Christmas Airfix!

The crew will be "belted" in. They'll also need some control columns.

Right, here is my latest actual finished kit in about 16 years (maybe more) which has been 'on the go' for about the same length of time, It's even survived 2 house moves.
Monogram 1/48 A1H Skyraider, which is a decent kit but my finishing skills have gone a bit rusty without practice. So I'm not happy with it & it turned into a bit of a practice/re-skill kit, I couldn't be arsed to detail the weapons.
& instead of choosing one of the 60-70 kits I have stashed, I've decided to finish the Hasegawa P3C Orion that's been on the go maybe even longer. So long I lost the undercarriage & had to buy some white metal replacements. (I'll post pics of that in 5 years time when It's done)

Don't laugh.....

https://flic.kr/p/2dN1ZUX

https://flic.kr/p/2fbSyfM
https://flic.kr/p/24zn6iv

I read about a pilot who flew the skyraider in Vietnam. He said it was more dangerous climbing in and out then flying missions as they spewed oil over the wings.

Looks good to me Grunty.

I want a Skyraider for my stash as it is an interesting looking aircraft, but I have to show some restraint.

I'm liking aircraft with folding wings, they take up less shelf space 🙂

Nice A1, brute of a plane!

here is my latest actual finished kit in about 16 years

I can beat that, I've got a half finished Jaguar (Fat Slags, op Granby) that's been in a box since the mid 90's. I'll get it done one day.

Damn you... I've just done an eBay search for a Skyraider.

A-1H "Paper Tiger II" carrying the toilet bomb in October 1965
In October 1965, to highlight the dropping of the six millionth pound of ordnance, Commander Clarence J. Stoddard of VA-25, flying an A-1H, dropped a special, one-time-only object in addition to his other munitions – a toilet.[24]

Some wag once used one to drop a khazi.

Am signed off long term sick at the mo so just started work on PT109 and got a vosper mtb next.

I probably need to learn how to weather stuff plus an airbrush would be better than rattle cans

Airbrushes are so affordable now - £60 will get a you a compressor and a airbrush from ebay or amazon, that's what I've been using since Christmas.

Cool, any recommendations?

Damn you… I’ve just done an eBay search for a Skyraider.

Well, I went to the model shop in Ripon yesterday for some glue & lo & behold, they had a Tamiya 1/48 one in for £24.
I couldn't resist but I'll make sure I make a better job of that one!

Episode 2

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00037sz/james-mays-big-trouble-in-model-britain-episode-2

Excellent stuff.

Airbrush wise... I got something like one of these compressor/airbrush sets and it hasn't let me down. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Professional-Airbrush-and-Compressor-With-Tank-Filter-Regulator-Cooling-Fan-Kit/272686620378?hash=item3f7d639eda:g:y-kAAOSwYutaq9l4

I use Tamiya paint and I flush it through with water the thinners after each use.

Mines very similar to the one linked above but it hasn’t got the tank. I didn’t actually realise that it came with an airbrush so I ordered another one! But the supplied one is actually better.
I’ve since upgraded to a Harder and Steenbeck Duo I think it’s called which was about £80. It uses a lot less air than the others but in all honesty it’s no better as an airbrush.

1/72 scale Stuka. I’ve got the 1/48 scale version to build as well which will be interesting.

Haven’t built a kit in at least half a centuary. Anyone got advice on who makes a decent Vaught Corsair kit? Otherwise I’ll end up buying that huge Tamaiya Mosquito...

You can get the Italeri 1/72 one for not very much money.

I did it as one of my first kits back.

https://i.postimg.cc/PqGvNgRt/P9275116.jp g" alt="corsair" />

Thanks Harry.
Sadly I tried Google. My bank account may wish I hadn’t.

https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/builds/tam/build_tam_60325.shtml

Thanks for recommendations 😁

Really enjoyed James May as well

Tamiya do a nice 1:48 Corsair; I find 1:72 too small & fiddly for my ageing eyes, while 1:32 takes up too much room (aircraft anyway).

