Saturday, April 06, 2013

 

Pole Dancers

More planes on poles.  I found it surprisingly difficult to gat back into the swing of modelling, and these simple, no-frlls 'mini-projects' provided just enough challenge and basic interest to work the magic.  Again, all 1/72, and all destined for the rear of the RAF Germany SIG display



Heller's Vampire, 112 Sqn markings from Modeldecal.....

 Revell's Hunter FGA.9, converted to a Mk.4, 71 Sqn, (Modeldecal)

Hunter by Revell again, converted to Mk.6, 26 Sqn (Modeldecal)

and the last Revell Hunter, this time converted to a 4 Sqn Hunter FR.10, again, thanks to Modeldecal.

These models were buiult during January of 2013






Sunday, March 31, 2013

 

Renaissance

Long time, no post!  I'm settled (more or less) into my studio/workshop/mancave, and have started to turn out models again.  I got back into the swim with a number of pole-mounted 1/72 models for the RAF Germany SIG display:



Xtrakit's Swift FR.5 in 79 Squadron markings.


Airfix's new Sabre Mk.4 in the kit supplied 112 Sqn markings


The same Airfix Sabre Mk.4 in 3 Sqn markings courtesy of Modeldecal.


And the Airfix Sabre Mk.4, with the wings converted to the original narrow-chord slatted configuration in the markings of 93 Sqn - from Modeldecal.

These four models were built between September and December of 2012.

More soon .

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

 

Expo 2011




There it is!
 

Expo 2011

Damn! Where's that picture?

Tuesday, August 03, 2010

 

Other People's Models . . .



It's been a long time since I posted to the blog, and almost as long since I worked on a model! Since June of 2009, I haven't raised a scalpel or an airbrush in anger.

Back then, we put our old rambling Edwardian end-of-terrace house on the market. It was becoming decrepit (like me!) and increasingly expensive to run. It was also far too big for just the two of us. Common sense dictated that we find something:
  • smaller
  • with a garden big enough for our two dobermanns (dobermen?)
  • in reasonably good condition.
We found something suitable in fairly short order, and by mid-August we had 'upped sticks' and moved to a smashing bungalow in the nearby village of Skellingthorpe. So far, so good . . .

The only downside in all this is that the bungalow provides no space at all for a hobby room. I could revert to working off the kitchen table (at least I could if we had a kitchen table!), but I've been spoiled. I want a room where I can have all my books and my thousands of magazines, and my PC and printer, and a TV, and my DVD and CD collection and a workbench and a spraybooth and . . . . well, you get the picture!

The masterplan is that we're going to convert the garage (6m x 3m approx) to a 'studio', but there have been lots of other things to get out of the way first, and then in January of this year I had a minor heart attack. I seem to have 'got away' with that, but I'm finding that I still tire very easily, so the conversion is probably going to take longer than anticipated, and cost more, since I will have to employ professionals for some of the building work.

To reactivate this blog, then, while I recover my modelmaking mojo, I thought I would post pictures and comments on other people's models that have particularly impressed me, culling them from various modelling sites, and the first of these is illustrated at the head of this post.

It's a 1/32nd scale Wingnut Wings RNAS Sopwith Pup by Haris Ali, and I have selected it because it's a rare example of a model of a dirty aeroplane which looks like a dirty aeroplane, rather than just a dirty model. Many of the current weathering trends used - and apparently admired - by a great many modellers, seem to me to be too obviously showy, or formulaic, or overdone. This Pup, on the other hand, is just about perfect. You can find Haris's post on Hyperscale, here

This posting may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This material is posted here for purposes which may include criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. Copyright holders of any images posted here, please contact me if you wish them removed

Until next time - keep bashing the plastic!

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

 

A-Hunting we will go . . .





Continuing with this 'RAF Germany' kick, I've made a start on a 1/48th model of an early Hawker Hunter F.4. I'm using Academy's Hunter F.6 kit, which is a real 'curate's egg' - i.e. good in parts. The general quality of the kit is really very good, but it has some inaccuracies:
and although the rest of the kit is well-engineered, the design of the wing root/intake trunking area is a nightmare.

To overcome these issues, I used Aeroclub's excellent correction set, which offers solutions to the cockpit and undercarriage problems, and a bit of good old-fashioned kitbashing to wrestle the wing/fuselage join into submission. The tail surfaces and the wing leading edges were corrected using a razor saw and the 'Mk.I Eyeball'.

Among other online references I found this site very helpful.

More later - keep bashing the plastic!

Kitbasher.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

 

In the beginning - part one . . .


Frog Hawker Hunter - about 1954-ish

I have been interested in aeroplanes for as long as I can remember (over half a century on a good day!), and have been building models of them since somewhere around the age of eight. The first model that I can remember building was purchased from King's Cycle Shop in Allenton, just south of Derby, and was the 1/72nd scale Frog kit of the Hawker Hunter (see above). It was constructed on my gran's kitchen table, and painted using the leftover 'oil' paints from my mum's 'Painting by Numbers' set. These were designed for use on the ersatz 'canvas' supplied in the set, and when applied to the impervious styrene surface, resolutely refused to dry!

I continued to purchase these Frog kits, but at around 8/6 (43p) each, they represented a huge investment for a boy whose disposable pocket-money income amounted to around 1/3 (6p) in a good week! The salvation, of course, was the emergence of Airfix. The first Airfix kit that I can remember seeing, and purchasing, was their early nondescript Spitfire, moulded in pale blue. It was less sophisticated than the Frog kits, and it came in a plastic bag instead of a shiny box, but it was only 2/- (10p), so I could buy one every two weeks! Soon the Gladiator joined the Spitfire, then more wartime aircraft, and then a series of small scale sailing vessels - the Golden Hind, the Cutty Sark and the Shannon - and then the floodgates opened! Cars, jets, biplanes, military vehicles, model railway accessories, modern warships and merchant ships, airliners, railway engines - all appearing at regular and frequent intervals on the counters of our local Woolworth's store, and all priced within the ambitions of a young boy.

Soon I had discovered Humbrol paints, including their novel new matt colours, Yeoman waterslide transfer alphabets (which were unfeasibly thick by modern standards, and needed a ten-minute soak in hot water to loosen them from their backing), and the brand new Airfix Magazine - 1/6 (7p) every month. I read books, perused articles, built models in colour schemes other than that provided, cut open cockpit canopies, attempted simple conversions . . . . . I was hooked!



Friday, March 20, 2009

 

I'm back!

Venom FB4 - 266 Sqn

Sabre F.4 - 67 Sqn

After a long hiatus from this weblog, and a shorter one from the hobby, I'm back kitbashing again. I'm still turning out Spitfires for the Spitfire SIG display, but the new impetus is a club display which covers 'BRITISH ARMED FORCES IN GERMANY, 1945-1995'. In my case, of course, that means RAF Germany, and some lovely '50's and '60's jets. So far, I've done a Canberra B(I).8, a Venom FB.4, a Meteor NF.11 and a Sabre F.4, and I've a couple of Spitfires - a Mk.XIV and a Mk.24 - to add to the mix.

On the stocks at the moment are a Hunter F.4 and my latest attempt to finish a vacform - the Swift FR.5.

I'll be doing my best to post here more often - weekly is the target.


Stay tuned!

Kitbasher


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