John Symmons

Hi All and all the best for a safe 2021. I'll start with a Hawker Fury bi-plane fighter. then Airfix will have the full linerage of the Hawker propeller fighter linerage, would be nice to see, then a Sea Fury in 1/72 to fully complete the line. Then Airfix can start on the Hawker Jets in 1/72 scale. Still holding out for the Ju 88 preferably the BMW engined versions. Many versions and liveries available for the 88. Also a new modern tooling of the 109 F and or G would be a sure fire money spinner as ther isn't a moden 1/72 tooling available anywahere, all we're stuck with is a myraid of 109 E's and the old Acamdemy, Airfix and Hobby Boss 109 G s. I'm sure the new Mossie and Tempests will sell like the preverbal hot-cakes, as I'm sure the new Welly will do likewise' so hopefully a nightfighter Beu realistically can't be far off. Still hoping for some new warships in the 600 scale but I'm not holding my breath, can't help feeling that the 350 scale has a better chance of something new. Also now Airfix has ventured into the 1/72 scale armour, hopefully they'll do the same as they did in the HO scale, and come up with a series of support or soft skinned armour. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Now that's a good idea, but maybe a bit late now, but still a good idea. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Hi all. Firstly, all the best for the new year and here’s hoping it’ll be better than last year. Finished two kits over the Christmas period one being one of my latest purchases. Seeing as both the UK and SA are in look-down hopefully the Pandemic Special forum is still up and running. I’m still working on my MoJo to get the RAF launch going again. The first one being the Selbstfahriafette and Fahrgestell Vomag 660 with 88mm Flak from the 42nd Flak Regiment, Dresden Anti-Aircraft Defense, Autumn 1941. The kit has 145 parts plus some film for glazing and some fine mesh for the fold out side panels. I started the kit with some trepidation expecting the usual fit problems one usually finds with Roden armour kits, (Mainly the Opel Blitz series) But I must say I was very pleasantly surprised the fit being excellent. Maybe not quite up to Tamagawa standards, but not far off, even the decals were good. Just a pity Roden can’t seem to improve their instruction, and add some figures as this model really is crying out for at least a driver. I think this is the first model by Roden that I had no spare parts left over at the end. All I did was to add some wires to the rear cable drums. All-in-all a very good model of an almost unknown subject The other model being the Vauxhall D-Type Ambulance from WW1. It seems Roden is picking quite a few WW1 subject recently, this one being a re-modelling of their staff car. Again, one of the newer models from this manufacture and again no problems except for the instructions, and quite a bit of flash, typical of Roden kits. This flash can be a problem to clean up as it’s often on very small delicate parts. The model is very delicate and care has to be taken in assembly. I did manage to break the gear shift liver several times and eventually finally added it in the final assembly. The model is only just over 60mm long and the kit comes with 71 parts, the only option being to have the back open or closed, so you’ll have one part left after assembly. I left the back open to show off the included stretchers. Roden call for Vallejo deep green, which to me looked way to dark so I used Vallejo olive green more in keeping with their colour work. In the photos I’ve included some Airfix WW1 German figures for size comparison. I think Airfix was being a bit partisan in their WW1 figure sets as the German set has a medical team with a stretcher and several dead or wounded figures, but the British one doesn’t. Hope you enjoy the photos of two unusual models. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom. /media/tinymce_upload/1d529e6cee3905e7fb05410085b20da5.JPG The two model together with the Airfix figures /media/tinymce_upload/ad79bd3488a07b690fee9a50599b9e9c.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/e19ac6743eeccb2bd351ecc07e73a3aa.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/40669958faf401daba5541620a0be01b.JPG Three views of the Vauxhall Ambulance. Below the Vomag with the 88 mm /media/tinymce_upload/4b457b0044a30138c7697e3a46113910.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/427c2b9e93f10a29f25f0a62d885549e.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/e56fd27d92f5c7f741dfb5e169b72fc8.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/14a1e81f0abbbd7d1b5a1cb52c5ed08d.JPG And finally a cautionary tale of what happens,if you try and take photos outside on a windy day. /media/tinymce_upload/6981db1427b6a7a5cf4c19c437b7d3b9.JPG Whoooops! JtP.

