News Feed

Eddie Mann
They are locked, as they are correct, people were going in and wrongly editing paints. Very few, if any, have EAN codes.

Ben M
Perfect!

Marc .
Beautiful!

Neuling
This tank looks excellent. What do the decals mean?

Rui S
Great weathering 👍

Ben M
Neuling: gup.fandom.com/wiki/KV-2

Robert Podkoński
Interesting and ambitious project! Taking a seat here, for sure.

Spanjaard
indeed, me too

gorby
Ooooh! Definitely following this one. 🙂

Doubtingmango
On board

David Taylor
In on.

Ben M
I love this subject! Great scratchbuilding on display.

Hans-Jürgen Haag
Woho I'm in!

Michael Kohl
Absolutely impressive.

David Taylor
Brilliant so far.

J35J
Wow, excellent stuff!

Christoph Kunz
Scratchbuild? For real? I'm in!

Pietro De Angelis
Impressive monster, scratchbuild by master craftsman, congrats!

Alexander Grivonev
Nothing but utmost respect for this kind of dedication 👍 This is true modeling mastery

Skyhiker
👀

Rui S
following 😎

Thomas Espe
👀

Alex K
That's not "next level", that's "out of this world" level...

Guy Rump
Following! 👍

Robert Podkoński
I fully agree with Alex!

Kenneth
Overvældende 😳

José Pires
Wow! Thanks for sharing the building process for this gorgeous project.
The Dornier is beautiful, and your building skills on a all different level.
Plain beautiful work.
My utmost sincere congratulations.
José Pedro Pires

Guy Rump
Excellent build! 👍

Michael Kohl
Masterclass modelling. Fantastic result.

Neil
Wow! Astounding! 😲 This is big, brilliant and different. And fantastic to see build pictures. Lovely skilled work 👏

Alexander Grivonev
I think you cannot call yourself a modeler until you have built something from scratch. This is insane, I am unworthy 😮

Robert Podkoński
Awesome!

Christoph Kunz
Simply WOW.

Thomas Bischoff
outstanding 👍 👍 👍

Ben M
This is really amazing. I see figures in the project inventory, are you building a diorama?

Kent Karlsen
Thank you all 😉 I'm making a vignette with the crew of N24 & N25...

Ben M
I'm looking forward to it. The wal is fantastic, thank you for sharing it with us.

Spanjaard
great improvement on those spikes. interesting idea doing it only half and then the other half to keep it center without using a jig etc.

Weizenbrot
Thank you Spanjaard! I think jig is a pretty clever idea, but I'm just lazy haha. This method is really a shortcut.

Spanjaard
it looks as it works pretty well 🙂

Kesa Tiho
FINALLY!!! THE GODS HAVE BLESSED US!!!

Jennifer Franklin
Oh, very nice, those pieces will fit!!!

Jakko ‌
"Removing seams from roadwheels the Jakko way." Thanks for the shout-out 🙂

Though TBH, I find it takes about as long as clamping the wheel in a vice and scraping the seam down — the lathe is less effort but not really a timesaver, IMHO. Could be that's down to my lack of lathing skills, though.

Ben M
It took a long time but it's fun. Not every day I get to use a lathe.

Kyriakos Vafiadis
This wasn't a successful build, I did some serious mistakes. However, it had to be finished. I will revisit this kit soon..

Snake Plissken
Well I like it. I had long forgotten I have one of these old kits. The red white blue color scheme was too daunting for me so I rendered it in USAF Gray (aka gray primer, lol).

Villiers de Vos
Beautiful colour combination.

Ben M
I remember brush painting this in red white and blue as a kid. I used scotch tape to mask which creates almost as many problems as it solves. Good result!

Christian W
It's a long time ago, that I built any military stuff. But then, on last years christmas, I got this Boxer of our youngest son. You know the rule: get it as a present, it has to be built. So I started it 10 days ago. I never thought, that (in this scale!) only the chassis needs this much time, what I needed. I have to say, that I go through the instruction, like I should. Step by step. But as always, I try to build components for painting because of the camouflage theme.
So far I finished the chassis and transport box only without the little parts. This will be next.

I had some trouble with "mixing up" parts. When I started it, I thought, that I mixed them up during the process. But yesterday, when I finished the stearing and chassiparts, I put every single part onto the instructions and it's location. At the end, the parts for the stearing construction on the corners at the front (step 13 / #C18, step 15 / #C17) and tie rods (step 15 / #D24, step 18 / #D23) where reversed. I'm really sure. And on one side the tie rods didn't fit anyway because one of them had it's mounting pin upside down somehow. Maybe I'm to dumb. Very strange.

I fact, that this is new terrain for me, I pay a lot of more attention as when I build a car. So I don't understand that.... Wo cares. Everything look right now *lol*

Christian W
BTW: I do not modify this kit (eg. tow hooks, lashing eyes (shackles instead of hooks)). I will build it straight out of the box. I know, there is some (a lot) improvement given, to get it as near as possible to the original. But as said: new terrain and I'll be happy with it, if the paintjob looks as wished too.

Breaking news: I will not be painting it as described in the instructions. I am aiming for a color scheme as supplied for training purposes.

Zbynek Honzik
Taking a seat and I keep my fingers crossed that the building will be joyful and successful, Michael!

Mr D
Really like the subject 😁👍👍 Good stuff, l built one as a boy in the 1990's

Łukasz Gliński
Can't miss an IF project 👍
That windshield is terrible - what's your plan for it?
And most importantly - are you going to build Lady Agnes? 🙂

Michael Kohl
Hi mates. Nice to have your interest and you on board. Thanks Zbynek. So far it took much more effort than I expected. Lets see how it continues.
@Mr D: childhood memories. I suppose you build it in scale 1:100? VEB Plasticard?
Lukasz, I bent and glued it und sanded it flush afterwards. As I will use the Authentic Airliner decals for the cockpit windows, they do not need to be transparent.

Mr D
Hi Michael 👋,
Yes it was the Veb version, very basic....but l was enjoying building it as fast as l could.... Glue finger prints n all 🤣
Can you sort the cockpit glass ?? Surprised.... Zvezda usually very good.
Thanks for your upload..... I'm big Soviet era fan.

Łukasz Gliński
Good choice Sir, the AA window decals are super cool.
Unfortunately some of their livery decals have some errors.

Michael Kohl
Yeah, I was surprised by the fit issue too. On the upside are definitely very fine and consistent engravings which I hope to preserve.
And - by the way - it won't be Lady Agnes¹. I like to represent the plane I flew to Moscow with. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of this particular aircraft and am thus not sure about it's actual registration. The history of some a/c is available to me, so I can rule out some. And I photographed two parked IL-62M too while taxiing which I can rule out too.
With these informations I ruled out registration: SEW, SEC, SEF, SEG, SEY and SEK. So right now I will go for registration DDR-SET.

