crobinsonh

Which parts do you need as I have just ordered the Aires exhausts for the Trumpeter Lightning so will not need the nozzles and the back ends?

Great work there. I cannot build one quality model and you build four. You have some great skills. Regards

Here is the change to the front cockpit area - first both of these areas have soft curves when they should be straight, secondly they are too low so they have been built up with plastic card before the filler comes out! This shot shows the fuselage plug to provide the correct overall fuselage length This shot shows the addition of the "hump" with the correct downward slope which will now need extending once I fit the tailplane The various scribbles you can see on these shots are where I have starting marking which panels lines need filling in etc. Trumpeter definitely had a copy of the SAM publication on the Lightning and have followed the plans very closely for overall dimensions and panel lines etc. It is just a shame that they are rather inaccurate IMHO (and verified against a real F1 and a real F6 - the one at Tangemere museum). Regards

Ok. Slowly but surely making some progress with the first modelling time I have had in a few months. I have now modified the tailplanes to the correct profile. Left hand is the original incorrect shape - right hand is the correct shape Here I have removed the "hump" which is too linear and has the wrong profile. I will then sand it to the correct profile as it needs to lose 1.5mm at the one end. Here it is sanded and placed back on top of the fuselage. Here is where the cut is being made before adding the additional length to the fuselage

Mr Song, I would love the Typhoon in 1/24th scale - would go very nicely alongside my MDC 1/32nd Typhoon.

Absolutely gorgeous - job very well done.

The Cobra stuff is superb - I bought all of the Hind sets and they are very nicely done. You will not be disappointed. Regards

Thanks for all the responses. Do you think Fisher Pattern will release a correction set having done the F-8c already? Regards

Hi, Can anyone point me in the direction of what is needs to convert the 1/32nd Trumpy Crusader to a French Navy equivalent? It would be great to understand which of the after market sets can be used as well - Aires F-8E or F-8J/H etc, French Navy Decals, good references. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Hi, You can also try the following for a RAF seated pilot: http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/?FULL=PJ321108

Trumpeter have correctly lengthened the nose as well for the IIc etc.

Fabulous work and presentation. Cannot wait to see more. Regards

Absolutely stunning work and finish. Kind regards

Ok - As I have no real modelling time at the moment due to my Wife having been in hospital since December I thought I would go back to the next stages of the Trumpeter Lightning. I know that Frank Brown measured a real Lightning and I know from Edgar that Frank and Airfix used the real drawings from BAE to create their masters. I photocopied the Airfix F1a/F3 and checked that (where possible) against the Echelon kit and side plan - guess what they matched in depth and length etc. It looks to my like Trumpeter used the plans in Warpaint as if you scale these to 1/32nd the Trumpeter kit it pretty much spot on. As we know from other builds (and from measuring the trumpeter kit against an upscaled Airfix kit and the Echelon drawing) the Trumpeter kit is 5mm too short and this extension needs to take place in the centre of the kit. In addition to this the Trumpeter kit is too fat in several areas. Shown here at the front (apologies for the poor photographs in advance) where it is too fat/tall by 1.5 mm. Here it shows that the tail bumper is in the wrong position - blue biro line is the correct one. On the real Lighting and on the Echelon and Airfix kits the spine slopes down from the cockpit to the tail - this is not so on the Trumpeter kit. The end result is that the spine is too tall at the tail end and too short at the cockpit end. Again it is out about 1.5mm at the tail end. Hopefully you can see the slope on this poor shot of the Echelon plan. The blue line under the cockpit shows how the fuselage sides are too shallow and will need to be built up. The outline is the Trumpeter Tail fin the image is the Airfix F1a fin scaled to 1/32nd scale. The blue lines are the oversize Trumpeter tail planes again the image is the Airfix kit scale up to 1/32nd I will post more observations as I get time as then I intend to start modifying the kit - and then go back to finishing the cockpit and Ejector seat. Please no flame wars against Trumpeter - I do believe they followed a published set of plans in good faith. I just believe they where the wrong plans. Regards

Fantastic work - that is the nicest BF 109F I have seen.

Fantastic - looking forward to these.

...and I was also informed that the harness was blue. Does that answer your questions? The SeaFury book from http://www.dvpublishing.co.uk/ is great for general airframe shots for weathering etc. Regards,

Here is the response I had from the Fleet Air Arm museum on the seat colour etc ear Mr. Robinson, Thank you for your enquiry regarding the Sea Fury seat cushion details. Our sea fury is particularly original inside the cockpit and still has its seat cushion fittings etc. The lower seat cushion itself is black with a grained leather finish. The seat back cushion is canvas cloth type material and is a dull grey in colour (with diamond quilt stitch pattern) edged with tan leather. This item may have been a drab olive green at one time and may have faded and become worn to a dull grey finish (not sure). The head rest cushion is tan leather. I hope that this provided you with the information that you were needing. It may be of interest to you that I can book a special visit at the museum (specifically aimed at modellers and researchers). The ticket price is £45.00- for this you would get entrance to the museum, welcome pack brochure with matching note book pen and pencil, free meal in museum restaurant and one hour with myself on an aircraft of your choice. This would allow (where possible/practical), getting on the aircraft, sitting in the cockpit and geneally being able to be closer to an aircraft of your choice than normal. This can only be booked in advance and with a pre telephone call to discuss arrangements (01935 842609) If this is of interest now or in the future please do not hesitate to get in touch. Kind regards, Dave Morris Curator of Aircraft Fleet Air Arm Museum DaveM@fleetairarm.com

The best bet is the pilot notes. Good photo of sidewalls and instrument panel. Would be of ww2 era.

Still not great shots - however the best I am going to get at the moment Rear cockpit minus side stick and control stick Front cockpit with pretty much all of the switches replaced as they where either to short or broken etc. Front cockpit just viewed from the other side. Cockpit now installed in the front fuselage halves. I also have most of the rear of the Hornet together apart from the intakes - I need to order the D-Mold intakes There are no additional fitments connecting ejector seats to the cockpit or the pull cords etc. I will try to get some other shots of the fuselage closed up etc. Regards

Thanks everyone for the comments - I will check the BuNo for the kit supplied decals and see if there is a match. Here is a quick shot of the cockpit - a mix of Academy, Eduard, Blackbox and scratch. and with the seats popped in. I will try to get some better shots later. Regards

I have undercoated the cockpit sills etc ready to spray with black and then scratch as I noticed in the DACO book there are lots of scratches on these areas. I also painted the Aires resin, front undercarriage bay - although I did find it very difficult to photograph. Next up is the consoles - I have spent a fair amount of time adding switches and other missing details from the Blackbox cockpit set that the DACO book shows are missing. Kind regards

In the mood of keeping it going... Left console and right console. Here is where I started to fill and fix the moulding errors that I believe are in all Academy Hornet models. I still need to correct the damaged panel line off the mould on the right hand side of the model

Well having almost completed the Sea Fury I have decided to build a US jet (I did start the Trumpeter F1a Lightning but that has been on hold since April 09 as there are SO many things to correct). I have picked the F/A 18D Hornet from Academy that I picked up at Yeovilton airday in 2006. I have stared on the Ejector seats and have used both the Verlinden and DACO books on the Hornet. The ejector seats and the cockpit are a mix of Blackbox, Eduard and Academy ...and one closer shot to show all the mistakes! Apologies for the dark photographs - there is a lack of contrast on the seat cushions where I have actually painted the "sweat and wear" of where the pilots sit. I am afraid that I do not have a great lighting setup and at this time of year the natural light is poor. Next stop the cockpit...

Hi Fred, I will sign up for that for a large scale 1/24th Hornet. Happy New Year