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My dad´s Thai theme continues, after Spitfire and the soon finished F-86F, here comes a Firefly... DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

Ok, I reached the point in Formidable construction that I have to make a base for her. And as making this base is basically watching Water Effect go transparent over multiple days before I can proceed to next stage, I decided to start a new ship. Something smaller this time, destroyer. And another one from Matapan battle - HMS Nubian. Page here suggest Nubian was reconstructed in Bombay during her year long repair following damage from May 41 so should I assume she was in her original "as build" config during 1st half of 1941? https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-34Tribal-HMS_Nubian.htm I am also looking for photos of her in first half of 1941. So far I have only a photo of her blown off stern showing she has wavy 2 color camo on stern. Should it be 507A and C or 507C plus darker grey like on, say, Hotspur? I was looking for Cossack Profile Morskie, but it seems this book is not available at the moment. But it seems there will be A LOT of work to turn trumpeter's model into somewhat reasonable reproduction of original so please point me to any inaccuracies and I'll try to work on them. Work so far, centered on repairing the bow:

As the title says, my plan is to build one of the Cuban Sea Furies, from the timeframe of the Bay of Pigs invasion. The FAR (Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria) operated several of these aircraft in this period. The Trumpeter kit looks pretty nice in the box. Besides the kit, I have collected a Pavla resin seat and 2 sets of decals. I may also swap the kit’s propeller for a Pavla item, as the propeller blades look a bit too narrow. My intention is to build one of the olive green / mottled light green camouflaged aircraft, which carried little markings as per the very few (only 2???) relevant black & white pictures of that period. Neither of these schemes is portrayed in the 2 decal sheets I have, so I will see what I will use. There is an interesting thread of an earlier BM build here, which discusses the markings and colours: I will use this as a reference, but seeing there is little photographic material from that period available, this gives quite a bit of potential for interpretation of the actual camouflage scheme. Cheers, Patrick

This is my take on a captured T-72B1 in Ukrainian service. I tried to give this model a worn battlefront look without going overboard. It was a fun build. Not too complex but challenging enough to keep me on my modeling toes 😁 I can recommend this kit to anyone who wants to build modern AFV. All comments are appriciated. Thank you all for taking a look and a special thank you to all of you who tagged along with the build. In the next week this model is going to be sent to it's new owner and i'm starting my next project. As always: I'll keep you guys posted. Cheers!!! 👍👍👍

Hello friends, just finished build of this Ural truck from Trumpeter with Defmodel wheels and Balaton Modell dump enjoy

After the Zvezda's kits, Trumpeter pulled a hind out of his hat! Trumpeter is to release in late July 2021 a 1/48th Mil Mi-24D "Hind-D" kit - ref. 05812 We can just hope it'll be a new tool kit and not just a Mini-Hobby kit variant/re-edition under the Trumpeter label. Wait and see : https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235019038-148-mi-24v-hind-coming-from-trumpeter/ Source: http://www.trumpeter-china.com/index.php?g=home&m=article&a=show&id=207&l=en Box art Mi-24V "Hind-E" - ref.0??? https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10798299 V.P.

Trumpeter is to release 1/35th UH-1 Huey kits. - ref. 05111 - Bell UH-1B Huey - ref. 05112 - Bell UH-1B Huey - gunship Source: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/8249037080 V.P.

Just finished this trumpeter 1/35 Challenger 2, and it was nothing if not challenging! Maybe because I have recently been on a diet of Tamiya AFV's, but this one was a challenge. Poor mould quality and poor fit seemed to beset most of the parts on this one so glad to at least get it over the line and finished. Figures are from Miniart. Airbrushed with Tamiya acrylics

