Search the Community

Hi everyone! Back with a new project! After the DH.9 disaster, I needed something to get my mojo back — still within the world of WW1 biplanes, of course. I eventually settled on Wingnut Wings’ 1/32 scale Sopwith Camel — one of the most iconic aircraft of the Great War. The kit in my stash is the Sopwith F.1 Camel USAS version, and for this build, I’ve chosen to depict HR Clay Jr.’s aircraft. A bit of history: HR Clay Jr. first served with 43 Sqn RAF to gain operational experience before transferring to the 148th Aero Squadron, where he achieved eight victories. He was later appointed commander of the 41st Aero Squadron, but the war ended before it became fully active. Tragically, he survived the war only to succumb to the Great Influenza pandemic in 1919, aged just 23. As usual, I started with the cockpit. My approach was similar to the DH.9 — wooden areas were base-painted with sand, then given a wood grain effect using red brown and my trusty photo-etched stencil. I used radome tan to create subtle wear and tonal variation, then unified everything with a layer of raw burnt umber oil paint, gently wiped off with a soft sponge. For the seat, I replaced the kit part with a 3D-printed one from GasPatch Models — beautifully detailed with realistic wicker texture and a leather cushion, making painting both easier and more satisfying. The wicker was painted in several shades of beige, enhanced with a dark brown wash to bring out the texture. For the leather cushion, I used a similar method to the wood: base coat of NATO black, scratches added with a lighter mix, and a final layer of burnt umber oil paint, partially removed to create realistic wear. Cockpit details like instrument dials, pumps, levers, and push rods were brush-painted in silver, grey, or brass, followed by a black wash to add depth, then sealed with a matte varnish. The internal fuel tank can be painted aluminum or grey according to the instructions. I went with grey so I could try out an armor modeling technique: applying random light grey chips with a sponge, then darkening the centers to create a layered chipping effect. It turned out surprisingly convincing! Finally, I tackled the internal rigging, using Bob’s Buckles and EZ Line’s fine stretch thread. It took a fair bit of patience (and a few deep breaths), but the end result was absolutely worth it — the rigging really brings the cockpit to life. Next step: armament and engine!

Not a lot of shark mouths here, eh? Endangered species maybe? So I will throw my hat, eh, jaws, into the ring, err, sea? Stay tuned! Something sharky with lots of wings. Am I am a Sharknado? A sea dragon? No, a Meerkatz! Meerkatz, this is. Regards - dutik

After roughly 3 months of work my Ninak has been completed. This model was a trouble-maker through and through. On the interior I had done the wood grain interior with Abteilung oil paints. I forgot the rigging brand I used on the interior it might've been Uschi Van der Rosten? After the interior was the engine. I decided to paint the engine twice, as after the first I was quite displeased with the result. I painted the exterior fabric with Tamiya Matt Aluminum and the metal was painted with Alclad lacquer. Decals were a pain in the butt. I had initially tried to paint the roundels with stencils cut with my cricut, though this didn't work. After that I made an attempt to use the decals, bad decision... The decals ripped, bubbled and didn't conform at all, so I ripped them off and went back to the cricut . The stencils worked but not well. They left large raised edges but it was my only option. Rigging was done with Modelkasten line and Gaspatch turnbuckles. Even with the difficulties I'm happy with the results.

Hello everyone! It's been a veeeery long time since my last 1/32 project. But here I am, starting a new build—the Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale AMC DH.9. This will be my first WWI subject and will represent a Hellenic Naval Air Service aircraft that served during the Asia Minor Campaign. The specific aircraft, Spetsai—named after the Greek island of Spetses—was later specially painted for the victory celebration flyover of Constantinople. Work has begun with the cockpit, featuring the characteristic wooden structure typical of WWI designs. I airbrushed all components with a sand base coat, followed by a red brown layer applied through a wood grain stencil. The effect was unified using oil paints: applied, then gently wiped off with a soft sponge. I used raw umber for the frame and burnt umber for the sidewalls to replicate different wood types. The leather seat cushions were painted using a similar method. I first applied NATO black by brush, then added scratches using a mix of the base color lightened with sand. A final layer of burnt umber oil paint, partially removed, completed the leather effect. Smaller cockpit details such as instrument dials, pumps, levers, and push rods were brush painted with silver, grey, or brass. A black wash helped bring out depth and definition, and everything was sealed with a matt varnish. The engine firewall was painted in a white metal finish, with the upper section rendered in linen to simulate fabric. It was weathered with black oil paint to suggest oil streaks and splatter. The radiator and supplementary oil tank were painted light grey. For wear and chipping, I used a technique common in armor modeling: light grey chips applied randomly with a sponge, then painting the center with a darker grey to enhance contrast. Next step: cockpit assembly and engine installation. Thanks for following along!

