Pretty Mediocre Modeller

You need to send it to the Margate address, they moved back there a few years ago. Hornby Hobbies Ltd Enterprise Road Westwood Industrial Estate Margate Kent CT9 4JX UK

Cheers Tim, One area where I am disappointed with the kit is the absence of a 4,000lb 'Cookie' bomb, especially as that's why it had a bulged bomb bay! I have a couple of 4,000 pounders in the spares box, but there are no shackles for them. I intend to display it with a bomb trolley in front with the bomb on. The detail on the doors and rear fairing for a post war target tug aircraft was annoying but really easy to correct. Maybe a future boxing will be for the target tug, that would be an interesting scheme, I'd build that.

Quick update on the Mosquito. Basic painting has been completed, including replacement panels, using brush painted Vallejo paints. All the sub assemblies have also been finished and await fitting after decaling and final weathering and matt coat. Not the modified bomb bay doors with all detail removed. Note of warning, it would have been far easier to paint up the exhausts and their housings' before fitting into the engine cowlings!

All major airframe parts together, and seams sorted out. No issues with construction, all went easily together, and hardly any filler needed anywhere. It will be painted using Vallejo colours in the day scheme. The bomb racks are also in the bomb bay. Bombs have been painted but not installed yet, and the undercarriage masks will be used, as well as the closed bomb bay doors as a mask.

In the next image you can see how the two part exhausts go together, what they look like as a unit in there housing, and also how they look (unpainted) mounted in the engine cowling. Then we have the bomb bay doors, one has been corrected by sanding all the target tug detailing off, the other is as supplied. The modification to the parts literally did not take 5 minutes. Also you can see the main tyres. These have great block tread detail (though not as good as a resin replacement, then again you're not paying for resin!) and a small hole in the centre for mounting on a cocktail stick for painting. Yes, really, that is why the hole is there!

I've been working on the wings. The port one is completed, including the nacelle, and attached to the fuselage, while the starboard one is about half way there. Note that the wingtips are clear plastic, this is so the navigation light is clear. I managed to put the starboard tip on the port wing, but noticed my mistake and was able to rectify it. My fault entirely as the tips are marked 'P' and 'S' on their tabs! The two part exhaust stubs and their housing is a great feature, and they look very realistic when done. Another good point is the arrows on the exhaust housing and radiator fronts, to make sure you get it right. I had no problems with the fit, and there are minimal seams to clean up. As an example the port wing has a landing light blank to use. This went on leaving hardly any gap or seam, and was invisible in a few moments clean up (a clear cover is also included for other versions). There are two sets of carburettor intakes included, one plain and the other with vents on the sides, the plain ones are used for this kit, but it again points to another version coming out. Finally the wings fit to the fuselage is near perfect, with not gaps to worry about, and the spars keeping everything true.

All seams on the fuselage have been sanded down, only took about 20 minutes, no issues. The aft bomb bay fairing has been reprofiled with filler, and is ready for a first coat of primer to check for imperfections, then refilling if needed. it's an annoying mistake, but easily and quickly fixed.

Lovely build Heather, Did you know that Marine Captain Patch took a pair of old marine's boots on the Taranto raid, and threw them out when he dive bombed Italian cruisers and destroyers? He also led 3 Swordfish on the 21st July 1940, on an attack on Italian shipping in Bomba Bay Libya. The 3 swordfish with 3 torpedoes managed to sink 4 vessels! One of the ships hit was a depot ship which exploded sinking the destroyer next to it.

In this view of the underside on the fuselage you can see where filler has been added to the sides of the aft bomb bay fairing to correct the shape to the bomber version from the target tug variant. this is the first application before sanding. You can also see a smidge of filler by the crew entry door. You can also see the brick red fuel tanks added to the bomb bay roof. The final image for now shows the wings being used as a jig to construct the undercarriage legs, including oil tank.

Final cockpit photo, and first image of the fuselage joined up. Again no issues here, all went together with no gaps or steps. The interlocking tail planes have also been fitted, as has the rudder, set at a slight angle for interest. no filler needed so far.

In these images the cockpit is completed and ready to go into the fuselage and be closed up. Most areas are cockpit grey green by Humbrol (78), with details in dark green, black and dark grey, dry brushed in light grey. In the first image the tail plane can also be seen, this has a clever locking tab that connects inside the fuselage to ensure correct alinement.