¹ a word for those not familiar with Lady Agnes. She is obviously an IL-62M too and was flown to Stölln. After being stripped of everything unnecessary she landed on a 900m grasstrip (how on earth did they manage to get a permission for that?!) and is used now as a Cafe there in it's original Interflug livery.
You've never heard of Stölln? It is located in the federal state of Brandenburg, about 40km west of Berlin and is the oldest aviation site on earth and in the history of mankind. No other that Otto Lilienthal tested some of his gliders there.

Robert Podkoński
Watchimg with pleasure! Of course, I remember VEB Plasticard kit very well 😉 And thanks for the interesting story!

bughunter
Oh, a very personal project - watching! Sorry, I digged so deep into my build that I missed yours.
So I'm now in and good luck!
Regarding putty: I'm now a fan of Tamiya light curing putty which hardens quickly with UV light.
If wee meet again I like to hear more background about this trip and can provide other insights 😉

Michael Kohl
Hi Frank. No reason for apologies. You are welcome anytime.
Looking forward to our next meeting.

Spanjaard
a bit late, but I am in. nice detail added in this intakes

Ben M
💺

Mr D
Looking good, really nice shaped Airliner 👍
Do you use the black to find imperfections?? Or is it a pre-shading??
I'm in process of building the Veb Be-6 Soviet flying boat, and may help me to do similar.
Thanks for your uploads... Like anything from Soviet era n russian.

Michael Kohl
Welcome mate. Always nice to have you around.
Yes, Mr D, I use the black primer to identify imperfections as the grey one is too close to the plastic color and with the white one, flaws are not that visible. The downside is that it takes a lot of color to cover the black. So next time I will most likely go for a lighter primer color.

Shar Dipree
Following!

Mr D
Thanks 👍👍 for letting me know, l built the Yak-3 made by Zvezda, lit was quite nice to build, some of the fine parts were really accurate, but then it was bit gapy around the wing, but otherwise pretty good.

Michael Kohl
Welcome Shar.
Construction and first paint stages of the engines done.

Mr D
Nice to see the update on this one 😀.
The PE parts give a more crisp realistic effect.
Good stuff 👍👍

DuperScale
Awesome, i'll follow

Michael Kohl
Welcome. Another set of blemishes is fixed and the primer coat repaired. A light sanding with grid 1200 ensured a good base for the polishing steps which will be next. No pics as all looks more or less the same.

Landlubber Mike
Hey Michael - really beautiful subject you are modeling here and it's looking fantastic! I thought the fit issues on my JRS-1 made for a complicated build - this kit makes my JRS-1 look like it's a Tamiya kit! You did a really great job getting around that canopy issue and the PE engine fans are a really nice upgrade. Well done!

Alexander Grivonev
Oh man, two steps forward one step back. What, a grind, keep it up!

Ben M
I just finished this book, might be interesting to you: a.co/d/c2WPeYB

Mr D
Good work take's time, it's coming along nicely, good subject.... worth getting how you want it.
Like it 👍👍👍

Michael Kohl
Welcome mates and thanks for your encouragement and tips. Hope to continue in about a week.

Michael Kohl
One round of polishing didn't result yet in the desired effect. So, in for another one.

Michael Kohl
Started the paint job with the leading edges of wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizer. Started with Alclad stainless steel after another two rounds of sanding and polishing the wings. Unfortunately even a very thin mist of this color ate at the primer, dissolving it partly. Second attempt was done with Mr. Metalcolor 213 steel. This worked but gave a much less nice finish. As you can polish this color range I did that and got close to the Alclad finish by this. But with polishing I partly lost coverage at the trailing edges. These defects could be restored with the application of UvdR pigments Steel. Next will be the grey lower parts

Zbynek Honzik
I'm glad to see, Michael, that you're making good progress with the project.
What primer did you use? I've had very good experiences with Alclad, so I'm surprised that Alclad has eaten into the primer.
Fingers crossed!

Michael Kohl
Not all the Alclads do it the same way. I found stainless steel and airframe aluminum to be particularly aggressive. Primer was Mr. Surfacer 1500.

Zbynek Honzik
Oh, that's some stuff! 🧐
Admittedly, I've never sprayed Alclad stainless steel and airframe aluminum on surfacer, but always on polished Mr.Color C. And I've never had a similar experience. I usually paint the metallic leading edges and air inlets last before decalling. But I wouldn't say at all that these paints will behave that way.
I've used Alclad on a polished Mr.Surfacer before, it was fine, but I haven't used these Alclads.
So I learned something important again. Thank you, Michael!
Well, I hope things are going well for you now without any tricky surprises. 👍

Łukasz Gliński
I think there might also be a difference between these old Alclads and the 2nd generation (not mentioning the MiG rebottlings). I have a sample of each and the older it is the more agressive it seems.

Michael Kohl
In my case the two shades mentioned were aquired last.
I was pondering to do the metallic parts first or last. I think masking is easier this way. Let's see how it further progresses. I actually was highly motivated to go for the grey but had then to realise that a bit of detail stuff is required first.
Thanks guys for your input.

Jennifer Franklin
Progress!! That is a nice paint job so far, it is very clean looking.

Shar Dipree
Great job so far.

Alexander
Great work so far, looking forward to the rest of the project. 👍

Michael Kohl
Thanks mates. First layers of white applied. I am excited how the MRP paint sprayed right from the bottle. The black base is of course hard to cover and I will need another round, but the paint is so fine that all details that I didn't ruin before are preserved.
Was a happy surprise to find out that I have the necessary grey paint from MRP too.

bughunter
Is this your first use of Mr Paint?
I LOVE them ❤️️ Wonderful paint to work with and beautiful color shades 👍
The paint is just not available in many shops, but can be ordered directly from the manufacturer: mrpaint.sk

Michael Kohl
Yes, I actually tried it after your recommendation. Now I am pondering whether it is smarter to apply the decals first and seal them and paint the underside grey after that or to finish the paint job first. I think I will go for option 1 as I think masking will be easier that way.

bughunter
Masking on decal is always a bit risky ... I would try to avoid masking tape on them. May be you can cover the decaled areas with paper (Tempo tissue) and use only small tapes.

Michael Kohl
I will definitely seal them with varnish before. But there is only a small strip of white below the red window band and I am afraid that I won't be able to mask it beforehand as precise as I would like to have it.

Łukasz Gliński
Masking decals is risky, maybe a white decal stripe could help? There are some decal stripes available here and there.