Hi Chris If you're looking for WW1 aircraft try Roden. They still have a big range in their on-line catalogue in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32 scales.The early releases usually need a fair bit of fetting, and some heavy clamping to put together, but the newer kits are much better. And you usually get several options on the decal sheet. I've made several of the 1/72 models and enjoyed all of them including the Bristol F2B fighter. Only try this one once you've got pleanty of expreiance behind you, as it includes a complete engine. Eduard also do several WWi aircraft that are a bit more modeller freindly if you can find them. they do re-release them from time-to-time, just keep your eyes peeled. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Hi James Looks like buying on line's too easy. Rememberwe do this for fun John the pom

Hi Airports Ed. Welcome to the forum and back to the wonderful, if sometime frustrating. world of plastic modelling. Glad to hear your initial efforts haven't put you off now the only way is up. I haven't made the Airfix spitfire but i have made the Me 109E in fact I’ve posted a comparison build of the Airfix, Heller, and Academy versions. (To find it you'll have to look back a few years.) While i found the Airfix version was augmentable the best it certainly wasn't the most modelling friendly, that honour I gave to the Heller one. Did you manage to get the aerial mast from the sprue without breaking it? Personally, I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to try air-brushing. That’s another learning curve and can be quite a steep one as well as expensive. Preferably get yourself a decent selection of water colour brushes, synthetics or nylon are quite acceptable. i find that the flat ones are best for large-ish areas, and the angled cut ones are very useful; it's amazing how useful the pointed bit is. practice with those first trying various paint thicknesses. Even though I’ve been using air-brushes for many years I still often go back to the old hairy stick. As you've rightly observed, the modern kits are a far cry from 40 years ago, and now require a new set of skills, although most of the old basics still apply. The learning curve may be steep and frustrating at times, but the sense of accomplishment when you've done it, is worth it. Just keep learning and having fun, remember it's a hobby, not a job of work. Looking forwards to hopefully seeing some of your results in the future, and all the best in the new year. Keep safe and remember we do this for fun. John the Pom.

Hi RobAndrew. Firstly welcome to the forum.It would be nice if we knew a little bit more about you; like what you build and what scales etc. I see there's been no responce to your question, and I've been giving it some thought. About the only thing I can suggest is mounting a battery and an LED in thhe fuselage then having some fibre optics coming out. The fibre optics should be very fine as to be almost invisible, and if the ends of the optics were bulded they'd light-up when the LED was lit in the fuselage. I must admit I've never seen this done or tried it but it should be feasable. Hope this give ypu some food for though, and would love to hear how you got on. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Hi Supesig I see this is your first posting. It would be nice if you could introduce yourself first, like what you like modelling, in what scales, and for how long have you been modelling. you know that sort of thing. But welcome to the forum, and hope you find lots of help, and we get to see some of your Airfix builds. As to youir question, I think Ratch has given you a good answer, That is, if you live in the UK or the States. Here in Cape Town those things like EZ-Line etc are wishful thinking. I've used various invisable threads with varying success, but the best I've found is wig hair, it's very cheap, and very thin one wig will last me a life-time, ideal for 1/72nd scale aircraft and WW1 rigging. Luckily wigs are quite common in SA as the Africans use then all the time. CA Glue seems to be the best to fix the aerials in place, preferably into a 0.3 mm hole. If you buy a dark shade you'll not have to colour the thread. Obviously if your scale is bigger than 1/72 you'll need a thcker thread or twist two thin ones together. If you look in the Ships section you'll find my build of the 1/72 RAF Rescue launch that I used a thicker metal thread then ran a dark marker over it to take off some of the shine. I'd say this thread could be quite useful if rigging a 1/48th or 1/32nd bi-plane. Hope this helps and looking forwards to seeing some of your results. Remmember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Tomas. Very nice, and I see you already have an artistic side, and thinking out-of-the-box.. Keep it up, and hope to see more of your efforts in the near future. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Hi Grumps 123 Welcome to the club You'd be surprised at how many of us old toppies have stashes that we'll never finish, but still buy more. with the excuse that we've been waiting for years for a particular model to be released. I recently had get rid of a large amount of my stash including some old Dragon kits of the Arado jets, and a load of old Airfix, Lindberg, Frog, LS, and Heller kits. One shop did manage to sell some, and I got a nice unexpected bonus from them. Which was promptly spent on some more kits that had finally arrived after I'd ordered them the previous year. Well, I couldn't just diss-own them could I? Just ensure your surviving relatives know what to do with your unmade stash, like contacting your local model shop, or modelling club as selling on line might be a bit more trouble than they'd be willing to go through, as I've found, non-modelling relatives generally look on our hobby with a bit of a jaundiced eye. Remember you can never have enough kit or glue. Remind them you could be drinking. Remember we do this for fun. John the Pom ..

