Chek

A very fine rendition of both the Spitfire and the scheme. Your pink really looks like a tactical colour whereas some interpretations make the pink so saturated they look more like a Barbie doll accessory.

Chuck referring back to your tail control surfaces, I'd suggest varnishing strips cut from hand rolled cigarette papers laid over the rivets. That would help disguise their rivetty nature and simulate the knots under a fabric strip slightly better. Slight unevenness where the varnish locally tensions the strips over the rivet heads as they dry will also help sell the illusion.

In the intervening period you may be interested to learn that Quickboost now do a resin set of rigging leather 'boots' (QB32206) .

Very nice result. I especially like the pairing with your Meteor. Looking forward to some more photos in RFI.

It's a beast Dan. But a very unique one. I'm still trying to figure out the variable incidence wing feature (just in my head, not for any practical application). But apart from the F-8 Crusader, I can't think of any other successful application of the technology and that was to fit on a boat. Btw, have you decided whether to have the cannon ports open for business, or skinned over as in the movie?

You're welcome, Dan. Be sure to check out the USAFM web archive too, as it shows how the design evolved, with the fuselage intake faired over to full 3-engine power, and like the Buccaneer, with a plain tailplane to fin junction then to the bullet fairings at the final stage of the design.

I've uploaded 13 stills to my Flickr account, which you can find at https://www.flickr.com/photos/84346420@N05/albums/72157712677266647 They're at 1280 x 720 (DVD) resolution, which is slightly larger than the example below. Far from brand new, the XB-51 was getting on for 7 years old when the movie was made, as can be deduced from the tatty state of some of the visible stencils. And I'm sure Jennings would have some observations on the 'Gilbert XF-120' logo's choice of typefaces (fonts) too. Or perhaps the Gilbert Corporation thought all the ranch hands at the Pentagon would be taken by the hand lettered County Fair style chic. There are also a very helpful set of 92 USAF Museum hi-res photos at the web archive beginning at: (https://web.archive.org/web/20121016143638/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=2663 ) Those show some good details, such as the very non standard font used for the serial numbers.

Bit of off-topic Toward the Unknown trivia. A Bell X-2 (46-0675) did explode while under its B-50D mothership (48-0096) in May 1953, as seen in the movie. Unfortunately contrary to what was depicted in the movie, the X-2 pilot and his assisting engineer were both killed, and while the B-50 did manage to limp back to base, it never flew again. However the same tail numbered B-50 is shown lifting another X-2 with William Holden's character for his subsequent later successful flight. There are some nice close ups of the XB-51 entrance hatch area and the fuselage mounted engine nacelles to be found. Let me know if I can assist with any still frames.

I vaguely remember a really old FROG one which I dismissed as a kid because it didn't look like a 'real' (i.e. a bubbletop) Mustang. There are some really excellent photos of the P-51 at Chino, currently in RAF colours having done a stint as a white stripey spined USAAF olive drab attack plane. I have to admit that its lines have grown on me and I'd definitely give a 1/32 rendition a good home. And it's the original design with its own charm. So if anyone who is curating the moulding tool is reading this - please go for it!

That prop - well the whole model really - looks excellent. The tyres are perhaps a bit too glossy, but it could have been raining.

216 Sqn is quite an esoteric choice, although it's squadron successor a 1/32 L-1011 Tristar would be mightily impressive. I think I'll have to wait and see what other options will be on the other sheets as I think only one big Bucc choice is in my future. Pretty sure it'll be FAA .... or RAF though.

Not so much lost as grown more limited in its uses Q! Now that we have cyano glues, nylon bristles and wire provide alternatives that are a lot less fragile than what we once had to accept with stretched sprue. Although I'll readily concede at the time it was indispensable, now it tends to be a bit fragile. So much so I can't recall the last time I used it, other than to heatform the ends into balls for custom light lenses (the only way to get that tell-tale inverted reflection) and throttle handles.

The Gladiator is iconic especially as one of the very few British fighters of WWII with a radial engine. I might even get one for that reason. But I'd really prefer its contemporary, a Hawker Fury. Providing Special Hobby and Fly's plans pay off, it means we could have a run from the Fury to the Sea Fury for Hawker prop fighters. The post-war Hawker jet fighter line from Sea Hawk to Hawk still has some holes that need filling with good, modern tooled kits.

Can you specify which Japanese saw you use Thierry? And did the resin formula blunt the teeth at all? Just in case a few extra blades would need ordering with it. I've generally used Radu's photo etched cutters recently, but that's only been on plastic.

Cheers Thierry. At this stage I'm thinking a short vac-formed sleeve, circular to match the fan diameter at the rear and sized to fit the intake mouth at the front. Just waiting for some dimensions on the Spey at the moment, with a guesstimated depth.