TaffyMan

And another model completed and the photos go to the gallery, S.M. 79-II "Sparviero", 283 squadriglia, 130 gruppo autonoma, Mediterranean 1942. feel free to visit the gallery.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

nearly finished - just flying wires to go..
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
TTFN
Peter

Greetings all,
 
Time for a long over-due update on this build. Various other projects have been getting attention and to be honest, sorting out the nose on this thing was very nearly a complete mojo-killer for the whole project and has taken a lot of time and effort. But, no pain... no gain.
 
ID Models provide some very poorly shaped transparencies for the nose turret (this was more suitable for a MkI Halifax!) and the bomb aimer's windows, which sadly wouldn't be an accurate representation of the real deal. Luckily, when I inherited Cees' stalled project he threw in lots of HK Lancaster parts for the turrets, including all the internals and transparencies. Starting with the nose turret, as this would be the most tricky, I had the problem of the Lancaster turret being a lot wider than the Stirling nose. Whilst the internals are identical, the perspex was a different design but, with some gentle persuasion and some mods to the nose area, I was confident it could be made to fit. Therefore, my first task was to gently sand away all the raised framing seen on the Lancaster turret as the Stirling was devoid of any framework:
 
  
I then set about polishing this back to clarity, using a nail buffing pad (don't spend a fortune on 'modelling' buffing pads and get the cheap ones from the make up section in a chemist or the like!) as well as some of Microscale's polishing compound:
 
 
Turret internals are assembled here and checked for clarity:
 
 
With the glazing good to go it was time to check now the Lancaster part would fit to the Stirling nose. The answer was: not very well....
 
 
I had suspected that the shape of the nose was a bit off - the section between the turret and the bomb aimer's panels is too blunt and flat on the kit, when in fact it should be rounded and follow the profile of the lower part of the turret. This was corrected by first making a plastic card shelf and then filling and shaping this area with Milliput:
 
 
Once the nose was sanded to the correct shape, I began making the upper faring that wraps around the turret. I use card for this to make a template, which is a far cheaper option than wasting plastic card:
 
 
At the same time, I also made the framing for the bomb aimer's window from Evergreen - the glazing will then be made and added at a later stage, by dropping them onto the frames:
 
 
With majority of the hard work done, I then gave the nose section a coat of black to ensure none of the white plastic would show through to the turret or nose interior, and added the home-made turret faring - this time from plastic card. This was then filled with more Milliput, and the whole nose area blended to the correct shape with regular checking of photos and plans:
 
 
To finish off, the lost panel lines were re-scribed and another coat of black was applied:
 
 
 
I think I've just about got away with it...
 
Next up will be the rear end... oh er Missus!
 
Tom

Hello
The new Revell 1/24 N1 Starfighter from the Star Wars The Mandalorian TV Show.
The kit is quite fun and simple to build. Details are OK but there is some room for improvement.
I scratch built some details in the open panels and engines.
Paints are Mr Hobby SM01 super fine silver and Chrome from Greenstuff.
Weathering with oils and waterpencil.
 
 







 
 
 
This is the way!
 

The GR.3 fuselage is roughly 20 3/4" long while the FA.2 fuselage is 22 1/2" long.

I don’t know if it will induce feelings of jealousy, but it’s aviation related all the same. My recent lack of modelling has been  caused by a trip into the rabbit hole that is DCS World. Specifically, Flying the Viper, and the Hornet. I decided to treat myself to a new IP setup from Winwing. Their up front control replica, and some replica DDI panels. I’ll be adding LCD screens to them in the future. I plan to swap the triple monitor setup for a widescreen curved panel too. 
 

hi folks
 
 
 
100% correct GW - as in you are 100% correct and the instrument is canted the wrong way Oh well, it's staying like that now..
 
I kept thinking I will stop in a minute and take a picture of what I am doing, but then I would think, I will just finish this bit... well before I knew it the engine cowling was done.. it is a complicated structure, but shouts early aviation..
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
can start the fuselage proper now..
 
