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Ready to close up the fuselage. As mentioned previously, the pilot that came with the kit was much too small to look remotely in scale, so I used a PJ Production resin version - although he did need the Douglas Bader treatment... It's interesting how much more thought needs to go into an old-mould-model. But I don't want to go too far from an out of the bag build, so I've decided to stick with the supplied wheels, even though I think they are bit on the thin side.

Thanks Ratch - they're a bit clearer than the poly-bag version! I'm making a bit of progress - I've added some nose-weight using aquarium lead strip (thanks for that tip as well, Ratch!), and I've blanked off a few openings that would have been a bit obvious, and also added a 'ceiling' for the nose-wheel opening. I'm going to put a bit of detail into the wheel wells, and I'm ready to start painting the interior - I'm going to use a very dark grey rather than plain black. Here's a picture of today's progress however:

Thanks Marto - I had a look, but it's a very different kit in terms of lots of the inserts and dangly bits. I'll plod on!

Thanks for posting the picture - I hope mine finishes as neatly. I'm aiming at completing mine as a 43 Squadron aircraft - I like the colour scheme!. The decals that were in the bag are yellow and curled into a roll - when I tried to very gently flatten them, they started to crack, so I sourced some from Hannants. I notice that you've omitted the 'rockets' - as I intend to as well. But I think quality control was distinctly lacking with mine - not just a missing tailplane, but also no long range tanks - not an insuperable problem however. I have already decided to use a PJ productions pilot - the one in the kit seems to be far too small to see over the dashboard! Not as straightforward as I'd hoped, but I like a challenge.

It definitely had the original staples in place - even the rust was present! Definitely hadn't been opened and re-stapled. I guess parts went missing even back then!

It's the way things used to be! Since returning to model making (like you, during Covid) after a gap of around 60 years, I'm constantly surprised when things are easy or straightforward!

Turned out very nicely in the end though! Clearly something of a savoury spread kit to judge from other comments....

I guess one of the key reasons (apart from making our lives easier!) for going to schematics rather than locate & cement instructions was to save money on translating - but as you point out, it was very definitely educational to learn where an aileron went and roughly what one looked like. I'm trying to work out how (and where) to put a bit of weight into the fuselage (to obviate tail-sitting), and also trying to decide whether to fill all the pre-drilled holes for stores which I don't really want to use (as they're not very accurate). I've fabricated a replacement tail-plane however (from laminated CD cover polystyrene) - lots of filing and sanding, but it looks fairly similar!

Many thanks!

Can anyone tell me how to place pictures at appropriate points in the text of a post? One used to be able to drop pictures in at intervals, with explanatory text at each stage, but it now appears that all the pictures selected go in at the end of a post. Any ideas?

I recently posted a new acquisition in the form of a very reasonably priced (only £8.00) Hawker Hunter Kit: And I've now made a tentative start, to find that the instructions are very distinctly old school - so no helpful arrows to show exactly (or even approximately) where all the little bits go - just the printed list of instructions along the lines of: 8. Cement aileron pins into wing locations, setting at the desired angle (13 & 14) And one of the tail-planes was missing, in spite of it being a still-stapled plastic bag and paper header. This will be fun....

Hi Sailorman - thanks for the kind words - praise indeed! I've got HMS Belfast sitting on the shelf - but it might take a bit of time to summon up the courage to tackle that!

Continuing with my RAF Warmwell aircraft project, and linking to the 276 Squadron ASR Walrus that I’ve already built and also to the Air Sea Rescue launch (based at nearby Weymouth) that I’ve just finished (and posted about in the Ships and Boats section of the forum), I’ve also been working on a couple of 1/72 scale Spitfire Mk Vb aircraft that were flown from RAF Warmwell in June 1944 by 275 Squadron, another dedicated Air Sea Rescue squadron. The two kits that I completed as those flown by 275 Squadron on D-Day (hence the invasion stripes) gave me a chance to compare the Airfix 1/72 Vb with the Revell version. Chalk and cheese spring to mind! The Airfix kit had raised panel lines, which were sanded off and then rescribed, and a cockpit totally devoid of sidewall detail, which I added with bits from the scrap box. The Revell version had cockpit sidewall detail, and already scribed panel lines, which saved a bit of time. Both went together relatively straightforwardly, though I have to say that the Revell version needed a bit of filler on the wing joints! You’ll also notice that the PV-R (Revell) version had clipped wing-tips – presumably for better handling at low altitudes… The squadron codes (PV-) are in yellow, which they would have been as Air Sea Rescue aircraft. Even after lots of research and reading, I was unable to match serial numbers to actual aircraft codes. I found that at least two Spitfire Vb aircraft were part of 275 Squadron at Warmwell on D-Day, so I made an executive decision to give the Airfix kit the code of PV-A and the serial number of BL294 whilst the Revell kit became PV-R with serial number BM448. Those code and number combinations might not be historically strictly accurate, but I’m happy that they might have been correct! One concession to their ASR role was to add the yellow-coloured smoke marker bombs to the underside of each aircraft (sourced from the spares box). As usual for me, both kits were painted using brush-applied Vallejo Air Model acrylics from the Vallejo RAF Colors Day Fighters 1941-45 set. Decals were a combination of those supplied with the kits, and the yellow codes and serial numbers from sheets sourced from Hannants. The black and white invasion stripes were painted on – Tamiya 6mm masking tape seems to be just the correct width for 1/72 scale stripes! So that’s two more aircraft to add to the growing collection of RAF Warmwell aircraft. Did I prefer the Airfix kit or the Revell kit? Well, I’d have to say there wasn’t a great deal in it, but I think I enjoyed the Airfix one a little bit more… I might continue the ASR theme, with a very old-mould Airfix Lysander in the stash at the moment which could become the ASR version flown by 276 Squadron… but that’s for another day.

