Dpgsbody55

It seems to me that if you have a spare 1/24 pilot hanging about in your spare parts box, you can make sufficient "adjustments" to that figure to make him fit. After all, you only need to see head, torso and upper arms. All this talk of pilot figures and spinning props has me thinking that I might build mine with gear down and flaps partially lowered and dangling from the ceiling as if on approach. This means that I can also display it without the pilot on the shelf. Definitely looking forward to building this kit!! Cheers, Michael

Can't say I'm a big Hellcat fan. There's no denying it's record as a naval fighter and it's not what you'd call pretty. I only have one Hellcat model on my shelves and that's a 1/48 model and one of my better ones too. But the hell with all of that. Well done Airfix and I'm definitely buying. I enjoyed the Typhoon so much I don't see how I can not build one of these. The pics on the Airfix site look fantastic!!! My next question is will they bring out an F6F-3 version later on? I reckon the after market will go nuts over this one so in a short while there will be a lot of possibilities to model. I wonder how it will compare size-wise to the Typhoon?? I seem to recall "Winkle" Brown's comment in his "Wings of the Navy" book about the Hellcat wing being the biggest of any WW2 fighter. Can't wait to see what shows up on LSP's forums in the next couple of months. Cheers, Michael

Nice job!! It's nice to see a 3 colour camo scheme on a '109. Cheers, Michael

Nice work, especially as that's only 3 days work. The instrument panel looks really good. You may want to check the link in my signature to my build for a few tips. This is a nice kit and I'd love to see what Airfix release as a follow up. Cheers, Michael

It's a great model, and I enjoyed building mine immensely. Are you building the bubble canopy version, or the car door version?? If it helps, there's a link to my build in my signature below. Take your time, and check the parts fit carefully, and you'll have a blast with this one. Cheers, Michael

It seems to me that if Jackson wanted to do something to honour Kiwi pilots in WW2, the Lanc is a great start. But he could also do a great P-40 as the NZ air force had plenty of them, together with Corsairs later on. There's a gap for a really great P-40 in the 1/32 market, though of course, Tamiya have the Corsair well covered. I'd live to see WnW's take on an early Spitfire too, as many Kiwi pilots served with distinction flying Spitfires in the RAF. There's also a gap in the 1/32 market for a really good early Spitfire as well, so it makes some sense if WNW ventured into the WW2 fighter market with a P-40 and early Spitfire. Just my $0.02 worth, Michael

I'd actively support a multi engine group build. Great idea Cheers, Michael

Can't say I had that problem on mine, but I did build it slightly differently to any other I've seen insofar as I made the door and canopy articulate. I built a hinge for the right hand door into the fuselage part that covers the instrument panel and attached the door to that. Then I glued that to the model do that I had correct spacing for the rear part of the canopy, which ensured I had no gaps. You can follow this in my build, the link to which is in my signature below. Even if you didn't want to articulate any of the canopy or doors, the principle is the same to eliminate any gaps. Here's a few pictures: And here's the finished result: Hope this helps. Cheers, Michael

That's a very impressive build. Your extra work has really lifted this kit into something very special. Looking forward to your next build. Cheers, Michael

After my Spitfire, I have another project in mind which I'll start when I get back from holiday. I've made some tentative steps on it so I probably won't join another group build for a while. Once I've finished it, if there's a GB celebrating the RAF's 100th birthday, I'll probably join that. Cheers, Michael

It's not a bad kit and can be made up into a nice model. One other area not mentioned above is the propeller which has blades that are far too wide. Here's some pics of mine which I made about 25 years ago in the pre-internet age. My feeling is that if you're prepared to do some research and add in extra detail, as well as correct a few issues, this would build into a fine model. As for mine, I won't be rebuilding it as I have the Airfix Typhoon and I may use the engine from this in the Tempest I have in my stash. Good luck with your project, if you decide to start it. I hope you'll show us the build. Cheers, Michael

If memory serves, Stanford Tuck flew MKI's and MkIa's with 65 and 92 Squadron, but sometime late in August 1940 he was shot down and spent a small amount of time in hospital. When he came out, he was immediately transferred as CO to 257 Squadron which flew Hurricanes. Initially these were MkI's then in 1941 they converted to MkIIc's. After a short period off Operations, he returned to Ops as a Wing Commander and flew early MkV's before being shot down on a "Rhubarb" in late January 1942 and spent the rest of the war as a P O W. Given these dates, It's unlikely that he was operational on MkII's for any length of time. Hope this helps, Michael

This will look spectacular when it's done. Cheers, Michael

I believe it was very common for Luftwaffe Russian front units to deviate from the standard Luftwaffe paint schemes. Many years ago, I built the Hasegawa 1/32 FW-190 model that had a third shade of green added to the standard splinter pattern. It would be great if these variations were documented. Cheers, Michael

Great pictures. Thanks for posting, as well as the Imageshack link. Cheers, Michael