hworth18

We're very pleased to have Sprue Brothers as one of our valued sponsors, and greatly appreciate their ongoing support.
 
Kev

We must be married to the same woman.  I wanted to buy her a handgun for Christmas. She said that’s fine, just make sure it’s one I’m willing to be shot with.  

Hi, all!  I'm still working on clearing my backlog before the end of the year and here is build #3.  
 
This is a Panzer IV Ausf E in the colors of the Deutsches Afrikakorps. These tanks were shipped from the factory in standard Panzer grey, then hastily painted with desert camo once they arrived at the unit. Thus, the heavy chipping. I used the hairspray method to achieve that, and I recalled why I don't use it very often. It's rare for me to get the consistency just right and I either have to scrub the crap out of model to get the chipping effect, or I put on too much hairspray and the topcoat sloughs off in huge patches. This tended towards the latter, and even spraying a varnish coat activated some of the hairspray and cracked the topcoat.

Ah well, it isn't perfect, but I'm happy with it. Now on to the next kit!
 
























 
 

#2 for the week.  This is my take on the Tamiya M18 Hellcat.  From unprimed to finished in less than 24hrs.  The decals are from the spares bin an take a little artistic license.  The 814th TD Battalion never fielded M18s.  I just didn't care for the kit decal options, so there we go.  
 
As a personal preference, I don't much care for piles of stowage, so it's cleaner than most M18s you see.  Anyhoo, enjoy!
 






















 
 

Masterful build! Congrats!! I'm excited to start my own Border 190 after seeing yours.

Here is my finished Border 1/35 Fw 190A-6 painted in the markings of Walter Nowotny's Double Chevron. It was built mostly out-of-the-box since I couldn't find much in the way aftermarket for this kit at the time. Major markings were painted using custom cut masks.  The kit was slightly modified to depict the inner landing gear door configuration. I left the upper gun cowling and two engine cowlings unglued so that the gun compartment and some of the engine can be viewed but the trade-off is that the joints aren't as tight as they could be if they were glued.
 









 









 
 
 





 
 
 





 



 
 
The complete build log can be found at the following link:
 

Hello, everyone.  If you've been following along the build thread, you're well aware that I was nearing the finish line on Hong Kong Models' new A-20G Havoc kit after starting it the day it arrived in June.  If you haven't been following the build thread, but want a painfully verbose treatise on the inner workings of this brand new kit, feel free to dive into it and its ~350 photos.  If you'd just like to see the photos, here's the gallery.
 
Anyhoo, as I've stated in a number of other threads, I'm fascinated by the SW Pacific campaigns in the early-mid war years.  I'm also a fan of big twins in attack configurations.  Thus, when I heard that HKM was coming out with an all new A-20G Havoc in gunship configuration, I was excited to say the least.  Unfortunately for me, their boxing was strictly marked and built for the European theater.  Not to be deterred, I decided to embark on a bit of a journey.  For this build, I'd be doing several firsts.  To make a Pacific bird, I'd have to scratch build wing bomb racks and teach myself the art of printing my own decals.  I'd also push the idea of masking farther than I had ever done before, so that was fun too.
 
In the end, I'm very happy with the results and they feel pretty close to the original.  The photos turned out a little weird, unfortunately; I suspect that's due to my camera trying to compensate for the failing evening light.  So, things like the speckling on the nacelles and the dust pigments on the wings are much more pronounced than they are in real life.  I found a few close up pictures of A-20s with extensive oil spatter all along their fuselage and nacelles aft of the engine, so that was the inspiration there.
 
Anyway, here's "STINKY" of the 3rd BG, 12th BS in New Guinea.  According to Michael Claringbould in Pacific Profiles vol. 3, this aircraft survived hostilities and was scrapped in situ after the war.  The photo below is one of two taken of her supposedly while she was in Sydney, Australia.
 

































 
The squadron insignia and serial number were the first decals I ever printed for myself.  The nose art was done with a mask.  I painted the dark drop shadow, then moved the mask to the 10 o'clock position and painted the yellow.  Turned out pretty sharp.    





















 
For grins, I got my SW Pacific fleet out for a photo op, largely because I wanted to see exactly how the B-25 and A-20 compare in size.  




