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I'm in with this - the 1/32 Alley Cat (ex. Montex) Hawker Fury, which covers both silver and 25 as I'll be making it in the markings of 25 Squadron. I have both the original Montex and this Alley Cat version. Whilst the latter has many improvements over the original, including the addition of a clear resin windscreen replacing the flat acertate sheet provided by Montex, it also has generaly less crisp castings and (I suspect) a poorer fit. We shall see if I regret this choice, and should instead have gone with the brand new Aviattic Pfalz D.VIII...! First step - checking the kit contents are all there and giving them a gentle wash.

Actually very very minor points that do not deserve passionate debates...

OK guys, time to right this ship and get it back on topic. We've been aware of Simon's conflict of interest with regard to Kotare and Richard Alexander for some time now, and normally we would treat this as their personal business to sort out between them. But it has spilled over into many threads here in the forums, and caused a certain amount of aggravation. Given that we've recently discovered that Simon had in fact been removed from the forums once before, I've taken the rather drastic decision to ban him. We don't normally discuss these decisions openly in the forums, but I think an additional level of transparency is required in this case. OK, back to Eduard's fantasy 1/32 release schedule! Kev

Thanks K1. All of the mods have your back on this, and I fully believe in this case, as per our discussions, it was 100% warranted.

Just a quick post before I visit the land down unda'. I Rhino-designed two important cockpit items over the last few days - the engine quadrant and the oxygen regulator. They occupy similar regions right behind the instrument panel mounted to the upper longerons - the engine quadrant on the LH side; the O2 regulator on the RH side. Pictures: VERY TINY PARTS! 100% 3D printed. It shows what a good modern 3D printer can do. Also, for the umpteenth time, I am so thankful to Peter Castle for the decals. Just amazing. I will bond these components on later, to keep them out of harm's way as I continue to populate the cockpit sidewalls with stuff over the coming weeks (months?). Stick with me.

Progress... Working on some of the oddities of the Silver Spitfire.. IPad instead of Gunsight Cheers: Kent

Upper surfaces; First step RLM71 from Gunze.

Photos show what looks like a fuel tank between the engine and cockpit, even though not much can be seen it’ll still be better then a dark hole. So after digging through my pile of junk I found a C-130 nacelle which after cutting up has now become my fuel tank.

I'm not sure I understand the "Nazi" reference...although it is Russian, it is to be finished in Ukrainian markings. However I my intention is not/ was never to offend anyone. If the build is of an offensive nature I will delete the project and not post anymore images. I will stop posting after this here is where the project stands tonight, masking and painting under way Again, sorry for offense Thanks to anyone who stops for a look

Sooo...got seat with armor plate and of course forgot that Hasegawa is not Revell. Managed to make it fit but not without some cutting, grinding, sanding etc.

I have been working on some sub-assemblies or touching up previous work the past couple of bench sessions. Following are some shots that I thought were worth posting and explaining. I finished the remaining three ship's boats. This was very straight forward and consisted of adding the blocks for the rigging when that time comes later, and putting the oars in the boats. I decided to display the oars in a bit of an untidy fashion, my logic being that the boats would have been prepped to launch prior to action commencing to give them a better chance of surviving an engagement. Ship's boats were normally towed behind the ship during battle. The Constitution's captain's after action report does not mention launching the boats prior to engaging the HMS Java. His report does mention that only one of the ship's boats survived the engagement and that leaves a strong impression that they were not launched prior to the fight. Boats with untidy oars. Close up of one of the blocks. As I mentioned previously I had planned to replace the spar that the Driver attaches to as it was both flimsy and very badly molded. As the spar is a constant diameter along its entire length I chose to use brass tube and rod to replace it. The (poor) photo below shows the kit part, now cut apart so that I can use one of its pieces and some brass tube also cut to length. The kit part is 1.95mm in diameter and the brass tube is 2mm, close enough. The next step was to cut two sections of small diameter tube and a section of rod somewhat over twice the length of the sum of the two small sections. The smaller tubes were cleaned up, fitted into the larger tubes and glued in place. The rod was inserted into the end of one of the tube sections and glued. I hole was drilled through the piece of the kit part and it was positioned, and the final section was joined to complete the spar. The final step was to make three "iron" rings out of brass and glue them to the correct locations on the spar. The small white piece on top of the spar is a locating tab that I cut from the kit part and glued in place with 5 minute epoxy. Oops, wrong picture, below is the right one! I am happy with how the spar turned out and will post a final shot after it has been primed and painted. I have a few more small things I can do on this build before I have to make the tough choice of stepping the masts or waiting for the sails to be made and sent to me. The first choice means I will not lose any time and momentum on the build, but installing the sails will be much more challenging. On the fence with this decision right now. Ernest

Or maybe scale up their F4F Wildcat?