Hi T.M.P. I second your thoughts about the Ju 88, Airfix did one years ago but somehow I missed it, I think i might still have one in my stash, have to check. The only Ju 188 i know of was the old Matchbox kit, which i had to let go of recently. Hopefully Airfix will do a retool of the 88 to compiment their Do 17 and He 111 kits and hopefully they'll include the BMW powered one that very few other manufacturers seem to esque in preferance to the A-4 which is as common as jelly babies. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Zuludog. To answer your first question the answer is NO! Do not mix Tamiya, which is an alcohol-based Acrylic; with Humbrol, Airfix or Vallejo paints as these are water based, If you do mix them you'll end up with a thick gooey mess that’ll be useless for anything. Acrylics come in two variations, like Airfix, Humbrol and Vallejo are aqueous (Water) based and can be thinned and cleaned with plain tap water, although it’s always best to use the specific manufactures thinners for thinning the paint. I use Vallejo paints and have no problem in using them with a brush or airbrush if thinned. Same with Humbrol and Airfix paints, although the paints supplied with the various Airfix kits is usually of dubious quality and very thick. Most modellers throw it away, and use a better-quality paint. You say you use a brush; I hope your brushes are of a good quality, you’ll need decent water colour brushes, and if doing large surfaces, you’ll get better results with a reasonable wide flat brush, 8 to 15 mm wide should cover most uses for 1/72nd to 1/48th scales, and bigger brushes for bigger scales. Tamiya paints are alcohol based, and can be cleaned with water but you’ll need the Tamiya thinners to dilute them otherwise they’ll go thick and lumpy. Meths and or methanol or I.P. alcohol can be used if you know what you’re doing, but I’d still recommend using Tamiya’s thinners. Personally, I have problems brush painting with Tamiya and usually only use them for small items and airbrushing. One thing you’ll find with Acrylics is that they dry very quickly, this is especially so where I live (Cape Town). I always put a drop of retarder in the mix when I use any acrylics, this helps with not only the rapid drying, but also improves the flow without altering the covering power, although it can leave the dried paint with a slight sheen.. I’ve never used Mr Colour or AK (Which I believe is make also Meng paints.) but I believe they are also alcohol or solvent based, and therefore they should only be thinned with their own thinners. (Try smelling the opened bottle, you’ll soon smell any alcohol solvent.) I believe AK and Meng are very thin pains and could give problems with brush painting being mainly used for airbrushing. You might want to check out Flory Models web site, as over the past week-or-so they’ve been discussing these paints and how to use them. Also, there are many painting tutorials on the various web sites. Changing from enamels to acrylics can be a bit of a learning curve so some experimenting might be called for, try and use an old model to experiment on before you commit to your current or new built. Good luck and hope this help’s, and would love to see some of your results in the future Remember we do this for fun. John the Pom

Hi Frederick Great photo of the 'Old Bill' and the figures really gives it some life. I doubt if the figures are too small, you might actually find them a touch too big (See the officer standing on the stairs and my post above.) All my grand parents were all rather short and even as a teenager I towered over them. Virtually all people I met from WW1 vintage were all much shorter than me. Again a very nice model dioramia, and hope to see some more. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