Farewell to Tamiya masking tape for imitating the wrapping of the Mercedes engine fuel manifold. This Proper Plane manifold was designed by the renowned sculptor Serhiy Alekhno, who based it on real samples from museums and historic photos, and then created it using 3D printing technology. The wrapping imitation is incredibly delicate and looks remarkably realistic. To use it, you just need to drill the engine cylinders and install this manifold. Recommended for replacing the Wingnut Wings kit part (Mercedes D.III / D.IIIa / D.IIIaü (160 / 180 / 200 hp)). Order here

Well, it has been a long time since I posted a WIP here at LSP... So I thought this would be a good one to kick things off again with this... Some of you know who I am and my role at Wingnut Wings and with that, I was lucky enough to be one of the first people in the world to get to build the WNW Lancaster for its first appearance at Telford in 2018 (I think? It has been a while!) I cannot recall what test shot we were up to, maybe the fourth or fifth? But just building the kit with no paint took me well over a week doing a couple of hours each evening before Richard and I flew out for Telford. Well from then you all the history of what happened. To be honest I never thought this kit would see the day of light until Border Models got a hold of it. I am glad they did, as Bryan Wall (WNW Lancaster designer) and the others who worked on this poured their efforts into this over 10 years, and to think that it was never going to get released was heartbreaking. I know that it isn't completely packaged as it was intended to be released, but it is great to see its release even if it's only 95% complete/up to the WNW standard. I have picked up some aftermarket for the kit, but to be honest, you don't really need anything, bar maybe stencils as they are fully included on the Border Models decal sheet. I've heard good things about the 1manarmy stencils so I am looking forward to giving them a go. The brass barrels that have been supplied within the kit are rubbish due to no holes in the cooling jackets, so I have a set of the Master Models barrels that are intended for the HK Models kit, I am sure they will fit. And I picked up the Yahu Instrument panel, again for the HK Models Kit. Whether I will use this is a question I will get to later. I couldn't bring myself to drop cash on the Qunita Studios set. They look pretty good close up. For those that haven't picked Wing Leader books up as of yet for any subject, they are must-haves! They are well-written and have a bucketload of information within the pages. I also picked up a copy of Ton-Up Lancs, a great book for anyone thinking of doing a Lancaster that completed 100 missions. It contains thirty-five histories recorded in this book with stories and personal photographs from the aircrew that flew these aircraft As scheme-wise... I haven't chosen anything yet... I was thinking of Micky the Moocher, Phantom of the Ruhr or keeping a New Zealand connection with 75 Sqdn (RNZAF) Captains Fancy, but it seems like everyone in New Zealand that has the Border kit is doing this scheme. So I am still looking at my options currently! I am hoping to start on this in the next few days, but I need to set up a temporary modelling space as I am renovating my hobby room.

Hello fellow plastic junkies, I'm in the process of knocking up a Pup. Here is the cockpit assembly near complete barring seat and belts. More updates when orders calm down...See you here in 2040! Stay safe my friends. Von Buckle

Sorry about being away for so long. Honestly, with the COVID-19 compounding our personal health issues, as well as our family's basic supply problems, I have been very busy with domestic needs/decisions, etc., with little or no time for scale modeling. But, having been introduced to scale modeling over 60 years, ago, I have seen a thing or two come and go. I remember when back in the '60's Adams, an excellent mold maker, fell out with Revell and decided to take the molds made for them, and market several top-quality scale U.S. armor kits under their own name. Now that WnW has gone "ker-plunk", their Chinese mold-maker source has put out what was to be an excellent Fokker Triplane kit in 1/32, if not under their own label like Adams, someone they are already adjusted to dealing with in their own country. Frankly, having built many of the kits in either 1/48th or a larger scale, I viewed WnW, being dedicated to a single large, and sometimes cumbersome scale ("Honey, where can I put my finished Gotha G IV?"), as a higher-priced anomaly. Being an old Fokker Triplane fan, I decided to go ahead and buy the Meng Fokker Triplane, (along with a Special Hobby Nieuport 11) and I like it! I am aware of the spell that WnW cast on the large scale modelling community, but I still had trouble getting past the price tag. Now I understand, that unlike many others, when you bought a WnW kit, you had a very kit-builder friendly company behind the contents of the box. So I took it, that the high price kept the people employed who would generously send me spare decal sheets, etc. The extra price meant excellent customer service! But now that all you get is the kit as-is in the box, with no potential for replacement of messed-up decals or lost parts, it is interesting how individual kit hoarders are trying to gouge the unsuspecting on both ebay and Amazon. I see kits that have been opened being sold at new list prices, unopened kits being sold at prices inflated from their original MSRP list prices, all being sold from home-grown "cottage industry" sellers. Meanwhile they are failing to mention that there is not any sort of manufacturer "safety net", and when "push-comes to shove", will the individuals operating out of their houses selling through these virtual market places be willing to sacrifice a complete kit to resolve any customer service issues? From my experience in buying stuff through these medias, I seriously doubt it. This is like buying a Westinghouse washing machine kept in storage at its' MSRP, as though the company even existed anymore. When you consider the exhaustive "witch-hunt" required for getting any basic customer service for OOP kits, like broken or lost parts or factory decals for these as they need replacement; to even pay half of the former list price barely makes sense. With any luck, perhaps Meng, or better still, some European kit maker like Roden or Eduard will pick up the molds and re-issue them for us, adding a nice 1/32 scale line to their others. Now I gotta decide whether to do the triplane or the Special Hobby Nieuport 11 first.

