Dad Paul B

When I got this kit is was the HAR5 version (before the new one was announced) but had all of the earlier parts for HAS2/HAR3/AEW.., though no instructions for the dipping sonar or which greebles to fit for the earlier versions, some of which get in the way of the large format numbers I wanted. It was a bit of a faff and I may well redo it once a HAS3/5 version comes out.

I have fond memories of these flying from Ramsgate (Pegwell bay strictly speaking). Incredibly noisy but the fastest thing over water. Never caught on as I think they were very expensive to run and the fuel crisis pretty much did for them. I remember seeing the kits around but never tried anything that big back then. The cutaway panel is a really nice touch - it would be interesting to see the Thames Clippers given a similar treatment and I love the landing apron diorama..

Thanks Rael - I grew up in the 70s and used to go to the Biggin Hill Air Show with the Cubs or my Dad so got to see a lot of the in service stuff. I particularly remember Lightnings and F104s and a Vampire (the last time I went was when the Invader crashed) but was building mostly WW2 back then (planes and later AFVs for wargaming). I later went into Modern wargaming so got to know most of the Late 70s/Early 80s NATO and Warsaw Pact kit. Particularly liked the Jaguar, Phantom, Buccaneer and Lynx. I have got back into building as a result of a work project on this period requiring a lot of kits. A very cost effective way of building a display.

I wanted to shere this with you all. My latest build was the Valiant. Difficult to find at the moment but there are still some out there. The crew compartment is nicely detailed but no figures are provided. I added pilots by PJ productions and rear crew from the spares box. The final results were very pleasing as shown below. They were even visible through the cockpit windows (Eduard paint maskes were very helpful here are the window shapes are quite complex and the 3 pane side windows are quite small. /media/tinymce_upload/0828910cfdc75207c3f32b65f265788c.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/067333a1222f9f7e2500f14bb8a5c2e1.JPG/media/tinymce_upload/21906e8a4e56f61e9628a61041480358.JPG

