John Symmons

Hi Daveym Seeing as Vallejo do over 30 different shades of green I'm sure there's one that'll approximate the green you neen. I'd surgest you get your own Vallejo colour chart; should be available free at most good model shops. If you could give some idea as to what that green looks like maybe that'll help. Even though I'm a child of the 60's (Actually drove a hot Triumph Tiger 100) the colour parka that I remember my "Mod" friends (Yes I did have friends who were "MOD", but that's another story) wearing was a more tan or neutral colour that the Vallejo Yellow Green (70.881 Position 112) in the colour chart looks about the nearest colour, but if that's too dark try the buff (70.976 Position 120), or a mix of the two. Remember that the colours shown in colour charts are not really that accurate when compared to the actual paint colour. That's why I always make my own paint swatch from any new paint I buy. Hope this helps and good luck. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Jeff. Well done with the 109 looks great. you're certainly coming on in leap-&-bounds. As for your first use of an air-brush It's way better than m first go (See my posting of the old built of Revells 109E's from the 60's where I tried doing a mottled desert scheme on the Airfix 109G; yours came out way better. And like T2B above; loved your use of spare platic sprue, that's creative thinking. Again well done and looking forward to seeing more. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Knight90 And welcome to the forum. Basically the Airfix starter kits are aimed at the new-comers to the hobby. They are the same as the normal kits in the actual plastic except the starter kits only have the one option of finish and decals. The supplied paints are adequate for the suggested finish but you might need to add some black and silver for some detailed parts like undercarriage legs and crew figures and the paints might need thinning a touch as some people have found them a bit gooey. Personally I've not made the Typhoon or the Spitfire, but quite a few modellers on this forum have made them and haven't had any problems. If you and Nicholasj check back in the aircraft forum I'm sure you'll find some builds logs that'll answer your queries. Hope this helps and would love to see the results of your builds, remember there is no such thing a bad model. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Dabhand I had this problem with the recent build of the Airfix Tiger. I noticed it when I brought the kit. I dunked them into very hot water then whist still hot stapled them onto some very stiff board ( actually artist backing or surround board.) then when I built the kit I left them in the South African sun until needed.. It didn;t totally cure the problem but it certainly helped that the tracks wre usable without to much effort. I recently brought the re-issue of the STUG III and the WW 1 male tank and both had the same problem so I did the same thing and stapled them to some card and put them back into their boxes until I get around to building them. I think I mentioned this problem recently in the "What your latest acquistion forum. I don't recall having this problem when these kits were first issued in poly-bags. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi T2B What a wonderful build, and an excellent write-up as well. This could be the de-facto go-to for anyone contemplating building this kit. And Ditto to Dominics comments above, those final photos are excellent, maybe Airfix will contact you to use your shots for promotion. Again well; really enjoyed this adventure. Keep them coming. Remember we do this for fun John h Pom

Hi Jeff Now that's the mother of invention, what we call in SA, Bush-mans modelling. Good luck. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Jopress Hear: ... Hear! Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Spliffy First of all welcome to the forum, you're in good company here asmany are like you returning to the wonderful if frustrating world of model making.. You might like to think of using Acrylics as these are easily thinned and cleaned with water, except Tamiya where you have to use their thinners; but if you're more comfortable using enamels that's fine, many modellers on this forum still swear by them. You can thin enamels using white spirit (easily obtainable from any art shop or hardware store, or you can use ordinary mineral turps. Turps can also be used for cleaning. Yes you can use the same brush for different colours if cleaned thoroughly between colours. I've found that if using enamels, at the end of a painting session I first I clean the brush in turps, then while the brush is still wet with turps wash it in hot water and washing-up liquid, then rinse it in some fabric softener. The brush will end up as new if not better. Then leave upright to dry not resting on the bristles. Hope this helps, and looking forward to seeing some of the results of your efforts. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Ron. Very nice build, it looks stunning, but then the Fury always looks stunning, one of the most iconic piston aircraft to be build. A great final effort from an exceptional line of Harry Hawker fighters. I only wish Airfix would now scale it down to 1/72. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi All. A quick tip to my LMS today and some models I requested last year have finally arrived, all Airfix from their Vintage Classic releases. I couldn’t pick them all up as the budget’s a bit tight and had to leave behind the Ark Royal And a STUG III. Brought home a second Stud III, WW 1 Male tank, WW 1 British Infantry and WW 1 Royal Horse Artillery Sets. That Horse Artillery set looks very interesting I might be tempted to order a second one. /media/tinymce_upload/1fcd79f93236fb1f046ed901e8c72145.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/f527668776904a8ee0b2643d394f9483.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/e8c76e06f1d77fa00c64fb3a46c833bf.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/d55e5098650ee3aa32230649fb95e4f5.jpg If anybody tries the WW 1 tank be careful opening the box, there's a tiny decal sheet contanianing one decal hidden in the instructions, almost lost mine when I opened the instruction sheet. Why oh why can't Airfix package their kits properly, the tracks of both tanks were twisted in the bag, I've now stapled them to some card to try and flatten them out. I had the same problem with the Tiger I recently built, Come on Airfix you can do better, It's almost as if you're ashamed to put that little bit extra into your product. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi A-A-Force. Ditto to T2B's comment, very unususal and an interesting take on displaying a model. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Ratch Nice to see the Belfast at see again. You've made a good job of what seems to me a complecated kit. Maybe you'll inspire me to finally have a go at mine. I oftern bring it out of the stash, but to be honest it does scare me a bit, especially with the WEM PE set. If I do finally get around to doing it I'll only go for the railings. Anyway thanks for sharing you build and hopefully Airfix will some day think about retooling some more 600 scale ships. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Jeff. I had a simular problem of trying to hold a model securely when rigging a Roden Bristol Fighter FB2 recently. I came up with the following solution. Fill a 500grm plastic (or glass) container with water then firmly screw top top back on. Mount the model on the lid with Blue Tak or simular, just don't be shy with the blue tak. The model is the held quite securely, and can then easily be repossitioned as required. the blue tack doesn't pull ff the paint when removed. I've since used this several times and not only for rigging but sometimes it's nice to have the model held firmly while assembling small bits to it. I've also had small bits break when trying to remove them from the sprue. Now as a matter-of-couse I and cut as much of the sprue away before finally cutting the part from the sprue, doesn't always work but it does help. Why is it that manufactures seem to put loads of sprue gates on the smallest and finest parts often making it almost impossible to remove the part without breaking it; Airfix and Roden seem to be guilty of this. Hope this helps and I'll keep in mind your experience when I finally get around to making my Tiger Moth. Below is some photos of my stand holding an old Walrus model waiting for some new wing struts. And in case your wondering why it yellow i was trying to do a racing Walrus. Yes you read right an air racing Walrus? Yes! and it or not but it won. Now there's something for you to Google. /media/tinymce_upload/d7a0afc9fbf28d14a2b3b5a8419bdfcf.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/b3b92b2c47dfc380ff096ecd20bc2cc1.jpg Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi James Looks like you're going to be busy. Hope you have a LARGE display case. Now all you need is a 24th scale A6M-2 Zero for something it can argue with. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Ratch. I see you've fallen victim of those almost impossible boarding or accommadation ladders; I chickened out of those in 350 scale as they were usually stowed away when at sea; and only brought out when anchored and not at a wharf. I admire your effort, but ask yourself is it really worth it. I've included the instructions from the WEM HMS Ajax fret as I seem to have miss-laid the Belfast ones. Just note the bit about being an extra detail for diorama and only fitted if needed. /media/tinymce_upload/65748bf6fc7e2c68b3db1c676636f4ae.jpg Hope this helps. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Ratch. Will be following your Beffast build with interest as I have one waiting in the wings, and after my KG V build it's awaken my interest in these 600 scale ships. I also have the WEM PE set for the kit and I must admit it's a bit intimidating. /media/tinymce_upload/6c99c32136fffa72c192e50032f09a8f.jpg I take it that is the starfish you're refering too? For those interested here's a scan of the PE set it measures about 8 X 5 inches. /media/tinymce_upload/0e988b32fb96d234e36ae3d1f019ab2a.jpg You don't say how much you have left after your previous build but, looking forward to see how you get on. