Search the Community

Here is the good old Revell Boeing 767 finished as ANA Cargo's JA8356 circa 2010. JA8356 was delivered new to ANA in 1991 and flew in passenger configuration until 2009 when she underwent freighter conversion by Boeing making her a 767-381/ER(BCF) i.e. Boeing Converted Freighter. She stayed with ANA Cargo until 2019 and then joined UPS as N394UP. A Japanese freighter is a bit off the beaten track for me since I normally model European airliners but I hadn't done a Group Build for a while and took the notion to join the Asia GB hence the Japanese prototype. The build thread is here for anyone who wants to read it. I had a false start with the Zvezda kit (explained in detail in the build thread) and switched to Revell half way through. Thanks for looking and constructive criticism is always welcome Dave G

It's that time of year again when I find all sorts of new projects making their way towards the workbench...! I know I have plenty on the go already, but most of these are awaiting paint which requires better weather - I spray outdoors and need warmer, drier conditions. As @Paulaero will understand, these other models are generally at least 95% built, which qualifies me to start on something new in the meantime! 😁 This build is partly a new challenge and a bit of repetition too. The new bit is refurbishing one of my older models and this will form the bulk of this thread. The repetition part is concurrently building two untouched Revell 767-300 kits, which I did here a couple of years ago and I don't see any point in documenting it here again! However, these kits will throw up a few challenges along the way (more on this when I get to those parts!), hence their inclusion into this thread. Let's start with the model to be refurbished. I would guess that I built it around 20 years ago, when my modelling skill set was rather more limited than it is now. It is the Revell 767-300, with RR engines and built to depict G-BNWA which I flew regularly at back in 2003. The model has been in the attic for years and I think it must have been dropped at some point too - luckily I still have most of the pieces: It's certainly been neglected and the attic did it no favours - it's covered in grime: The refurbishment will consist of the following tasks- 1. Open the fuselage up and fill the windows with Milliput 2. Removal of the damaged undercarriage and rebuild the model with the gear doors closed 3. Replacement of the missing windscreen (the only piece that I cannot find!) 4. Removal of the old paint and re-spraying with an accurate demarcation line and correct shade of blue 5. Production of custom decals to give the model a new identity To complete this introduction, the other two models in this build were purchased cheaply but with a few pieces missing. More importantly though, they both have the sprues for the RR engine option, so these will be built as BA aircraft. Here are the sprues: And another shot, showing the first task completed - Milliput is applied: It is well past its 'use by' date and quite dry and crumbly, but perfectly good enough for this job!

Hi all, It's been a while since I last posted, but I finally got round to finishing and photographing my most recent build. Commissioned by Revell to be displayed on their stand at Scale Model World 2024, this is their most recent boxing of their lovely 1:72 Arado E.555, part of their new "P-Series" of kits. A kit first tooled up in the mid nineties, it still holds it's own today if you're a fan of Luft'46 subjects like I am. A bit of work on the leading edges but otherwise, everything went together without a hitch. Working with the Revell UK team, we came up with this "What If" scheme whilst utilising the existing decals provided in the kit, to show what can be done with a bit of imagination! I also used Coastal Kits Display Bases to give it some context of size in the images. Please enjoy these photos and any questions are welcomes and I shall answer when possible! Cheers!

