3 Jets and a Bus

[Uncle Pete]

Here at the North Wales Home for Retired Rock n Roll Maniacs there isn't much to do except pinch the nurse's bottom... And he's getting fed up with it so I built a few models.  Rather than give each one a dedicated slot I figured I'd only knock one deserving guy off the front page instead of three.

 

First out of the box was an Italeri F 100.  As I remember not a terribly interesting kit to build but enough to keep me amused for a while.

 

 

Everything straight out of the box, paint colours carefully selected from a brand called "What I had kicking about".  Decals were a bit on the thick side.  The yellow one round the intake gave me no end of aggro.

 

 

If I remember correctly the dangly bits were a bit of a bear to align...

 

 

And I'm not sure why an Air Force plane would have a tailhook but the plan said put it on so I put it on.  Anyway, there she is, for better or worse.

 

 

Next up we have a creaky old British classic, the Hunter.  A plane dear to my heart as it was the first fast jet I ever saw at an air show when my dad took me to Biggin Hill in 1962.

 

 

This was Revell and an enjoyable build.  Plenty of cheat pins in all the right places so I could get things aligned nicely.  I love their big, glossy, detailed instruction booklets, too.

 

 

I've just remembered I didn't install the pitot yet.  For the final painting and decalling it was already a minefield of sticky-outy bits and I knew an inch of needle-thin plastic poking out of a wingtip had no chance of surviving the ordeal.

 

 

Once again the paint was carefully selected from the set of what I had and the subset of what I think would make it look proper 'ard.

 

 

Third up was a rather disappointing kit.  Can't remember the brand but it wasn't one of the big boys.  It's an F 117.  Only about half a dozen major parts, not enough cheat pins so alignment of half-shells was quite challenging and as much detail as the real thing, that is, none.  So after putting it together I had this...

 

 

Whoops... Sorry... That's a kipper... Looks just like a Stealth Fighter, though, eh?  Here she is...

 

 

I made nose art for it but, of course, it doesn't show over the black so until I can figure out how to paint a precise circle of white exactly the right size it only exists on paper...

 

Like my cats, it's black and impossible to photograph...

 

 

I'd made and already shown off a whiffer.   I call it the Handley Page Liverpool, a passenger version of the Halifax dedicated to the wife and her Scouse heritage.  After putting it in the cabinet, it occurred to me there were no jetways in the 50s so I needed a set of stairs and a boarding bus.  The stairs I whacked together out of plastic card and the bus was an Opel Blitz and I can't remember the brand.  I'd have preferred a Leyland or some other British make but it was the only suitable vehicle I could find in 1:72.  I do remember it was an absolute pig to put together, though.

 

 

Thanks for visiting my display cabinet and help yourself to a cup of tea.  Milk and sugar are on the shelf above the cups.

[RJBud1]

Great work on all models. Detail IS lacking on the F117, but I still think it looks pretty good. The super Sabre is truly Beautiful 

 

RJ

[Gorby]

31 minutes ago, Uncle Pete said:

the dangly bits were a bit of a bear to align.

I get that sometimes. Very uncomfortable. 

 

Nowt wrong with that lot Pete - they all deserve a thread of their own. Your Sabre is definitely the star of the show in my books.

[Vinnie]

Thanks for another amusing interlude, Pete. Much needed at the moment and oh, btw some nice modelling.

[Wulfman]

Lovely bunch of builds, especially your Halifax whif, great stuff !

 

Wulfman

[Abandoned Project]

Absolutely fantastic. Love the weathering on the kipper, most realistic. 

As Gorby said, they all deserve individual threads

[FatFlyHalf]

As for the kipper, I'm sure I flew in one of those a long time ago somewhere in Yorkshire.

 

[TheyJammedKenny!]

A WIF civil Halifax!  Now that's a great concept.  I fancy it would've been pretty uncomfortable for the passengers--drafty from millions of gaps in the airframe.  The bus looks great, too.

[SAT69]

Gotta love an F-100 in 20th TFW markings. Love the Halifax too!

[Uncle Pete]

4 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

pretty uncomfortable for the passengers

Noisy, too... Those four Merlins cranking away right up your nose wouldn't really be commensurate with hearing the sound track of the in-flight movie!

[Farmerboy]

You have put a smile on my face at the start of another hot and sweaty day UP, lovely models as well, thank you!

[CT Modeller]

That’s a brilliant post. Made me laugh out loud. Thanks

[phildagreek]

Very good, that Sabre is super!

[Bandsaw Steve]

Nice work Pete. Now leave that poor nurse alone and make some more of these!