Christmas Airfix!

Been really tempted to get back into models. Haven't built one on about 25 years.

What you get?

I've got about 6 waiting, cars and tanks mostly

All Japanese, have airfix caught up?

I had a hard to find airfix Vulcan last year and got bored after completing the first stage which was the pilots and ejector seats. There was so much moulding flash and because I'm a perfectionist it took me hours of cutting and filing which soon got boring. I'm going to try and do stage 2 this Christmas.

Not Airfix-style but I received a Vintage Model Co SE5A balsa and tissue kit yesterday from my daughter. Thoroughly enjoying building it - quite therapeutic.

Nothing to do with Airfix, but I need to stealth boast that I got the Lego Caterham .... 8)

Not Airfix-style but I received a Vintage Model Co SE5A balsa

Nice-any chance of a link?

Danny - https://www.vintagemodelcompany.com/kk-se5.html

I got the Lego Porsche which I'm looking forward to building.
Need to wait until the kids are in bed or half of it will be lost or swallowed.

Thank you. You need a crafty edit on that link to remove the u on the end of the url.

airfix Vulcan

I made this kit as a teenager. One of the wings is a poor fit to the fuselage. Very frustrating. I hope you have the wet and dry paper and Milliput ready.

The shop that I get my arty stuff from sells airfix models. I keep looking noticing the B-17 in particular.

Which ones did you get then Harry?

Hawker Hurricane MK1
Focke Wulf FW190
Douglas SBD 3/5 Dauntless
Hawker Typhoon 1B
F51D Mustang
MK5b Spitfire
Mk19 Spitfire
De Havilland Vampire
and a Higgins landing craft

A fine selection there! I think that at some point I've made all of them, bar the landing craft

That''ll keep you out of mischief for a while! 🙂

Might go and get that B-17 tomorrow

F-4 Corsair, very thempted but couldn't do it justice.
Hardcore aeroplane, one shot down a jet in Korea and another pilot had his guns freeze at high altitude so he used the huge prop to slice off the tail plane of the Japanese plane before getting home with 5 inches missing off the propeller tips!

The last kit I built was a Tamiya 1/12th scale Lotus 49. That was some time ago.

I've got the enterprise 🙂 can't wait to get the glue out 🙂

I got the Boulton Paul Defiant and Dornier DO17z dogfight double. At the in laws in Ireland so can't start it for a while!

[url= http://www.airfix.com/uk-en/boulton-paul-defiant-mk-1-dornier-do17z.html ]Link[/url]

I remember the Defiant from my childhood- as I remember there were huge gaps between parts in several places, not least the wing root.
I have the 1:24 Spitfire and Harrier which I picked up cheaply a few years back- neither built, but the mouldings, esp on the Spit are awful- they're probably too much work to bother building, really.
Been working on a Dragon sdkfz 251 off and on for about a year now, far nicer proposition.

dannybgoode - Member 

Not Airfix-style but I received a Vintage Model Co SE5A balsa

Nice-any chance of a link?

It's this one:

[img] [/img]

got a 1/35th panzerkampfwagen vi ... haven't built a model in
nearly 30 years. what could possibly go .... 😉

I'm halfway through the lego Porsche. It's an amazing piece of work.

I have a Tamika 1:24 LaFerrari and a new moulding Airfix 1:48 Boulton Paul Defiant waiting for me. Currently working on an Academy 1:72 AH64 Apache. Don't like 1:72, too fiddly for my ageing eyes

This thread is useless without pics.

Just spent £34 on glue, brushes and paint.

Feel the need to go out and by a model now!!

Bit of a PSA:

TK Maxx in Merry Hill (Dudley) had 1:24 scale Airfix Spitfires in for £25 the other day. This was the modelling kit with glue, paints and brushes. Might have be a Battle of Britain edition or similar. Think normal retail is about £60-65

Edit: I think it was this version (eBay link) [url= https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271411330013 ]Example similar 1:24 Spitfire kit [/url]

have airfix caught up

Some of the new 'tooled' Airfix kits are really very good I think ... a far cry from the early '80s when the amount of flashing and poor detailing etc led me to Tamiya before plastic models fell out of favour with me as a young teen who'd discovered sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. 🙄

I recently got back into it a few years ago when this missus bought me a Spitfire 1/72 starter kit as a bit of a joke ...

It became a bit of a minor obsession and I've thoroughly enjoyed getting back into it! (now I can afford all the proper paints and tools etc)
Only problem is I am running out of storage space! 😳

[img] [/img]

You patio needs a re-point.
Nice hedge though.

Hedge needs a trim to!

I build very slowly, got several aircraft on the go- none of them are airfix though. This is the last kit I finished. A Hasegawa 1/48 Hurricane.

[img] https://flic.kr/p/C5CurC ][img] https://farm1.staticflickr.com/772/23681229342_b934318de9.jp g" target="_blank">https://flic.kr/p/C5CurC ][img] https://farm1.staticflickr.com/772/23681229342_b934318de9.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/C5CurC ]All Photos-220 by -ade634-[/url][/img]

@beaker - very nice Hurricane indeed!

I've recently moved from mainly 1/72 to doing a few 1/48 and really appreciate the addition detail etc.

Airfix do some very nice kits now, just make sure that you get a newer one.

