Gentle Scale Modelling

So whatnow?

2011-12-14T03:57:00.001-08:00

As I can't move on with two projects and the other is a slow crawl, I am looking to move on to the next one. However, I hate having unfinished kits around as they invariably get damaged and discarded.

So that is why I am sitting here not modelling for the time being.

I am tempted to start on the Airfix Buccaneer.

Watch this space

In the doldrums - again!

2011-12-14T03:40:00.000-08:00

I appear to have hit a block at the moment. Having had a big burst of enthusiasm last month, it has all come to a halt.

Current state of play:

Special Secret Project

I messed up some decals (again!!) but instead of buying a new kit, I have asked Revell to send me a new set. I thought that this would come from the UK quite quickly but Revell tell me the sheet is coming from Germany and might take 6 weeks! That's messed up my Xmas present idea :-(

AZ Models Supermarine Attacker.

When I took the masking tape off the Sky, I managed to shear one of the wings off as well. It didn't go on the glue join, it was the actual plastic that sheared! I have sorted that and touched up the pain to it is now ready for decals.

Decals - ah, yes. On the original decal sheet that came with the kit, there are two decals that go near to the jet intake on either side. What the decals say is "Keep Wheel All From Intake While Engine Is Running"! I bought a new set of ModelDecal decals to use - but I cannot find them! Hence this is on hold until they turn up.

Resin Gannet

I am working on the wing fold but am not finding this easy to sort out. There are no realistic mounting points as the detailing is so accurate, nothing is strong enough to do the job. Plus, as there are three components, it is difficult to get the angles right. This is what a Gannet looks like with its wings folded.

and here is a video of of the only flying Fairey Gannet - a T% based in the USA showing the wing fold in operation. It's a bit blurred but you will get the idea.

Fairey Gannet T5

So - What to do?
For the Gannet, I am thinking of drilling some holes between the parts and putting some brass wire through. I will then bend every thing to the right angle and hopefully the brass wire will give it all some strength. I will have to make good on the wing surfaces which rather relies on me still having some of the paint mix I used for the RAF Blue Grey but onwards and upwards!

Wrap up on the Avenger and progress on others

2011-11-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

The Avenger is finished. It has had its final satin coat of varnish.

Last details

Radio aerials are Aeroclub stretchy thread with a sweep of dark blue on it. I drilled a couple of holes and put 0.2mm brass wire in to set the attachment points.

The canopy was lined out using the technique described in an earlier blog - clear decal painted up and Kleared. I didn't cut it thin enough so it looks a little bulky but it worked a treat - especially on a complicated canopy like this one.

AZ Models Attacker
This is an interesting build. The moulds are short run and are quite nicely presented in terms of panel lines etc. Its just that everything needs that bit of fettling to make the parts fit together. Still that's the fun of a short run kit.

I have got it to the point where it has had the underneath and sides done in Sky and I have masked it up ready for the top coat of EDSG.

CMR COD Gannet
After painting it up with Xtracolor RAF Blue Grey, I felt that it didn't look any different from Gloss Sea Blue. Plus I was not happy using enamels after all these years. So, after due warning from Ken that I would have some problems, I gave it a coat of Vallejo Polyurethane White and then mixed up some Gloss Sea Blue and some XA1139 Light Grey to a blend that looked right to me and the swatches I was seeing on the web. I am quite happy with the result. I did manage to save some of the mix for touching up - amazing that I remembered to do that!

This has now had a coat of Klear and is ready for some decalling.

New Canopy Framing process

2011-11-17T04:08:00.000-08:00

This has been passed onto me by my friend Ken. here goes -

Start off with a sheet of clear decal paper.
1. Give it a coat of Future/Klear/Pledge MSW (referred to as Klear from now on).
2. Spray it with the interior colour of the framing.
3. Spray it with the exterior colour of the aircraft.
4. Give it another coat of Klear.
5. Trim it into strips of appropriate thickness.
6. Apply the decal in the normal way.

I am actually going to apply the decal onto a wet layer of Klear rather than using MSSET.

This will take place on my Avenger in the next couple of days so - Watch This Space!

The RN Avenger AS-4 is close to being finished - and no dramas

2011-11-17T04:04:00.000-08:00

The following is the Academy Avenger, with small modifications to the body - namely replacing the bulged windows with flat ones and the removal of another small window on either side, which can be made to look like a 1950's RN Avenger. The big addition, however, is the ASH radar under the starboard wing.

I picked up the Quickboost ASH radar resin part but this does not come with any mounting point. This is because this item was fitted to a range of aircraft in differing positions so a single mount would not be appropriate. Using a photo I had to hand of an AS-4 at the time of Suez, I was able to calculate the size and cut out a plastic card version of the mount.

All that is left to do is to give the model as it exists a coat of satin varnish, paint the framing on the canopy and put it all together. A couple of comments here - 1. I am using satin varnish as the consensus seems to be that gloss is too bright for 1/72. I will make my mind up when I see the final version - and 2. I am using a new technique to frame the canopy which I will describe in theory in the next Blog entry and then report on the practice later.

Proof of time travel

2011-11-17T03:56:00.000-08:00

Here is the background and then my theory.

Often when you are modelling, you drop a part on the floor - well I do it all the time!

I am sure that you have all observed that to go looking for a small part immediately is often a waste of time. Give it a few minutes and there it is. Now, my wife has theories about this, mostly to do with impatience and incompetent looking.

My theory is this. We can prove the existence of time travel by the process described above. What actually happens is that, by falling off the table - along with the plastic content of the part, the likelihood of being able to replace it if lost, and the correlation of the plastic colour with that of the floor covering - the part will actually disappear - albeit, just a few minutes but none the less disappear. This is proven by the fact that the part will not be visible for that few minutes.

My theory is that the part is actually travelling through time and will just re-appear once we catch up with it. There can be no other rationalisation!

QED!

The Seafire 46 is finished BUT!

2011-11-17T03:49:00.000-08:00

I have finished the Admiral Seafire 46 with a single exception - I can't find the canopy! Why is there always something that goes wrong?

However, I am going to beg the big H, on my next wholesale order, for a replacement. Maybe they will and maybe they won't. I am not keen on buying a whole new kit just for the canopy. I have one other game plan ready - wait a couple of weeks and it may turn up. I will post a blog entry about my time travel theories and how model making proves that it exists.

Anyway, here it is. I have to say that, in spite of some of the problems, like losing the undercarriage doors and the tail wheel, I quite enjoyed making this kit. I don't think it looks too bad.

(Don't forget, you can see a bigger version of each photo by double clicking - a pop up window will open)

Undercarriage door replacement

2011-11-13T03:50:00.000-08:00

I managed to lose three of the undercarriage doors so I have to make some replacements.

The door attached to the port undercarriage strut was easy because I had the starboard one to use as a template. The two outer doors were a different matter because I have lost both of them!

Photoshop to the rescue. On the back of the box, there is a drawing of the underneath to show decal placement. It has the outline of the doors drawn in. However, it is not to scale.

I scanned the box into Photoshop and measured the box wing dimension and the model dimension. I determined that the box art had to be scaled by 175.61%to get it to the size of the model.

Here is the before and after. Making the doors should now be easy.

The Gannet gets its first coat of primer

2011-11-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

As CODs were painted in a dark grey blue, I have given the fuselage and the wings a first coat of my favourite primer - Vallejo Polyurethane Black. As usual, this has brought out th areas where the filling might not be as good as it should be.

Some great news though. In looking up the aircraft as supplied in the CMR kit, I find that the COD Gannet that is depicted in the kit was actually flown by my old scouting contact - John Sillett. It seems that he had a panel blow off whilst flying it. This means that, given that the Alley Cat decals have one of his AEW3s on the sheet, I will end up making models of two aircraft that he flew. Not a bad tally given that he is only recorded as flying 5 Gannets in total.

Here are the pics of the current state of play. As you can see, with total disregard to my sanity, I have gone for the wing fold option!

Guess I need to do a bit more work in this seam!

These are the rest of the wing fold. As the middle parts will have some decals on, these all have to be painted and decalled before I can put the wing fold together.

A little bit of filler goes a long way!

2011-11-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

I have put the two fuselage halves of the Gannet together. Unfortunately, I have got the cockpit sitting a bit wrong so the Navigator's seat is a bit one sided towards starboard. Plus, with the filing I had to do to make it fit, I will need to repaint bits of the cockpit edges again.

As you can see, I had to use some filler on the fuselage. Again, not sure if this is a slight warp in the resin or me. However, it was not a big deal.

I have now to put some weight in the nose. Then I can start to put the details parts for the nose onto the body plus I can fit the blanking plate where the radar dustbin would have been.

I have been looking at the wing fold and managed to persuade myself that I could go ahead with that, and if it didn't work out, come back to the straight wings. However, because of the inaccessibility of the inner parts of the wing surfaces, once the wings are folded (see image - courtesy of Hyperscale),

I would have to paint and decal the wing before I attempted to put it together. That rather makes it a big commitment and, as some decalling is required, there would be no coming back without getting a replacement decal sheet. However, at the moment, I am minded to go on with the wing fold. It will make it a much more interesting model.

The Gannet gets a cockpit

2011-10-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

BTW, I would really like some feedback so if you think of any suggestions or thoughts, please leave a comment. However, if you can't be constructive, please don't be offensive.

Please remember that this is a 1/72nd scale model and that the pictures on here are 200% life size so expect it to look a bit gritty. However, it is proving to be quite enjoyable. I have broken one piece of resin (the base of the seat for the Radar operator at the back. The block underneath was too high for the seat to fit under the headrest so in cutting it back, I smashed the seat. I have painted it as if it was there and and I am sure that, once the canopy is on, you will not be able to see it. There really is a difference between the Pilot and Radar op. seats against the Navigator - he didn't get a leather back to his seat - the other two have a red/brown back but not him!

The seat belts are just Tamiya masking tape painted and cut to size; then a touch of silver for the buckles. Again, this is 1/72nd!

The white is the residue left from the accelerator that I used to speed up fixing the rear cockpit as it wouldn't stay in place.

What a nice kit this Gannet is

2011-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

I spent Friday afternoon and evening removing all of the main Gannet parts from their moulding blocks and cleaning them up. Then, this morning, following instructions from Ken, I gave everything a dose down with Cillit Bang degreaser with a good scrub with a tooth brush.

This gets rid of all of the release agents, etc. that get onto the surface of the resin and stop glue and paint from adhering.

The small parts are wonderfully moulded and were extremely easy to clean up. Here is a shot of all of the parts for the fuselage. I am very impressed both with the detail and with the fit of the parts.

I am going to give everything a coat of primer later today. Because I have had such good results with it, I am going to make that first coat one of black primer. This will suit the cockpit and the upper surfaces. I will then use it as pre-shading for the lower half of the body, which is going to be in Sky - 'Duck Egg Blue' - 'Duck Egg Green' as it is variously called. I will put some more shots up when I have done that.

I am still wary of the gluing up process as you all know my love of super glue. However, the Gator's Grip is a quick grip, slow cure, acrylic glue and will be better for gluing the major components together. I just need to be patient. This is why I am doing this alongside the Admiral Seafire -so that I have something else to do whilst the glue sets.

You may well ask 'where are the wings'. Well, as I have mentioned, I have the wing fold set. This is a complete replacement for the deployed wings that come with the kit. However, it is very complex so I am keeping my options open on this.

I must be mad but here goes!

2011-10-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

Having ranted and raved and cursed about resin over the last couple of years and vowing to avoid all kits that have it in their make up, what am I doing? Well, just a Czech Master Resin Gannet COD.

The COD was the final version of the Gannet and was just an slightly emptied out airframe for use as a communications aircraft - COD standing for Carrier Onboard Delivery. There are a few injection Gannets around - Frog, Trumpeter and Revell, but they are all either AS1/4s or T1/2. there is not an injection COD, nor is there an injection AEW3.

My good friend Ken has persuaded me to have a go at both of these. As you know I have a soft spot for Gannets so I would like to have all 4 types in my FAA collection.

I am currently working on the Admiral Seafire 46 which is coming on nicely but I need something in between paint coats. Here are a couple of pictures of the kit out of the box. As you can see, it is very nicely moulded and has very little flash. The moulding blocks on the fuselage are nicely handled. I haven't opened the other bags yet but I am assured that this will go together nicely. I have a bottle of Gator's Grip so I shouldn't need to use Super Glue for the main parts - Gator's Grip, masking tape and patience will be the order of the day.

Oh, did I mention that I was not only supplied with the Gannet as a kind gesture, but also the wing fold! I was a bit concerned about this but the wing fold set comes with replacement wings so I don't have to do a cut and paste job, thank goodness. Must get the decals right though - unlike a famous one in the magazines.

This Seafire is fun

2011-10-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Having had such heart aches and trials over the Eduard Tempest, I sort of assumed that the Admiral Seafire 46 was going to be much the same. However, I am finding it great fun. Why is that?

Firstly, it doesn't rely on lots of etched and resin for its details - what detail it has is all plastic - except for the seat belts. Secondly, the plastic is quite soft so sanding everything to fit isn't too big a chore. So, I have found myself spending hours putting together one of the smallest aircraft I have built since I did the two Salamanders.

The plastic all needs a bit of clean up and fettling to fit but generally, as you can see, it makes it without filler - except for one wing join. The cockpit has come out quite well. However, the headrest didn't appear to be there in spite of being in the drawing, so I had to make one.

For some time I thought I had lost the decals and was contemplating a Model Alliance set - almost the price of the kit, but I finally found them - in my tool box!

Here is where we are to date.

Eduard Tempest finally finished - I am happy, anyway

2011-10-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

Well here we are - I thought I would never do it but it is finally finished. I have gone for pristine rather than weathered on the basis that it is fine like this and the potential for screwing up is great so I left it!

Comments? Well, I didn't use much of the etched brass - the seat belts and the UC doors mainly. The resin cockpit was a complete waste of time. I didn't realise that there was a plastic one in the box or I would have used that - not that you can see anything of the cockpit, as my shot of the seat shows. I lost the tail wheel so I had to make one up. It came from the back end of the propeller shaft plus an unused piece of etched from the kit. It's a bit low but it is there so not to worry.

The basis of the decoration is Pierre Clostermann, No. 3 Squadron, RAF Fassberg Germany July-August 1945. I really wanted to do Roland Beaumont but was scared off by the D-Day stripes. Now I know that I can do this without etched and resin, I will maybe have another go some time.

