Daniel Leduc

Hmmm… that is not 100% true. Early versions had a green bulkhead. The electronic boxes were black. But soon the entire rear bulkhead was painted black. I will upload some reference pics in my upcoming thread. 

Hello all, this is something i've been working for a while....the Tamiya F-16
 
There isn't much to say about this kit that most haven't already said as its quite an old-ish kit now and been covered a lot, but I'll add to its plaudits. Nice detail and fitting isn't an issue anywhere on the kit. 
 
I added some extra detail into the undercarriage bays using various thicknesses of solder wire, Red Fox Studio's cockpit set, mine own mask sets (DM Scale Models) for the insignia and tail codes plus my 'inspection hatches, stencil masks and canopy' set. 
 
Paints used were all by Gunze, C305 and C306 were the basic colours and various parts were base colours plus white for variation. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 
I hope you like it :-)
 

It all started innocently enough, for a Cold War airframe. Built in Blackpool in the winter of 1955, when the beaches were empty, but the Hawker Aircraft Blackpool (Ltd) factory was full. She was delivered to the RAF on 10 Jan 1956 as XF 309. Based on the only photographs I can find of her as a pristine F Mk.4, she went to 112 Squadron. You don't have to be an aviation anorak to work this bit out.
 
A typical scene at a Hawker Aircraft factory: churning out Hunters in the mid 1950's
 

 
112 Squadron RAF was famous for being the first allied unit to feature a 'sharks mouth'. Even Chennault's 'Flying Tigers' copied them. This is a famous photo of 112 Sqn Tomahawks published in October 1941.
 

 
No prizes for guessing which squadron XF 309 belongs to...
 

 
This beautiful airframe was already withdrawn from service by December 1962, and used for ground instruction at St Athan as 7771 M. But don't worry, that's not nearly the end of this tale. While detailing and building the classic Revell kit, we will discover an amazing history in the life of a Hunter, that sees her dressing-up in Yorkshire and being blown-up in Zimbabwe. Let's get down to some plastic first.
 
The kit needs no introduction, so I won't. What is interesting however, is how many of the Hunter builds on the internet stall for some reason or other - it clearly has some issues around the intake and the undercarriage. We'll tackle those when we get there.
 
Not possessing (an increasingly rare) True Details aftermarket cockpit, there is going to be some extra work to get the rather basic cockpit looking a bit more like the real thing. I know its a typical Cold War dark pit, but some extra stuff is always nice. The only cockpit aftermarket I could find was the Kits World 3-D decals for the instrument panel and side consoles. I was most excited to try these, as it is a first for me, and they seem to have revolutionised cockpit detailing. Unfortunately, they didn't enjoy the trip to South Africa.
 

 
I figured they would look good in the bin, but then thought I'd at least save one or two instrument faces. Some advice - if this happens to you - don't cut, don't throw it away, just treat them like normal decals. I eventually popped them in water and used a bit of white glue to stick them onto thin styrene. Maybe I can still use them?
 

 
I have copied some ideas from Rockie Yarwood's 'Out of Africa' build, so thanks for pioneering the sidewalls Rockie! Here you can see the rather rudimentary way of using the kit part as a template for cutting ribs.
 

 
And here the ribs are in situ. It is actually very easy to position them, as the kit is finely marked where the different cockpit components go.
 

 
Modified the side consoles a bit, however much of the kit detail is useable as is.
 

 
The stick and rudders really do need some help, as well as the mounting system for the rudder pedals - which would otherwise be pretty much flat on the floor. The gyro gunsight, it would seem, got the most attention! 
 

 

 
Looking a bit more like the jumbled office a Hunter's cockpit should resemble.
 

 
Let's see if this one makes it to completion.
 
Cheers,
 
Sean
 

Greetings all,
 
An Easter holidays completion from me - Revell's 1/32nd scale Hawker Hunter FGA.9 more or less OOB, other than some aftermarket decals from AeroMaster and some home-made FOD guards. This kit is really under-rated in my humble opinion - it has lots of detail OOB and beautiful surface detailing from a time when Revell were at the top of their game. I had no issues whatsoever with the build - it's about as close as you can get to building Lego - and it went together in a few days. Paints were Xtracolur enamels with a splash of Humbrol Matt Cote to finish it off. Some light weathering was done with Mig pastels. 
 
