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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 This beautiful airframe was already withdrawn from service by December 1962, and used for ground instruction at St Athan as 7771 M. But don't worry, that's not nearly the end of this tale.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.

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.

Hello to all! I want to present on Your review information about the LSP products of the Metallic Details. Perhaps some of You will be interested in this. https://metallicdetails.com/ Detailing set for aircraft model F-35A (Italeri, 1/32) Jet nozzle for aircraft model F-35A (Italeri, 1/32) F-35A. Ejection seat (1/32) F-35. Seat belts (1/32) AH-64 Apache. Longbow radar (Academy, 1/35) Mi-24/Mi-35. Wheels set (1/35) B-24. Wheel bays (HobbyBoss, 1/32) B-24. Exterior (HobbyBoss, 1/32) B-24. Turbochargers (HobbyBoss, 1/32) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 (HobbyBoss, 1/32) Control handles. Part 2 for German aircraft models (1/32) FuG 218 Radar (1/32) Revi 16B Gunsight (1/32) Static dischargers (1/32) Tail support for Bf 109E (1/32) Tail support for Bf 109F, G (1/32) M18 gun pod with M134 Minigun (1/32) M65 rocket launcher (1/32) XM157 2.75 inch rocket launcher (1/32) XM158 2.75 inch rocket launcher (1/32) XM159 2.75 inch rocket launcher (1/32) Emerson Electric TAT-102 Turret for AH-1G Cobra (ICM, 1/32) Emerson Electric M28 Turret for AH-1G Cobra (ICM, 1/32) USAF seat belts part 1 (1/32) Bell AH-1G Cobra. Masks (ICM, 1/32) Bell AH-1G Cobra. Interior (ICM, 1/32) Bell AH-1G Cobra. Exterior (ICM, 1/32) M197 Gatling gun (ICM, 1/32) Gloster Gladiator. Cowling and engine (ICM, 1/32) Gloster Gladiator. Wheels (ICM, 1/32) Pratt & Whitney R-2800 late (1/32) Bristol Mercury (1/32) MiG-15/MiG-17. Seat belts (1/32) Ejection seat KK-1 (1/32) Ejection seat KK-2 (1/32) ASP-3N sight for MiG-15, MiG-17, La-15 (1/32) Thank You for Your attention!

Hello everyone! Back with another project and first for 2023. This time I will be tackling Hasegawa's 1/32 scale kit of the P-47D Thunderbolt, bubbletop version, and will depict Glenn T. Eagleston's aircraft. I will also be using the following aftermarket sets: Avionix resin cockpit Quickboost resin engine Eduard resin wheels I'm aware of the kit's misalignment issues around the cowling and Rick Kranias kindly pointed me to his detailed post on how to fix this. Quickboost provides a separate mounting for the engine which requires some surgery on the kit. Has anyone used this set and, if yes, did it it fix the issue? Hasegawa's kits are known for their good quality and accurately shaped moldings and are usually sold at a reasonable cost by keeping some details simple such as the surface details. So, that's how I decided to start the project. By riveting the whole airframe with the help of a Rosie the Riveter wheel. The riveting pattern is by no means an exact replica of the real thing but rather it follows the general plan with the aim to make the whole fuselage look more busy.

I have been asked by one of our Lightning Preservation Group (LPG) members if I could make a model of one of the two EE Lightning F.Mk.6 aircraft, to which I have agreed.The specific aircraft is XS904 'BQ' which is an ex-11 Sqn RAF aircraft. I have just received the kit today from Hannants, along with the necessary colours and 1/32 Xtradecal markings and serials for the task. The kit will be made strictly OOB otherwise it will never get finished! (since I started it, I had decided to make most of the required major corrections as far as possible without resorting to AM accessories). Derek

