Timmas

Interested to follow this as I'm part-way through the FGR.2. It's a lovely kit imo; the fit is incredible.

AK Interactive do sets of RAF Fighter and V-Bomber colours. I have no idea how accurate they are compared with other makers but they might be worth a look. 60s colours : https://ak-interactive.com/product/raf-v-bomber-colors-1960s/ 70s colours : https://ak-interactive.com/product/raf-fighters-v-bombers-1970s/

I don't doubt it for one minute Ratch. Owners do a lot of things to their cars and why not? They belong to them after all. Some rebuilt and/or modified TRs (and others) are absolutely stunning, better in fact than they were when they came off the production line in the first place. I've been a member of the TR Register for more years than I care to remember, and know a few people who own them and have rebuilt them. If putting a plastic kit together can be challenging at times, it's nothing compared with rebuilding the real thing! Anyway, as I said, my comment was purely to do with authenticity and only if you felt like doing it. :-)

My wife bought me this one Ratch and I haven't tackled it yet. I will do, when I've created enough room, and have built the aircaft in my stash. A frend of mine has a really nice TR4A finished in Old English White with a black interior. It's completely original and is still fitted with its factory-fitted steel wheels. For what it's worth, I own a TR6, also in O E White with a black interior (although the interior was red when it came out of the factory). I sorely wish Airfix did a TR6; it's one of a long line of superb Triumph sports cars (some say it's the last of the true TRs) and one of very many beautiful British classics. Anyway, just as an aside, and (a) if it's not too late, and (b) you feel like doing it of course, paint those sun visors black to match the rest of the interior. That will give it a final touch of authenticity. :-) (and I'll have to check with a few other folk)

I've seen some very good reviews for Colourcoats enamel paints and have also seen photos of them applied. I've not tried them myself but from what I've seen they are lovely to use and give excellent coverage . They come in separate collections for land, sea and air, so choosing the right colours is simplified. Hope this helps?

Nice. My Phantom pre-order has arrived too but it came just seconds before we left the house to go away so I haven't even opened the parcel yet! We'll be back on Monday so I'll open it then. Can't wait to have a look at it.

The formatting disappeared from my last post. But my latest acquisition is now: Airfix Model World December issue (digital)

Airfix 1/72 Victor canopy masksAirfix 1/72 English Electric LightningAirfix Model World November issue (digital sub)Airwaves PE micro saw bladesAK True Metal paintsEduard MiG15 1/72 PE cockpit setHaynes RAF V-Force 1955-69 Operations ManualHumbrol MaskolRevell weathering powdersRoyal Langnickel oil paintsUschi van der Rosten rigging line

Airfix 1/72 VampireHobby Boss 1/72 Mig 15Revell 1/72 Mig 21Some new modelling tools and... Airfix 1/72 Phantom (on pre-order so not technically an acquisition as is hasn't arrived yet)

No not really. It's a conversation that's sprung up about a latest aquisition. It's a friendly interaction between forum members.

Hi John I use Adobe Illustrator (similar to Corel) as it'sa vector programme,andas you say, it's not resolution dependent.I probably won't bother with stencils because I've also bought and another, better MiG 15 (see below) which has much more detail. Incident

Hi John That trick with the decals sounds like a great idea. I hadn't thought of that. I could scan and clean them up, or even use the scan as a template to redraw them. Thanks for the tip! :-)

Yes, thanks for the tip. They do look pretty iffy but I'm game for a challenge!

I'm thrilled to bits because I've tracked down a lovely brand new 1/72 Nimrod. I've been looking for one for a while, and came across this one purely by chance online. Apart from that I've also found a 1/72 MiG 15 on Ebay. It's a Mistercraft kit, it cost all of £2.50 and came from Poland. It has no cockpit (just an empty space), a very small amount of raised detail on the outside, no canopy detail and the pilot looks like he has a serious deformity. I've been playing around adding some cockpit detail with bits of plasticard and wire, and have found a nicely modelled Airfix pilot to sit in the basic L shaped seat. What seduced me (apart from the price) are the 'exotic' decals; Soviet Russian, East German, Czech, Bulgarian, Romanian and N. Korean. They're poorly printed but I think I might be able to clean them up with a bit of careful scalpelling. Even if I can't, I'm having a huge amount of fun with it and that's what this hobby of ours is all about isn't it?

Hi Nigel The point about Blue Steel Vulcans and in flight refuelling is really interesting and was something I'd not come across before. This photo is the 'inspiration' for my build; a B2 from 617 squadron, taken in 1963. I know the missile attached to this one is only a training round but the aircraft was clearlly equipped for it and it definitely has a refuelling probe. Tim /media/tinymce_upload/afa3b6a6f0c55227dcf4adf778e32250.png

I'm doing mine as an early B2 Blue Steel in anti-flash white, and I like a wheels up configuration too. I've trimmed the tailplane down and removed the nose TFR pimple from the nose but have left the refuelling probe in place; I'm sure I've seen a photo of one of them refuelling in flight from a Valiant. I have smoothed out the connection between it and the nose though. However, from what you've said, it sounds like I might have it historically incorrect. I could remove the probe but it took a while to smooth it all out (and to get it dead straight) and has had a coat of white primer over the initial grey prior to painting and is looking ok. I've had such a struggle with the wing to fuselage joints, the thought of any more surgery at this stage doesn't exactly fill me with glee. Here's a pic showing the joints. I'm pretty happy with the port side but the starboard could be better. I'm debating whether to re-do it. But all the sanding erased the raised detail too which resulted in me scribing the whole lot (well, much of it) so ifI re-filland re-sand I'll have to open up the scribed lines again. Even with this issue I'm hugely enjoying building this kitand I'm hoping it turns out ok :-) /media/tinymce_upload/0f568f3c49838e514982d80ac4824adb.JPG

Nice. I see you've got the Revell Victor too. I've bought the same kit and will tackle it after my Vulcan. I'm half tempted to try to build it as an early bomber version and paint it anti flash white, but I haven't got the skills or experience necessary for the surgery really so I'm in a quandry as to know what to do (I've also bought the newer Airfix one, which I'll keep for a while until my skills improve). Still, the Vulcan will keep me occupied for a while yet as my battle with the wing joints continues. After its first prime I noticed a couple of lengths of the joints were recessed below the surfaces. I added filler and wet and dried, but I think I've taken it back to where it was. So it's back to the filler again. Anyway, I can mull the Victor issue over while I'm doing it. Thanks for sharing your pics :-)