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’ll know that I usually focus my attention on WW2 1/72 scale aircraft, especially the ones that flew from RAF Warmwell, just down the road from where I live in Dorset. I’ve already built a Walrus of 276 Squadron which was based at Warmwell, but I thought that I’d expand my envelope and have a go at building a boat for a change, so I decided to build the Airfix 1/72 Air Sea Rescue ‘whaleback’ launch. There is a local connection, because such craft were operated from nearby Weymouth, where there was a flotilla of ASR launches operated by 40ASRMCU (Air Sea Recue Marine Craft Unit). Research indicated that launch number 185 was one of the craft involved, so that was the marking I chose. I found the build reasonably straightforward for the most part, although getting the two halves of the hull to line up involved liquid cement and working a couple of inches at a time. What I found a challenge was all the detail that boats have – far more than aircraft – that needed sticking in the right place, and painting. The crew members were a delight – and I followed Ratch’s advice and gave them a wash with Vallejo sepia wash – much improved on basic painting. The yellow decals for the hull numbers were sourced from Hannants, and the rigging – AK Thin - was attached using Hot Roket CA with Roket blaster. All the paints used were Vallejo, and everything was brush painted. It’s a fairly elderly kit – which gave rise to few challenges of cleaning-up, flash removal and fit – but for my first foray into boat-building (well, the first one since the Santa Maria when I was about 10) I’m quite pleased with the outcome, especially as it adds to my collection relating to WW2 Dorset.

I guess we'll get used to it, but I don't find it nearly as easy to navigate as the old version. Proof of the pudding etc...

Along with other bits and pieces, I purchased this 1/72 Airfix Hawker Hunter going for very little pocket-money at today's Model Show at the Tank Museum. Bargain (in my opinion) at £8.00!

I wonder if that means that all the 'lost' images will be rediscovered lurking somewhere in the ether... But good news if it's going to mean that the migration should make the site better - and hopefully more user-friendly! Thanks for testing it for us!

Thank you both for your replies. I've tried Humbrol Clear Fix and it doesn't have the tensile strength for joining such a restricted joint area - OK for canopies which simply stick to a fuselage. I've ordered a tube of G-S Hypo Cement, which I will try! I assume I ordered the right one - there were several different types available.

My Airfix Club Red Box arrived yesterday by courier. The outer carton and the inner red box were rather squashed on one corner - but the contents were fine and the double kit box was undamaged. Can't really blame Airfix for packaging damaged in trasnsit!

As I usually build aircraft, I've got used to the idea of using either PVA, or more recently, Formula 560 Canopy Glue, for fixing the canopies onto the fuselage. I'm aware of the horror stories of poly cement or CA fogging the transparent parts, and hence this query. I'm in the midst of building the Airfix Air Sea Rescue launch, and I'm at the stage of the gun turrets: You can see from the instructions that the turrets are two parts (sandwiching a machine gun), but the edge to edge join (with a light lip overlap) doesn't seem to offer much hope of a strong enough join if using the previously mentioned Canopy Glue. Other options currently available to me include Humbrol Liquid Poly, Revell Contacta Liquid and Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. Which adhesive would other modellers recommend? And would it safeguard against fogging if I first varnished (with gloss varnish) the interior of the turrets? All advice gratefully received!

Thanks for your reply John - much appreciated. I've experimented with mixing a bit of dark blue into the black - it seems to give a better finish, and does not look quite so dark - though obviously it's hard to tell what it will look like on the whole hull rather than just a 'swatch'. And I agree with your point about the quality of the crew figures - would that Airfix would replicate that sort of design philosophy in some other kits! One thing that I am trying to get my head around is the totally different build order (relative to the 1/72 aircraft to which I am more accustomed) - but I'm sure it'll make me a better all-round modeller. But thanks so much for the advice.

I haven't built a ship or a boat since the 'Santa Maria' around sixty years ago (as far as I can remember) but I've recently acquired the Airfix 1/72 Air Sea Rescue launch kit. I suspect that it's going to be a very steep learning curve! I'm building it as part of a display of 'D-Day in Dorset' (marking the 80th anniversary) - no problem of course with aircraft at Warmwell, but I want to build the ASR launch as part of 40ASRMCU, a flotilla of which was based at Weymouth. I've got a list of the numbers used on the Weymouth boats - ranging from 014 through to 2707 (there appears to have been 13 in all during the war years), but nowhere can I find a record of which boats would actually have been in use on D-Day. So as a novice boat builder, I'd be very grateful if anyone can supply the necessary info (or guide me to where I might find it), and also, can anyone recommend the correct Vallejo colour for the main hull? Still, it'll make a change from aircraft!

I note that there is a promise of a Vintage Classic release of the 1/72 HP Hampden. Great news, especially if - like the recent Auster - Airfix has redone the clear parts (so that they actually fit!) - but presumably it's going to be a straight re-mould rather than any significant new tooling. Still, better than nothing, I suppose. But again, no 1/72 Fairey Battle....

After a long period of precariously balancing works in progress on little Humbrol paint pots, Santa answered my plea for something a little more versatile, grown up and safer! This is the SkookumRC "Model Makers Berth" - almost as fiddly to put together as the actual kit it supports!

Thanks for the pictures Paul. Some of the paint-jobs were obviously neater than others!