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Alrighty folks! Some of you might remember my stalled scratch built 1/24th EA-6B. Check it out here: Lost the oomph and was in over my head, but I knew I could do better. I've learned loads since I started it, and some of it just wasn't up to snuff. I tossed it in the trash about a month ago and am ready to try again. This time it'll be with a Trumpeter 1/32 A-6E, which I'll convert (similar to the way Grumman built it back in the day: i.e. take a pretty sweet airframe, mess up the CG and a bunch of other stuff and make a beast!) This box just showed up tonight: I've got plans printed out already and have already been studying Starfighter's build to see how he tackled his... I'll be building it in-flight. Am investigating a couple of options--either standard in-flight and on a stand, or go full hog and figure out how to mount it on the arresting hook similar to other builds I've done. I think I can pull it off...more details as I figure that out. Here's my options--all have personal meanings as they were my squadrons. VAQ-135 "The Black Ravens" (happened to design that tail back in the day), if I don't do this jet, I'll do 503, which had my name on it. Here's me and a Gator, (a Great American!) in 503 back in 1999, courtesy of Tony Holmes. If I can't make the arrested landing work, I'll do either of these VAQ-133 "Wizards" jets. I was toying with our Desert Bird, as I was the Maintenance Officer back then. It was a great a/c, but for such a unique project, I don't know if I want that audacious of a paint scheme. I'm leaning towards 532--she was a War Horse during 2 trips to Afghanistan. Some airplanes always have gremlins, but not her. I think the only time she wasn't flying was when she was having inspections done. Of course as a Maintenance guy, that gives me fond memories. As a result, I have a ton of flight time in her. So that's where I'm at... Will have to borrow a friends welder to see if I can pull off the hook attachment. Once that's out of the way, I can start building in earnest. If not, no worries, it'll still be a great addition to my collection! This will be my first build log that I've posted to in over 3 years, so hopefully I remember to update it in a timely manner! More soonest, Peter

And some detail shots. Next stage will be to paint the metal areas, nose cone and smaller details.

on reqeust some pics off the B-58 This is what you get im not going to discuss on how acurate this one is for me it looks like a B-58 so im happy and it will be a lot off fun I placed a few parts on the cutting mat and thats size A3 so you get a idee about the size still a lot off resaerch to do before i start this one buti have another vac to try first Mark

I've managed to finish and paint most of the interior. I added outer panels to the weapons pylons, first aid kits, and details to the left collective since Kitty Hawk didn't add them. Otherwise, I painted with Tamiya Rubber Black, added a wash mix of black oils and Mig pastel pigment, and a drybrush with dark grey paint. Looking forward to getting the fuselage finished! Cheers, Tom

Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well. After some preparation time spent sanding off small imperfections and smoothing the airframe I finally started with the camouflage painting. I was planning to depict the ACM2003 winner and had done the initial camo pattern as such. However, I eventually changed my mind and went with airframe 27-8306 as I was able to find some good reference pics with some nice weathering. Because of that, the tailfin pattern is slightly different. I also based the underside painting on an RF-4EJ picture instead as I couldn't find any photos of an F-4EJ. I used the black basing method and MRP colours throughout. I also applied mixes of the main colours with black and white to depict all the touch ups and subtle variations across the airframe.

