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A little while back I promised members something a bit bonkers (A bonkers Martian build? Surely not!). Recently Takom, they should be paying me commission by now, released the Focke-Achgelis Fa.330 U-Boat kite in 1/16 scale. I am fascinated by the subject and have already built it in 1/48 and 1/32 scales, I have the full servicing manual on the type and plenty of reference photos and the real life subject is definitely bonkers. What's not to like?. I have never tried anything in this scale before but intend to super detail the living daylights out of the kit. It should also provide the perfect antidote to fiddling about with 1/720 scale Zeppelins. For those following my Zeppelin thread, there is no need to worry as it will be business as normal there and the tutorial on how to build an easier and better Zeppelin than that provided in the Takom kits will go ahead as planned. thanks for looking. Martian 👽

Hi all and happy new year - hope you had a safe and happy Christmas with a few models under the tree. Here's my year in builds; not as many as I had hoped to finish but when I look back, lots of colour! All in 1/72 unless noted. First up was Revell's 1:58 Easy Kit Resistance A-Wing repainted in Blue Squadron scheme (it was the Red boxing) Next was the Airfix (old issue) B-25J in 'Psychedelic Monster' scheme for the Unarmed GB here on the Forum. Followed by an equally old Airfix Mk1 Spitfire in fictional scheme from the 'Battle of Britain' movie Next was the Revell F-16C in Hellenic Zeus II Demo scheme for the STGB here. That was followed by the DreamModel AS-565 Panther in anniversary scheme for the French Fancy II GB More colour! Next was the Hasegawa F-14 in Blue Aggressor markings for the Tomcat STGB Hasegawa_F-14_Tomcat_1_72_NSAWC_done (3) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Another Tomcat but this time an Egg version for the KUTA GB And last one was a teeny, tiny Trumpeter Swedish Strv 103c S-tank for Ragnar's Return GB And that's it! Thanks for looking and all your words of encouragement and support through 2021 - it really is appreciated. For 2022, more Star Wars models to scratch that itch! Stay safe and happy modelling. Dermot

Hi all, hope this finds you and yours safe & well! Well that was a year - the hobby, those on here and my club forum IPMS Ireland really helped me through it....thank you! My first finish was in January, a hangover from the 2019 Flying Boat GB - Revell's CL-415 in 1/72 with metal u/c, otherwise, OOB. Next up was Bandai's lovely tiny Millennium Falcon for the Film/Fiction GB There was a What-If GB on our club forum so my next finish was PM Models Ta-183, again mostly OOB with some spare decals. With Covid-restrictions starting to happen in March, our club started an Asian GB and this kit was kindly supplied from a friend just before our first lockdown hit – 1/72 Trumpeter P-40B and a lovely kit to build. ( Next was the Naval Aviation GB here and I built a diorama with a 1/72 Esci Sea Harrier (and lots of plastic card) for the ‘Alraigo Incident’. The van is plastic card on a Krupp Protze chassis. E E Then it was back to sci-fi with a couple of Bandai TIE Fighters converted from First Order to Empire era as seen in Solo, A Star Wars story For the 'Kit you built as a kid', Airfix's old Hellcat in 1/72 was next. I sanded down all the rivets but otherwise OOB. My first time doing 3-tone with an airbrush and I learned a lot about using pencils and pastel chalk for weathering - probably my favourite paint finish this year! By now, we were into a second lockdown here so what better time to attempt vac-form conversion! I’ve always wanted a 1/72 Greyhound and with the type due to be retired, thought it was worth a go. Probably the most challenging kitI built this year...but the most rewarding. Not perfect by any stretch but love having it in the cabinet. Falcon conversion with Fujimi bits. F For the Choppers/Vertical lift GB here, I decided to build 3 kits...not like I was going anywhere! First up was TC’s chopper from Magnum p.i converted from the 1/72 Italeri AH-6 Next was Airfix's beautiful SH-2F Seasprite, again OOB. Really wish they would re-release this as part of their classics series - it's a lovely kit for its age. And last of the choppers was Dream Models' Panther 565 converted to an Irish Air Corps Sa-365 Dauphin 2 and built in memory of the crew of 'Rescue 111', lost on a SAR mission in July 1999. Gratuitous group shot ! For the Battle of Britain GB, Airfix's nice 1/72 109 E-4 backdated to an E-3. Again, OOB with decals by Southern Expo For the Tornado STGB, I continued the Battle of Britain theme with a 1/72 F3 by Tamiya (Italeri) in the 'Red Zebra’ scheme which was the display aircraft for the 50th Anniversary. Built OOB with aftermarket decals.. It was back to Star Wars with Bandai’s 1/144 Millennium Falcon from ‘Solo – A Star Wars Story’. OOB with cockpit and engine lighting set from Captain Jacks. Bandai_Lando_Millennium_Falcon_7 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr And my last for this year and my first 1/48 was Eduard's Spitfire MK1 from their Spitfire Story boxing - built as a Christmas present for my father in law. And that's it! Thanks everyone for your support, words of encouragement and comments. It really does help one's mental health & stress. Here's hoping 2021 brings better things for us all. Stay safe and keep building models! Dermot in Dublin

Hi all, So with some home renovations this year, I got nothing built in the first 6 months as the kits were packed away. But I managed to build some kits in the second half of the year, got to Telford, met some of you good people in person so not a bad year all considered! All are brushpainted and any questions, just shout. Revell 1/72 F-16 MLU Tigermeet, OOB build. Decals were a bear but worth it in the end. Airfix 1/72 Spitfire backdated to the prototype. Still not convinced by that colour, so much so that I don't really post pictures of it! Italeri 1/72 Bell UH-1D for the Huey STGB here on Britmodeller. Revell 1/52 Star Wars Snowspeeder with some mods for a 'Battle of Hoth' diorama And final one, a Hasegawa 1/72 F-18A Hornet for a 'Call of Nature' GB elsewhere. Thanks for looking, hope 2017 brings you health, happiness and plenty of good modelling. Regards from sunny Ireland. Dermot

Hi Britmodellers, In recent finished Wessex models, I have observed one of the main rotorblades to be sprayed completely yellow on the top. I would like to ask the Wessex specialists to please inform me on the colorcode of the main rotorblades (top and underside) and the tailrotor from RN and RAF birds. 4+ publication is not clear on the matter. Your help is much appreciated, Dirk The Netherlands