The Madhatter

Thanks for the suggestion regarding the canopy. I should've fixed it up before I posted pics but I just wanted it off my bench. I'll go back and fix it another day I went with the wings in that configuration as I wanted the "raptor" look; as if it were attacking with wings out spread like that. I know I mean :)

hey guys I have been playing around with this F-35 for a few weeks now in between another project I have been tinkering on which will also soon be finished. I've often thought the F-35 was pretty ugly and so decided that I may have to do something about that. I'm not sure it's as pretty as it could be, but I am happy with it I've reversed the wings and made them out of sheet styrene. I added some canards because canards are cool and reversed the tail fins I also added some body panels which you can't really see under the paint. The decals are from an F-15 kit I had lying around except the roundels which I painted on It was just a fun project to help try lift my stymied modelling mood of late. Anyways, tell me what you think - good or bad thanks for looking guys Si

Despite it being a crap kit, you've done an awesome job on it! I love those colours

That looks fantastic John! Im most impressed that you stuck with it and finished it. Everyone is their own worst critic, including myself, but from where I sit, I can't see anything wrong with it. Its been awesome watching you bring this build to life. Thanks so much for keeping going and posting the updates. Si

Very nicely done indeed! I have the Airfix version in the pile but I just can't bring myself to do all the rescribing required or get the AM parts to bring it up to spec. I'll wait for the Modelcollect one to be released I think. I'm going to borrow your window tinting idea, though, for which ever version I get.

Thanks Bryan The paint is just Tamiya black straight from a rattle can Cheers Si

Hi guys As a side project to my Star Destroyer, I have been building Revell's C-7R for a bit of a change. However, I didn't go down the yellow road, I went down the black road. Thankfully, I didn't have any issues getting my body to fit on or have any interference in the engine and the hood areas. I am painfully aware of the paint bleed at the rear and the other finish issues it has - I will try to fix that up soon. The rear wing is also slightly off which is of course something I fixed AFTER I took the photos. Opps. I took a couple of shots to show the interior before it went in as you don't get to see it all now Well, that's it. It was a fun little side project and I'm glad I did it. It looks like a Corvette and to me, that's what matters Thanks for looking Si

you really get a sense of scale when you see your hand holding it like that. As much as I would love a kit that size, there's no way I would have any room for it. I shall enjoy watching you bring this monster to life instead

I struggle to comprehend this is scratch built! Do you have something to show next to it that will give a scale perspective (eg, glue bottle or something) ? Fantastic work at any rate!

I'd love to see you enter this into the Multi Engine GB... hint hint wink wink

All I can say is most pretty much what everyone else has said in that this is one seriously cool project Tom! I had no idea you could even get a 32nd scale Short Sunderland, but I guess in vac form there is more variety. I'd love to know how you can keep these monstrous creations that you seem to have a never ending stream of come off your work bench. We reap the rewards for it none the less with items like this. I'll be tuning in for sure

As soon as it arrives here im getting one for sure. Been waiting years for an AN225

2 days back and I have already pretty much finished the bridge and neck section. I'll run a light grey wash over it once everything has dried and sealed proper. There are still a couple of sections I need to hand brush to bring up to spec. I'll take some lit shots once I have connected the remaining fiber optics. That's it for now. I have to finish painting the big antenna in the middle as well as replace all the broken projections on the shield generators but I'll do that once the bridge is attached to the body As always, thanks for looking Si

looks awesome Troy! Well done mate

That is seriously awesome!! It's hard to tell what's decal and what's paint. Fantastic job on what some say is an overly complex kit - although I do agree that making the fuselage 3 pieces is a pointless exercise though.

mate that's beautiful! I'd love to see this in the plastic, but sadly your not in Oz, so I shall have to make do with the pictures only.

I can't believe what an awesome job you've done with this kit - even more credit to you as it's an A-Model kit. The weathering is perfect and I really like the landing gear details. Can't wait to see the end results

I hadn't realised I had not replied to anyone yet - my apologies. Thank you to all for your kind feedback Until recently, I had never been a fan of Matte Black - but my tastes seem to have changed somewhat without me realising it I got lucky a couple of days ago and got myself a Bruno Spengler 2012 BMW DTM as well as the Corvette C7R - both Revell kits. Neither kit will be what the box gives you They will be in at home by the time I get back to Oz Thanks again guys Si

It's great to see your still persevering with this build John. The conversion you've done is astounding - regardless of how basic you've stated it is, it still looks like an SU-33. You're on the home stretch now, so keep going like you've said. Personally, I think the Tan Model release won't happen - I reckon its the modelling equivalent of Clickbait. BTW, what happened to those parts you milled for the wing hinge? They seemed to have disappeared. No good? Thanks for sharing! Si

Finally able to post a reply Thank you all very much for the kind posts guys. I even found a spare 20 minutes to finish off puttying the bridge seams and realised that I will need to add a couple of bits of styrene to it to hide the putty. It won't be hard though and is something I'll do when I get home. Not much left to do on the bridge with paint touch ups and installing the fibers into the neck which might prove to be trickier than I previously thought. Thanks again for the interest and well wishes guys Have a safe and happy Christmas Si

Looks great Anthony! Love a good Kahu What did you use to recreate the welds? Stretched sprue or something else?

Thanks guys. I'm happy with the progress myself It'll be a few weeks now till another update as I am off to my Mother in Laws inevitable funeral on Tuesday before flying to NZ to spend what will likely be a not so festive Christmas break. Rest assured, once I have finished the neck off I will be posting some pics. I am in the midst of painting the neck walls and finishing off the detailing to the front panels now. The roof of the bridge is current;y drying and should be able to be released from it's clamps tomorrow Thanks for showing an interest guys. I hope you all have a safe and merry Christmas break Till next time Si

Thanks very much guys. Hope you don't get too bored with it as I am not a terribly fast builder I did a lighting test tonight of the bridge and I am happy with how it turned out. I made a number of mistakes on the internals and had numerous electrical issues but I got there in the end. I've also been cutting away at the body to accommodate the fibers. I've actually finished the whole top but just haven't taken any pics yet because it's not daylight Anyway, I just wanted to share the results of the lighting. I'm really happy with how it came out. Till next time Si

thanks for your interest guys. I hope it all comes out as I have it in my head

It's looking much more uniform now that the bridge has some paint on it. Started on the neck section The garbage chute is installed and has some red fibers on the inside Adding some details to the big antenna thing using some scrap PE bits Close up shows there's some clean up to do, but that won't be hard Anyway, thanks for looking Si