The Rat

Beauty job on that! When I worked at YYZ (Toronto) it used to come in for the airshow, and the staff looked for Airfield Maintenance personnel to help out. I instantly volunteered! Got to paticipate in the launch and recovery of the SR-71 a number of times, and the U-2. And not just watching from the sidelines; up close and personal. Sitting in a truck on the runway while the Blackbird does a full power run-up a hundred feet away is... deafening!

WOW! Your son is well on his way to becoming a modeling superstar!

Lovely job so far. And don't be concerned about the rivets, I've worked around enough real ones to know that they're covered in them. This might be one of the few kits on the market in which the rivets are underscale! 😛

He certainly does, although I had to look him up, he wasn't mentioned in any of the stuff I found on-line. I suppose he was the bombardier?

All done. Looks rough up close, but I build for fun, not to win contests. The back story: As Britain approached WWII, it was clear that RAF Coastal Command was operating a rather motley collection of obsolete and obsolescent aircraft that would not be adequate for defending the shores of the nation, or harrying enemy shipping at longer distances. The only capable aircraft was the Short Sunderland, but something was needed to replace the ancient Vickers Vildebeest, Supermarine Stranraer, and Saro London, and the short-ranged Avro Anson. Proposals to re-equip with various more modern mounts were proposed, and one that saw service was the Fairey Battle, which was modified with the Bristol Pegasus XXII engine. A loss of 20hp from the RR Merlin II was more than offset by a significant reduction in engine weight, which was also aided by obviating the need for a liquid cooling system. Number 12 Squadron was moved from Bomber Command to Coastal command, and new camouflage was applied. Attacks on shipping were regular and carried out with some success, and made a significant dent in Axis supply lines. On the 12th of May, 1940, two aircraft from 12 Squadron intercepted an armed German merchantman that was steaming through the North Sea, and began to attack. The lead aircraft was flown by Flying Officer Donald Garland and Air observer/Navigator Sergeant Thomas Gray, and began while the other aircraft circled and watched for enemy fighter cover. Attacking at low level, FO Garland pressed home his attack despite withering and accurate anti-aircraft fire from the ship, and managed to cripple it with his first two bombs. A third bomb missed, but the fourth hit amidships, and caused such damage that the crew quickly abandoned the vessel, which sank in minutes. Sadly, the final run was also damaging to the aircraft, which crashed into the sea with the loss of both crew. In recognition of their gallantry, both F.O. Garland and Sgt. Gray were awarded the Victoria Cross. The BuildThe Airfix Fairey Battle is definitely not up to modern standards, and there are accuracy issues, but it is still a fairly easy and pleasant build, apart from the fiddly landing gear. But that's on Fairey, not Airfix, they seem to have taken a perverse pleasure in making things difficult for future model designers and builders. Modifying it to take the nose section from the Matchbox Vickers Wellesley LRDU variant was fairly straightforward, sawing off the original nose, a little filing to accommodate the new one, and it was done. The only other modifications were to replace the bomb doors with thinner plastic card, and sand down the tops of the bombs to fit into their bays without hanging below the bottom surface of the wing. The greenhouse canopy is not the easiest thing to mask and paint, modelers who hate that task (looks in mirror) will have that hate buttressed by this one. The story of Garland and Gray is half true, as they lost their lives, and were awarded the VC, for their attack on two bridges over the Albert Canal in Belgium. I couldn't modify the back story without rewarding their gallantry, albeit in a different theatre of operations. Salute.

Excellent job on that! It isn't the easiest build, those windows are a pain to mask, paint, and then mount, but you've done great. And the interior is very nicely done.

Removed the masking. Touched up the fuselage areas where there was a little bit of bleed under the tape, now I'll have to spend about a year or so scraping the edges of all those windows and touching up them. Couldn't find the instruction sheet, so I did the camo pattern just any old way. And of course, after it was done I found the instructions. Not repainting.

Nice ones, both! Ratch, is that dual canopy an after-market or a kitbash conversion?

The parts are styrene. Could be an allergic reaction, or a contact dermatitis. Possibly to the styrene, but also possibly anything else you skin is coming into contact with. Quick way to determine what it is would be to wait until it clears up, then play around with each different thing you were touching, one at a time, until the same reaction occurs. Plain smooth styrene may not do it, but the powdery residue from sanding may. Try both.

The new Airfix Curtiss Tomahawk Mk.IIB is a lovely kit, and builds easily. Even looks half decent after I had a go at it!

Stunning!

Recently had that problem with the Heller Amiot 143, right on the windscreen. Seriously thinking of splashing some red paint on the spot and calling it a bird strike.

Nice job on that! The new tool one is a real beauty, pick up one and see how it compares. I enjoyed building it.

Another Airfix kit is suffering under the various indignities I force upon most of my stuff. This time it's the venerable Fairey Battle, which I procured from a local shop. The bulk of the airframe is Airfix, but with a different engine. The idea is that RAF Coastal Command got a bit more respect at the beginning of WWII than it did in real life, and got some slightly better euipment than the rtather motley collection it was actually saddled with. The Battle was one such aricraft, but it was a radial engined version, with a Bristol Pegasus XXII as used on the Vickers Wellesleys of the Long Range Development Unit. The engine unit has therefore been swiped from a Matchbox Wellesley, and after a lot of cutting, filing, puttying, sanding, and swearing, has been attached to the front. No blood was shed in that process, amazing. White paint was applied to highlight any irregularities, looks okay so far. Engine has been assembled, it will soon be fitted to the extended cowling the XXII had.

Not your best? Knocks any of mine into a cocked hat! Lovely job!