TTFN
 
Peter

Post war a/c in the markings of 21 Squadron stationed at Gutersloh, Germany until November 1947
as part of the British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO).
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking.
WIP link
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

hey all
Seeing as my other subject didn't warrant much interest, maybe this might? I Finished this one last night after a 3 week build period. It's not meant to be a hardcore representation of the Bismarck - I added just the Eduard PE set and the crappy Pontos wooden deck sticker (which is giving me a headache with its really bad adhesion properties). The paint scheme is based on the "Too Hot too handle" camo pattern from WOWSL. The rigging is not accurate either. The PE work is less than stella and there are a multitude of other issues that would prohibit it from being any kind of competition contender - BUT - it was a fun build and now sits alongside the Alaska.
The DKM H Class battleship ("Pommern" basically) is on the to-do list as well as the HMS Exeter, New Jersey and Yamato
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sorry for the not so great pictures - I am having to resort to my phone lately because the battery for my DSLR blew up and I haven't bought a new one yet.
As always, thanks for stopping in and having a look
Si

thank you all, very kind
 
time to build out the fuselage of this curvy girl..
 
started by black outlining all formers with a sharpie so when I sand I can see when I hit the outline, then it was filled out with hard foam blocks in between all the formers ..
 

 
then those were cut and sanded to the base profile - litho cockpit sides were added to keep shape integrity while filling / sanding..
 

 

 

 
..then the structure was given a thin skim of P38 filler..
 

 
..and sanded to shape.. this is the 'rough cut'..
 

 
..lots of sanding and re-filling & re-priming and the base fuselage is complete for skinning in metal later..
 

 
..the big definitive rocker cover fairings were a challange and I pondered how to do them. Eventually, I made up a basic 3D version which my skills in no way allow me to get all the subtle shapes so these just serve as something to start with - though the exhaust port blocks will be separate as they will ultimately be scale..
 

 
..I started the refinement by getting the position and relationship to the fuselage right. This is done by covering the fuselage with aluminium plumbers tape that pretty much defies anything sticking to it for long and the fairings spot CA'd in place followed by filler so they become a close fit... they can then be easily broken off for final shaping..
 

 
.. then after they were permanently fixed, a definition needed to be made to start to represent the fuselage break where the fuselage and engine fairings meet..
 
..this was done with lining tape and filler added and sanded until the tape can be seen..
 

 
,,and the all important nose profile starts to take shape..
 

 

 

 

 

 
..and thats it for now
 
TTFN
Peter
 
 
 
 

This is such a magical stage of construction, where the whole airframe is presented in such a mouth-watering way and just begs to be completed (the imagination simply runs wild!). Great (and expeditious) work Peter.
 
Derek
 

The newest 1:24 kit from Airfix is safely built and stored away for the winter SPITFIRE Mk.IXe so it's time to turn my attentions to one of the oldest Airfix 1:24 kits and the one that really set Airfix apart IMHO in the large scale kit market.
As a fresh faced (really, I was) 13 year old, I trailed one dark late November Saturday afternoon with my Nan to the local Sheffield toy megastore, Redgates
to buy my Christmas present, ready to be whisked away to storage ready for Christmas day.
It was a no brainer what I wanted and, if you knew the vastness of redgates and the range of the toys it stocked, you'd realise I was probably already a dedicated modeller even back then.
I'd progressed from building 20 piece models from Aurora of creatures from my other passion, horror films,

through balsa planes both rubber powered and Jetex (weren't THEY fun?. There are still trees growing in my local wood with bits of balsa Mig15 embedded in them) to smaller aircraft. But today there was only one beast I wanted. I'd seen it in the Airfix catalogue, paper then not virtual, and it was the 1:24 Junkers JU87B. 
Procured, stashed and unwrapped on Christmas day, the build was epic as was the size. It took me about 4 months of guddling around to get it finished and God was I proud of it.
I still have it now. It's the only one of my models I've ever kept, it's that special to me. No airbrush or internet then, it was built OOB and brush painted with Airfix enamels. 
It's had a couple of rebirths... and a death. I refreshed it in 2010 on my return to modelling after a 35 year hiatus, it was dropped onto a concrete floor in 2015 and patched up after that. I still love it
 
And now it's back. It's on pre-order naturally, but this time I hope to really do it justice with access to reference material I never had back then, paints from MRP, closer to the original colours and thin as gossamer to apply and obtain subtle variations I never could back then. Oh, and an airbrush to spray them with.
Most exciting though is that some of the parts that were limited in fine detail due to the technology of the time have been produced as an aftermarket kit by Peter at AIRSCALE. Now it's not cheap but it's huge. It arrived yesterday and there are beautiful resin 3D printed parts such as pilot's seat, mg15 rear machine gun, rudder pedals, a fantastic pilots panel and twin radios. Those horrid rubber tyres beloved of 70s kits will go, to be replaced with weighted front and rear ones...I could go on.
 