Fantastic extra book for my Fleet Air Arm Project

2011-10-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

My friend Ken put me on to this one. Cheap at £40 on Amazon but -Wow - what contents.

The book is "Fleet Air Arm Fixed-Wing Aircraft since 1946" by Ray Sturtivant.

This book has 640 pages and covers every single aircraft that flew with the FAA - that's right - aircraft - NOT aircraft type! Every aircraft is listed under its FAA serial along with a description of all known activity. It doesn't show standard flights but does show any incident - from a wing hitting something on taxi through to complete write offs.

It is loaded with black and white photos and has a colour section in the middle which gives basic colour layouts for most of the aircraft included.

Lastly, it has a list at the back of every pilot that flew with the FAA with a listing of the aircraft flown.

This has enabled me to finally track down what happened to my scouting friend - John Sillett. He is listed as flying the following aircraft - all AEW3 Gannets: XG786, XG885, XL450, XL473, XL482 and XL493. The incident that I remember John telling me about is listed as follows: "Night GCA approach, std engine failed, prop failed to feather, ditched port beam of Eagle near Singapore (Lt. JM Sillett & Lt. BM Jackson-Dooley unhurt). So now I know.

Also, I was interested in the expression std (starboard) engine in an aircraft that looks as though it only has one engine. However, the 'Double Mamba' engine was arranged with two engines side by side driving contra-rotating propellers so it actually does have a starboard and a port engine!

The book is not competition for the Ray Williams book mentioned in an earlier blog. That has much more detail about the aircraft type - but put together, I think I will be able to do a good job on the project. Incidentally, it lists 55 aircraft types, where the Ray Williams book only lists 44.

Starting on my Fleet Air Arm theme

2011-10-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

I have listed out pretty much all of the aircraft that I can get and have been acquiring some of them in readyness - suddenly I have a stash!

This is going to be some ride as I am moving out of my comfort zone in many ways with this. So many of the aircraft can only be found in 1/72 and so many of them are short run or even (don't say it too loud) resin kits!

This all came about because I finally found out the details of my old Scouting friend, John Sillett's crash when flying a Gannet AEW3. In conversations with Ken Withey, I suddenly had committed to building not only an AlleyCat AEW3 but also a CzechMaster AS/4 COD - oh dear :-(

So I have to start somewhere, and in my enthusiasm, I have left the Lightning a little unfinished and the Eduard Tempest just needing a flat coat and the wheels + radio aerial fitted. I will sort that out tomorrow.

In the meantime, I am making these FAA models in date order to avoid doing all the ones I like first. Hence, I have started on the following:

This is distictly a short run kit - no alignment pins or tabs, rotten instructions and some flash. However, I have persevered and this is where I am at the moment:

The scalpel handle is marked in millimetres and centimetres so you can see the size!

Next step is to fit it into the fuselage - now that might be fun. Some pics later if I get it done.

The Tempest moves on

2011-10-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

Actually, it is not looking too bad now. I have given it some camo and have put the decals on.

Here it is for all to see:

I am working on the canopy and the propeller/boss at the moment. After that, I am left with the wheels and doors plus the radio aerial and I should be finished - oh after I gove it a coat of flat varnish - BEFORE I fit the canopy

Finally - a proper project

2011-10-15T10:55:00.000-07:00

Some years ago I put a list up on a newsgroup suggesting that it was the sum total of aircraft used by the Fleet Air Arm since 1945. I was quickly disabused of my ideas and given the real list - much longer. I then purchased 'Royal Navy Aircraft Since 1945' by Ray Williams. This lists 44 aircraft.

I have gone through the list and have come up with all those that I can find as currently available in 1/72nd. I now propose to work through the list and end up with a definitive set of models.

Here is the current list (with some gaps noted) along with their kit numbers and mask/decals required.

Aircraft	Date of 1st Service	Kit	Extras
Blackburn Firebrand	1945	VAL72006
D.H. Sea Hornet 20/22	1947	SH72057
Fairey Firefly FR47	1947
Hawker Sea Fury	1947	TU01631	EDCX199
Supermarine Seafire 46	1947	ADM7205
D.H. Sea Vampire	1948	CMR1219
D.H. Sea Hornet 21	1949	SH72059
Douglas Skyraider	1951	MAG7224
Supermarine Attacker F1	1951	AZM72082
Westland Whirlwind	1952
Grumman Avenger	1953	AC1651	X72108
Hawker Sea Hawk	1953	HB87251	EDCX290
Sikorsky Dragon Fly	1953
Supermarine Attacker FB2	1953	AZM72083
D.H. Sea Venom	1954	EA72225
Fairey Gannet AS1/4	1954	TU01629	EDCX178
Westland Wyvern	1954	TU01619	EDCX058
Short Seamew	1957	MAG7205
Hawker Hunter T8	1958	OLPR7250
Supermarine Scimitar	1958	XK72011
D.H. Sea Vixen	1960	CH5051
Fairey Gannet AEW3	1960	ACRK7201
Fairey Gannet COD	1961	CMR1118
Westland Wessex	1961	ARK72032
Blackburn Buccaneer	1962	AX04049	EDCX280
Hawker Hunter GAII	1962
Westland Wasp	1964
McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG1	1969	FJ270449
Westland Gazelle	1974	AX50084	MD026
Westland Sea King HAS2	1976	AX04048
Westland Sea King HAR5	1977	AX50113
Bae Sea Harrier FRS1	1980	AX03078	EDCX259
Bae Sea Harrier FRS2	1981	AX03079
Westland Lynx HAS2	1981	HB87236	EDCX243
Westland Lynx HAS3	1982	HB87237

I cannot believe that I cannot find any currently available kit for a Westland Whirlwind or Dragonfly helicopters - Kingkit, Kit Krazy, EBay - NOTHING!

Moving on with the Tempest

2011-10-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

I have now got the underside sprayed and masked and the Ocean Grey/ Dark Green camo on the upper surfaces. I am trying to lay down the black walkways on the wings. One would have thought that Eduard could have provided decals - but no chance.

As they are of a curved nature, I have had to make masks. To do that I have an undersized scan of the Eduard sheet showing where to put all the stencils.

I have scanned that and resized it to actual size and then made some Tamiya masking tape masks. This is where I am at the moment.

If you are interested in how the photo was managed, here goes:

The photo was taken on my iPad2. Under iOS5, this is automatically transferred to my Mac Mini using the new iCloud Photostream. I then cropped the picture in iPhoto and uploaded it. Under the "old" regime, I would have taken the photo on my Canon SLR, placed the chip into the Mac Mini. Uploaded it manually. Opened Photoshop and cropped it then I could have uploaded it. Apple are slowly making lots of 'stuff' easier!

The masking off and Klear on

2011-10-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

I have given the spine and tail a few coats of white. I then lifted the masking tape off the black lines on the wings. The last thing I have done so far is to give it all a coat of Johnsons Klear - well actually Pledge Multi-Surface Wax to seal the black lines and to protect the silver paint when I start putting the decals on - next step.

Off with the Alclad on with the Model Air

2011-10-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

I got the Ligthing to the point where it was ready for a coat of natural metal. This involved undercoating the model with Vallejo Black Primer. Then there was a lttile trick that I learnt with the previous Lighting that I did. There are thin back lines around the wings which delineate the no-walk areas. I tried on the previous model to use the decals in the kit but they kept breaking as they were so thin and fragile. Having undercoated the model with black primer, i then laid out these lines in custom cut masking tape. All I have to do now once the wings are finished painting is to lift the masking tape and - bingo - no-walk lines. Well that's how it worked out last time.

I got some Airframe Aluminium Alclad for the finish but, as normally happens when I use Alclad, the whole thing looked so unconvincing. Not only was it patchy but I could see a fingerprint in the primer through the Alclad. I know from experience that touching up Alclad is almost impossible so I was already in for a respray - if I continued with Alclad, that would be two resprays - primer and final coat. So, out came a bottle of Model Air Silver - which went on like a dream.

Here is the model after the Model Air layer but before removing the tape. I have a lot more masking to do because the spine on the aircraft is grey.

Here is where we are so far.

So far - so good - Tempest and Lightning coming on well.

2011-09-25T04:40:00.000-07:00

Here is the Tempest - still going, you notice. I have sprayed the underneath with Xtracrylix Medium Sea Grey and have masked it all off. The first coat of Ocean Grey on the upper surfaces highlighted an issue with the port wing root so I have had to re-glue and re-fill the area. Here is the current state.

The Lightning is coming on quite well. Everything that's to be aboard is aboard - I have left off anything that might get broken. It is all prepared for its first coat of primer. This will be Vallejo Polyurethane Black as the bulk of the aircraft will be Aluminium natural metal. As you will have seen for the photo on the last post, only the spine and the tail are gloss white. I also need black wings as I will do the trick I learned last time - mask out the do not walk lines on the wings with very thin masking tape over the black - rather than trying to put black decals down and keep them straight.

Two topics on the go - a bit of rationalising

2011-09-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

As I am now running in and out of the shed to do my airbrushng - SWMBO has moved me out to keep the kitchen tidy! - I am finding that I need something to do between bouts of airbrushing.

I have also been considering formalising my modelling rather than the 'jump around' that it has been over recent years. With no more public outlet - not that I needed that to do the wide variety of topics covered over the last few years, I have decided to go for a theme and stick to it - I then failed at the first hurdle.

Leaving out the 1/48th Eduard Tempest - which was a 'labour of love' - HA! - I have always meant to concentrate on FleetAir Arm models, even to the extent of buying a rather expensive and hard to get book which details all of the FAA aircraft since 1945. So, this is my plan - work on a series of FAA aircraft in 1/72nd. So what do I do first - well I had this 1/72nd Trumpeter EE Lightning F-6 left on the shelf from a failed sale! I have already made the F-2A from this kit so I fancied a bare metal version. As I say, I was going to stick to a theme.

Here is the aircraft I am modelling: XR753

Still here we are. I have been doing it in between paint trips for the Tempest. I am NOT going to worry about inaccuracies in any kit that I build so every one is to be out of the box. Here are the first pics of the Lightning. Remember that this is 1/72nd and also that it is me - grin.

Future Plans
I am going to go for the theme as stated. The first four models are on their way and will be started once the F-6 is done (oh, and the Tempest - if I don't throw it at the wall first).

Hobby Boss FGA6 Sea Hawk
Trumpeter Fairey Gannet AS Mk.1/4
Ark Models Westland Wessex HAS Mk.1/31
Airfix Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B

I will wait for the new Dragon Sea Vixen rather than tackle a short run MPM or Xtrakit as I know that they will bring out the same feelings as this Eduard Tempest.

I have been shown the Alley Cat Fairey Gannet AEW3 - I know that it is resin with white metal, but one of my friends from the Air Scouts back in the 60s flew (and crashed) one so I may have a go.

Such a nice cockpit but...

2011-09-17T12:14:00.000-07:00

I did build the cockpit but when it came to fitting it, it was way too wide so I had to almost destroy it to get the basic bits in. In fact, all you can see is the seat and a bit of the floor, so that is what I fitted.

Next stop - fit the wings - not so easy or fast.

Here is what you have to contend with when you fit the undercarriage bays onto the lower wing.

This narrow gap is what is left between the two bays. If you skip back to the cockpit - or see below:

Now tell me - how is that going to fit between the two bays - simple answer, it isn't!

This is what I had to do to make it fit - not pretty but it works - and you can't see it once the fuelage is glued up!

Now it all goes together. More pics tomorrow unless I throw it against the wall - grin.

Why oh why do I get involved in etched brass and resin?

2011-09-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

I have spent the whole evening putting together the cockpit. Having checked how much you can see when the fuselage is put togeter, I am not sure quite how much you will see.

I have more super glue on my fingers than on the bits that needed sticking.

Question - why is it that my fingers stock to gether instantaneously but what I want to stick takes 5 attempts?

Anyway, this is what it looks like at the moment:

I must be mad!!

2011-09-17T06:44:00.001-07:00

I have decided to get back into modelling after a few months of concentrating on my other three main hobbies, playing the concertina, jigsaw puzzles and sewing tapestries (!).

Mind you I am not sure that I have done this right knowing the problems I have had in the past.

I am going for the new Eduard limited edition of the Hawker Tempest Mk V - mainly because there are marking for both Rollie Beaumont and Pierre Clostermann. Beaumont was one of my childhood heroes.

However, the kit is a typical Eduard special - a resin cockpit, lots of etched, a mask and no alignment pins. As I normally avoid resin and etched like the plague, this is going to be fun. I didn't do a bad job on the 1/48th Airacobra from Eduard so I am hoping that this one will go as well. The camo is hard edges so that is a bonus.

With regard to the hard edged camo, you can see in the picture a new idea from Tamiya. This is Tamiya masking tape on a sheet (with a printed grid). I can print out the camo design by rescaling the instructions in Photoshop and cutting the sheet out. It will be interesting.

There was a second project - we got stuck with an Eastern Express 1/72nd Mig 21 kit which looked like an interesting build until I opened it. The instructions are minimal, the painting instructions are non-existent and the decal sheet codes don't even correspond to the aircraft shown in the instructions or on the box! We shall see - grin

Still no action

2011-08-03T01:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry but having had a small disagreement with the local club, my enthusiasm for modelling in plastic has steadied. I am currently concentrating on my model railroad and the struggle with my concertina.

I will keep ypu informed on any cnage of heart - sorry.

At last some action - only in 1/144th though

2011-06-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

I decided that I had to get down to some scale modelling again. It seems that the model railroad and not going to the club have both pulled my interest away for some time.

I had a good time doing the 1/144th Mitchell so I thought I would have a go at some more in that scale.

I chose the Dragon A-6E Intruder - mostly because I enjoyed making one many years ago and becase you get 2 kits in the box!

I put some tiny lead shot in the nose and then couldn't get it to close up completely - hence the filler.

Check out the cutting mat. Those grid lines ar 10mm apart (less than 1/2 inch for our American friends) so that shows how small it is. I will do one at a time but then put them on a diorama consisting of a tarmac hard stand but with lots of sand blown over - just as I remember the Middle East from my many visits.

Recent small projects plus...

2011-05-23T14:14:00.001-07:00

I have been concentrating on my Model Railroad recently but along the way I have had to do some plastic modelling.