Well here we go again, this time I'm indulging in a Tamiya kit. Much as I like the challenge of upgrading the delights of Revell's offerings, sometimes you just want something a little less demanding. Such as the Tamiya F-16C which judging by all the accounts I've read, is a superb kit. Squirrelled away in my stash is the Thunderbirds offering which allows an earlier Blk32 aircraft which differs from the mainstream Blk50 kit by having the P&W engine, normal (small) shock inlet, lightweight gear with the original wheels and flat MLG doors. However, as it is the Thunderbirds kit it also does not come with weapons and some of the pylon details which I will need for my chosen subject. I've always liked aggressor schemes (who doesn't!), in fact anything that gets away from monotone (grey) colour schemes and there is no doubting that the 64AGRS based out of Nellis has some of the most interesting schemes around. I'm pretty much a fan of all the schemes but for this one I've plumbed for the 'Flogger' scheme as pictured on the lead aircraft below. Crucially, the Thunderbirds kit comes with early sidewinder rails which is right for the era I'm looking at i.e. pre-AMRAAM. (USAF) Now I don't want to make it too easy so this will be an in-flight display and I will be adding lights to this one as well but most of the kit will be out of the box. Except for the engine exhaust which comes courtesy of ResKit (love their stuff). Oh and some ResKit winders, will probably need an ALQ-188 and ACMI pod as well. Maybe some cockpit enhancements from Quinta and might treat myself to some goodies from Kopecky who does loads of goodies for the F-16. Yeah, pretty much out of the box. Right, so where do we start. With the intake of course. That's the thing with adding lights, you can't build it in the order Tamiya would like you to. Because you need to add things like wires and batteries you also need to plan the layout of how you will connect it altogether noting that once you close a section up, that's it - no more access. The F-16 has some nav lights on each side of the intake. These can be added by drilling out a small hole and adding a very small LED. To avoid light overspill (a real problem with bright LEDs) a silver foil backing is used. The outside will be first painted black to kill light overspill. Luckily the actual intake has a small enough gap for the wires to go past and feed back into the fuselage. Another tight spot for lighting is the tail where the F-16 has a large anti-col beacon at the top and a smaller light at the base. Again, a small white LED was used with silver foil to limit overspill. The clear part sits on top of the LED and the wires run down the back of the rudder. I had to do this as this was a second hand kit and the tail had already been glued together. In addition, the started kit had also had the base of the fin cut off in anticipation of reworking to an F-16A by the previous owner. I therefore needed to reinstate the original base using a thick piece of card as a strut to provide some strength. In addition to the wire, a thin fibre optic wire was run from the LED light down the base of the rudder and out of the base of the tail. Interestingly, I'm pretty sure Tamiya had plans to add their own lighting kit to this model. The wing tip photo below shows a groove carved into the inside of the wing which leads to the point where the wing nav lights are and the design of that clear part is definitely with lighting in mind. I know because I was going to do the same to fit the lighting I had in mind. Thank you Tamiya for making that part of the kit construction slightly easier! Well its a start. I should point out that progress is inversely proportional to the many demands of family and life in general so please be patient. We will get there in the end.

So here is the WIP, the weathering is ready, and it is finally ready: A ''walkaround'' in in-flight mode, first:

Guys, i'm back! This time not with something in 1/48 or smaller. That thing... It's the Trumpeter kit, my second 1/32 scale model, and it's quite huge It's so ever slightly bigger than the F-15 in lenght and even in wingspan, which impressed me a bit. Alright, let's do it. I plan a rather slow and longer build. Some may know very well the quality and what's in the box, but i'm gonna make a thorough review these days whatsoever. Here is just a quick glimpse: And of course, i'll take advantage of the AFV Club's tinted canopy, cause i think it's absolutely necessary for a good looking F-117. I cannot tint such a huge canopy by myself and not leave any trace of dust, etc. In 1/48 or less - it's ok because the little imperfections are almost invisible, but this one is one, enormous and two, with perfectly flat straight sides. I'll also use the GTR Wheel set that i didn't use in my F-15E. The kit tires are from very hard rubber and quite small in size. I have the original dimensions of the plane's tires and did the quick measurements. The GTR tyres are perfect. Only the front tyre is a bit smaller in diameter so i might still use the kit's rubber tyre for the nose wheel. And on the other hand, i know that the F-117 had just about the same avionics as the F-18 and just about the same landing gear as the F-15, so that's the perfect moment to use the gorgeous GTR tyres and wheels. And finally, the extra PE screen for the FLIR and DLIR. This is obligatory as well, because the provisions for these sensors are huge. I did a little mistake though by getting the 4x6 screen mesh in believing that the holes are rombs. Yeah, they are rectangulars... i couldn't notice that on the photos and this is my firt time using such a PE screen. Nevertheless, i think i can place the screen at an angle so they can look as rombs. I plan to start from the landing gear and make everything moveable again, for "2 models in 1" - in a parked and in-flight mode. The canopy, the gear, all the control surfaces and the bomb bays will close/open. As for the airframe - i have no idea yeat, but i think it will be one of the early Nighthawks, something Desert Storm-related in a full stealth mode with all the lights and antennas retracted and without the two RCS enhancers on the sides. Quite weathered as well. I'm only looking for a pilot figure and if i cannot find any, i plan to get the F-16 resin figure+seat set by Aires. But i'll wait on that one yet. Nighthawk!

