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Evening folks, With the summer holidays here, there's been some welcome additional modelling time and this was finished off over the weekend. I was given this by my dad who had in turn been given it by an old family friend - I think it is an original issue, and if not it's a very early issue of this classic kit from Airfix: I just wanted to build this more or less as it comes and enjoy it. However, I couldn't let the gaping hollow wheel bays pass so made some simple mods by adding plastic card sidewalls and some Evergreen stiffeners to at least make them sort of passable: Other than that, I used some Eduard belts for the pilot's seat, Barracuda wheels as the kit's had dried out and cracked when I tried to apply them to the hubs, and some aftermarket decals from Techmod to represent Von Werra's machine who crash-landed not far from me in Marden, Kent - and became 'the one that got away'. Although old and basic by modern standards, this kit is a joy and went together pretty well. Surface detail is sublime and the super-detailer could really have a field day if they were so inclined. I really enjoyed it as nostalgic build from days gone by and that's what it's all about! Evolution: here is the 109E alongside the G-model: like the Spitfire the basic airframe had huge potential to evolve and did so as the war progressed: Paints were all Xtracolor enamels with some weathering using Mig-Ammo pastels. A really enjoyable build - don't overlook these oldies as they scrub up really well! All the best, Tom

Right then, let's get stuck into this little beastie (anything's little after 6 months on the Lancaster First up.. an admission of defeat. I'm not going to be able to build it as a true representation of MK356 of BBMF simply because she's an E- wing and the MKIXc is, well,a C wing. There's no difference in shape at all, the big difference is that on the E wing the outer gun bays were moved inboard of the cannon to give a more stable firing platform. While the empty outboard bays were left alone, there's no one doing the new gun bay covers for the in board gun bays so, I'll build it as a C wing but mark it up MK356 in J Plagis colours. So with that admission of failure out of the way, I mentioned earlier I took some parts off of the sprues. The fits aren't great but the detail is really good. An example here: All that has to be carved away to get a good fit. The magneto heads are nice but the shafts and the crappy palstic spark plug connectors are awful. They'll all be coming off and metal bar used for the fitting and silver 0.6 mm braided lead for the spark plug leads fitting into miniature spark plugs from Hiroboy. By far the biggest problem though is with the cylinder blocks. When you fit them flush to the crankcase ( as of course they should be) then the parts that make up the top spark plug assembly should fit neatly into the V groove created by the cylinder blocks as the instructions show: The problem is that the V is too wide leaving either a gap either side or a huge gap at one side or the other The only cures, unless I've got a dodgy kit or my skills have deserted me, is to narrow the angle formed by the cylinder blocks and fill the resultant gap at the bottom or fill the gap at the top which I did with thin card and liquid putty. That done, the rest of the engine is a doddle to put together. Be careful how far you build it so you can not only get in and paint it evenly but get in to dot the hundreds of silver bolt heads. So, for me, I built the crankcase, added the cylinders and upper spark plug assembly and the front part of the supercharger but I didn't glue on the reduction gear as in step 150, I just dry fitted it then stopped. Separately, I built the intercooler and the supercharger front part then sprayed all these separately. Colour wise you can go with black or grey, Merlins came in both flavours. That done, I picked out all the bolt heads in silver then, I fixed the intercooler to the main engine block and the reduction gear onto the front of the engine, NOT forgetting the prop shaft before you glue it into place (I didn't honest!) As you can see, I also add chipping at this stage. The "ROLLS ROYCE" logos are far too shallow to fill nicely in red or white but many weren't anyway. I've rubbed and faded the edges then dry brushed in silver to give a bit of pop. Looking a bit deeper at references it's clear Airfix haven't added any of the detail of control rods and pipework at the rear of the engine where it sits next to the firewall or a lot of the pipework for the supercharger and intercooler assembly. That will have to be added if I think the detail level of the base engine merits it after a good weather. Otherwise I'll build covers on, which I hate to do but if the detail isn't good enough I won't show it. Finally a good two coats of Aqua gloss to get it ready for weathering when it's all joined together. That's it on the engine for now. I'm all over sections at the minute so had a look at the wings as well. The fit doesn't look bad but there are ejector pin marks all along where open flaps will sit Also there are three to fill if you intend having open gun bays: Lastly, when you take the lower wings off of the sprues for heaven's sake mark where the tabs to remove are before you do it. There are two little nubbins, one on each wing that look for all the world like tabs you've just snipped. It was only a serendipitous yell of "want a cuppa?" from the wife that refocused my attention and saved a disaster. I knew I married her for some reason or other. Thanks for looking. More engine next and awaiting the Airscale IP with bated breath