Firstly, I haver bought two kits by Atlas, in the USA, for station buildings. This is the first one. This is the smaller of the two. Although they are designed not to be painted, I much prefer them properly finished so I have sprayed this in a classic US colour scheme of yellow and brown!

BTW, I know that the finials on the roof are bent but I keep catching them so I will straighten them when the building goes onto my layout. This kit went together beautifully. There was no flash and everything fitted where it should. An example to a lot of aircraft kit makers.

Secondly, I have been repainting two caboose (cabooses - cabeese?? Who knows? Who cares?). One was in New Haven red and black (sorry Dan, it had to go) and the other was a modern Ontario based railroad in bright yellow! I am repainting them in traditional Tuscan Red with black roofs and trim and then will decal them up for my Sunset & North Eastern RR.

Lastly, a real challange. A couple of years ago, I bought this resin flat made by Pili Pili. It is in their Museum series and is in the style of Rogier Van Der Weyden (1400-1464). I have just given it a black undercoat and started the 'beige' areas. It is going to be fun(!) getting all of the transparencies right.

Just a reminder

2011-05-12T05:37:00.000-07:00

If I am a bit quiet here, it is because I am busy on other hobbies.

Check out my Model Railway blog and My Other Hobbies blog

David

WWII Russian Diorama

2011-05-04T00:19:00.000-07:00

Unimodel released a Russian Fire Engine in 1/48th scale recently. I was interested in making it so started to consider how to set it in a scene.

As that kit has gone out of stock, I have been working on the other elements.

This is the first part. It is an Ark Yak 7D. It is actually the ICM kit and has gone together really well. The seams on the fuselage fit perfectly. There was a bit of a gap along the wing roots but nothing that a swipe of Vallejo filler didn't cure. I am in the process of freehand airbrushing the camo. At this point, I normally make a mess and revert to hand painting but - so far, so good!

The plan is to have this in the folds of a crash landing - so props all bent up, no undercarriage, etc. Not sure how I am going to get the canopy opened as it comes as a single item and I need it slid back.

Once completed, the next element is to get some people standing around. I have to hand a set of Eduard figures which should fit the bill nicely. This is the box top.

There are enough figures just standing around to make an interesting diorama.

Watch this step.

Where did this one come from?

2011-04-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

Out of left field, as my American friend would say!

I have put the Mustang to one side having ruined the windows for a second time.

Some time ago, one of our customers returned some decals saying that they were out of register. I couldn't see this so I thought that I would use them myself. The Revell kit was for an Austrian Saab Draken. However, as I have worked for a Swedish bank I thought I would use the decals to do a Swedish one. As I was after a quick and easy, I took the plain grey option with the huge red numbers.

This is the result.

So far I can't say that I have messed anything up - no second goes, no throwing away. Yet again it's a 1/72nd aircraft so I do seem to be a bit luckier with that scale.

Here are the 'snaps'. (Don't forget to double click on the pics to see a much larger image)

Mustang is close to finished

2011-04-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots of the bodywork of the Shelby Mustang.

I now have a second kit so I have some replacement transparencies and some spare decals for the rear spoiler so I should be able to complete the model this weekend.

I just wanted to record it before I make a mess of it!

Quietly confident

2011-03-31T03:46:00.000-07:00

Well, things seem to be going well at the moment - but there is always time for a stupid mistake!

I am trying a new idea this time. Instead of embedding all of the photos into the blog, I have created a Lightroom slideshow on our home web site. I have done the slide show as a Flash presentation but because I know that iPhone and iPad users can't see Flash, I have also do the show as an HTML presentation so we should have all bases covered.

Today's Slideshows are here

Flash Presentation
HTML Presentation

Airfix Series 2 Bofors Gun and Tractor
This went to the competition last week and got a couple of points!
Here is the finished item

This was a very enjoyable build and I am quite happy with the final result. It has made me think about doing more small scale armour.

Revell Shelby GT500

This is coming along really well. As you will see from the photos, I have finished the chassis. I have given the body its white primer and top coat. I will be giving it two coats of Johnson's Klear today so that I can put the decals on. Still lots of scope for messing up the bodywork but fingers crossed.

Walthers HO - 1/87th - Scale Wooden Caboose

This is for my model railroad but it is here because it is a plastic kit which needed building, as you can see. I have finished the body and done the weathering. All that is left to do is to fit the trucks and couplers and then it will be ready to go. I always make one mistake - I have missed of the decals so I need to add them and then re-do the weathering over them - stupid!

Conclusion

Not a bad run lately. Don't forget to use the links at the top to see the full slide show.

Advancing on two fronts - not always recommended

2011-03-14T11:41:00.000-07:00

But this time - OK.

IPMS Ipswich Airfix Series 2 Contender

Here is my Airfix 1/76th Bofors gun - work in progress but not far off. This is a tiny thing and has lots of little parts. It is not quite as complex as the IBG Chevy truck that we did for the 6 hour build but it is close. I have done the top coat of paint and then misted some Lifecolor White Oxide over to fade it all out. Next step is to add some washes and then it will get a copious amount of MIG Sand pigment.

I have the four figures to paint as well but they shouldn't take long. It will be a squeeze because I am getting really involved in the other modelling project - see below - and I have a one day seminar coming up for my concertina playing so I am practising the music for that as well. Never a dull moment, as they say.

Revell Ford Mustang.

(double click on the pictures to get a larger image in a new window)

This is coming on really well. I love the new Vallejo primers - especially the black one which has worked brilliantly here. I have used it as an undercoat for all the Alclad and also as a finish coat for those bits that need to be black. The wheels have been coated in Alclad chrome so they look great.

As always, with a car, the real issue is the quality of the paint job on the body but that is yet to come so I have plenty of scope more messing this one up!

That's all for now.
David

Vindicator - gone where all the good planes go

2011-03-05T05:43:00.000-08:00

I got close - so very close to finishing another 1/48th aircraft when the curse of the stupid mistakes hit - yet again :-(

Here is the Vindicator in its current condition - from its good side!

So far so good.

Now let's look at the bad side. As you can see, I didn't protect the decals with a coat of varnish so some of the unit number on the port side has come away. Also, when I was getting it off the shelf where I put it to let the tail aerial fixing point dry, I caught the front aerial and broke it off!

You can just see the tail aerial mounting that I fitted.

I took it all and threw it in the bin. I then had a thought that I could remake the aerial out of brass wire hammered flat and shaped (similar to how I did the Mosquito aerial) and that I could live with the decal problem. I went out to the bin but, of course, I couldn't find all the canopy transparencies.

So this one will be finished and put on the shelf as a warning.

Next Two Projects

The club has another Airfix competition in March - series 2, this time. Let's hope that they don't keep going up to series 9 (or wherever it stopped)! I am going for safety and armour so I have chosen the Bofors Gun

It is poorly moulded (ancient tooling) and extremely fiddly so should irritate me enough. I have notcied that there is no transparency for the windscreen so I will have to scratch build that (which is a bit out of the rules but what the heck!.

For my own enjoyment, I am going for yet another Shelby Muscle Car. This time, the current Shelby GT 500. I have already got the Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner to work on the chrome parts and hopefully will start on this tomorrow.

Spot the Mistake and an Accurate Miniatures special

2011-02-04T12:44:00.000-08:00

Spot the Mistake

As part of the Colchester End Of Year, I got a Hobby Boss 1/72nd scale kit of a Eurocopter Tigre. Now, one look at the camo schemes and I would have left this alone. However, the deal is that you make what you are given. Not being able (or wanting) to do the French version, I chose the Australian Army finish.

It was tricky but quite an enjoyable build and here is the result.

Now, see if you can spot the 'deliberate' mistake? The answer is at the bottom of this entry.

Accurate Miniatures Vindicator SB2U-2
I have always liked Acc.Min kits ever since the release of their Avenger back in the late 90's got me back into aircraft modelling. Silly story but I bought the Avenger. they then pre-released the Dauntless so I got one of them. It came in a box with lots of multiple sprues and I guess you could have made at least two aircraft. However, the net result was that I finished the Dauntless but never finished the Avenger. I made a mistake with the Avenger in buyer a lot of Verlinden extra parts, not realising quite how much work you need to put into Verlinden add-ons. I then bought two of the 1/48th B-25 Mitchells (one of really favourite models - I can't wait for the 1/32 version to come out) but eventually sold both of them. I have had the Vindicator on the shelf for a long time so I thought I would get on with it.

Here is the current state of play. It is going together slowly - the cockpit was incredibly detailed and flimsy with poor instructions but I think I made it.

Spot the Mistake

Did you see it?

I have left the tail rotor off! Unfortunately, I thought I was finished so I have thrown the rest away!

Oh well, I guess I will need to buy another kit - some Xmas present!

Mosquito and Harley finished builds

2011-01-10T13:13:00.000-08:00

The Mosquito is finished. I was just taking photos when I broke off the aerial mast! Rather than try and cobble it together, I heated some 1mm brass wire and hammered it flat. This not only looks better but is much stronger and it matches the replacement brass end on the tail!

WARTIME HARLEY

My best friend - Dan in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, sent me a little Maisto snap together Harley for Xmas some years ago - mainly to get his own back because, whenever I visit, we always have to go to the Harley shop to buy some t-shirts! This little kit is made of some kind of soft plastic which rejected every glue I tried and had a very shiny surface - very toy like. I felt that I should try a bit harder so I did an amount of weathering on it. The only thing that I haven't done is to provide an accurate US Army number plate. I will do this when my next stock of laser decal paper arrives.

Firstly, this is what it is supposed to look like when purchased.

This is what mine looks like:

Next Project
I was given a Hobby Boss 1/72 Eurocopter Tigre HAP as part of the Christmas lucky dip at the Colcheter Club - you are supposed to complete the kit and bring it back for January. I have just realised that the next meeting is next Monday so I have 6 days to make this thing! Pictures tomorrow.

Interesting Mosquito

2011-01-01T03:20:00.000-08:00

I am a long way into what looks like being another aircraft success. This time I am building a 1/72nd scale Tamiya Mosquito. I know - how can you go wrong with a Tamiya Mosquito but, if you remember, a couple of years ago - at Christmas to be exact, I trashed a 1/48th scale one due to me trying to decal a pebbledash finish!

This time, I am making a model of something that has intrigued me for years. Why did BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) fly Mosquitos during WWII? Well, it seems that they were used for maintaining communication and imports from Sweden. Sweden, being neutral, would have impounded any military aircraft and sent the crew back with a flea in their ear! So, the only way was to send civilian aircraft, which meant - NO GUNS! Flying from the UK to Sweden must have been hazardous as it was without the lack of armament. However, a Mosquito could outrun pretty much anything when it needed to so daylight flights were the norm - at least until the Fw190 came along when they switched to nighttime, as the 190 could give them some problems. Amazingly none were lost to enemy action.

For the full story, check out this web site.

So, I got hold of a kit and the recently released set of decals from Vingtor and off I went. Although Vingtor state on their web site that they only use top print shops, these decals are very thin and prone to break up. Also, they do not have a deep colour so the camouflage behind tends to adjust the colours, which is a bit of a disappointment.

You may notice that the Mosquito is painted in medium bomber camouflage, namely brown and green, rather than the expected grey and green. However, this is their early scheme - along with the aluminium colour of the underneath.

All that is left to do now is to build the undercarriage, give it a coat of matt varnish and un-mask all the glass (oh - and fit the front glass panel). It still needs the exhausts fitting but I won't be fitting the exhaust shields. These were intended to mask any glow from the exhausts but the pilots found that leaving the shields off gave them another 16 knots speed - vital when you are trying to outrun something.

This is where I am at the moment.

Two more finished

2010-12-11T02:36:00.000-08:00

Here are the two models I talked about a few days ago. They are now done and dusted!

PBJ

I bet you are sick of hearing about PBJs. Well here is my finished 1/144th Minicraft kit. As I mentioned, I had a 'disaster' in that one of the side gun windows fell into the body of the aircraft leaving me a little short to finish it. I got hold of some 1.5mm clear poly sheet and cut out two new windows (I did two so that they matched).

I had a problem with the guns as the 1/144th moudlings left something to be desired as they were very thick and had lots of flash. Hence, I have replaced all of the guns with some brass rod. These look much more in scale. I came up with an idea to fit the barrels to the side windows. Heat up the rod and let it melt it's way through the plastic. However, this clear poly is very hard so I was only able to get the rod sealed into the panel - not to get it all the way through. Still it looks fine now.

Hey - that's another aircraft finished to a 'reasonable' standard. I must be getting better - grin.

SS Panzer Crewman
Here he is. I am very please with this one. I had some real worries about the camo smock. Mike Grzebian kindly sent me some pictures which helped but in the end I just had to go for it. When I put the original background patches on, it look like a cartoon. I then added the splinter blotches which made it look worse. I then had a brainwave. I took some Tensocrom Oil filter and gently sprayed that all over and - bingo - a toned down result that I think looks the part. You are welcome to differ of course - all criticisms gratefully ignored.

Next Projects

I have the 1/72nd Mosquito on the go - just sprayed the cockpit background colour and have part of the wings put together. I also have another Laser Cut wood kit for a building on my railroad. As usual, progress pictures will appear as and when.

Tapestry

If you were at all interested, I finished the Shaker Tapestry Cushion and have now started on an even more complicated one. This one is about 30,000 stitches!

The next one is even more. It has a border that I reckon will take 5 evenings to complete a single side = 20 days just to do the border! This is the product shot.

Nice little PBJ - or Mitchell to most of you

2010-12-09T07:47:00.000-08:00

PBJ-1H
If you can remember that far back, I made a Hasegawa Marine PBJ in 1/72nd. The Mitchell has always been one of my favourite aircraft but I have never seemed to get around to making what I regard as a classic - an RAF B-25. However, I have now made 2 USMC PBJs. What I like about USMC aircraft is that they always up gun them. PBJs have 4 extra MGs - 2 on each side just aft of the cockpit.

Now, having made a nice 1/72nd version, I came across a Minicraft 1/1/44th so had to make that. However, I only got some way with it before stopping - better things to do! Last month at the club, Eric brought along a 1/144th B-26 Marauder which prompted me to get my PBJ out again.