Star Wars: Mandalorian – Speeder Bike (06786) 1:12 Carrera Revell We’ve probably all heard of Star Wars, the three trilogies, the spin-off films and now under the auspices of the massive Disney corporation, we are being treated to some television series on their streaming service Disney+ that are bringing back some of the magic that perhaps had been lost, or at least dulled over the years under the helmsmanship of J J Abrams. The Mandalorian series reached our screens in 2019, right around the time the Covid-19 pandemic first hit, and it has helped keep us Star Wars fans entertained for three seasons now, with a fourth in the offing for 2024, hopefully. It has brought us new characters into the much-loved Star Wars universe such as the Mandalorian, Din Djarin himself, Grogu the baby Yoda, and it has reintroduced the previously reviled but nevertheless popular Boba Fett, who seems to have mellowed and become more well-rounded during his short time being digested in the Sarlacc Pit, and had his own series on the strength of his cameo performance in season 2, as has Anakin Skywalker’s former Padawan (pre-lava bath), Ahsoka, who now has her own spin-off. Even Luke Skywalker has made a brief appearance at the end of season 2, heavily de-aged using CGI and an actor with a similar physique to his younger self to fit in with the show’s timeline of being set just after Return of the Jedi. Speeder Bikes of various designs have made several appearances in the new show, some more familiar than others, but all taking a similar form that was established by the original Speeder Bikes that Han and Leia encountered in the forests of Endor toward the climax of Return of the Jedi. Imperials like to standardise their gear, and have a specialised force called Scout Troopers, who have lighter armour than their Stormtrooper colleagues, riding 74-Z speeder bike that don’t need wheels thanks to Repulsorlift technology. Two Scout Troopers on slightly revised post-Empire white bikes snatched little Grogu after he was dropped by Kuiil (Nick Nolte) when he was ambushed and killed on the planet Nevarro. The Kit This is a new tooling from Revell, who hold the Star Wars licensing rights in Europe and the US, creating new kits and reboxing kits from Bandai, who have the rights for other territories in the Far East. The kit arrives in an end-opening box that has a group of Mandalorians peering over the top right corner of the art work, including Din Djarin as we now know him. Inside are three sprues and a base plate in white styrene, one sprue in black, another larger sprue in grey, and a small clear sprue that contains two supports for the model when complete. The instruction booklet is printed in colour, and has profiles for painting and decaling on the rear pages, with a decal sheet and safety leaflet tucked inside. Detail is good, but this is definitely a Revell tooling, as the rider figure isn’t an articulated action-figure, and the bike is built in a very different way to the Bandai kit, which I have on a shelf above my desk. Construction begins with the Scout Trooper figure, who has an articulated head, the mechanism for which is built from two halves that are then trapped within the two-part helmet sides with separate top dome, plus an insert for the ‘mask’ and a separate lens part that sits inside the helmet’s cowl, so that it can be painted separately if you wish to achieve a neat demarcation. Each of his arms is made from two halves, as is the torso, which has the upper legs moulded-in. The arms are trapped between the torso halves during closure, and the head is pushed onto the ball-joint at the top, fitting rear cuirass armour and waist cummerbund at the rear, adding the prominent hump with control panel to the cuirass, and a two-part belt with ribbed tubing below. Front armour and two-part cummerbund are added to the front, fixing pouches and belts around his waist, linking the front and rear belt sections with a pair of two-part assemblies. Additional armour is added to pegs on the upper arms, elbows, and knees, with a few decals applied after painting, then the legs are extended by adding two-part boot-tops to each one, putting a holster for the two-part pistol on the outer face of the right boot. The feet are separate parts, and are first fitted to the foot pegs before they’re installed at the end of the trooper’s legs. Supports for the foot pegs are built from two C-shaped parts that are spaced apart by short bars, painting and setting this assembly aside until later. The forward empennage is moulded as a single detailed part, and is shown for painting purposes initially. Before adding another assembly to the front that holds the diagonal steering(?) vanes, building it from three parts, and locking it in place with a plate from below, then fixing the vanes to the rods, and applying some small decals to all the vanes, after painting of course. A cylindrical intake assembly is next, built from four parts and installed under the left half of the main chassis member, linking it with pipes and corrugated tubing, adding more hoses to the opposite chassis half, and bringing them together with a ribbed plate inserted into a gap in the underside. Twin semi-circular exhausts are found on the rear bulkhead, adding detailing parts to each one, and a quartet of nozzles into the centre, again setting it aside for later installation. A rectangular plate has a probe and link wire fitted to it that is used to cover the workings at the base of the forward empennage painted earlier once it has been mated with the chassis, adding another part underneath. The bodyshell of the bike is almost fully moulded as one part, shown again for overall painting, plus detail painting and decaling of the control panel in front of the rider, which has a small panel inserted to the left side. Although it’s not immediately clear from the drawing, the chassis is inverted to add cowlings to the sides of the engine bulges, slotting the bulkhead made earlier into the rear, and adding a pair of vanes that clip into place without glue at the bottom to remain mobile, and while the model is still inverted, the bodywork is mated with the chassis, telling you to drill out two holes in the rear for ‘Version B’, which is doesn’t mention again until over the page. Version B has the Scout’s bag attached behind him on the aft deck, while Version A has baby Grogu in a different bag slung round the rider’s shoulders. The bike is flipped right-side up, and the rider is attached on a slot in the moulded-in seat, and his foot pegs are attached to the supports that were made earlier, which click into position on two friction-fit clips beneath the chassis. The rider’s hands have the grips moulded-in, which need to be attached to the model, first using a pair of flimsy styrene wires that slip into holes in the cowling and at the outer ends of the grips, and firming up the assembly with sturdy two-part arms on each side. If you are modelling Version A, a nicely moulded Grogu is made from two halves, and once painted is trapped between the two haves of the bag, locating him on a pair of pegs in the rear, which has two closure tabs glued onto the top flap, and is held in place by the shoulder strap that is wrapped around the trooper, and attaches to the bag on two pegs, locating it on the rider’s hip. Version B has the single-part bag fitted on the back of the bike on the holes drilled earlier, and no Grogu. There’s no excuse not to use him, unless you’re going retro and building a Jedi variant. To display the model hovering on its repulsors as it does in the show, a rectangular stand is included, which has rocks and sand textures moulded in, and two clear supports that are inserted into the holes near the front and back. The bike and rider rest on the two flat topped supports, which have small raised edges to reduce the likelihood of it falling off for any reason. Markings Unlike the Return of the Jedi speeder bikes, these post-Empire examples have white bodywork, but the riders are ostensibly the same as before, although everything is a little more careworn and beaten up now that the endless resources the Empire once commanded have evaporated. The decal designers have borne this in mind, and most of the decal sheet consists of decals of scratches and scuffs in grey that you can apply if you wish. From the box you can build the following: Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This is a good representation of the Imperial Speeder Bike, with the option of painting and depicting it as it appeared in RotJ, or in its more recent appearance in The Mandalorian. Use Grogu at your whim, but make sure you paint his cute little face well. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Hello, this will be my first box I am going to build at this blog 😀