All in all a very enjoyable build - and it only cost me a tenner under the table at a show!
 
All the best,
Tom
 
Hawker Hunter FGA.9, XG207, 58 Squadron, RAF Wittering, mid-1970s. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi gentlemen
This is my last construction, something different today ... this is the Wessex  HU 5 from Fly.... the kit is a "short term", the plastic is thick, the engraving is sometimes "soft", especially the multitude of small holes supposed to represent the rivets (they are raised on the real machine) but no matter that works, we have some nice resin parts ( cockpit consoles , rotor head , wheels etc ....)The decals are thin and nice , for 4 different colorful helos .. The instruction sheet is .....not clear , and I dare to say "messy" , ... But stop chatting, there is a complete review of the kit here....... Well, don’t expect a very detailed construction like "Shark 64 did it here some time ago, I’m nowhere near as skillful as he... My main improvement is in the cargo cabin. there is a lack of detail inside, and God knows this area is " occupied," so I scratch built it, and too bad if nothing will be seen afterwards..... I put some raised rivets here and there on some hatches, panels and so on, especially around the windscreen, for a more pleasing effect, I added some "pipes" along the fuselage on both sides , the rotor head needs more details , a good picture is very useful because of this complex area ........ what else ??, the paint scheme is not provided, but it's nothing, I just painted a big D on the fuselage, the decals are from the kit...... Is it perfect ???? no , but despite some issues , it was a cool trip ......so enjoy ....or not thanks for watching
Alain
some in progress pictures





 





 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thierry, I will say that I have highly enjoyed reading your kit correction write ups over the years and you have not disappointed!  I use your articles as a guidance for some of my builds and pick and choose the glaring issues you point out.  
Thanks for all your great work and keep them coming.  They are highly appreciated! 

I try to balance between accuracy and my limited abilities.   When I built my Gabreski P 47, I spent a lot of time figuring out what the drop tank plumbing was supposed to look like, and was pretty happy with the result.  
 
I also added corrugated to the floor because when I started, that was the info I had.  Win some, lose some.  
 
I try to build things that really existed, and try to make my model look, to my eye, like the real thing, but the draw for me is the mental distraction that a good hobby provides.  That's why I do this.  When I was young and inpatient, it was a race. N9w I spend years on and off working on a large kit. 
 
 

I rarely build anything based on an actual plane.
 
All about being bussy and enjoyment.

Not a single one of my models can be called accurate. I started out sweating on the little inaccuracies, and found I just didn’t enjoy the hobby. Added to that, I junked models because I deemed them not accurate enough. I was constantly making comparisons between my own, and some of the modelling superstars we have here. That caused a complete lack of enjoyment.  
I soon switched to a system of overlooking shape and proportion inaccuracies. If it looks like what I’m trying to build, that will do for me. 

An accurate model simply does not exist... Moreover the level of accuracy is a very personal matter. As far as a modeller is happy with regard to his model, accuracy is just one parameter amongst multiple ones. I went to a local exhibition yesterday. There were many 'average' models with blemishes, decal silvering and so on. I could not avoid seeing them but did not care as soon as the people who made them talked about them with obvious passion. I just left them half an hour later with a big smile. For sure I'm a detail freak who stays too much time amongst his thousands of aviation books. I love reading and to me research is as fun as modelling. However, my modelling standard is purely individual. This is a typical reason why I really prefer exhibitions rather than contests...

When a finished model looks near enough to how I intended, I am happy. 
 
Sometimes one of my builds looks better than I imagined, then I am very happy.
 
Accuracy? Hmm. Recently I realised that Fox Moth G-ACRU did not have leading edge slats. My conversion of a Matchbox Tiger Moth had not touched the top planes before the project limped back to the drawing board for a fuselage rethink. I had been on track to finish that model with slats. However, if I had built it with slats I am certain I would be correcting those top planes already because wrong is wrong. Right?

After a point, I really don't care. Kit irregularities themselves, if too pronounced, get relegated to the shelf or sold off. Other than that, if it looks OK to me, that's all I want.

As I’ve said many times before, research is as important an element of any model that I build as actually making the model itself, so accuracy is paramount. Having said that, any model has to be a compromise to some degree so there’s always some latitude: “it’s as right as I can make it”. What I’m NOT….is a rivet-counter. 