Well here it is. The last one I did, I based in New Guinea so I heavily faded and dirtied it up. This version (albeit the same aircraft) appears as it did when based in Hawaii (one of my favourite spots on earth having been there 3 times!). So good old Raggedy Ann gets another outing. The real reason for doing Raggedy Ann is that the other options had either a solid nose or a re-designed nose - and I like the classic Mitchell look.

You might like to note the 20p piece in the photo - for those of you outside the UK a 20p piece is just 20mm across. It is not quite finished. There are windows to go into the side gun bays. However, when fitting the port side one, it dropped into the body and I can't get it out. Soooo - I have to make a new pair out of clear poly sheet. Oh well, so it goes :-)

Airacobra Finished
I forgot that I hadn't posted any piccies of the P-39 in its final state. Here they are. Again, it is based in New Guinea and is suitably faded, as one would expect a matt black nightfighter to get in that heat and rain. It is sat on a sheet of PSP (pierced steel plank) which is what the Seabees used to lay down airfields quickly. This has quite a bit of etched brass and I am quite pleased with the cockpit - not that you can see much of it but it is nicely painted and detailed. there is even a coil of wire attached to the radio behind the seat.

SS Panzer Crew
On the basis that I am never very happy unless I have a figure on the go, I decided to move out of my comfort zone and tackle a late war SS three colour camo smock. So here it is. Not finished yet but getting close. As usual, it is a 1/10th scale bust by Young Miniatures and is made out of resin. Again, as usual, it needs no fettling and can be painted out of the box.

I will show more of this when it is finished.

What's next?
I have a Tamiya 1/72 mosquito on the stocks which I am doing in civilian BOAC markings (wartime though). If you don't know the story, then check back for a full description.

After that, I have been left with a battered box of an Airfix Hampden in 1/72. Now I remember Matt Braddock - of Rover Comic fame and from my childhood - flying one of these. Maybe I can do four aircraft in a row without ditching one of them! Oh, did I say - the F-16 SUFA hit the dust. I decided that it was non-recoverable. I will try again sometime.

Russian Sailor finished and Airacobra close.

2010-11-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

Well here are some pictures of the Russian Sailor. I hate taking pictures because these figures always look very crude when blown up large, when in real life they look very good. Oh well, trust me.

Eduard Airacobra

Well, it is nearly there. It has been decalled and I now have the undercarriage on it. All that is left to do is as follows:

Fit the U/C doors
Fit the propellor and prop boss.
Fit the canopy (as you can see, it has been lined out)
Sort out adding the doors.
One final coat of matt varnish and that should be it.

BTW, I will make sure I get the order right. Once in the past I fitted the canopy and then sprayed the matt varnish. Not a clever thing to do - grin.

Progress and an irritation with Eduard

2010-11-02T03:27:00.000-07:00

Firstly, an excuse. I have not been doing much blogging lately because we have been busy closing down our model shop. No - that doesn't mean that SBX is closing - just the physical shop. Internet and Mail Order are as busy as ever. the time taken to close down was more to do with shifting hundreds of pots of paint - take them off the rack - box them up - put them back on the rack again! The biggest task was moving all of the computer systems but that turned out to be the easiest - they worked first time in the new location!

Distractions
My wife Valerie is a knitter but has spent a lot of time over the last couple of years doing 'latch hook' - this is a way of making up rugs to a pattern using small lengths of wool. In the meantime, she has tried other needle crafts but can't get on with them. However, she had a tapestry which she really wanted to get made. She knew that with a mother who was a frantic knitter, I had tried out all these activities as a lad so she asked me to take the job on. Here is the current state of play:

If you look closely, you can see that all of these panels have been completed except for the leftmost pair. The top left is about 60% finished and I have the one below that to start. There are three other panels uncompleted on the bottom row. As it is my first attempt, there are some iffy bits but the overall effect is quite good. I particularly like Shaker designs (I did a lot of them when I had the furniture workshop) so I am quite enjoying this. It is something that you can do and think of other things, or listen to Paul Temple tapes, which is what I do.

Back to Modelling
There are currently two projects on the go and one that I have completed.

Completed - 1/24th Shelby Cobra
This is one of my favourite cars. I was prompted to make this when I saw one in almost these colours driving around Ipswich earlier in the year. This is made out of the box with the following two major items:

All the chrome was stripped off the sprues and everything re-done using Alclad.
A set of Eduard pre-painted etched brass seat belts was put on the driver's seat.

I took this to the club last week but don't know what the reaction was until I see the voting. Mind you, as they only seem to like Eric's boats and aircraft, I don't expect much (end of rant - grin). Mind you, if you look at Eric's boats, you can see why - check out here .

W.I.P Eduard P-39 Airacobra

Eduard recently brought out a combo kit containing 2 P-39s with decals for a series of aircraft based in New Guinea. I have always had a liking for aircraft from this area due to the prevalence of heat and rain making things faded and dirty. What settled it was the night fighter option. A P-39 in matt black seemed to be different from the usual Olive Drab/Neutral Grey. The box comes with two kits, two sets of painted etched brass, canopy masks and about 7 decal options. Some of the etched brass is way too fiddly for me but I used the bulk of the cockpit set. Mind you as some of it can only be done with the brass, there wasn't much choice.

Here is the result. But what about the irritation mentioned in the title of this blog - see the last image!

I put the decals on last night - usual Microset and Microsol procedure. This morning when I checked the results, I was horrified to find that the decals are so thin that the black shows through the white stars!

Click on the picture for an enlarged image. Still it is done now and there is not much I can do about it other than trashing the model and I don't want to do that because this one is NOT MY FAULT!

Young Miniatures Russian Sailor
This is a 1/10th bust that I am also working on. There were three difficulties with this one.

The thin white line around the cap
The name of the ship on the cap band (in Russian)
The bandiolers are flat and have to be moulded to his body

The pictures show where I have got to. In the second, you can see that I have moulded the front bandiolers - dangle them in boiling water for a few seconds and you can mould them as you wish.

The line around the cap is currently work in progress. It is a case of add some white, touch up with blue, touch up with white and so on! I will get there. The Russian script - I am still thinking about that.

That's all for now. I am quite pleased with my progress of late. Just as a comment, we telephoned the TV Licensing people this weekend and cancelled our TV licence as we no longer watch any live TV (and I only watch F1 on a play it again for which I don't need a licence). Now I know we can really do without TV and we seem to have won our evenings back for more productive pursuits - like Tapestry!!!!!

Verdammte Jabo!!

2010-09-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

Loosly translated
'Damned Fighter Bomber'
or even more loosly 'F*****g British!'

Here is my finished 1/72nd 251 diorama. Background - an RAF Fighter Bomber attack has left a large hole in the ground and one 251 caught so it can't get itself out - apparently only one injured though. Following on is another 251 and he is now attempting to extricate the first with a tow.

Construction
The basis of the diorama is a piece of 25mm high density insulation board (used to insulate my shed). This is great material because you can cut it, file it and even press depressions into it. The board was cut to simulate a track in the desert with both side of the track depressed. At one end I evacutated a large hole to give the 251 somewhere to drop into.This was then coated with Vallejo Desert Sand textured paint. A liberal sprinkling and hard brushing of Vallejo Dark Yellow Ochre weathering pigment and lastly some dry brushing with Vallejo Panzer Aces Leather gave the finish a lot of texture.

I then added some old 1" paint brush nylon bristles cut to length and glued on end. These were then dry brushed with the same Panzer Aces leather. I then grabbed some pea shingle from the parking area at the front of my cottage and pressed these into the ground. These got another coat of weathering pigments and dry brushing.

Models
The basis of the diorama is the pair of Armourfast 251. These come two to a box and are intended for wargaming so have few parts. This means that they go together very quickly but are missing some of the finer details. I was happy to leave most of these 'finer details' off but what I couldn't ignore was that the model didn't have a towing shackle! It's a bit difficult to have a towing diorama without some towing points so I had to scratch build those. In 1/72 two pieces of 160gsm card sandwiching a piece of 1.5mm plastic card did the trick. The towing line is three twisted strands of copper wire - yes there really is a loop at each end! The models do not come with any decals and, amazingly, I couldn't find any 1/72nd Afrika Korps sets so I got hold of a Normandy set that gave me the crosses and the numerals - it's a pity that they are consecutive. I then had to hand paint a representation of the Afrika Korps Palm on the front of each 251.

I used Vallejo Model Air Hemp as the main colour for each 251 over a Vallejo Grey primer. I then used Game Ink Sienna liberally diluted with Tamiya thinners and did a pin wash over both vehicles, highlighting the rivets and the panel lines. I then used some Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner to clean up. This also had the effect of working through the Hemp in places so that the base grey primer is exposed. This looks like sand erosion so worked well.

Both vehicles were then worked over with the weathering pigment. The one that is in the bomb hole got some very heavy applications to simulate the effect of the bomb blast throwing sand everywhere, whilst the other had a rather more muted application.

Figures
One interesting thing that I hadn't realised is that there are not a lot of dioramas made in 1/72 but there is a large amount of wargaming going on in the scale. This means that the figures available are all targeted at the gaming fraternity so each and every figure has a gun! Now, I wanted everyone to be in a non-combat situation so I had to go through and trim the weapons off each of them. I also had to move some arms to make more natural poses. The main effort in re-posing went into the injured man who was a crawling figure so basically had to be flattened out. I couldn't find any information on first aid kits so I made a box with a handle, painted it field blue and put a red cross on it. Likewise, there is a white armband and a red cross on the figure kneeling next to him. The rest are in a mix of full Afrika Korps shorts etc. whilst some have the brown jacket and steel helmet. In 1/72nd there isn't a lot of detailing going on with figures - just a reasonable representation.

Summing up
I had a great time making this. Just for once, I had a plan that I wanted to carry out rather than making something that hadn't sold in the shop. In fact, as soon as the 251 was released and I saw the box art, I knew what I wanted to do with the kit. None of model was difficult except for the fact that the drawing on the Armourfast box, which is the only instructions that you get, bore no relationship to the model as provided. The parts are different and it builds differently. It fitted very well and there was no flash. The figures were well moulded and are made of a softer plastic than most kits but not the rubbery material that Airfix uses.

The insulation board worked very well except that it didn't react well to the water based texture paint, which shrank and caused the base to bow. I tried to attach the base to a plywood board using the wonderfully named 'Gloop' which is an adhesive for attaching plastic card to other materials. Even liberal applications of masking ta[pe for extended periods wouldn't get the base to straighten out. I am going to have to make a surround for the base. As this is going to the club tomorrow night, I need to get on with this very quickly.

The rest of the materials worked very well. The texture paint is very good in representing the desert surface.

Overall, it was good fun and I think it ended up the way that I hoped.

Pictures

251 Diorama

2010-09-22T02:42:00.000-07:00

Armourfast recently released their long awaited 251 kit. Armourfast kits (if you don't know) are low detail wargaming kits that come with two kits in a box. At £7.50, they are very good value. I had an idea of how to utilise the two kits.

Drama in the desert!

I am putting together a diorama whereby one 251 has been in a near miss with a bomb dropped by the Allies. It has created a crater into which the 251 has driven. The second 251 is attempting a recovery mission.

This is where I have got to.

The 251 to the left is to be the one in the hole. As you can see, it is liberally covered with Sand Pigment (Vallejo actually). Both 251 are decalled with Bison decals but currently miss the Afrika Korps palm. Although they are weathered, I still have to work out how to do that! As the palm was in white, I will not be able to print some so I might just go for a painted representation.

The figures are from Italeri. As you can only buy 'fighting' figures, I have had to do a lot of chopping to remove weapons. I will do some more figures.

My next job is to work on the base. I have some 25mm foam insulation board, used for insulating my shed, which should do the job nicely. Vallejo do a nice pot of desert sand (textured) so after some cutting and moulding with plaster, I hope to have a base.

The main problem at the moment is that neither vehicle comes with the towing hook on the front or the towing shackle on the rear. I have still to sort that element out. I know I should have done it before I painted and weathered but I couldn't resist getting on.

As this is for the club next Tuesday, I need to get my finger out!

Airfix Series 1 Corsair

2010-09-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Firstly, sorry about being so quiet - I have taken up Stamp Collecting and it is taking me some time to get everything in place for it. I am still modelling but not quite at the pace of a while ago.

Current projects and status:

Young Miniatures 1:10 Soviet Naval Infantryman - in progress - 75% painted. I still have to mould the bandoleers to his body shape!
Hasegawa 1/48th F-16I Sufa - Now included in a Scale Model Forum group build so must be completed by the end of November
Revell 1/24th Shelby Cobra - Now has the etched seat belts installed and the body is being decaled. Some completion of the kit required after body decaling. Expect to have this ready for Xmas.
Bronco 1/35th A13 Cruiser - on hold - very tricky build so that is on the back burner.

Known Future Projects

Armourfast 1/72nd SdKfz251 half track x 2. I intend to make a diorama where one of these is in a ditch and the other is helping retrieve it. It will need quite a lot of 1/72 figures around to make it match photos of most German recovery images I have seen - there are always a lot of rubberneckers!
Dragon 1/16th Feldgendarme. After finishing the Young Miniatures bust, I thought I should try a complete figure. I have not made a large scale plastic figure before so this should be interesting.

Airfix Series 1 Competition
The Ipswich club has a competition this month. It is limited to Airfix Series 1 kits built out of the box, only. I took home this Fleet Air Arm (FAA) Corsair thinking it would be easy to do - Gloss Sea Blue, limited decaling, etc. However, it wasn't as easy as that. Firstly, all the decals were incorrectly numbered on the decal sheet so I had to forgo some of the tiny ones. You couldn't read them on the instructions so you couldn't work out which was which! There was also a problem with the wings. As I well knew and as was mentioned in the kit description which is part of the instructions, the FAA Corsairs had clipped wings so that they could fit into the hangers of the smaller Royal Navy carriers. However, the model doesn't have clipped wings. This means that I have to do some scratch building. I mentioned this at the club and got some fairly ribald remarks and it was not clear if this action would still qualify for the competition (that is without some bribing of the judge - Eric Dyke). Fortunately, this was all in good fun.

However, I am to get the last laugh I think because Kelvin pointed out that the cutting off of the wing tips was in the instructions so I had built the kit out of the box. He is right (see the photo below).

So all seems well. Here it is.