 
 

Border Models Dam Buster Lancaster on sale for 25% off at Sprue Brothers.  Discount appears in cart: $487.49

I picked up this kit at a model show for $10, so I was willing to accept some inaccuracies and difficulties in building, but I was pleasantly surprised.  The box art is not very impressive.  I can't attest to the accuracy of the profile because I didn't compare it to line drawings.  The kit has only one build option - for the V6 prototype.  This model is of the C-1 variant - the ground attack version with the short wingspan.  The panel lines on the wing look correct for this plane.  The kit gives me the impression of a limited production kit.  The parts count is very low, similar to Hasegawa's Macchi kits.  There is a PE fret included.  The gray plastic is quite soft.  The panel lines are okay in width, but vary in depth in different areas. The kit radiator is for a Dora 9, not a Ta152, so I used a Quickboost resin part, and the prop blades don't look correct, so I used an Eduard prop from the parts box.  The engine plug looked lacking in detail and I added an ammo box up in the fuselage, but unless you turn the model upside down and look into this area, you can't see these details anyway.  The decals are good and settle nicely with some setting solution.  There is a ridge on the wing root that is on the inside of the wheel well that really needs to be filed away, or it appears the wheels would not go into the wheel well.
This is the first model I used MRP paints and I'm not impressed with how the paint crazed the bare plastic, so if you use MRP paint, be sure to prime first.  The parts fit is good.  
I would not hesitate to buy another HB kit in this line of subjects.  I do wish HB would produce an H version with the long wingspan, but the differences between the C and H versions mean the H would be a completely different kit.

A simple kit with few parts, but looks good when completed.  I did get the Quickboost radiator insert and used an Eduard prop.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for looking.

Beautiful Dora!! Great job!

Here is another example of a subject that, when I saw photos of it, I knew I just had to build it. Being that I hadn't yet added a "Dora" to my Focke Wulf collection, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. This was also an opportunity to test out a variety of late war Luftwaffe colors, from a variety of manufacturers. For a more in depth paint comparison, as well as the complete rundown of the build process, feel free to check out my WIP thread, located here: WIP Thread.  The paint manufacturers that I ended up using, were mainly MRP, AK Interactive's  "Real Color" line and Gunze/Mr. Hobby. There were also a few paints from Tamiya used, mainly for your more basic colors. All were acrylic lacquers.
 
In addition to the paint, I armed myself with the following additional aftermarket items. 
 
Quickboost
Exhaust
Cowling
Cowl Gun Cover
Instrument Panel Hood
Air Scoop (supercharger intake)
 
For the cockpit, I added the Yahu instrument panel and HGW belts/rudder pedals. I also sculpted a lumbar cushion for the seat, from Milliput and built the throttle from plastic scraps. To finish out the exterior and paint, I used the following:
 
Trumpeter Rivet Wheel for riveting the entire airframe.
Aber 13mm MG131 brass barrels (the 20mm barrels I made from aluminum tubing).
Jerry Rutman's resin spinner and his 20mm cannon mounts for the inside of the gear bay.
Montex masks (but they didn't make a set for this plane that I'm aware of. It was an A-8 set that had the correct font number "3" that I needed).
Eagle Editions decals for the stencils, even though it was from the set that includes this aircraft, I masked and painted everything except the stencils.
 
Speaking of not using the decals from the set; at the time that those decals were printed, there were fewer photos available of this aircraft. Jerry Crandall knew the approximate Werk Number block at that time, but other photos had since surfaced that made it more clear. So, I made my own decals for those, using my computer and some decal paper, along with Microscale Liquid Decal Film. In addition to that, I also ended up cutting my own masks for the fuselage crosses, underwing crosses and the swastikas for the tail, using my daughter's Cricut cutting machine and my scanner/computer.
 
The kit provides an "engine plug", which represents the rear portion of the engine that is visible on the D-9 when viewed through the landing gear bay. I took it upon myself to enhance this area, as well, using various wiring, copper and aluminum tubing and guitar string. The spent ammo chutes were made from rectangular brass tubing. The landing gear and bay received a similar treatment, by wiring the locking arms, tail wheel retraction line and I also added the tow hook eyes to the landing gear legs, using sheet styrene and brake lines from stretched sprue and wire. The tires even received valve stems made from stretched sprue. The gun camera in the leading edge of the left wing was represented by inserting a short piece of aluminum tubing, then inserting a "lens" made from a small section of stretched, clear sprue, polished on the exposed face.
 
This was the second build for me using my Harder and Steenbeck Infinity CR Plus airbrush. Armed with that and all of the photos of the subject I could gather, my goal was to try to get the camouflage as close to the real thing as possible. This was mostly in it's pattern, as the exact colors are always something of debate, especially with many late war Luftwaffe subjects. So, this is my interpretation. It's not perfect, but it was a ton of fun trying and, overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy it, too!
 
Happy Modeling,
 
John
 
 















 
 

I thought long and hard about what to do about the fuselage camouflage (out of stain and blotch) and came to the conclusion that I had to use masks.
Since the time you know how I proceed and here is the fuselage with the masks in place as well as protections for the paint not to be covered.
The fuselage was painted as quickly as it was long to protect by masks.
The masks had to be measured, cut out, then re-raised and re-cut, and then put thick foam in place to create a space between the masks and the model, while checking the consistency between the masks and the period photos…
This was veryyyyyyyyyyyy looooooooooooooong to do but the final result pleases me well, the fade between the RLM 83/75/76 is consistent with what wanted to achieve.
 