This is a pretty new subject for me, so I'll be quoting a lot of Wikipedia 😉 Aircraft Carriers were becoming all the rage in the 1930s, a new and exciting area of technology. Nations were converting ships to carriers, learning what works and what doesn't, then designing carriers from the ground up. In the rise of Germany military might and an attempt to improve political relations, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement allowed Germany nearly 40k tons for aircraft carriers. Germany designed 2 within that limitation, the lead ship, Flugzeugträger A, would be the Graf Zeppelin. The initial design was quite interesting. The thought was these carriers would need to be able to defend themselves against surface ships, with cruiser armor and 16 150mm guns for defense. This was common with a lot of early carrier design, with the belief that aircraft would not be fully effective as weapons. Lexington Class carriers had 203mm guns themselves. The successful carrier doctrine we know today was still years away. The launching of aircraft was to be from the two catapults on the flight deck, but not using the entire deck. This allowed for rapid takeoffs, as well as the ability to both launch and recover aircraft at the same time. The process to do this was complicated yet intriguing. Aircraft were loaded onto launch trollies on rails to the forward elevator, which would then go to the catapult on the flight deck, launching the aircraft via compressed air. In theory, 18 aircraft could be launched at 30 second intervals until the air ran out, requiring nearly an hour to fill up again. If additional aircraft needed to be launched in an emergency situation, they could use the entire flight deck like other carriers. Aircraft could be kept warm in the hangar deck, ready for immediate flight operations instead of a warming process on the flight deck. Graf Zeppelin was built with an upper and lower hangar, and was to be able to hold 43 aircraft, a mixture of Fi-167s, Ju-87s, and BF-109s. After studying carrier operations in the Pacific, this was changed to 30 BF-109Ts and 12 Ju-87Cs. Graf Zeppelin was laid down in late 1936 (once Gneisenau left the slipway), and was launched December 1938. The ship was scheduled to be complete in 1940, being an estimated 85% complete at the end of 1939, but the war and politics prevented this. At a Naval conference in April 1940, it was decided to halt work on the carrier in favor of strengthening coastal defense in Norway. She would be used as storage for timber for the next 2 years. By the time of the naval conference in April 1942, lessons from Taranto, Pearl Harbor, and the hunt for Bismarck showed the power of the aircraft carrier. Work was promptly resumed the following month. However, the world had changed in the 2 years she sat in port. Much of her equipment was in need of upgrades or complete replacement. The aircraft originally designated for her air wings were now obsolete, and the Luftwaffe refused to allocate the resources to design and produce new aircraft, requiring modifications to the current aircraft. The modified aircraft were noticeably heavier, which required further updates for aircraft handling. By January, due to the poor performance of the German surface ships, work was once again halted, with little changing by the time the Red Army approached in 1945. In an effort to prevent its capture, it was purposely sunk at port. Raised post war, the Soviets determined it would require too much cost and time to complete, and was instead sunk as a target ship. The Graf Zeppelin aircraft carrier offers plenty of what-ifs, but in the end, too many issues probably would have prevented it from being a successful ship. Its complicated and outdated design was compromised by the time she would have been operational. Aircraft development would have been hampered without significant war progress for resources. Her crew would have limited knowledge of carrier operations, against an enemy that had years of built up experience. Odds are she would have been hunted and harassed as much as Tirpitz was. But had war been delayed to 1941, who knows? I hope to build this Graf Zeppelin much quicker that the real ship, though while the part count is massively less, it still appears somewhat intimidating.

Following the 'comparison' thread - I have made a start on building the Trumpeter 1/72 scale Su-34..... I won't post pics of the sprues - they are available elsewhere and here - just progress photos of the build. The cockpit is quite comprehensive - with a separate door in the rear bulkhead..... but note those ejection pin marks in the structure behind the seats. Similarly, the nosewheel bay looks accurate - complete with two-parts for the sliding access hatch..... The K-36 ejection seats are quite simplified - I would replace them if the cockpit was open - but they are acceptable given the closed cockpit... Trumpeter even provide the rudder pedals and very nice control collums - decals are provided for the front and side instrument panels - although the starboard panel curled up on me and I couldn't get it straight... Note the rear door - which I have posed open. The nosewheel bay in place - although not mentioned in the instructions, the front access hatch can be clicked in place and made to slide open..... Open.... Closed.... View into the wheel bay.... note the sliding front hatch. Top and bottom fuselage halves glued together..... I have made an attempt at re-profiling the nose to make it sharper - with moderate success...... It isn't 100% - but it looks much better - I might shave a bit more off to make the 'beak' sharper - but without going through the plastic!!... Re-shaped Trumpeter nose compared to the Italeri nose.... More later... Ken

Another Apache this time by Trumpeter: 1/35th Boeing AH-64A Apache Source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/400134982296666/posts/633284202315075/ V.P.

