spellbinder99

Just watched the Airfix unboxing video. Two types of tailplane and elevators and seperate lower rear fuselage inserts (the tailwheel mounting area) say to me a MKVIII is planned as well.

1/24 Bristol Beaufighter TF-X, just saying.

I love the P-47 Razorback for a very specific and personal reason. Back in 1974 we lived in Poppondetta on the north coast of PNG and the local airport had the hulk of a razorback Thunderbolt sitting on its undercarriage near the terminal building. This aircraft is the one that is seen in Charles Darby's book, "Pacific Aircraft Wrecks and Where To Find Them" with one wing torched off and the turbo cut out. It subsequently had another wing bolted on and was put on "display". Later it was propped on its nose in concrete before eventually being rescued for restoration in Australia. Such was the impact of the aircraft I have loved models of it since and have Tamiya and Hasegawa 1/48 kits, Revell and Trumpeter 1/32 versions and the monster Kinetic 1/24 one, all Razorbacks. I also have a complete instrument panel from a real one, but that is another story!

Timmy, I spent seven years working on RAFO Jaguars in Oman and those pictures of the nose wheel well detail match my minds-eye memories of those areas faultlessly. Recognising the ground cooling fan, interior wheel cover and uplocks was a real flashback. Cheers and well done from an Old Jag Fixer. Tony

The Do-335 has been my favourite aircraft since I first saw the article on the restoration of the NASM example back in the 70's in a copy of Wings (or Airpower, can't remember what month it was). I still have that magazine and have multiple copies of the Monogram and Tamiya 1/48 kits and the Dragon and Frog/Revell kit in 1/72 and a copy of the Smith/Creek hardcover book on the Do-335 that includes the updated Bentley drawings of the aircraft in full. Bring it on HK! Cheers Tony

Rog, about 2 minutes, mainly because I have wanted a 1/32 Mk 21 for a LONG time. Small edit, if the engine cowl rings could have the long tropical carb intakes and a set of hedgehog exhausts included as part of the package, that would be cool too. Cheers Tony

I want to a 1/32 DAP Mk 21 Beaufighter. To that end I would like to see these items: Angled tailplane conversion - $25-30 Mk 21 Sperry nose bulge - $5-10 Detailed front cockpit and canopy- $40-50 Detailed undercarriage units, including wheels, legs AND the doors - $40-50 Cowl rings with moulded in exhaust pipes- $20 Dropped flaps- $30 Overall I would like to pay no more than $150 in extras but could stretch. I have 2 or 3 of the kits in my stash. Cheers Tony

Hi Whitey, great job so far but just a few details to mention. I was posted to 2OCU in June 1986 so worked on the jet you are depicting at that actual time. I am now 27 years later still tending to A21-101 here in Adelaide as a civilian. 105 was fairly tidy at the time having only been delivered a few months before so weathering should be restrained. The emergency brake accumulator in the nose wheel well (the silver item at the bottom in your picture) is metallic blue, looking almost the same colour as anodised pipe fittings do. The intakes have always been gloss white and still are, the same colour as the undercarriage and wheel wells. I am not certain if the decal sheet has it, but there is a decal on the fuselage just below the right tail fin on the real aircraft that lists the paint specs for all the paint on the aircraft, both inside and out. Something to watch as well when you add the exhausts is that the exhaust flaps fitted at the time were all changed to a different design a few years later. The originals were divided into parallel edged units but they were later changed to overlapping ones more like flower petals. If the D kit portrays the later ones they will have to be changed to depict 105 in mid '86. Cheers and feel free to ask any questions, I will try to help. Tony

Here are some shots of the airscoop area on the Airacobra restoration at our local museum, perhaps these will help with the look of the scoop area. Cheers Tony

Yep, that is the book that I recommended and the drawings are a big plus. Interestingly I have an old copy of Scale Models International that has the Bentley drawings included as well and there are several changes between them and the ones in the hardcover book so AB has updated them over the years. The authors of it (Smith and Creek) are also two of the authors of the Monogram Monarch book, so I allways assumed that it would include all the info that the earlier book did. Cheers Tony

I have this book, excellent pictures, drawings and info. Dornier Do 335: The Luftwaffe's Ultimate Piston-engine Fighter By Eddie J. Creek and Richard Smith It certainly has a lot of pictures of the Do-335 I have not seen before. Given your previous projects Loic, are you converting the 1/33 paper D0-335 model to a scratchbuild? I wonder whether we will see Dragons 1/32 Do-335 this year? Cheers Tony