Try Http://www.modelhobbies.co.uk

https://flic.kr/p/2dNFiH6

this came up on my youtube feed, enjoy

Does anyone put a flat and bulge into each tyre to show the weight on it?

I do.

I weight the tyres by putting a piece of kitchen foil on the sole plate of an iron and pressing the wheel on it, nice controllable heat so I don't ruin it.

That B17 looks a nice kit, but I think that the panel lines on the fuselage are overdone, it looks quilted! 😂

I tend to agree that a lot of the weathering/detailing you see these days is super exaggerated.

I tend to agree that a lot of the weathering/detailing you see these days is super exaggerated.

Especially panel lines, compare the kit panels on the Airfix Victor above with the pics of the Duxford example.

To flat spot my tyres I stand the finished model on sand paper and gently "brum" it like a kid with a toy car. I don't make any noises though.

In other news... has anyone used Humbrol acrylics with an air brush? I've done the intakes on the Victor with a regular brush and I'm less than impressed. I'm considering finding, or mixing with Tamiya, an alternative before I cock up the whole model.

Especially panel lines, compare the kit panels on the Airfix Victor above with the pics of the Duxford example.

The Victor is the 1980s Matchbox now released by Revell. I would hope that the new Airfix is better. At x3 the price it should be.

Also, with the Victor I decapitated the crew then stuck their heads back on at different angles so it looks like they are talking to each other. I was surprised by how effective this was.

Airfix have a bit of a reputation for deep panel lines, even on their new tools.
All my recent airfix kits come with pre flat spotted tyres.

I use Tamiya acrylics with a few Vallejo Model air pre-thinned as well They all go down beautifully in my airbrush but don't brush very well. I tried airbrushing a Humbrol acrylic as i needed that specific colour but it didn't work well at all so now when i buy airfix kits with the paints included i just chuck them away (keep the brushes though!).

To flat spot my tyres I stand the finished model on sand paper and gently “brum” it like a kid with a toy car. I don’t make any noises though

Try the iron method, it bulges the sidewalls out a bit to give the impression of weight. Practice on an old wheel first as it's easy to overdo it.

Airfix 1/72 Royal Navy Phantom FG1. A bit disappointing for a new tool kit - I didn't attempt to correct the various errors they made either.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/169210173@N02/46522054975/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/169210173@N02/40471446333/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/169210173@N02/32495545667/in/dateposted-public/

Nice. It "has" to be 007 and Omega.

Did you put all of the stencils on? The decal sheet has really put me off buying one.

I didn't do all of them! Just some on the underside but most of the ones on the top and sides Black writing on a dark grey aircraft doesn't show up too well so i left most of that type off. They are good decals to be fair and the bigger ones went down beautifully after liberal coatings of Tamiya MarkFit Strong.

I'm going to put the FGR2 on my Christmas List.

https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/mcdonnell-douglas-fgr2-phantom-1-72.html

The fit of the intakes and the front canopy on that Phantom look shocking!

Yep. There was no way the front canopy was going on any better, the fuselage is considerably wider than the glass. I could have filled the intakes but they are in such a prominent position i thought I'd leave well alone and just live with it.

Now you see 'em…

Now you don't.

One week and a lot of filler later...

It is starting to look like a Victor, but there is a way to go yet and I've run out of primer.

To give an idea of the size of this thing the tail is bigger than my Hawk "Test Pig".

Any update on the Victor? Where are you going to display it once done, its huge!

I've done a bit more filling and sanding bit I've run out of primer.

I have no idea where I will put it or it's twin. They are chuffing massive.

Am rather pleased - for my birthday I received a 1/48 Revell FGR 2 which will sit nicely with my two Airfix EE Lightnings and Hasegawa F104. I just need to find the time to build them.

Someone has just done an FGR2 on Britmodeller.

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235053977-phantom-fgr2-xv480i-no-56-sqn-raf-wattisham-1987/

Progress.

In other news, Cold War, Hot Jets is back on the iPlayer.

I’ve just got this RAF 1980s films DVD from amazon for a Cold War jets fix.