Quite a lot to report

2010-08-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

Ipswich Club Airfix Competition
In September, the club holds their first Airfix Series One Competition. Entries are limited to kits from that series and must be 'out of the box' with no after-market add-ons.
I thought that I would try this and see if I could still make a halfway decent 1/72nd aircraft. I got hold of an Airfix Fleet Air Arm Corsair. I like the story that we taught the Yanks how to land these things on carriers - and with aircraft with 18" clipped off their wings, as well. The wing clipping was because our carriers were smaller than the US ones (do some things never change!).
I found two problems with the kit - apart from having raised panel lines and rivets that you could shred a finger on. One was the emptiness of the cockpit with the second being the fact that the wings weren't clipped! This I found amazing, because Airfix mentions the clipping in the description of the kit. Oh well. I checked with the Chairman and Secretary to be told that 'scratchbult' would qualify - maybe if I blagged hard enough. So, I have filled out the cockpit a little with some plastic card and taken the required nine inches off each wing. here is a work-in-progress image. There is not a lot to be discerned in gloss sea blue, which is nearly black. Still it will look better once it has some decals.

U-Boat Crewman
Continuing my mission with1/10th scale busts, here is the next one finished. There was not a lot to this one - head, cap, body and binoculars. Still it was great fun to do and I think I am getting faces to work better. I still couldn't tell you how I do them - I just keep going until they look right. This figure was mostly airbrushed to get the shades right. The face was, as usual, dry brushed to get the final effect.

Revell Shelby Cobra
I am also getting on rather well with the 1/24th AC/Shelby Cobra. I am doing it as a late 1960's racer. I have some - cheating - 'pre-painted' seat belts' coming so they should tart it up well.

This one is painted in dark blue and everything metal is Alclad. I have yet to touch up the chassis as there are other colours required in there to give it some life.

Next Bust Project
This is the Young Miniatures 'The Black Devil' - Soviet Naval Infantryman from WWII. As you can see, there are a few more parts to this one. So far, all I have done is remove the moulding blocks and tidy up the flash. Unfortunately, whilst cleaning up the bandoleers, I knocked off one shell head and there were three others already missing so I have to think how to recreate these. Fun - what!

That's all for now. More in-progress as I go. Don't forget, by clicking on any image you can see a larger version. The busts don't react well to being seen many times larger than life so please make allowances.

As ever, comments are welcome, if not mandatory!

Alclad for the chassis

2010-07-26T12:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of the Cobra chassis. I have sprayed it completely with Alclad steel and will now go around and touch in the other colours - mostly black.

What is annoying is that I have lost one of the rocker covers. This means I will probably seal up the bonnet (hood) but then again, I may just leave it.

I forgot to add a photo of the upper surfaces so here it is:

'Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner' factory delivers!

2010-07-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

Well here is the result of a night in the factory.

As you can see, we are left with a nice white sprue - not a scrap of shiny chrome - all ready for a coat of primer and then Alclad will give us the perfect metal finish.

Tales of etched brass - and then onwards

2010-07-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Bronco A13, as I have mentioned, requires that you use etched brass. Here are some examples.

I am not happy with the fit of some of this and I am going to have to work out how to correct some of the problems I have found and/or made. It's in its box for a while while I get on with some 'modelling' rather than 'struggling'.

Yet another Young Miniatures Figure
Here we go again. This one is the U-Boat crewman. I know I tell everyone that I don't like doing 'German' but these figures always have such character in them. Maybe I always get the one's from the losing time.

I like to do one of these as they can be done in small bits whilst I get on with a bigger project - assuming I can find one that I can finish.

This one I can finish.
Having made a good job of the Shelby Mustang, I was wondering what to do next in the car line when I saw a Shelby Cobra drive down the road in Ipswich a couple of weeks ago. Having agreed with my friend Dan from CT, that I would tackle a couple of the latest Shelby Mustangs, since he was kind enough to send me a Motor Trend magazine which reviewed it, I feel that this is in the theme.
I have sent the chrome sprue off to the 'Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner' factory to strip the chrome so that I can Alclad everything. I have now primed the rest of the sprues. Well I missed one part which I only saw when taking the photos. see if you can see which part.

Bendy Buses? Now we have Bendy Tanks!

2010-07-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

In my enthusiasm to get on with the A-13 Cruiser there were a few things I didn't check out.

It is a 'sort of' short run kit. Although we think of Bronco as a mainstream manufacturer, this kit exhibits many of the traits of a short run manufacturer. Whilst we have some moulded alignment pins, many parts just don't have them.
I just love etched brass! (well no) but this kit has lots of it. Unfortunately, unlike some of the mainstream manufacturers, the etched isn't optional. Ever tried to fit a strap around a 1/35th scale exhaust pipe? No? - well I have!
Every one complained that the rubber band tracks in the earlier A-13s didn't fit. So, now we have the smallest mouldings possible - 120 per side - to make the tracks and - guess what! - NO rubber band option. I even went looking for some Friul Modellissmo tracks.
Biggest of all, the whole of the upper hull is warped!!!!!

Here are some photos:

However, I have spent more time working on this kit than anything I have made in the last year. 2 1/2 hours, the other evening.

Lastly, to show you what I have really been spending my time doing, here is a Jigsaw puzzle lent to me by my good customer and even better friend, Paul Waters.

It's a 1,000 piece puzzle that illustrates the vast bulk of armour used by the British Army. This has inspired me to try and expand on my current little group. I have done a Humber Scout Car, A Scorpion from the UN Balkans and now the A-13 from the desert in 41. Loads more to do. If these work as I hope, I may lay low the ghost of Aircraft modelling - smile.

Kettenhund - and a reprieve

2010-07-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Kettenhund - Chain Dog - the
'unkind' nickname for the WWII German Feldgendarmerie, so named because of their badge of office, a gorget hanging on a chain around their neck.

My version is a Young Miniatures 1/10th scale bust. This is the same
construction as the DAK tanker I finished recently. The coat he is
wearing is a rubberised motorcycle full length coat. He is shown as he
would have been during the Ardennes campaign in late 1944 - the
so-called 'Battle of the Bulge'. Note that he doesn't have any badges
on his helmet. The Germans had worked out by now that such flashes of
colour on the helmet made ideal sniper targets!

Reprieve
I have dropped some hints to people in the shop and on e-mail that the F-16I Sufa was for the big heave-ho into the bin. This was because I was being singularly unsuccessful at doing the three colour camo using a freehand airbrush. This is exactly the same problem that I had when doing the Israeli F-16B in 1/72 scale. I decided that I was better off moving on rather than stopping so I have taken the same route with this as with the previous one - I am hand painting it. Now I have NEVER hand painted a 1/48th aircraft so I am out into new territory. I am expecting it to be a bit suspect but I am determined to finish a plane, no matter what.

This is where I am so far.

I have some way to go, mainly in masking out the straight lines. I don't think that this one will go to the club but it will probably make the shop.

Finally - two new projects!
As if I didn't have enough on the go, what with Valerie having me do Jigsaw puzzles every night!

I like the colours on this one, although, having looked at the individually moulded track links, this may be more 'fun' than the Fruil tracks on the Marder!

Lastly, after Paul Casson ordering some 28mm Napoleonic Imperial Guardsmen - the Victrix set, I decided to go back to my 1970's Napoleonic roots - 30mm Hinchcliffe in those days - and try some British Waterloo Artillery.

progress of two strands

2010-06-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I am attempting to free hand airbrush the Israeli camo on the F-16I Sufa.

This is what it looks like so far. I think I will have to go over it one more time to kill the overspray and to get the colour even.

Secondly, I am moving on with the Feldgendarme. Following a discussion with Mike Grzebien, I have decided that the helmet, by the time of the Ardennes battle, would have been clear of any markings. Well this is where I am so far:

Vallejo Polyurethane Primer

2010-06-01T11:15:00.000-07:00

Tamiya Magazine extolled the virtues of the new Vallejo primer which the editor obtained at Nuremburg. It has taken some time for it to arrive but we now have it in stock. I thought you might like to know what it is like. It comes in three colours and two sizes. There is a choice of 60ml (£4.95) and 200ml (£9.99) in White, Grey or Black. Black, I assume, is for the Games Workshop crowd where they always recommend a black base for all figure painting. Not sure that I agree but there we are. This leaves a choice of White or Grey so I decided to try both.

So far I can't talk about toughness. This report is purely about its application to a model. I had two items that needed priming - a 1/10th scale bust in resin and a 1/48the Hasegawa F-16I Sufa. I decided to prime the F-16 with white and the figure with grey. the F-16 is getting Israeli camo so it will have a light coloured underside so white seemed the best choice. As the figure is a German Feldgendarme in a rubberised German Grey/Green colour, the grey seems ideal/ The grey went on like a dream. It is very much lighter than my usual favourite - Vallejo Model Air grey. It also covered easily in one coat and when on quite thin. The white wasn't quite such a good experience. I found that it needed a couple of coats to cover - even to the level seen in the photo below. I also found that I needed to thin the primer half way through. It seemed to thicken up as I went. It also didn't want to be misted on so gave quite a wet finish. However, after letting both dry thoroughly, I can't really tell any difference between them except for the lack of complete cover from the white. I will let you know how I got on with durability once I start painting the figure. It is very easy to rub primer off a resin figure as you turn it around to paint it - we shall see.

Sufa - maybe my favourite modern aircraft

2010-05-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

I have already made a 1/72nd F-16B in Israeli colours. It is a Hobbyboss kit and was the first successful plane I finished in about 12 months.

I am now working on an F-16I Sufa - Hasgawa 1/48th Scale. I did intend to do it with the canopy closed with the two figures in their seats. However, I have masked the canopy and then tried to seat it down but it won't sit right so I am thinking that the heads of the figures are stopping it coming as low as it needs. As the canopy is masked, I can't see what is going on!

Mind you, you can't see much in the cockpit with the figures in place so I don't think it will make much difference if I have it open or closed. Let's see how we get on.

The filler on the underneath is where there is a moulded area that isn't on a Sufa. You get a standard F-16 from Hasegawa then a bag full of new sprues which contain the conformal fuel tanks and all of the extra bits a Sufa has. Sometimes you are drilling new holes and sometimes you are filling in holes. So far I am doing alright with this one. I am enjoying it and haven't yet made any stupid mistakes. I narrowly avoided one when I stuck the nose on, having forgotten to add the weight, but I caught that in time.

Current disaster - there is always one - when taking the photo of the F-16B, I put my camera down and because it was off balance with the flash gun on top, it toppled off the work top. The flash gun has broken off and the foot that is gripped by the camera to hold the gun on has broken! I tried Plastic weld, which will stick most plastics but that didn't work. I am now trying super glue but think it may crack under the strain. If that happens, then my last real resort is Gator's Grip. Watch this space!

To judge my airbrushing skills against the Israeli airforce, check out this photo: now that is some overspray!

Memories of the Great Patriotic War

2010-05-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

I have finally completed 2 He162 Salamanders. As one is in Russian Markings and one in Luftwaffe, I thought that they might look good if posed as if they were on display at a Museum. Hence, the setting below and the title.

The little placard between the two of them says the following:
Heinkel 162
Немецкий Борец
* Команда: 1, пилот
* Длина: 9.05 м. (29 футов 8 в)
* Размах крыла: 7.2 м. (23 фута 7 в)

which when translated comes out at:

Heinkel 162
German Fighter
# Crew: 1, pilot
# Length: 9.05 m (29 ft 8 in)
# Wingspan: 7.2 m (23 ft 7 in)

At last - something to be pleased with

2010-05-14T02:40:00.000-07:00

But first - progresss on the Salamander.

I got the second one finished but messed up a couple of decals. I then couldn't find the second kit decals so assumed that I had thrown them away. I meant to order an extra kit but forgot! This just shows how unorganised and stupid I am. However, to reinforce that idea, last night I found the decal sheet. So I have now pretty much finished both Salamanders. I have yet to put a second coat of Klear on the Luftwaffe version. This is so that I can use the Pro Modeller wash on the panels lines. If you look at the Russian one, you can see how well this works.

The fuselage of this model is a solid moulding so there is nowhere to put any nose weight. Because they are tail sitters, I intend to put them on a base side by side - maybe as an exhibit and then I can stick the undercarriage down.

I am close to finishing two aircraft without me throwing them away - Ta-Ra!!!!!

Double click on the picture for a larger image (in a new tab).

Now to my best success to date, says me.

I have been working on a Young Miniatures 1/10th bust - these must be my favourite topic for modelling. It is a Deutsche Afrika Korps radio operator. When I received it, I thought that it would be consigned to the - do it later - bin because of the compexities of the heasdset - especially the etched brass details which were tiny. I have a rule that says if etched brass is tiny the I don't try it. I thus decided that I would make him without the headset - a real copp out - but the realsied that they hadn't moulded one ear as it is inside the headset pad and that they had moulded the throat mike. So, I had to do this. Amazingly I managed it. I am very proud of this one and feel that I have finally got a good face. Also, the jacket really looks as though he has been in the desert for some time. As always, blowing the figure picture up so you can see it makes it look less detailed than it looks in real life but I hope you enjoy this image.

What comes next?
Well, I have to finish off the two He162s and put them on a base. Then, I have three new projects.

1. Currently underway - Hasegawa F-16 in Israeli colours in 1/48th. I just love the look of these planes in the four colours that the Israelis use. I have done one in 1/72 so this will make a pair.
2. Young Miniatures Wermacht Feldgendarme 1/10th bust
3. Young Miniatures - The Black Devil The Soviet Naval Infantry in WWII - a Soviet sailor with a bandioler of shells around his neck.

I should have some photos of the F-16 cockpit in a couple of days

Moving On Rapidly

2010-05-05T01:51:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I have had some kind comments about my Cutlass disaster. It has determined me to acquire another kit and to finish it off as intended. Unfortunately, the kit is currently out of stock so it will have to wait a while.

In the meantime, I have moved on to more aircraft trouble. Determined to kill this problem, I am getting further and further down the simplicity stakes. As we were taking an extra day's holiday over the Bank Holiday weekend, I took a Hobby Boss HE162 Salamander home, knowing that there was a Russian option in the box which was all over light grey. There was me thinking, this will be easy.

