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AIMS 32D036 DH Vampire decals now available £18.00. email me at aimsmodels1@gmail.com if interested. Happy New Year to you all, John

Hi everyone, I have some new flexible resin products in 1/48 and 1/32. I have not advertised them with Hannants yet as production not yet in full swing. email me at aimsmodels1@gmail.com if interested 32P050 1x Oxygen hose (also good for braded engine cable) £4.00 32P051 1x MG 151 chute £4.00 32P052 1x MG 131 chute £4.00 32P053 MG 81 Ju 88 A-4 set! 3x chutes and 4x ammo feeds £13.00 32P054 2x MG 151 ammo feeds £7.50 Thanks for looking John

1/32 AIMS Hurricane PR 1 Hi everyone I thought I would make a start on my AIMS Hurricane PR 1 conversion. I love Monotone finishes mostly because i loath masking but i feel that monotone finishes require a little help and so I try to open at least one hatch or panel. This in turn leads to more work obviously. The wing assemble / gear bay is together and ports filled in - there were a lot of sink holes and badly fitting leading edge parts to fill also. It is a crying shame that Revell produced smooth wings - it is the biggest let down of the kit and expensive to correct as a rivet wheel burring up the plastic surface a little just will not cut it - not in this scale. Pipework and panel locks are a must as a result of the panel being left off which made the Hurricane 'Inside and Out' book a must! Eyes of the Phoenix is also a must read for Hurricane recon operations in the far East and has more PR and Tac R Hurricane photos in it than any other book I am aware of. Finally I have no authority to say that where I have placed the Camera heater selector box is correct - is is purely deductive reasoning based on where the pilot can reach it and where the structure and a lack of other fittings allow. Enjoy John

AIMS RFC / RAF WWI British National Insignia 1/72, 1/48 & 1/32 Just sent these off to be printed - hope they might come in handy in case you have a tragedy with the WnW kit decals. The wing markings have been left 'whole' on purpose instead of bisected for aileron - this way you might be able to use for other aircraft types. Having just made a 1/48 Eduard Camel and making a second one presently and with WnW kits in the stash that I would hate to have an accident with and my Roden SE 5 decals being awful I thought that these are decals that I might need myself! Thanks for looking, John

Hi everyone, Being printed tomorrow is my 1/32 Rotol spinner for the Revell Mk II Spitfire kit which does not have one in the kit. It will also be perfect for the Pacific Coasts Hurricane. I am also having the spinner printed in 1/48 for the Airfix Mk I Hurricane kit if I might throw that in there. Thanks John

Hi everyone - I had this set available shortly after the Revell Ju 88 A-1 was released in 2008 but when I recently got the four bladed spinners designed in 3D for the ICM 1/48 kits I asked for them to be also printed in 1/32. As the single decal option on my first ever 1/32 decal sheet had long since been out of print and a whole decal sheet for any 1/32 Ju 88s being currently pointless I decided to get a small amount made and have a small decal / resin part conversion set available at Hannants. So anyway look out for the most straight forward conversion set ever in history haha . I am not expecting a huge reaction to this for obvious reasons (O and yes I see that may should have a capital 'May.') In other news...... My offer of the combined 32D033 'foreign 109's' and the 109 data plates and engine numbers still stands but it seems to have fallen on death ears with only 2 sales and five sales for the data plates on their own. I thought the data plates would be well received with two new 109 kits available in the last month but I was wrong. My JG 54 decals were the most colourful and most expensive I ever got printed by Cartograph - Hannants ordered 20 when they first came out a year or so ago but they have never asked for more so they are just not selling in any of the scales - don't understand it at all? Same goes for the Late War 109 Vol 2 - no reorders after original first order. I continue to try and produce colourful and interesting subjects but seem only to have white elephants? O well it was my choice.