The He 162 is almost finished, I still have to cut masks for various markings but don't feel like spending time on it right now. The Kingfisher box has been staring at me for well over a year. I had started engine construction and I must say I never had a more disappointing and frustrating start to a kit in my life before. In the box the kit looks to be awesome. And it IS. Detail seems very nice overall. Why did I throw everything back in to the box over a year ago? The plastic: soo brittle that smaller parts just burst in to pieces very easily. The sprue gates: made to withstand a 10 Megaton blast. Just ridiculous in some areas. See above. The instructions: insulting that Kitty Hawk let that sorry excuse for instructions go in to production. It is nearly impossible to see what goes where and how. For a very complex 70-part engine in an expensive kit, I find that highly unsatisfactory. Only a few detail-drawings would have done the trick here, something like an A-A, B-B sort of thing. Kitty Hawk: make an addendum and put it on your website. (Non-) Mating tabs and slots, pins and holes: too many of those. Correctly cut and cleaned up parts should fit and not require extra trimming and re-drilling holes. All of the above okay for a short-run, but not for a € 110 main-stream kit. Corners were cut, major ones me thinks. Then why the resurrection? Well, it's The Scale and it's of a magnificent looking float plane. The greenhouse works like the real thing and in itself the kit has magnificent potential. Soooo, I took a deep breath, sighed, gave it The Finger, and got on with it. I was going to finish her as one of the Dutch East Indies birds that were on their way on a ship when the Dutch called it a day. These airplanes were diverted in their crates to Australia (already painted up Dutch), where they were repainted and used. I had visions of a diorama where a Dutch plane sits in a hangar showing a partial RAAF repaint, but since I lost interest in Dutch subjects I chose t finish as an FAA Kingfisher, in the lovely Slate Gray / EDSG / Sky scheme, or the also lovely and less usual Non specular Sea Gray over Light Gray. I am still researching for photos drawings of the latter (bottom scheme below, the only one I found so far). Can anyone recommend MRP paint equivalents for the lower scheme? On to the engine. The instructions were no help here. The first thing I did was look at everything, thinking about what should go where, dry-fitting various options, and making a plan. I contemplated just glueing the cowling to the fuselage, but this is a no-go because the engine plus cowling 'float' in front of the fuselage firewall, resting on the engine brace rods. I decided to assemble cowling, cowling front ring, engine covers, and cowling flaps first and then figure out how to get the engine in there. This is how the engine mounts are supposed to be assembled. I had to re-drill the holes and do lots of cleanup on the too thick connecting pins. Tamiya thin cement fixed them in place and on the backside I added drops of superglue to make sure they stayed put. First sigh of relief. Here's the bracing glued to the front firewall. Again, the holes had to be widened. But: getting there. A dry-fit finally revealed to daft-me how the enige assembly is meant to be attached to the cowling ring rest (which I already glued to the cowing). Now, that was that, But can the engine assembly be fitted in to an already assembled cowling? I airbrushed the cowling inside interior green just in case I could get it in but not out again (experience ) Well, it fits with minimal effort IF you slide it in sideways. I did not have to exert any forces of significance to get it to slide in past the three tabs. Not sure if this can be done with the exhausts installed. I secured the tab joints with thin cement and left it to dry. I will also add bits of superglue once it dried fully. Phew. I got that out of the way and out of my system. I will add parts of the exhausts later, from the outside in. I just did not have the stamina to battle with that extra feature right now. As you can se I also got some Eduard stuff to enhance the kit here and there. In hindsight, it was me at fault and not Kitty Hawk. I commend them for the engineering of the engine, it makes it possible to build a very detailed engine right out of the box that one can show off through open engine panels. Construction is very sturdy once assembled, and very accurate and delicate. I just lost my patience the first time around. What I did today, I could have done in the first place. Thanks for watching!

A bit more progress on the model, mostly painting stuff but, some assembly; annnnd because I told them I would mention their product...(I had a few emails with them) Mission Models paint was initially used on the bombs but because it washed off during the decal application I had to repaint the bombs with Vallejo...seriously! the decal water washed off the paint! I found ref's indicating the bomb bay and internals were RLM 02 but then saw pics that showed the bomb racks were painted RLM 66. I had a bit of confusion until I decided to paint the racks RLM 02 then RLM 66 overtop and weather back to the RLM 02 too look like the bomb racks had been repainted. A comparison of the kit ammunition and the resin, the kit one looks a little small? I've got new examples on the way and some spares from the Ju-88 which for some reason are much better, even the defensive guns from the 88 kits are much better..oddly. added the radio and some wiring. wire from phone line...anybody remember when phones had wires? Thanks for looking