I know that another modeller posted on this one a few months ago (very useful for me) but I wanted toshare this beautiful kit.The Valiant is the least known of the V_Bombers, mainly due to its forced retirement in January 1965 due to metal fatigue in the main wing spars across the fleet. Still it has several claims to fame. Of the V-Bombers it was the first to enter service and be used in anger (Operation Musketeer - The Suez Crisis of 1956). It was also the only British aircraft to ever drop a nuclear or thermonuclear weapon (Operation Buffalo 1956 - Blue Danube at Maralinga and Operation Grapple, Grapple X, Y and Z Hydrogen Bomb tests at Christmas and Malden Islands in the Pacific). This is a big model and was very well engineered with options for open bomb bay and choice of conventional or nuclear armament. It starts with the cockpit with its 5 crew stations (no figures provided so, wishing to model it in flight I added crew by PJ Productions (Pilot and Co-Pilot) and spares for the rear crew. The only missing feature in the crew compartment is access to the bomb aimer's blister under the nose. A little unfortunate as this removes a view into the rear compartment making the detailing almost impossible to see through the tiny portholes. Still, this it what mine looked like. /media/tinymce_upload/5d55ace04d33de434d721d4fcfe3e331.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/f10cf05dac5d94a49125eae1a1094746.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/14a345fc7b4f49c94f97f22d745a1c39.JPG This sub assembly went into the fuselage without issue and was covered with a panel hiding the rear crew. Other internals went in well and the bomb bay was nicely detailed (watch out as the rear bay door should go in before closing the fuselage and I missed this stage in the instructions. Still cutting away the locating lug allowed it to be fitted easily. The bomb bay doors are well captured - they slide into the bay rather than hinge outwards which gives a very clean line. I chose tofinish mine in Flash White operational colouring with the various glare shields and radar coverings in their respective colours but with the solid colour roundels and black serials of the late 1950s rather than the low density roundels and blue serials introduced in the early 60s. This meant a mix of Options A and B. The underwing fuel tanks were available from early 1958 so I have chosen my model torepresent Squadron Leader Arthur Steele's aircraft from 1958 after it had been converted back from Operation Grapple Configuration. Steele led 'A' Flight of 49 Squadron at Wittering from it reforming on Valiants until moving to a Staff Appointment at Bomber Command (he retired as an Air Commodore). This makes for a very nice looking model with enough features to break up the white. /media/tinymce_upload/3b45320c265245e5e97986272b5c6923.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/c84af692643d3711c7dc775040f33677.JPG For the weapon load I chose the 'Blue Danube' fission bomb which was available from 1955 until it was retired in 1961 (so strictly not an option for the 1963/4 Marham options B and C). It could also represent the 'Violet Club' 'Interim Megaton weapon' which was a 400 kiloton fission bomb, the warhead was incorporated ito the Yellow Sun Mk.1. bomb from 1958 but a handful were made in 1958 and could have been released to Bomber Command in extremis.The Marham based aircraft from 1961-4 would have been armed with US built B28s under Project E and others would have had Yellow Sun Mk.2 by then so these options aren't perfectly covered. The actuating rods for the bomb bay doors were nicely represented. /media/tinymce_upload/66d08476ef108fb015ece1a277ffaf33.JPG As you can see there are a huge number of stencils, especially on the underside which take a long time to place but look delightful and show a real attention to detail on the part of the designers. The glazed sections benefit from using the Eduard paint masks which give very clean edges and fit the triple side windows nicely (it is a pity you can't see up into the crew compartment from the blister). I waas plesed to note that the pilots at least are clearly visible /media/tinymce_upload/645359724b3eeebe8e464ba881f9f3c0.JPG Though I realised too late I had forgotted to paint their oxygen masks and hoses. Oh well. The extended range tanks are nice but I made a mistake in fixing them before painting (I was confident of getting them painted nicely due to their size and an absence of decal detail which would be cut through. This led to some awkward spraying (gloss white can) and some unevenness. I also triedpreshading the panel lines which mixed results - some sections got obscured while others have the shading showing too wide. Under white I think I will stick to lines only and not try and vary the colour across the panel edge. I loved the final result of this build (it was a christmas present and took 3 months to complete) I don't think any filler was needed and minimal shaving to get things to go together (the upper wing was a tight fit but otherwise it went together well. There are some nice options (21 thousand pounders will look impressive and would go well with the Silver of the prototype but with markings from one of the Musketeer squadrons and option 1 glazing sections. The 1960s Marham aircraft will need some additions to carry an authentic bomb load which could be considered for future rereleases, though a Yellow Sun (an option for the upcoming Victor?) would be OK. Valiants were also used as Tankers so a Hose Drum Unit to fit in the Bomb Bay with an additional fuel tank would be a good option. Finally it now has pride of place in the 'Cold War Jets' section of my children's bedroom along with the Vulcan (current Airfix version but with the Blue Steel added for a later 1960s version) and an escorting Lightning F6 and Vampire T.11. Hopefully they will be joined by A Victor B2 in early 60s Flash White with a Yellow Sun to complete my V-Force tribute./media/tinymce_upload/ff283b6e42e1d0b373a46e464f112811.JPG /media/tinymce_upload/2040385414735e6efd18e379dfde1d27.JPG Thanks for sharing my latest project. Paul

I remember this one - an early attempt at a 1/35. As I recall nice to build but a lot of surface area to paint.This was an interesting subject as there are holes in the truckbed for the spades on the trails to slot into for firing without unloading. I think I could do a much better job now than I did then (late 1970s I was probably around early teens and went for a desert brown colour). This is a lovely example. I am tempted by 1/35 for a diorama as I would love to do some multipose figures again. Thanks for the memory.

I think that Airfix Wargames might get things going. The current range as the core vehicles for Normandy to get things started. Concentrating on the Western front to begin with could suggest a gradual series of additions. For example StuG-III (most common German AFV in Normandy), Hotchkiss H-39 (No, I am serious. These were the most seen German Tank on D-Day itself and made life hard for the 82nd Airborne until Allied armour got ashore in reasonable numbers). Another possibility might be to cross box some of the old Matchbox kits if Revell still have the molds and are willing to licence them instead of producing themselves. A few extra decals would be useful here to cover more than one vehicle in a unit (so only numbers really need to change). Then some more British (starting with the Sherman and adding a Firefly) before starting on the Russians (A T-34, some lend lease decalling and 1 or 2 other bits would get things started). Then branch out with earlier/desert stuff starting from the Matilda, Lee/Grant and adding Pz III, II and Cruiser tanks as well as the Stuart/Honey. The guns will crossover with desert paint schemes so some alternative boxings/decal schemes might strech a small range a reasonable distance. This wouldn't be for the hard boiled modeller (who will probably be working in 1/35) but might be popular with gamers and youngsters and could be tested slowly. My personal favourites were the Scorpion/Scimitar (Airfix) and the Matchbox M3 'Honey' with its hexagonal rivetted turret.

