tomprobert

Sweet Jesus..! I know you probably bore of being told you are an absolute master modeller, Peter, but you really are. I thought your previous builds were fantastic but this is my favourite so far. What I also find interesting is the fact you’ve dabbled in doing a whole airframe with 3D printing, but have gone back to the ‘old school’ methods on this one… old habits die hard? Perhaps you get more pleasure building things entirely from your own hand? I love this new 3D technology that’s now with us - and it certainly has its place in scratch building - but you can’t replicate the joy of making something, watching it emerge from an idea in your mind to then see it evolve from scraps of plastic (or metal in your case) and become something that is entirely your work and skill… that’s certainly how I feel but will readily admit I’m nowhere near your level!

I watched the first two episodes last night and was impressed. The CGI was good, I felt, and far, far better than Red Tails. Being a B-17 nut and, not wanting to be “one of those people,” I did spot a few inaccuracies but overall it was really well done and provided a fantastic mix of historical accuracy and edge of your seat entertainment - if that’s the right word given the context. A solid 8/10 so far…

Ha! Cheers, Derek and yes I do have a few spare just in case. I did try to make them from plastic card, but getting them all uniform in size and shape quickly led me to giving up. I’m very grateful to Peter for helping out. Given there are 230 of the little blighters on this, I hope I can be forgiven for taking the easy way out..? Anyway, on the continued subject of vortex generators, the stabilisers have now been done. I now need to busy myself with making lots of little aerials which are dotted all over the airframe! Until next time, Tom

Afternoon all, A bit more progress to report... the vortex generators have now been added to the upper wing surfaces. I added some Tamiya tape to use as a guide and marked this with the position for each individual piece of photoetch and slowly worked my way along each wing: Pretty tedious stuff and took a couple of evenings, but once the tape was removed it was well worth the effort: Now to do the same for the stabilisers... both upper and lower surfaces. I might be a while! Until next time, Tom

Evening all, I thought I’d dig this beast out of long term storage and do a bit to it… it’s been lingering in the loft for too long so felt it deserved some attention after what’s been getting on for… three years! I’ve had some custom made photo-etch vortex generators made courtesy of the very helpful Peter at Airscale and these will save a ton of work - I was going to have the make the 120+ pieces from Evergreen… I’ve also detailed the gear door interiors: And made the tail warning radars by sacrificing the noses of some bombs from the spares stash: There’s not actually that much left to do before I can begin splashing some paint… I need to get my a**e in gear and get this finished! More when there’s more! Tom

As Dennis suggests, just carefully sand the framing off and polish up. I did exactly that on mine and other than the framing, the shape is pretty good for the earlier Martin turret.

Options are few at this time for the B-24J - especially an OD example. There’s a mask set available but this is all I’ve found so far: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185107851345?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=3C6L4o8jQd6&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=hU76GLJITHK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Hopefully some more will become available in time - this kit needs some aftermarket decal love!

Modelling to me means a total escape from everyday life. Hours seem to pass in minutes and I totally switch off from the stresses of work, etc. It also means delving deeper into my love of aviation in particular - the research that goes into most of my builds is as fascinating and informative as the build itself. And even when you get one of those frustrating days at the bench, looking back I’ve still learned something (usually what not to do!) and can then take this forward into future builds. Above all else, it’s great fun and a passion!