So, this is how it coes. I get the model put together fine. I was wondering a bit about it being a tail sitter but as the body is cast in one limp of plastic, there is nowhere to put any weight anyway. I get it painted and the canopy masked up. So far so good. Now we come to decalling. I HATE decalling with a passion. I find it the most tedious activity known to man, at least in the modelling world. This always makes the process a bit suspect. Firstly, I messed up one red star so that loeft me leaving off the marking on the underside of the wing as I had to use one of those for the top wing. Then I found that a marking on the tail had folded so it wouldn't settle properly. I assumed that nobody would know what it was and you can only see one side at a time so I left it as it was - the pattern was indicernable in any case. I cambe back next day to find that the 02 on one side had moved out of alignment.

Back to the shop (thank goodness, I can open up when I want to - this was Bank Holiday Monday). I knew I had a second He162 on the shelf so I brought that home, thinking that I could make a pair, the second one in Luftwaffe markings and I could steal the Russian ones from this kit. Needless to say, I didn't take any paints, and as I don't do Luftwaffe, I don't have a collection of RLMs at home.

On went the final decals and from then on everything didn't go too badly. Gloss varnish, a couat of Pro Modeller Black Wash - my last attempt at doing panel lines - and then a coat of matt varnish. It was then that I noticed the one of the small decals on the tail(remember that one was on incorrectly) had come off in the burnishing stage of the panel line operation - needless to say, it was the good one that came off. Still I have a second set of Russian decals so I can fix that.

Back to the Luftwaffe version. I had cause to go back to the shop on Tuesday so determined to pick up the paints then. I forgot the paint list! So, I took one of each off the Vallejo Model Air rack, thinking that I can put the ones back that I don't need.

BTW, did I jmention that it turned out to be a tail sitter - hence the support from a pipette ion all the photoes. Oh, and I also forgot to mention that I broke the front protruberabce 9don't know what it is called) off during the panel line episode, so I had to drill a hole and make a replacement!

All this, and I still have the Luftwaffe version to make!

Just to show I have some skills, I also attach a photo of the state of play with a Young Miniatures figure that I am painting. This is a DAK radio officer. Somehow, I think I am better at figures than I am aircrat, in spite of making aircraft since I was 14.

Onwards and Upwards

2010-04-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

My plans get simpler and simpler. One day I have to make it to the end.

The current project is a Hobby Boss HE162 Salamander in 1/72nd.
I have chosen to do it in the simplest scheme possible - the kit includes decals for a captured Russian 162. This is painted in a light grey all over.

Even I can do this!

Did I mention that the current state of play is after 20 minutes of modelling!

Just how stupid can I get?

2010-04-27T01:29:00.000-07:00

The Cutlass is nearly finished. All the decals are on and the undercarriage has been installed. It is a tail sitter but I knew that as I was going to fix it on a carrier deck base. The model has been finished in Alclad Aluminium and was looking almost done with no silly errors.

However, in the process of finishing, I had scraped the non-masked areas of the canopy so I needed to touch the Alclad up. I put some masking tape around the canopy and did the touch up. Forgetting, of course, that I hadn't put a coat of klear over the model to protect the decals. When I took the making tape off, some of the star and bars decal plus some unit marking came with it!

Yet another model trashed - unless I can source some aftermarket unit marking which would seem unlikely!

Here it is in all it's glory.

I might just get this one done

2010-04-25T03:46:00.001-07:00

Well, the Mustang is consigned to the 'Ron' pile - as in 'Ron - who's Ron - Later Ron'. That spinner is going to have to wait. We took deliver of a couple of Fujimi F7U Cutlass kits in 1/72. So, always up for a useless challenge - the thought went - I can do a bare metal jet and get it finished for the club meeting on Tuesday 27th.

If I can finish this one, I will be in the situation of being able to cover all bases on the table at the club. I will have a figure, a tank, a ship and an aircraft. The ship is a secret for now (don't expect too much!).

Well here are some photos of the Cutlass. I am quite happy with how it is going. I am at the Johnson's Klear stage and just about to put decals on the thing. It has gone together very easily and the only mistake I have made (can I ever do a kit without a mistake?) was to not drill out the holes in the wing underside to take the drop tanks. Hence, I will be butt- jointing them. It should be alright to last until Tuesday.

The Marder is finished - at last

2010-04-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

I determined that I must finish the outstanding models so I have got on with the Marder diorama over the last couple of days. I cut out a spare piece of pine board and used the new Tamiya texture paints to finish the ground work.

The Marder has an aluminium Jordi Rubio barrel and a set of Fruil metal tracks. I needed the tracks because I wanted to use the maintenance crew in a situation where a track had broken. The figures came with the Tamiya kit but are actually ICM figures.

I have got a new camera so instead of the little Samsung that I was using, I have got myself a new digital SLR. Having sold my previous one about 9 months ago, on the basis that i didn't really use it, I realised that, in fact, it was vital for good photos of my models. My family clubbed together for my birthday and gave me cash, thinking that I was goung to get one of the new Apple iPads. However, on reading about them, I decided that a really good camera was the better way to go. A quick search on EBay got me a great deal on a Canon 500D/Rebel Ti1 which has 15.5mp and a live view. It can even take 1080 HD video!

So here we go.

Why it has been quiet

2010-04-09T06:57:00.001-07:00

This has been the project for the last couple of weeks. Valerie and I have been spending our evenings completing this jigsaw puzzle. It is a 636 piece puzzle called "Coming Home England" and depicts a B-17 returning on a wet afternoon somewhere in East Anglia.

This is a closeup of the box art

Back to normal, I am working on finishing the Marder diorama and then back to the P-51D with the intention of having both completed before the next Ipswich Club meeting.

The Blackfoot Raven Bearer is finished

2010-04-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

Here we are. It is a Young Miniatures 1/10th scale resin bust.

As Valerie says - even more reason for me to stop
'messing around' with aircraft. This is not as good as Sonia Maes
would do, but then I don't expect to get 'Best in Show' - well
done Sonia btw. I am quite pleased with this one. I particularly
like the 'naive' bird images and I feel I have got the shawl just
about right. I tried an experiment with the flesh as I have been
feeling that the finish is not as smooth as I would achieve with
oils. As I can't get on with oils I had to try something else, so
all of the skin elements have been coated with Johnsons Pledge
Multi-Surface Wax - the successor to Johnsons Future/Klear.

It did get a couple of coats of flat varnish and a dot of gloss varnish
in each eye to make it shine.

The Raven bit comes from a belief in the Blackfoot tribe. This was that the bearer of a stuffed Raven would have the Raven's soul to warn him of the imminent approach of an enemy. It strikes me that this would have been quickly disproved but what do I know.

My next project is a Deutsche Afrika Korps radio operator from the WWII desert war with the British. This is yet another Young Miniatures 1/10th bust. however, the headphones are a concoction of resin and copper wire - I can see some fun coming!

So what do I have to do?

2010-04-01T11:39:00.000-07:00

The idea that I would get on well with the P-51D has proved to be an illusion. There always seems to be something with aircraft but I am beginning to think that it is self imposed. The block I have at the moment is this. The nose of the plane has a red and yellow chequerboard painted and the the spinner has a red and yellow pattern. the chequerboard is on the decal but not the spinner. Now that isn't hard to resolve because it is a simple 50-50 split on the spinner. However, matching the red/yellow of the decal with paint is proving to be difficult. So, the model goes on the back burner along with the Catalina. I will get back to it - promise!

In the meantime, I have returned to my series of 1/10th Native American busts. This one is of a Blackfoot Raven Bearer. It was believed by the Blackfoot tribe that the Raven had 'magic' powers. The Raven Bearer wore a stuffed Raven skin on the back of his head. The soul of the raven thus worn was reputed to give the wearer advanced warning of the presence of an enemy.

The figure is one of the Young Miniatures series and like all the others I have done, is extremely well moulded out of resin. It is shown here from 3 days ago when it was about 50% complete. I am expecting to finish the model tonight or at least tomorrow so final pictures will appear then. Just so you know, i am experimenting a bit with the skin. As opposed to oils, acrylics do not have a smooth finish when dry brushed, which is how you need to finish a face, for instance. I have given all of the flesh a few coats of Johnson's Klear (well actually the new and supposedly formula changed Pleadge multi-surface polish). This should have filled in any small surface imperfections due to it's self levelling feature. Once given a coat of flat varnish, I am hoping that I will get a good texture to the skin.

One success and some progress

2010-03-19T02:18:00.000-07:00

I tried again to tidy up the white stripe on the P-51D wing but I only made it worse. Finally, I decided to strip the wing back to bare plastic and start again.

Here is the current state of things - I have primed the wing, sprayed the white, masked it out and given it a coat of RAF dark green so hopefully I am back where I was.

Little Wing Jicarilla Apache 1850 - Pili Pili 120mm figure.
Maybe I should stick to figures? This one has been on the go for about 9 months or so. I had some great difficulty with the beadwork. Finally, i took it to the club last month and asked for suggestions. The best one came from Brian Wakeman (of SAM magazine fame!) who suggested that, instead of trying to do p[arallel lines, I try a simpler pattern.

My wife, who wants this on her dressing table with all the other Native Americans I have done, told me to get it finished as she was happy with it. I spent last evening tidying up the beadwork as best I could and the put the figure together.

Here is the result.

There is always something!

2010-03-18T05:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of snaps to show where I am. remember, that this is a 357th FG in RAF Dark Green and Medium Sea Grey.

This all looks well and good, except there (as it says in theheading) is ALWAYS something!

Take a look at a blow-up of the upper wing:

I have been getting on really well with the P-51D. I even remembered to paint the wings white and mask out the stripes before I started on the main colours.

This is a very small blemish on the wing surface. I have now masked off the rest of the wing and am sanding this down in preperation for re-spraying in white.

Question
Notice where the flaps are down. I do not know if the whitestripe would have been carried down into the gap or whether theywould have just painted the top wing surface? If it is thelatter, then I need to get into the gap between the wing and theflap and paint out the white. I need some help here, please.

I expect to finish this for the club meeting next Tuesday.

I know what's wrong - I need to be interested in the subject

2010-03-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

I have decided that there is a reason why I can't do aircraft. It's because I haven't found a subject to engage me as I used to. I have been making models because they have been just released, or some such. Having worked this out, 'he says!', I have picked a topic that I am interested in.

Background - when the 357th Fighter Group came to the UK they were based - well wait for it. Lord Haw Haw, on 30th January 1944, to show how good their intelligence was, welcomed the unit to its new headquarters at Yoxford. Now Yoxford is a little village 25 miles north of us on the A12 to Lowestoft, and has/had no airfield. The group was actually stationed at Leiston. Ever since, the group have been known as 'The Yoxford Boys'. I have wanted to make a P-51D Mustang from this group for a long time so when I got hold of some decals, I knew that the time had come. One Tamiya P-51D kit came off the shelf and now I am well into it.

"As any fule kno" (viz. Nigel Molesworth) I am always attracted to different paint schemes. Does anyone remember my P-38 Yippee or the bright red Hurricane? Well, it seems that due to the possibility of moving to France following the invasion, it was recommended that there be a move away from bare metal to a camouflage scheme. Hence, the 357th had some aircraft painted in what should have been Olive Drab and Neutral Grey7. However, as only RAF paints were available, they got painted in RAF Dark Green and Medium Sea Grey. Just the touch of interest that I needed.

Here is the cockpit - let's see if I can get much further, given that recently, with two aircraft, I only ever got that far.

Not much activity in February

2010-03-02T04:01:00.000-08:00

I have recently been introduced to Stargate Atlantis. My daughter, Wendy, has lent me the whole series. I have always been a great fan of Stagate SG1 but since we dumped Sky some 5 years or so ago, and also dumped our TV 18 months ago, I have missed out on this. At 2 - 3 episodes a day, I still have a long way to go. The first problem is that because it relates back to SG1, I have to watch some of that as well, and the second is that it is my plastic modelling that is taking the back seat. I am still getting on with my N-Scale railroad (see http://www.gmrblog.co.uk) however - mainly because Valerie keeps asking me how I am doing with it. She is of the opinion that me and aircraft do not go together! Mind you, this is what was said in the latest edition of IPMS-Ipswich news -

"What did the Red Indian shout as he parachuted from the aircraft? Nothing, aviation hadn’t been invented at the Little Big Horn! Dave Pennington's Geronimo showed Dave’s exponentially increasing ability with figures; always a bonus as his aircraft always seem to end up in the bin!"

The knowledge of my inability to finish an aircraft is spreading :-(

Here is a photo of the figure he is talking about

I have done some masking on the Catalina - the black de-icing boots but that is all the progress I have made.

Bright Wings

2010-02-15T10:38:00.001-08:00

Well, I have the wings in their basic colours. However, now that I have taken all the masking off, there is a bit of touching up to do. Some is where the colour has bled. This is a little bit of an issue when the red has overrun the yellow, which you can see if you look at the starboard join between the yellow and red, but the biggest over spray is in fact a mistake.

If you look at the photo, specifically at the port engine, you will see that the yellow area runs beyond the engine by about 1mm. On the other side, which is correct, it is tight to the line of the outboard edge of the engine. However, this isn't too much of a problem as all I have to do is mask the line back on the yellow and spray the blue/grey, which should cover in one coat.

Next step is to mask up for the black de-icing boots.

(Double click on the image for a higher resolution picture - if it loads instead of this page, use the back arrow to come back here).

Still on the Catalina

2010-02-09T13:33:00.000-08:00

I am working my way through this. I now have the red and yellow sections of the wings done and have given the whole upper surface a coat of blue/grey. I am not getting on too quickly as I am concentrating for the moment on my new N Scale model railway (http://www.gmrblog.co.uk). this is mostly because each evening, Valerie says 'Are you doing your model railway tonight?'. I always do what she suggests so.......

Here are some pictures up to date.

Finally - the secret model exposed!

2010-01-26T08:43:00.001-08:00

I had been working on something that I kept referring to as 'secret'. the reason is that it was a Christmas present for a friend in Connecticut, USA and he reads this blog so i couldn't feature it until he had received it.

The model is a Revell Shelby Mustang 350. Dan is a big fan of Funny Car dragster racing. Quoting Dan, "The paperwork talks about the "B" class in SCCA racing but these things were all over dragstrips of the '60's. They were referred to as "altered", a racing class that eventually morphed into Funny Car, which is the class I follow today. So, it was a perfect choice"

This is a Revell kit in 1:24th scale. The kit comes with many parts chromed but that chrome effect is too garish for a decent model so I stripped it all off. Mr. Muscle Oven Cleaner does a good job of stripping Chrome and leaving the plastic clean,

Once that was done, I used Alclad lacquers (http://www.alclad2.com/) to respray all of the metal finishes. There is a combination of Steel, Chrome and Aluminium (sorry - Aluminum) used. The clear parts were dipped in Pledge Multi Surface Wax Finish!. This fills in all the little pits in the plastic and makes the glass gleam. For those in the UK, this proves that the new product is functionally the direct equivalent of Johnson's Klear and you should not hesitate to purchase the new product if that is all you can get. It isn't actually clear - it is a little cloudy but this doesn't affect the final finish on the model which is as clear as Klear!