Greetings fellow modelers: This was one of the most enjoyable projects I've done. The Kotare Spitfire Mk.Ia "Brian Lane" kit is fantastic. The Kotare team certainly put a lot of effort into creating a wonderful build experience for the modeler. And they pulled it off. In this brief, ready-for-inspection summary I'll share my build overview, my thoughts on the kit and some recommendations for future kit builders as I go through the photos. Here's a link to the build: Ok, here's my rendition of QV-K P9386 from September 1940. The quality of the molding, engineering, decals, and thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the 24-page instruction book really made this project a pleasure. I built the kit completely out of the box with the exception of Eduard masks for the canopy. Kotare's design philosophy made for a superb assembly process. Each main engine panel was molded as an individual part -- no seam lines or glue clean up. The fuselage aft section parts all intersect at panel line joins. The wing fairings are each single molded parts that fit perfectly. It's designed so that one can assemble the entire plane almost without a single seam line that intersects a rivet line or panel line. What a pleasure. The only area where this occurs is underneath the aft section of the fuselage -- conveniently away from normal viewing. I can't think of a single situation where the fit was not PERFECT. For example, there is only one way to install the landing gear struts. Full stop. There's no play, no wiggle, no uncertainty. One of the best designs I've seen. The horizontal stabilizers are one piece and there's only one way to install it for a nice, tight fit in perfect alignment. The prop assembly installs by literally fitting a square peg in a round hole for a perfect fit. Another nice treat is that the rudder and elevators are positioned off-center and match the positions of the control stick and rudder pedals in the cockpit. I haven't seen that before. That's just one of the many nice details and surprises discovered as one works through the build. Even the trim tabs are offset slightly. As for painting, the instructions provide extremely helpful guides for painting the cockpit as well as the exterior. For the cockpit, painting call outs are provided during the build steps and there are also summary diagrams with multiple views in full color. For the exterior, four full color views are provided for the aircraft with color call outs and key points. I used Mr. Color lacquers for the main camo colors (C361 for Dark Green and C369 for Dark Earth) and MRP Marking Yellow for the spinner. I mixed by own version of Sky Blue for the underside using Mr Color White, RLM 76 and Sky Blue. Since I wanted to emphasize color variation across the different subassemblies as the instructions pointed out, I painted some of the panels a little darker or lighter or a slightly different shade of green or brown. For example the fabric covered sections are a little more faded than the metal sections. I used the kit decals by Cartograf, which were fabulous -- perfect color, perfect register, nice and thin, no excess carrier film. All good. The main challenge with the decals was getting them to settle over the raised rivet areas on the aft part of the fuselage. It took several days of bubble popping and decal solution application to get them to finally behave around the rivets but they got there. I planned out the weathering process at the start of the project. My goal was to reflect what I saw in the reference photos -- and there are multiple clear photos of P9386 as well as several other Spitfires that are very helpful. One of the photos of a real spitfire elevator section has a humorous caption highlighting that there's no evidence of preshading on the fabric area. After priming with Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500, I painted the wing roots MC201 Super Fine Silver, then applied AK worn effects fluid over the silver areas. I pre-shaded the panel lines in black and then applied heavy marbling using spatter templates and random airbrush patterns to break up the solid panel colors. After the main camo painting, I dabbed the wing root areas with a wet brush to get the chipping effect I was after. Next was a gloss coat to seal in the chipping and prep for decals. After the decals and flat coat, I augmented the chipped wing roots with a sharp silver Prismacolor pencil to add some scratches and make some of the chipped areas "less round" and more random looking. The exhausts each are molded in top and bottom halves. There's a nice close up photo in the instructions showing the weld seams that can be replicated when you glue the exhausts together and let some glue squeeze out of the seams. I needed to add a little material to the tips of the exhausts to get the proper shape and I used my motor tool to drill out the exhaust interiors. I used reference photos for guidance on painting the exhausts. I started with gloss black and then applied a 1:1 mix of Mr Color Metallic Black and Super Stainless. After the decals were applied on the lower side of the manifolds, I used Tamiya acrylics to achieve the exhaust gas/heat color pattern. Black, purple, brown, orange, and deck tan were used. The cockpit detail that comes with the kit is astounding in my view. The instrument panel dials all have individual decals and there are placards all over the place - sidewalls, compass, gunsight, etc. Also, in the photo above, the molded seatbelt harness is visible, which I think looks pretty good. The figure of Brian Lane was a nice bonus and here's my attempt at painting him. There's a nice painting guide in the instructions. Overall Summary of the kit: Highlights Clear, detailed, comprehensive instructions. I may keep the book as a reference for other builds. Excellent. Design and fit for easy assembly and minimal clean up. Decals by Cartograf - cockpit decals and placards as well as the main markings and stencils Brian Lane figure - Colorful RAF pilot uniforms are great subjects. Aircraft interior and exterior color profiles in the instructions Surface detail - stressed skin effect around some fasteners, rivets, panel fasteners, hinges -- all good. Fine and consistent panel lines Landing gear design - "weighted" wheels with flat spots and slight bulges. Things to look out for (for future builders) My copy had some very slight molding sink marks on the tops of the wings above the wheel wells. Easy clean up. The exhaust manifold tips needed some extra filler material (CA glue). Again, easy clean up. The molded seatbelt harness is fairly thick in the section between the seat top and the armor plate slot. I thinned the seatbelt quite a bit by scraping underneath and cleaning up. Another option is an aftermarket seatbelt as the kit provides a seat without the molded seatbelt. Some of the molded detail needed a little sprucing up. Nothing major. Thanks for looking. Needless to say, I highly recommend this kit. Comments and critiques are more than welcome. - Jim Jenson