"Lets go to the :Lab & See what's on the slab." (For those two people that don't know. It's from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.") I've always wanted to do that since this forum started. Even though I still have a couple of models waiting, since the lock-down in March to be completed, I decided to try and get my Mo-Jo back by starting the Rode Vomag with the 88mm anti-aircraft gun on the back. I've always done Roden kits with a bit of trepidation, as their construction and fit often leads a bit to be desired. I now have the engine and chassis completed, and the aft body and floor. The engine looks great, and is a real beauty, far better than their Opal Blitz one. So far the finnese and fit of the moulded parts has been excellent, (Very un-Roden-ish) Easily up to ICM quality. I can only think they've got themselves a new CAD program. If you see this kit, and are into 1/72 armour give it a try, you might be very pleasently surprised. Gives me hope for some of the new Roden kits I've recently purchased. I'll try and post a completed photo in the pandemic forum if it's still up and running. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Hi Pair-of-pliers. Luftwaffe ground crews were often refered to 'men-in-black, due to the black overalls they wore, so that's a no brainer, 'Balck is Black', to quote to rolling stones.. As for the pilots check though some Luftwaffer builds on the Aircraft forum, or Google WW2 Luftwaffer Uniforms and you should find many answers. As an aside have you seem the Zvezda WW2 Luftwaffer Ground Crew kit you might find that very interesting. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi DoubleD Virtually all the new Airfix kits (The ones in the Red Box.) usually have the parts count on the side. A fairly good way to see if the kit's a 'new-tool' or and 'Old-tooling" being re-released, is this parts count. If this count is in the 40 plus for a single searter it's almost certain to be a 'new-toolling', but if the p[arts count is sub 30 then it's an 'old-tooling'. For example, the old vernerable Albatros DV re-release has 22 parts. (This dates back to the earlist days of Airfix.) Where-as the 'new'Tiger Moth has 42 parts, and the 'new' A6M2 Zero has 47 parts. (And-let's-face-it, you don't get much simpler than a Zero.) Fortunately Airfix are now re-releasing many of there older kits as Vintage Classics' and these can be from moulds over 50 years old. This is very useful in determining what you are purchasing. Unfourtunately Arfix are also re-releasing many of their old armour kits, were the parts count isn't a good indecator, as the old Churchill Tank has over 100 parts, if the scale is 1/76th it's almost certainly to be an old mould, so check the tooling date. Don't be put off by some of these older toolings as many are, even today, quite good fun kits to build. I personally can recommend the Opal Blitz, The fit of the bonnet is something I think Tamiya would be proud of. The new 1/72 tanks looks very promising, I might be tempted. Hope this helps, and remember Google and Scalemates are your friend. Another good site, I find useful is Modelingmadness.Com, they have hundreds of reviews; maybe a bit awkward finding the actual kit you're looking for, but well worth-it. Remember we do this for fun. John the Pom.