Ford Mustang 60 Years (05647) 1:24 Carrera Revell Ford’s Pony Car was first introduced in 1964, and immediately struck a chord with the American car-buying public, claiming a place in motoring history as it did so. The lineage became known as ‘Pony Cars’, which extends all the way to today with the seventh generation, as at time of writing. The progenitor was a much simpler car from a simpler time when the upper working and expanding middle-classes were relieved of their excess money by their innate desire to drive something sleek and fast. There were two variants at launch, including hardtop and a drop-top cabriolet, and they were joined by the Fastback later in ‘64. Ford’s chief engineer Donald N. Frey was responsible for the project, which began in ’62 and was chivvied along at board-level to ensure that the plug wasn’t pulled by the penny-pinchers with no imagination. The result was a relatively light, powerful four-seater with a price limit to keep the more ambitious designers in check, using the Ford Falcon chassis as a base to keep costs down, and after a competition between the various Ford in-house design departments, the Ford design was chosen, as it appealed to men and women, adding a little European flair to the bodyshell, whilst keeping it palatable for home audiences. It also got a new badge, dropping the Cougar project name, taking on the Mustang name, and adopting the prancing horse that’s now legendary. The first Mustangs were given 1965 VIN numbers, and this led their fans to call them the 64 ½ Mustang, running with various engine sizes from 2.8L to 4.7L, three-speed manual and automatic gearboxes, plus a four-speed manual box. From outset its appeal was obvious, receiving 22,000 pre-orders, and selling almost 1.3 million cars in the first two years. The original Pony Car and its descendants have changed the way Americans view their cars immensely over the years, and I wouldn’t mind one of the new ones myself, if I had a few shekels to spare, as they’re now officially available in the UK. The Kit This is a reboxing with new decals of the 1985 tooling by Revell, which is backed up by the raised lettering on the underside of the interior tub of the model. The kit arrives in an end-opening box, and inside are five sprues and the bodyshell in white styrene, another sprue that has been chrome-plated over white styrene, a small clear sprue, decal sheet, and instruction booklet that is printed in colour with profiles for the decal option to the rear. This is a special boxing that depicts a single car for its 60th anniversary, which is an amazing length of time for a car and its name to continue in production. It is an old kit, but has good detail, and time has been kind to the moulds, including a full engine, underside details and the interior, plus of course the revised bodyshell and other parts that make this a convertible. As it’s a special edition, there are six thumb-pots of acrylic paint in various colours, a 12.5g bottle of Revell Contacta Professional cement, and a #2 Revell paintbrush with a thick coating of starch keeping the bristles safe from harm, which worked well in this instance. Construction begins with the engine, two parts for the block and integrated transmission, adding multi-part detail inserts top and bottom, fitting two cylinder-heads and their rocker-covers, then accessorising it with alternator/generator, serpentine belt, fan and manifolds, exhausting four cylinders per bank. The under-tray of the vehicle is then outfitted with the front axle with suspension moulded-in, twin exhausts that exit at the rear, and the rear axle, which has extremely ‘hi-tech’ leaf-springs and the drive-shaft moulded-in, then has a pair of dampers fixed between them and the chassis to reduce rebound, installing the engine between the chassis rails at the front, joining the down-pipes from the manifolds to the exhausts, and the drive-shaft to the transmission. The interior is begun by applying six dial decals to the instrument binnacle, and another decal for the boss in the centre of the wheel. The two binnacle components are glued into position, fitting the steering column with moulded-in stalks, and the steering wheel, adding a cranked shifter to the centre console, and creating two front seats from two parts each. The dash and console are installed first, adding the seats on their twin pegs next, before installing the interior and the windscreen with rear-view mirror into the bodyshell, which most modellers will have painted by now. While the bodyshell is inverted, a pair of coil-over shocks are fitted into the front suspension towers, trapping them in position with the floorpan, after painting the struts red and the coils black, taking care to get the lines nice and straight. The instructions turn to the road wheels, inserting the two hubs from each side of the flexible black tyres, applying white rings around the outer faces of the tyres, and gluing the knock-on/knock-off retainers to the outer centre of the four hubs, which are all chromed. The vehicle’s front panel has the radiator core glued to it, adding a window to the soft-top, and a pair of chromed rear-light clusters and boot button to the rear, painting the lights with translucent red and orange as appropriate. The lower valance and bumper with moulded-in over-riders are attached under the boot lid, adding side-lights in chrome outboard of the over-riders. The radiator panel is slotted into the engine bay, adding a strut-brace between the strut towers, and fixing two ancillaries to the left bay wall, applying a decal to one of them. The face of the car has a pair of chrome light reflectors and clear lenses with mesh moulded-in, fitting the chromed radiator grille, and those go-faster stripes on the panel under the radiator, then doing the same to the front skirt, and mounting the bumper and side-lights beneath it. The bonnet has some detail moulded into the underside, but you’ll need to remove the ejector-pin marks in between them, applying the two go-faster stripes after painting, and fitting the air-box and radiator feeder-pipe into the engine bay, and painting the battery filler plugs orange, as batteries weren’t sealed back then, and needed a regular top-up with deionised water. The bonnet can be slipped into position without glue to leave it mobile, but you’ll need to scratch-build your own stay if you want to prop it open, or you can close it over the bay, dropping the pivots into two recesses in the bonnet sides. A two-part wing mirror is added to the driver’s door, but you have the luxury of a door handle on each door, and chromed intake trims are applied to the scalloped area on the rear panel. You have a choice of fitting a stowed roof that is a single C-shaped part, or the deployed roof made earlier, slotting the four wheels into the arches with or without glue, depending on your likelihood of driving it around when no-one’s looking. Markings There is just one decal option included on the sheet, which contains many double white stripes that are applied over the front and rear of the car. The other decals include logos, number plates, and the white rings around each of the tyres, as previously mentioned. You can of course paint the car any colour you like, but the instructions show it in a handsome blue with a white roof, which is covered by the pots of paint included in the box. Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion Whilst this isn’t the newest kit on the block, the detail is good, as are the decals, and it’s the original Mustang, which is appealing in itself. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Rejoining with this Revell kit of the unsuccessful JSF candidate. Kit cost me £3.85 on Ebay in 2004. A build that compliments my X-35 Lightning build, in the F-35 Lightning STGB.

