GB but didn't get all that far. I started it again and left it aside but this is a chance to get it done. I bought it some 10/12 years ago on a visit to the Tank Museum at Bovington and its lain on a pile for a while. The Sherman is the Airfix original from about 1960. I'll check Scalemates later. And the flail a much more recent addition. For its age the mouldings are not that bad. It all went together pretty quickly and easily. There were some mould depressions on the inner hull sides behind the transmission that needed filled and the front end is in the need of a small amount of filler. The turret fits together fine and although not up to modern standards does look like a Sherman. I have made a few over the years, including one from a plastic bag in the early 60's but the last one would have been about 30 years ago at least. Here's where I am to start with and the sprues and instructions for the flail.

Old boxing: Latest Lightning build - (I always have a Lightning on the go) is an F6. Keeping it pretty simple - an out of the box build, although I will likely replace some of the decals. As a result, not much in the way of cockpit pictures. I really didn't do anything much with the cockpit, as I intended to close it anyway- so I added some seat belts made out of masking tape, painted everything up, added the kit instrument panel decals and called it good. Here I am part way through blending in the nose ring. The nose ring on these kits just doesn't quite fit right. Got the canopy masked up, and seams blended in, and we're on to the fun stuff. On this build, I am attempting for the first time to use lacquer based paints. In this case I am priming with Gunze Mr surface finisher 1500 black. I had to stop there though, when I realised that I hadn't masked the spine light. Still, got that taken care of, finished priming, and then moved on to the lower wing grey. I am trying the technique known as "black basing", which has been subject of many internet debates. I don't care about that stuff, but I am interested in the effects I have seen reproduced. So here it is after initial marble coat and a partial blend coat. I did suffer a little bit of paint spitting on one wing, so I let the paint cure, and then sanded back and reapplied some black. I may well give the wings just a very light additional blend coat. This is where I am at now. I am very pleased with a couple of things. First - this is the first time I have used spray booths - and they work great, not just to get rid of fumes (essential for the lacquer paints - I always used a spray mask before, but acrylics don't stink up my model room like lacquers do), but theyalso provide a cleaner work area and the amount of dust and hairs in my paint finishes is all but eliminated. Second - I am finding much greater control of the paint pattern is possible, and don't get nearly as much tip drying as with acrylics, so this is a positive. It may be a case of covering up my inabilities with a product, rather than figuring out technique - but since this works I don't care too much. Third - the lacquers are nice and tough, and I can sand back the finish with very fine grade wet and dry to undo any unfortunate spits and so on - but I had a lot less runs and faults anyway. All in all - happy how this is going, looking forward to doing some more.

Morning All. As I still have another 20 days before the B17 STGB starts I made a start on another Airfix kit, this time the new tool BAE Harrier GR3. Pick up from Ebay for £5.99+postage due to the control column and pilot being missing both of which I had left over from the other one I built 4-5 models ago. I have the Xtradecal sheet that I used for the 3 Sqn aircraft I made before so plenty of options. IMGA0419 by neil Connor, on Flickr The plan for this one will be in flight on a range sortie, firing SNEB rockets from 4 pods as seen in quite a few video clips from the 80's. The only decision I have not yet made is the range location. It could be UK or Belize, this give me 2 marking options. 1. IMGA0421 by neil Connor, on Flickr 1 Sqn in Norwegian exercise winter camo 2. IMGA0422 by neil Connor, on Flickr 1473 Flight based in Belize, I was based in Belize for 6 1/2 months and watched the RAF set fire to the live fire training area with rockets and bombs and then spent 3 hours putting them out with fire beaters. Made a start on the cockpit and tested pilots for fit, the painted one is a revell figure and just looks like a giant compared to the airfix pilot IMGA0423 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0426 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0428 by neil Connor, on Flickr IMGA0427 by neil Connor, on Flickr Not sure the canopy will fit of the revell pilots head

Seeing as Airfix have already announced their Spitfire XIV, on the IPMS UK site https://ipmsuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Scale-ModelWorld-2018-Timetable-V1.pdf the timetable of events includes an announcement by Airfix at 11 o'clock on the Saturday. Wonder what it could be.... Robert

Hi all, Having just joined this forum, I thought I'd share 3 builds from my youth, and the lessons learned for each of them before I start sharing current builds. Many many years ago I build the old 1/72 Airfix Albatros DV. The kit is from the 50s, originally, and has been re-boxed multiple times. I got it in this box, many of you might remember it: The plane I chose to build was a Jasta 5 crate, shown in this picture, as it looked so beautifully elegant: Things I wanted to try with this kit This was my first WWI kit I decided to: Rig - I got transparent fishing line and pulled it over a black permanent marker. Paint using masking tape - I cut the star out of tape and painted the green fuselage band around it Angle the control surfaces The model was painted without an airbrush. The completed model The lessons learned whilst building this particular kit Rigging is much less daunting than it seems and adds nicely to the finished model Masking tape works, even with brushes Angling control surfaces is a nice touch and worth the effort in 1/72 A windscreen and propeller decals for the manufacturer logo are also quick wins in terms of added realism A semi-gloss finish looks nice, especially on varnished plywood, but reveals every unevenness of the paint job A great finish using brushed enamel paint is very difficult to achieve - airbrushing might be unavoidable Best regards, Rob