Time for a new project. This is my first commissioned build. It's also my first attempt at building a modern AFV so this will be fun. I recieved this model: the T-72B1 with KTM-6 from Trumpeter. It's a huge box and the model consists of about 1250 parts ( those include tracklinks and spaced armorblocks ) a lot of PE is also included. I started building about a week ago and from the get go i understood that this build will require a lot of time and patience to build. It consists of many ( tiny ) subassemblies and Trumpeter did not hold back on the details. The parts are crisp and well molded with some flash here and there but nothing too complicated to clean. As with every build i started with the lower hull, swingarms, weels and running gear. Yup, those are 15 tiny PE parts... on each side. All the swingarms are dryfitted to check how the model will stand. One thing worth mentioning is that the polycaps are a bit too high to fit in the drivesprocket. I had to cut a bit of and that solved the problem. Also the hole in the breakdisk (?) was too shallow so i had to make some corrections there to make shure the disk was alligned. All roadweels assembled. I gave them some wear and tear wich is common on modern tanks that use rubber roadweels. Here you can see something of that great detail that Trumpeter put in this model. That's it for now. Feel free to tag along and watch this thin progress.

It my first building in this GB. I began a bit to cut a model. It was in 2013.

Making a spot for the start of this build HMS York heavy cruiser got the kit for a bargain at the last show Bolton I managed to get to before everything fell apart. 😷 Since then I have acquired a few extras ( The BIG BOY'S came around honest ) to go with it mostly for her sister ship Exeter but sure I can make them fit and very inspired by @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies and @robgizlu builds I will be attempting the same camouflage as the box art a bit like Rob's HMS Berwick build light grey and dark grey 507C and 507B I think I have that right. And there should be another parcel on it's way soon to help add a bit more. Stay Safe beefy

Well as a bit of a MOJO restorer I am making a start on this one with York nearing completion hopefully by next week for Perth Scot Nat's and Great Western having some fit issues also other things from real life I need to get back at the bench but in short bursts with a puppy to train and not much time on my hands for now. I know @Faraway built this kit a couple of years back when it first came out and I liked the look of it, so it has been in the stash for only a little while now and it looks like a short build one (Famous Last Words) So made up the hull and some of the superstructure parts and the main guns for now we will see how far I can get with this out of the box. Thinking of going with the green lower hull colour rather than the red oxide one. Stay Safe beefy

I´m doing afv not that often, but from time to time some topics come to my mind and bring a kit on my bench. This time all started on our way to Euro Model Expo in Lingen when we passes a convoy from German Army with some TPz Fuchs and Fenneks. If you see this vehicle from the lowered position of your co driver seat, it's just impressive. So the next day three of us purchased the 1/72 Trumpi kit.😂 And here we go... I´m doing the Netherlands version as mentioned in the titel. It will get it´s standard Nato camouflage and will find it´s place on an small base at the end. At the beginning the major parts for the interior were put together and some details as the seatbelts were added. The windscreen has some massive connections between the front and side windows. When dry fitting they were clearly visible from the outside and I´m not sure the outer frames will hide them at the end. So I cut the windscreen into three and sanded and polished it again to get rid of these problem. I used green for the interior but I´m not sure if it´s right at all. Most pics i found on the net shows German Fenneks and the looks overal green but on some pics from Dutch Fenneks it seems there are also a lot of white or light grey. Anyway, in that small scale you will not see that much at the end and I´m not even sure if I will open or close the doors at the end. All put together with some dirt added looks quite okay for me. So far for now, I hope your interested in the little fox.

My first surface ship and first go at an ocean. I'll be doing more, a nice break from a lifetime of aircraft. White Ensign PE set. Inspiration for ocean and technique credit to "Studio Blue Ocean" of Youtube Things I have leaned from this project 1) rigging is hard 2) I still hate photoetch 3) creating the sea was as satisfying as the ship, but I unsealed her, ripped her out and repainted the hull and the entire sea 3 times before I was happy. I know she is supposed to fly a black flag from the rear mast but I forgot. I will get around to it! Shot against white card outside with sun dipping in & out of cloud, the white balance was doing odd things but you get the gist. Thanks for looking!

Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2925044454214488&id=736521713066784 V.P.