Joining with this kit, bought 2004 from an IPMS colleague for £4.99. The only one allowed a splash of colour I've just looked at the instructions. How has such an uninspiring aircraft become so successful? And as a compliment to this, I'm building a Revell X-32 JSF in the Project Cancelled GB.

First serious bit of modelling I've attempted in about forty years – so guess that makes me a newbie! My first experience of photoetch, acrylics, airbrush... you name it. So I wanted to do a subject I felt a connection to, and something that would stretch me to the max. So it's Revell's 1/32 Schnellbomber which will assume the guise of 4D+DH 'Dora Heinrich' of 1.KG30.
 This Ju 88A-1 fell to the guns of 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron on 16/10/39 during a Luftwaffe raid on RN ships in the Firth of Forth. 'Dora' was the first enemy bomber downed by the RAF over the British mainland in WWII, and was on the receiving end of the first ever Spitfire victory.
 I was born by the Forth, and have lived half my life on its banks, my family have worked for generations on its waters and in its docks and I live just a few miles from where 'Dora' ditched almost eighty years ago. So I thought I'd make her the first half of a 1/32 'Dogfight Double'. Eventually I'll get around to tackling her nemesis – XT-A 'Stickleback' a MkI Spit of 603 Squadron. Over a year in, having too much fun, here's some (unfinished) pit shots. Apologise for quality – taken with an iPhone4 Cockpit side walls, still needs wiring/some piping added Eduard PE, Aims and homemade decals Floor and curtains printed on inkjet Pilot seat, control column and BZG2 Bombsight

I'm toying with the idea of converting the Revell/Matchbox Tiger Moth to a Fox Moth. Apart from the new fuselage. centre wing section and tweaked u/c legs, my research indicates that not much else needs changing. Does anyone have any other views to the contrary? Anyone have any scale plans?

Hi Folk's my contribution marking this momentous anniversary is Revell's newish tool Mustang,I will check references to see if the box art schemed aircraft flew on the operation if not suitable marking's will be sourced.

The Avro RJ85 was a regional airliner that was manufactured in the UK by Avro International Aerospace. The jet was an improved version of its twin airliner, the British BAe 146. The Avro RJ / BAe 146 was a high-wing cantilever monoplane with a T-tail. It had four turbofan engines mounted on pylons underneath the wings. The aircraft was very quiet and was widely used at small, city-based airports. It served as a regional jet and short-haul airliner. In the early 1980’s I once flew from the London City Airport to Brussels onboard one of them. The different Avro RJ versions were produced from 1992 till 2001. They were designated RJ70, RJ85, and RJ100 and the corresponding BAe 146 versions were -100, -200 and -300. With 387 aircraft produced, the Avro RJ/BAe 146 were at the time the most successful British civil jet airliner program. Blue1 was a Finnish airline that formed a part of the SAS group. The company started operations in 1998. They offered flights to domestic and European destinations and had a total of 11 Avro RJ jets in their fleet. Since I had previously bought Draw decal’s Blue1 markings I tried to find an Avro RJ85 kit for them. Well, what happened is that I won the kit in an Ebay’s auction but it was Revell’s Bae 146-200. I consulted my modeller colleagues and I was informed that there were only some minor outer differences between those two jets. The kit IMHO was excellent considering its age, 27 years or so. The fit of the parts was perfect and the details almost of tamigawa level. The model was first primed with grey Mr. Surfacer 1000. Then I sprayed it with Tamiya’s white Fine surface primer and finally, I sprayed the whole model with Tamiya’s gloss clear varnish. The blue tail and engines were air brushed with Revell's blue enamel number 52. The metal areas were airbrushed with A-Stand’s white aluminium.