Hi all - having recently got back into the hobby and after a very nice welcome from everyone here, I thought I’d put my latest work in progress on here for some scrutiny- it’s the current Airfix typhoon which is a plane I’ve always loved - and Airfix kits seem to build pretty well (mostly) and they're nice and cheap. So with every build I’m trying to expand the skill set and try something new - this time I’m adding some pe parts from Eduard for the cockpit and attempting some riveting. I’m also going to go for some nice weathering on the fuselage using oils and maybe some double layer chipping... we’ll see how it goes. After 4 nights (about 8 hours) I have the following: My first photo etched part assembled and painted... I thought this was going to be a nightmare but it turned out okay I think. All done with a modeling knife and tweezers. Cockpit all done and ready for assembly- all that lovely detail that no one will ever see. So far so good. I painted the base colors with Tamiya cockpit green - used Tamiya panel line wash and chipping with a silver artist pencil which works surprisingly welling as it’s a pencil. Dry fit of the fuselage half’s seems okay. Some fiddling required on the cockpit seat. Glued, clamped and left to dry. I haven’t tried riveting before but love the extra detail it brings out - using this as a source and using my new riveting tool from trumpeter I hacked out rivets on the upper wings. The results are so so... I really need to figure out a better way to do this before doing the rest of the model. I used a transparent ruler to use but it kept slipping and so quite a few rivets went where they shouldn’t go. I was going to use label tape but the stuff I got was way too thin. If there any kiwis or aussies know a good brand to get for this job I’d appreciate it. That’s all for now - thanks for reading and for any feedback you have to offer. I’m only working on this for the moment so it should be a relatively quick build.

Source: https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/new-for-2018/hawker-hunter-f6-1-48.html Airfix is to release in October 2018 (?) a new tool 1/48th Hawker Hunter F.6/F.6A kit - ref. A09185 Schemes: 1) XF418 - 4 FTS Brawdy 2) XF509 - 4 FTS 3) Dutch AF V.P.

Well I've been lurking on here for nearly three years only occasionally sticking my head above the parapet, so it's high time I contributed a bit more. For my first WIP I'm going back forty years or so to the first kit I built with Dad's help, or was I hindering him building it? Said kit was the venerable Airfix Wellington. I've no idea what happened to that model, nor another Wellington I made on my own a couple of years later. For most of the intervening years I've pottered around in the model railway world not really achieving that much. Three years ago though I fell off my bike and broke the top of my leg. Unable to direct my wife to the railway kits and bits in the shed down the garden I remembered how good a friend had said the new Airfix Spitfire was. Well it wasn't just the one Spitfire that was liberated from the LHS and my wallet has felt feint ever since. Coming up to date I purchased from an auction site a Wellington of similar vintage to the original one and with the upcoming release of a new version I thought it about time I got cracking with it. The intention is not to build a super realistic Wellington but hopefully have a reasonably competent bash at assembling the kit well. Opening the box showed that the plastic bag was still intact which was very pleasing to find. So with a bit of a James May moment I slashed my way into it. And it's still got its stand :-) That's where the initial joy ended. There are sink marks and flash all over the place. A degree of fettling will be required to get bits to fit, but that's part of the fun. The two biggest problems are probably going to be that the upper part of the port flap is slightly short shot and the port fuselage just in front of the bomb aimer's window is also. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the ribbing yet. It's a quite pronounced but vague in where it's going. Hopefully the sink mark remedial work won't obliterate it and I'll be to gently calm it down. I've seen some builds where it appears the ribbing has been removed and it doesn't look right. Airfix have provided some crew, though I'm not sure that Tie fighter pilots were acting as gunners during WWII The crew have all been cleaned up and had spears shoved up their ... ready for painting Much of the work over the last couple of days has been cleaning up the fuselage, turrets and glazing and then carrying out dry fits. The cockpit fitted relatively well and only needed lifting a bit on one side (it'll need plenty of filler though!). The bomb aimer's window and the front turret were both a bit wide so strips of plasticard have been added on one fuselage edge. I've also assembled the cockpit such as it is. Starting with this horror Thanks Airfix! And there's only one of them. Wimpey's seem to have been dual control. Cleaned up and looking a bit more like the real thing. With the jam jar glass of the cockpit not a lot will be visible anyway. And assembled The pilots and cockpit glass will hopefully hide much of the seat horror, though I must dust the filings off before taking future photos. Thanks for looking, comments are welcome - are the photos too large?

Hello All, Just got back from 2 weeks away for work. When your buddy collects you for 13 days straight from the hotel at 0630 to take you to the lab and you choose your dinner after work on the basis of "what's still open?", there isn't much hotel room modelling going on. Today is my first day with free time for what seems like a long time. I went to the Southern Expo today and saw some cool stuff and made a couple of modest purchases, then came home in the snow and got to the bench. Choices, choices. I could take RFI pics of my Bristol Blenheim and 188, crack on with the rather horrible Tomy/Airfix Storch, pick something else up from the Shelf of Shame, or work on a Big Project I've been mulling over. All fine choices. nah. Something new. It has been bugging me for a long time. I haven't decided whether this is going to fly or not (I already know it's a really stupid idea) so I will post the first photo and sleep on it: Thanks for looking, Adrian