The main drawing on which I base the model comes from the book R. Hirsch „Aircraft of air racing’s golden age” But this drawing is also very helpful: And photos showing some of the hull structure: I did the rest of the internal details,some are in the implied shape: I'm also continuing to work on the base: And I also started coloring: To be continued

It's finished! The build thread is here

Continuing to work on models that I've build years ago as a kid. This is a straight OOB build as an in-flight plane. Much has already been discussed on trying to build this model with the canopy closed, so just enjoy this attempt.

Update Part 3: so I got bogged down with the fuselage. For some reason....this time around the tail to fuselage joint was extremely problematic. Lot's of sanding and rescribing done and I am still not finished.

Actually Paul their first attempt at the later Bf109s was way OVER scale so they had to re-tool virtually everything except there still is an issue apparently with the exhausts being too wide. I have built 3 of these later 109s and they look ok to me. Maybe Eduard needed a hiccup like the 109 to make sure of their research as all of their later kits are excellent and state of the art. TRF

On that basis, you're good to go! You just need to state that connection at the top of your build thread when you start it. Kev

Hi all The model parts have now had decals applied. The green and brown camouflage surfaces are covered with ‘Aviattic’ WW1 Linen weave effect (ATT32236) decal The underside surfaces are covered with ‘Aviattic’ WW1 German blue linen (ATT32077) decal Smaller details have been painted and an airbrushed coat of 'Alclad' Light Sheen (ALC-311) applied Now it's onto weathering before pre-rigging the parts prior to assembly Mike

Hi Simon You have made it clear on other threads that you do not like the Kotare kit. There is no doubting your deep knowledge of Spitfire lore but this thread is about Eduard's likely return to 1/32 - please can we stay on that topic? On the topic in hand: I think Eduard revisiting 1/32 scale would be welcomed by many but with one small note of caution: they have made mistakes they have had to correct in the past. I am sure Mr Sulc winces each time he recalls the under-scale Bf109 Eduard put out from some years back. But plaudits to them that they have corrected any major errors each time they made one (including the infamous 109). Having built several of their 1/48 scale kits I know they are well engineered and, in the main, accurate in outline and detail. Let’s see what happens with them. Kind regards, Paul

Good evening and many thanks for your message Good evening to all Continuation of this step-by-step guide with modifications to the spinner and propellers : Note : The white spiral on the spinner is of course hand-painted ! Pictures are better than long speeches Fuselage assembly : Assembly of landing gear : Note 1 : The undercarriage fairing is in two parts. The one proposed by Revell is in only one part because it is represented for a retracted gear. Note 2 : I've mixed plastic part and aluminium part. Note 3 : A length-adjusted polished tube will be placed around the 0.6mm dia axis. It will represent the shock absorber piston. Note 4 : The Torques links are cut in two parts and drilled. That's all for tonight. I hope you're still enjoying this step-by-step. Continuation with the installation of the wings. Good night to all. Best Regards Gilles

As for future kits, if not a VVSS Sherman, how about a Churchill; that would be cool. Or even cooler, a Dragon Wagon to carry a Sherman would be spectacular in 1/16th, not to mention HUGE.

Following the 1957 Defence White Paper’s cancellation of manned aircraft development by the ridiculous Duncan Sandys, (Defence Secretary at the time), many promising UK aircraft projects came to a close. As well as wholesale project cancellations, the forced mergers in the UK aircraft industry resulted in English Electric going bankrupt despite having good order books for both Canberra and formally the Lightning. By 1960 the policy of “no manned aircraft” is looking increasingly pointless, and the UK is forced to re-evalute. Industrial espionage by Lockheed, (namely by taking the infamous ‘headless man” pictures from the Duchess of Argyles dubious afternoon activities), then blackmailing Sandys into forcing through a multimillion pound deal to buy 300 of the F104 E (English) for the RAF . Using a licence built J79 (as a slap to RR), although with the new Red Top missiles developed for the cancelled Lighting, they entered service in 1964, just 12 months after Starfighters were withdrawn from frontline US service. A step advance over the Gloster Javelin, the 104’s problems of stability and high accident rate also dogged the UK’s fleet. Eric Brown described the Starfighter as a hot ship, that "has to be flown every inch of the way", but recommended developing the supersonic Buccaneer II instead. In service they became known as the 'Jinx Jet' . Various upgrades came as Lockheed developed the G variant, and later, the proposed purchase of F111’s were intended to replace what had been the short term ‘interceptor problem’. With F111’s also cancelled in 1970, 104E’s soldiered onto into the early 1980’s when they were phased out in favour of UK spec F15s. It remains one of the UK’s worst procurement fiascos up until the recent decision to buy the F35 …another Lockheed “one size, fits no one, and costs way too much” effort. As this is a fun / silly build I have forked out for the cheapest lawn dart as opposed to the Italeri offering, it will be OOB, no AM lipstick for this pig, markings will be masked, and missiles made. Laterz PW