Well, I'm back to 1/32 after a few armor projects and several 1/48 kits. I picked this kit up this summer and am really looking forward to the build. The plan is to build it completely out of the box with no aftermarket and I think the kit has all the detail needed for an excellent rendition of this bird. This is the one marking option, but the subject is very well researched. The instructions are very detailed with photos and historical tidbits. A fun build experience so far. I just got started on the cockpit and will post updates along the way.

Hallo Installation of the resin Bf 109 K-4 cockpit set for Hasegawa from Aires number 2044 . The kit is the Bf 109 K-4 1/32 from Trumpeter. Since the set from Aires is destined for Hasegawa, a lot of modification work was necessary to fit in the Trumpeter kit: 1. Sanding the side walls of the kit 2. Adapting the side panels of the Aires set to the kit: the side panels were too long and there were overlaps with the instrument panel. 3. The covers for the centreline MK 108 were too long, therefore I had to shorten the cover. This created finally a gap, but it is not visible when assembled. 4. The firewall to the engine was too high. 5. Engine mounts are now only an auxiliary support, the engine is only fixed latteraly by the exhaust scoops and in the front from oil cooler for the reduction gear. 6. Installation of the top MG 131 on the cowling, as the bases for the MG were lost due to the rebuild engine installation Finally, the Aires set fits into the model and I was glad to have found a proper solution. Thanks to the input from the forum! Happy modelling

Hello people, it's time to build a jet, haven't build one in decades!