Hi Guys, Some more work on the Pulse Jets for the Ef-126 for the Mistel. I got the base colours down a few days ago and decided to add more metallics and heat staining. I managed to screw up by adding too much Chrome at one point so darkened down again using Mission Models Transparent Medium with a drop of black to give dark tint. Then I used the Transparent Medium again but tinted with Orange and Blue for the heat staining. Revised base colours. The mix was 40 Black 60 Cold Rolled Steel then eyeballed amounts of Chrome in the mix. Got it too light and recovered as described above. Tubes by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr With some Orange added as the first stage of staining. Tubes by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr The some Blue Tubes by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr That's it. Hope you like it. Regards, Bruce Crosby

forgot these;

Hello all This is my latest build, I-16 Rata from Revell/ICM in 1:32 Sorry for bad photos , done with mobile phone.. Hope u like the little guy

Thanks guys! Ah yes...very interesting point! Weathering of clear parts is not something that I've attempted. At this stage in my modeling development, I've invested a certain amount of effort in detailing cockpits AND I prefer to position my canopies closed SO... my goal has been to make the clear parts as clear as possible. All of the final bits have been added and I've strung the aerial. Which means... this one is done! Photos of the completed model have been posted on the Ready For Inspection board...

Cheeky little update following weathering, flat coat and cockpit reveal. Super happy with the polishing that removed the canopy seam. There’s a few bits of artistic license that I’ve applied. I don’t need an accurate Hornet, I want a good looking Hornet. It’s ended up being another gear up display. I tried to build the plastic parts onto the G-Factor legs.....lost some tiny pieces to the eternally fed carpet monster. It’s gonna make a fine display partner to my Alaskan Aggressor Viper I think.

First of the molds ready and first one cast in resin, the ejection seat. Cheers

For sure? Who knows? Who cares, considering how many unbuilt kits we all have in our stashes. So we have lots to do while waiting for it. But it is so much fun waiting and expecting, just drooling with anticipation. I squeeze every ounce of pleasure out of large scale modeling as you can see. Happy happy joy joy !!! Stephen

Here is my recently completed 1/32 Hasegawa Bf109G-14 build of Erich Hartmann's Double Chevron. The aftermarket items used in this build include: 1. MDC Bf109G-14 Cockpit Set 2. MDC Bf109G Tail Wheel 3. RB Productions Bf109G-6 Wheel Wells 4. Resin exhausts (maker unknown) 5. Strategic Ordnance Works Bf109G Landing Gear 6. Barracuda Bf109G-6 Spinner and Prop 7. Barracuda Bf109G-6 Oil Cooler Fairing Major markings were painted with custom cut masks from my Silhouette Portrait cutter. AK Real Color paints were used to establish the underlying RLM74/75/76 camo. Tamiya and Mr Hobby Aqueous paints were also used. The complete build log can be found here:

