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Nice Sea Harrier, Harry. 🙂 I do think that an Extra Dark Sea Grey finish can give an aircraft a nice touch of class.
Apparently the Argentine pilots called it "The Black Death", which can't have been too good for their own morale.
Digging in the garage earlier I found a Clarke Wizz Air Mini Compressor if anyone wants it? It works, never used in anger - or joy as I'm so ham fisted with airbrushing.
There's three new, unbranded airbrushes too.
I'm in Solihull but happy to post if someone covers the cost.
Oh Lordy - anyone fancy the ultimate Lanc? Nigh on £700 but look at the detail!!
https://us8.campaign-archive.com/?u=e8c8caa84d5b730e0d214e738&id=e83c930b48
If I had the time I would be tempted but I just could not do it justice. Plus I don't have £700 for a kit!
Interesting - that looks like the WnW lanc that they never got round to launching before they went bust. If so I’d be tempted if I had the space to put it!
Edit: Britmodeller seems to think it is, which makes me wonder what other WnW kits will reappear. Maybe the unopened F2B on my desk is no longer a rare appreciating asset and I'll have to build it.
Love the artwork too!
The HK models 1/48 lanc could be a more realistic proposition - it seems to have been better received than their 1/32 offering too…
Just got a job lot off Ebay:
Spad XII C-1
Sopwith F-1 Camel
Fokker Dr.1 Triplane
Fairey Swordfish x 2
Hawker Hurricane Mk IIC
All Revell, all 1:72. First three have possibly the worst moldings I have ever seen! Excess plastic all over the place. Is it wrong that I am looking forward to the challenge of trying to knock out something half decent? Oh, and being 1:72 WW1 bi-planes they are incredibly small and fiddly. Going try the rigging too.
Wish me luck.
Pryms knitting elastic for the rigging.
72nd scale biplanes are teeny tiny things...Need 48th at the very least and even then they're still small. Makes you appreciate advances in aeronautics I suppose!
Jeez Coyote what kind of masochist are you?!
I suppose you don’t need to worry about canopies..
Well just over a week of being homebound imposed after Jr brought the 'booster dose' into the house meant we had a look at making the start to a model.
He likes the Corsair. Probably something to do with the 'Planes' movies. The Grandparents bought him a 1:48 Corsair for his birthday. Turns out they also bought him a 1:72 but decided it was too small so then they got him the 1:48. So we took the 1:72 as our practice run. Although in retrospect it's small and fiddly and maybe we'd have been OK with the 1:48. Anywaaaaaaaay.... Painted a few parts on the sprules. He did most of the painting. Some transfers glue and assembly starts tomorrow...
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Finished the Spad, definitely a labour of love! Actually quite chuffed with the outcome. Starting on the Sopwith Camel next. Will try and get some pics on here.
Started the assembly today. The level of detail (and frustration with transfers - seat belts on the chair ffs) is amazing. Got there in the end. Jr doing the gluing and painting. Some of it could do with touching up - Jr's opinion is it makes the model look used / worn. It's his model who am I to argue 👍
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Sorry for spamming this thread with my progress. Two critical moments that I have been dreading...
Engine assembly and ensuring the prop shaft still rotates after gluing... Done 👍
Painting the frame on the canopy. Lots of umming and erring my 10yr old decided he was up for the task. He didn't do a bad job doubt I'd have done better myself...
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Ha, you're not spamming. Always good to see work in progress.
If you want to clean up excess paint on a cockpit canopy, true breaking a bit off the clear sprue & sharpen that up , then scrape off the excess once it has dried.
Or use a cocktail stick.
Not spamming at all! Keep it coming.
Stick the canopy on with PVA rather that model glue. It doesn't "fog" and you won't get a dreaded thumb print.
I started a Harrier GR3 yesterday. Will post a picture when it starts to look like something.
If you want to clean up excess paint on a cockpit canopy, true breaking a bit off the clear sprue & sharpen that up , then scrape off the excess once it has dried.
Or use a cocktail stick.
Stick the canopy on with PVA rather that model glue. It doesn’t “fog” and you won’t get a dreaded thumb print.
Great tips both - thank you. Yup the canopy gluing was my final dread. The good old gluey fogging of the glass 🤣
It's a wrap for today... My goodness that front undercarriage was fiddly 😡
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A little bit of excess glue 😳 Some fine sandpaper to smooth off?