I have an abysmal record in GB's, but as it is our 25th anniversary, I got to give it a try. I couldn't find any photo references for a 25-marked aircraft, but Romania had several and I found photos of Red 23 and Red 28, so I have to believe there was a Red 25!

Hello, So...here we go One of my fellas designed drew imaginary Zumbach's personal P-51D and I see no reason to not build one So here it is, all silver so I hope I can take part in this GB And here is my victim, P-51 from Hasegawa, I'm waiting for Quickboost seat and propeller. Custom decals were printed by one of my friends. I try to use dashboard from kit, because I can't force myself to cut Yahu set.

Hi all, I've applied some weathering. 'Flory Models' clay wash (Dart Dirt), 'Tamiya' Weathering Master (Oil Stain and Mud). Also dry brushing of 'Mr. Colour' Super Iron 2 over the metal panels. The lower wings are also now attached. Now onto pre-rigging before assembly starts, Mike

This will be a fast build as there is no detail to worry about. I painted the inside and seats.But it won't be vissable once I tinted the windows.

I'd to see eduard jump into 1/32 with some Allison engine Mustangs. B, C, D Me109s would be fine as well.

Don Barnes, one of the authors of the Hell Hawks book, contacted me and confirmed that 44-3346 is the correct one. Mary McWhorter, the pilot’s daughter, says she’d be delighted to see the finished model. Now I’m trapped in my own game! I still have to find a photo of the real plane with the serial although the video could have been a great help. Anyhow I now have something to move on with my build. Thanks @mozart and @Kagemusha for your input. Cheers, Quang

Would a dH Vampire qualify if it was painted silver?

New Andy's video up The M8 looks really nice, and the next kit won't be WWII? That means it could be almost anything but a Sherman or anything in the Sherman Family. M26/46? T29? (this would be massive and rad!) Centurion? Maybe something Russian?

Back on target here...... I'm still not 100% sure about Eduards return to 32nd. I'm definitely going to have to see first had what they will have to offer in this new phase before dropping any cash on their LSP models.

. Dan, These might help a little. I would like to see your Regulus II bill

The NMF is applied! I can see some more seam work needs doing before I apply the olive drab glare-shield. The photo makes it look worse than it is, but I'm still going to try and improve it further...

A couple of things . First I think we all are getting way ahead of the game here regarding Eduard getting back into the 1/32 game . Admittedly there are subjects that they could go after that would give them a corner . As far as the Kotare spits are concerned [ this isn't the place] I'd be very happy to read a SEPARATE thread on the issues . I've built Eduard's Mk VIII spit and thought it very good. IF Eduard dos decide to go "big' I hope they don't try and re pop their -109E. If they want to go with the P-51B/C they'll have a lock, same with the MiG-21. On the main I think we need to "cool down" and dispense with "personal attacks" as it were. We collectively are better than that[I see that on "other" forums].

At least now everyone knows you weren't fully honest when expressing your... opinions. Back on track; I welcome Eduard's possible return to 1/32 scale. I just hope they'll make an effort when it comes to engineering, some of it can be fiddly on their 1/48 kits.

And not needed on this forum!

At this point I think I have to let everyone know that you confessed in a PM that you had an axe to grind with Kotare. The folks here have a right to know about this conflict of interest when reading your posts. The fact that you hijacked a thread about Eduard to dis on Kotare isn't helpful. No kit is perfect, the tiny errors you mentioned in a previous thread about the Kotare kit are negligible by any modeling standard and can be corrected should one desire to do so. I think the Kotare Spitfire is a terrific kit, accurate, well engineered and you are trying very hard to find tiny faults out of spite.