So, all that remains is to await the arrival of the kit and get building. Below are some pictures of Redgates in the 70s, some crummy pics of my original 1975 kit and the embellishments from Peter and MRP I can't wait to use.
 
I'll be starting for nostalgia's sake, on Christmas Day because this year it's my totally gorgeous and understanding wife who's buying the kit and locking it away til Christmas. Feel free to watch.
 
 

 
 

 
 

Completed! Went for a pretty used and oily look to try and match the photos of mid-war Hurricanes.
 
This is the build I'm most pleased with - so far.
I've managed to improve in a number of areas since the Kotare Spitfire it now sits next to.
 
A lot of things to work on for the next build, one of which is to have full painted on markings (just did the roundels this time.) I don't like the fact that you can see the stencils are decals
 

I have great satisfaction that I managed to finish this Fiat, the model is quite nice and it was fun to build especially as the parts fit perfectly. The biggest challenge I faced with it was how to build it? What to change and improve? Thanks to my friend Marcin, who suggested building it VINTAGE. And that's how I built it, without any changes. It's just a pity that it sat on a cupboard for a few years.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

well,
 
I had a thought one night about how 3D might evolve so things that don't exist, might one day exist
 
This may go nowhere, but is a bit of interesting fun for me. I am going to try and make a whole airframe and do it in such a way that it could be printed as a kit of parts. I will say this though - don''t get excited it may take years and may not work, but it's good practice for me and is a fun side project. I have the Airfix 1/72 kit on it's way for reference, but for now, I just started playing around...
 

 

 

 
,,and tried printing it out
 

 

 

 
much to learn, not least of which is part thickness & orientation and making it so it can be assembled. Mega challenges like the transparencies I will have to figure out along the way and also things like structural strength in areas that matter, so as I say, little chance of going anywhere, but thought it may be of interest
 
TTFN
 
Peter

Hi everybody!
Thanks Guys!!
Haven't posted anything for a long time, vacation, family and normal everyday life intervened.
But I still managed to spend an hour or two at the workbench.
After I had attached the bracing, there are still a few details to be taken care of.
One of them is the rear machine gun, a Vickers "K" I got from Gaspatch!

 
Gaspatch's stuff isn't really cheap, but it's definitely worth the money.
A difference like day and night!
Above the machine gun from GASPATCH, below that from the kit, that's all there is to say!

 
Now it's time for the torpedo. A primer coat of black, then painted with AK's "Steel".  This was followed by a wash with Van Dyk Brown and Paines Gray oil paints to finish things off.
 

 
The machine gun takes its place!

 
There were still a few smaller details to be painted, such as position lights, etc. I haven't documented that further, I don't want to bore anyone with it!
 
So, close to the finish line, next and last is the propeller.  Let's see what's going to happen!
Cheers Guys!
Lutz

Paint, at last!
 
Starting with a little preshading.  I know a lot of people have dropped this in favor of "black basing," but I have found that I prefer these results far better.  Just my eye, I guess.  


 
I'm ultimately shooting for a faded OD green similar to this:

 
Here it is in its current, very much work in progress, state.  It started with an undercoat of sand yellow, then a first round of base coating with MRP OD green cut with sand yellow and dark yellow.  Bear in mind, there's a lot more work to do, but this is a good start, anyway. 



 
At this point, I only have the first layer of the OD green down.  I've clearly got a long way to go, but it's progress!

 

Evening all,
 
I put the finishing touches to this earlier this week: the new-tool 1/72nd Airfix B-17G converted to a US Navy PB-1W airborne early warning aircraft. 
 

 
I used the old 299Models conversion which gives you the big radome in short-run injection plastic, as well as blanking plates for the top, chin and ball turrets.
 


The conversion was actually designed and produced long before the excellent new-tool Airfix Fort was released and is meant for the Hasegawa kit. However, with some gentle persuasion, it fits the Airfix kit well. 
 