Hi guys, I received this kit very recently and did not consider starting another project. However, I'm now more or less stuck for one week with regard to the Sea Vampire project. Moreover, the Tunnan kit looks very simple and I just want to build it with some detailing. No crazy conversion here and close to no aftermarket. Just elbow grease! I should also add that some comments from various people (including a close friend) about the kit buildability are typically the kind of things that are teasing me... Finally, I've yet to see a building thread covering the assembly challenges. I will post some pictures today as I already solved the nose and cockpit painting issues and the wing ones are in WIP mode. Still wondering about two other challenges: the height of the MLG doors and the very plain exhaust. The landing gear strength question will be managed later. Hopefully, I have ideas to solve all of them! Cheers Thierry

Hello everybody, Sooo… the mailman delivered the ‘precious’ package this morning. Here are for your info, some quick pics of the unboxing . Especially of the very well-printed decals. Even the smoke rings have the obligatory fuzzy outline. More later about the plastic with my first impressions . Cheers, Quang

https://www.aircraftinpixels.com/shop/p/132-scale-macchi-c202-tires

Hi everyone, This is the Revell 1/32 F-4E kit with some aftermarket help from GT Resin in the form of exhausts, belly strap and intakes, new nose from Sierra Hotel, Aim-9Js from Cutting Edge and a cockpit from Legend. The aim was to depict a late 70's USAFE jet from the 50TFW at Hahn AFB using AirDoc decals, put her in-flight and add some lighting to bring her to life. This was sort of a learning project for me, picking up on the excellent tips found in this forum, trying out some new techniques and learning from my mistakes (of which I made a few - see build for details!). In the end it took 2 and a half years to complete so the ratio of builds to acquires is way out of kilter. Anyway, on to the pics... And with lights on... Overall, a challenging but fun build of the impressive Phantom! Build thread is here ... https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/58988-132-revell-f-4e-what-could-possibly-go-wrong/&page=1 Many thanks for looking!

Hello and good evening everybody! I've been watching this forum for a long time and I'm always very impressed by all the excellent models and WiP's that are shown here. I've been building a/c models since 1989 mostly in 1/32 and this forum is my favourite. I've wanted to start a WiP for a long time, but I was always unsure, also because English is not my native language and that doesn't make it easier for me! But now I will give it a try! I want to start a WiP today, a Fairey Swordfish Mk.II from Trumpeter. I had this kit in my stash for quite a while and had start it end of July last year. I took pictures from the start, so I'm a little further along than shown. I hope that's not a problem for you, I'll show you what I've done so far. So let's start! The kit is the well known Trumpeter kit of the Mk.II with the strengthened underwing for using rocket projectiles and the different oil cooler and exaust stack. Some aftermarket items are used for the build: -Eduard Seat belts -Eduard maskings -Eduard exterior 32236 I want to represent a plane that was flown by 815 Sqn. deployed in the mediterranen area. Started with the engine: A few photo-etched parts were added like the ignition wires: Everything was painted with AK Metal paints and weathered with oils. Then turning to the fuselage halves, painting the fabric outer skin in a sandy colour in this case Tamiya XF-57 Buff: ..and masking.... ..then came the Grey-Green Cockpit colour... ..Cockpit parts were painted black as a base colour... ..then again Grey- Green for the cockpit parts... ...detailing some parts... That's all for now, I hope it is interesting for you! Criticism or suggestions are always welcome! Good night everybody! Lutz

Hi all After lurking in the shadows, I've eventually got my act together and am starting a post regarding my first build here on LSP . I've built quite a few kits, but this one is going to be my first in the public domain.....I know that there is an "In the Navy" GB going on, but I'm not sure I'll make the deadline for that GB, so didn't post this there. It's going to be a kitbash of the Hasegawa and Trumpeter Hellcats - if it goes that far - but my plan is to use the Hasegawa fuselage mated to the Trumpeter wings, as both kits IMO have their good and bad points. I've got a fair bit of AM to throw at it, and I know there will be some scratch-building required as well.... My overall problem with the Trumpeter kit is the fuselage - it looks way too blown and rounded, it should be more slab-sided, and the Hasegawa fuselage is way better (not perfect) in that respect! I do however like the Trumpy wings more than the Hasegawa offering (sans the Trumpeter mad riveter offering which will have to be addressed), hence foray into a kitbash. If it will turn out that way we'll have to see, I might end up doing a full Hasegawa if it's going to cause to many issues. But I do enjoy a challenge.....(ask my Revell Ju88C-6...it lived - many times it came close to doing a first and final flight into a wall) Here's pictures of the Trumpeter vs Hasegawa fuselages and cowls - you can see how bloated the Trump kit is... Trumpeter left, Hasegawa right. Hasegawa is not perfect, but it's a lot better!! Hasegawa Left, Trumpeter right. The Hasegawa cowl is WAY better than the Trumpeter. Might have to work on the chin and grin a bit, but I'll have a look once I've checked it against my cross-sections and references. So here we go. Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures as I go along If anyone has sage advice, please chip in!! Iain