You’re 100% right there Paul about the way that the real Tiger Moth is bolted together and the attendant difficulties with making a kit that is reasonably robust but looks right, the infamous lower wing being very much the case in point….only two fixing areas one of which, the aft, isn’t catered for in the ICM kit:

So, What am I working with so far? I have the ICM kit 32035 and three CMK upgrade kits: the fuel tank, the propeller and the cockpit sets. On Max’s recommendation I have also ordered the Aerocraft undercarriage and strut sets too. Onward then! Kind regards, Paul

Test fitting of the cockpit

Just to prove that in fact I've started working on the Spitfire.. Cheers: Kent

If I'm not wrong the Bf 108 is NOT their design. It was done by some other company which didn't manage to finish the project. Eduard bought molds and pushed it to the market.

fuselage halves joined seam work dealt with (mostly) and weapons built Thanks for looking

Good evening and many thanks for yours messages ! Good evening everyone and sorry I'm not here. Assembly of the G6 has progressed ! The wings are glued on. Now it's time for the photos: Make a cardboard template to check the right and left dihedral. Weekend progress ! Scratch of the demisting system on indication of a passionate friend of the Me109 ( Vincentm ). Note : I'm making a Me 109 "Early" Indication by Vincentm : The Scratch by myself : Other litlle scratch on Intrados : That's all for tonight and I hope you enjoyed it ! Have a good night Best Regards Gilles

Thanks Guys! March 3/24 Well, I’m back already, mostly because I didn’t really go anywhere. To make a very long and painful story short, I experienced an intestinal blockage almost a month ago and spent 4 days in the hospital. When we left for our big trip I was feeling OK, but on the first leg of our flight all of the symptoms of a blockage came back, so we had to cancel the 16 hour flight to New Zealand and the 6 week cruise we had planned for 2 years to celebrate my new retirement. Huge bummer, but there are much worse things that could have happened I know, so my wife and I have re-booked a similar trip in a year and we soldier on. After a week of feeling sorry for myself and moping around, I finally picked up this model and got after the Aires main landing gear bay. Modeling is great therapy when you want to forget about things and I soon became totally engrossed in painting all the tiny details. This was fairly difficult to do, because I suck at brush painting and with all the tiny details hard to get at, it took a long time with lots of mistakes. After fixing most of them, here is where I am today. With the gear bay already cemented into the lower fuselage, I found it easier to handle than it might be otherwise. I tried to replicate many reference pics I found on the ‘net, and some great detailed pics in Jake’s Modern Viper Guide. The Aires resin is super detailed already, but I did add a few hoses and pipes here and there into holes I had pre-drilled earlier before paint. The 3 holes on either side at the top will be used for the hydraulic lines that will go into the gear doors when they are attached. The battery frame isn’t accurate for modern Vipers, but it looks so nicely detailed I retained it, partly because the kit has the perfect yellow decals that fit perfectly around the frame. I also added some decals to that silver Halon bottle to match a few pics, although the red band should be a bit darker. The central wall looks a bit rough because I had to sand it down, but it will eventually be covered by Part C27. Some of the hoses are only dry fit for now, because they will be in the way when I install the main landing gear. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of some of my plumbing, but I think it looks pretty close and makes the gear bay look a bit more busy. As always with these close-up pics, you can see a lot more mistakes than you can with your bare eyes! With the Aires cockpit and main gear bay now painted and detailed, the most difficult part of this build is now complete. Next steps will be to detail the front gear bay and landing gear. Thanks for looking in. Cheers, Chuck

Today's update;, Seat belts are from Eduard

The jib boom guys are rigged. These turned out to be a bit easier to do then the bobstay and bowsprit shrouds; partly because I had more room to work and partly due to gaining experience in the process of making bullseyes. You will notice in the photos that there is now even more slack in the lower bowsprit rigging. I read through a lot of very good sailing ship modeller's build logs and several of them pointed out that it is better to have about 2-3mm of slack in the lower bowsprit rigging so that you can tension the all foremast stays and the upper mast lines that run to the jib boom better as the forces acting on the rigging in this area counteract each other, just like the real thing. I am keeping my fingers crossed I found the "sweet spot" here. Overhead view showing the eight jib boom guys. I should have moved the masts out of the way before I took the photo, but you can see how the lines are run. Close up of two of the bullseyes. I am going to spot paint some of the areas that were fixed in place with super glue to knock down the shine. Looking at the kit bullseyes next to the ones I made I realized that the kit ones look fine and I would have saved myself a lot of work had a opted to use them; but I wanted to use the eyes I purchased and went ahead and did so here. One of the areas I paid attention to was where the lines came together. I did my best to make these spots neat and to look close to how the real thing does. That's it for today. I plan to work on the rigging for the remaining 3 ship's boats next. After that I have to decide how to proceed while awaiting the sails arrival. Ernest

I have a dream! Looking for a trip to Russville, in memoriam @ruzlkampf You know, scratchbuilding something weird and large - a Mig-25. But I have at first to call Moscow to get a Go! They have some AM parts I'd need AM for kits that aren't. Silly times, even for modelling Rugards - dutik