Evening all, I put the finishing touches to this earlier this week: the new-tool 1/72nd Airfix B-17G converted to a US Navy PB-1W airborne early warning aircraft. I used the old 299Models conversion which gives you the big radome in short-run injection plastic, as well as blanking plates for the top, chin and ball turrets. The conversion was actually designed and produced long before the excellent new-tool Airfix Fort was released and is meant for the Hasegawa kit. However, with some gentle persuasion, it fits the Airfix kit well. The PB-1Ws were late build B-17Gs taken from desert storage post WW2 by the US Navy and stripped of their bombing equipment. Some retained their tail guns but these were soon removed, and quite crude blanking plates were added to the openings for the top, chin and ball turrets. The main distinguishing feature of the PB-1W was the large AN/APS-20 search radar added to the bomb bay and huge dome slung beneath. In all 32 B-17Gs were converted to PB-1Ws and they remained in service until the mid-1950s when they were superseded by Constellations. The model was airbrushed with Xtracolor’s Sea Blue gloss and decals came from the spares box. I toned it down with a coat of Humbrol Satin (the real things were actually high gloss) and added some oil and exhaust with pastels. All in all a very simple conversion (if you can find one!) and it’s nice to add this unusual Fortress to my collection. All the best, Tom

Dear fellow modellers, I’m giving it to you straight: I’m building this kit by sheer gluttony because until recently I never had the slightest interest in Spitfires and I always considered 1/24 as the scale for the blurry-eyed and the ham-fisted. Until before last Christmas, I stumbled on a presentation video on YouTube of the new Airfix 1/24 Spitfire. I was so impressed that I asked myself …what if I simply regress and go back to the simpler joys of sticking plastic and dabbling paint without the fussiness of modern modelling? So here we are: a out-of-the-box (well almost ) build of the Airfix überkit. No babble needed, just lurid images for your eyes only. With Eduard PE harness Above: before shading. Below: after shading Questions and comments are welcome. Thank you all for watching, Cheers, Quang

Happy to announce an accurately shaped and detailed 1/24 scale P-51D Mustang upper cowling is now available for your Airfix kits. This model replaces the Airfix's kit's inaccurately shaped upper cowling parts. The cowling is 3D-printed in gray resin. It was designed from original North American Aviation blueprints ensuring an accurate shape and detailing.

We take a look at a really useful set from Peter Castle at Airscale for the new Airfix 1:24 Supermarine Spitfire... Blue skies! Iain

1/48 Airfix Hawker Hurricane Mk I representing P2638 of No. 274 Sqn RAF, flown by Sgt Pilot FH Dean, based at Sidi Barrani, Eqypt, July 1942. Aircraft had previously been PR Mk I P2638 of 208 Sqn, LG 39 / Burgh el Arab, Egypt, early July 1942. A short time latter P2638 was passed to 274 Sqn to serve as a fighter for a second time and was almost immediately lost, being shot down by three bf 109 F’s on the 27th July 1942. I really enjoyed this kit from beginning to end. the plastic was not too hard for me to use the rivet tool with bad hands and the clear plastic parts and the decals are some of the nicest I have ever used but there are a few things needed to be able to represent the photo of this aircraft a little better. You will note that the photo shows that P2638 has an early style radio mast, a rear view mirror, tropical cooling vents at the side of the lower cockpit (both sides) and an oil collector ring around the nose - none of which are represented in the Airfix kit. The mast was just changed as best as possible but does not look right. The oil collector ring is just fuse wire cut and bent to shape and the rear view mirror was from Quickboost. I also used Eduard Spitfire Mk Vb spares - deHalliand prop which was much thinner than what Airfix have provided as well as the Eduard early Spitfire exhausts. Also used was the Eduard canopy mask and Sutton Harness sets. The beautiful Airfix canopy was treated to some handles from the spares box. Finally I had ordered the Brengun wheel set as I have seen thinner tractor wheels compared to what Airfix provide for the tail wheel but alas when the set came along with the Quickboost rear view mirror - the packet contained something completely different to what the label advertised and so I just wanted to finish the model. A lovely little kit well deserving of a little extra love here and there. I wish I had taken the time to remove the overly raised fasteners as well as add a slight curve to the cockpit panels where they meet the wing - next time! Thanks for looking, John