At the moment, I'm planning to go with Trumpeters 1/700 USS Yorktown CV-5 kit. This was a new tooling over the disastrous CV-8 kit, which had the hull of a tanker. While not perfect, this kit is significantly improved. Im a massive fan of the Yorktown class, so its a great opportunity to get this kit out of the stash More later

After the Graf Spee, what else could I assemble but the HMS Exeter. I got the kit several months ago, and have been adding some aftermarkets for a better experience, like: 1. Eduard Big Ed PE, 2. Infini models Brass Masts, 3. Scale Chain 4. Master Model 8" barrels 5. Master Model 4" barrels 6. Wooden base (same as used for the Graf Spee) it will be a waterline model The length of the HMS Exeter vs the Graf Spee surprised me, it does not seem too much shorter. Marco

RA-5C Vigilante Fuselage Brace (48-801) 1:48 Nautilus Models Back when Trumpeter first released their 1:48 kit of the massive Vigi in 2005, there were some problems with the top seam of the fuselage, which wasn’t strong enough to stay flat, or stand up to any seam hiding activities such as sanding, resulting in cracking of seams and probably quite a lot of foul language. This was a problem that Trumpeter didn’t address, but along came Nautilus Models with their wooden brace kit. It’s a brilliantly simple solution, and arrives in a sealed plastic bag with a set of instructions within. After slicing open the package, out slides a single sheet of basswood with all the parts laser cut into it, held in place by short lengths at that ends that are only partially cut through. A few slices with a new blade liberates all the parts, and any burrs can be removed with a few strokes of a sanding stick. The instructions show you how to put the parts together, and they fit snugly without any glue (as you can see below) but should be glued and left to dry within the fuselage using some strong PVA wood glue, securing it with clamps, tape or elastic bands to keep things in place. Once the glue is dry it can be fixed into one side of the fuselage and later there are some instructions for fitting Aires exhausts cans should you have a set ready for use. From the many kits that have been built over the years it seems that this bracing kit is both the easiest and most cost-effective way of ensuring a happy conclusion to your fuselage closing ceremony. Every Vigi should have one. The set is available from their website as below, but if you have any trouble with ordering (as I did, ordering from the UK), just drop them an email and they’ll soon reply. Conclusion According to James from Nautilus this set and its smaller 1:72 stablemate have been consistent sellers ever since the kit was released, and you’ll be please to know that the kit is still available in both scales to go around this excellent structural helper. Many thanks to James for the review sample Extremely highly recommended, bordering on mandatory. Review sample courtesy of

I'll say that I've built worse kits, but I've also built a lot of better ones. I found that the fit of the prop, the upper cowlings and windscreen were troublesome. I also found the photo etch fret difficult to use due to how thick it was. Decals are ok, as long as you don't need to put them over any bumps or around any curves (there are significant paint touch ups on the shark mouth). I also found that the 2 fuselage roundels were glued to the backing paper somehow, so these were replaced with spares from a Tamiya Spitfire (hence the slightly different yellow and red). I used Gunze Middle Stone and Dark Earth over SMS Paints azure blue. Weathering was done wish washes and dry pigment. 'K' was the regular mount of P/O and later Squadron Leader Jack Bartle, an Australian pilot flying with 112 Squadron RAF in Egypt, 1941. Bartle would do 2 operational tours of duty and 2 non operational tours, eventually commanding No 1 Air Ambulance Unit and 450 Squadron RAAF. Bartle survived the war with 6.5 victories. 'K' however was not so lucky. On December 12 1941, while being flown by P/O RJD Jeffries, was posted missing in action.

Thanks New Tool ! After the Albacore, Fulmar and Battle, Trumpeter is to release a 1/48th Fairey Barracuda Mk.II - ref. 05825 - and family of Fulmar ? Sources (Seen at Model World Live at the NEC) : https://postimg.cc/HchNBPws https://m.facebook.com/story.php?id=860166877731077&story_fbid=1986379885109765 V.P.

Trumpeter is to release a 1/48th Fairey Battle Mk.I kit - ref. 05831 Source: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/8249037080 V.P.

I hadn't put my name down on the list, but hoping I can sneak in with this project I've been meaning to do for a while. Trumpeter Wellington III in 1/72. I'm planning to build it in markings of an aircraft flying out of No.12 Operational Training Unit, Chipping Warden: Z1732, FQ-S. My late father was stationed there as groundcrew during the last couple of years of WWII, and this is as close as I've been able to get to an actual aircraft that he might well have known and even worked on.