Hi everyone, I thought you might like to see where I am at with some new 1/48 Ju 88 sets - my baby haha. The Ju 88 R-2 awaits its decal sheet and will be ready to go (based on Revell or Dragon C kit). The Ju 88 S-1 awaits its decals and PE as well as some 3D designed parts like an AB 500 flare container and the starfish flame dampers. The Falcon canopy set is already in stock (designed for the Dragon G-6 kit). And then my all time favorite bird - the S-3 - everything said about the S-1 applies but also I am having the outboard ETC rack and the fat and the cigar drop tanks also designed in 3D. It has been great fun but extremely painful to do these profiles and I hope one day to be able to model one myself. You will note in the photo of the R-2 parts that they is a replacement fin assembly - needed because Dragon messed up the whole area by making the fuselage stick back 3mm further than the rudder hinge line. Anyway it is all fixed and includes a little internal detail for your trouble! This item will be sold also as a separate product to easily correct the many Dragon A / C and P kits that are out there. Enjoy and thanks. John

AIMS 1/32 Spitfire PR 1G conversion for Revell MK II kit - with Barracuda & Eduard details - finished! Hi folks yes it is finished and what a journey - my first Spitfire in 20 plus years. I must acknowledge my debt to a Mr Thierry Laurant whose library and vast knowledge of the subject matter made the project possible - as did the SAM Datafile book on the Merlin Powered Spitfire's by Robert Humphreys . I will not bore you with a list of my woes and the parts of the model I wish i had spent more time on - I am just glad to have finished it. Upon getting the camera out I was delighted to remember one of my favorite albums from my teenage year 'A taste of Pink' by a British band called 'Prisoners.' If you like 60's bands like the Small Faces give them a try - anyway i thought the album was perfect for the Spitfire model haha. Ask any questions you like but for now here is a list of the products involved AIMS 1/32 Spitfire PV IV/IG conversion AIMS MK II upper cowl AIMS De Havilland spinner and props AIMS Monotone Spitfires decal sheet Barracuda Studios Cockpit interior Barracuda Studios Main wheels Barracuda Studios Deeper radiator Barracuda Studios Early ailerons Eduard MK II canopy mask set Eduard Sutton Harness seat belts Eduard Mk II Exterior Details Thanks John

Hi everyone, I am working slowly on some 109 data plate decals for 1/32 and 1/24 (as my hands allow) - they are not to scale yet to each other - just a work-up but I just cannot find any photo in high enough resolution to be able to read the text in the solid wheel hub stencil box underneath the Achtung! Can anyone help? I have just written in some nonsense for now. Please ignore the small mistakes as 80% of this text will disappear forever in printing but I like doing the work, thanks. I also just do not know anything about the engine block WNr.s and have just copied some from museum photos but would be great to have an example from different 109 sub-types - any help would be appreciated thanks - email the help to aimsmodels1@gmail.com thanks J

Hi guys, John here, I keep going as long as I can. As I can model a little I can also do a little work on a master the old fashioned way here and there. SBS are able to do a little of my casting and what cannot be done will have to be shelved for now. I can not design anything new that requires the computer - decals / PE but can rescale and minimal things like that. Still smiling but clock is ticking. Would like to get a few of my models made before then! So 8 years too late but whilst making this budget Revell Spitfire Mk II with the absolutely awful upper cowl blisters and oil filler hatch pointing the wrong way and too many fasteners - I thought I could make available a better cowl as need one for my PR 1G build anyway. Hope you like. £TBC Thanks guys for everything J

Hello everyone, As many of you know, AIMS closed due to serious health problems of John McIllmurray's hands. I have previously mentioned that I will share the projects I have completed using AIMS products . Here is one of them. This is 1/32 Dragon Bf 110F-2 with the markings of St.G 77 (S2-DA with Totenhand emblem) Kolinowka Poland in 1943. I have used AIMS Bf 110F conversion set. Cockpit modified with Eduard instrument panel and seat belts. (Note the armor plate behind the pilot seat) Exhaust are from Quickboost Paints: Gunze Sangyo acrylics Decals are from AIMS Happy modelling