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Bantstudios. I echo Peter's warning above that scaple blade's can shatter very easily. You could try drilling through at the corners with a very fine 0.5 to 0.3 mm drill and then scribing the line from the inside and cutting on that line. this way if you slip you won't damage the outside detail of the wing. Cutting out panels does take time and patience but is one of the skills that we all had to learn to improve our modelling skills usually with damaged models and bleeding fingers. hopefully with the above advice you'll for-go the painful bits. Good luck and hope to see the results of your labours. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Heather. Thanks for photo of boxes, meany memories there, the Hanriot and Caudron look like ex-Heller moulds. Thanks for links to your other sites will go and have a butchers. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Interesting Selection of aircraft especially the French ones. After they built those monstrsities of the Amiot,Farman 220 and Bloch 210 arguablely the ugliest ever to fly the did redeme themselves some-what with the stunningly beautiful Liore 45 series again arguably one of the most astheticily pleasing aircraft flying at the time. Unfortunatily, typically Heller at the time, none have any interior but do make up into quite good models especially the Liore. The Caudron was an intersting concept that just didn't quite pAn out but the cR714 is and interesting model, I built the Heller release year ago. and it's tiny being not much biger than a Sopwith Camel. Again would love to see the box art of these kits. Hope you finish some commissions soon and loking forward to seeing your modeling Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Ian Welcome to the forum. Those builds are superb it hard to pick a favourite, but what's the story behind the Spitfire with the stripped nose. looks like some-one confused the invasion stripe detail. If this is typical of your work I think you're going to teach some of us old-timers a few new tricks, looking forward to hearing and seeing more. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Peter. An excelent pair of models, well done and thanks for showing them. Keep them comimg. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Andrew. David C is correct they are indeed printing plates and look like smalls or classified adverts from some magazine, maybe even a very early issue of an Airfix magazine, as the plates are mostly for Triang Toys. The letter-press printing was still widely used even in the early to mid 60.s especially for small to medium runs up to about 50,000. These plates are for a flatbed machine that printed onto a sheet of paper as opposed to a reel of paper. The plates were usually glued down onto a flat plate that in turn was attached to the printing press. As David quoted the "Type height" was 23.317 or 0.978 inches or the diameter of the old one shilling ( 5p) coin that just happened to be the same size. The press opperator always had several "one bob" (One shilling) coin hanging around or in his overall pockets to check the type height. Now there's a bit of useless information for you, maybe good for the odd Pub Quiz. Really a nice oddity but these days of no use except as a curio of by-gone days as nobody uses letter-press these days, I doubt if there are any letter-press machine in working order these day as Litho has taken over and short runs are now usually done on ink-jet machines. Maybe you could donate them to a printing museum or possibly if Hornby has a Museum they might like them seeing as they now own the Triang brand. Hope this helps clear-up some of the mystery and thanks for asking the question. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

That is all very impressoive well done and thanks for showing us that superb interior. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Dad Paul B Agreed that PVA can be used for fixing to card bases, but here I was trying to glue parts together, namely the stretcher and machine gun as I didn't trust those push-fit joints also the m/c gun base was the same plasic. That tile cement really does stick to almost anything including this vinyl plastic, and it still works when thinned down with water. I use it for a myraid of things, and find it almost indessencable for dioramas and sea-scapes; and it's muuuuch cheaper than those Vallejo pastes. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom

Hi Martin62. So far it looks superb, especially that instrument panel, it could almost be mistaken for the real thing; really superb, but as you say it's a pity that it'll never be seen in all it's glory. Maybe you could do a cut-away like Dark Earth and his Hampton??? Maybe tooooo much ....... Keep up the good work and looking forward to more instalments. Remember we do this for fun John the Pom