News Feed

Roland Sachsenhofer
These pictures are the start of a model project that I had long shied away from with respect: the kit parts promised a lot of fun and a highly interesting aircraft as a result, but also a lot of 'toil and trouble'. On the other hand: the adventure simply beckons.... 🙂
Here you can see the parts in almost raw condition, I only started to detail a little with round and flat wire. The tricky question was how to treat the sensitive and already somewhat battered transparent part of the unusual cockpit glazing. I decided to cut off the two side parts, mask the inside and outside of the windows and only attach the central clear part at the very end. I like the pictures with the over-designed radial engine: what a power-to-weight ratio for these racing machines!
The last two pictures show the current state of construction and detailing.... Well, we'll see...

Robert Podkoński
Taking a first row seat!

Roland Sachsenhofer
Feel very welcome of course! 🙂

Roland Sachsenhofer
There she is now - at least on her own two feet, even if the appearance with engine and mighty cowling - not to mention the upper wing - will change a lot. The construction steps up to this point were accompanied by a lot of sanding, but the accuracy of fit turned out to be surprisingly good.

Skyhiker
Ok now that's one interesting plane. Certainly not a Laird a**. What a huge engine!

Roland Sachsenhofer
You're right!
A friend asked if I was building a flying washing machine - in fact, the empty mount for the huge motor still reminds me of it. All the more so now that everything is white: it went well with all the white that Martin Mars is currently applying and forms a good basis for the following 'lemon yellow'.

Skyhiker
Looks a bit like a cement mixer to me, but I can see a washing machine in there.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you Skyhiker, Cement mixer - I'm laughing my arse off, the Solution is obviously an inspiring sight: how apt!
It's probably time for the massive cowling with the mighty radial engine to go on the front end. One step towards this is the colour yellow, which will remain on the wings and tailplane. I would like to use Gunze's 'Emerald Green' for the fuselage colour.

Roland Sachsenhofer
From this morning with freshly applied decals: everything seems to shimmer and shine appropriately - but it turned out that the decals are absolute 'self-destructors'. The ones you can see here on the model fortunately went reasonably well, but the large markings on the wings and fuselage were beyond repair: just crumbs. Now I'm looking for someone who might be able to make me some painting masks on a PC. Luckily I scanned the decal sheet beforehand.

Skyhiker
Gosh that's lovely.

Lex Jassies
I always enjoy the surprise you reveal to us. Often with a type of aircraft that I had never seen before. Please keep it up! 👍

Robert Podkoński
The colours are just psychodelic... I love it!

Ben M
Beautiful paintwork!

I don't know if this helps but I've sent scans of decals to stsdecals before and they were able to make replacements for the ones that shattered.

Lex Jassies
By the way, I really like that "Skyways Inc." logo

Roland Sachsenhofer
Hi mates, I'm sure you can imagine how motivating your reactions are - thank you very much! I'll try that, Ben, thanks for that too!

Juergen Klinglhuber
Looking gorgeous !! let me know if you are succesful with stsdecals, I might have other contacts too.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you Jürgen! I've just returned from the 'Bavarian Modelling Days' in Erding - a most enjoyable modelling weekend! 🙂 STS really doesn't look bad, but I may have found a quicker way: A modelling colleague has taken on the task of creating adhesive masks for the outstanding identifiers on his PC. The way things are going, it should be possible to spray soon.
This morning I was able to brace the Super Solution using what I think is a good method: The flat wire is stapled into one hole with cyanoacrylate, the other end is drilled through so that the wire is fixed in place with a drop of super glue while one end is pulled hard. Once everything has hardened - with a spray from the 'activator' in seconds - you can let go - the wire tightens perfectly and all is well. Now all that remains to be done is to sand the excess wire and glue flat before applying a new coat of paint.

Ben M
Oh it's looking so good!

I use a similar approach to wires but I use fine rubber string. I learned from Elias K on here to drill the holes and then patch the finish like you're doing.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thanks Ben! That sounds very interesting with the rubber strings! Can you explain that in more detail? I would be interested!

