Sea Venom FAW.22 HMS Albion 1959

[bigbadbadge]

Hi all

I have been working on this one on and off since January as part of the Matchbox Group Build,  I failed miserably at the GB but have finally finished.

The model is quite basic and I have followed Johnny's (A.K.A @The Spadgent),wonderful build of this kit a couple of years ago. Thanks Johnny.  I did not go as far as he did with opening the engine panels, detailing the engine and dropping the flaps, but have added lots to the cockpit such as AMS Ejector seats, gauges using Airscale decals, the gubbins behind the cockpit internals the rear canopy part , some extras to the UC bays, catapult hooks and windscreen wiper was made.  The kitvwheels were Modified.  The Pitot mount broke off so a new one was made from some scrap parts from the parts box.

 

The model was brush painted using Humbrol Enamels , the decals were very kindly supplied by Dave A.K.A @Rabbit Leader, Thanks Dave very kind, as mine were not great.

 

Weathering is light and limited to some staining underneath, oil panel line wash, faded panels and a dot filtering with oils in warm colours over the rear fuselage and cold colours over the wings etc.

 

I would like to thank everyone who has assisted and offered kind support and encouragement  during this long build, sorry it took do long, also @Rabbit Leader and @JOCKNEY for hosting the original GB  and sorry I did not make the deadline

 

I preferred the red Sharkmouth as was going to use the Matchbox 490 codes however they were unusable and I had already stuck on the red one so decided to stick with it.

 

WIP here

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rear undercarriage legs shortened to allow stance to be right , so it doesn't look like it's Twerking!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wing tip tank lights made by drilling out the tips and painting the clear green and red and the glass was Lazer glaze UV glue.

 

 

 

Windscreen wiper made 

 

AMS resin seats

 

Scratched additions behind the cabin

 

 

 

 

Modified kit wheels, and extras added to uc doors , catapult points made and added

 

 

Modified kit intakes

 

Thanks for looking in

Chris

[Lord Riot]

Outstanding work, what a brilliant finish especially on such an old kit! The cockpit detail looks amazing, very realistic.

[binbrook87]

Absolutely brilliant! Your brush painting skills alone are worthy of high praise 👏👏 I must have bypassed this kit many many times and regretted not buying it especially if it turns out half as good as yours. Great work thanks for sharing another fantastic oldie 👍👍

[RichieW]

Fantastic, what a pleasure to have followed this build. You've made it look more like a recent Tamiya rather than an ancient Matchbox kit. Brilliant modelling skills!

 

Richie

[invidia]

Looks fantastic

[mark.au]

There aren’t enough superlatives for this one, Chris.  Possibly the best work I’ve seen of yours, and that’s putting it over a very high bar indeed.

[Ngantek]

As others have said and I'm sure you know Chris, an astonishing build. I've been looking forward to the RFI and the photos don't dissapoint. All that scratch work has really paid off and the cockpit in particular is a masterpiece. I imagine such a large kit with such sparse OOB detail could easily look very toylike without all your additions.

 

The thought of trying to achieve a good look on such large surfaces with a brush fills me with terror and that's before you consider that horrific check pattern you gave yourself. The shading and sheen on the radome are just fantastic. 

 

So yeah we'll give it a marginal pass.😄

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

[AliGauld]

20 minutes ago, mark.au said:

There aren’t enough superlatives for this one, Chris.

Wot he said. 

Or in the vernacular of this part of the world.

"Aye, it's no bad"

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Anthony in NZ]

Yes absolutely stunning.  I particularly like the pics where the light is shining on the tip tanks and you can see your silky smooth finish...a real testament to your skills!

[bigbadbadge]

1 hour ago, Lord Riot said:

Outstanding work, what a brilliant finish especially on such an old kit! The cockpit detail looks amazing, very realistic.

Thanks LR, it is a nice old kit really, very simple details.  Very pleased with the cockpit area, took ages to complete.