Greetings all - and all the best for coming year. Airfix 1/24th Hellcat II NF (F6F-5N), KD127, 892 NAS, Drem, Scotland, mid-1945. Here's my first completion of 2024 which nearly made 2023 but the cold, wet weather was against me for the final varnish coat! The Airfix 1/24th Hellcat is well known and documented so I'll save the background information but suffice to say it's one of the most enjoyable builds I've ever done - it's an absolute beauty of a kit and I loved building it. Whist there are some nice marking options in the box, I decided to go off-piste a little and do something different, hence buying the excellent Aerocraft set (reviewed here) to make this into a Royal Navy night-fighter variant: The level of detail is sublime out of the box, and it went together beautifully with virtually no fit issues whatsoever. What I will say though, is tolerances are very tight indeed and the parts benefit from having their mating surfaces sanded slightly to cater for the thickness of the paint. The gun bays, for example, have a lot of the wing structure to add and thus very careful test-fitting was required to get that satisfying 'click' as it all goes together. The engine is a small model in itself - it took a total of three weeks to get it together and painted. Airfix give you a very detailed construction guide and this enables the builder to add the mass of wiring associated with the ignition harness - I used some aftermarket braided wiring and the effort was well worth it. The surface detailing is some of the best I've ever seen and gives a wonderful 3D effect - when you catch the right light it looks so realistic: Considering this was built OOB with the only additions being the seatbelts (I felt the kit examples were a little over-scaled), the ignition wiring and conversion set, it's exceptional value and quite a presence on the modelling desk. Paints were all Xtracolor enamels and I kept weathering effects to virtually none - these were, in reality, high gloss Dark Sea Blue and pretty clean. The stressed skin effect does most of the work for you to be fair, and other than some light exhaust staining I kept this in line with period photos of late-war Royal Navy Hellcats. To anyone considering building this, a few observations of the build process which may come in useful: As mentioned above, tolerances are very tight - gentle sanding of gluing surfaces and test-fits are a must and it will be very easy for things to become misaligned, especially in the gun bays; If you can, build the engine and main airframe as separate parts and bring them together after painting. I installed the engine as a completed unit prior to the main airframe being painted and this resulted in some very complex masking around the exhausts! The main canopy was quite a bit wider/flared at the base than the runners it is supposed to sit on. I had to coat the inside of the canopy with some Future (to avoid 'fogging') and then attach it with CA glue; The wing tip light lenses are slightly too large for the apertures they sit in - in hindsight I should have test-fitted these earlier in the build and not after painting! Be really careful when following the instructions as to whether you are doing wings folded or extended - the build sequence is very different between the two! Anyway, that's enough waffle from me! All the best, Tom

This is looking really good - lots of inspiration and painting techniques to borrow when it comes to building my B-model… which is moving up the pile! Tom

Thanks chaps - and apologies… now corrected!

A happy ending to this model’s story - I’ve just returned from a fantastic trip up to the wonderful museum at Old Buckenham, in Norfolk, having donated my model to the wonderful curator, Jim. And it’s already proudly on display! At least it no longer resides in my loft where it’s never seen and has gone to a new home… All the best, Tom

That’s lovely - a very neat job on a complex scheme. Nicely weathered too - nothing ‘in your face’ which looks just right.

That is, quite simply, the best rendition of an A-10 in model form I’ve ever seen. Stunning in every respect. I’ve just added this kit to my stash and have bookmarked this for some serious inspiration when the time comes to build mine. Tom

Once again my jaw has hit the floor! A fantastic start on the interior - the subtle weathering looks spot on to me. Merry Christmas to you and yours, Tom

I don't know how you do it, Peter, but it must be some kind of special box of magic that you possess. Stunning work as always - it's going to be sensational when the skin starts going on. Tom

Modelling time has taken a hit with school work having priority - end of term reports and exam marking… yawn… have been taking up my evenings. However, these arrived last week from our very own Peter of Airscale fame (and probably the most talented model builder of our times) and are a bit of an upgrade of my efforts of main wheels cobbled together from the HK Lancaster wheels and scrap plastic! I’ll get these fitted and see how they look when next at the bench!

Sweet Jesus and all things holy... this is going to be one impressive model and what a great choice of subject. And the speed in which you are putting this all together is mind boggling..! I can totally empathise when it comes to a model getting inside your mind. As sad as it sounds I often do a lot of my problem solving when I'm about to drift off to sleep. Something will be bugging me and appear to have put the brakes on a build when suddenly a solution will pop into my head late at night and I can't wait to get going on it the next day... I have also found myself waking up in the night with a solution to a problem and then have to get up and note it down. Driving is also another good time to contemplate and think about builds... it's funny how it can just hit you. Can't wait to see more... Tom

I had a good catch up with Iain at Telford and he’s very kindly going to share some of his research, etc. I too plan a Warning Star and he’s got loads of info on them - no doubt I’ll be picking his brains when the time comes to start cutting plastic! I agree - so graceful and elegant. Even with the massive radomes sticking out.