Ben M
I use a product called "ez line" - maybe the best example is on my tiger moth or deperdussin builds. It is a very fine rubber string. This makes it easy to stretch tight. I drill holes and use a drop of super glue with accelerator as you do. I can do one end, stretch it tight, then do the other. The only drawback is the kind I use isn't perfectly round which is visible when it's twisted. Maybe some other modeler can comment on a better (round) brand of fine rubber line.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you very much for this explanation - it helps a lot and puts me on the right track: well, to my surprise, I'm already using the material! 🙂 I know it under a different name from "Uschi van der Rosten". Excellent when it comes to depicting round wire. You have already described the shortcoming of the material. Many thanks for this tip!

Roland Sachsenhofer
A couple of new pictures show the surfaces that have been sanded smooth again in the places where I fed the tensioning wire through the holes yesterday. Now it's time to paint and touch up again - then nothing stands in the way of applying the final markings!

Roland Sachsenhofer
There are also a few new features on the Laird Super Solution - especially the huge engine changes the appearance! But it looks good on the little thing, no more traces of 'egg-plane', but pure power!

Roland Sachsenhofer
Now it's almost done! I was able to paint the missing markings on the fuselage and the upper and lower wings after a friend generously created exact masks for me on his PC and cutting plotter - thank you very much!
I drilled out the headlights on the leading edge of the upper wing once, the pitot tube on the left strut is improvised from two pieces of silver wire and the peculiar cockpit canopy is mounted - now a few small touch-ups will follow, but the Super Solution is close to the finish line!

Ben M
It's looking great so far.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you Ben!

WAHO LEU
High-level works will be produced, look forward to and admire them.

Spanjaard
I am in 🙂

Łukasz Gliński
Me 3

Ronan
Welcome 😉

DerMattes
Taking a seat 👍

Ekki
Watching.

Alec K
Taking a seat. Amazing detail as usual 👍

NLAWScametovisit
At this rate, Ronan will solve the gearbox issues before the USMC!! Following!

Hajo Lippke
Another great start for a wonderful project!

Miguel Vaquero
Amazing detail on those interiors! Following

Ronan
Many thanks , mates 😉

Skyhiker
Watching with interest

Finn
Following

NICOLAS GRANDMONTAGNE
Encore un super projet!
Beau debut, hâte de voir la suite! 😉

Nicolas
Following

Ronan
Merci Nicolas

Alec K
Spectacular. About how wide is the painted assembly in pic 6?

Ronan
Thanks Alek, the painted assembly in pic 6 is 33 mm wide. 😉

NLAWScametovisit
this is stunning, i have to say again.

CaptGPF
Looks good so far! Following!

Alec K
Thanks 👍

Eric Duval
C'est beau Ronan 👍

Ronan
Merci Eric 😉

Prieur Gaël
Très joli début !

Ronan
Merci Gaël 😉
ça avance doucement mais surement 😄

Bruce Huxtable
Very impressive work, for sure! Liking the variety, as well as your neat workmanship 🙂

gorby
Excellent scratch-building!

Ben M
Very cool!

Spanjaard
really impressive!!

Skyhiker
Now, this is impressive. Bravo.

Villiers de Vos
Very nice work. Thank you for sharing.

Lochsa River
amazing.....

David Taylor
Brill.

Curatorm
Wonderfull!

Jay Dubya
Keen to understand your technique with these 1/700 ships, after a clean start - watching & learning Mick.

Christian Abraham
Looks like a great project

Tom B.
Looks veeery promising! These Japanese gunboats are interesting subjects which a nice little "brown water"-scene with that small boat should do really nice justice 👍 Looking forward to the final result!

Villiers de Vos
Fantastic detailed work.

Christian Abraham
Awesome build

Alberto
Wow, it's fantastic! Considering the scale you must razor sharp vision 🙂

Robert Podkoński
Awesome indeed! And there are sailors...it is beyond an ordinary man skills...