Spanjaard
or a white decal that you can cut in stripes like 95 x140 mm white (Interdecal CO01, No)

Spanjaard
actually any white decal paper (meant to print own decals) would do and you can have in A4 size

Michael Kohl
Actually I do have white decal stripes. I will consider that. Thanks for your input.

Landlubber Mike
Looking really good! Even at 1/144, this looks to be a very big model. Nice job!

Erik Leijdens
Started a big kit! This one is laying around in the stash for a while now. Looks like a nice kit, will be oob. Kept the cockpit simple as it will hardly be visible.

Jennifer Franklin
I love your cat!

J K
Love the detail in the cockpit. Also love your watcher.

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates! My cat is always watching what I'm doing 😎

Dave
Details in cockpit look good and I see that your supervisor is keeping an eye it.

Lost_Erik
Nice cat too!

Dave Flitton
Watching.

bossy122
That black needs a little touch up on the chest area. Otherwise, beautiful finish.

Gary Victory
Nice start Erik. Loving the furry supervision.

DerMattes
Watching!

Lebloge
My supervisor has the same look... like: you can't afford to make a mistake 🫡

Cuajete
Looks like a nice furry supervisor. Following!

Landlubber Mike
Nice start so far! I have the kit in the stash and was looking at it the other day thinking I might start it in the new year.

Love your project manager too! He looks very serious!

Erik Leijdens
Welcome all!! Nice to see this kit gets so much attention already! My cat Kitty likes it too 😄!

Remco van Haren
Following.

Alec K
Wow, a BIG one! Following along 👍

Dave Flitton
Still watching!!

gorby
Looks like an interesting build to follow. 🙂

Nicolas
I got this kit in my stash too. So I'm following with interest. 👍

Treehugger
I had no idea such a seaplane existed. How did I miss this?

Łukasz Gliński
Following this Behemoth 👍

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates nice to see you all!!

Mr D
Now this is a nice interesting project with a luck 🐈‍⬛ cat as supervisor 😄.
Nice interior work, would like to follow up on this one.
Good luck with build 👍👍

J35J
Great start! Following with interest👍🏻

Ben M
👀 I love flying boats.

Eelco Gregoire
Great start Erik!

Marius
Erik, good to see in the first picture you have expert advice for this project.

Jan Peters
Not my cup of tea, but very interesting to see how you tackle this huge plane.
And being a cat lover myself, its always fun to see Kitty inspect your proceedings 🐈‍⬛

J K
Coming along.

Erik Leijdens
The fit of the parts is pretty good on this kit but the halves with the engines do need some work. Also, the parts with the exhausts are moulded in 2 halves but therefore shows a seam which needs to go. This is because of the moulding process I think to create the tiny exhausts.

Jennifer Franklin
The seam sounds frustrating, there is great progress so far.

Erik Leijdens
Dryfitted the wings which fit very good. They only need some support to prevent them from sagging.

Alec K
Man, this project is clipping along! Very nice progress Erik 👍

Erik Leijdens
Thanks Alec, this is a really nice, easy to build kit. A bit of monster due to it's size off course! Also nice to build a kit without any conversions etc, just old school straight from the box.

Cuajete
Well done so far, Erik 👍

J K
Loving this so far 👍

Живко Джаков
This black cat has a very bad eye. I'm not sure he likes the model. My son's white cat is staying with us temporarily. I keep him away from the models. I think the seaplane runs great. Are there any problems with it?

Michael Kohl
Massive

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates!
@ Живко, well the kit is quite good fit wise. Only negative thing I can point out at this moment is the engineering of the exhaust parts, they are in 2 pieces which creates a seam that should not be present. This takes a bit of work, times 6 😅

Живко Джаков
I really like big seaplanes. And this one is a "big" temptation.

Landlubber Mike
Coming along really nicely. Looks fantastic!

Mark D
Following, same in stash to build (the tiger version). I've heard that you need quite some tape to hold all the parts together and quite some putty at the intakes. In the end it will always be a nice Tornado, good luck!

Siegfried Van den Bosch
So far so good...

George Williams
Gorgeous.

Radek Falcone
Thank you 🙂

Ben M
I love your GuP builds!!!

Xu Ho
Thanks Ben! More on the way~

Neuling
I rather enjoy girls and panzers separately. 🙂 - This Tiger looks very good! 👍

Rui S
Great paint job indeed 👍

Alex K
I'm in - of course...

Rui S
Me too 😎

gorby
Thanks for tagging along Alex & Rui. 🙂

Kesa Tiho
Looks like a tuk tuk, anyways its really nice to see you on another project. Im excited to see the fuck ups and final result. Hope your misses doesn't mind you being in love with another woman 😄

Robert Podkoński
Taking a seat here, of course 🙂

gorby
Welcome Kesa & Robert. 🙂
Kesa Mrs Gorby is used to my plastic passion obsessions. 😄
And yes it does look a bit like a tuk tuk. Incidentally there have been a couple of screw up so far but obviously I won't be telling everyone as I want to make it look like I know what I'm doing. 🙂

Spanjaard
certainly joining this new gorby's strange subject being created 🙂

gorby
Thanks Spanjaard, you're always welcome. 🙂

Mr D
Hi Gorby 👋
Another interesting one 😃👍
Nice project, they used 3wheel trucks like these at Cadburys factory as they need tighter turning circles round the plant.

gorby
Glad you're tagging along Mr D.
Their turning circle was one of the reasons they where so successful. Do you have any association with Cadburys - other than eating their products of course. 🙂

Mark Sherwood
Remember these trundling down Zetland Road and Linthorpe Road from the train station. BR and their parcel/freight division use to operate them.

gorby
Hi Mark, apparently British Rail was the main user of these things.

bughunter
That will be another session of scratch modeling of famous (with 30,000 it must be famous) British cars 👍 So ugly that they begin to be beautiful.

gorby
Hi Frank, they certainly are famous in Britland...although probably only with men of a certain age. 😄

Mr D
Hi Gorby...No just eating 😂 l live not far from factory n seen documentary on it too.
Like the project 😁👍

gorby
Thanks Mr D.
Been on their factory tour, as a chocoholic it was wonderful. 🙂

Alex K
One interesting thing to have in mind is that Gorby set to build the ancient 1962 tool of the Scarab and scratch the Mechanical Horse precisely when there appeared recent (and immeasurably better, as for the Scarab - I guess) 3d-printed 1:72 kits of both the Scarab and the French relatives of the MH (i.e. FAR tractors)... But that's Gorby (much to our delight!) 👍

gorby
THERE'S 3D PRINTED KITS!!!??? 😄 😄
I'd be too tight to buy them anyway.
I'm about a month into the build so far and quite enjoying it....mostly.