 

1 hour ago, binbrook87 said:

Absolutely brilliant! Your brush painting skills alone are worthy of high praise 👏👏 I must have bypassed this kit many many times and regretted not buying it especially if it turns out half as good as yours. Great work thanks for sharing another fantastic oldie 👍👍

Thanks binbrook87, very kind  I find the brush painting very relaxing and enjoy the challenge to get as good a job and effects as possible.   It is worth getting and having a go, very impressive presence in the display too duecto it's size. 

 

1 hour ago, RichieW said:

Fantastic, what a pleasure to have followed this build. You've made it look more like a recent Tamiya rather than an ancient Matchbox kit. Brilliant modelling skills!

 

Richie

Thanks Richie,  that's really kind, thanjs for tagging along and offering encouragement,  imagine if Tamiya released one of these! Wow.  I am amazed no one has released a kit of this type in this scale since the Matchbox and Revelk rebox.  

 

29 minutes ago, invidia said:

Looks fantastic

Thanks Invidia

 

20 minutes ago, mark.au said:

There aren’t enough superlatives for this one, Chris.  Possibly the best work I’ve seen of yours, and that’s putting it over a very high bar indeed.

Thanks Mark really kind too, thanks for your encouragement along the way too.

I really enjoyed this especially after getting back to it after the two unofficial GBs , I will get back onto the PR.IV now too.

 

10 minutes ago, Ngantek said:

As others have said and I'm sure you know Chris, an astonishing build. I've been looking forward to the RFI and the photos don't dissapoint. All that scratch work has really paid off and the cockpit in particular is a masterpiece. I imagine such a large kit with such sparse OOB detail could easily look very toylike without all your additions.

 

The thought of trying to achieve a good look on such large surfaces with a brush fills me with terror and that's before you consider that horrific check pattern you gave yourself. The shading and sheen on the radome are just fantastic. 

 

So yeah we'll give it a marginal pass.😄

 

Andy

 

 

 

 

 

😄 Thanks Andy, very kind and thanks for following with encouragement.  The kit is quite large (got a 24th Airfix Mossie to do at some point, so gonna need a bigger brush!!!), I was worried about it lounge toy like, but am pleased with how it turned out.

The chequers are the Revell kit decals and I cut them in half and they went down well with softener.  The variation in panel colour is great in EDSG and is a joy ro watch emerge, this is another reason I love the painting side of things. 

 

6 minutes ago, AliGauld said:

Wot he said. 

Or in the vernacular of this part of the world.

"Aye, it's no bad"

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Thanks Alistair kind of you fella, it's been great having you along for the ride thank you for supporting,  it certainly looks pleasing to the eye. Always loved the look of these aircraft.

 

8 minutes ago, Anthony in NZ said:

Yes absolutely stunning.  I particularly like the pics where the light is shining on the tip tanks and you can see your silky smooth finish...a real testament to your skills!

That's very kind thanks Anthony and thanks for being along for the ride too.

I am really pleased with the wing tanks and the lights on the front of the tanks, I will add a piccie of that too as forgot until you mentioned them, getting old you know🙄

 

Thanks guys I appreciate all your generous comments

 

Chris

[AdrianMF]

Superb model Chris! The time and effort you have put into this shines through.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[keefr22]

Absolute stunner Chris, cracking build with your usual impeccable paintwork and weathering!!

 

Top job - again...!! 

 

Keith

[bigbadbadge]

2 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Superb model Chris! The time and effort you have put into this shines through.

 

Regards,

Adrian

Thanks Adrian,  very kind, crikey nearly a year on and off!!! Pleased with it and it does look good amongst my other FAA models.

 

1 hour ago, keefr22 said:

Absolute stunner Chris, cracking build with your usual impeccable paintwork and weathering!!

 

Top job - again...!! 

 

Keith

Thanks Keith, ery kind too.  I was starting to wonder in November will I ever get it done!!! Thankfully it is now pride of place in the display,  gosh it's big too.

Really enjoyed the paint job too.