Shar Dipree
Fantastic work! 👍

Zbynek Honzik
Just as Alberto wrote! Unbelievably awesome!

Michael Schubert
That is incredible! I honestly can't fathom how you can get that much detail in that scale!!!

Alexander Grivonev
Incredible, the scale, the detail, the water. Magnificent 👍

Any chance of getting even closer with the camera?

Curatorm
Very fine; nice atmospheric vignet...

Mark
The boys who, when my motorbike was stolen circa 1981, refused to investigate it as anything other than an insurance scam! Not the brightest folk I've ever met. I'll try not to hold that against your model Sergio, but can't promise. 🙂

Sergio Ordonez
🤣🤣🤣
Mark: I've been an AF Para back during my conscription. I really do not love those MP monkeys....
But I selected this one as there are some decals available and there are some parts that must be built from scratch. This will be a preparation for my next Landie: a British Amy EOD one.
Hope your motorbike was not a Royal Enfield or a Triumph or a Norton: this would be a great loss.

Mark
Yamaha XT250. Absolutely loved that bike. It's been cars and bicycles since that was knicked. If I win the lottery tomorrow, I'll buy this: facebook.com/marketp..25539498668014/?ref=

You probably know that the RAF Police wear a blue beret, but I see the chap in image #6 is wearing a red beret like the Royal Military Police (Army).

Sergio Ordonez
Yes, I know: this one was a prototipe, it is my second time using Magic Sculpt and I'm still too green.
As you see, the figure is far from being perfect.

Mark
The figure looks fine from here Sergio. 👍

Sergio Ordonez
Thank you very much, Mike, but is a little bot oversized and the mix of green stuff and Magic Sculpt proved to be not as addequate as needed.
I have been modifying figures of the old Italery "british tank troops" box to get cold war british soldiers (as these figures are a little bit smaller than others). I'm afraid 1:35 references for 70-80's british troopers are very limited, so this encouraged me to try modelling. The second try would be better.

Mark
Mike? 😮

Sergio Ordonez
I am terrible sorry, Mark: this stupid grammar corrector (is configured for Spanish, not for English). Sorry, I should check better before sending.

Sergio Ordonez
Regarding the XT250, if you are looking for one, there are easy to obtain here in Spain under 3000€, and several are for sale. I think import taxes in Britain are around 12% plus VAT and, knowing that your MOT is a logical thing when compared to our ITV system would be relatively easy for you to get a license plate.
I know that Norton well, as there was one in the family. There were a lot of Norton bikes in Northern Spain in the 70s and 80s, but bought second hand from Canary Islands and Gibraltar. Very neglected, as spare parts were scarce. The Govt subsidies for new cars and bikes destroyed the rest and there are few to none survivors now.
Now I am working on getting a Land Rover Wolf from Britain (ex-MoD) for my farming operation. Hope to get one (or at least, pay less on taxes than on buying the Landie). 🤣

Mark
No problem Sergio, I've lost count of the number of times I've got a name wrong online. 🙂

Mark
Thanks for the tip on the XT250. I've used these sites for modelling research and they may help you find a good landie at a good price:
modsurplus.com/
army-uk.com/sub-equi..p?SID=16&SID2=16
modlandrover.com/

Sergio Ordonez
Thank you very much, Mark! I did know the first one, but no clue about the others!
I have one question for you, as you served the RAF in these times... Those guys of the RAF Police, usually have helmets in their vehicles? I mean, back in the 80s (with all this means for good rock music).

Mark
Re helmets, I'd say probably not Sergio. The banner picture you use at the top of the project made me laugh at first - never seen RAF Plods running unless running to the mess! 🙂 And very odd to see them with SLRs.

If you didn't do helmets and kitted them with 9mm pistols or SMGs, nobody could argue that it wasn't authentic (* always depending on place/scene). DPM (disruptive pattern material) and ballistic vests as per your banner picture would be correct for Germany and Northern Ireland, but for most of UK mainland I'd expect to see them in RAF blue. UK Bloodhound sites and nuclear bomber sites, are probably best treated as for Germany. There are a lot of variables. Are you modelling any specific place/scene?