Construction starts with the cockpit. There is good detail throughout, with multiple parts. This section is split over several construction stages. The pilot's seat is made of four detailed parts, but only a tiny pilot is included (compare him to the control wheel), with no navigator to keep him company! All went together easily, using the fuselage half as a jig for bulkheads.

Following are some shots of the sprues. Sprue E and F are the engine components and are mirror images of each other. There is no sprue D, and all the parts for the bulged bomb bay are on one sprue. There are also several parts not for use, including a complete canopy with blisters, so another version is definitely on the cards.

I have been working on a Hasegawa Skyraider, but when this came in the post from Hornby, that had to go on the shelf for now. There has been a lot on different forums about the errors in this kit, the main one being that of the bomb bay. However, all the other minor errors are either imagined or so small as to not bother me anyway (for example it has been said the fin is the wrong shape, the props have the wrong profile etc etc. If these are correct or not I don't know or care!). The problem with the bomb bay comes from scanning an aircraft that used to be a target tug, as such it has added raised fairings on the doors and the rear fairing is indented. I intend to sand the doors smooth, and at the moment use the rear fairing as is. Now the moan is over, lets get to the rest of the kit. What panel lines there are are finely done, the cockpit and bomb bay look extremely detailed, and there are some clever and well thought out touches, such as the exhaust assembly, painting blacks for the wheel wells and the use of the wing as a jig for the undercarriage so it can be fitted after painting. The instructions are very colourful with purple and yellow added this time; The decals are to the usual standard from Cartograf.

Thanks Kate. Here are some images of the completed kit. I had no issues with construction, and detail was good, especially cockpit and wheel wells. some of the details were not quite right, such as the fabric effect behind the gun access panels, which should be plated over, but I left it was it is. The only additions I did was drilling out the gun ports and adding a Tamiya tape harness. I added a fair bit of grime and mud to the underside, as I thought it would get pretty dirty during the constant retreat during the Battle of France. Paints used were Vallejo with a little chipping added using a silver pencil.

Sorry, been a while since I posted on this thread, the Hurricane is now completed, but here are some shots of it just before painting started.

Great finish on that one Sebastien, got any more you can share?

I received my Mosquito in the post today. Looking at the sprues I see we have A, B, C, E, F, G and H, but no D. I would think that another variant is coming out next year or in 2023 with a D sprue, possibly containing the flat belly?

Really nice build, great diorama, and love the smoke. That batsman is in for a shock when the Phantom launches though, unless he moves to the other side of the red and white line! Who else thinks that Airfix should kit that plane guard Wessex, that has photo bombed the box art of both the RN Phantom and Buccaneer?

This isn't going to be as detailed as my usual build threads, as I've built this basic kit before and posted a thread. In this boxing you get the Battle of France version of the Hurricane, which is exactly the same as the Battle of Britain one but with different decals. That's some striking artwork of the Hurricane being attacked by a Bf110. reminds me of a chapter from the novel 'A piece of Cake', anyone who's read it will get it, if you haven't I recommend it! Building will be mainly out of the box, the only addition I'm planning is to drill out the gun barrels and add a tape seat harness. Some far no issues with construction of wings, cockpit and fuselage, all fitted well so far with no need for filler as yet. Nice how the base of the cockpit is built up on the undercarriage bay roof.

Hi Dylan, Welcome to the forum. I've just finished the Seaking HC.4, which is basically the same kit. The only place where filler was needed was around the baseplate of the fuselage, everything else was a good fit apart from the side windows. The clear parts seemed a little to big for the openings and I had to use a file to carefully increase the size of the opening. When fitting the pilots' canopy, it's best to fit the solid nose plate and clear parts together so you can adjust as you go. Hope that helps

Hi William, I've just finished the HU.4 version of this kit, which is virtually the same mould. I did have some fit issues with the windows, and had to slightly increase the dimensions of the holes with a file, checking regularly, until the fit was good. Apart from that I had no fit issues at all, the only other thing was slight gapping around the bottom plate to the sides, which was easily fixed with some filler. if the internal floor is warped try putting it in some hot water and straightening it by hand? You can see my build log of the kit a few places down on this page.