Greetings fellow modelers: After building a few 1/48 scale kits, I'm back to take a crack at another 1/32 Dora. I've decided on White 12, Wk Nr. 500408 from 5./JG 301. Here's some nice artwork from IBG's new 1/72 release. I tend to gravitate to the Mimetall camo schemes for some reason. I'll be using the Hasegawa ST-19 kit with a number of aftermarket items for the build. The aftermarket goodies include: Aires cockpit upgrade HGW riveting set Eagle cals #32-61 HGW seatbelts Yahu instrument panel One man army stencils Synthetic ordnance works landing gear Quickboost Exhaust Eduard canopy masks Quickboost gun barrels Master metal gun barrels Barracuda wheels Eduard exterior detail set I wanted to use a Henri Daehne spinner and prop kit, but unfortunately Henri has shut down his shop in Germany for good due to the economic situation. I'll have to make do with the kit prop and spinner. Mr. Color lacquers along with Tamiya acrylics will be the main paints used. Here are some photos of the front office, which is now complete. I've also completed the engine plug with some extra plumbing and wiring. Starting on next steps to close up the fuselage. Thanks for looking. Comments and critiques are always welcome.

Next build is this Hasegawa A6M5 Type 52 Zero Night Fighter (Kit no 08252). This kit will be built mostly OOB, with a few AM enhancements, and I will be using the kit decals to cut masks from for painting. (Scheme as per the box art) The aircraft will be built with a closed canopy - to show off the 20mm cannon that was installed in the rear part of the cockpit fuselage decking. Having an open canopy would hide the defining part of this aircraft - so I will not be going to town on the cockpit - it will be built OOB with nothing extra than some HGW belts. I have a HGW rivet set to throw at it, as well as Master brass barrels and Eduard wheels and CMK Bay doors. I also have an Eduard exterior detail that I bought for my Tamiya Zero (built) but never used it. Thought I might use it on this kit, but some measuring, looking at fit, etc later. I've decided against it as the design of this Tamiya-specific AM wouldn't work well. So the wheels wells remain as they are, and the flaps will remain up! The gear wells will do, perhaps a line or two will be added. So far I've snipped the major parts off the sprues, and completed the assembly work on some sub-assemblies. Most of it is only dry fitted at the moment, but parts like the cockpit assemblies are ready for paint Fuselage halves are only dry-fitted together, as well as the engine. It seems to go together pretty well!! I've drilled out the holes in the cylinders for the ignition wires, etc I made rivets on the rear cockpit decking, this was missing on the kit, but quite prominent on the real a/c. Will have to redo some of them methinks once I glue it all together The kit gear legs with the Eduard wheels and CMK doors. CMK only provides two support struts between the doors and the legs, should be three, so I'll have to SB another one, but that shouldn't take too long at all!

I present to you the famous Kitty Hawk kit built as 2000-5 MK2 by H.A.F.The following were used: cockpit and seat by Grandmodels Wheels by Reskit.Refueling tube by Master,kasl hobby radar cone Engine Nozzle by Reskit. RPL501/502 Fuel Tanks by Grandmodels. Mica Rockets by Grandmodels & Reskit. And Decals by Procal Decals. And the ladder is from Larsenal. The colors of the Camouflage are from MRP codes 356-357. And the paint on the radar cone with Gunze H307