Speaking of which… the next project is lined up for when the Stirling is done: No, your eyes are not deceiving you and that is indeed a 1/32 scale Super Constellation. It’s currently residing in my office as I’m too scared to take it home. The Commander in Chief will go apoplectic when she sees it so I’m looking for an opportune moment to smuggle it into the loft when she’s next out!!!

A few more details added to the Stirling of late. As I’m doing a MkIII, they were fitted with the later FN50 mid upper turret which is a bonus, as I can utilise the HK turret from the Lancaster. However, the fairing around the turret was not provided in this kit so I’ve had to improvise a little… The fairing itself gave a little aerodynamic assistance, but it’s main purpose was provide a runner for cams that provided an automatic cut off to the guns, stopping over excited gunners blasting parts off their own aircraft. I initially wondered if I could use the HK models fairing from their Lancaster kit, but quickly discovered that their shapes were quite different. One day, I’ll get my backside in gear and learn how do design and print such items in 3D, but for the time being it’s back to the old-skool…Milliput to the rescue! Step one was place some masking tape over the area the fairing will sit. Once I’d consulted plans, I transferred the basic outline of the fairing onto the tape. Next, I made some Milliput ‘sausages’ and placed then in position, before using my long-forgotten sculpting skills from my school art lessons and set about creating the approximate form of the fairing. Milliput acts just like clay when wet, so it wasn’t actually hard to get the basic shape - just lots of consulting of pictures and plans needed: With the Milliput given 24hrs to harden fully, I peeled it off from the tape and fuselage, and with some fine sandpaper did the final shaping: This was then glued back to the fuselage, and viola! It won’t be perfect, but it’ll do. Next up was the gear doors. These were cut away as a whole when I made the wings. Astonishingly, I hadn’t lost them: The gear doors are a very complex shape - there are various gaps for the other doors to slot into as they retract as well as an opening for the lower part of that massive wheel to protrude. Again, looking at plans and pictures of the real aircraft, these were cut and shaped accordingly and some ribs added to the inner surfaces: Finally, they were attached to the gear: Here she is sitting pretty on the bench… my kitchen table! I now need to finish detailing the forward part of the main landing gear bays before I can squirt some paint on the bays and the gear to see how it all looks. Until next time, Tom

Hi John, It’s quite amazing when you consider the skill and bravery needed for such missions: basic (by modern standards) navigation, flying in radio silence in the dark, no pressurisation and limited heating, enemy fire, the weather… and still they went out night after night. I’ve been doing lots of reading and research about the Stirling (and the RAF’s night bombing offensive in general) for this build and the appreciation and respect I have for what these chaps did is immense. And as you say, imagine making it to Italy, thousands of miles away from base, and then having to navigate your way home in a damaged aircraft and have the largest mountain range in Europe to cross on your way back. Incredible.

Ah - I’ve just been doing some research on this and see what you mean. It’s actually quite bad. I’ll have a ponder… Many thanks for taking the time to reply! Tom

I have the B-version of this kit in my stash so will watch this with interest as it’s slowly creeping up my pile and I’ll soon be tackling it. I’m blissfully unaware of the intake issues - is it worth investing in resin replacements for a non-too-bothered-about-things-being-to-the-nearest-mm builder like me? Are the kit items really bad??

Thanks, Jay. I’m a big admirer of your work and enjoy the magic you conjure on your big builds. The Stirling is quite a size - handling it is not easy. That’s a reason why I leave the finer details until towards the end and as they’re likely to get bashed against something at some point. Using the kitchen table does give a bit of extra space though - but the fridge has a few battle scars Indeed! I knew I’d seen it somewhere before with great effect - now I know where! Yeah it’s massive. It stands considerably higher too. One day I hope to have this, my Halifax and a Lancaster on display together - it’ll make an interesting comparison for sure. The HK Lanc is in the stash ready to go when this one’s complete. I may need a hall all to myself at Telford for the three of them though… I wouldn’t go that far… you only need to look at the masterpieces on here by modellers far more skilled than I, but you’re very kind indeed.