John Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 I've been really busy over the last few weeks and haven't had a lot of time for kitbashing so I was planning on not contributing to this Group Build, but having been out in the garage to check it survived this week's high winds I came across this kit in the deep stash and thought it would make a good, simple and relaxing build. We'll see! It's a boxing from about 20 years ago and begs the question - what was Humbrol thinking??? Inside you find the typical 1960s-era small Airfix kit: Basic by modern standards and a bit flashy but not unbuildable. Construction looks straightforward: There's a very generous 3 markings schemes provided: Decal sheet looks nice but the Heller-produced sheets of that era could be variable in quality: OOB is the order of the day, I think. I have fond memories of this kit having first built it on a family holiday in Carnoustie back in the early 1970s. I'll probably paint it this time... John 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandboof Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Good to see one of these on the go . A pleasing build . Enjoy Martin H 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 23, 2018 Share Posted September 23, 2018 Looks great - are you missing a tailplane or is it not in shot? I did lots of builds like that on family holidays too. Regards, Adrian 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted September 23, 2018 Author Share Posted September 23, 2018 2 hours ago, AdrianMF said: Looks great - are you missing a tailplane or is it not in shot? I did lots of builds like that on family holidays too. Regards, Adrian Well spotted - it's loose in the box, thankfully. 🙂 John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Another Gem for the build. The stumpy little plane sat on my shelves shortly after it first came out. Watching yours come together is going to be a trip back in time for me. That Humbrol box is a bit of a fright, have a shot of the original to balance things. Yin and Yang arrive at the Group Build! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 Good call John, such a bold move for Airfix to issue this Aussie classic way back in 1965. Good to see you taking part here - better late than never is a phrase that springs to mind!! We’ll look on to watch you build our little indigenous attempt at a fighter. Cheers.. Dave 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 9 hours ago, TonyW said: Another Gem for the build. The stumpy little plane sat on my shelves shortly after it first came out. Watching yours come together is going to be a trip back in time for me. That Humbrol box is a bit of a fright, have a shot of the original to balance things. Yin and Yang arrive at the Group Build! It's amazing how many shops of all kinds had a peg board or a floor stand with Series 1 kits on it back then. My uncle ran a TV sales and repair business and had a rack of kits inside the front door of his shop. Sometimes I even got a discount...🙂 John 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted September 24, 2018 Share Posted September 24, 2018 5 minutes ago, John said: It's amazing how many shops of all kinds had a peg board or a floor stand with Series 1 kits on it back then. I agree John, you could pick a kit up from a small shop almost anywhere, I bought most of my kits in the local cycle shop. I guess the turnover isn't high enough to warrant stocking them now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted September 24, 2018 Author Share Posted September 24, 2018 Cycle shops always seemed like a good bet for kits. Our local bike shop was one of the few places you could get FROG kits in my home town, but the smaller ones and only in the days when they came in bags as well. I suspect that in those days kits were available to the small retail trade from general wholesalers to a greater extent than they are now. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawzer Posted September 25, 2018 Share Posted September 25, 2018 nice addition to the GB! I can't remember in days gone by our cycle shop selling kits but I do remember just about every corner shop selling them. Ahhh those were the days...... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted September 29, 2018 Author Share Posted September 29, 2018 I better get a move on! OK, during the Golden Years I built all my aircraft models wheels up. They either sat on their stands or, when my mum eventually agreed to it and I was tall enough to reach, they went on my bedroom ceiling. My last and only other Boomerang build goes back to the days before hanging them up was an option, so this one need to be on a stand. Fortunately... More shortly. John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 16 minutes ago, John said: I better get a move on! OK, during the Golden Years I built all my aircraft models wheels up. They either sat on their stands or, when my mum eventually agreed to it and I was tall enough to reach, they went on my bedroom ceiling. My last and only other Boomerang build goes back to the days before hanging them up was an option, so this one need to be on a stand. Fortunately... More shortly. John I am sure there are still many bedroom ceilings across the UK and indeed around the world bearing the 'scars' of our childhood fun I wonder who first came up with the idea. I do remember when the 'premier' of THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN hit our small town - the local 'flea pit' cinema foyer was filled with fighters and bombers hanging from the ceiling - spectacular for a small boy. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 Just as a bit of inspiration, here’s a photo I got in a newsletter the other day: Here Regards, Adrian 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 1 hour ago, BIG X said: I am sure there are still many bedroom ceilings across the UK and indeed around the world bearing the 'scars' of our childhood fun And walls Steve. I used to cut out the aircraft shapes from the box art, draw around the cutout and paint them in enamels, I thought they looked great on the blue walls. Pity the chap who had to decorate over those after we moved though. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted September 29, 2018 Share Posted September 29, 2018 15 minutes ago, nimrod54 said: And walls Steve. I used to cut out the aircraft shapes from the box art, draw around the cutout and paint them in enamels, I thought they looked great on the blue walls. Pity the chap who had to decorate over those after we moved though. ...very artistic... 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted September 30, 2018 Author Share Posted September 30, 2018 Got a start made this afternoon. There's a bit of flash and some ejector pin marks, making the kit look a bit short-run. Nothing insurmountable, however. The fuselage needed a bit of fettling to get a reasonable join and will need a bit more cleaning up. The plastic is quite springy. The interior is Humbrol 120 Light Green, the engine is Polished Steel Metal Cote burnished with a soft brush and the inside of the cowling lip is 56 Aluminium. The rest of the cowling interior and the top of the wing centre section is acrylic Black 2.0: One surprising thing I found is that, completely untypical of this vintage of Airfix kit, there doesn't seem to be any provision for building it wheels up. I had to add braces across the undercarriage bay to rest the upper leg doors on and I'll have to do the same again for the lower more rounded doors. The fit isn't brilliant but since I'm not planning on displaying the model upside down, or hanging it from my bedroom ceiling, I'll make do and mend. Hang it from the bedroom ceiling - wonder what SWMBO would say about that...? John 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted September 30, 2018 Share Posted September 30, 2018 22 minutes ago, John said: Hang it from the bedroom ceiling - wonder what SWMBO would say about that...? John She’d probably get annoyed if it’s hanging over her head at night whilst your making mock P&W engine sound noises, but you’d also better mention that there’s no point getting angry and throwing it away - it’s a Boomerang after all... the little thing will only come back!! Cheers.. Dave 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted October 21, 2018 Author Share Posted October 21, 2018 Well, I didn't get very far with this: The fuselage is no better or worse than I would expect from a kit of this vintage but I have been surprised by the fit of the wings. As I said previously the undercarriage doesn't seem to have the option of building it retracted, and the fit of the doors in the closed position is terrible. I did scratchbuild one lower door, which certainly fits better, but I'm not sure dong the rest will add that much to the stand-mounted finished article. I also found that one of the upper wing halves was 1mm or so longer in span and root chord that the lower bit: I will finish it though, for old-time's sake. John 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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