OK, last one guys, I swear. This is my COVID-19 quarantine build and I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out. As with the previous three, no real weathering to speak of and built mostly OOB with exception of HGW seatbelts in addition to the Vickers and double Lewis guns courtesy of Eduard Brassin. Sorry I didn't get any pics of the underside - I'm too damn scared to flip it upside down! As I mentioned in the introduction for the Junkers D.1 build I posted earlier, I'm really not at the point where I build for historical accuracy so this bird has features that were not included on the "IF" scheme outlined in the manual (wheel covers and double Lewis guns). These recent WNW builds are all going into the display case for basically only me to look at so I decided I can live with it because I like the way it looks! I think I told myself when I was building it that I would build the next one to a much higher historical standard (and actually do a WIP!) but that was before recent developments... Anyway, on to the pictures. OK, I swear I'm done now... Anyone have any ideas how I get these safely from NYC to California?

Thought I should throw my hat in to the ring on this group build, rather than diving straight in with a Luftwaffe machine andafter looking at my stash I decided on this one which is the Wingnut SE.5a with Pheon's nightfighter decal set. Also need to move my G-4 conversion along as well now as I have had no chance to do any real modelling for the last month so cant wait to get cracking again. Regards. Andy

Got another one for the gallery! I built this one a couple of months ago when I was in a little bit of a modeling funk so the goal was to build it cleanly and quickly (as a result, I decided not to fix the dreaded "gap" in the upper wing). Painted with Tamiya paints according to the WNW call outs. Only AM were the HGW seatbelts and the Master Models brass barrel for the LMG 14/17.

Folks, Wanted to pass along some pictures of my recently completed early D.VII. This one gave me a little more trouble than the other WNW kits I've completed. Not sure why but I'm happy with the way it ultimately turned out. The only additions were the HGW seatbelts and the Master Models brass barrels. Hope you guys like it.

Hey folks, I built this kit a few months ago and am just now getting around to posting some images of the finished product (no decent place to take pictures these days so my apologies for the poor quality images). As with all WNW kits that I know of, this one falls together and was a blast to build. This one was a completely OOB build with some minor detailing on the engine. As with a lot of my other builds, I'm not too strict about historical accuracy.

Hi Folks, finally got the courage to upscale my old 1/72 Felixstowe decals - so they are off just now to the printers, hope they come in useful for some people here, thanks for looking.... 32D020 - Felixstowe F.2A N4283 32D021 - Felixstowe F.2A N4512

Hello my friends, I have been quietly sitting in the background working away on my Sopwith Tripe. Well, today, she is complete (is a model ever complete?) and sitting in the case. I have this one image for now, but more will follow. I've been super busy of late and finding spare time to think, let alone modelling, is a blessing! More pics soooooon. Cheers, Von Buckles

Hi everyone, Sopwith Camel bracing wires for Wingnut Wings kit off to the printers for test shot. Thanks for looking

I have been busy with several large complex builds and realised that time was getting away from me with our local model show fast approaching. I searched the stash for a quick project that I could complete in time and challenged myself to actually finish something in time.......Oh look something shiny!! Focus Simpson I told myself and ended up choosing what I hope to be a project that fits the bill. 1, Quality kit that will actually fit together. 2. Simple air frame. 3. Cool looking. Here is what I went for. And here is the particular scheme. DAY 1 Full of enthusiasm I have removed the major sub-assemblies from the trees and cleaned them up in preparation for reaching for the glue. As WNW kits have very tight tolerances, I have taped up the mating surfaces prior to priming and paint. Back soon with day 2 (with luck!!)