Jerry, that boom and indeed the whole model is really setting a benchmark for representing the early model P-38! Awesome work. Cheers Tony

Well, I certainly would be interested in an updated conversion kit if you put it in your product line. If you give me a list of specific areas you would like pictures of, I will try to get down to the museum and take them if you need. Cheers Tony

Great work Jerry. I hope you did not take my posting those pictures as critiscism of your previous work as it was not. You have done such a great job of the other parts so far that I wanted to give you the tools to carry that on in the rest of the build. The shape and contours of the early P-38 coolant radiators is a mark so often missed by mainstream kit manufacturers because they have tried to alter their late representations to suit, and that just doesn't work. Your model is a real tribute to how beautifull the early P-38 was in line and form, just trying to help a little. As you know, even the smallest details are often not quite how the model makers try to show them, as seen in parts like the elevator weights. Cheers Tony

For comparative purposes. Cheers Tony

Oh, and their next restoration is an ex-Soloman Islands Corsair...... Cheers Tony

Thor, I am an aircraft mechanic as well, 13 years in the RAAF and the last 14 as a private contractor to the Defence industry, which is a fancy way to say I swing spanners on defence aircraft without wearing a uniform..... I agree about flying them if possible, but in the case of this P-39 the second option applies. If this restoration had not occurred, and indeed with our P-38 as well, they both would have been severely corroded bits of airframes, no more. Anything can be restored to fly with liberal application of money, but this restoration has provided years of activity, enjoyment and learning for the volunteer members of the museum. Cheers Tony

I heartily agree that flying an aircraft should not be at the chance of losing the last example as almost happened with the Bristol Bulldog back in the sixties. This one will never fly but it was never intended to, and if you knew the full story about it's restoration you would be amazed the path it has taken to get back to this state. The guys have done a top notch job and should any LSP members ever wander down to Adelaide, contact me and I would be glad to show you over this and the P-38. Cheers Tony

Harvey, she is a P-38H-5. The nose art and markings are the ones she actually wore during service in New Guinea, so she is a Gen-U-Wine Warbird..... Cheers Tony

Awesome work as allways Jerry. The big bird was out in the sun today for an airshow so I took these shots for inspiration. Don't she look sweet? A little detail I never noticed before, there is a little scoop inside the engine cowling side scoops but only on the inside ones, not the outboard. Also note the small silver scoops are circular. Cheers Tony

Static, and given the state of the parts they started with and the mixed bag it was assembled from, probably a good thing.... But a nice job regardless. Cheers Tony

Taken a few minutes ago, at the annual Fly-In at Parafield Airport in Adelaide South Australia. Nice to see a P-39 in RAAF markings and a real incentive to crack open the Special Hobbies box. If anyone needs any specific detail pictures I will going back to shoot some more after my camera recharges. Nice opportunity while it is out in the sun and a lovely sight! Cheers Tony

Thanks for all the comments and hints on stripping paint. I will use at least some of them for the smaller parts and the wings, but the fuselage had some damage from glue and such that made smoothing it down by wet sanding a good idea plus the paint was VERY thick in places.... Erik, I agree that later releases have really started to show their age with regards to worn molds (and thus bad fit), flash and sink marks but the earlier releases in white plastic like mine (probably early 70's at the latest) fit together quite well and the detail is really crisp. In the end, this rebuild is not about this being the best Spitfire on the market, though there are many points at which it gives the Trumpeter version a thrashing, but more about being able to salvage a part of my modelling childhood and that cannot be a bad thing. Cheers Tony

Good tip gunpowder which I will try on some parts, but indulge me and follow my reasoning. The original detailing is good, but the rivets are all raised while the panel lines are recessed. When I wet-sanded the paint off it left some really scale-looking depressions where the rivets are so I really want to sand the major parts overall to get that look. After that is done I want to strip the paint out of the detail with something like you suggested so that the new paint will have a very subtle and fine detail under it. I am aware that the raised rivets may be prototypical in parts, but I like the end result....... Cheers Tony

You have to laugh when you are looking for something else and find this gem in a stack of old instruction sheets! Certainly dates the issue of which release of the kit it is but also helps identifying missing parts. Cheers Tony