Latest Model Production

[Eric Mc]

And the latest off the production line - a 1/72 Fairey Fulmar.

The aircraft is depicted as one operated by 809 Sqdn Fleet Air Arm on HMS Victorious in 1942.








The kit was originally produced around 1992/93 by a Czech company called Vista. I can't recall any other model they ever did. However, even though Vista seem to have disappeared, the mould has resurfaced a number of times in the guise of Smer, Revell and, currently, Airfix.

This one is from an original Vista boxing.

It's actually a very neat little model with very few fit problems.

Edited by Eric Mc on Sunday 5th July 14:56

[perdu]

The Fulmar is nice Eric

Not much evidence of my old stuff around these days but I found pictures we took back when IPMS Brum were making a branch diorama (never finished...)

My Torndo GR1 in 617 Sqn guise



I built the power unit too

old colour picture slightly damaged and repaired in digitising

hope you like it

[perdu]

And from the front



I have been having a think, you guys might be right, I may start again for the crack!

[deviant]

Hmmm Tornado....I remember building one of those. I think I am going to end up recreating my childhood by building all the models I did as a kid! Most of them even come in exactly the same boxes!

Can anyone reccomend a particular brand or model to look for? I want to create a D-Day fleet of aircraft...So that would be:

C47
Spitfire
Hurricane?
P51 Mustang?
Horsa Glider

Are there any other aircraft I should not leave out?

[Eric Mc]

deviant said:

Hmmm Tornado....I remember building one of those. I think I am going to end up recreating my childhood by building all the models I did as a kid! Most of them even come in exactly the same boxes!

Can anyone reccomend a particular brand or model to look for? I want to create a D-Day fleet of aircraft...So that would be:

C47
Spitfire
Hurricane?
P51 Mustang?
Horsa Glider

Are there any other aircraft I should not leave out?

I presume you are talking 1/72

C47 - Italeri (although this model is alkso boxed by Airfix)

Spitfire - depends on which version you want. At D-Day there were a number of Mks in service - the IX being the most prolific. Airfix are on the verge of releasing a brand new moulding of the MkIX which looks good in the publicity shots. DO NOT go for the old 1950s Airfix MkIX which is well past its sell by date now.

Hurricane - quite a few nice 1/72 Hurricanes around these days. The Airfix Mk I is not bad. The Revell kit is very good as are the Hobbyboss Hurricanes.

P51 Mustang - Tamiya, by all accounts

Horsa - the Italeri kit is the only 1/72 one around - but it is boxed by Airfix as well and is currently available.

Airfix also do a D Day Collector's Boxed Set which contains the Horsa and some other stuff. However, I think it contains the old mould Spitfire so I would avoid it for that reason.

[Eric Mc]

perdu said:

And from the front



I have been having a think, you guys might be right, I may start again for the crack!

Smashing.

Which Tornado is that?

And how do you do your bases?

[dr_gn]

deviant said:

Hmmm Tornado....I remember building one of those. I think I am going to end up recreating my childhood by building all the models I did as a kid! Most of them even come in exactly the same boxes!

Can anyone reccomend a particular brand or model to look for? I want to create a D-Day fleet of aircraft...So that would be:

C47
Spitfire
Hurricane?
P51 Mustang?
Horsa Glider

Are there any other aircraft I should not leave out?

Take a look at the Tamiya range:

http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/list/72plan...

I built dozens of Tamiya 1:20 F1 cars for the local model shop, and the kits are consistently excellent, and easy to build. I'd put Revell up there too with their latest stuff:

http://www.revell.de/en/products/model_kits/model_...

Have a browse through that lot and take your pick - you really can't go wrong. If you choose a model, do a Google search for a review. Any shortcomings will usually be flagged up and you will see what the model would look like after being built by an expert modeller:

http://www.hyperscale.com/gallery.htm

Personally, I'd avoid Airfix because many of the moulds are ancient (and the parts didn't fit together that well even when new) and a lot of effort can be needed to overcome poor fit of parts: For example, I had one of their Shorts Tucanos, and the canopy wouldn't fit if the pilots were fixed in place. Took some modding, especially after pre-painting the individual parts!