Hi Tim Very nice Buc, looks like you might have lightened the photos a bit. I've had several models stalled for various reason not the least being lock-down. Hope you all are set free again soon. in the meantime keep safe, not only for yourself but your love ones. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Somethng a bit of smaller animal armour, or horse drawn wagons. 1/72 scale Both these kit I've shown on the new additions collunm. These are the WW2 German field or baggage cart, and the French Napolionic baggage wagon both with two horses, made by HAT. The WW2 German wagon is moulded with glue and paint-able plastic, and presented no problems all I added was the brake leaver on the right side.I did think about adding reighs but eventually left them off. To much PT. The german wagon would look equally at home in a WW1 setting with approprate crew. The French model was moulded in that rubbery polythene type plastic that no paint or glue sticks too. And as such I had to scratch build a new chassis from platic card. Each of the boxes contained three models so I built three chassis for the French models. the poly parts were glued using my Acrylic tile cement (the same as i use for my sea scapes.) as it sticks to anything. There is no paint guides apart from the box illustration, I used a variaty of light browns, kahki greens olive drab and mid greys for the wagons. This was the first time I'd painted horses, a bit of a learning curve with some artistic licence. I think the French ones came out better after my experiance with the Germn wagon. All I added to the French wagon was some chains for the rear steps and the harness from the horses to the wagon pulling pole. these chains were made from silver thread (Same as i used on the RAF Rescue launch rigging.) made into a single strand chain senet or plait. Add some black, gun-metal and or bronze paint and you have some fine chain. i thought it look quite successful. Not sure when I'll do the two others in the boxes, but they'll be useful for a simple none stressfull build some day. Hope you enjoy the photos, as you can imagin these model are quite small. Enjoy. /media/tinymce_upload/a48e4553a2b03e1def3eb3eff69b4a16.jpg The two wagons together. /media/tinymce_upload/b73fd0b9827090676a08ab58ede10810.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/fbc604334e8e260ddc9cadde1c0e3559.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/7a72c3762c0cb24c044a26d3de0e6f44.JPG Above the German WW2 wagon. Below the French wagon. /media/tinymce_upload/fe5a1c9ebcdf1dbf381083400c223dd9.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/a30b75874899cffaed259876fe5934ef.JPG Note the chains at the rear of the wagon. /media/tinymce_upload/ff3020afa13782ff024ea56f213c9d61.JPG Again chain at the frount of the pulling yoke. /media/tinymce_upload/9d924643a7f31f76b18953022a52f1da.JPG More rear chains. Thats it. You all keep safe and healthy. And remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Whoooops! I must really improve my proof reading. Just gone to my posting and seen all the typos. Hope it wasn't too unreadable. I'll try better in future. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi all. Just befor thr pamdemic her in cape town & befre my hospitalisationi had several models on the go, Like the air sea rescue launch,One I'd like to show is one of the Japaneese aircraft I was wading though at that time. These were two VERY old Hagawa kits. The Kawanishi H6K-6 long range flying boat. The other is the Nakajima G8N1 Renzan an experimantal four engined bomber., this kit was a Frog re-boxing of the Hasagawa kit. These were kits I'd brought in England in the mid to late 60's. Both kit having raised panal line and rivetsand moulded in very dark very hard plastic (It almost felt like metal working with it) . The G* was an incredable tail sitter needing a vast amount of wieght to make it sit on it's nose wheel. Yhis was done by boxing in the nose wheel bay and trying to add some detail to the glass nose Both to help hide the 3 or 4 ounces of wieght I even added wieght inside the engin cowling. It did eventually sit on it's nose wheel after adding a bit more wieght. The Green i used was the normal Vallejo camflauge green, The orang under side was my own mixture. Normally for the undersides of Japanese aircraft i find Vallejo silver grey to be about right. The H6K-^ Mavis was built OTB all I added was the rear cannon and replace the wheels of the rear beaching trolly as I'd lost one over the years also had the replace several bracing struts from being lost or broken.. The canopy framing was done with paintes decal sheet cut into tin strips. One problem i had was loosing one of the spinners and had to fashion a replacement from some old sprue. (See if you can spot which one it is.) Photos of two frogotten Japanese aircraft of ww2. hope you enjoy. First the Kawanishi H6K-6 Mavis followed by the Nakajima G8N1 Renzan. /media/tinymce_upload/8b372d2807f3195d1d39a3a6bbdbc06d.JPG This is a huge model at well over 50 centimetres wing span /media/tinymce_upload/06506d67b4320d17403ae9640be14087.