Any update on this project?  I did one earlier this year and used Tamiya TS-15 spray can blue.  
 

Getting there. Good progress. Still amazed I built this at age 10. 

Tail Boom Production's Revi C12/D gunsight is a full resin cast of an actual Revi 12.  32 parts with 5 parts being other substrate, glass, wire and lens. 
 

 
One of my most challenging builds being all resin.  Test fit, test fit to the point of redundancy is needed.  Lots of drilling, shaping, mount pins/tabs and scratch work.
 
This kit is long out of production.  This has been in my stash for almost 8 years. 
 
Tail Boom also made Revi16 and Barr Stroud Mk.II gunsights as well as control sticks for Luftwaffe, RAF and Italian aircraft all 1:1 scale.  These too are long out of production. 
 
Build log here.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Des Jägers Schiessfibel translates to The Hunters Shooting Guide.
 
 
 

Here are a few photos of my recently completed Bf-109 G-6/R-6, built using Revell's kit and Eduard's underwing cannon pods. Colours are from Vallejo's Model Air range.



It was a fun project, so much so, that I already have a couple more 1:32 scale warbirds on my to build pile!
 
Cheers
 
 

Hi all
Here my last built: a Trumpeter Skyrader built as a n AD-4 from GC 1/21 in Algeria in 1960 - 1961
Hope you lie it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the A-6E I've been working on for the better part of this year. Ended up being one of my most work-intensive project, up there with the Trumpeter Tomcat.
I'm generally really pleased with how she looks and man does this bird look different to all the needle-nosed fighters in my display cabinet.
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
Note the correctly-shaped 300 gallon tank... thanks Ben!

 

 
If you look close you'll notice the rear outboard Mk.20 is on slightly skew. Super irritating but for the life of me I cannot get that sucker off. I used two-component glue to mount the CBU's and MERs and boy is it strong. Anyhow, I'm thinking of building a little diorama with a red-shirt still working on that particular bomb.

 

 
Onto the Tamiya Tomcat!
 
Marcel
 
 

I've not been idle for the last 6 months or so: this has been on the bench, and now it's finished.  Here are a few photos until I get out and do some "beauty shots".  The model is Italeri's 1/32 GR4 in one of the box schemes, the Tornado retirement scheme for IX(B) Sqn.  This squadron was the first RAF operational unit to be equipped with the Tornado GR1. 
 
IX Sqn flew several types in WWI, and was briefly disbanded in 1919.   It reformed as a bomber unit in 1924 - hence the "(B)" in the title - and starting with the Vimy, flew Virginias, Heyfords, Wellingtons, Lancasters, Lincolns, Canberras and Vulcans, before reforming on the Tornado. 
 
Italeri's GR4 builds up quite well: it needs a little work to make it fit, but in the end it is a solid construction.  I did use rather a lot of aftermarket, to whit: Eduard canopy masks; Bandit Resin Factory empty Sidewinder rails; HGW safety ("RBF") flags; Jet Passion 1500 litre tanks, exterior detail set (partly not used as not needed imo) and replacement back seat monitors (scrapped and reverted to kit parts for reasons I won't bore you with); Master pitot tube; Scale Model Developments (SMD) seats; Tradewind67 (eBay trader name) intake and Jet pipe covers, other covers, and back seat grab handles); and home-cut masks for the roundels and serials.  And until I get what I call the "proper camera" out, here are a few quick post-finish bench shots.
 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for looking.

Bristol Mercury (1/32) Set contains 3D-printed parts for detailing 1 engine of the aircraft.
 

 

 

 

Pratt & Whitney R-2800 late (1/32) Set contains 3D-printed parts for detailing 1 engine of the aircraft.
 

 

 

 

ASP-3N sight for MiG-15, MiG-17, La-15 (1/32) Set contains 3D-printed parts for detailing of ASP-3N sight for the aircraft models MiG-15, MiG-17, La-15.
 

 

 

I think it was called a MER-200 or MER-2000 but it never went into production as the CFT got pylons to carry enough bombs. Here is another F-15 with the MERs:
 

 
Jari

I saw them as sorta like but not the same as F-111 MER's where they held the munitions closer to the body.
I plan to just go with the Revell ones when my build is a go.