This kit and conversion has been in the stash for a while, I've always kind of known what aeroplane it would eventually be, but a little research and focus has narrowed it down to this: What can it be I hear you cry!! Patience, I will explain.....this is an unusual beast. This is an early Bf110G-4, based at St Trond in April and May 1943. The man standing in front of it is Fritz Rumpelhardt, the Bordfunker of (then) Lt Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer. The base kit is this: and the conversion is: What's unusual about this particular G-4 is its links to the G-2, and the conversion is Pastor John's AIMS Bf110F/G2 conversion. First a little history about the G-2: The Bf110G-2 had many differing features from earlier models; it had as standard a sideways opening canopy for the Bordfunker (radio/radar operator) and a 90mm bulletproof windscreen. New MG81 Zwilling twin machine guns gave rearward defence. Newly developed DB605B engines necessitated a re-design of the engine nacelles with an air scoop just in front of the exhausts and a triangular window in the nacelles to enable the pilot to read engine instrument gauges. The circular direction finding loop was removed from under the fuselage together with its remote control previously attached to the left inside of the canopy. On some G-2s an under-fuselage pack containing two 20mm MG151 cannons were fitted. In 1943 some G-2s were adapted to be used as night fighters, designated G-4; the first ones had FuG202 antennae mounted on the nose and flame dampers were fitted to the exhausts. As Technical Officer of II./NJG1 Lt Schnaufer was regularly tasked with testing new equipment during 1942/3 such as the M1/Rustsatz which was fitted to a Bf110G-4 at St Trond in mid-1943. The under-belly gun pod housed two 20mm MG151 cannon, but it was unsuccessful as it caused excessive drag. Nonetheless this aircraft he shot down Short Stirling R9242 of 214 Squadron and Handley Page Halifax JB873 of 78 Squadron on the night of 13 May 1943, his 8th and 9th victories in Bf110G-4 G9+EC: A little more about features and markings of the profile below from John Vasco's book: and a few other random shots: The FuG202 array is going to be quite a challenge, I have AML's set on its way to me from Hannants. Fortunately for me Schrage Muzik wasn't in service at this point, fitting the cannons and mechanisms was a real pain on the later G4: So, intro over.....need to get modelling now. Like London buses, another Bf110 might be along before too long chaps......

AIMS NEWS. Hi everyone it is with great sadness that I inform you that due to ill health I will no longer be sending orders to private customers. It is hoped that this drastic step will give me more time to rest and a fighting chance of providing Hannants with a limited stock and therefore be able to continue. My hands are ruined and that it that. Thank you for all your support over the last 22 years. I will soon be taking my website down but will keep my FB page open. I had hoped to continue to be able to sell my 1/32 Bf 110 and Ju 88 sets that are not supplied to Hannants but after just 10 minutes back casting (two loads in the machine) my hands were on fire and the MRI reports that the nerves are damaged and there is nothing the surgeon can do about it and the most powerful steroid injections every month for last 10 months and 10 months of rest from the machines and moulds and packing orders have not made a blind bit of difference. So that is that, the situation is permanent and I must do the bare minimum or nothing at all - those my only options at this point. Best wishes, John

AIMS JG 54 Vol.1 decals just a reminder! Please email me at aimsmodels1@gmail.com to order, thanks 1/32 - £12.00 + shipping

Hi everyone and thanks for all the best wishes during the regeneration of this 'shelf of display model doom' lol. At times I felt more like a glass bottle ship modeller but it is done now and a big thank you to Andy for his own build which helped inspire me and also to David E Brown whose brains I picked on numerous occasions. Thanks also to the great publication Captured Eagles Vol 1 which contains the clearest Mistel 3 / Ju 88 G-10 photos I have ever seen. Paints were Mr Paint range - with their RLM 76 diluted with 50% white to achieve a late war cobalt reduced RLM 76. Conversion / decals - my AIMS set Other AIMS products - Ju 88 A-1 Essential PE, Tail wheel Bay PE, Main Gear bay test shot PE, Ju 88 External Manufacturing Plates decals Non AIMS products - HGW Ju 88 seat belts Problems during build - Bad back, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel, Covid 19 and pneumonia - Oh sorry you mean with the build..... things needing filler only and if using what Mr Paint call an undocumented 'RLM 76 Grunblau' again I would give it a monotone RLM 02 undercoat to add strength / depth to this very weak colour regardless of what it truly is called or was in real life. During the build I purchased the Flugzug for the Mistel 2 from Luftachieve and saw the cable for the explosive charge on the back support rod was in a pale colour. When I did my Mistel 2 I had just said ok it must be yellow but this time I asked D.E Brown and he supplied me with the colour chart for the different voltages the Luftwaffe used. All I needed then was to see in the Flugzug that the fuse at the base and top of the rod was 24 volts and I had my answer - 'Violet'. If you have any questions I will do what I can to help. thanks again and best wishes, John