Alex K
We know you would enjoy this - and we enjoy too... Plus: if you are going to turn the Scarab into a wrecker / recovery vehicle (!!!)... extra joy. Very Gorby-esque work! 👍 👍

gorby
Thanks Alex. 🙂

Ben M
👀

Mr D
"Would you like some parts with that Flash sir" 😂
I know you will pull a great job out of it Gorby 😀👍

Jan Peters
Following this masochistic exercise 😄
The tow truck you fell in love with, was it used to tow Reliant Robins?

Zsolt Czegle
I take a seat!

Intresting project! Go Gorby Go!

gorby
Good grief, I appear to have attracted a crowd. 😳
I didn't realise the Robin was globally infamous. That would be a great idea Jan if I can find a cheapish 1/76 one. 😄
Thanks all for taking an interest. 🙂

Alec K
Taking a seat. The nasties the kit, the more Gorby likes it… I'll forgo spelling out the logical conclusion from this. 😄 😄 😄

gorby
😄 😄 😄
Welcome to the show Alec. I have some nice kits in my mini stash, for some reason they keep being overlooked. Maybe I choose kits which make scratch-building feel like an easier option. 😄

David Taylor
Always worth a watch.

Mr D
X2 trucks under way 😁👍

Jan Peters
Great job on the fiddly bits Gorby 👍🏻

gorby
Thanks mates....as usual I'm playing catch-up with the build report.
(I'll let you into a secret. I don't start the report until I have a very good idea that things might work out. If I'd completely screwed up - you'd never know about it.) 😳

Mr D
🤣🤣 prevention better than cure 😜
Where about in the UK were they produced ?
I vaguely remember the 3 wheel electric milk floats as a kid.

gorby
I think they were built at Scammell Lorries Ltd in Watford.
In fact there is now a road in the area called Scammell Way.
Typical of Britain, close the factory and name a new road after it to remind us that we used to actually make stuff. 🙁

bughunter
Your 'secret' is a good idea: start a build report lately not only shows a success, but also makes the build look quick! Must copy this idea 😉

gorby
😄
The one down side is that as I only do one project at a time it looks like I'm doing bugger all for about a month. 😄

Alec K
Gorby, I follow the same strategy with build reports. Trouble is, I eventually catch up and then snail-pace it to the finish…

gorby
😄

Alex K
Fabulous work going on (as it was to be expected)...

gorby
Thanks very much Alex. 🙂

Jan Peters
What a load of rubbish, in a good way that is 🙂

gorby
😄 😄 😄

Lex Jassies
Nice to see this kit. Build the Scammel Scarab as a youngster from Airfix. And looking at the sprues I would say these are from the the former Airfix kit.
Have fun building it 😉

Alec K
Great progress and entertaining narrative 🙂. The trailer wheels turned out nice, I can't imagine making something like that. Just curious: why not make one and cast a copy (I think you have done that in the past)? Or does this have to do with that logical thing…

gorby
Thanks for the comment mates. 🙂
Lex: Yes this is from the old Airfix kit. Quite enjoying the build so far - although that's probably because most of the build is scratch work. 😄
Alec: Typically the trailer wheels look like a different size to the other wheels in the kit which is why I had to cobble something together rather than cast them. I've been meaning to try and scratch wheels for a while so it was also a bit of an experiment. Hopefully future ones will be better.

Michael Kohl
Love the subject and the build. Not really knowing what I'm talking about I'd say it's as british as british can be

gorby
Thanks Michael. You're quite right, they are as quirkily British as it's possible to be and unlike most quirky British vehicles these were a actually successful. 🙂

Mr D
Like what you have done so far, good thinking on utilising items , l always look at a item before l throw it away to see if it could be useful.
My fire extinguisher handle was just offcuts laying in my scrap tub., ps it finished now will photo tomorrow.
Your right...a MC Donald's or frozen pizza box would be bit out of place 🤣 Fire ash, tin cans, spud peel n bit of dog poo most likely 😄.
Quite rewarding the scratch build l imagine.
Looking good 👍👍

Michael Schubert
Looks like I'm a bit late to the party, but pulling up a chair way in the back to follow along 🤣 looks like a fun little project

gorby
Thanks mates. 🙂
I have to fight against an inherited hoarding gene, so it's a bit of a fine line I have to walk with saving odd and sods for scratching.
At the moment it's very enjoyable project. It's helping to keep my grey matter from seizing up completely, working out how to make something from a pile of bits.

Jennifer Franklin
I am pulling up a seat. I can't wait to see what you do with the scratch building of an I beam.

gorby
Thanks Jennifer. Hopefully I'l show more work soon. 🙂

Kesa Tiho
Really creative way to make rubbish. Im honestly surprised at how well you can DIY and scratch stuff, top notch stuff. Either way the progress is nice.
Also if you don't mind me asking, what operation did your missus go through? Having to administer blood thinners sounds pretty serious.

gorby
Thanks Kesa. 🙂
Mrs Gorby had a hip replacement op. Normally she'd just need medication for the blood thinning but fortunately for my scratch-building junk pile, they thought injections would be better.
Okay, that makes me sound like a bad person. 😄

shadowlight
Not at all... you are aware of your "waste footprint" ^^

Kesa Tiho
Gotta agree with shadowlight. Your not a bad person 🙂. This reminds me of a quote from one of my favourite games: "I'm not an angel, but when you see Trevor your gonna swear I am one." Except It's "I'm not an angel, but when you see Kesa your gonna swear I am one." 😄

Mr D
@ Kesa
GTA-5 by any chance Kesa ??
Interesting build this one ... good to follow.
Did you have any 3wheel vehicles in your part of the world ?
👍😄

Kesa Tiho
Yeah Mr D! Do you play the game?

Mr D
Kesa ...l have played it,
I like retro gaming mostly now👍

Mark Sherwood
Holy Chewbacca on a bagel. Who's, who?

Kesa Tiho
I like the exhaust (yeah i know, a half assed comment) but good god I have never seen a more perfect card... ever.... Truly a masterpiece gifted to us from the scratch building god 😄

gorby
Progress has been slow. I have a problem with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) so everything slows down including brain and enthusiasm. Particularly enthusiasm. It's the part of the year I have more difficulty working out how to make parts and usually the first or second attempts end in disaster before something passable emerges.
Perhaps I should drum into myself "Must do KITS in the winter…. Must do KITS in the winter..."