I await your opinions and comments.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now shipping! Exciting new sheet of P-38 Lightnings in Europe featuring Lt. Robin Olds' "Scat II" and three others. Markings and reference for Old's P-38J-15-LO  were supplied by Group Captain Daivd Turner, Acting director of History and Heritage Service, History and Heritage Branch, Air Force in Portsmith Australia. Three others researched by Mark Proulx. Visit our website for more information here EC#188. 
 

This is my latest project, Tamiya's A6M5 Zero.  The model represents an A6M5 of the 210th Fighter Group based at Meiji, Aichi Prefecture at the end of 1944 and into 1945.  The model represents about 4 months of work, with the odd sanity recovery break, and is the only LSP WW2 Japanese plane on my shelves.  I do hope to add another sometime in the next year, as this one is looking a bit lonely.  It was not always the easiest of builds, mostly relating to the undercarriage issues, but you can read all about it if you are so inclined in my WIP, here.  That said, it is a model I'm glad I've built and I'm happy with the end result.  Whatever the challenges, I think it is a better and more detailed than the even older Hasegawa model, good though that is.  No one has yet built a more detailed and better kit yet, in the twenty or so years since this was released.
 
The model was embellished with the cannon barrels from a Master bars set, and a couple of Eduard etch sets covering interior, engine and instrument panel, though not all the parts in these were used.  Some were just too small and fiddly for my aged eyes, and others, such as the ignition wires on the engine, I made from various diameter wire as I thought they had a better look than flat etch bits.  The fuselage machine guns are the stock kit part, but I did drill out the cooling holes a little more and so a black wash over these for a better than stock look.
 
Once built, the model was finished in Mr Color acrylic paints with a few other types for the details and the final coat were my own mix of Mr Color flat and gloss varnish to produce something of a satin finish, except for the control surfaces which are all fabric so were finished in flat varnish.  Cockpit paint was also Mr Color, suitable for a Nakajima built plane as this was, with rattle can AS12 where appropriate, as well as Tamiya Aotake.  The model was weathered using a mixture of Tamiya XF16 flat aluminium to represent paint scratches, as well as a good dusting with Tamiya weathering sets to improve the worn look.  Here's some photos.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Engine shots.  One of the things I like about this kit is that it has the whole engine, bot just the part forward of the rear cylinders.  It also has removable covers for the rear part so that you can see this.
 

 

 
Cockpit shots.  Again, nicely done by Tamiya, with detail provided behind the pilot's seat that can be seen once the model is finished.
 

 

 
Undersides, here with the drop tank removed.  I've touched this up a little more after looking at the picture I posted at the end of my WIP as I thought it looked a bit odd.  It;s amazing that no matter how hard you look at something as you're building these models, you see a picture you've posted of that and you think .
 

 
Cheers,
Michael

We have what is now the BBFM's MK356 Spitfire LF Mk.IXe as she hopefully would have looked the day before D-Day. LF meant she had the Merlin 66 fitted and was used as a ground attack plane. She was attached to the RCAF Squadron 443
Build wise, it's a superb plane. The fit is stupendous, if a little TOO tight in places and for £95 the level of detail is superb. I've modified her to an E wing although I'm sure Airfix will bring out an E wing variant in time for Christmas maybe. Lots of extra pipes etc on the engine which is a bit bare TBH and the E wing conversion kit Aerocraft. Sven at 1ManArmy was superb in helping me get a mask for her serial number and his masks for the kit in general are without equal in my opinion. Peter at Airscale as ever provided the cockpit detail.
Link to the build is here. Thanks for looking and blue skies to all.



   

Lovely build, Jan! And now the subject of this week's banner on our Facebook page:
 
https://www.facebook.com/largescaleplanes
 
Kev

Ok, I tried Paypal and it seems to have gone thru. With free priority shipping, it should arrive sometime early next week.
I guess we shall see.... Wish me luck!!

Thanks for your efforts.  I have ordered 5 Hobby 2000, re-pop dragon Bf-109e kits via Super-Hobby.  No problems using PayPal.  Shipping was fast. 

Ok, I tried Paypal and it seems to have gone thru. With free priority shipping, it should arrive sometime early next week.
I guess we shall see.... Wish me luck!!

Ok, I tried Paypal and it seems to have gone thru. With free priority shipping, it should arrive sometime early next week.
I guess we shall see.... Wish me luck!!

Don't blame us , nobody has a gun to your head.
   
 
 

Tamiya USA has the kit for $99, free shipping (but you have to pay your state sales tax).  See here.  I've known this for a long time but just ordered myself one a couple days ago.  I thought others might be of similar thought hence this post. 
 
 

ok, so I went a bit mad with this set - out now
 

 
..and yes, I will try running a 1/32 set
 
TTFN
Peter

It's not really nose art, it's more of an attention getter. An obvious distinction from other a/c or squadron.
No proof of either so a perfect excuse to break out your artistic license.
Here , in case you don't already have one ...