John Symmons

Those models look fast when just standing still. Great work and good to see such an iconic aircraft again. I only saw it once when it came to Cape Town to meet up with a QE2 cruise. The QE2 was moored in the harbor, and the Concord made a low level pass before returning to London. Quite a site and made one proud to be British. Good work and hope to see some more. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Whoop! My mistake and apologies Richard I thought I'd changed the name, but I did get your recommendation correct. I'll try and be more attenuative in future. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

The Ju 88 has been on these request list for years. Airfix have done the other two bombers the Do17 & He111 therefore the Ju88 is very conspicuous by it's absence. Then a Ju 88 in both the Jumo and BMW powered versions. Then how about a Ju88. Come on Airfix please do the Ju88 as like many of us we're getting on in years now and I fear times getting short. Ju88, Ju88 and a Ju88. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Hi William and welcome to the forum. For basic scenery and ground effects try asking model railway guys, they've been doing it for years. Kenneth does say Airfix did a basic WW2 RAF control tower but good luck in trying to find one; again try the model railroad guy, they might even know of some cardboard cut-out ones for a control tower and or hangers, although the scale might be a little small at 1/76 as opposed to 1/72 but a touch of false perspective could help hiding and differences. Good luck and hope to see some results of your finished diorama. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi MD80. To see Kenneth's build see the post previous to your one as he's reposted his photos. Painting an overall yellow is probably one of the most difficult things to do even with airbrushing. Seeing as you say you've brought enamel thinners I take it you're going to use enamel paints, it might be stating the obvious but don't try thinning acrylic paints with enamel thinners. Personally, I feel you're making thing difficult for yourself using enamels, I'd go down the acrylic route, it's much safer. Make your model into sub-assemblies and prime with an Tamiya can of white primmer or some other suitable matt lacquer from your local hard-ware store. (I'm sure other members can give you more advice on this.) This should give you a good start to painting the yellow colour. Irrespective of which brand of yellow paint you use it'll probably need three or four thin coats to build up to a good solid colour, the white primer should help in minimizing any blotching, and I'd advise using a wide flat soft brush in the 15 to 20 mm range, and if you can get one that's cut at an angle you'll find it most useful. (The angled one is my go-to brush if painting large surfaces.) I take you're not using an airbrush. Just take your time and give the paint plenty of time to cure especially the second or further coats. the paint might feel dry after a 15 to 30 minutes, but it probably isn't totally cured and any further painting could pull of the previous coats off. Therefore leave it for at least 24 hours, maybe even longer for the third or fourth coats thoroughly cure. Finally take Richard's advice about the mask set, as a decently painted canopy framing can make a good model into an outstanding one. Good luck (I just hope I haven't scared you off the build.) and hope to see the the result on the forum in the not to distant future. Remember we do this for fun. John the Pom.

Hi Jopres 57. Firstly all the best for the new year. Very nice build of the DV and I see you've used a later molding with the replacement pilot. The Albatros was the first Airfix kit i made properly with tube glue and proper paint the paint set didn't include black so those parts were painted silver, yes even the tires. This was way back in the late 50's. Then when i came back to modeling when I retired I found the same kit still in the stash and still in the poly bag with a 2/7d price sticker. so decided that I'd restart my modeling with this same kit. The only thing I changed was to retire the old pilot and replace him with one from a Dark Studio set. I also tried out these new fangled acrylic paints, I used Vallejo as Humbrol in those days were horrible and usually dried out and Tamiya i found weren't good with brush painting. Acrylics don't dry brush as easily as enamels but i did finally managed a semi reasonable wood effect on the fuselage. The model went together with few problems but it's a pity Airfix missed off the coolant pipes and the axillary struts on the front of the inter-plane struts. Below are some photos of the finished DV also it's the first time I've tried rigging. Again these photos have been posted before but have now vanished to the cyber afterlife. And finally ready to go Tommy hunting. Remember we do this for fun. John the Pom.

Hi HomeBro Remember there's acrylic paint and Acrylic paint like Humbrol and Tamiya. Humbrol, Revell and Vallejo are pure acrylics and and can be thinned with water or preferably the brands own thinner. Tamiya, on-the-other-hand is a sort-of hi-bred and uses some solvent usually a type of alcohol and are best used with Tamiya thinners, especially if airbrushing; although water can be used if mixing up small amounts for brush painting. Don't try mixing Humbrol etc paints with Tamiya thinners or paints as you'll quickly end up with a thick rubbery mess. If you can get some purple meths it's very good at removing messed up acrylic paint and cleaning brushes. Hope this helps and looking forward to seeing some of your results. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Hi Ratch. I did post the pictures when I did the original posting but Airfix seems to have lost them with the site re-vamping. Anyway I've dug out the old photos of the finished model together with a couple of the in progress photos. A few scratch built interior bits of furniture as the model doesn't have any interior apart from the cockpit. Some of the 'what if' furniture installed although most won't be readily viewable. One of the biggest problems with this old kit was the decals mine being yellowed and thick and would never had pulled down on the corrugated surface, So I made my own and had them laser printed onto decal paper. As you can see I've plenty of spares. Unit badge and underside decals pulled down nicely. The final result. The cockpit was left stared as these aircraft had a pretty hard life and the Perspex windows weren't always totally clear. Also the cabin widows were blanked off on one side. Hope you enjoyed the photos. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Two very nice builds especially in those unusual markings. Well done PMM and hope to see more of your builds. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Martin & Seasons greetings. Good to see some positive news about Airfix, i always believe in giving credit where credit's due. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Padefc. Hope you had a good festive season and good luck with your Ju 52/3M. As you've probably now seen this old molding can be built in various guises. It might be an old kit but it's not really that bad, just needs some gentle persuasion in a few places like the fuselage. I did a whole build review a few years ago when I built the float plane version as a freighter. In case you're wondering about the winter camo, it was actually a land plane diverted from the Russian front, changed to a float plane and flew supplies around the Aegean Sea in 1943. Love to see how you get on with this vintage kit. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi everyone. Wishing you all Seasons Greeting from a very warm and sticky Caper Town.. Here's hoping you all have had a really festive Christmas, with loads of Airfix styrene in your stockings or under the tree. Looking forward to seeing some interesting builds in 2022. Stay safe and remember we do this for fun. John the Pom