The PB-1Ws were late build B-17Gs taken from desert storage post WW2 by the US Navy and stripped of their bombing equipment. Some retained their tail guns but these were soon removed, and quite crude blanking plates were added to the openings for the top, chin and ball turrets. 
 


The main distinguishing feature of the PB-1W was the large AN/APS-20 search radar added to the bomb bay and huge dome slung beneath. 
 


In all 32 B-17Gs were converted to PB-1Ws and they remained in service until the mid-1950s when they were superseded by Constellations. 
 

The model was airbrushed with Xtracolor’s Sea Blue gloss and decals came from the spares box. I toned it down with a coat of Humbrol Satin (the real things were actually high gloss) and added some oil and exhaust with pastels. 
 
All in all a very simple conversion (if you can find one!) and it’s nice to add this unusual Fortress to my collection. 
 
All the best,
Tom

thanks all
 
Right - it's done...
 
started 29 December 2021, finished 9th May 2023 so 17 months in the making...
 
there are still a few bits to do - mainly the flaps - jury is out on these as while I spent a lot of time making them, I have not seen one picture with the flaps down at rest so I may just close them up...
 
Max helped me out with the masks and they were perfect (thanks Max :)) & lots of bits done in the last weeks to get it pretty much done. i really enjoyed the build and learned a lot so here are some pics...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
so thats it
 
onto the next one - thanks for coming along for the ride
TTFN

Peter

Thanks for sticking with me on what was for me an epic journey. As of today I'm sticking a fork in the CP-140 and calling it finished. Well, as finished as I can make it. 
I'm certain a better modeller could do better with it, I had fun and learned some new things to be certain.
 So without more babble, here's some pictures of the finished Aurora;

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking
Special thanks to those who "liked"
Grateful appreciation to those offering help and advice
Off to rip the top off a mainstream injected kit now.

Metal finish complete. 
 
I used 3 shades of Alclad, Polished aluminum, Airframe aluminum and Stainless Steel. Panel lines were accented with Alclad Magnesium. USAF codes were sprayed on by using masks. Thanks Brian.  Stars and Bars look too small. I will replace with a larger size.
 

 

 
Kinda big, hard to photograph. 31 inches long. Squadron markings
are next.
 
Dan

And the finish
More pictures will be posted on RFI section later.
 

howdy folks
 
after a few weeks getting my next project underway with 3D design & print & huge PE frets, I am back to the P40...
 
it's been lots of little jobs including...
 
ailerons - these were 3D printed blanks then skinned with very thin plastic card scored with a ballpoint for the ribs and then decal ribtapes..
 

 

 
..the underside is ready for the US ARMY markings when I can get some masks done..
 

 
..wingtips - these are different to ones I have done before in they have an upper and lower panel sandwiching a frame..
 

 
stabiliser and fin tips..
 

 

 
..the unit marking..
 

 
..the nose guns..
 

 
..the mainwheels were 3D printed, painted and a litho hub made up..
 

 

 
..and the tailwheel & fork..
 

 
..I can't stand it on it's gear yet, as they just rotate on their mounts, but it is nearing the finish line..
 

 
all I really need are the masks so i can paint the markings, in the background I am making the gear doors, pitot tube and bomb sway braces, but in terms of construction there is not much more to go..
 
TTFN
 
Peter

Hello friends, this is my next build - 1:24 IAG Rila Extreme. This monster is assembled here in BG by IAG license and it must have for my collection. There is no such model, so I scratched all of it. For base I used old Revell Chevy pick-up - for the frame and part of suspension. Everything else is Scratch and 3D-print parts. The "Small Soldiers" are from ICM 1:24 also. Painted with tamiya acrylics, weathered with acrylic pencils, oil pains and filters. So here it is:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Thank you for stopping by, comments are always welcome. Cheers friends
 

Thought i'd post some of my completed stick and tissue models. I've been a plastic builder for 25 years, but there were a large number of civil aircraft that I wanted to build that will never be made into a plastic kits. Through research, I got interested in balsa stick and tissue kits as there are thousands of plans for free download and in the sweet spot for scale detailing. Built my first one about two years ago and have been hooked ever since.  There are some Guillows kits as well, but  heavily modified and detailed them out for static display.  
 
Thanks for looking