Classic Airfix (Roy Cross Memorial) Gallery

[Enzo the Magnificent]

Post your completed builds here. No more than five photos per entry.

Please do not post comments in this thread. All comments should go in the subject's build thread.

 

 

[TonyW]

Blimey, I'm first in the Gallery!

 

A pretty quick build of the classic little P40 Kittyhawk is my first contribution to the GB and it was a memory jerker from start to finish. It's nothing fancy, just a simple build using what Airfix provided.

 

 

I didn't use the old Airfix tins of paint, or the glue, but they look good in the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Heather Kay]

No A05870 Beam Engine

(Originally No 621 of the Museum Models range, released 1966.)

 

 

 

 

 

The Museum Models range consisted of four kits. I believe the beam engine was the first, because it doesn’t, rather disappointingly, include a plaque in copperplate script describing it. There is no scale quoted, though Scalemates reckons it’s 1/45th. I’m not convinced, preferring to head for the classic "box scale".
 

The kit hails from a time when plastic kit manufacturers were making kits to cover a broad range of tastes, with this range filling something of an educational remit. As originally sold, the kits included a small DC electric motor and other parts so the models could be made to run. This feature was dropped in subsequent boxings, either because of cost or because the models would rattle themselves to pieces rather quickly when run under power!

 

As I outlined in the WIP thread, this is a rather generic beam engine, but it demonstrates all the principles of the type. The big flywheel, the rocking beam, a cylinder that can be displayed open to show the workings, and the Watt's parallel motion, are all there.

 

Now, I’m not sure if this will work, but I recorded a short video of the model being "operated", complete with realistic sound effects! Let’s see if it will post.

 

That seems to work. I have plans to attempt motorising the model, but as any mechanism I can make can be fitted retrospectively, it probably won’t happen any time soon. I’m not good with mechanical and electrical things. 
 

 

Edited July 1 by Ventora3300

[theplasticsurgeon]

Taylorcraft Auster, 651 Sqdn Army Air Corps.

 

[PeterB]

This is my build of the old Airfix Douglas Boston III which Pat kindly sent me in return for some bits and pieces from my stash. I made a few improvements to the cockpit, added a couple of undercarriage struts and a small aerial mast to the fin but otherwise it is OOB. The kit is not entirely accurate as I gather the cowling fronts should perhaps be a little more rounded and Airfix have mistakenly moulded the shorter and blunter rear of the nacelles which were found on the earlier Boston I/II but not the III which had slightly longer and more "pointy" ones. I had to replace the decs as the kit ones were inaccurate, and due to shortages in my stock it ended up as a plane from 107 Squadron just before the markings changed to the "C1" type and dull red codes were introduced in around July 1942. Here is a link to the build thread-

Rightly or wrongly I have painted it in my take of the "US Equivalent" paints used on early Lend-Lease planes before they were just left in normal US OD over Neutral Gray.

 

 

 

 

Cheers Pat!

 

Pete

[TonyW]

My second GB contribution staggered over the finish line this morning, My Lockheed Shooting Star is complete after a few years waiting on that to come about.

 

Best looked at as a three footer, the finer details could do with a bit more effort from me. I'm happy with what I have though and that's all that matters. 

 

 

 

 

 

[stevej60]

Hi folk's first of three proposed train builds,Battle of Britain class Locomotive "Biggin Hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Heather Kay]

No A08870 Beam Engine

(Originally No 623 of the Museum Models range, released 1968.)

 

 

 

 

 

My second Museum Model for the Group Build, this one was rather daunting in the box. Lots of small components, and rather fiddly assembly, all made me a bit nervous of starting it! I'm pleased I did, though. 

 

I paid extra attention to the various bearing surfaces. Although Airfix designed the kit with quite a bit of slack, to allow for the material used to produce it, I carefully cleaned mould seams in all the bearing areas. The mechanism was quite difficult to test, with more than two hands being needed to hold the crankshaft in place so it didn't pop out of the bearings and mangle everything. 

 

As an added precaution, with styrene-to-styrene surfaces everywhere, I rubbed a 6B graphite pencil on some sandpaper, and used the dust as lubricant. How did that work? Well, watch this video and judge for yourselves.

 

I must admit that I have a little chuckle every time I run the mechanism. It's so sweet, it's like a plastic sowing machine. Full marks to Airfix in 1968 for making something that actually worked really well!

[IanC]

Bren Carrier & 6-pdr (1964)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[theplasticsurgeon]

Tim's Beagle Basset.  Northern Communication Squadron RAF Topcliffe.

[PeterB]

This is my build of the Airfix 1/72 IL-28 aka "Beagle". When Airfix released this kit in 1968 the Soviets were extremely secretive about their military equipment, and a lot of the information they did let out was often deliberately misleading. It is perhaps therefore no surprise that the kit has accuracy issues, the most obvious of which it the wrong shape of the engine nacelles which were in fact "area ruled" and far more tapered at the front than in the kit. The other thing Airfix apparently did not realise is that the bomber version did not in fact carry wing tip tanks, and so as I have explained in my thread, what I have built is actually an IL-28R photo recce bird, to which end I have drilled out and glazed some camera ports where I suspect they should be. The thread explains this and other points in more detail -

 

 

In spite of that it does not look too bad I guess. I have sprayed it in AK Interactive Xtreme Metal "White Aluminium" to represent the silver paint that the Soviets apparently used on many of their early jets.