Being of the age where "Topgun" had a big impact on me as a great aviation movie, I had always wanted to create my own aircraft carrier diorama. Here it is 🙂... There is a obvious mistake, that's a 1am in the morning error! 😂

Tiger I Vs T-34/85 (05655) Conflict of Nations Series I 1:72 Carrera Revell The Tiger tank was part of Hitler's obsession for bigger, heavier and stronger, which drove him to extraordinary and dizzying heights of impracticality at times, but in this case served him reasonably well. The goal was to mount the extremely powerful and accurate 88mm cannon used in the Flak 36 in a tank with sufficient armour to withstand any artillery round then-fielded by the enemy. This series of objectives were achieved, but at the cost of reliability and a prodigious thirst for fuel. It also made for some nervous bridge-crossings, as the finished article weighed in at almost 60 tonnes, which was too much for many smaller bridges of the day. A deep-water fording kit was created to get around that issue, allowing the tanks to ford streams and smaller rivers where the bridges or culverts wouldn’t take their weight. When it first reached the front it caused panic and heavy losses for the Allies, being capable of almost everything it was designed to do, including knocking out tanks long before the enemy's guns were able to get within range. Even when the Allies could get their own guns into range, it wasn't until they got much closer, almost to point-blank range, that they had any measurable chance of crippling or destroying the mighty Tiger, especially during frontal engagements, where a shot might just ricochet off harmlessly. The Tiger underwent constant changes throughout production to improve performance, fix problems, simplify and cheapen construction, but these are generally lumped together into early, middle or late productions for the sake of the remaining sanity of us modellers. The T-34 was Stalin's mainstay medium tank that was produced in huge numbers by sometimes crude and expedient methods, to be thrown into the fray against the numerically inferior German tanks on the Eastern Front, sometimes even before the paint was fully dry. The designers combined several important advances in design such as sloped frontal armour, wide tracks to spread the ground load, and the ability to cope with the harsh Russian winters without freezing to a halt, which was a problem that affected the Germans badly after the initial successes in the summer of Operation Barbarossa. The part count and cost of the tank was continuously reduced during production, with plants turning out up to 1,300 per month at the height of WWII. The initial cramped welded turret was replaced by a cast turret with more room, and later the 76mm gun was replaced by a more powerful 85mm main gun in the T-34/85 with an enlarged three-man turret, giving even the Tiger pause for thought. The Kit This is a new boxing of two Revell kits in a special edition that includes a diorama backdrop printed on some of the surfaces, two kits, six thumb-pots of acrylic paint, a bottle of Contacta cement with a precision applicator tube, and a #2 paint brush. The book that gives the box serious weight is perfect-bound with a predominantly black cover, and the usual colour instruction booklet is provided, with the decals for both models on one sheet slipped inside. These aren’t the simplified easy-click kits we’ve seen from Revell under the World of Tanks banner, but is the 1997 tooling of the Tiger, and their T-34/85 from 2002, and while they are relatively long-in-the-tooth, the detail still holds up to scrutiny for the scale. The book is written by Alexander Lüdeke, and extends to 80 pages of dual-language text, German in black, and English in blue, with plenty of photographs that include dual-language captions, several charts, diagrams and drawings that should prove entertaining. Many of the photos are black & white due to their age, but there are some modern and contemporary photos in colour scattered throughout the book, which covers both the tanks and how they were used in battle against each other during WWII. The package is of high quality, utilising thick card for the exterior, and the kits are both hidden under pull-up areas of the interior, which holds the paints, glue and brush in situ centrally during shipping and storage, with the book resting on the interior card and the instructions between them. Tiger I This kit consists of four sprues of grey styrene of varying sizes, and includes link-and-length tracks, individual wheels, and detailed exterior. Construction begins with the lower hull, which is made from the floor and two sides initially, adding the interleaved wheels to the moulded-in axles after painting the rubber tyres and hubs the main colour, building the drive sprockets and idler wheels from two parts each, fitting them on the ends of the wheel runs. The tracks are link-and-length as mentioned, consisting of long flat sections and shorter sections for the diagonals under the front and rear, and two sections across the top run to create the contour of the sag behind the drive sprocket. Individual links are used around the ends of the track runs, using six at the front and five at the rear. The rear of the hull is a broad T-shaped part that has chunky exhaust stacks and Feifel air-filters applied, covering the exhausts with a faceted shroud with louvres at the top that this reviewer hasn’t seen before. A jack is sited under the right double-filter box, installing the bulkhead in the rear of the hull and inserting two towing shackles on the torch-cut ends of the hull sides. The upper hull with engine deck insert are added next, fixing two more towing shackles to the ends of the sides, then linking up the filters with two pairs of snaking hoses, adding mudguards to both ends of the fenders. Skirts are glued to the sides of the hull, and the top deck has two towing cables (A must for the unreliable Tiger), and a choice of two styles of headlamps, one on each side of the hull. Some detail painting is undertaken on the moulded-in tools at the front, although this can be left until later if you’re not ready to apply paint yet. The turret sides are two parts that are joined together around