So I haven't posted anything new for quite a while, but believe me I have complete several projects and have some big ones in progress, and even more I'm gathering aftermarket for (Don't tell my wife :-). This is the Tamiya 1/32 F-16CJ, which is a great kit on its own but I decided to backdate into an F-16A OCU for the USN/USMC. I used the True Details 1/32 F-16A cockpit (it required a lot of sanding, trimming, and swearing to get it to fit, but it now fits like a glove and I can even close the canopy with no problems), GT Resin 1/32 NSI inlet, a generous gift of the Tamiya 1/32 F-16C Thunderbirds landing gear parts, non-bulged main gear bay doors, and early-model 'thin' wingtip launch rails from GT Resin as well, really nice fellow, I highly recommend any of his stuff, KASL F-16A tail with the parachute housing removed and kit parts grafted (I later found out it wasn't completely accurate after it was done, but its really hard to tell), GT Resin PW exhaust, lots of scratch building antennas, deleting/adding certain details to make it into an F-16A OCU, like only 2 prongs on the inboard leading edge slats, redoing panel lines on the rear fuselage, etc., Two Bobs F-16 Aggressor Decals. I hope you enjoy checking out the photos, I've got a big WIP diorama of "PROJEKT FLANKER," Kilp Yavr Russian Air Base with (3) highly modified and detailed Su-27s, (1) Mi-8 Hip, and various ground vehicles, equipment, tarmac, and a small amount of terrain thats been underway and I'm hoping to start the WIP this weekend. I need to take photos of the Tamiya 1/32 F-15C Eagle of the California Air National Guard which used Chuck Sawyers build for reference and is very similar but with some more rivet detail and weapons on it. I need to upload photos of the Trumpeter 1/32 F-105D 'Thunderchief' "Cherry Girl" (wait until you see the nose art :-) I finished. I have a 1/32 A-1H Skyraider in white primer, almost ready to paint up on a rainy day, as the plane Dieter Dengler flew in the Vietnam War. Also lurking on the distant horizon is a 1/32 A-6E Intruder (HEAVILY weathered CAG bird from the Gulf War), Academy 1/32 F-16B 'Fighting Falcon' in IDF markings, inspired from 'Iron Eagle,' and a 1/32 A-10C Thunderbolt II of the 163rd FS/122nd FW in Ft. Wayne the 'Blacksnakes'.

Finished it...

Small progress. Pennies super glued into the nose. And wooden supports bolted to the plastic fuselage blank. Dan

F-5E FAB BRQ-7a

F-106 vac, a big thank you to Jack! Big kit, green 12" ruler for comparison. More surface detail that I thought there would be. Dan

engine test shots posted on Lukgraph FB page

Oh Fudge , when the heck will I ever learn to type, read and spell all at the same time!!! - "Sir, as a Scotsman , can you tell me what is worn under the kilt?" "well Ma'am I have to say in my case nothing is worn, it's all in perfect working order" Appropriate edit now made!

I built the MH-60L when it came out. Compared to the Academy Blackhawk, it's much more detailed. Like any offering from Kitty Hawk - if you take your time and read the instructions carefully it will build into a really nice kit. I think the biggest flaw in the kit is the split fuselage - the belly needs reinforcement to keep its shape - a better design in my opinion would have been a three piece fuselage consisting of a solid lower and two upper halves. Like other KH kits there are a couple of issues raised about accuracy in spots, but I'm very happy with mine. Honestly I might go back in for another one at some point. John

Our next book is currently at the printers and it is the first one in a new series on aircraft carriers. When we worked on the Harrier book, we had the opportunity to stay for some time on board the Spanish carrier Juan Carlos I and made so much photos that we decided to make a book on the ship. More books are planned, but unfortunately, some visits have been cancelled due to the Corona virus. Anyway, here are the cover and some samples of the new book for you: Lots and lots of Harriers: but also helicopter action: Some cool action of the landing crafts: And of course the ship itself: Also included is a chapter on the home base of Rota in the south of Spain: It was a lot of fun making this book and we really got to know the crew and ship quite good. Hope you like it! Nic

Hi, a moderate sized box arrived here today in Lower Hutt with one very large model in it. While I didn't actually work on either Andover SQN, as the Resident Engineering Officer at Harewood Airport in the early to mid 1990s the team I managed there were responsible for repair of most of the components, the engines and repaints. I flew on them many times and once we standardised the avionics fits and shake them down, they did sterling service for New Zealand. Re the engines, they were RDa12s, the biggest and most powerful version of the Dart and different in many ways to the other versions of the engines. From memory, they were 3 times more powerful than the earlier Darts. I should be able to get access to the one at Wigram Re the model, I actually meant to get the 1/48th version but got a bit carried away at the time of ordering (we'd sold our house a day before so thought what the heck!). I'm really pleased with the kit, while there are some items that will require tweaking, it looks every part of an Andover, but my 1m detail rule might be a bit tricky to comply with given the size of this model, my back would be against the other wall of the room. Bought a house in Leeston over the weekend with a room I'll be allowed as a model room but it's a couple of months away yet so will admire the bits for another day or so then pack it away. Thanks for linking me in at the start Anthony, no regrets whatsoever. Stay safe and stay well, Best Regards Brent

waitaminute ... There’s a Ju.52 in development and originally it was due for release later this year. We know that timeframe is obviously not going to happen ... but the only part of that listing (ostensibly) that is incorrect is that product code. so while the product code is incorrect - there will be a 1/32 Ju.52 by HKM - at some point. Rog