Afternoon all, Here's the latest model to take off from my bench - the new-tool Airfix 1/72nd Avro Vulcan BMk2. After grafting on some very long-term projects of late I decided I needed something relatively straightforward for a system reset and mojo reboot and this proved to be just the project. I found it an absolute delight to build - actual construction only took four evenings and the whole model was completed in just under two weeks. In fact, it's the first model I can remember in absolutely ages that I didn't put down for a few weeks and return to it later as I'd lost interest - I just wanted to keep going! As with most of Airfix new-tool kits, tolerances are very tight indeed and therefore I gave each surface to be glued a quick swipe with a sanding pad and this meant an almost perfect fit for all components. I was really impressed with how the intakes went together, and with a quick swipe of Milliput White they look seamless with the minimum of effort. I wanted to do a later version than is currently supplied in the box so bought an Xtradecal sheet to make a 101 Squadron machine based at RAF Waddington in the mid 1970s. Two type of jet pipes are provided in the kit, and I had no idea which were fitted to this aircraft so went with the same as the one currently preserved at Duxford as they seemed of the same vintage. The kit's bomb bay is beautifully rendered and with some careful painting comes up beautifully out of the box. If you build this kit, don't waste your time detailing the interior of the cockpit as next to nothing can be seen - I just did the absolute basics. Xtracolor enamels were used throughout and I gave it a satin varnish as these machines seemed very well maintained in service and other than a few streaks and stains here and there, I kept her reasonably clean as period photos suggest. I recommend this kit to anyone looking for a large and impressive model in their display cabinet but not requiring a huge amount of effort - it's a pleasure! Tom

New Year, new model. The beloved bought me the Airfix 1:24 Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat for Christmas and I started it on Boxing Day. Engine just completed and I've saved all the photos up so here they are all in one build post. The P&W 2800 double wasp 10W is a little model all in itself and I think I spent more time researching this than most other models in their entirety. So to business. I'm sure most know that the crankcase of the engine is far to large in diameter to allow the various push rod rings and cylinder blocks to pass over it so lots of flexi file work needed as almost 1mm needs to come off across the diameter. I baulked at paying £9 for a resin one cast from a reduced master, after all this is what modelling's all about. While Airfix seem to have reduced the ejector pin marks, they've made up for it in seam lines so quite a bit of scraping and sanding needed. Once that's done, the cylinders need painting. The bottom halves I did in steel and the top halves in aluminium. I've used Vallejo Metal Colors as I think they're excellent. Quick drying, no mess and no smell and lovely coverage. The push rods were painted gloss black with aluminium ends. The crankcase colour was a first attempt at a mix but it had far too much blue in it. I read it should be Grumman grey but since the engine is made by Pratt & Whitney, not Grumman, I couldn't see that being the case and went for the engine grey specified. I finally settled on a mix of 4:3:1 of Mr Color Aqueous RLM 75 Dark Grey: Tamiya Flat White: Tamiya Blue. It seemed to be not too far away from some of the reference material. You can also see on this photo that I've removed the basic plastic links provided on the parts and replaced them, as they were originally, with rubber hose. The jubilee clips are thin strips of tinfoil. The oil flange is flat black suitably chipped and oil stained. Once everything fits onto the crankcase properly, it's time for the ignition wiring. I used 0.6mm braided cord from Hiroboy along with 1:24 sparkplugs in metal. I was a bit mean to spend a small fortune on scale nuts for the ends of the sparkplugs so I used 1mm evergreen hexagonal rod, drilled and painted silver then sliced into thin slivers and slipped over the end of the sparkplug before the ignition wire was attached. The intake pipes are gunmetal then brushed with copper and duraluminium till I was happy with the effect. The exhaust pipes go on very easily as long as you mark them up when they come off the sprues, otherwise it's a happy half hour mixing and matching. (me? never ) Paintwise, I followed a plan of painting them Tamiya red/brown then airbrushing with a very dilute solution of black/red brown as well as metallics and a light grey around the pipe ends. The heavy wear and chipping on the supercharger intakes is seen on many reference photos and was achieved by spraying first with a coat of duraluminium followed by chipping solution then a top coat of zinc chromate green. It's then a simple task to remove the green layer to the desired effect. Oil effects (which don't show too well on the photos) are sprayed on as a mix of black/redbrown mixed with Alclad Aqua Gloss varnish and diluted with IPA. The oil tank cap is yellow and my eyes were given a great workout by deciding to put the "US 19 Gal" writing on there in individual wet decals Some pics of the engine ready to mount are below, I'll be needing to add a fair bit of non supplied pipework when the time comes but next it's onward and upward to the cockpit. Thanks for looking.