Alec K
Sounds like a road trip to southern Spain is in order. 😊

gorby
😄 😄 😄
I'll see if I can work up some enthusiasm for that. 😉

Mr D
Great work and like the updates, taking shape well now.😃👍

Jan Peters
You're on a roll now Gorby!

gorby
Thanks Mr D, Jan, and the other peeps for their likes. 🙂

Jennifer Franklin
The second attempt on the engine cover looks nice!

gorby
Thanks Jennifer. 👍
It almost certainly isn't accurate but I won't be loosing any sleep over it. 🙂

Rui S
Excellent scratch work, as usual 👍

Finn
Following. best of luck

Chris T. An
Welcome Finn. Well, "luck" is not necessarily what you need with this kit, but thanks anyway. 😛 It is probably more patience. But as a model builder, you have to have that at best anyway.

Ekki
Watching too.

Nicolas
Following too.

Cuajete
Me 4!

DerMattes
Den Brocken schau ich mir an 😉 Following 👍

Kenneth
Muss ich auch folgen 👍 Following too 👍

Shar Dipree
Following.

S M
Funny pilots you have found. Following I will 😄

S B
Sehr cool! Ich bin dabei. So wie es aussieht, brauchst du starke Nerven und Durchhaltevermögen. Ich wünsche dir beides!!!! Das Modell gefällt mir bisher sehr gut und der Co-Pilot ist jetzt schon ein Held!

Guido
Some very interesting (and challenging) progress. Love the additional self fabricated pieces. 👌🏻

Daniel H
Checking in. Came for the pilots, staying for the excellent scratch work. 😁

DerMattes
At least the pilot knows the way... yeah, sry 😉

Guy Rump
Looking great, following. 👍

Cuajete
Very nice job so far 👍

Fabrice TIMMERMAN
Nice work. It makes me want to start the one I have in my statch.

Chris T. An
Thanks to everyone for being there. I have to vent my frustration about this kit now. I'm getting to the point where painting is next and it's hard to get a clean finish on the seams, especially the center seam of the two fuselage halves. I wouldn't have thought that (Revell) could still produce such a mess in the 21st century. The fit is worse than some kits from the sixties. I've already built a few Revell models, but I've never experienced anything so terrible. Even filling, sanding, priming, filling again and sanding doesn't help. Let's see what it looks like when the gray paint is on. In any case, I'm expecting a sobering result. I will therefore play around a bit with mottling so that the surface perhaps doesn't look quite so "monotonous" and conceals the problems. I hope that works.

Thomas Haberl - TH SCALE MODELS
Taking a seat - I agreed on a commission build for this one and unfortunately you are now confirming my thoughts about the fit when I put the fuselage together for the first time. I did not start yet and I´m a bit scared ... anything else besides the horrendous fit I should know?

Erik De Smet
Maybe you just got a poor kit, other modelers who built the same do not signal fitting problems, but the U/C seems to be too weak

Robert Podkoński
Looks great already. Keep it up, Chris!

Thomas Kolb
Oboy, that mottling looks awesome! The whole model does in fact!

Guido
Great progress! 👍🏻

Cuajete
Great mottling! 👍

Chris T. An
Thanks guys. To your questions:

@Thomas: I think the most important thing to pay attention to is to do all the work on the engine cowlings BEFORE mounting them on the wings. Especially detail painting and masking is difficult to do on the inner casings when they are already assembled. Well, and you can read everywhere that the wheels should be built with metal tubes instead of the thin plastic parts. Fortunately I'm spared that with the inflight version.

@Erik: It may well be that some people get good kits, but a lot of people seem to have the same problems. I've read about it in various forums (community.revell.de/viewtopic.php?t=10172 and britmodeller.com/for..us-a400m-revell-172/) and even in the German trade magazine "ModellFan" (April 2024 issue) the author/modeler mentioned problems. I'm probably just extremely unlucky.

Neuling
Remarkable build of a remarkable automobile!

Radek Falcone
Thank you 🙂

George Williams
A true classic.

Rui S
Another Beauty👍

Cristian A
Following

Nicolas
👀

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

DerMattes
Watching 👍

Nicolas
Following

Roland
Hardcore!

Skyhiker
The air intake on this kit needs to be rebuilt. It's not too difficult. Worse is the flash on the nose cone. Mine was a blob of plastic that needed to be filed down to shape.

Johne 69
Thank you Nicolas, Roland and Skyhiker 👍
@Skyhiker : which air intake do you mean ?

Johne 69
Thank you for your tip Skyhiker 👍 but when i start to correct the mistakes of this kit where does it end ? How did you rebuilt the air intake at your kit ?

Skyhiker
It's been awhile since I finished this kit. I think what I did was separate part of the top half and put a styrene sheet in there. Here is a photo: P-51 D Mustang | Album by Skyhiker (1:72)

berni
Hi Johne, a nice paintjob. 👍

Johne 69
Thank you Skyhiker & Berni

Nicolas
Nice result.

Johne 69
Thank you Nicolas 😃

Roland
Excellent!

J35J
Great work bringing that old kit to life! Congrats👍🏻

Mr D
Come out well, really nice job, like the rivet's nice n clear.
Good choice in kit, interesting pain scheme.
😁Nice👍

Johne 69
Thank you Roland, J35J and Mr D 👍

Johne 69
Started with the decals at the Tamiya Mustang.
Can somebody recommend me a decalsofter for
the Tamiya armorplatedecals?

Mr D
The Velejo decal soft worked ok on my Tamiya Harrier.....The roundals definitely needed good dose.
Good softener.
Nice paint job 👌👍👍

Johne 69
Thanx Mr D perhaps you mean vallejo 🤔
I have tested 3 different softener but I havent got the vallejo in my stash 😭
By the next possibillity i will buy one.

Mr D
Sorry Johne Vallejo 🤔
Yes it's definitely worth a dry, l was really impressed but it, the Rudder on my current HB lAR-80 ...the decal was bit oversized n a bump in the surface! the Vallejo just shrank to shape n looked painted.

Johne 69
Thanks a lot Mr D👍
I hope to get the Vallejo softener soon.

Mr D
Turnd out good....sets it of nice 👌👍

gorby
Very nice work so far.

Eric Martin
Thank you very much

Mr James
Beautiful detailed engine

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
Is this seat taken?
Nice work so far.

CaptGPF
Watching!

Guy Rump
Following. 👍

Neuling
Joining .............

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
It's coming along very nicely! 👍

Rui S
Excellent 👍

Eric Martin
Merci

Denis Dogadov
Great job, I really liked it, sheep like real ones !
I didn't like the exaggerated texture of the wood on the boards.
Processed and painted boards do not look like this.