Hi Patrick. I echo the above comments, a superb build, you must have the patience of a saint to build those scratch build ships. Just one question, how did you build those ratlines? I tried it once with both stretched sprue and thread both ended up an unholy mess and were scrapped. I haven't had the guts to try again. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi. I've made a build review of this model in Jan 2018. The review is still (About 4 pages back.) on this forum, but unfortunately no photos. (I thought Airfix was going to fix this problem after their re-vamp of this site, seems they've forgotten about it. So here's a reminder to please replace 'our' lost photos.) This model certainly could be re-released as it's a very good model with clean molding and possibly the best figures I've seem Airfix do, or anyone else for that matter. The only major problem is the fit of the hull halves, (See my review) and the subsequent fitting of the deck. One of the joys with this kit is that it can be assembled in either a full hull or water-line model, I chose the later. The rest of the kit was a real joy to build. the port side wasn't too bad But the starboard side was a different matter. The indent for the torpedo's required some serious filling and re-shaping. I think it came out fairly well. Just be aware this is quite a large model especially in 1/72 scale. E boat together with the Airfix Ju 87 & Me 109E. All in 1/72nd. The Airfix model is basically a pre-war version with the square-ish unarmored bridge and were in service around 1937 through to 1940-ish when they were continued in the training role. 1938 to 41 they were mainly used to give sea going experience to new crews until their new boats arrived. During the war period these boats had their masts removed. Also go easy on the weathering as the hull was made of wood, which doesn't rust, and the upper-works were, in typical naval, usually kept spotless. The Revell is still waiting in the stash; that one depicts the main war time variant with the round armored bridge of the S-100 series A few photos to show what mine turned out like The same photo with a more realistic background All i'll in conclusion is that if you can find a copy of the Airfix 'E' Boat grab it. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

HGI ScaleKitter Looking good, looks like you've had some previous practice. l especially like the addition of the figures, camo netting and the fuel drum lashed to the back Very nice build and keep them coming, looking forward to seeing more. Remember we do this for fun. John the Pom

Hi Newblood101. And welcome back to the hobby and the forum. Probably the best advice is, have fun, remember this is a hobby not a competition, even if your first model isn't up to the standard you'd hoped it's still the best you could do with your present skill set, believe me you'll only get better as your experience grows, we're all our harshest critics. Also don't go down the rabbit hole of getting the colour to the "N"th shade we all see colour differently and it varies with the light. Just take your time and have patience, it's not like you're back being twelve again; and read the instructions: ........... then read them again maybe twice more, even the most experienced do this, and still make mistakes and have to de-assemble the parts. Good luck and happy modelling and hope to hear or see how you're getting on. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Thanks Hurricane Boy just been back to the workbench and whatever the problem was it now seems to have cured itself. One of those mysteries of the internet. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Kenneth. Thanks for that I've learnt something today. Now all i have to do is find out where those defaults are hiding. I've got the office spell checker set to English English, so somewhere i must have a second one. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Just been looking through some work bench articles I've miss and the pictures are not opening with the article. when I try and open them in a separate tab it again refuses to open stating a privacy issue. Anyone know what's happening? Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Cool very cool. And it looks like fun. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Ver nice build. i could guess the kit is a Roden one as they do a good model if the DC3 in 1/144. I do feel Airfix could easily expand their 144 scale airliners with some more historic airliners like the DC4 and 6 the Lockheed Constellation, Vickers Viscount, Bristol Britannia and maybe even an Avro York just mention a few. I've just been glancing through a book on commercial aircraft 1935 to 1960 and I was amazed at the variety especially pre and post war era. Come on Airfix there's a whole untapped market for you, and they do sell as evidenced by Roden. Remember we do this for fun. John the Pom

Hi Chipped-up John and welcome to the forum. The moulding for of that 24th scale Stuka are now almost fifty years old and even though it was reckoned to be the best of Airfix's 24th scale kits, it's now showing its age. Remember the finished model well have a wing-span of almost two feet so I hope you've plenty of room You might be better off going for the 48th scale as that's a much more modern moulding and you'll end up with a far better model and at just under a foot wing span a much more manageable model when finished. now for a bit of a rant. please Airfix could you please change your spell-checker from the American one you seem to be using to a proper English one. Mould is spelt as I've written it and not "mold" as your checker insists. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Sailorman. What a wonderful posting, and you've made a really good job of the restoration Nostalgia is good for the soul. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Whoop! Thank guys I strand corrected. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

I believe Azur used the old Heller kits or molds to market their own brand but they often added some phot-etch and or resin interior parts as Heller were notorious for having sparse interiors if any at all. I have the Azur Breguet 693 and it's identical to the old Heller kit, even down to the decals, although the decals do say Azur. Unfortunately Azur haven't added any interior parts to the Breguet 693. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.