Hi everyone, 16 years ago as a London Baptist Pastor I moonlighted in my spare time my AIMS hobby. Shortly after releasing the Ju 88 G-6 conversion I presented as best I could the Mistel S3. The resin parts were mostly solid due to the limitations of the equipment I had back then and sadly also the first batch included vacform parts that were not provided to me in UV resistant Pet G as requested and so over the years turned yellow. Well fast forward a few years and I started being able to cast thinner and hollow parts and anyone that contacted me about the yellow vacforms got replacements but the years and many many models shows have not been kind to the poor old girl and so during this time while I am away from AIMS recovering from hand and elbow surgery it is time for a re-think! The 1/32 AIMS Mistel S3 had been made purely for display purposes with no fine details either represented or painted - in fact I have a whole Ikea wardrobe full of the beasts! (other companies make wardrobes lol). Now that their original purpose is no more - as on the rare occasion when I can do a model show I cannot haul around a whole table's worth of Ju 88 display conversions - I am hoping instead to slowly get them finished. Obviously trying to finish a model after it has been - er...finished....is not ideal but i hope I can do something with the poor things. At a glance my Mistel S3 looked the easiest and quickest to over-haul but I am my own worst enemy and so instead to just ripping the canopy off, finishing the cockpit, and then filling and painting the model etc, I have ended up instead basically rebuilding the entire model! Away went the solid engines and solid fuselage extension; and I thought at the same time I may as well chain drill out the rear bomb bay doors, other hatches and the rear gear bay doors. In has gone my latter edition hollow fuselage extension (followed soon by my hollow engines), AIMS tail wheel set and rear fuel tank set, and finally some work to the cockpit. I await a test shot of my own AIMS rear gear bay set and then they can be fitted out also. So what a mess! I can only do a little bit each day due to my hands but actually the pain from the modelling is nothing compared to the pain using the computer and writing this. Anyway intro over, I hope you like and will enjoy it developing. I will be seeking to model Mistel S3 W.Nr. 460066 which was found without a Fw 190 composite - so that will save some work haha. A Very Happy Christmas to you all.

This build was VERY lucky to see the light of day, almost gave up on it quite a few times, but happy to say, it made it to completion (after 2 years on and off) and not the final flight against the wall Base kit is the Revell ju88A-4, wish I'd had the A-1, would have saved me a lot of hassles, especially in the cockpit area/rear glazing to fuselage fairing. Fit of the kit wasn't the greatest, plastic was quite pebbly and soft. Not totally satisfied with the end result, but here she is! With a HUGE shout-out to @Pastor John from AIMS, people like him and others, keep us modellershappy! Ju88C-6 with Fug 202 of 4./NJG100 on the Eastern Front Revell Ju88A-4 AIMS Ju88C-6 "Nachtjager" Resin conversion set AIMS Decals "Ju88 Fighters" AIMS Luftwaffe Gun Sights AIMS Ju88A-1 Tail Wheel bay Eduard Brassin Main and tail wheels and cockpit details Owl Fug 202 antenna Master barrels Profimodeller Main wheel bay detail set HGW seatbelts and a TON of scratch-building! All paints Gunze laquers