Just completed this one for the "Turning Japanese" GB, which was an absolute blast to participate in. The Hasegawa kit is excellent, overall, with outstanding fit and good detail. However, I added a few things to the kit, as well. The additions/modifications were... * Yahu Instrument Panel. * HGW seatbelts. * Master brass cannon barrels. * Wires, hoses, etc. added to the cockpit. * Added sparkplug wires and hoses to engine. * Riveted the entire airframe. * Most markings masked and painted. National Insignia masks from Dead Designs and tail/fuselage number masks were made on a Cricut, using the kit's decal sheet as a guide and cut from Tamiya's Kabuki tape paper. *Antenna wire made from EZ-Line. *Probably plenty of other little bits that I'm forgetting (noticed that I forgot to add the landing gear indicators to the tops of the wings, but I'll get to that!) Paints used were mostly Gunze/Mr. Hobby, with a few from Tamiya, MRP and AK interactive. I also used some of AK's Engine oil and Pigment Fixer (for pastel dirt/dust). The photos were difficult, since I'm currently snowed in and would usually be doing outdoor, forced perspective shots. I had to take them in my shop with LED lighting, which is pretty horrible for photography and made capturing the colors extremely difficult. There is a lot of glare that I couldn't quite get rid of. The plane appears much brighter in most of the photos than it appears in real life. From more than a couple feet away, it appears plenty dark, but as you get closer, the layered color shades and underlying rivets start to pop out at you. Overall, I'm quite happy with how it turned out and am looking forward to the next GB! Thanks for looking and for everyone who followed along with the WIP thread. On to the pictures! Thanks again, John

I told you, my resistance is low. A mere week after I received the kit, here are the first pics of my new Hurricane in the making. Following the Revell instructions, I started with the cockpit. It’s a complicated affair as per the original but nonetheless an easy assembly as long as you take care to prepare the parts prior to reaching for the glue. Paints are Gunze , AK and Tamiya lacquers. Stock instrument panel painted with bezel decals added Seat completed. Scratch-built Sutton harness from paper and tin foil Seat installed Harness painted with Vallejo acrylics Gunsight minus reflector glass installed Escape hatch interior Cockpit in situ. Closing the fuselage next. Next time: the wheel wells Thank you for looking and Happy New Year everybody! Cheers, Quang

Anyone who’s a Beatles fan will be familiar with the term ‘dark horse’ attributed to George Harrison whose talents blossomed late in the Beatles’ career with the Abbey Road album. A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. (Wikipedia) In our hobby, the ICM FIAT CR.42 is just that. Released without much fanfare two years ago, the Falco was obscured by its ‘rival’ the Gladiator but nevertheless became a modellers’ favourite in internet forums especially among beginners at large scale biplanes. Now hot on the heels of our friends @Fanes @spook @Dpgsbody55 and some others, here’s my take on the FIAT biplane with a nod to my host country: Belgium. In a nutshell, in September 1939, Belgian authorities ordered 34 CR.42 from FIAT. On March 6, the first of 30 planes arrived in Belgium still carrying Italian camouflage, to be assembled. They were assigned the serials R-1 to R-30 and were attributed to the IIe Groupe de Chasse between escadrilles 3/II and 4/II whose pilots began to convert in their new mounts. Two months later, on May 10 the Wermacht launched its attack against the Low Countries and Belgium. The nearly obsolete Fiat were pitted against the vastly superior Bf 109E. All the CR.42 of the 4/II were destroyed on the ground. The remaining squadron retreated to France and surrendered to the Wermacht after Belgium asked Germany for an armistice on June 28 1940. Thus ended the brief life of the Belgian FIAT. It was almost 4 months after the Belgians took delivery of their first Fiat. For a detailed account of the short combat life of the CR.42 in Belgian service, click HERE For the inventory photos of the CR.42 in Belgian service, check out the excellent Daniel Brackx’s BELGIAN WINGS. The familiar ICM kit A modern colorized version Since there are already a few detailed articles about the building of this kit, I ‘d like to concentrate on the camouflage and the painting of this model. There are quite a few period photographs of the Belgian FIAT as one can discover on the BELGIAN WINGS site. Nevertheless they all are in monochrome. There are a few controversies about the colours of the camouflage. Sure we all know they came in ‘Italian camouflage’ but which one? as it’s a VERY complex subject as we will find out. Hopefully some connoisseurs will chime in. Thank you for your commentaries and your invaluable input. Until next time, Cheers, Quang