IrritableRabbit Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 (edited) Argh.. Well.. The last model I made was thirty years ago when I was still at school. Thanks to a nostalgia fest last Christmas, when I received these couple of kits from my girlfriend, the 'hook' is back and will probably stay. Although I'm unlikely to have the time to develop the skills needed to produce the amazing work I see on these forums, the additional patience I've learnt since leaving school, as well as the wealth of information on forums like this does mean these first attempts ARE better than I used to make. Phew! Both straight out of the box builds of the Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat and the Revell 1/72 F4U Corsair. So I make that about £11.98 for the kits and about another £150 updating my tools and materials (even though 90% of my paints from 30 years back were ok!). What went right: They both kind of look like the aircraft they're supposed to represent.I learned things about some tools and techniques that I wouldn't have been aware of previously.Those roundels on upper wings of the Gnat were such low density I could see the orange paint through them. Replaced by 40 year old roundels the thickness of elephant skin from my spares box. Hurrah for Microsol! What went wrong: Masking errors and over spray - Gnat.Carpet Monster - Bye bye Gnat control stick and Corsair Pitot tube.Varnish hiccups - Thinning incorrectly meant it wasn't sprayed on densely enough. Which leads to....Decals MIA - Oops.. Did I accidentally rip a decal off because I hadn't sealed it properly. Gnat and Corsair Metallic finishes - aaaaaagh! GnatWeathering - Too much? Too little? Wrong colours? Bad application? Oh well.. I hadn't done that sort of thing before anyway so I learned something. What's coming next:More 1/72 aircraft. I lack the space. Cold war, USAF in the U.K. Korean War, Falklands, Op Granby, Arab - Israeli conflicts. All these things interest me.But first, a 1982 Falklands SHAR I'm building from a second hand Esci kit that cost £5. Naturally, as it's a test bed for products I've never used before (resin, PE), that £5 turned into £20. Thank you for your attention. There's some great work on this site, with some really inspiring stuff and I feel barely worthy. JM5_5845 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr JM5_8499 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr JM5_8500 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr JM5_8481 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr JM5_8484 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr JM5_8486 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr Edited March 13, 2013 by IrritableRabbit 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Welcome to Britmodeller. I wish my first attempts had turned out so well, the Bf110 I made when I returned to the hobby has long gone. The panel highlighting on the Gnat looks particularly well done. You say you won't have the time to develop but I bet this time next year you will have found the time, it becomes very addictive. Well done and hopefully we'll see some more of your models soon. Duncan B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 welcome to BM! Those are both excellent builds Really good photography too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Thats really impressive for a 30 year lay off! Does your girlfriend realise what she has sparked off? Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonbru1 Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Welcome back to the hobby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seth2012chaos Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 (edited) Welcome back to the hobby, It's like you took a 30 mins break you seem not to have lost your touch, great builds sir. Edited February 17, 2013 by seth2012chaos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parns Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Really can't argue with these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrvr6 Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 that knat is bloody good!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horr!do Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I like a lot, specially Corsair. But Gant is look nice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 (edited) Good work, I've never really stopped modelling over 50 years, yet I sometimes still can't reach your level. That Gnat is very good, considering it's size, too. Edited February 17, 2013 by bentwaters81tfw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas_415 Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Those are both great! Lovely finishes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrritableRabbit Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 Thank you to everyone. Your comments are all very encouraging. Makes accidentally super gluing my fingers together worth while. Now as to the point about my girlfriend (thank you Martin), I think she thought she knew what she had started but actually, she had no idea as to the depths this little obsession could go. She probably will live to regret it. And Paul... Thank you, it's a relief that the photos look ok. It's kind of what I do, except the models are a little bigger and talk back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Great pair of models, especially after such a long break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrvr6 Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Thank you to everyone. Your comments are all very encouraging. Makes accidentally super gluing my fingers together worth while. Now as to the point about my girlfriend (thank you Martin), I think she thought she knew what she had started but actually, she had no idea as to the depths this little obsession could go. She probably will live to regret it. And Paul... Thank you, it's a relief that the photos look ok. It's kind of what I do, except the models are a little bigger and talk back. whats worse than superglueing your fingers together? supergluring them together and getting accelerant on it!!!! it burns just a bit lol 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I'd be more than happy if my builds came out this well, great looking pair of builds, Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Very nice, love the Gnat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonR Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Lovely pair there, love the gnat, fantastic for fist models after a long break. And no, you other half has no idea what she's done, my mrs bought me the BoBM flight set a few years ago for xmas to go on my boys ceiling, big mistake!! cheers simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 (edited) Lovely jobs. My wife bought me Airfix's '70 years of fighters' for Father's Day a few years back... Fool! I had my first run-in with superglue,my fingers and Zip-kicker last week. It*does* burn, doesn't it? Mike PS: Any chance of some pics of the other models? (hem, hem, mutter...) Edited February 18, 2013 by Chaotic Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 JM5_8500 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr JM5_8499 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr JM5_5845 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr JM5_8486 by IrritableRabbit, on Flickr The Folland GNAT is STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS. The orange color is fantastic. The CORSAIR is one of MY Favorite aircrafts ..to say your first build thirty years who was one of them you had good taste!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bri48 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Well looks like you've got the bug now...onwards and upwards as they say. Both equally lovely little builds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Welcome to BM.... Pretty good stuff for a "beginner". I hope you keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IrritableRabbit Posted February 18, 2013 Author Share Posted February 18, 2013 Lovely jobs. My wife bought me Airfix's '70 years of fighters' for Father's Day a few years back... Fool! I had my first run-in with superglue,my fingers and Zip-kicker last week. It*does* burn, doesn't it? Mike PS: Any chance of some pics of the other models? (hem, hem, mutter...) Ahem... If you can see my little signature, my usual work can be seen there. Although you'll be sad to see that it is work safe. @Houston Thankfully for ease of application and my sanity, all that orange happens to be is Humbrol 209 Acrylic Fire Orange over Tamiya Flat White. As for the Corsair, I'd never built one, it's one of a number of interesting propeller driven aircraft to feature in the Korean war, so I just had to build one. And they are one of my fave aircraft as well. Thank you everyone again for the additional comments, and there seems to be a theme of the ladies not knowing what they're getting into when they kindly buy us these little presents... Mwah ha ha haaaaaaar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonR Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Your photos of the other models 'aint half bad either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuna Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Two great looking builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted February 18, 2013 Share Posted February 18, 2013 Bloody marvelous, can't understand why you were away so long but welcome back. Two cracking builds, thanks for sharing them and I hope your girlfriend will forgive herself this slight disgression!. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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