the mantlet, removing a flashed-over hole for the shell-ejection port at the rear right, then sliding the barrel into the shroud that’s moulded into the mantlet. If you’re going for more accuracy, you can drill out the tip of the barrel, carefully opening the flash-hider with a drill that will allow the imaginary shells to leave the barrel. If you leave the mantlet unglued, the barrel can be left to elevate, unless you’d prefer to fix it in position for posterity. The turret roof needs three holes drilling in the top, fitting it over the sides and adding a mushroom vent near the rear, plus a one-part stowage box on the back. The commander’s cupola fills the hole in the roof, with an option of opening or closing the hatch, then fitting triple-barrel smoke dischargers to slots near the front of the turret, then filling the holes on the sides with spare track links, or filling them with putty if you prefer. A small tapering part is installed on the two holes in front of the moulded-in gunner’s hatch, fitting it to the body using the bayonet lugs moulded into the ring. The final parts are an additional towing cable on the left side of the hull, and six spare links in sets of three on each side of the vertical glacis plate. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet, both with a dark yellow (dunkelgelb) base coat that has either brown and green camouflage or a brown splinter pattern. From the box you can build one of the following: Battle of Berlin – April/May 1945 Panzer-Division Müncheberg Battle on Ostfront – 1944 Panzergrenadier-Division Großdeutschland Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. T-34/85 This kit is moulded on three sprues of grey styrene, and includes similar detail levels to the Tiger kit, and has link-and-length tracks with good detail moulded into the parts. Construction begins with the road wheels, which are paired, as are the idlers and drive sprockets, installing them on the hull sides that are separate at this stage. The link-and-length tracks are fitted around the road wheels, using longer lengths on the underside, a three-part assembly on the top, and short diagonal lengths under the ends. Seven individual links are used around the front, with another five at the rear to complete the track runs. The completed hull sides are applied to the blank sides of the hull, fitting towing shackles to the rear bulkhead before fitting it, and closing the hull by gluing the upper to the lower, before adding details such as the bow-mounted machine gun, additional towing shackles, spare track links on the glacis, exhausts and armoured protectors at the rear, towing cables on the left side, followed by four curved supports on the right hull, and another two on the left, accepting three four-part fuel tanks that were often seen on Soviet tanks of the era. Grab-rails are mounted on the engine deck and hull sides, three stacks of grousers, a couple of stowage boxes, headlight and two-man saw are also festooned around the hull. The turret upper is moulded as an almost complete part, adding a pair of inserts to the lower cheeks, then trapping the mantlet between it and the lower turret without using glue to leave it mobile. A cylindrical cupola has a choice of open or closed hatches, with another flush hatch for the gunner, and three grab-rails are inserted into holes around the three sides of the turret, finishing off by rotating it to lock in place on the bayonet lugs moulded into the ring. Markings Two decal options are included, both in Russian green, one with substantial white edging and a cross on the turret, the other with a lower-profile marking set that consists of one white decal on each side of the turret. From the box you can build one of the following: Battle of Berlin April/May 1945 – 95th Tank Brigade, 9th Tank Corps Battle of Ostfront 1944 – Unknown Unit, 3rd Belorussian Front Conclusion Two good kits of important players in WWII, especially on the Eastern Front, and the book should prove interesting to anyone with a grasp of English or German and tanks. The price might hold it back from selling well initially however, but that should reduce as time goes by when reality sets in. Recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Last time I posted a NASCAR build was (I think) 2017... I started this one around the same time, then lost interest in all NASCAR modelling until about two months ago when I found this and all my others during a stash clear-out. There isn't very much to say about the build, I'm sure most builders of American Stock Cars will agree the construction is entirely predictable and formulaic, the only differences being the body shells and paint/decals. That said the early 2000's cars that Revell released are even more so as they're all related to their 'snap together' pre-painted range that were mainly sold through official NASCAR merchandise outlets across the US. Right, enough backstory, this is the less well known of the 2003 Chevy Monte Carlos driven by Kevin Harvick for that season featuring the Californian Funk Metal band 'Sugar Ray' (no I hadn't heard of them either), there aren't too many photos but I found a few, even better is to watch the end of that seasons' Richmond night race and how Ricky Rudd clipped Harvick, putting him in the wall with just eight laps to go, Harvick was running second at the time, Rudd was in third. The post-race 'altercation' was great TV. Paint here is Tamiya TS-14 Gloss Black straight from the rattle-can, when dry the larger areas were very carefully masked and then sprayed TS-21 Gold. Decals are by JWTBM, and date from 2004 - not sure if anyone reading this is connected with JWTBM, but if there is... you 'quality control' was fantastic, after twenty years the decals behaved perfectly. Four coats of Tamiya LP-09 lacquer clear sealed the decals and were left to fully cure for two weeks. Sanding and polishing-out took three days, and I'm VERY pleased with the final finish. So that's it, a toe back in the water of NASCAR modelling and I really enjoyed it. Already looking at a few of my old donor kits & decal options but got a couple of other projects I need to get finished first. Cheers from NZ, please feel free to comment, criticise or ask a question. Ian.

