Marcleon

As a few of us have alluded to before, this column is like a slow moving train wreck moving down the line with nowhere to go... Personally, I think it's really quite hilarious that there is a WNW wish list thread at the same time... and popular! maybe African humour is not the same as the rest of the world. Also, there are many kits produced by WNW that point to alternative boxings never produced yet... if you have a Pfalz DIIIA it has Pfalz DIII /DIIIA moulded into every sprue... the DIII needs only a new fuselage sprue to become a reality... And there are more examples apparently, but I don't have the kits personally to confirm it, so please let us know if you spot these! Also, if you refer to the individual kit numbers kindly supplied by WNW on their site, you will see that there are quite a few kits missing from the sequential releases proposed by WNW... 14 kits if my maths is correct! Yeah, some of them may be alternative colour schemes or variants, but I think we are in for some amazing future releases! I can just hear Richard Alexander and Sir Peter chuckling as they contemplate their rapid departure from the model production scene... in reality, the best is still to come, just the thought of the Handley Page keeps me awake at night... Well done, WNW! (Disinformation campaign included!) I, personally, have no doubt this company is in sound financial shape, and I doubt the resolve of the WNW team has changed in the slightest, I feel their amusement at the negative sentiments expressed here is palpable... But I assure you, as per usual, they will say nothing... Yours in modelling, And looking forward to a great WNW future, Marc

Hmm... this is a loaded thread topic but is substantially fiction... WNW are in great form, there are stunning subjects still coming up for release, there is evidence (Ask Ray Rimmel, not me) that even more amazing productions are planned... And yes, they don't seem to produce a subject unless there isn't a good Windsock Datafile and plans, but there are Hundreds of subjects available! As some Dude in history said when his obituary was published: " The rumours of my death are greatly exaggerated..." Enjoy your WNW modelling! Regards, Marc

Iain, I can only second those sentiments... I have seen it in the box and it has great shape and surface detailing generally. It is an empty canvas that can be expanded into an art work, yes, it needs some skill and effort, but we are modellers, are we not?? And the most important thing is to have fun doing it! OOTB it will be spectacular, believe me, forget that construction number!! Regards, Marc

Aah! One of my Bucket-List kits!! Quite amazing and beautiful... Look at that surface detail!!

That is an absolutely beautiful result Andre! You have captured the colours and the "desert feel" completely! You have a sure touch and the model is wonderful! Regards, Marc

Gerhard, if you get the Eduard cockpit detail set for this kit it corrects just about every problem... and it doesn't cost much... Regards, Marc

Some more baby steps... the area inside the fuselage behind station 11 of a Vb is silver - a protective coat, I think...so we sprayed that... don't worry about the wobbly colour separation line, it's behind the former! The wheel hubs are silver too, and the far side is visible, so paint that too! Started the interior colours, composite seat red-brown... ATB, Marc

What a great idea for a GB! And lots of incentives - I like the year time-frame... After first wondering what to build it occurred to me there was something in the stash! At least two here! Regards, Marc

Some baby steps now... worked on the spinner and prop blades... the spinner now painted red (a theater marking but pretty universal in the SAAF) and the blades were reworked as Thierry suggests - some 10 thou plasti-card glued to the rear of the blades and then trimmed and shaped to make the chord of the blades longer - but keep the profile. Sorry, no in progress pics but I got quite involved! Then yellow tips sprayed, masked and black blades... but a few defects in the paint that will be touched up later.. I also looked at the wheels in the kit and they weren't much different to the kit wheels - maybe a bit smaller, but they will be the same after sanding the seam line! I will use the kit ones and keep the AM for the Hobby Boss kit! What do you think? Regards, Marc

Hi Tony! Welcome to all the fun! Lots of interesting info here and well, a Spitfire is always welcome! I'm back from vacation and hopefully this project will be on the move soon! Regards, Marc

Hi Gaz! Thanks for the comment, yes it's good to just paint! Here the interior painted in the interior green, it seems a bit light to me but with a few washes will be just fine: Also some progress on smoothing out the lower wing, a bit of putty here! Need to reach for the sandpaper! I will be on leave for a few weeks far from everything, so this thread will be on a short vacation too! Enjoy your modelling! Marc

Carl, that is some great model-engineering! Yes, that Tamiya windscreen is the best and now fits beautifully! The wingtips do come in two styles - the factory ones more rounded and with lights in the front, and the local ones more tapered with a sharper edge and no lights - just look at pictures to make sure which was fitted! I do like the exhausts - a great, neat addition... the heat intensifier tubes running through them to heat the guns seem to be a rare addition in the desert.... Regards, Marc

Great progress! Some useful aftermarket there..... Regards, Marc

Great progress, Carl! And really great thinking on how to make this kit into a Vb! I'm enjoying your thread and learning at the same time... Regards, Marc

What a great project to tackle, Gaz! It should look really good! The colour demarcation on the spinner on the profile is different to the photos: Could that just be a red spinner tip and rest of spinner white to add even more colour?? The kit is a good one - I have one, and there are a few small tweaks to make it a great G2: K A Merrick in "German Aircraft Interiors 1935 to 1945 Vol 1" says there should be a small airscoop on both sides in the triangular panel just below the windscreen, surely not too difficult to add! And most welcome in the desert for pilot cooling! I can send photos if you need. Apparently the only complete F4 Trop in the world is in the National Military History Museum in Johannesburg South Africa, and apparently the tropical filter for "Black 6" the British G2 was reconstructed using the exact breakdown of parts from the F4 Trop... Regards, Marc