airscale

hi gang, review samples are out or on their way to the great and the good (including our Kev out in Oz) I have added a pre-order page to the store so orders can be dispatched as soon as we are back in the UK on 9th August - just click the image below.. happy Typhoonery... Peter

THAT is one of the best 'pits I have ever seen... stunning work - really enjoying this Peter

..he didn't like the kit instrument decals... clearly a man whose views are to be trusted

yep - my bad.. what I meant was in the image of RCN108 (& VW647) there was no manufacturer logo - think this may be more common on resto birds

Peter - having been down this road, it's all about the reference - the photo kindly posted seems to be pretty conclusive ..I found the 'white disc' can vary in distance from the hub depending on the air service operating the aircraft & the age - for early UK Furies it barely makes it out of the radius of the spinner - here it is clearly a measurable distance ..the manufacturuers logo (Dowty Rotol) seems absent, but the blade number & direction of rotation is visible ..Paul Fisher kindly supplied the decals I needed so assuming you have them as part of the kit you should be able to assemble the constituent parts you need - hopefully the montage pic below helps.. Peter

thanks all & good evening ...so, first DH Hornet thing to talk about was meeting Eric 'Winkle' Brown the test pilot at Duxford Flying Legends last weekend..... yes, that 'Winkle' Brown the aviation great that has had such an amazing life - from test flying, first carrier landing in a jet, to interviewing all the Nuremberg Nazi's after the war for the FAA - I asked him what the Hornet was like to fly - he said 'massively over-powered, and an absolute joy to fly' - a moment I will never forget - words from the great man himself. ..back at the build, and newly inspired, I set about the canopy rails as the next thing to be done.. ..they are dead straight, run along the outside of the fuselage and are entirely parallel along their length, slotted at the top face...here are TT202's ..I had removed the kit rails to work on the nose, and wanted to make them more scale - I replaced with fine brass 'U' channel... ..there is a fairing at the front as they stand proud of the fuselage and need a rounded outer former I will add later... ..I got some white tack to hold the bits I have made so far loosely into place to see how and if it all hangs together.. ..and added a mock-up canopy - I was particularly interested to see how the modified nose profile was coming along... ...hopefully going the right way? ..until next time my friends.. Peter

wow Brian - all that BR2 needs is oil and a spark and it will fly right off your hand! ..beautiful job and a joy to watch Peter

Not in terms of the plastic in the cockpit no, it is exquisitely and accurately detailed.. ..I have not seen the kit IP decals yet, but have been told by a few reviewers that have seen the decals (after the early kit only test shots) that help was needed, so thought our hat should be in the ring. In addition the kit does not have ALL the placards and ALL the instruments made bespoke in high resolution and full colour as this new airscale set does.. ..I can't wait.. Peter

thanks for posting - remarkable.. and a legend of the 20th century.. no bitchin' and no after market - back in those days they built models ..imagine, they must have loved to see the latest air ministry commision float across their desk on the teletype.. a Shorts Maia composite cutaway in 1/24...no problem.. give us 6 weeks.. legends.. and the gene pool we all draw from..

more.. ..some treasures indoors... ..and we swung by the Mosquito Museum today where I got loads of ref pics of the Merlin 134 - the only one left that powered the DH Hornet - reference for my build. An incredible thing yesterday at Duxford - I met Eric 'Winkle' Brown the test pilot that has had such an amazing life - from test flying, first carrier landing in a jet, to interviewing all the Nuremberg Nazi's after the war for the FAA - I asked him what the Hornet was like to fly - he said 'massively over-powered, and an absolute joy to fly' - a moment I will never forget - words from the great man himself enjoy.. Peter

I am sure many will be along soon with much better shots than me, but in the meantime here is what I got on my little Lumix handheld on max zoom and set to take pictures of 'Food' Its the one I use to take pics on my WIPs & I forgot to change settings... brilliant day, brilliant weather and many unique sights - my fave was the exquisite P40C Peter

evening all.. like just about everyone else I am so looking forward to the Typhoon's release.. As we stand I know two things.. 1) Hornby say the general release date is the 21st July, but are feeding retailers before then so likely some 'early birds' out there 2) We will be retailing our new upgrade set on 6th August onwards I wish we were tied to the release date in July, but unfortunately as Airfix slipped the date from early June it landed exactly when we were out of the country for a few weeks so 6th August it is.. It is easy to pre-register and I am sure what we have in store will be well received ..IMHO the kit, (and our new cockpit decals) are spectacularly beautiful and well rendered, so - enjoy with thanks to Airfix for their LSP beating heart.. Peter