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/fcc095c3efbd41b0babb7da7f121866a.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/8d705da2bc7760a660e0f3c29e12e5cb.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/74a85a7d3fcb292f30d8534ff5610fa0.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/f139ab5554b98f7b87ba5e52f15c3b33.JPG Now for the G8N1 Renzen /media/tinymce_upload/5f51a7318999d28c55475d2505179317.jpg Ab idea of the wieght packed into the nose. /media/tinymce_upload/2e3820fe3e4b66e036a65c933fb1df09.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/3917f26e16088adbc12998202e5e1d07.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/6c4df78f2da36936b9ff170e6b0e76c3.JPG Maybe I can squeeeze some of the single seaters in later, some very old Tamiya, Hasagawa, Matchbox all 1/72 scale. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Cliverdee. The mixing of scale figures has been quite a decisive topic on this forum before. Most model figures seem to be based on a 6 foot figure which is really only true quite recently. It's only really since 1950 that the 6 ft. guy has become more normal. If you ever visit HMS Victory you'll notice (Painfully, bumping your head.) that the height between decks is only 5 ft 3 inches as that was the height of a tall person in those days; actually, if you were over 5,3 you were safe from being conscripted into the navy as you wouldn't fit. Fast forward to the mid 1900's the average male in England had grown to about +/- 5ft 9 inches. The only guys taller were the ones from the colonies: South Africa, Canada etc: Which was why Sailor Malan said the Spitfire was cramped he much preferred the Hurricane. In the 1960 when I started work, I noticed that I (at about 6 feet tall) was one or the tallest there, especially when compared to the guys who’d lived through the 2nd world war. Now if you take a 1/37th figure and then scale that down to 1/32nd (Based on a 6 ft protype) then he’d come out at approximately 5ft 6inches. So, mixing 1/37th figures with 1/32nd machines could be, historically speaking, be about correct. Just don’t go the other way around as a 1/32nd figure into 1/37th scale comes out at about 6ft 6 inches, he’d have been a giant in the 1940’s. A I/37th figure should be about 52 mm tall, were as the 1/32nd figure about 57 mm tall, both based on a 6ft prototype. Hope this helps. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Paolo. Looking good so-far, mine's waiting patentally in the stash. Hope to see more in the future,& and maybe something solo from your son. Remember we do this for fun. John the Pom

RAF Air Sea Rescue Launch A05281. /media/tinymce_upload/58178cc0e52111ae3fde80451b39cde6.jpg At the end of last year, I was looking through my stash wondering what to build next. As I’d just completed a couple of old Hasagawa big aircraft namely the G4 betty and the H6K Mavis, which indecently has a wingspan in 1/72 scale of over 500mm, and the Trumpeter Sdk 9 Framo with the tank transporter trailer I was bit aircraft and armored out. I settled on the Airfix RAF Air-Sea Rescue Launch in 1/72nd scale. I’d recently added a second kit to the one I already had as I wanted to build both variants in the box. There was the Yellow one from 1941 and the Grey one from 1944 with all the added armament. I decided to build the 1941 variant mounted on the supplied stands. (Something I never do.) The 1944 one I wanted to mount on an action sea-base. So, I build both in parallel only managing to finish the 1941 version, before lock-down and my hospital stay. Then my Mo-Jo also decided to go on lock-down. The kit comes with 155 parts on varies odd sprues Typical of their vintage, with 26 clear parts, and decals for three boats one for 1941 which is the yellow one, and two for 1944. Also included is an RAF flag on somewhat thick paper. (I’d recommend you print one out on much thinner paper, such as 60grm or onion-skin paper if you can get it.) The kit has four very nice sculpted figures to crew the finished model. The instructions also show the variations in the rigging for the finished boats. (More on that later.) The figures are again