I am thinking with some of this re-scribing stuff you are better off using the Archer Transfer representations:

Hi guys, here are a few I Phone pics to prove that this build is alive and well. I have run into a few challenges but am really enjoying the kit. This part of the CWS cockpit fit is ok... needs quite a bit of filling and sanding but that's no problem on this section. The LERX extension as it is right now. I must say I thought this would be a lot easier than it is turning out to be, getting the right contour seems to be almost impossible. I am using the Zacto exhausts which are incredible. My approach to replicating the various shades of silver, gold, violet and blue on the exhausts was to spray a color and then mask off some sections and spots with liquid mask... note that the color transitions are hard so I am not keen on a soft-edges, airbrushed transition. Incidentally, this product worked really well: Before starting to remove the liquid mask, things looked quite promising: However, I then struggled to remove the liquid mask and when I did it left a slight ridge. So back to the drawing board, fortunately Christ (Zacto) sent me some replacement outer exhaust sections so that I can easily start over without losing too much time and exhaust detail. Cheers, Marcel

The last bits are being added like all of the antennae and the wing tip lights... The canopy masks have been pulled off. Always a little bit of suspense with this step although I've always had great experiences with the Eduard masks.

So, some silver on the beastie! This is kcolor natural metal steel. At first when I was spraying it, I was increasingly despondent because I thought it would be shinier (is steel ever shiny?) but 24 hours on I'm not too displeased.......not 100% happy but happy-ish. I still have the undersides to do and I may yet still give it a final mist over and perhaps a gloss coat later. Once again it's brighter in the flesh than in these pics!!

Hi guys. I just got the Haynes book with the starter handle picture. This means I have another item to scratchbuild as it looks the Mk.I indeed used it... (The Mk.II had the Coffman starter). In the meanwhile, I quickly modified the seat armor I had made to replicate one type that looked to be common on the Mk.I. I also corrected the De Havilland propeller blades of the more recent Revell kit. I already mentioned I will use the propeller from that kit as it is far better. The blades are not that bad but the tip section width is too large. You can see here the difference between the kit part on the right and the corrected one on the left: Last, this picture shows a comparison between the modified blade and the full scale one. Then it was just a matter of replicating that work to modify the three blades.

The Cheetah E masters are finally completed, and now they can be prepared for making the molds Cheers

Hi LSP forum fans, I would like to share a few pictures of my F7F 3P Tigercat 1/32 by HpH Models. There is a gallery of the Tigercat build and also pictures of some of my other models on https://www.mhscalemodels.com/

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hk-models-01e033-junkers-ju-52-3m--1295296?fbclid=IwAR0io5ZXMFiHEqQhM2LFtqgvnyH_LwjIACSE0zj5fSEhEIK88xTOVjq7t-g

Hey guys, I would like to share a few pictures of my build of Messerschmitt BF 109E-7 TROP 1:32 by HGW Models. If you would like to see pictures of the entire build, please visit my web https://www.mhscalemodels.com

Thanks John! They’re from the kit. I annealed them first over a candle to make them more pliable, then attempted to drape them as I’ve seen in some reference photos. Cheers, Tom

I didn't realise Scotsmen wore thongs under their kilt. I'll get my coat. Regards, Pete in RI