Sergio Ordonez
I was thinking on RAF Brüggen or RAF Güntersloh. That photo I think was taken on Güntersloh, 1985, when some RAF Police troops try to capture a beer six pack.
Well, also I could change to RAF Blue uniforms (I think the wear caps instead berets, but also they usually patrol on Leyland Sherpa instead Landies).
Regarding the SLR, I found in photographs that whereas Royal Military Police usually appear using Sterling SMGs, RAF Police usually carry SLRs. And in most of photos, RAF monkeys wear INIBA vests. Maybe I should research a little bit more.

Mark
"some RAF Police troops try to capture a beer six pack." 😄 😄 😄 Yes, I can see them running for that!

But that photo is a good reference for you - taken where/when you want to set your scene. If anybody argued about the authenticity of your model, you just show them that photo! Anyway our models are our creations and don't have to please anyone but ourself. 👍

Sergio Ordonez
Well, in fact, I'll be unable to build an authentic license plate, so you are completely right, Mark. Let's see what we get from here. The RE and the BDU ones will be better, but we need to start from here.
Thanks, Mark!

Mark
👍

Rui S
Looking good 👍

Sergio Ordonez
Thank you, mate. Now seems closer to the end. This model is not fit for weathering, as some veterans told me RAFP Landies were neat and cleaned every week, so only small touches will be added, so, apart from some final assembly, this will remain more or less like this.

Sergio Ordonez
Mark: I think these guys are ready to look for your motorcycle...

Mark
It looks more like they're ready for tea break! 😄 Seriously though, I'm getting goose bumps from photo 33 onward - takes me right back in time. 👍

Sergio Ordonez
Well, next one maybe will be an EOD RE one... Breaks are not for tea! 🤣 🤣 🤣
Thank you for your help, Mark. You and other veterans gave me ideas and the impulse to finish this one. After the WK Kafer I thought I had lost my mojo...

Mark
👍

Mark
Looking fwd to the REME build...

Sergio Ordonez
Well, the REME EOD team build will be a kind of imagination: I'll mix again some different photographs for the final product. And I just realized that there is no Bowman Radio set available in 1:35 scale, but, let us try. 🤣

David Taylor
Nice one Sergio.Just made mine into a helicopter support platform.

Sergio Ordonez
Nice idea, David: RAF or RN? Royal Navy one is a kind of a heavy project if started from scratch.

Alexander Grivonev
Bloke looks like a true geezer 👍

Sergio Ordonez
RAF Police: I was told they were not fit for running of even moving!

David Taylor
Hi Sergio. British army used them with the Lynx helicopters.

Sergio Ordonez
David, is that a coversion by Accrate Armour? I have the one by Revell for the supoorting of RN Choppers, but It is just an standard Landie.

David Taylor
AA do a full kit but it is expensive.Mine is a standard kit modified with styrene card and rods and anything else I could find.

Sergio Ordonez
I would like to see your project, David. Looks really interesting and, as I still have a lot of spare Landies in my stash, I would like to replicate. But, first, I have to finish my Royal Navy collection: need to make low stock in my stash, as I cannot really find almost anything in my little workshop... 🙂

David Taylor
As the saying goes,I have more kits than life expectancy LOL.

Sergio Ordonez
You are right, David: infinite stash is a Common problem for all modelling mates.
Now I feel curious about the Chopper support Landies: I think I Will make some research.

David Taylor
Based mine on the same kit as yours "The Guardia Civil".

Sergio Ordonez
Yes, I used this kit, but I have a Firing Line hard top conversión kit I think It Will be useful for a RAF helo Support car. I have also found some captions of 1:76 scale drawings that Will be useful for the purpose.

David Taylor
I made new sides and filled in the roof windows with plasticard and filler.I am saving up for the Firing Line 101 as I used to work on them.For me personally, the best Landy ever.