very good with good detail, but not quite as good as the figures supplied with the Airfix ‘E’ (S) boat I built a few years back, those were really superb. Now this beggars the question why can’t Airfix supply the same quality figures for the armour; support and aircraft kits in this same scale. If they could do it in the 1970’s why not now; please Airfix you make kits with a myriad of extra or optional parts that are not used, is it too much the supply some decent figures. If builders don’t want to use them that’s their choice but the option would be nice. The Decals are very good with very mat clear carrier film and good solid colour. The only part that gave a slight problem were the foredeck ones that have to go over some raised detail, but with some setting solution all was fine. The decals were maybe not quite up to Cartograph standard but they’re not far off. Just remember to add them, especially the foredeck ones, early on in the build as some parts are fitted over the decals such as the anchor. There is very little interior detail except for a small sh0board and a steering wheel. The build was pretty straight forward with no really major fit problems. The deck to hull fit was reasonably good just needed some time and care gluing it down in sections. Be very careful if using clamps as it’s all too easy to warp things. Before fixing the deck, you have to decide which variant you’re building as certain holes have to be opened. The only part that flummoxed was part 32, the rear of the cockpit. It turned out to be a clear part with aft facing widows, that needed to be masked before painting inside and out. Not that much can be seen anyway. Most major assembly can be completed before painting, then adding the fittings afterwards. There are several hand rails and guards to be fitted that maybe look a touch overscale, but not grossly so. The transparent turrets can be assembled and added later than shown in the instructions which should ease the painting. With the mast and fore and aft stays fitted the Rigging can be added. Just remember you’ll have to drill seven holes, three in the fore deck and four in the main combing, to attach the rigging. These holes, preferably, should have been done earlier so as not to damage any fittings. Unfortunately, there are no molded indications for the placement so some artistic license is required. One small oddity is that the flag for the 1941 boat is shown on the port side, but the 1944 variant is shown on the starboard? If you look hard at the rigging diagram it shows safety lines running from the fore and aft stays to the cockpit and combing hand-rails only, with nothing in the middle. I ran the aft line from the aft stays all the way to the cockpit hand rails. While there are very nice colour illustrations for the painting guides, there is nothing to indicate the interior colour of the cockpit, (I did mine in white.) or the painting of the crew. All in all, a very good kit that makes up into quite an impressive model and recommended. It would make an impressive display together with the ‘E’ (S) Boat and the Vosper., or make a dramatic diorama picking up a downed pilot from a sinking Hurricane or Spitfire. We can only hope that Airfix can re-release the Vosper and or the ‘E’ (S) Boat in the not too distant future. Photos of the 1941 version below with the in completed 1944 one at the end. I’ll add the photos when that’s finally finished, but don’t hold your breath as I’ve a couple of other kits that need completion. Enjoy. /media/tinymce_upload/5eb868e1801427578067a50c413effe3.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/7d1bc177c86c484ec34e56229a01b061.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/8f881a93b0ec57e21dfaef22918fdaed.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/317961b30ab679e0de69c16e1be0bc2e.JPG Note the colour of the port lamp It's a transparent blue over silver. Pity about the turrets framing but I think I must have been getting a bit jaded. /media/tinymce_upload/4d2fd00941da1d558192d857e3bb5d48.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/daf89c9a1d66665092f93b762241f3d6.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/fd5064d0a26d9ee145496bff82706cfc.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/7078d77101e1c69835a9c01e0e3762ed.JPG That's a few shots of the 1941 variant and below is as far as i've got with the 1944 variant. Note even though the boat is partually mounted the sea base isn't comlete or ven painted. I'll post photos when I've completed the model. /media/tinymce_upload/5fde8a16835c0e3b705477ab95e7c0bf.JPG Remember we do this for fun John the Pom.