René "Lord Bilbo" Bartholemy
Outre le reste, les moutons sont effectivement une grande réussite! 😉

Michael Kohl
Looking really good

CaptGPF
This build just keeps getting better and better! I love the nice touch of the sheep. IMHO, the wood looks right to me, I don't think they process and paint wood for fencing for farms, but then again, I'm not a farmer. 😀

Denis Dogadov
I meant the boards on the car, not the boards on the fence. 😊

Eric Martin
Ok thank you for the remark, I will try to improve my painting of wood panels

Mr James
Those sheep are amazing. I often find model animals to look like toys due to the fur. But these sheeps are brilliantly done. 🙂 Rui S also has a brilliant looking horse which comes to mind.

CaptGPF
Agree with Mr James - Rui and Eric have definitely mastered the Zen art of animal figures!

Eric Martin
Thank you very much

Rui S
As for me, I want to thank Mr James and CaptGPF for your kind words. Apreciated.
I've never made any sheep, but I hope that when I do, I'll be able to achieve at least, half the great quality of this Eric's sheep 👍
So far I have done a bird, a chicken and its chick, a German Shepherd and a horse. I'm currently doing another dog.

Eric Martin
It is indeed a difficult exercise to paint animals. I tried several techniques and finally I succeeded in this work with oil paintings by gradually going from the darkest to the lightest and with a succession of washes

Neuling
Top result! 👍👍

Shar Dipree
Great dio. 👍

Acki
Wow! I love it!

Guy Rump
Great result! 👍

Ben M
So the British had combat double decker busses? Amazing.

Eric Martin
Yes, the famous London double-decker buses were transformed and used to transport the troops

Живко Джаков
The base is very well chosen for the 1:1 scale cat model. And if the model makes purring sound effects, it won't get kicked out of there I guess.

Jennifer Franklin
Indeed, it should display the cat model nicely, and will most likely be accepted by the region's cat inhabitants.

Ralf Topeters
As the smallscale and diorama fan that I am, I feel honoured to take a seat and watch this one grow. 👍

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you Ralf

Nicolas
I'm watching too.

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you Nicolas

Ludvík Kružík
Jennifer, you conceived your first model in a spectacular way. Not just the model, but the whole diorama. I wish the construction of the diorama goes as you wish. I'll be watching.

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you Ludvik, that is high praise. From watching all of you, I can see that I still have many techniques to learn. I am looking forward to refining my skills with time.

Pierre Pierre
any progress ?

Jennifer Franklin
Hi Pierre Pierre, I make a little progress most days. Yesterday, I built the trailer; today, I painted it.

Pierre Pierre
looking good ! following

Christian
"I'm back and I'm building 500 lb bombs" sounds like a line from the third reel of an action hero movie. I'm very interested in seeing where this diorama goes.

Jennifer Franklin
Thank Christian. Hopefully, I won't disappoint you.

Jennifer Franklin
Ralf, you must excuse me; this is not entirely historically accurate. They would have been square and smaller if they had used hay bales (which not everyone did then) during World War II. The concrete slabs should be more symmetrical and vary a little less in colour. They used trailers to haul bombs to the Memphis Belle. However, it was a smaller trailer, not the M-989 used for their Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) missile pods and munitions. Once I start doing scratch work, I will endeavor to be more accurate. I was doing the best with what I could get my hands on.

Guy Rump
Following with interest. 👍

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Guy.

Ralf Topeters
Hi Jennifer, believe me I'm definetly no rivet counter and not a historical accuracy freak. 😄 😉 I just enjoy well made scale modelling and especially dioramas. You have constant progress so far and it looks really promising until now. So let's have fun modeling! 👍

Jennifer Franklin
Well said, Ralf; glad to hear that. I know that the Memphis Belle flew out of the British countryside and that they used to use trailers pulled by a jeep to load the plane, so I am trying to build a scene reflecting that as best I can. During the war, England created many temporary airfields everywhere, which I was trying to capture. So, I really wanted my airfield to be obviously next to a farmer's field.

Landlubber Mike
Wow, this is going to be some diorama! Great start!

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Mike; I appreciate your enthusiasm.

Felix
Following with great interest! And what's not to like about a furry helper?🙂

Jennifer Franklin
Welcome Felix!

Marc Stecher
Also following! This is very interesting since I also plan on a B-17 diorama some time. Except I own the 1:48 kit.

Jennifer Franklin
Welcome, Marc! I am curious to follow up on your B-17 sometime in the future.

Mark Sherwood
A nice start on your figures Jennifer, looking forward to the finished product. 🤘🥸🤟

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Mark 🙂

Finn
Looking good, will follow

Ralf Topeters
The guy on pic 55 looks like he's carrying a couch table on his shoulders. 😄 Funny!

Neuling
A good one, Ralf!

Jennifer Franklin
He totally does, Ralf; I agree, Neuling that is a good one. Thank you, Finn.

Bozo
There's some gear. Good job.

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Bozo, working on building up a bench.

Pierre Pierre
very good progress ! What brand are these figurines from?

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Pierre, the figurines are from Reed Oak.

John Hughes
Any progress on this recently?

Jennifer Franklin
No, John. Thanks for checking in. I bought all four new IKEA Billly shelves with doors for my office and have been working on some 3D printing projects. I'm almost done with the office setup, including gluing the shelf backs and reinforcing with wood strips down the back of the middle to screw all the shelves into to stop them from sagging, and then I should be back to my model work.

Ralf Topeters
That's nice to hear. Even if it is in the future it is good to here there will be progress. Keep up the good work! 👍

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you Ralf!

Dave
This sounds very interesting. Jennifer, wish you luck with your progress.

Alec K
This will be awesome! Saving my seat for when this resumes 🙂

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you Dave and Alec!

Ludvík Kružík
I also look forward to the next sequel.

Jennifer Franklin
Thanks Ludvik!

Ben M
🐄🐄🐄

Jennifer Franklin
Love it Ben

Nicolas
I love the cows.

Ben M
Me too. I have a B-17 diorama I want to build as well. Looking forward to learning here.

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Nicolas and Ben; the cows were a request from my sister.

Ben M
Oh wow! This looks great. The different shades of concrete really works great here.

David Taylor
Nice.

Guy Rump
Very nice setting for a great model. 👍

Dave
Very nice end result with your dio.

gorby
Fantastic work for a first attempt Jennifer. Well done.

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Ben, David, Guy, Dave, and Gorby.

Robert Podkoński
Great job, Jennifer! I admire your talent and perseverance (despite feline challenges... 😉 )

Nicolas
Nice result👍

Ralf Topeters
Finally finished and what a great outcome. Especially for a first this dio is really grat. Well done Jennifer! 👍

Erik Leijdens
Great Work all around Jennifer! Also nice to see that cats behave the same way anywhere in the world!

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Robert, Nicolas, Ralf, and Erik. Erik, your cat looks so well-behaved in your photo, but I guess he or she has their moments, too?