Right folks, this has been a long time in the making. I started this back in summer last year, before my life took a few turns for the worst. Building this kit was only ONE of the tribulations... It's the Revell 1/144 kit, originally meant to be the Lufthansa version, but I wanted a British Airways Landor version. That meant buying an Airfix version for the correct decals and the engines, which turned out to be a waste of time as the decals were scuffed and the engines were pretty useless lumps. I ended up getting the Draw Decal set and some resin engines, and still had to rob the wheels from the Airfix kit as the Revell ones were mis-moulded. As General Melchett observed, it'd have been easier and cheaper to get the Dragon kit and replace the decals! Anyway, after much kitbashing, scratchbuilding, filling and sanding, the finished article is finally here. I was hoping for some decent weather to photograph it in outside, but as I'm off work this week that's a forlorn hope...so, kitchen table it is. Hope you like it: Now, what's next? Cheers, Dean

I had to have this kit, even if it does not go exactly with my 1/72 Bundesmarine aircraft theme.. Unfortunately, the kit was kind of a pain in the you know what. A lot off the bigger parts (fuselage halves, wing section) went no together well and required an astonishing amount of filling and sanding - not doing a favor to the engraved panel lines. I had a whole lot of ideas about detailing the model. Most of them for the cargo bay. After realizing that you practically see nothing when the plane is completed, I only corrected the front wall (now BOTH toilets can be accessed ) added the urinals on the starbord side back (ok, reading this, it seems I am somewhat obsesses with powder rooms) and a few smaller things. Visible on the outside is one air-to-air refueling pod on the port wing. But only one, I skipped the other wing as I modified a D-704 buddy tank to look vaguely like the one Airbus is using and only had 1 - call it a test flight? Altogether, viewed from a bit of a distance the kit looks pretty realistic. Part of that is the amount of decals Revell included. I lost count, but I think close to 300? Each engince nacelle & propeller alone has over 40! So without further ado, here it is: Oh, and in case you were wondering: 1) No, the German Navy does NOT fly Eurofighters/Typhoons. But that doesn't mean I can build one, does it now? 2) Yes, the different position of the propeller blades is on purpose to show off the variations possible. 3) Yes, I corrected the broken front wheels later (the whole landing gear is somewhat skinny for the weight of the model). Now, as always, thanks for looking and all comments welcome. Cheers

Here is the Revell A330-300 converted to a -200 and finished as OY-GRN “Norsaq” of Air Greenland. Norsaq was built in 1998 and delivered to Sabena as OO-SFP. She joined Air Greenland in 2002 serving as their flagship until retirement in February 2023 and replacement by A330-800 OY-GKN. Norsaq was subsequent sold for parting out. On her final flight from Copenhagen to Tucson she made a low pass over Greenland’s capital Nuuk and most of the population turned out to wave her off. Converting the Revell A330-300 to a -200 is theoretically straightforward. The -200 is ten frames shorter than the -300 and it’s easy enough to remove six windows ahead of the wing and four aft. I used the BraZ replacement nose (more of that in a moment) so at the front I just cut off the necessary length for it plus six windows. I had previously borrowed the kit’s fin for use on an A310 and I replaced it with a tall post-modification fin from BraZ which was warped and needed softening in boiling water to straighten it. Also the fairings at the base needed to be reduced in width by about 50%. I found this photo helpful for getting the fairings correct. The BraZ replacement nose was a saga in itself. The main issue was that it didn’t match the cross section of the Revell fuselage and if it had been assembled as intended there would have been significant steps at the top and bottom. I believe BraZ worked from the actual Airbus drawings so the chances are they are right and Revell are wrong but that doesn’t solve the problem. Again I used boiling water to soften the resin after which I bent the rear of the nose halves closer to the Revell cross section. I then superglued them together at the bottom after adding the Revell wheel well and a decent amount of weight. Once the bottom joint was set I wedged the top joint apart and glued the assembly to the fuselage using 5 minute epoxy while trying (not very successfully) to align the top and sides with the Revell parts. The result was not pretty as the photo shows but after gap filling (scrap plastic, superglue and baking powder), copious quantities of Milliput and numerous rounds of sanding it more or less passed the T.L.A.R. test. A further annoyance is that the BraZ panel lines bear no relationship to the Revell ones. I took the line of least resistance and just filled everything. Unfortunately using the BraZ nose also means you lose the kit’s nicely detailed forward baggage door but there isn’t much you can do about that. The original Revell A330 was issued with GE and PW engines but both are poor. Norsaq had PWs and I replaced the kit engines with LACI’s 3D printed ones (LAC144134). Small fairings and other details came from plastic strip and sheet. The satcom bump is by BraZ. Red paint is Halfords Hyundai Electric Red. Sources disagree about the colour of the wings. Drawdecal say grey with coroguard which is definitely wrong while Lima November say plain Airbus grey. However photos suggest strongly that they were actually white. After much staring at Airliners.net and JetPhotos (especially this image) I decided that white was indeed correct, a conclusion supported by the fact that Norsaq would have had white wings in her original Sabena livery. I therefore finished the wings, stabs and engine pylons with the usual Appliance Gloss White. Metallics are by Tamiya and Revell. Decals are a mixture of Drawdecal and Lima November, mainly the former. I added Authentic Airliners windows and a few bits and pieces from the spares box. Because of the design of the Drawdecal decals I had to overlay the AA cabin windows which inevitably were differently spaced so all 112 of them had to be applied individually, the sort of modelling job which makes me question my sanity. Never mind, we got there in the end and the conversion, which was spread over about eighteen months, was actually quite an enjoyable project despite the problems. The finished result isn’t perfect by any means but I’m reasonably happy with it. If nothing else the large red model is a bit different and shows the “all airliners are white and boring” nonsense for what it is. Since I began this model the Zvezda A330-300 has arrived on the market. In theory it should be a big improvement on the Revell kit although discussion on Airliner Cafe has flagged up an issue with the sit of the Trent engines. I have one on order and I’ll form my own conclusions before deciding whether to dispose of the remaining Revell kits in my stash or hang on to them. Although the Zvezda kit isn’t cheap it should produce an accurate A330-300 without the additional cost and hassle of a (very) badly fitting resin nose and expensive 3D printed engines. Thanks for looking and constructive criticism is always welcome. Dave G