Flexible scales are not confined to the subjects discussed. In wargames figures '15 mm' and '25 mm' are highly subjective. The notional scale is that an average person will be represented by a figure of the stated height. Modern 25s can be anything up to ~35 mm (almost 50 % over sized). This makes the difference between 1/72 and 1/76 seem insignificant. I had quite a few vehicles in my first WW2 armies (a mixture of Airfix and Matchbox and even some of the polyurethane one piecers (can't recall the make). The school club had around 20 members and we each ended up with 20 - 30 vehicles so this could be financially viable if wargaming could pick up again. The current range of 1944 stuff gives a good kernal and the new Airfix Wargames might spark interest (maybe including force deck cards with each kit to allow rapid integration with growing collections). Possible additions/re-releases would be a Sherman Firefly, 6 pounder with Jeep, Hanomag before branching out into the Western Desert and earlier phases. Maybe a Horsa and/or Waco to go with the Paras - the Italeri versions are showing their age, especially on exterior detail. I think there is a seam to mine here if the new idea takes off.

Is it time the modern design and manufacturing techniques were applied to the crew figures in kits? It is noticible that the 'standard' pilot figure is looking a bit flat alongside the new toolings and in a pose (hands on thighs) that make controlling an aircraft or firing weapons a bit tricky. These were obviously limitations of older manufacturing techniques but is it about time figures were produced with the nice crisp detail on harnesses and other features (perfectly possible as the warganes figure makers do some lovely work in 20 and even 15 mm). This would also catch some of the problems and inconsistencies such as canopy obstruction, poor posing (I have improvised a prone bomb aimer for my nice new He.111 as this possibility wasn't provided for - I will be doing the same for the gunners in the gondola). Oh and the same pilot is used for the Angel Interceptor ifmy source is correct (it is over 30 years since I built one and don't remember - not really a good representation of Destiny, Symphony, Rhapsody, Melody and Harmony if this is the case. Also women fly modern aircraft, not forgetting the ATA ferry pilots in WW2, Amy Johnson and Amelia Earhart et al so a more balanced representation would be appropriate across the board. I think this is one area where the current crop is lacking so how about some attention. I know a lot of modellers show their builds empty on the ground but plenty of others go for the full in-flight look. Anyone else think this is a good idea?

The Viscount is one of the iconic British airliners - sold all over the world and it is odd there is no mainstream kit out there. My daughter likes the airliner kits (1/144 is more suited to her level - she is 6 and finishing off the 707) and a Viscount would be a good choice. It would be popular with civil modellers in either scale I suspect so should be a good choice for a new version. I would vote for it with my wallet.

There is a 1/72 resin Wasp due out this year from Freightdog (the original release date was ~2012 and then Q1 2015 so further slippage is possible). I am not a fan of resin so would love to see a new Wasp in plastic (I need one for a work project). I did build the old Scout back in the 70s - landing skids were very flimsy and the airwaves wasp conversion was not liked (but only one available). Armamnet options would be a benefit including 'Carrier Bomb HE 600 lb' (the WE177 nuclear depth charge when heli carried). The Fleet Air Arm Museum has a sample and there is a picture on the Wikipedia page. This like Nord ASMs would also look good. I would go for this as I love this little bird - maybe with a diorama option of the landing platform of a Leander for show?

It would definitely need multiple bomb bay options to cover both the original FAA version and the RAF's bulged bomb bay doors - complete with rotating bay of course. As to colours there are all sorts of options - Flash White/Grey over white/grey/camo over lt grey/wraparound and even a Black scheme from 16 Sq in 1983 (Aircraft of the Royal Air Force since 1918, Thetford p241, 9th edition)

I am a 1/72 guy, though am getting tempted by the 1/48s now I have come back to the hobby and am getting interested in the bigger models. The Bucc is always a plane I have loved and I would love to see a new tool kit in 1/72 or could be tempted by 1/48. Either my brother or I made the old Matchbox version back in the 70s. I nearly bought myself the 1/72 Airfix kit the other week at Modelkraft (£7 on one of the second hand kit stands) but wasn't keen on the decal options - I want to do a Dark Grey/White FAA version (Any carrier will be fine) - or the general look of the kit. Maybe I should think 1/48 for this one. A Mark 1 in Flash White would be an interesting variation. In 1/48 I would also want to see a genuine rotating bomb bay!