Cheers,

[mrmaggit]

There is a D-Day Mosquito kit in the window of an antiques shop near me if anybody is interested. Can't remember the make, though, sorry.

Re model snobbery, I always make the distinction between "model" and "miniature". Model being a representation of something, miniature being an exact scale replica (excepting non-scalable stuff like water passageways etc) such that if you were miniaturised, you could drive/control it.

[deviant]

Thanks for the advice guys. Much appreciated!

[perdu]

Eric Mc said:

perdu said:

And from the front



I have been having a think, you guys might be right, I may start again for the crack!

Smashing.

Which Tornado is that?

And how do you do your bases?

Hi glad you like it

I dont know if you remember but Airfix modifed (very slightly) their MRCA model to make an RAF Tornado and at the time there were a few available kits available. When we came to make the diorama (A plank of melamine faced chip board, painted with Tamiya Acrylics I seem to recall with a strip of railway scenery grass at the back!) three of us made our own take on the plane.

I felt then that the most accurate outline was the oldest of all, the Airfix one. So with several modifications around the poorly represented wingroot area, I made mine as the "Dambusters" version.

One of the other guys used a Monogram kit I think, which to my eye looked too "heavyset" for accuracy. Not certain which other model was used but the three all looked so different that we abandoned the idea as a branch diorama after one outing, the colours we used weren't even the same across all three planes

Ah the good old days, s'pose I'm lucky we had the pictures taken...

[Eric Mc]

I bet the real ones don't all have exactly matching colours either

I wouldn't knock Airfix too much at all. They have a unique range and are dear to the hearts of us long time modellers. With a bit of work and patience, they can still build up into lovely replicas - and they still make the best 1/72 Spitfire regarding outline accuracy (their Spitfire VB mould).

[dr_gn]

Eric Mc said:

I wouldn't knock Airfix too much at all. They have a unique range and are dear to the hearts of us long time modellers.

Just my opinion - I've been modelling on and off for the past 35 years and I wouldn't buy another Airfix kit, not when there are so many superior kits available for not much more money.

[SlipStream77]

Some really great models guys.

I have a 1/48 Revell Eurofighter waiting to be constructed, after that, I have plans to recreate the range of RAF jets that carried the grey/green camo scheme.

So the list will be Tornado IDS/Harrier/Jaguar/Phantom/Buccaneer/Hunter/Meteor/Canberra?/Victor/Vulcan...

Can you think of any others? Also are they all available in 1/48? I suspect a Victor and a Vulcan would be pretty big in that scale.

ETA Jets only.

Edited by SlipStream77 on Wednesday 8th July 19:37

[Eric Mc]

I agree - many of the older Airfix moulds should be withdrawn - espececially when either Airfix themselves or other model companies have produced more modern and more accuate kits. Examples of the duds that should have been removed years ago are their old Mk IX Spitfire, their Hawker Typhoon, the Bf110 and their Gladiator.

However, nearly all the mainstream model manufacturers have "skeletons in the cupboard" which could also be withdrawn. Revell are particularly bad for this. Even though the latest Revell Germany mouldings are some of the best ever produced, some of their old 1950s and 1960s stuff us every bit as poor as Airfix's.

If an old Airfix kit is the only one around of a particular aircraft type - then it shouldn't be withdrawn until replaced by a more modern tooling. Examples of "oldies but only available models" are their Folland Gnat and Jet Provost T5.

[dr_gn]

Eric Mc said:

Examples of "oldies but only available models" are their Folland Gnat and Jet Provost T5.

...and the Jetstream (which built into a not so bad model considering).

[perdu]

Do Airfix still make the (slightly skinny) Black Arrows Hunter, the old Auster and the Skyvan?

Been ages since I entered a model shop

come to think of it

Are there still model shops?

[Eric Mc]

Skyvan still obtainable - not sure if still in production.

The original Hunter (the Black Arrows version) was upgraded in the late 1970s but nowadays the only Hunters worth considering in 1/72 are the beautiful new Revell ones. They are stunning.

The Auster is still around. There are some new injection moulded Austers on the market but they cost about £15 each - as opposed to Airfix's £4.99.