Hi All Even though I recently posted I'd had to get rid of a pile of old kits I visited our LMS (Now re-opened after lock-down.) and couldn't resist some new offerings. Actually the Roden ones I'd ordered last year. The Dornier Do 17Z I couldn't resist even though one of the kits I'd let go was the old Frog model which included the Finnish markings. /media/tinymce_upload/416c17c7d37b5aef5b5536fb15cb3684.JPG The rest are all 1/72 WW1 armour or sort-of. /media/tinymce_upload/89bcd4cee280531df96aac90d56f2dbd.JPG I seem to have a thing for artillery, I've made several of these ACE kits and they're quite a challenge. Should be interesting. /media/tinymce_upload/db1673d1aa23264e21b201019664c413.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/584b640be91979f015aef87d7fa5b9f7.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/d63cb6d6cea5f9cb60bff76fb67e3d3f.JPG Looks like I'm getting my MoJo back. Now all I have to do is finish all the half completed models that's been left since my hospital visit. Remember we do this for fum. John the Pom

Hi Cliverdee. You have my sympathies, I do feel that some of the modern kits are, for want of a better word, over engineered, and the manufactures have gone for a parts count. I only make 1/72 scale aircraft and armour, so I can’t really speak about the larger scales. While detail is all very-well-and-good, I do feel it can easily make the kit more like a job of work than an enjoyable hobby, then I feel they’ve sort-of shot themselves in the foot. In the larger scales it’s possibly more acceptable (48th & 32nd) as the extra detail can be made more accessible. If I really wanted all that extra detail and complexity, I’d build the larger scales. Two cases in point are the Airfix’s Ju 87 Stuka and the Do 17Z. I’ve only made the Stuka, and while it is possibly the ultimate 1/72 scale Stuka kit on the market, I did feel it was a bit over engineered. At the time I made the kit I also made the two previous releases (See my posting of about two or three years ago.) with all the raised rivets etc., but they still ended up as quite acceptable models if a bit dated. Now if Airfix could have found some middle ground between the new tooling and the previous one I feel the kit would have been more enjoyable. Although I did enjoy the multi-part crew figures, more of these pretty please Mr. Airfix. The Do. 17Z is still sitting in my stash together with an equally stunning if complex ICM kit. Just by looking at the instructions I can see they’re going to take some commitment to do them, even if the Do 17 is one of my all-time favorite aircraft. It just looks right. Possibly the biggest culprit of high parts count in small kits is Roden, especially with their Opal Blitz series. The engine alone has about 13 parts and then it’s hidden. At least in the original kit you could leave the bonnet sides off, but to make the drivers peddles separate is just insanity. Now I just leave most of the engine off. The Blitz Staffwagon is a superb kit with all the interior detail you could wish for, with even a decoding machine and map included; then they have you cover the windows with photoetch armour panels????? It might be accurate but all the interior is hidden. I left the panels of but did add some open curtains. Another one is the Revel 1/72nd scale 88mm Flak 36 AA gun with 188 parts where-as the Zvezda Flak 36 has just 45 parts and 9 of those are for the 4-man crew. Like going from the ridiculous to the sublime, or vica-versa depending on your point of view. I’ve recently seen some reviews of kits that have taken the 1/35 or 1/24 scale detail into 1/48th scale kits, and while very commendable from a technical view point. Does it really add to the enjoyment of building the model? They’ve even now got that 32nd and 48th finesse down to 1/72nd scale (See some recent releases from Trumpeter etc.) where the reviewer says it looks like they’ve just scaled down their previous 32nd and or 48th tooling’s. Not really my idea of fun, but then Horse-for-Courses I suppose. Cliverdee, if you want a really beautiful Airfix 1/72 kit I can highly recommend the Henschel 123., I see Airfix have just re-released it or are about too. I’ll guarantee you’ll not be disappointed about the only thing that needs to be added are the three braces just inside the cowling, easily done with stretched sprue. Very much an oldy-goody. Just be weary of the Roden blitz with over 120 parts, with one unused, in a model about 90 long by 40 high by 30 mm wide. You’ll need a few models under your belt before tackling that. OK, end of an opinionated rant that I doubt that’ll do much good although I do see Airfix seem to be making a concerted effort to make their kits more enjoyable with an actual hobby kit builder designer. Way-to-go Airfix. Their new 1/72nd tanks look very promising. Remember we do this for FUN. (and RELAXATION.) John the Pom