I went to Duxford recently to see the now-finished "Evolution of the Spitfire" exhibition, stroll up to the American hangar, and generally soak up the atmosphere. I finished in the gift shop, and as one does I left with some plastic, an Airfix Spitfire Ia in 1/72. It was a bit of a challenge as I don't think I've built a 1/72 Spitfire since about 1995, but I thought I'd do it completely out of the box with no additions and the kit marking for an aircraft of 92 Sqn in May 1940, just before the Battle of Britain. And 10 hours or so of modelling time spread over three weeks later, here it is, and it made a nice little "palate-cleanser" before I tackle a couple of large-scale Spits and maybe even get back to the Mustang. And finally, I had forgotten just how tiny a 1/72 Spit is, but here it is compared to a Revell IIa fuselage half. Thanks for looking.

Hi All - thought I’d resurrect these two from my BOD (Box Of Doom) I don’t have a Shelf. A quick - where I am - These two where separate presents on my 50th - a couple of years ago now They laid around in my stash for quite some time. Then chatting with my Sister one day we where reminiscing of when these where a brand new item on the shelves in the 70’s. I had been plaguing my Dad for months about it. So came around Christmas and there under the tree was a huge box. Baring in mind that we didn’t have lots of spare cash in them days and it wasn't a cheep kit! This was a massive thing for my parents to do for me. The other thing I remember about it was that because of the size and complexity of it - I was only 7 - my dad roped my big Sis into helping me. So we spent weeks both having fun putting it together and it still lives in my parents house to this day! The box shot Anyway enough of that. The upshot being I have these two kits so lets get um going - this is some two years ago. Did the usual tinternet searches found some amazing builds that gave me some pointers/insperation and started. But have to say not many seem to get made! The first task - ohhh and boy is it a task - fill the bullet hole sized rivet detail and the wired texture there is all over the main Fus, Wings etc. I’m sure it was there but don’t remember it being there on from my boyhood experience. Then didn’t pay much attention those days. Sure I was like everyone else it was buy, stick, paint, stickers and hang it on the ceiling by tea time. The first one (RAF) tried to use the car filler paint - it was ok just the paint spray and time! The other (US) one took a different approach with using some waterd down milliput. A bit like making a slip from clay, painted that over with a big old brush. This method worked a lot better and quicker for me. This is an horrible task - trust me - So do a bit then do something else then a bit more. still loads of sink makes and bits to fill - but it is an old mould So in-between the constant rubbing back. I started the look at the next big thing, the air intakes. These are very prominent on the harrier and hard to miss. This is where the moulds are really showing their age as the detail on the intake doors is very soft now. I was always going to attempt to do something here - kind of a make or break on them both - so out with pencils tape and measure implements started the slice and dice. Firstly there is know way I was going to make this 100% accurate. Way beyond my skills. I was more after an improvement and more representative of the real thing. With a tape template draw in and marked the doors then chop out. Hindsight and all that and a recommendation. Just cut the whole back off. Then the doors rather than hollowing them out like I did. Just cut them - lot faster, lot easier to cut, could actually hinge if you wanted too and easier to do the final repair as this will all have to be blended into the fuselage. Chopped and blending in the splines and walls. This has a more curved shape in the real thing just working and improving what is in the kit Doors cut out and slight curve apply to the front edge Little brass tool made for the little nicks on each door All the doors in - I bagged these all up when I finally ran out of steam 2 years ago so hopefully there is still a full set for each Then Gun pods - Started with a purchase from a few years ago at Telford - now to cut some lengths of Brass tubes Once again this is more of a detail enhancement of the kit parts than a 100% accurate. Cut and opened up the pod ready to drill out and apply the gun cover. Then the ejection chute was opened up and reshaped. all looks a bit to square on the kit piece. there is some kind of slightly covered hole on the side which isn’t depicted so that got cut out and filled. Next there are some backward facing vents on the bottom. I made a template for these and formed some thin aluminium foil over it to make them. couple of holes and panels added and that was that. My tester done The gun cone needs to be blended in as there is no seam line as the kit depicts. Just needed to rinse and repeat three more times A spray of aluminium paint from a rattle can to show any defects that need correcting - more sanding! Final line up So this is as far as I got before I lost the will to sand anymore so hopefully my next update will be some new stuff! Any help or pointer welcome. Especially on the US one as my knowledge is very sketch for them. till next time. Happy modelling and stay safe!!! Taff

