propeller

Hasegawa 1/48 P-40E Kittyhawk

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  • Built:   2016
  •   Ultracast P-40 seat
  •   Ultracast P-40 Block tread wheels
  •   Ultracast P-40 Tubular exhausts

Decals:            Combination of Cutting Edge Pyn Up and Aussie decals

​Hasegawa’s P-40 series seems to be one of those kits modellers either love or hate 
 Flick through any of the fora and you will find modellers that rate it as a horrible fitting kit through to other modellers that have had no fit problems at all.  It does require care in assembly – like any kit – but I found mine went together reasonably well with only a small amount of iller needed around the gun ports and fuselage.  To be honest, I found the Cutting Edge decals a real disappointment, thick and reluctant to conform to recessed details.  The nose art decals, although very thin, were not sharply printed.  I dare say though printing technology has improved since these decals were first released.

Curtiss P-40 E-CE Kittyhawk

AMT 1/48 Douglas A-20 Boston IIIA

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  • Built; 2014
  • Aftermarket Used: True Details wheels, Master Barrel gun barrels Vector control surfaces
  • Decals: Various spare decals with nose art being hand painted.

Another two builds of the same kit in parallel.  AMTs kit is getting rather old now and we really need a new one.  Detail is soft, although there are now sets available for it from Vector, and it has several inaccuracies including metal control surfaces where they should be fabric and I believe the main landing gear is to far backward, or forward, cant remember which.  That said, it is a pretty viceless build.  The only weak point being the undercarriage attachment.  It is incredibly flimsy.  Mine have sheared off twice!!.  The doors also have poor attachment points.
I cut out all the control surfaces and replaced them with the Vector resin replacements,
I built the RAF one for a group build on an on-line forum.  It was the first time I had used the salt chipping method, and I was quite pleased with the results.  I wanted an machine that reflected the haste with which some units applied their invasion stripes., so the stripes were hand painted using vallejo paints.

As there are no decals for this scheme in 48 scale I used various generic sheets for the codes and national markings and hand painted the nose art.  She was flown by an Australian crew.  Im really hoping a new tool kit of this important aircraft is released soon.  The A.M.T kit has served well, but is long overdue for replacement.

 Xtracolour enamels were again used

Douglas Boston Mk IIIA Royal Air Force. England. 1944

Tamiya 1/32 Supermarine Spitfire MkVIII

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Date Completed:2015
Aftermarket:  barracuda Starboard cockpit sidewall. Barracuda Spitfire Block tread Wheels
Decals: Victory Productions Commonwealth Spitfire Aces

This Tamiya kit lived up to all the hype about it, which is just what I needed after coming out the other end of a mojo drought.  I didn’t bother with the engine, knowing it would slow the build down.  Rather than opting for the kit shark mouth scheme, I went for something different choosing Group Captain Clive Caldwell’s machine.  Codes and unit markings were from Victory Productions Spitfire Aces sheet, whilst all national markings were painted. A real joy from start to finish.
In retrospect though, I lightened the dark earth a little too much, so it doesn’t quite capture the darker looking camouflage of our spitfires. 

Spitfire MkVIII 80 Wing Royal Australian Air Force. Moritai. 1944

Special Hobby 1/48 Brewster Model 339 Buffalo

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  • Built: 2014
  • Aftermarket Used: Nil. OOB
  • Decals: Kit

The second part of my double Buffalo build. Like the other build, this one also went together quite effortlessly.

To paint it I used the then popular “black base” technique. I remember not liking it that much as I didn’t think it gave you a lot of range with the colours. The colours on this were all lightened considerably to portray a faded machine that had been operating under a blazing hot Northern Territory sun.

Extracolour paints were again used from my now diminishing supply.

I think this one turned out better than the U.S one I completed just prior.

Brewster Buffalo. 1 P.R.U SQN Royal Australian Air Force. Hughes Air Base.N.T 1942

Special Hobby F2A-3 Buffalo

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Date Completed: 2014
Aftermarket Used CMK Armament set, 

Decals:  Montex masks

 


Another double build in which was eventually a pretty productive year after a few false starts!
From memory these Buffalos were lovely kits to build, being fairly straightforward, even the CMK gun bays fitted without too much scraping and grinding
The completed models were painted with extra colour paints which were my preferred brand until export restrictions stopped them coming into the country.  I still have several tins I am slowly using up on current projects.
For the USN one, I could not go past those oversized early war stars, which I found on a Montex mask set.  This were the second set of markings I had masked after my dakota  I found the process a little more difficult lining up all the elements and there was a fait bit of touching up to do.  I cannot remember what colour I used for the USN blue grey, the underside grey was Extracolour with a dark wash from Flory Models.  A small piece of brass mesh was inserted behind the oil cover opening.  Looking at the model now, you can see I have rushed the weathering with none on the undersides or gun bays.  Despite this, it still looks nice sitting in the cabinet with those big stars.

Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo MCAS Ewa  WMF-221 Hawaii. USA 1942

 

Trumpeter 1/48 Douglas C-47 Dakota

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Date Completed: 2014
Aftermarket used: Quickboost rudder and corrected cowlings
Decals  Not decals at all, but masks from Mal’s Miracle Masks

 

 
Trumpeter’s Dakota gets cast as inferior to Monogram’s ancient model in  some quarters.  I built the monogram one as a kid and   found the Trumpeter kit  light years ahead in fit, detail and engineering.  Ok, there are some accuracy issues, the rudder is riveted where it should be fabric covered, the cowlings are based on the soviet copycat aircraft and the sit of the aircraft is not quite correct but these can be fixed with aftermarket items.  I just love all the riveting on the kit which you really need on a kit this size.  Mine was built for a Korean war GB on Britmodeller.com.  Th year had started off with several failed builds, so this one reaching the finish line was very satisfying indeed
I left the wings removable to ease transport, which leaves slight gaps, maybe this is why it has received no love at competitions, plus I have modelled it clean with no weathering whatsoever.
I increased the height of the undercarriage by adding plastic block spacers to the locators in the cowlings so the aircraft nose points up more.  The drag links were lengthened with rod.
This was the first time I painted national markings on using masks.  I got Mal Mayfield to cut masks from a Hawkeye decal sheet.  I impressed myself with how easy painting the roundels was, and determined to go this route on all of my future larger builds.  There is some conjecture over whether the cheat line was red or blue.  I opted for blue after seeking answers on Aussie Modeller International on-line forum

​C-47B Dakota 77 SQN  Royal Australian Air Force Korea 1952