There were no seat belts in the kit so I made up a set of 5 point belts.

I lost the decals for the headlight treatment, which is a criss-cross of black masking tape. So, I did the right thing - I painted some masking tape black and made up the protection in the same way as the original.

Lastly, the whole body was sprayed with Johnson's Future to give it a good gloss finish and then polished.

It then went in a box and got shipped by airmail from Ipswich in the UK to Windsor Locks CT. It seems to have arrived in good condition.

My, is this catalina big!

2010-01-13T14:00:00.000-08:00

I am working away on this thing but I have no idea where I am going to put it.

As you can see, I have got as far as the fuselage plus the wings. Fortunately, the wings can be painted before fitting, as can the floats so it won't be hard to get the paint job done.

If you remember your 'South Pacific', whenLieutenant Cable flies in to the island in a Catalina, the pilot is using the overhead throttle and pitch controls. If you look carefully, the right hand co-pilot, is in that pose!

The canopies are quite complex in their framing so I have an Eduard mask set coming on Friday.
Here are pictures of the current state of play.

Pre-shading is an urban myth

2010-01-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

I have had problems recently when airbrushing with Life Color. For some reason I don't seem to be able to get the consistency right. I started out on the Hobby Boss F-15 but when it came to painting the aggressor scheme camo, I made a right mess of it so that is gone!. Dan, I will do another one.

I am determined to make a good job of one aircraft so I have gone for the big one! The Monogram PBY Catalina is a large kit and the attraction is that it is actually a post-war OA-10A air sea rescue plane. I have wanted to do this for a long time because couple of years ago, I got a 1/144th version as my Xmas kit at the Colchester club. This model has had a pride of place in the shop since then. When the Monogram kit was re-released, it had the same aircraft on the decal sheet so I felt I had to go for it.

Well now is the time. Here is the box art:

Now back to the heading. I have always felt that there was no point in pre-shading - a process whereby you spray a dark pigment along the panel lines and then put on the final coat. I always felt that you would lose the shading. However, I tried this on the bulkhead behind the cockpit and found that I could get it to work. The effect is achieved by first spraying Life Color Tensocrom Smoke. I then sprayed the final green using very low pressure with the nozzle very close to the part. I was using Vallejo Model Air which I find that I can spray at close quarters much better than I can spray Life Color. I think the the final result looks great. I have also included the two seats. however, I am planning to make this a model in flight so I will be putting two pilot figures in the seats.

Xmas Presents

2009-12-27T06:40:00.000-08:00

Just thought you might like to know what presents I got for Christmas

First off, to continue the 1:12 kick that I seem to be on

This is the Trumpeter 1:12 scale GT40. The Coke bottle (2 litre) is used to show scale!

Then to continue the Native American theme, I got the following items:

Firstly, a Young Miniatures resin 1:10 bust of a Blackfoot Raven Bearer. The problem with this is that there is only the photo on the box to work with. fortunately, our UK wholesaler has more pictures on their web site so I know what goes on around the sides and the back.

Secondly, a whitemetal Pegaso 75mm model of an Arapahoe warrior.

Adding to these, the Tamiya 1:12 Maclaren Honda MP4/6 - with metal suspension, steering etc.; 1:48th Monogram Catalina and the Young Miniatures 1:10 bust of a DAK officer, then I have a nice collection of models to keep me busy for some months.

A small break from the 1:12 complications

2009-12-24T12:25:00.000-08:00

Knowing that I have another - rather larger - 1:12 car coming as a present tomorrow, I have started out on a small 1:72 aircraft as this is all I seem to be able to do when it comes to flying things.

I have got a Hobby Boss F-15C, which comes in aggressor 'Flanker' markings; i.e. to act as an SU-27 Flanker, Russian aircraft. This is the box which gives an idea of the finished item

I have now finished the cockpit - here are some photos

.

This cockpit is only 4cm long! The seat belts are made of painted Tamiya masking tape to simulate a 5 point harness.

I am experimenting with a new masking material. It is called Parafilm M and is a medical material. It has no adhesive but when you stretch it, it gathers static and seats itself perfectly to the canopy, whch has been dunked in Pledge Multi Surface Wax, We shall see how this comes out.

Christmas Day tomorrow so aI would like to wish all of my 'readers' a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

More effort on the Tyrell

2009-12-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

I spent some time last night working on the car. I fixed the retaining rods for the rear suspension and started installing the radiators. As you can see from the instruction sheet, there is plenty to do in each step. Don't forget that you can double click each photo to get an enlarged version. A back arrow may be necessary top get back to this blog page.

The following series of photos show the level of detail and complication. Somehow, I have to do the bottom part of the instructions above, which involve cutting all the pipe work and connecting it up!

I

At Last, I have my camera back

2009-12-18T05:33:00.003-08:00

Here is a photo of the Geronimo bust that I finished a couple of weeks ago.

Still can't show the secret project. A few more days are needed on that.

I have sorted out the next few models. I have put the DAK officer on hold as I am really not sure about the headset. I have a couple of figures and a car kit coming for Christmas but more about them once the day is passed.

This means that all I have to get on with for now is the 6-wheel Tyrell and as that was my Xmas present for 2007, I guess I ought to finish it before I start this year's round.

That's about it for now. I still have to take another couple of photos of Little Moon and I will do that over the weekend.

Little Moon - Crow girl

2009-12-07T04:48:00.000-08:00

I still don't have a working camera but Kev Baxter takes the pictures for the club meeting and came up with this.

She is listed as a 120mm figure but because she is a child she is only about 70mm high. She is a Crow Indian child and is dressed in her best clothes. She is holding her doll but that is round the back so I will post some more photos when I can. This now resides on Valerie's dressing table.

I have finished Geronimo and hope to have some photos later this week. I am also about 2 nights away from finishing the secret project. After that I have a Young Miniatures DAK Panzer officer and (maybe) a 1/48th Catalina. However, I really should be finishing the Tyrell 6 wheeler!

Roll on my getting a battery charger as I am now a good bit behind on photos.

Still no camera

2009-11-29T06:36:00.001-08:00

Well my camera saga continues. I bought a charger from a UK web site, only to find that the charger was coming from Hong Kong, which took 10 days. When it arrived, it seems that I didn't notice the B on the end of the battery type and the B doesn't fit the standard charger. So.... I had to buy a replacement fitting, for which I paid extra to have it shipped in 3 days. It is now 8 days and no sign of it. My wife, Valerie, to make a point, bought one on Saturday for 1/2 the price with UK shipping so maybe, just maybe, I might get the visual side of this working again in a few days.

I finished the Little Moon Crow girl and took all three of the current figures to the club last Tuesday. That is the B-17 Waist Gunner, the Sioux Indian and Little Moon. As they were the only figures there, I might actually get some points. I did get some complimentary remarks.

I am now working on a Pili Pili bust of Geronimo (If Geronimo did a parachute jump, what would he shout as he left the plane?). I then have a Young Miniatures Afrika Korps bust to do, although I am a little intimidated by the complexity of the headset which is a composite of resin, etched brass and copper wire! I also need to complete the 6-wheel Tyrell, which currently has the engine mounted so is close to finishing. My next major project, I hope, is the Trumpeter 1/12 scale GT40 but this depends on my hints for Xmas presents.

My secret project is moving on well and is close to completion. When I can, I will publicise it but not until after Christmas. It has, however, been coated in the new Pledge Multi-Surface Wax - the replacement for Johnson's Klear/Future. I have to say that, in spite of the new product being cloudy (hence the change of name from klear, I guess) and having a much nicer smell, it works exactly the same as the old stuff.

My next experimental project is to get to grips with a product called Parafilm M which is a non-adhesive based film which appears to be excellent for masking.

No Pictures but...

2009-11-10T05:36:00.000-08:00

My new camera has run out of battery and I can't find the charger...
Photos will follow, eventually!

I am continuing to prove the idea that I can no longer make model aircraft. In an attempt earlier in the year to disprove this theory, I managed to make a good fist of an Israeli F-16b. So, I thought that if I stuck to 1/72 then I might stand a chance. Airfix has just recently released two new spitfire moulds. I liked the PRXIX so had a go. the following is the list of errors:
1. Speaking to Ken Withey - one of my regular customers, I mentioned I was doing this. The subject of PRU blue came up. I mentioned that only a small part of the plane was in that blue and Ken pointed out that I had it wrong - the bulk of the plane was blue with only the wings grey. So back to the airbrush!
2. We had just taken delivery of a new book on modelling techniques which has a lot of talk about panel lines. So I tried their techniques and messed up the fuselage and I managed to rub some of the paint away, in spite of a couple of coats of Johnson's Future/Klear. The wings came up ok though.
3. (And this is the clincher) Whilst painting the canopy, I crushed it so that it split down the middle!

End of story...................

Photos will follow.

I am now working on a secret project - nothing to be seen until after Xmas - and on yet another Native American - this time it is a 120mm Pili Pili casting of a Crow Indian child. Again - photos as soon as I can charge my camera up.

I have been quiet, but...

2009-10-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a Youngs Miniatures 10th scale bust of an aged Sioux Native American.

It has been a great two weeks and has created some interesting problems. The main problem I have though is how to take a photo of something as small as this and then blow it up. You get to see it warts and all, when the real thing looks much smoother and refined.

I will try and get some better pictures but here we go:

The diorama base is too small!

2009-10-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

So, I used the pumice to make the base. Sprayed it Vallejo flat earth and the brushed it liberally with Mig Russian Earth pigment followed by a spray of matt varnish to seal it.

The pumice has warped the base so it has to be re-done but just as well. From the photo, you can see that the Marder is placed too close to the edge and there is not enough room for the figures - D'oh.

Anyway, you can see what I am after. The diorama is to be called
"Warum sind sie rückwärts gefahren?

Or in English - Why did you reverse?

Next step - remake the base out of plywood and make it slightly better.

Figures and a base for the Marder

2009-09-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

I have finished the ICM figures. It needed a bit of investigation but I think that I have the colours and marking right. They make a nice little group.

The base is a piece of foam board which I have coated with some Vallejo Pumice spread. This is a gritty concoction that you spread on and let dry it dries to a nice textured finish. I expect to spray it with an earth colour and then liberally cover it in MIG Pigment - Russian Earth and get some light grass down. I have pressed the vinyl tracks into the surface to get some track marks.

However, whilst taking the photos I forgot it was there and put the camera face down onto it. My camera lens cover is now stuck open! I managed to get the gritty pumice off the rest of it and I am hoping that the lens door will clear in time. I have made a small cover for the camera out of some chamois leather so having the lens open isn't a real problem. Ho hum!

New URL

2009-09-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

I have made an easy way for you to access the blog.

Instead of the long winded version of before you can simply get to this blog now by entering

www.gsmblog.co.uk into your browser.

GSM stands for gentle Scale Modelling, of course :-)

Note that there is also a blog counter in the top right hand corner. This is the number of accesses since 13th of September 2009.

David

Marder tracks are on one side

2009-09-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of the Marder having been weathered somewhat, with the track on the left hand side. As you can see, the track sags nicely along the top rollers. Just what I wanted.

If you look carefully in the saucer in the background, you will see the two tarp supports from the rear of the fighting compartment. One broke off and I had trouble fitting the track so I broke the other one off. I thought - as I have to sort one out then two can't be that different!

The Tracks are Finished

2009-09-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

Well t only took a week of evenings and a lot of Monday but I have finally managed 96 links on each side which I think will be sufficient for the diorama.

Here is the completed pair.

and this is why I wanted to make them.
See how they are so much more flexible than vinyl tracks!

One track made

2009-09-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

So it hasn't been as bad as I thought!. I have one side made already. Of course, I have found out some things I can skip and some tricks.

When I started this, I went and drilled all of the holes out and then tried to feed the wire through each pair. If fact, I have found that the best way is this:
1. Put two links together
2. Drill out the holes in both of them so that it is clear
3. Run the wire through, holding the pair as they are left after the drill has come out
4. Set a drop of super glue on the end.
I then put 2s into 4s and so on to make the full run.

All of a sudden, it's running much quicker.

Here is the first side presented along with the vinyl tracks so you can see why I am bothering.

As usual, click on the image for a high resolution version.

Off I go to make the next one - grin.

Friul Tracks

2009-09-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

I am making the Marder and placing it on a diorama that will incorporate the maintenance crew that comes with the kit. However, I want to do it with a dropped track and I can't do that with the vinyl tracks that come with the kit. First off the dropped end won't lay properly and also the part left on the rollers won't sag as it should. So I have got a set of FriulModel white metal tracks. Now if you have never used these, what you get is a pile (210 in this case) of individual white metal track links and a roll of thin wire.

Step 1. Clear out the two holes across each track link to ensure good clearance using a 0.4mm drill. (420 operations)
Step 2. Cut a piece of wire and insert in into the holes thereby linking two track links together. (210 operations)
Step 3. Once inserted, place a dot of super glue on the end of the wire - the other end is blind so only one end needs to be secured. (210 operations)
Step 4. Cut each length of wire to length (210 operations).
I make this 1050 individual actions, assuming no fumbling, dropping etc.

Will I do this again? Maybe not!
BTW, I notice from the photo that one of the rear tarp supports on the Marder has got broken. Yet another little problem - smile.

Moving on with the Marder

2009-09-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

I had to steel myself to attempt a free hand three colour camo for this. I have now done it and have started picking out the details.

Here we are.

(as usual, you can click on the picture to see a larger image).
Maybe looking at the larger image isn't a good idea. I now see where I have some paint filling in and touching up to do!

Making something easy for a change

2009-09-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

I took the Tamiya Marder III home. This is the kit with the ICM maintenance figures.