Jennifer Franklin
According to this site memphisbelle.com/2016/04/20/faq/ the Memphis Belle had a bomb load of 8000 lbs. So much has changed since then. Another site says "normally, 4,000-6,000 pounds (1,815-2,722 kilograms) of high explosive bombs were carried. The internal bomb bay could be loaded with a maximum of eight 1,600 pound (725.75 kilogram) bombs."

Ludvík Kružík
Jennifer, the dio looks perfect. You managed to bring the whole scene to life with a simple and believable story. There's no doubt you have talent and taste. It's hard to believe this is your first modelling venture. I like it very much.

John Hughes
Are you sure you haven't done this before? I'd say this rates a proper display case to keep the dust (and helpers) off. Well done!

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Ludvik and John. Coming from experienced builders such as the two of you it means a lot.

Alec K
I echo mates' sentiments: very well done. Looking forward to your next venture 👍

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Alec!

Jennifer Franklin
Yes, John, I am looking into a proper display case now.

Calvin Dang
Outstanding Jennifer! And…chef's kiss to the hay bales and cows - lovely touch!

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you Calvin

Mina Ro
You really replicated the Belles camo perfectly and the diorama rocks. I have the Academy 1/72 version of her but I think she needs a better set of decals and a few other mods to be accurate if I build that kit.

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Mina; good luck with your Academy build when you get there.

gorby
Booking a front row seat for his build. 🙂

Dave
Let me find chair. this looks to be very interesting project.

Jennifer Franklin
Welcome gorby and Dave!

Villiers de Vos
Booking my seat as well.

Michael Kohl
I am in this one too.

Nicolas
Taking a seat as well.

Mr D
Nice project 👍👍
Good luck with it, what is the part count on this one ?
Like that they gave some track included 👍

Jennifer Franklin
Welcome, Villiers de Vos, Michael, Nicolas, and Mr D! The part count is slightly over 80. Compared to the Memphis Belle, a level 5 model, this is a level 3. I plan to focus on technique with this one, which will be the real challenge after the B-17.

Martin Oostrom
Be careful with all the thin parts around the wheels. They are fragile and need to be installed in the right sequence. It is easy to take a wrong turn there.

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you for the warning, Martin; I will be careful.

Ben M
👀

Ben M
4005 is in a museum near my house. I've also seen 4014 running.

Jennifer Franklin
Yeah, I saw a Big Boy in a museum while working in Tooele, Utah. Remarkable engine, never forgot it.

Desert Marlin
Should be fun!

Robert Podkoński
Taking a seat for sure!

Villiers de Vos
Off to a good start with the detail painting in the cab.

Michael Kohl
Oh Ben, linking this picture is mean. Where shall get Jennifer all those handwheels from?! 😜

Jennifer Franklin
Ben, that is both remarkable and daunting. Michael, you are right; I will never create all those handwheels.

Jennifer Franklin
Welcome, Desert Marlin, Robert, and Villiers de Vos!

Ben M
I like how the crew had no labels to guide them; they just had to know what each hand wheel did.

Guy Rump
Interesting build, following. 👍

Dave
Ok this is getting interesting.

Jennifer Franklin
Welcome Guy

Jennifer Franklin
Dave, I probably shouldn't have put the arc support under the covered bridge, but there is one like it in Quebec, and the Waterloo bridge in England is somewhat similar. Let's call it artistic liberty.

Dave
I agree with that. (Artistic Liberty)

Jennifer Franklin
The Niagara Canyon Bridge also looks something like this.

Martin Oostrom
Full steam ahead! Now I want a 3d printer even more 😢

Jennifer Franklin
I ordered some Tamiya tape to clean up my paint lines.

Jennifer Franklin
It's a truss arch bridge, which is rare but has been built in the past.

Spanjaard
if you change your mind Jennifer, you may fi d the right ones in some of the set in SCM Search: Handwheels 😉

Spanjaard
not sure how many sets you are going to need 😉

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Spanjaard; options are always good.

Jennifer Franklin
I am desperately trying to clean up the paint on the model. If anyone has any techniques to share please let me know. Silver on black is very unforgiving. I found one technique with tape and painting the base cost before painting the desired colour promising.

Spanjaard
it depends on type of paint etc. if acrylic, Isopropyl alcohol can work just fine. let it soak on it for a while and use an old toothbrush. if small parts just drop alcohol on them and use the toothbrush directly

Spanjaard
use a discarded food container for example. for soaking and also for brushing (you do not want drops of alcohol mixed with paint flying around).
I buy the alcohol by the liter, 100% pure. can be used as thinner and cleaner. as thinner with Tamiya tends to make paints a bit more dull than tamiya thinner, but waaaaasy cheaper

Jennifer Franklin
It's acrylic. Thank you, Spanjaard.

Ben M
I usually strip paint with brake fluid, alcohol, windex, purple stuff degreaser just whatever I have around. Those are all good solvents for acrylic paint. I think simple green works too.

Jennifer Franklin
Good to know, Ben M thank you!

Nicolas
I have had good experiences with oven cleaner. Put the component in a plastic bag and leave it to soak overnight, then you can remove the paint the next morning with a stiff brush or toothbrush. No matter what you use, always check the compatibility with the base material beforehand. With aggressive agents, it can otherwise quickly happen that details are damaged or even the entire component dissolves.

Jennifer Franklin
That is very sage advice, Nicolas; I will check compatibility on a piece of the sprue before doing anything.

Spanjaard
that is why I like IPA, never seen plastic getting damaged, even after a day or two soaking on it

Jennifer Franklin
Merry Christmas to all mates!

Jennifer Franklin
Happy New Year!

Dave
Must feel nice with it moving along. Looks good 👍

Mr D
Looking nice .. definitely taking shape now.
I watched a good YouTube video with Jay Leno on the big boy and how the restoration was done.... interesting and amazing machine.
Happy new year 🎊😃👍

Jennifer Franklin
Thanks Mr D and Dave. Indeed, it feels good to see it moving along. Very close now, just the decals remain.

Clifford Keesler
Looking very nice Jennifer. I missed this one some how.

Jennifer Franklin
Hi Clifford, I went and checked your page, and I've missed a bunch of yours somehow. Glad you reminded me to go and check. Nice work.

Clifford Keesler
Thank you Jennifer. The Big Boy turned out really nice, looking forward to the Dio.

Clifford Keesler
Thank you Jennifer. The Big Boy turned out really nice, looking forward to seeing the Dio.

Nathan Dempsey
Interesting build Jennifer! I can say I had no idea this kit existed. Nice that they made it in a common "train set" scale.

Jennifer Franklin
Thanks Clifford and Nathan, yes, Nathan it is nice to have it in the common "train set" scale. So much potential with the diorama as a result.