 

 

 

 

It looks rather better than the one I built not long after the kit first came out which I painted in overall Hu 11 Silver. The remains of that are currently in a box a couple of feet away from where I am sitting writing this, and in fact I used the pitot tube from it in this build as the kit one broke.

 

Pete

[stevej60]

Morning folk's here's a right pair for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Heather Kay]

I've had this really early boxing of the Fairey Battle in my stash for some years. The plan had been to give it the works to correct all the many problems in order to give me a Battle for my 1940 collection. With the promise of a new tool on its way (soon, I hope), this plan was quietly shelved and the box gathered dust.

 

What a better opportunity, then, than to build it straight from the box, without trying to do anything really clever. So, following the classic "locate and cement" instructions, I used minimal tools as I would have done as a kid. The model needed hardly any filler, and I had to resort to modern cement and acrylic paints, but the nostalgia was strong in this build. The original transfers, sadly, showed signs of age with visible cracking, so I decided to use basic roundels from my stores and not worry about squadron codes or serial numbers. I think it turned out well enough, as it's not destined for my display cabinet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The build thread is here:

 

 

 

[TonyW]

My Luftwaffe Alpha Jet is finally done. 

 

A simple build that went together well and looks OK to me, despite it being a straight out the box build. A couple of bits of masking tape for seat belts were the sum total of the added detailing on this one. 

 

 

 

 

 

[stevej60]

Hi folk's here's the second of three loco builds the Schools class Harrow in her short lived BR black scheme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PhantomBigStu]

Airfix 1978 Spitfire from the 90's in my examples case, with a modern airfix decals from their current kit, painted Humbrol Dark Earth, AK Dark Green and Spectrum Blue, finished with Winsor and Newton Matt

 

 

[CliffB]

Austin Maxi (1971)

This was a tatty, pre-started kit which I've completed and painted using 'authentic', Harvest Gold automotive touch-up paint (thinned and airbrushed).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

[Marklo]

First build complete the Bloodhound

 

 

 

The Jag shouldn’t be too far bahind….

[stevej60]

Hi folk's,1979 release of the Mki Spitfire as Al Deere's Battle of Britain mount.

 

 

 

 

 

[PeterB]

This is my rebuild/refurbishment of my old RA-5C Vigilante which I broke down into component parts, stripped the paint off, and then started again, adding a bit of detail to the cockpit, new seats and an Aeroclub undercarriage. Here is a link to the build thread.

 

 

 

 

I have since straightened out the Master nose probe which I could see was bent in the above pics! As I mentioned in my thread the decs are not technically accurate as they are actually for one of the 36 "new build" versions produced when the production line was re-opened in 1968 to replace losses, and which had a few differences to the Airfix kit of the earlier version.

 

 

Pete

[Mjwomack]

Here's the very ancient Cattle Wagon, in it's Dapol iteration, having also been Kitmaster and importantly Airfix.

Build thread here

I could've done far better (like my school reports when I first built it, so that's nostalgic), but thanks for all the encouragement peeps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Olmec Head]

Spitfire Mk1 1/72 01071 - (Taga Taga Taga) - 74 Squadron RAF -BoB

 

Finished as Flt Lt Adolf Malan's aircraft in June 1940.  Decals are from an old set produced for the Southern Expo on RAF Hornchurch based BoB aircraft and their Luftwaffe counterparts.  The aircraft was an older K series (perhaps Malan don't have much clout at that time), so I used a pole aerial and two pronged pitot.  According to the decal sheet notes, Flt Lt Malan shot down two H111s at night in one sortie in this aircraft.

 

I didn't do much weathering, to keep it in the 1970s (feel).  There was some basic rescribing of the surface detail.  And I forgot the aerial wire.

 

 

 

The aircraft had been recently repainted underneath from the B/W demarcation to Sky.  I used light blue as suggested by the decal sheet.

 

 

Thanks to the mods for the GB, I hope next to do the MkVb.

 

 

 

[Ray S]

This is the Airfix 1/600 Prinz Eugen, first issued around 1974. It was one of their better moulded kits, but still had some problems with accuracy. I bought an etch set from Tom's Modelworks to upgrade it, but that didn't work out the way I wanted. I found some railing were too tall for their positioning, so rather than leave some off and put some on, I eventually chose to leave all off. I also found that some of the etch was very fragile, and bent very easily. I again left some off and modified other bits. The Prinz Eugen was brush painted with Revell acrylics. A build log, complete with errors and assistance is here:

 

This is what I ended up with:

 

 

 

And here she is with the Roy Cross box

 

 

All in all I enjoyed the build. Thanks for looking,

 

Ray

[TonyW]

Another one joins the Gallery, the SM79 Sparviero.  Kit No.487 from 1967

 

Nothing too fancy here, an out the box build except for the Falcon vac form canopy that sorts out the slightly off Airfix version. Old Esci decals gave me a two tone green version in place of the Airfix offering. For really old decals they behaved faultlessly.

The scheme may well be a flight of fancy as I couldn't turn up any supporting pictures although the scheme is shown in a 1960's Profile publication, along with the other options on the sheet I had.  My rendition strays a bit from the profile but I can live with that.

 

 

A few outdoor shots, taken from the roof of an old Ford. Not exactly rivet counting clear, but a nice effect all the same...

 

 

 

 

And a couple of indoor shots to finish...

 

 

 

 

 

Build thread here:

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235143110-sm79-sparviero-kit-no487-1967/#comment-5026197

[Heather Kay]

RAF Refuelling Set, 1/76th scale

 

 

 

 

 

The build thread is here. You can find all the information about the vehicles and why I did what I did to them there.