The last time that I tried three colour camo, I made it very dark on a PzIV JadgPanzer so I need to get this one right.
The kit went together as any Tamiya kit does. It was bit complicated in parts and I made my usual silly mistakes. Once I told my wife 'you know that with a Tamiya kit, if it doesn't fit, then you have got it wrong'. I then proceeded to mess about with things and finally got the top of the chassis on incorrectly. Fortunately, it doesn't notice!

I bought a Jordi Rubio metal barrel for it which seems to be a bit thicker than the plastic one because the barrel clamp doesn't fit. I want to do a small diorama with a dropped track so I am getting some metal tracks this week.

Here are the pictures in grey primer. Tonight, I put the three colour camo on (tri-tonal - as MIG have it). I will post some pictures tomorrow. Hopefully, now I can get on with detail painting.

This has been fun so far.

Trash the Canberra and get on with the Tyrell

2009-08-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

Having finished the Morser - see the finished article here - My
Flickr Account -and also my Young Miniatures 1/10th B-17 Waist Gunner, I got on with the new Airfix Canberra PR9. Now as most of you will know I haven't been getting on well with aircraft for some time and this proved to be the same story :-( I like to blame it on Airfix but I think that it is 50% me and 50% them. I found it tricky to get the detail right for the specific Hemp and Grey PR9 but I also found quite a bit that I didn't like about the kit. At the point that I ran out of ejector seat warning triangles (which all looked too large in any case) I decided that it would look better on Harry (my grandson) 's ceiling than on my display shelf. Harry's ceiling is my aircraft graveyard. At 5 years old - he is not as fussy as me - smile.

I thoroughly enjoyed the B-17 Waist Gunner - the photos don't do it justice as they tend to blow up all the detail which isn't really meant to be seen at that scale. Still, if you see it in the flesh you will, I hope, appreciate it more.

I have now returned to my current long term project which is the 6 wheeled Tyrell that I got for Xmas last year. Here are some photos of the current state: Click on any image for a larger copy.

As you can see, all of the Tamiya chrome plate has been removed and it has all been 'alclad'ed with the various finishes.

2009-08-05T02:49:00.001-07:00

I am horrified to see that the last item on my blog was dated March 2008!

I am back and modelling regularly now but am having some difficulties. It seems that I can no longer make aircraft models unless they are 1/72. Since Xmas, I have thrown away a 1/48 Tamiya Mosquito, a 1/48 Italeri Hawk and a 1/48th Eduard Il-16 Rata. All due to stupid mistakes.

Mosquito - Painted as a matt black nightfighter - the decals all silvered and looked like mirrors!
Hawk - Done in FRADU colours. I managed to misplace all of the yellow don't walk signs - which rather stood out on the gloss black finish. i then trod on the canopy - in the bin!
Il-16 - Finished in Spanish Civil War markings. When fitting the propeller, I placed my finger - with a blob of MEKPak on it - right on a decal and ruined it.

The big news is that I have finally finished my 1/35th Morser to sit behind the BR-52.

To see it in high resolution plus the Rata (from its good side!) go to

My Flickr Finished Models

Back at work from tonight on the Tyrrel. Hopefully I can get that finished soon as I have a list of models I want to get on with now.

Back in harness and finishing things

2008-03-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a hell of a time since I last posted. What with Xmas being busy and then it not stopping through January and February, I have had little time for modelling. However, there are currently three projects under way.

Tyrrell P34 6 wheeler Tamiya 1/12th
Skyraider Tamiya 1/48th.
PBJ-1J Mitchell Hasegawa 1/72nd

Click on any picture to see a larger version

Tyrrell P34 6 wheeler Tamiya 1/12th

This was an Xmas present. I stripped all of the chrome off the sprues and have used Alclad extensively - both Aluminium and Steel to get a variation. So far I have done a lot of the cockpit tub and the front suspension/steering is in place.

Skyraider Tamiya 1/48th.

This is to be my PropBlur project. PropBlur is an etched brass propellor blade replacement that gives the impression of a spinning prop. Curretly we have them for sale in the shop but no decent publicity photos so this will be the target for them. Its to be a Vietnam aircraft in tri-colour camo. The paint came out a bit 'bobbly' so I sanded it down. This has given it a great faded appearance. I will continue with this next. No photos so far.

PBJ-1J Mitchell Hasegawa 1/72nd

I have always liked the B-25 and even more so when I first saw it in US Marine Corps colours.

A PBJ is a North American B-25 Mitchell adapted for the USMC. As is usual with them, they put extra guns on. It also differs from a standard B-25 by having search radar on the starboard wing tip.

The kit is up to the usual Hasegawa standard and went together very well. It was made easier because the wings are recessed into the body so you can paint everything before fitting them. The radar on the wing is a resin enhancement that comes with the kit and requires the tip of the wing to be removed. I was concerned about my ability to do this accurately but it needed only a tocuh of Valljo filler. The paints are all Lifecolor. The decals were terrible. They were thick and stretched as you moved them because they stuck like glue even with Microset flowed on. Also, the white in the stars and bars is cream. Not too much of a problem on the upper surfaces but blidingly obvious on the white underneath. Still who picks up a model to look? In fact my big mistake happened underneath. I was using the ProModeller dark wash to highlight the panel lines and forgot that I had not varnished underneath. The was was very difficult to get off but it did have the effect of making the underneath look dirty. This is when I got the idea to place the aircraft in New Guinea. Please don't tell me that Raggedy Ann wasn't there - I don't care!

From that point all techniques were called in to make it look mucky and worn from the heat and damp of the tropics. I sprayed the upper surfaces with Tensechrom white oxide in slowly increasing amounts which has faded the blue down nicely. I used Tensechrom smoke on the exhaust runs plus around the side gun pods. The last issue is that I couldn't get any 1/72nd PSP so it's on an Eduard 1/48th base - but who cares?

This aircraft is shown as stationed in Raboul in New Guinea in 1943 where the weather was hot, wet and steamy. I hope that you can see that all of the paintwork is faded - the underneath is muddy as are the wheels. The base depicts PSP - which was the steel matting that the SeeBees laid down to get runways very quickly. Notice that the grass is already growing through and that there are pools of water everywhere. I am not sure that you can see but there are muddy tracks of the wheels crossing the base. I also think that you can't see the black residue of the machine gun pods on the side but there we are :-(

This model came second at the Colchester club this week up against some serious 1/35th armour. It is unusual for 1/72nd scale models to succeed against 1/35, 1/48 and 1/32 competition but I managed it.

Violence and progress

2007-11-25T09:51:00.001-08:00

I was working on a model to take to Colchester last week. I didn't have a lot of time so I went for a 1/72nd fighter. We had had a Hasegawa F6 Lightning returned to the shop for replacement because it had a hole in the fuselage side. I felt that this could be filled and to save the kit being binned, I decided to have a go. I didn't realise that it was actually a rework of the old '70s Frog kit but soon found out when I saw the detail in the cockpit and the wheel wells - none at all!!!! But - hey - it wouldn't take long to make.

I got on with it and actually felt I was getting somewhere - I have been a bit depressed about my modelling skills recently - I felt I had done a less than good job on my RNZAF Sky Hawk so was a bit touchy. I did it in the three colour Medium Sea Grey, Dark Sea Grey and Barley Grey. That went on fine. I put all the decals on - not missing out any of the tiny ones. The white lines on the wings were tricky but I got them on OK. I had painted the radome Olive Drab as ordered. I came back an hour later to find that I had drawn a line of Olive Drab over the wing - right across the white decals. Stupidly, I tried touching it up with white paint instead of trying to scrape it off:-(

I called my wife over to tell and show her what a mess I had made when I noticed that the tail planes didn't fit tightly and I had missed filling the gaps. before she knew what had happened, I had brought down my fist and smashed it! Now this is very unusual for me. I am not noted for violence, nor for destroying kits - I tend to keep them even if I can see the poor job on them. I think that I had done so much soul searching about my abilities recently that I had just had enough.

Now I have that out of my system, I can show you what I did take to Colchester. I managed to put together a Hobby Boss UH-34A Choctaw in French Marine colours. Only one problem - the large F of the fuselage broke up so I left that and the other two off. Maybe Dom won't notice - Dom is the helicopter specialist at the Ipswich club. This Hobby Boss kit is quite nice. A decent interior, good panel detail, decals for the rotor tips and dropped rotors.

I still have to do two elements for the Land Sea and Air competition at Colchester next month. I am planning an Airfix RAF Air ea Rescue launch for the sea element. I already have my Hawk Weirdo for the Land.

The Air element is going to be the hasegawa 1/72nd PBJ USMC Mitchell.

This is going together quite nicely and it seems that the fit on the wing joins is so good that I can probably paint it and put the wings on afterwards. That will help with the USMC Pacific three colour camo on the fuselage. There is a radome on the end of the starboard wing which means cutting the tip off. That's done - as you can see - and it went well. I have managed to break the rear machine guns off but it was always hope over experience when I fitted them. I can get some brass tube to replace them so that should be OK.

Great news from Colchester - I came 3rd in the annual competition. This was aided by the fact that I had entered on 9 occasions and scored on 5 of them. It was also helped by winning with my Ice/Beer diorama. Mind you 2nd place also entered 9 times and scored 5 so my record was good.

It's the Ipswich club on Tuesday and I am going to take the Choctaw and the Sky Hawk. I am hoping to collar Brian - who did the excellent RNZAF Sky Hawk a few months ago - to give me five minutes and tell me where I have gone wrong. Hopefully I can learn something from him.

Modelling at last - again!

2007-11-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

Not having written anything since September, I need to do a bit of catch up.

Skyraider - didn't go anywhere. I messed up the camo, had another go and am still not happy so it's on hold.

Metal Modeles Chasseur - I finished this one.

Academy F-4f Wildcat - This was a model I made three years ago - left it very bland as it was a demo for the shop on how to make a model. Having taken part in a weathering discussion at Colchester I decided to have a go at weathering it. I used MIG pigments on the panel lines and sprayed some lighter blue to give it a faded look. Forgot to mask the canopy so had to put a new canopy on to it. I had a 1/48th carrier deck from Verlinden which I scanned, reduced and printed out for it to stand on.

Hawk Weird0 - Digger. This is a hark back to the Sixties. All the problems of a Sixties model with poor fit, etc. However, it was great fun to build and paint. The tragedy came as I was taking it to the club - Ipswich. I had my camera bag over my arm and it dropped, knocking the kit to the floor. It broke into a few pieces. I ran back to the modelling table and - with copious amounts of superglue - got it back together again. However, when I got out to the car, my thumb was superglued to the dragster tub. Hence, you will find my thumbprint stuck to the model. It was my skin or the kit - the kit won!

Finally - RNZAF Skyhawk - Gekko brought out some New Zealand decals for a Skyhawk so I thought I would have a go. I did intend to do the low-vis three colour scheme but found out that it is on the underside as well as the upper surfaces and not having had much joy with the Skyraider I decided to do the low-viz - all green scheme. This is an interesting scheme as they used to touch up the panels as it got a bit worn - colours didn't match so I have tried to do that with the model. I did get an Aires cockpit but ruined one body shell trying to fit it. I did use the Eduard painted etched for the cockpit and canopy.

Not much happening

2007-09-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

I have managed to get the Skyraider to the point where I can start masking up for the top camo. In the meantime, I have started on a Metal Modeles Chasseur a Cheval 1793, which is yet another 54mm white metal flat. So far I have primed it, airbrushed the horse and given the uniform a coat of green.

What has stopped me is the need to have a model in the shop for demonstrating our airbrushes. hence I have had to rapidly put together a 1/48th Academy bf109. Just the fuselage, wings and tailplanes. It's been primed so it is ready for the shop. I can get back to some modelling again.

Went to the Colchester club last night. The evening was dedicated to 'Weathering Techniques' so I took along my SKP Humber Scout Car and my BR-52. Both of these have been weathered but using different techniques so I hope they fund it interesting. For the competition, I took along my 1804 Ciurassier and also put the BR-52 in. The B-52 came 3rd whilst the Ciurassier was unplaced. A quiet night though with not too many people present. Pity.

Life gets too busy!!

2007-09-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

Well, the shop has been frantic for the last few weeks. We have been refitting and extending the shop area, completely rewriting the web site and ordering lots of nstock from a wide rangeof new suppliers. This has meant late nights and weekends so littletime left for modelling.
We are near to completing the expansion plans so I am now getting back to something at long last.

A recap first. I finished the Alemany Stug - including the four figures that came with it. I put it on a small base. However, when it came to Colchester club time, I couldn't find the figures. Hence the model is waiting until I can find some replacement figures for it. Don't forget to click on each photo to see a bigger version.

I finished the 4th Ciurassier flat and took it to the Ipswich club. However, I appear to have left it at the shop so can't give any finished photos of it yet.

Recently, we have been finding an interest in the shop for more expensive Iwata airbrushes - specifically, the Hiline HP-C. As I had little experience in using or cleaning this, I persuaded my wife that, as we needed a demo airbrush in the shop, I should let my Eclipse go and get a Hi-line. So I am now experimenting with the new acquisition. I have to say that it is a bit smoother and slightly more accurate (see below).

Having asked my wife and regular in the shop Aaron for a suggestion for my next project they were about as helpul as a paper umbrella. Hence I was left to choose. The idea was that they gave me something unusual but... So, I have a 1/48th Tamiya Vietnam Skyraider on the stocks. Doing this reminds me why Tamiya are so respected. Everything fits - no filler, no messing around. I have now painted the cockpit - fully airbrushed with the Hi-line with only the knobs picked out with Vallejo using a brush. I have also airbrushed the wheel wells, including all the shading. I just love my airbrush!

Hopefully, I am back to a weekly development in my modelling and a weekly post to the blog.

If you want to see what has been going on with the shop, check the shop blog at http://sbxmodelshop.blogspot.com/

New Unusual Projects

2007-07-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

I am working my way through the Morser. I now have the second rail truck substantially completed. Pictures later this week. For now, I have decided to do something different.
There are currently two projects on the go:
1. Alemany 1/72nd Resin/Wite metal STUG III
2. Metal Modeles 54mm Flat!!!

Stug
This has been quite fun so far. The wheels and the tracks are all white metal and fit to the resin body. The it is quite well designed and there isn't a lot of work to do on each element. The kit includes a few crew members. I don't think that the construction of this wll take long. A little diorama could be fun though.

Flat
This is what it says - a flat 54mm figure. Its an 1805 Cuirassier 4th regiment. Obviously not much construction but a deal of painting.

Here they are.