 

Thanks guys

Chris

 

[JOCKNEY]

Congratulations Chris

 

 

I'm so glad you didn't rush it, to fit in with the Matchbox GB dates.

 

The finished model is an absolute credit to you 

 

cheers Pat 

[bigbadbadge]

30 minutes ago, JOCKNEY said:

Congratulations Chris

 

 

I'm so glad you didn't rush it, to fit in with the Matchbox GB dates.

 

The finished model is an absolute credit to you 

 

cheers Pat 

Thanks Pat very kind,  yes I am glad too, it would have regretted that, pleased with the way it turned out.

Thanks for Co hosting the GB 

Chris

[Dunny]

Chris,

 

What a stunning build of this old kit! Your additional detail really lifts the result, and the subtlety of the weathering is superb. As others have said this is some of your best work,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Rabbit Leader]

What an absolute gem of a Matchbox Sea Venom you've compiled there Chris. Although the end result took time to reach the finishing line, you can now marvel at its great appeal and precise finish for many more years to come. 

I am so glad those decals came in handy and it's nice to know that I was able to somehow repay someone else on here for all the excellent generosity and comradery that this website brings. 

Another classic advertisement for the fact that 'Old kits are still more than relevant - if built with a little TLC' 

 

Cheers and very well modelled.. Dave  

[bigbadbadge]

23 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Chris,

 

What a stunning build of this old kit! Your additional detail really lifts the result, and the subtlety of the weathering is superb. As others have said this is some of your best work,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thanks Roger very kind fella, really chuffed with it.  It certainly took me long enough😄 still it's a big kit.  Really enjoyed it for the most part , can't bear a bit of EDSG.   

 

19 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

What an absolute gem of a Matchbox Sea Venom you've compiled there Chris. Although the end result took time to reach the finishing line, you can now marvel at its great appeal and precise finish for many more years to come. 

I am so glad those decals came in handy and it's nice to know that I was able to somehow repay someone else on here for all the excellent generosity and comradery that this website brings. 

Another classic advertisement for the fact that 'Old kits are still more than relevant - if built with a little TLC' 

 

Cheers and very well modelled.. Dave  

Thanks Dave, really kind of you.  The decals really were a godsend and very much appreciated,  the older kits are certainly still relevant, got quite a few golden oldies in the stash still.  

Thank you again

 

Thanks both for your generous comments 

Chris

[Pantherhawk27263]

Wow!! That is an amazing job!!! I love when someone turns a Matchbox kit into a masterpiece. 

[blueYeti]

Superb model Chris.

[Andy Dyck]

 

Hi Chris,
Great performance! I always wonder how you get the paint so beautiful with the brush 
Really cool!

Cheers

Andy 

[bigbadbadge]

2 hours ago, Pantherhawk27263 said:

Wow!! That is an amazing job!!! I love when someone turns a Matchbox kit into a masterpiece. 

Thanks Pantherhawk27263, very kind, it is a nice kit basically and a great canvas for lots of extras.

 

8 minutes ago, blueYeti said:

Superb model Chris.

Thanks Blue Yeti  very kind

 

5 minutes ago, Andy Dyck said:

 

Hi Chris,
Great performance! I always wonder how you get the paint so beautiful with the brush 
Really cool!

Cheers

Andy 

Thanks Andy, very kind, love the painting part, just thin out the enamels and use a flat brush really.  Hope you're well .

 

 

Thanks all for you kind comments 

Chris

[corsaircorp]

Congratulations Chris !!

Such a fine Sea Venom !!

Your attention to details and painting skill are amazing !!

Sincerely.

CC

[bigbadbadge]

1 hour ago, corsaircorp said:

Congratulations Chris !!

Such a fine Sea Venom !!

Your attention to details and painting skill are amazing !!

Sincerely.

CC

Thanks CC, very kind fella, very pleased with it although I am glad it's done, it took up loads of room on the bench!!!

Chris

[cardiff guy]

They say the kit is a bit of a pig but you really beat it into shape, well done.