Some of you will know that I'm building an Echelon Vacform Lightning F6 in the Cold War GB and that I'm also a "fan" of 56 Squadron and its aircraft. Known as the Firebirds, the Pheonix rising from the flames, their red and white chequerboard insignia is very attractive. After the Black Arrows, flying Hunters, had finished their stint as the RAF display team, it fell to 56 Squadron's Lightnings to take over the mantle, this in the days of the Lightning F1 and 1As. Sadly by the time the squadron were flying the F6s the aircraft livery was a little more conservative, but I was keen to build a Lightning showing one of the display team colours. Airfix do a 1/48th scale Lightning in these colours so (Lothar to the rescue once again!) this is it! Whilst I'm enjoying the vac form build enormously, it is a bit trying on the patience with re-scribing right now, so I'm spending some therapeutic time today on what I intend to be an OOB straightforward build! Comparison of sizes, 1/32 v 1/48!

I've just added the final touches to Airfix's classic 1/24th scale Stuka. This was actually the Heller boxing but the plastic is the same - @Erwingave me a great deal in this last year and I couldn't resist A great kit to build, and despite its age it's crammed full of detail, has some lovely surface detail and goes together really well. What you see here is as it comes in the box, with the only additions being some Eduard belts and a bit of extra plumbing in and around the engine. All paints were Xtracolour enamels. Ju-87 B-2 'Stuka' - 3/St.G2 - Northern France, August 1940 Picture 1 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Picture 3 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Picture 4 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Picture 7 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Picture 6 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Picture 8 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Picture 5 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Picture 2 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Picture 9 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Happy modelling, folks! Tom

Here are some photos of my Airfix Bf 109E-3 in Franz von Werra's markings.

Hi all. Here's my latest project completed. It's a commission build for a black, early Mosquito NFII night fighter from Airfix's excellent 1:24 kit. The all black finish and the night fighter variant, plus the fact its new owner wanted it in "flying" mode means there's not masses to see but it provided a good challenge in the painting, trying to make it look not black while trying to make it look....well, black! The cockpit gave plenty of scope for detailing and fine paintwork but was actually very well detailed OOB. Painting used the "black basing" principle of Doog,s Models, adapted for an all black plane. Link to the build is here: . As ever all comments gratefully received and thanks for taking the time to look.

Just completed this Airfix kit. First OOB build I've done in years. Overall, a nice kit, but a couple of fiddly parts - the landing gear knuckles and fitting the wing to the fuse. Anyway, I like how it came out. Thanks for looking.

Afternoon folks Here's Airfix's classic Harrier GR3 from the venerable 1/24th scale kit, warts and all. Built as it comes, but with some home-made additions to the cockpit and seat. The kit decals and Xtracolour paints were used throughout. For its age, it's a really nice kit. The cockpit is very basic and the landing gear and bays are lacking in details, but with some good old-fashioned scratch-building you can make a decent representation of the Harrier. Happy modelling! Tom

Here is the new 1/24th scale FAA pilot designed to go with the new Airfix Hellcat. More pictures are available on the Elan13 Miniatures site www.elan13.co.uk Sculpted by Robert Lane Painted by Mike Butler