Hey everyone, It's been a while since I posted a build here. I'm not good enough to be a slow builder, but there has been a lot of armor and other scale stuff that I've spent time on. Once in a while, there is a photo that pops up that just know you must do. Sometimes, I find that other modellers have already beat me to the punch, and I need to find another scheme. I did Wollf's D.Va by WNW a couple years ago, and although I enjoyed every minute of it, I felt like I was just 'assembling' somebody else' fantastic work once finished. This has caused me to give away the remainder of the Green Tail Trilogy decals. Likewise with this Fokker D.VII. This kit is actually the Fokker D.VII (Alb). But I have dressed it up as a Fokker D.VII (OAW). And here is my inspiration photo: I've probably gotten quite a few things wrong... but what else can you do when you have one picture? Guesswork. And a little help from some people who know more. Anyway... here are my results: Thank you for looking!

That was fantastic. Seems like a real good guy too.

Great work John, that is a remarkably distortion-free canopy!

here's a few other progress pics ( hope they seem clearer to you than they do to me!) Blue Skies! Captain Boogaloo

so, zee test is successful!! Oh wow. I came very close to persuading this device with a hammer!! But, we're there. The Spitfire is the BBMF's P7350, right after filming wrapped following delivery/return to the RAF at Coltishall (I think). The box contains some of the goodies I've accrued for this project- since the picture was taken its probably doubled!!! So, I've started with the Revell MkIIa and Spitfire Mk1a Ar213, since that was what Revell used as their reference and added the rather nice Pavla cockpit upgrade with their improved resin sidewallsapologies for the wobbly image! Will try harder! More to follow.... Blue Skies! Captain Boogaloo

Yes, I have Dragon Pershing at 1/35. It is a model with several years but of very good quality. For now I have mounted some torsion bar on the barge. You have to be very careful with this step since the supports of the bars are the same but some are placed in a different way. In this last photo you can see the imitation of the welding made with two-component putty.

recievd from the postman today Vacform B-58 1/32 And my first WNW kits Mark

Thanks guys! Always appreciate the positive comments! What another one? I've already done one K-4... As well as a G-6/AS... And a G-10 Erla...

Hi Thierry, you probably have this already but just in case this is from my Edgar file. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234975928-spitfire-armor-plates-in-cockpit-shape-and-dimensions/ Genuine Mk.I Pilot's Notes are in the hen's teeth section; I got this from the National Archives, though the Mk.II is very similar. Items 1 are the pull-handles for the release cables to the parachute flare tubes; when they were deleted, the recognition device, with its cable replaced them. Cheers Dennis

Thanks again gents. Thanks Brett. I have used every scriber made: Tamiya, Squadron, Hasegawa, UMM, Creos (with exchangeable bits), needle in a pin vice and a few others I forget right now, but I always come back to my Trumpeter Scriber (TS), but not just one of them, because I use 2. Depending on the properties of the plastic or resin, width of panel line and how deep I want the panel line, I like to use a relatively dull TS, followed by a sharp TS. If you use the sharp one right away, it tends to grab stuff and take on a path of it's own, making a mess. A dull TS usually stays within the panel line without a fight, creating a pathway and guide for the sharper one in subsequent strokes. Methodology, whether it's an existing panel line or a new one cut beside a guide like Dymo or other tape, is as follows: Scribe the first pass with a dull TS, barely cutting the plastic. Barely, don't push it. Another pass, just a tiny bit deeper. A light pass with a sharp TS. A bit harder with above. Finish with one pass of the dull TS #1 and #2 show the way. #3 and #4 create most of the groove, while #5 cleans up the inevitable cut material out of the way. This means that most of my panel lines have been scribed at least 3-5 times. If you slip up (and you will!), fill and sand with CA glue, then start again after it dries, but before the glue gets too hard a few hours later. Some Tools of the Trade Cheers, Chuck

Use them as palettes to test your airbrush. Kirk

It might be useful to seal the decals into a ziploc bag before exposing them to the elements. The bag doesn't affecting the UV light, but protects the decals against dirt and moisture. Regards - dutik