Wingnut's new Gotha UWD landed at my house today along with its (uglier...) land-based counterpart. For some reason this plane has always fascinated me, so everything else has been pushed aside to start this one. It's bloody gorgeous to see the plastic in person. Roughly the same length as the Gotha G.IV, with wingspan 2-3 inches shorter. The floats are massive, they are about as long as the span of the lower wing of an Albatros D.V! Day one: Cleanup of sprue stubs and mold separation seams, the floats and rear fuselage have been glued together and the three-piece lower wing has been joined. I'm hoping to make quick progress on this and bring the (completed?) build to the Nats somehow. Transport will be very difficult, but if I can figure out how to get it there, it'll be there.

Some musings: WNW will be going for a few years yet, but looking at their kit releases (not including re boxes or ‘late’ versions) they seem to have covered most (let’s say 80-85%) of the well known types. ( Minus the Neiuport/ Dr1 and SPADs.) Would you agree? I also did a quick survey. Each boxing seems to be on the market for an average of about 3-5 years, depending on popularity. So eventually they will run out of options, but once again that will be quite a few years down the track... I don’t know whether them having a wider distribution network will speed up the ‘sold out’ factor but maybe they just make more units these days Any thoughts?

Fokker D VII in the colours of The 15th Polish fighting squadron flown by the second lieutenant Antoni Bartkowiak , dated from the Bolshevik war in 1920, or immediately after. The condition probably after March 1921. The model covered in Aviattic decals, a few metal strips by HGW, KMs by Master and exceptionally good additions to the engine by Taurus Models. The propeller is hand made from veneer. Reborn Poland seized about 50 Fokkers D. VII as a trophy (former German airbases in Wielkopolska ) or purchased some from the producer- The OAW company in Piła within the borders of The Third Reich at the time. These dealings were not fully legal, the planes were provided by German pilots by air- they 'lost' the way from Piła nad landed at The Ławica airport 'by mistake'. After being paid, they returned by train.

Just completed my 2nd WNW Albatros D.V. Finished in the markings of Adolf Schreder of Jasta 17 in March 1918. Aftermarket used; Aviattic Albatros lozenge with pink rib tapes, Uschi Knotless wood grain decals, WNW D.V Wooden Wonders decals, Taurus engine valve train & spark plugs, Flugzeugwerke fuel tank & engine interrupter gear train, HGW Albatros radiator & seat belt buckles. Added; seat belts from lead foil, engine & cockpit piping from wire, rudder bar foot stirrups from wire, cockpit fuel selector panel levers from brass photo etch pieces, rigging from transparent thread colored with a silver Sharpie and micro brass tubing to simulate turnbuckles. Base paint undercoat & tail are enamels, metal items were Alclad & Metalizer, the 'Grey - Green' was Tamiya acrylic. Weathering was done using oils & pastels. Hope you like & thanks for looking. All comments, suggestions, etc. welcome. Larry

My first model from the Grat War Additives used Master Taurus The propeller was made by hand Painted Tamiya

I recently received the WNW Clerget Camel specifically because I wanted to model Squadron Commander William Barker's Sopwith Camel...but first I had to build his Sopwith Snipe! This is my first WNW kit in years, and it was a really satisfying build. Pheon Decals, Tamiya paints, E-Z line, the new Vallejo Metal paints (awesome and odorless), and the little red devil from the Camel kit. If any of you have the Clerget Camel and aren't building Barkers version, I'd love an extra devil! Cheers, Tom

Hi guys, This is my first WnW kit. It was absolutely relaxing OOB build. Used Tamiya and GSI acrylics mainly, and Ammo weathering product for finish. I did rigging in easy way, with no turnbuckles, just silver paint. At the end, to be honest, I'm not satisfied with outcome. Even turnbuckles are not so prominent on Snipe, on my next WnW project will use at least some grey tubes. And yes, didnt use the flat rigging. But will try on my next biplane, which should be postwar Dh.9a Coastal Kits insignia base used for display. WIP link: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=63009 thanks for looking, hope you like it jan

Hi guys, I was planning to finish this one during upcoming weekend and post it to RFI, but will not be at my workbench sooner then on Friday. So just decided to post some WIP pictures here. This is my first WNW kit. And its really amazing. I'm working on it 4 weeks already. I went through several WNW builds to get some know how. This one is build OOB, paints are mostly based on WNW instructions for this kit. will take my time to make better pictures after it is done. thanks for looking jan Wings, elevator and rudder painted with tamiya acrylics. Already started with some scratch effects on roundel decals my first attempt in wooden finish, painted with oil (raw umbra) and fine brush.Aluminium painted with Alclad, wood and red primer effect looks darker on photo. Used brown wash for interior.