Looks great! very fine sandpaper to get rid of the glue, but make sure it's gone off though, other wise it'll just be a gummy mess. very very lightly sand away the excess
Have a look at this before you start painting
and this before you apply the decals.
Nice reminder. I watched those ages ago but it was good to remind myself. Thank you.
Sorry to hijack - but this is worth it:
Britain's biggest model railway.
The train will shortly be arriving in 1983: a boyhood rebuilt in Britain’s biggest model railway
And more by the builder:
https://www.keymodelworld.com/article/heaton-lodge-junction
A wee video:
The bit at 18mins where describes how he shows & moves the railway is really quite bonkers.
I’m struggling with motivation at the moment.
In various states of incompleteness, I have:
Revell 1/144 Type VIIc U-boat. Mostly painted, waiting to finish the railings & deck guns
MiniArt 1/35 Australian M3 Lee ( with interior) - painted & decals applied, needs a coat of Matt varnish, then tracks fitting & the fiddly little bits to add.
HobbyBoss 1/48 Me262A1b - mostly assembled, canopy masked off. Need to mask off the undercarriage bays & paint it
Meng 1/35 Husky TSV (with interior) - this is the only thing I’m actively working on. And some squaddies to go with it, by Gecko Models
Tamiya 1/35 M48A3 Patton - part built, painted. Needs a coat of gloss, then decals etc
My office has been commandeered by MrsDrummer for the duration so I’m struggling for somewhere to do some airbrushing.
Maybe a Tamiya motorcycle will restore my mojo, these can almost be brush painted
I've got an 72nd Airfix Hawk 200 in Canadian training colors to finish. Undercarriage, bits and bobs, decals and weathering, maybe a couple of evenings work, but it's not inspired me yet, and I know the canopy needs some work to fit properly.
Whole things has reminded me that I find jets a bit dull somehow
Know what you mean there. Got an Italeri A10, Revell Victor and Italeri SU-35 all primed and ready for paint, but I can't be arsed.
Concentrating on small builds, like my GR3, before I get back on to them. I've got an Airfix Shackleton to tackle too, but I'm not starting that until I'm up to speed with finishing kits again.
Pretty much finished the assembly and put the first coat on this morning. I thinned the paints but the brush strokes are horrendous!!! I think it's exaggerated by the dark paint job on white plastic. Hoping it will get better when we put a few more coats on this afternoon.
I've noticed a couple of bits where the build didn't fit correctly, and a little mistake by me on the rear undercarriage where it's a bit out of line. But it's a learning curve right?
Was too embarrassed to post a picture after the first coat. Second coat looking a lot better. My 10 yr old did most of it. Following 'Owen Quick Fix''s instructions we're going for 4 thinned coats with half hour between...
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In retrospect I think I'd have probably done the majority of painting when I assembled the fuselage / wings, before fitting undercarriage etc. But again learning on the job!!!
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Decals tomorrow. I haven't got any gloss varnish but the Quick Kits guy reckons PVA + Water. Any idea what ratio?
You're kid's done a great job with the paint! Better than I could do at their age.
Thank you. I may have helped a bit and done the edges / 'cutting in' on the last coat (competitive Dad came out finally)...
Any idea what ratio?
Dunno. Enough to give a gloss surface without leaving any lumps or bumps.
Dunno. Enough to give a gloss surface without leaving any lumps or bumps.
LOL thank you. Trial and error it is.
On another note. I was talking to my son today about the models I made as a kid. All gone now I remember chucking them when I found them in my mum's loft when she moved quite a few years ago.
I remember making a 1:48 F14 Tomcat. I remember the swing wing worked. Reminiscing a bit I thought mmm what about getting another for my little project.
HOW MUCH?
That is all.
For a 1/48 modern(ish) jet I’d expect somewhere between £30 and £50
https://www.scalemodelshop.co.uk/product/1-48-f-14-a-tomcat-italeri-2667/
Not a bad price but Italeri are not known as great kits. There’s a Tamiya one for £85 too! Better reputation but that’s about £40 too rich for me
Cheers for that I spotted the Hobby Boss one for around £40 too.