thank you chaps for stopping by, I wish I could get more done.. trying to do a bit on the DH Hornet, a bit on this lovely Ju188 and have got a fab new decal set for the 1/24 Typhoon ready & in print for the end of the month. Oh, and launching a new 'responsive' website more suited for our strategic future with mobile devices etc. Throw in the day job in the city and I actually start to wonder if I have the time to do anything at all properly (except bring wonderful cockpit decals to market ).. ..promise I am in for the long haul, just trying to manage life and not get distracted by all the modelling cheques my life won't let me cash.. the 188 will be back soon... in the meantime, I would love to see what you have done with your A1 - if it is anywhere near as well researched & executed as your Siemens Schuckert we are in for a bigger treat than I can come up with! Peter

test shots for the bits I had I would say its about the same box size as the Revell Ju88 - but maybe not as deep sorry, not very scientific but then I didn't get the whole kit Peter

that is one amazing cockpit - I need splints now to hold my jaw... bravo Peter

just a little reminder - some lovely metalwork & rivets flying in formation next weekend.. sure there are more, but these are confirmed.. P26 Peashooter Constellation B17 P38 Lancaster B25 13 x Spitfires & 1 x Seafire 2 x Hurricanes 2 x Ju 52s 2 x Buchons 3 x F4Us 2 x P40s 4 x P51s 2 x Gladiators 3 x Cubs Bearcat Hellcat Wildcat Hawk 75 Hawker Nimrod Hawker Sea Fury Avenger Swordfish DC3 Avenger Morane Saulnier D Yak 3 Lysander Jungmann ..what a feast for the eyes - can't wait Peter

most unusual.. anyone ever seen a full a/c pic or colour scheme for this? wonder why as a remote drone they chopped the roof off.. ..in my imaginary model cabinet I would like to take a HK B17 and do this or a 307 Stratoliner to it.. the net says the pics are from a series - any clues out there? TIA Peter

had to happen in my opinion and 100% the right decision.. ..it's a shame to lose what I am sure is valuable insight, but the 'experience' of getting that insight I have to say personally as a member, advocate and supporter of LSP was perpetually toxic, frustrating and corrosive to this place a price not worth paying and glad action has been taken.. now, about that MkII - didn't that variant have a nosewheel? Peter

love that scheme (I like simple ) ..what colour is it overall, thought it was silver dope but the cooler intake under the nose looks to be lighter still? ..sorry can't help on a kit recommendation, but sure someone will chime in soon Peter

this build is an astonishing achievement.. such finesse and fine excecution bravo.. I can't wait to see the grand finale Peter

extraordinary.. surely thousands of votes gives you a small amount of pleasure hmm, let me see - I want a Do17, I could: a. start with absoloutely nothing b. start with a 'kit' i know which I would prefer for myself and everyone else with an interest...

fabulous Brian.. ..this is going to be really cool - I am really looking forward to seeing how you go about the front end - foiling the cowl etc looks quite beyond me (actually foiling a flat surface is beyond me...) I can't seem to get into WW1, but I do love the look of those silver inter-war bipes and can imagine this will tempt me into them even more ..really looking forward to following along Peter

oh boy she looks beautiful! well done for working through the kinks Peter - Paul is a great guy and I know would have been very keen to help out & put this right I may be biased but I think the Sea Fury is the most wonderful, purposeful looking fighter out there - bar none. You are really doing it justice.. ..as you say, over the hump now with a vista of hugely enjoyable modelling to look forward to... (for us watchers too ) Peter

I have but one little artifact..but it is quite interesting.. It's part of the crankcase from a Merlin from an Avro Lancaster B1 W4246 lost on the night of 6th November 1942. The Lanc from 57 Sqn was on a mission to Genoa bombing from 8,000ft & was hit by flak. The rest of the force made it back, but nothing was heard from W4246 until long after everyone had landed at 07:00hrs a cheerful 'Good Morning' was heard over the empty static on the radio. The crew had nursed the aircraft back and just over East Grinstead having flown so far they ran out of fuel.... The pilot instructed his crew to bale out and W4246 made it's final journey to earth, impacting in a quiet field near Cowden in Surrey. Apart from some bruising and a twisted ankle all the crew survived (for how much longer after this mission I don't know..) amazingly it still smells of oil... ..I have it on my bench and it is very special to me.. Peter

thanks chaps ..just a little bit done today either side of a lovely pub lunch in the sun... ..there is a hydraulic fluid tank behind the pilot that can just be seen here. This is not a pic from an armed Hornet, so the ammo boxes are missing, but gives some useful details.. ..the kit has it represented as a pressurised bottle with the fill & vent caps on the top... ..I decided to model it as per the references I have, which is a different size/shape, so got a bit of resin pouring stub and started to shape it... ..I then removed a section from the top and grafted in a little plunge moulded bowl to represent the depressed vent cap area - I like to have a handle to work things so started making the tank while still a part of the stub... ..started to add the weld seams for the pressed parts from plastic strip & fuse wire.. ..finished it with brass details & straps... ..and dry fitted in the airframe... ..still loads more to do, but getting there one part at a time! ...until next time my friends.. TTFN Peter