Just added the finishing touches to Airfix's 1/24th Hawker Typhoon MkIb this week: a project I've had on the bench for the last 6 months or so. Admittedly I've picked it up and put it down as and when I've felt like it, but regardless this kit is most definitely a long-term investment in regard to time and effort. I found it an absolute joy to build and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. Fit was exceptional but you must follow the instructions to the letter, especially where the engine and its piping is concerned, as tolerances are very tight. The only after-market was a set of Eduard seat belts - everything else was OOB. PIC 9 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr PIC 8 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr PIC 7 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr PIC 6 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr PIC 5 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr PIC 4 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr PIC 3 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr PIC 2 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr PIC 1 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr PIC 10 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I opted for the post-war scheme so other than some tonal variation to the paint, I kept the weathering restrained. Paints were Xtracolour enamels with Humbrol flat as a top coat. Decals were from the kit and were excellent, bedding down well over the recessed/raised details without any problems. All in all, a fantastic kit - roll on the big Hellcat! Best regards, Tom

This is my first foray into 1/24 scale since I was a kid, building the MPC kits: the Airfix Cardoor Typhoon, and my second ever Airfix kit. For some reason I don't see many of these built. The parts need a little extra cleanup, but the engineering is amazing. Everything is out of the box, except for an Airscale compass decal. This is three days work, and pretty fun so far! Cheers, Tom

This is the first 1/144 scale kit I've built. Even so, the wingspan is about 12 inches. This was a test bed for working out a natural metal finish. I used AK Interactive aluminum, dark aluminum, and polished aluminum colors with no clear coat. Props done with a Molotow pen. I also see that polishing the surface would give best results. Has anyone tried clear coating the plastic to get a smooth surface without polishing before applying metallic colors? Comments welcome

Evening all. Airfix's venerable 1/24 Hurricane has show up my LHS. Anyone built one recently and if so what would be ended to bring it up to modern standards, Thanks in advance Tim

Time to move on from my last build, Airfix's 1/24 Me Bf 109 E-4 http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=69743&hl= to the next of my planes from childhood, the Airfix 1/24 Hurricane Mk1. Before I start, confession time. I never actually built this in my formative years. I did the Spit, 109, Ju87 but never the Hurri. I don't know why, perhaps other things got in the way as I would have been a teenager by then. So, this is a learn as I go along thing (nothing new there then ) I picked the kit up on eBay and it a good old example contemporary with my formative years. The box art on these kits still impresses me and the little book as opposed to a sheet of instructions all added to making it feel a bit better than a normal run of the mill kit As any of you who were kind enough to look at my log for my previous build, you'll realise that David Bailey I ain't but I've looked at some of the excellent posts and articles on LSP and hopefully I've improved a bit on the pictures here. Let me know As ever for me I've started with the engine. My old photo skills are (non) evident in these early shots but they just show the first couple of stages after gluing the mighty Merlin together I'm still unashamedly an enamels man so I started with a black base coat of Humbrol mixed with a little gunmetal to try and give a metallic effect These two are thankfully the last with my old camera and the auto setting. Next came the coat of satin varnish and a dry brush with Humbrols 27001 aluminium to give a little wear then an oil wash of burnt umber with a little lamp black added to try and simulate some oily grime in the nooks and crevices. I used some reference pics of various Merlins but you have to be really careful, I've realised to get the right ones or you end up putting all manner of bits and bobs on to enhance the look that really shouldn't be there. So a couple of the reference pics have various bits not evident on the Airfix engine, although I think it's a lovely but of plastic, so much better than the one on the Spitfire but there were quite a few years between those models. I added some extra wiring and cut off the spark plug connectors on the ignition harness as they looked awful. I used the 0.8mm resin connectors from Hobby Design painted silver, drilled into the engine body with my trusty microdrills and then hooked the lot up with 0.3 mm lead wire painted a suitable colour. Fiddly but I think it looks OK Looking at these pics I can see I need to redo the coiled pipe into the supercharger. It's thin brass wire wound around a core of thicker wire but I then slid it off the core and as I've bent it into shape is parted. The core needs to go back in to give it strength, I think. Very uncertain as to how much to do to the top section. I'm no Merlin expert but there are images with extra ignition wires etc going into the top but then others with nothing. I'm presuming they're different models of engine. I don't want to **** it up by adding stuff that shouldn't be there so any advice would be most welcome Hope the pics look better than my previous efforts. I'll post updated when I've fixed the coiled pipe and hopefully got some feedback on how far to go with the top section. Thanks for taking the trouble to have a look.