While waiting for bigger rockets (e.g. Mach 2 Vostok) to become available, I decided to increase my rocket arsenal by building a second Revell V2 in US service, this one depicting the test launch "round 3" from 1946. To make it a bit different from my Bumper 5 version, I added a Meillerwagen. As always: thanks for looking and all comments welcome! Here are my other space related builds: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DLrnifbiBdBnwxfF7 Cheers

I don't know anything about ships. I just built one

Hi all, i have a 1/32 revell spitfire mk IXc and i was wondering if it was possible to convert it into an IXe . AFAIK AML does one for the tamiya kit but not for revell. Thank you all for your time

The Revell 1/48 Eurofighter Typhoon “Black Jack” is a detailed model kit representing the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4, specifically the “Black Jack” scheme from No. 29 Squadron, RAF Coningsby. This kit, released in 2022, includes new decals and features 228 parts12. The “Black Jack” scheme debuted in September 2021 and is known for its striking design with a large roundel on the tail and stylized Union Jack segments on the main planes and canards3. This model is a re-boxing of Revell’s 2000 tooling. The biggest problem with this kit is laterally none of the parts fit together, this was a pain to build! lots of sanding, fettling and filling is required for this one, the finish however, if you're willing to put the time in the finished article can turn out very nice indeed and makes for a stand out piece. The detail is pretty good, the moulding is nice and clear with not much overspill. Instructions are typical of Revell, you need to read them 2-3 times first - they do seem to be the original instructions from the 2000 release. The decals, like the rest of the kit do not fit! especially the large underwing decals are a joke - they don't reach the end of the wings and they are about half an inch too long and hang off the back of the wing, There are a lot of left over parts included in the kit as well, but if you really want to arm this display jet to the teeth, you have the option! - Overall an absolute b*tch to put together, but a worthy challenge!

The first of my promised small but colourful builds will be this treble of F-18's, the F-18D finished as a Marines 'Wild Weasel' version and the F-18E and F-18G completed as Navy versions. Here are the supporting photos. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Looking forward to starting these. John

As part of my effort to clear my backlog of started kits I have dug out my Matchbox Spitfire. I started this literaly decades ago, but didn’t get far. I have looked at it occasionally, but no action. Then I bought some Xtradecal decals for it, SAC MkIX undercarriage legs, MasterCasters interior, Master gun barrels. Finally I found out about the Grey Matter correction set for the nose, which of course I immediately ordered on a wim. Having now spent about ten times what the original kit cost, guilt has led me to this, my first WIP. It will not be a tutorial, I am not that good, it will not be a guide to the ultimate accurate Matchbox Spitfire, but posting about it will serve to prod me to get it built. With a little luck, at about the halfway point, somebody will announce a new accurate Mk 22/24 for you guys waiting for one. We will start with the nose, the Grey Matter nose is one seriously large accurate lump of resin. I may scratchbuild the u/c legs out of brass because even the SAC legs might fold under the weight! It also might be the first Spitfire build to need weight in the tail to prevent it becoming a nose sitter. You can see the difference with the kit item. The panel lines look much more to scale than the Matchbox lines-lol.