Canopy fitted using PVA. 'Gloss' PVA coat applied where decals are going. Question. On 1:72 do people bother with every tiny little bleeding decal?
A PITA, but you will know that they are there!
I’ve put digitally reduced copies of the maps from the Dambuster’s Raid on the navigators table in my 1/72 Lancaster.
Can you see them? – No.
Do I know that they are there? – Yes.
Not a bad price but Italeri are not known as great kits
You have to be choosy with Italeri, some of them are really really nice kits (F-18 springs to mind) some are dross
do people bother with every tiny little bleeding decal?
Imagine it this way, 72nd scale is supposed to be the same size as a full scale airplane 72 feet away. Would you be able to see every detail from that distance? Your mileage may vary, but I never do.
I have to admit that I have a bit of a soft spot for Italeri because I'm a cheap bastard. Not had a particularly awful one yet.
So far I’ve built their…
F4U
Jaguar
Tomcat
SU-34 (x2)
SU-27
F15 E
F4 Phantom
B25 Mitchell
Harrier GR3 (current project)
And I’ve probably got another half dozen in the stash.
All in 1/72.
Some have raised panel lines and some lack detail (nothing down the intakes on the Phantom and Jaguar), but all have gone together OK with a bit of filling and sanding. Their decals are usually very good. Never had a set that have “silvered”, been out of register or fallen apart. Painting instruction can be a bit vague, but the internet will point you in the right direction.
Cheers all. In my isolation I've paged back through this thread. Some incredible work. I'm about 20 pages in. Some real nostalgia for me got me remembering all the models I made, now in landfill somewhere I guess.
Happy with the paintjob on my 1/72 Corsair. I can see some gaping gaps in the plastic now. Jr will be happy. I don't want to get too controlling about the details it's his model up to him. He's also keen to finish it. I think I may purchase a little project for myself, be very patient and take my time...
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Done most of the transfers. Mixed feelings with this one. It's my lads and don't want to take over (probably did to an extent). There's lots I'm happy with. And plenty I'm not. I think a coat of matt varnish and I'll be finished...
What a super little model. If that's their first go at it, it's brilliant
Well I made my way through all 40 pages of this thread.
Some IMPRESSIVE work. Puts mine and Jr's little Corsair to shame. All of you who have posted photos make me realise I have to work to up my game. Spent last night slurping up as many videos as YouTube as I could.
Well last few pics. Final few decals. I fitted a 'walk line' on the wings. These silvered a tad even with a PVA 'gloss' coat and some decal solution.
Sealed with a couple of coats of thinned matt varnish. Got the Humbrol then read online this may not be the best stuff. It didn't give me any trouble. Fitted the drop tanks. PVA to fix the canopy.
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There's a lot to be happy with this first attempt. A lot we're not. And we've learnt a heck of a lot.
1) It should be fun
2) Thin paints and lots of coats
3) Don't rush
This was mostly Jr with some help from me on the fiddly bits
We made a start on the Hobby Boss 1:48 Corsair. Less detail in the cockpit interestingly. Top tip for the wheels / tyres from the Britmodeller forum - drip a bit of thinner towards the rim / bead then drop the tyre colour in.
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We'd like to have a go at some exhaust and gun smoke on this one when we get a bit nearer to that stage...
Jr has a country cricket assessment tomorrow for 2 hours. So I'll have some time to waste. Hobbycraft isn't far from the cricket centre. What are my 'must haves' to up my game?!?!
1) Decent paintbrushes
2) if you can afford it, an airbrush. Doesn’t have to be expensive to start with - Revell do a basic one for about [s]£15[/s] £30, plus you’ll need a source of air. Canned air is available at Hobbycraft if you’re heading that way. A cheap way into airbrushing to see if it grabs you
3) a cutting mat if you don’t already have one
4) side cutters & a quality knife
5) some spare fingers 😉
6) patience, lots of it
7) gloss varnish. Revell now do their Aquacolour (acrylics) in a rattle can.
8) Matt varnish. See above.
9) plastic filler - Revell & Humbrol are often in stock at HobbyCraft.
10) a credit card with a hefty limit!
11) some mixing pots - Tamiya do them for a couple of quid, basically their paint pots but empty
Thank you for your quick reply - much appreciated 🙂