Here is my newly built Hawker Typhoon, in 1/24 scale from Airfix. This is a magnificent kit to build. It's a little challenging, but that's what it should be, and also very big. . I built it with an Eduard etch details for the cockpit, and also substituted Eduard steel seat belts for the kit parts. One other addition I now wish I'd made was metal undercarriage legs, as the kit pieces are a little wobbly. Clamping the doors to the legs for a firm attachment as the glue sets is a help, and it now appears to be quite steady. There are about 500 parts in this kit, and they assemble into a pretty impressive kit. But to further enhance the kit, I made both the pilot's door and top canopy hinges so they can open and close as I wish. I also made the lower cowlings fit to the model, which the instructions tell you can't be done if you want a fully detailed engine. Well detailed cockpits and engines are, for me, important parts of any large scale build. Alas, there is no way the top engine cowl will fit, so I'll have to get the duster out more often. There is a detailed build in the Works in Progress forum, so it is not my intention to reproduce much from that here. You can find it in this link: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=67834 Instead, I would like to provide a little history of this plane, the tactics used and it's pilot. But first, a few more pictures of the plane. I have chosen to build a fighter bomber version, rather than the rocket firing aircraft, and my chosen subject represents a plane flown by Squadron Leader Denis Crowley-Milling, CO of 181 Squadron, RAF. Crowley Milling was originally a Rolls Royce apprentice when in 1937 he was mobilised with the RAF Volunteer Reserve, being posted to 615 Squadron. He served with this squadron in France in 1940, and showed pilots how to service their aircraft to help evacuate as many as possible in June, with the defeat of France. Shortly after this he was posted to 242 Squadron, where he flew as Douglas Bader's wingman. In August 1941, now serving as a Flight Commander with 610 Squadron, he was shot down while escorting Stirling bombers over France, but a few months later was repatriated to England having successfully evaded capture. In September 1942, he was promoted to Squadron Leader and given command of 181 Squadron, a new Typhoon squadron tasked with developing the plane in its ground attack role. Subsequently, he was promoted to acting Wing Commander of 121 wing, but four months into that job he was grounded after developing eye problems, probably as a result of all the dive bombing with 181. After the war, he was given a permanent commission, later commanding a Tempest squadron in Palestine in 1947. He left the RAF in 1975 with the rank of Air Marshall, and died in London in 1996. During his service with the RAF, he was awarded the DSO, DFC and bar during the war, a CBE in 1963, and then a knighthood in 1973. Below is a picture of Crowley-Milling in the plane, together with a shot of a Typhoon being run up, producing a lot of noise and smoke. Notice the man on the right with his hands over his ears!! Experience with Hurricanes had shown that dive bombing was the most accurate way to deploy a bomb from a fighter at that time, so on commencing training, 181 Squadron practised against derelict ships in the Wash (an area off the East Anglian coast of England). Operations then commenced against German fighter bases in France and the low countries. As Crowley Milling later told; “We used to time our approach to coincide with the return of the big American B-17 daylight raids, so that we arrived as the German fighters which had been up to intercept them were returning, short of fuel and ammunition, and landing back at their bases. The squadron would cross the channel at nought feet to get under the German radar, then climb up to 10,000ft at the French coast. We would then go straight to places like Caen, Abbeville, St Omer and Triqueville diving down from 10,000ft and let the bombs go at 5,000 to 6,000ft so keeping clear of the light flak. As you dived down, you could look behind and see the heavy flak bursting to the rear. We developed pretty good accuracy; on one occasion one of our bombs actually burst under an enemy aircraft as it was touching down. Once dropped, we didn't hang around and got out fast. If you were jumped, you jettisoned the bombs, but this seldom happened. On approach to a target the Typhoon, being such a splendid aircraft, could cruise at 300mph low down, with little ill effect on performance from the load hanging under its wings.†The squadron also attached industrial centres and shipping. When attacking shipping, the practice was to attack in pairs, with the leading plane firing guns to keep the flak down, and the number two aircraft carried the bombs. Bomb carrying Typhoons were dubbed “Bomphoons†in the press, but in 1943, rockets arrived. But that's another story, if ever I build the later Airfix Typhoon. Cheers, Michael