There are some model shops hanging in there. In fact, I spent my lunch hour in Morningstar Models in Camberley today.

However, they are a declining breed.

[CobolMan]

SlipStream77 said:

Some really great models guys.

I have a 1/48 Revell Eurofighter waiting to be constructed, after that, I have plans to recreate the range of RAF jets that carried the grey/green camo scheme.

So the list will be Tornado IDS/Harrier/Jaguar/Phantom/Buccaneer/Hunter/Meteor/Canberra?/Victor/Vulcan...

Can you think of any others? Also are they all available in 1/48? I suspect a Victor and a Vulcan would be pretty big in that scale.

ETA Jets only.

Edited by SlipStream77 on Wednesday 8th July 19:37

There's the Sabre, Lightning, Javelin, Swift, Valiant, Vampire, Venom .......

[Eric Mc]

CobolMan said:

SlipStream77 said:

Some really great models guys.

I have a 1/48 Revell Eurofighter waiting to be constructed, after that, I have plans to recreate the range of RAF jets that carried the grey/green camo scheme.

So the list will be Tornado IDS/Harrier/Jaguar/Phantom/Buccaneer/Hunter/Meteor/Canberra?/Victor/Vulcan...

Can you think of any others? Also are they all available in 1/48? I suspect a Victor and a Vulcan would be pretty big in that scale.

ETA Jets only.

Edited by SlipStream77 on Wednesday 8th July 19:37

There's the Sabre, Lightning, Javelin, Swift, Valiant, Vampire, Venom .......

Maybe coboman should lower his sights and stick to 1/72

Tornado GR1A/GR4 is well served in this scale as are nearly all the others listed. Fujimi have recently re-released their excellent British Phantoms.
Airfix are currently releasing some new 1/72 Canberras (B(I)8 and PR9). Xtrakit have released a PR9 in recent years.
Revell now produce the old Matchbox Victor and Airfix have re-released their Vulcan. Mach 2 have even done a Valiant (although Mach 2 kits are a tad difficult by all accounts).
Xtrakit have done a nice Metor F8 and T7.
Revell's Hunters (F6 and FGA9) are great.
Nobody does a Victor, Vulcan or Valiant in 1/48 as far as I know.
Airfix did a good Lightning F6 in 1/48

[SlipStream77]

Eric Mc said:

CobolMan said:

SlipStream77 said:

Some really great models guys.

I have a 1/48 Revell Eurofighter waiting to be constructed, after that, I have plans to recreate the range of RAF jets that carried the grey/green camo scheme.

So the list will be Tornado IDS/Harrier/Jaguar/Phantom/Buccaneer/Hunter/Meteor/Canberra?/Victor/Vulcan...

Can you think of any others? Also are they all available in 1/48? I suspect a Victor and a Vulcan would be pretty big in that scale.

ETA Jets only.

Edited by SlipStream77 on Wednesday 8th July 19:37

There's the Sabre, Lightning, Javelin, Swift, Valiant, Vampire, Venom .......

Maybe coboman should lower his sights and stick to 1/72

Tornado GR1A/GR4 is well served in this scale as are nearly all the others listed. Fujimi have recently re-released their excellent British Phantoms.
Airfix are currently releasing some new 1/72 Canberras (B(I)8 and PR9). Xtrakit have released a PR9 in recent years.
Revell now produce the old Matchbox Victor and Airfix have re-released their Vulcan. Mach 2 have even done a Valiant (although Mach 2 kits are a tad difficult by all accounts).
Xtrakit have done a nice Metor F8 and T7.
Revell's Hunters (F6 and FGA9) are great.
Nobody does a Victor, Vulcan or Valiant in 1/48 as far as I know.
Airfix did a good Lightning F6 in 1/48

Thanks Eric, that's really helpful. I will have to do some research and see where I can find them. I think the Lightning may be tricky to source. The last time I bought a kit and some equipment, I bought them online and I was very pleased with the value and service. I used www.emodels.co.uk and I recommend them. Also it was the first time I had tried acrylics instead of enamel, great results and it dries so much faster too.