CKW's 2023 Efforts

[ckw]

Here are my efforts for 2023 - better than 2022 which was so poor I didn't bother with a year book!

1. Special Hobby North American Harvard Mk. II 1/72 in an RCAF scheme

 

 

Typical Special Hobby kit, built OOB, no surprises, Xtracolor paint.

 

2. Aoshima Focke Wulf Ta 152H-0 1/72nd

 

 

This one had been in the stash for some time, but the schemes included were dull. Eventually found some Eagle decals which allowed me to do a scheme with the home defence bands. Nice kit, but with some fiddley photo etch. Xtracolour paints

 

3. Hobby 2000 Dornier Do 335 A-1 1/72

 

 

This is a re-package of the Dragon kit. Like all Dragon kits I've made, looks great on the sprues but assembly seems more tricky than it should be. Xtracolour paints

 

4. Special Hobby Seversky P-35A  Philipines, 1941 1/72nd

 

 

Strictly speaking, this one should be painted in olive drab to fit my 'operational in WWII' criteria, but I couldn't bring myself to spoil it's pretty NM looks. I'll pretend they didn't get this one re-painted by the time of the Japanese attack :). Painted using AK Xtreme Metal polished aluminum.

 

5. Hobby 2000 Martin B-26B 1/72nd

 

 

Another Hobby 2000 re-boxing, this time of the Hasegawa kit, with a lovely decal sheet.  A bit disappointed with this one as I used 2 different tins of Xtracolour Olive Drab (both the same number), but the colours didn't match exactly. I can suppose the same may have happened in the field. Straight forward build, but a lot of lead (hidden in the radio compartment) needed to stop it being a tail sitter!

 

6. Italeri Macchi MC.205 1/72nd

 

 

A fairly old kit and some tricky fit problems. Colourcoats paint, but I felt airbrushing the rosettes would be too much of a challenge so opted to try the Eduard decals. Too my surprise I had no issues with silvering, and the decals conformed beautifully. I think the feathered edges are very convincing. But not a quick fix - probably spent 3 nights applying them.

 

7. Airfix North American B-25C Mitchell

 

 

Probably my least enjoyable build this year - seemed to cause me problems in unexpected places (probably my own fault). Particularly disliked the use of transparent panels for the rear fuselage sides. Another devourer of lead weight. Xtracolor paints

 

8. Dora Marcel-Bloch MB.152C.1 1/72nd

 

 

My favourite this year largely due to the colour scheme. The kit itself was a bit fiddly and I find myself torn between photo etch and the incredibly tiny plastic parts Dora seem enamoured of! I was forewarned by reviews that the decals were very transparent, so all the white areas were painted, and white discs painted for the roundels. The tail stripes were also painted and I found Humbrol 89 a good match with the roundel blue.

 

For me the most important part of the build was the camouflage. As my go-to enamel makers seem to no longer produce French WWII colours, and I don't like water based acrylics, I decided to give Hataka lacquers a try. These were a revelation - easy to spray with a fantastic finish. As I finish up my enamel stocks, I'll be switching to lacquer paints as my standard.

 

9. Lavochkin La-5FN 1/72nd

 

 

A pretty basic old kit, but with some decent cockpit detail for the scale. And an excuse to try out another set of Hataka lacquers. I'm definitely sold on them!

 

10. Valom De Havilland DH-95 Flamingo 1/72nd 1940

 

 

You gotta love Valom for producing subjects which no one else wants to. And, for a Valom kit, a pretty straight forward build for the most part. However, while the cockpit is well detailed, there is nothing at all in the cabin area. I toyed with the idea of scratch building, but references were very limited. In the end I opted for curtains (bits of tea bags) for the windows. I diverted from Valom's suggested scheme slightly as I couldn't find references to match but did find a good pic of the aircraft dated as 1940. The trickiest bit of the build is the landing gear with plastic and brass parts which need shaping and gluing. The attachment point is a single butt joint which I think needs to be reinforced with a brass pin. Back to my existing stock of Xtracolour paints for this one, though I also used the new Mig A-Stand metallic lacquer which impressed me. Once applied it seems very tough and gives an excellent finish (though on reflection, my choice of polished brass seems too bright).

 

Cheers.

 

Colin

 

 

[Whofan]

A lovely set of builds here, and I like the variety of both subjects and manufacturers you chose.

 

I’m not sure I’ve seen a Valom kit in a WIP, let alone an RFI this year.

 

No doubt I’ll be pointed now to loads!!

 

The Flamingo is a lovely looking plane, and I may even be inspired to nip up to my LMS who does always seem to have a fair number of Valom kits on his shelves!!

 

A quick couple of other pints (definitely) or points even if I may, re your Do335, in the colour scheme you’ve used, is the metallic panel on the port front engine replicated on the starboard side?

 

Also with your metallic  finishes, are there any brushable metallic paints you’d recommend? The Hataka lacquers,  for instance?

 

Who made your La-5N? 
 

and returning to the Flamingo, were the teabags you used, used or unused😎?

 

Thanks for such a terrific display!!

[JeroenS]

What a nice collection, and your photography really does them justice. 

[Keeff]

That's a very nice line up .... some unusual subjects and colourful too!  

 

Keith 😁 

[ckw]

6 hours ago, Whofan said:

A quick couple of other pints (definitely) or points even if I may, re your Do335, in the colour scheme you’ve used, is the metallic panel on the port front engine replicated on the starboard side?

Thanks for the kind words ... as to your questions. Yes, the panels are bare metal on both sides. This aircraft depicts one found in May '45 at Oberpfaffenhohen.  Possibly these were unpainted replacement panels, or delivered from a sub manufacturer unpainted.

 

Brushable metallics are tricky - for this reason I avoid it except for smaller areas, that said in my pre-airbrush days I found some of the Humbrol MetalCotes paints quite good (Polished Aluminium, Gunmetal and Polished steel) quite good - though matt aluminum is rubbish. You can mix them for different shades and as they are buffable, you can eliminate minor brush strokes.

 

The La-5FN is an old Zvezda kit - dark green plastic and raised panel lines. I got it for a fiver, but to be honest, its not worth more.

 

Tea bags were new, but old ones might give an interesting colour. As this was Churchills plane, I figured he might like some privacy  Valom kits are strange - esoteric subjects, and quite good detail but assembly can be tricky with often fairly vague instructions. I have an DH Albatross in my stash for the next time I'm feeling brave.

 

Cheers

 

Colin

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

I like your choice of colour schemes throughout the fleet. They show off your skills with the brush. All the models are quite striking. It’s a good line up. 
 

I enjoyed reading your captions too 🙂

[LorenSharp]

Beautiful job on all you subjects Colin. I especially like the Flamingo. 

[Farmerboy]

All built to a very high standard, well done.

[Muchmirth]

Beautifully done, really top job. Your finish is smooth as butter on all of them. 
Top result!

Paul

[AliGauld]

A beautiful set of builds.

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[MRMRL]

These are super, I love the scheme on the Macchi that looks really neat and stands out.

[Yg Models]

nice collection of aircrafts.

i like pin-ups on  Martin B-26B most.

[janneman36]

You have some great builds here , but that P-35 is the one for me !

Such a lovely metallic finish🏆

Enjoy Christmas cheers, Jan