Hello again Some more images taken, this time it's a FW190A-6/R11 of 6./NJG300. Hasegawa Fw190A-6 kit Eagleparts cockpit, spinner and prop, outboard cannon wing fairings, tail wheel set, main wheel/tyres EagleCals Fw190's JG300 Part 2 (used as reference for the major markings to cut masks, some decals used) Master Barrels and pitot set HGW seatbelts Quickboost Revi C/12D gunsights Owl Fug 217 antenna plus SB items AIMS Fw190 Oleo markings MDC Drop tank Landing light in the left wing leading edge SB. Now.....when I was building this kit, my references plus the riveting plans I was using showed the cannon fairings/bulges on top of the wings. I was told just after I laid the paint scheme down that the A-6 didn't have them. So disclaimer - I've probably messed up . I wasn't going to destroy everything to take them off. It is what it is. Paint is Gunze Laquers - RLM74/75/76 scheme, with the 74/75 misted over with 76 to reduce contrast. Thanks for looking Iain

A short while ago there was only one model available in 1/32 scale of a Tiger Moth, the venerable, rather basic and in many areas inaccurate Matchbox/Revell one. Like many kits of its era it could nonetheless be worked on, with a fair degree of skill required, to produce a good looking model of this famous and iconic aircraft. Enter Silver Wings, the well known Polish company whose kits are made from resin and photo-etch. The kits are always well researched, complex, faithful and intricate in the level of detail but require considerable experience and skill to put together, but it has to be said that resin is not everybody's choice of modelling medium. The new kid on the block Tiger Moth kit-wise is produced by ICM, the Ukrainian company which has really made a name for itself in the variety of models in their catalogue and the apparent research that has gone into ease of construction., epitomised in this kit with the one-piece lower wing which attempts to address the Achilles-heel of the lower wing dihedral which didn't quite tick the box in the other Tiger Moth kits. I produced a thread fairly recently which compared various aspects of these three kits but finally I have got round to actually starting to model the ICM one, and I'm looking forward to it! Since the ICM kit in particular came out there have been a few after-market additions, all are included here within this build, and I'm going to start by having a look at each to consider if I think they're worthwhile, if indeed they make much difference to the kit.

Hi everyone, as of Monday 30th August AIMS will be closed for two months while my right hand recovers from it's second CTS operation. Thanks in advance for all your best wishes. The timing is terrible as my 1/32 Spitfire PR IV and XI sets are ready but I need this operation badly so everything else has to wait. Thanks again, John

Hi everyone, just finished my ICM Gloster Gladiator / AIMS J8 conversion, hope you like it. I am obviously not a bi-plane modeler as I went for the option of directly placing on top of the main wires a length of 0.5 rod, believing life was too short to try and drill into it 0.15 by 0.3mm back to back slots and then again in the middle and at the end - twice over - shoot me! Kit was built using the following.... AIMS Mk 1 engine set, upper ailerons, decals, Cockpit PE, bracing wires and external details PE, landing flaps PE, J8 conversion set, Gas Patch RAF turnbuckles x4 and a lot of scratch building. Model was finished using Xtracolour WWII Olive Drab and RAF Barley Grey and as indicated my AIMS decals. I will take some nicer photos once I have it on base, Thanks for looking -John

Hi everyone I am very happy to announce that my AIMS Bf 110 G-2/R1 conversion for either the Dragon or the Revell C-7 kit is now available (also in 1/48 hehe - sorry for bad language). If interested email me at aimsmodels1@gmail.com and tell me where you live so I can calculate shipping, thanks 32P024 £82.00

Hi everyone just to let you know that I have completed measuring up for the WnW Sopwith Snipe bracing wires and will soon be ordering a test shot. I will let you know in due cause when it is available and the price but for now thanks for looking, John

Hi everyone, I am making my ICM Mk I Gloster Gladiator as a J8. The kits cockpit was already started as it was my display model for advertising the AIMS cockpit detail set so trying to paint it up nice as an afterthought means it is by far my best work. There are some more bits to add to the right side but these cannot be added to until the halves are together. Also on the J8 the IFF control on the upper left side was changed to underneath the Flygradiostation type III device but mine was glued solid as had not intended making the kit! Anyway apart from my mistakes I hope you like. thanks.

Hi Everyone here is a preview of my next figure - a Luftwaffe fighter pilot in cold weather flight gear. Figure has been measured to have left arm resting on a Fw 190 tail plane. Will advertise when ready, thanks for looking.