I got this LRDG truck

[url= https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5607/31796207771_09f1a7555a.jp g" target="_blank">https://c4.staticflickr.com/6/5607/31796207771_09f1a7555a.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/QrHSNP ][/url][url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/147925126@N05/ ][/url]

It'll get started as soon as I've finished this...
[url= https://c3.staticflickr.com/1/631/31427689122_bd9b1f9e81_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://c3.staticflickr.com/1/631/31427689122_bd9b1f9e81_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/PTa841 ][/url][url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/147925126@N05/ ][/url]

One down, loads to go.

Not up to the standards of many on here but I've loved the peace and quiet of making it.

[img] [/img]

Tamiya 10mm masking tape is ideal for those leading edge strips of yellow. And many other things too.
Just run a couple of lengths either side of the area to be painted and voila, nice straight lines.

I'm on the Airfix 1:48 Boulton Paul Defiant now. Much better quality kit than airfix of old. Just sprayed the underside with Tamiya "sky" (the model is of a Defiant before the Germans discovered it didn't have any forward firing guns, which led to it being removed from front-line "day" fighter duties). Next up, tomorrow, mask off the underside and spray the upper surfaces with dark earth. Probably the specified Humbrol acrylic paint as I'm out of Dark Earth by anybody else. Then finally spray the contrast dark green camouflage. Haven't decided to go freehand or use a mask of some variety. Probably freehand - here's one I did earlier (a lot earlier) [img] [/img]

The yellow lines should have been a decal, but getting something 3mm wide to fold over the leading edge is somewhat optimistic. Hand paining was an emergency last resort.

I was surprised how good the kit was. A bit of research told me it was a new one. I'm doing a couple of MkVb Spitfires which are definitely from an older set of moulds and they are shocking by comparison.

My lad has watched me with some fascination over the last week or so once I'd told him that I was going to hang some from his bedroom ceiling. I've got the two MkVbs, a BF109 and I've just got a Revell He-111 for a tenner off ebay. No idea what Revell quality is like though.

What cement do you use? I'm on the Humbrol stuff that you squirt down the needle and it has given me a bicep like Martina Navratilova.

I use Revell poly cement. It has a really fine needle nozzle which makes big globs of glue a thing of the past. For paints a mix of Tamiya, Revell & Humbrol acrylics

Revell kits are generally ok - unless you get one of the old Matchbox kits that Revell bought the moulds for (panel lines can be raised rather than inscribed) - although the instructions can sometimes be a bit vague.

I got my lad the airfix Vulcan bomber xh558 and we have agreed to have a proper go at it.
Any useful tips for what to us for tape masking and spraying.
It's a heck of a box for a 1:72 model and I'm sure it's going to dwarf the typhoon, hawk and harrier he currently has handing on fishing line from his ceiling.

This is all pending finishing the Lego technic across which is frankly brilliant.

I've heard that the Airfix Vulcan is a bit of a filler queen...

Re masking - isn't it an all over green & grey camouflage scheme? Mask the glazing with Tamiya masking tape, cut to shape in situ, and paint the undercarriage wells with Humbrol Maskol
If you don't have an airbrush, Tamiya and Humbrol do rattle cans which would be fine for a model as big as the Vulcan - try www.modelhobbies.co.uk or your local Hobbycraft store

I use a cotton bud for the Maskol as it eats brushes.
Do not fit the wheels at this point; fit the undercarriage doors in "in flight" mode using more maskol as a temporary glue.
Spray the whole thing with the grey first, then the green. I would do the green freehand but you could use maskol to cover up the bits you want to keep grey and then spray the whole thing green
When the green has dried, peel off the maskol and tidy up the flaked off bits of green, then give the whole thing a coat of clear gloss varnish - I find it helps the decals settle. When all decals are done, go over them with more clear gloss.
When that has dried, a coat of clear Matt varnish helps it all settle down. Remove the undercarriages doors and all remaining Maskol, then fit the undercarriage. Et voila

Scale Aviation Modeller International is a useful magazine for more tips as well as kit reviews. Bigger Tesco stores should carry it

Thanks for the heads up on maskol, I'd not heard of that before.
Indeed, I'm a complete amateur at this but thought we'd try and at least do a camouflage paint job.
Any recommendations for ready to use aerosol paints, I can't stretch to an airbrush and all th gubbins.

Ah, you've edited your post, aerosol links now seen!

I have had issues with rattle cans in the past - best to stick to the same brand (and my choice would be Tamiya)
There are some model paint conversion charts available online that will give you the equivalent colour codes for all the main paint brands - e.g. Humbrol 30 dark green has Tamiya XF61 as its equivalent (and a Revell one too, can't remember it off the top of my head - might be 49 but don't quote me there). Annoyingly, Tamiya rattle cans have different code numbers to the small pots but a good conversion chart should cope

Ok, thanks.
Last question, what filler and files?

I use Copydex instead of Maskol, far cheaper.

Tamiya masking tape is excellent, Gaugemaster stuff is very good too, and cheaper.

A nice and easy available filler is knife putty (stopper) from a car spares shop, cheap as well. Don't forget to prime it before the camo paint goes on, Halfords grey primer is very good.

Car spares shop for wet and dry paper to smooth it as well, 600, 800, and 1000 grit will do you (or you can use emery boards after you've done your nails! :-)).