Robert Podkoński
Good job, Jennifer! I cannot wait to know what will happen next 🙂

gorby
Impressive result Jennifer. Looking forward to see what you can do with the dio.

George Williams
It looks great, Jennifer, you've really captured the look of the real thing.

Mr D
Hi Jennifer 👋
Fantastic 👏 brilliant job and nice model, looking forward to seeing your dio-
😃👍

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you, Robert, gorby, George, and Mr D. Your comments are motivating as I move on to the Avro Anson build.

Juergen Klinglhuber
Very cool ! 👍

Rui S
Very nice work 👍 Looking forward to see the bridge done 😎

Jennifer Franklin
Thank you Juergen and Rui!

Robert Podkoński
Taking a seat here 🙂

Nicolas
👀

Guy Rump
Following! 👍

Cuajete
Me 3!
Good start 👍

Moreno Baruffini
Here I am too! 👍🏼

Neil Patrick
The best looking Italian plane of WW2 IMHO Andrea, so I cannot wait to see your interpretation which will no doubt be inspiring. By the way, I cannot tell you how happy I was to see that your bench is almost as messy as mine!

Andrea Brenco
Thanks Neil, yes I agree with you, I think that this Fiat is the best looking Serie 5 fighter, and I hope to have the time to do the splinter RSI Capt. Drago scheme...
P.s. my bench usually is not this tidy... 😉

Robert Podkoński
I will keep my fingers crossed, Thomas!

Alec K
Keen to follow round 2 👍

Denis Dogadov
You need to pay attention that the IL-28 produced in China had differences.
It's not right to just make it with red stars.

J35J
You can do it!😊👍🏻

Thomas Kolb
Thank you gentlemen! 🙂 Denis, yes, I know, the kit contains all the parts for the Soviet built Il-28, they need to replace the kit original parts for the H-5. But the truth is that this kit has so many incorrect features, that it really doesn't matter that much. I simply intend to have fun!

Cuajete
Good start, Thomas! 👍

Michael Kohl
Following too. Like the look of the Il-28.

Nicolas
Joining.

Bozo
Wow What a job already!! I take a seat.

Thomas Kolb
Dear fellow modelers, you are all welcome to enjoy watching me struggle.

Живко Джаков
Following.

Ben M
👀

Mike Volkov
I got tired of all the filling and sanding and put my own piece aside. But I'll be following your build and keeping my fingers crossed 😊

Łukasz Gliński
I have a feeling of deja vu that I followed it last year. Is it just me?
Following anyway 🙂

Ben M
The tamiya 1:100 il-28 is also a tragedy.

Thomas Kolb
Łukasz, you are absolutely right. The first project ended up with the half-finished model flying gracefully into the bin after one mistake too many. I am now giving it a second attempt, knowing the pitfalls in advance and also possibly being slightly more experienced. I am already past the line where I gave up the last time. To be quite honest, this kit is not that bad, it just needs a bit of persuasion and elbow grease.

Łukasz Gliński
Hope it's going better this time, looking for reference before I start mine.

Cuajete
Great progress, Thomas! Those engine mods look cool 👍
In pic 42, is it necessary to glue the bending part of the landing gear piece or is bending it enough? Thanks!

Thomas Kolb
Cuajete, thank you! No, you need to cement the part. Unfortunately the fit is rather poor, so you will need to be careful with the correct alignment or the model will not sit straight on its wheels.

Denis Dogadov
Interestingly, the IL-28 was flown by Aeroflot.
477768.livejournal.c..utm_source=3userpost

[img1]
[img2]
[img3]

Живко Джаков
That's interesting. What role did a civilian play?

Denis Dogadov
In the article linked above, it says that he carried urgent mail and the matrices of the central newspapers.

Erik Leijdens
A model I always wanted to make! The pregnant Avenger in service of the Dutch fleet air arm, from the time we had a aircraft carrier.

The MLD received 34 Avengers TBM-3S2 and 24 pieces TBM-3W2 from 1954 and later from 1958 from the British Fleet Air Arm 20 second-hand coffins TMB-3E/TMB-3E2.

The S- and W-types were the first to be delivered and formed the core of the anti-submarine warfare force and a large number were stationed aboard the Hr.Ms. Karel Doorman.

Will use a conversion from MDC models for the Accurate Miniatures TMB3, will be a time consuming project I think..

Started cutting up the fuselage, fit of the resin parts is not really great.

Thomas Bischoff
I'm in 👍

Ben M
Taking a seat.

Bruce Huxtable
Watching with interest 👍🙂

Erik Leijdens
Welcome 🙂

Villiers de Vos
My hat off to you. An interesting conversion.

David Culp
A very interesting conversion. I'll be watching this project.

Erik Leijdens
Thanks and welcome mates. I just hope this conversion is not a step too far for me, we'll see I guess. Have already coated the cockpit with bronze green FS34151. It makes it easy that this type of Avenger only has a "half" interior! Also, the windows differ on this type, the circled windows need to be puttied shut. A more complicated task will be to enlarge the door, the MDC conversion supplies a new door with window but it has the same size as the kit door which is to small for the Dutch TBM3W.

Jan Peters
"fit isn't great" , that's quite an understatement 😄
Following for sure 👀

Jasper Breur
Interesting project Erik!

Erik Leijdens
Welcome Jan and Jasper 😃
Finished the pit, the AM Avenger has impressive internal details, only need the front part for this version though.

Nathan Dempsey
Wow, that's an interesting subject & I love a conversion project. Your interior is already nice!

Michael Kohl
Wow, that's a decent looking cockpit I'd say.

Jan Peters
Very nice cockpit from the box👍🏻
What's next? Loads of filling and sanding?

Erik Leijdens
Well, yes Jan. After the fuselage is closed the real work begins.. Wish me luck! Hopefully it doesn't end in the bin

Jan Peters
Good luck 🤞

Erik Leijdens
Almost forgot: before I close the fuselage the door on the starboard side has to be enlarged.

Erik Leijdens
Change of plans. Will build this one with the door closed so there was no need to make the hole bigger. Unfortunately I had already done that. Closed the hole again and then puttied and re-scribed the bigger door. Also puttied the windows on the starboard side. Fuselage is now closed so the real work can begin.

Erik Leijdens
The resin part for the turtle back fairing does needs quite a bit filler..!

Jan Peters
You've got your work cut out Erik, good luck on re-shaping and sanding 🤞

Villiers de Vos
Coming along nicely.

Erik Leijdens
Dry fit of the radar is quite good luckily

Erik Leijdens
First steps in the sanding process!

Jan Peters
Looks like the cat judges your work, what's the verdict? 😀

Nathan Dempsey
Looking good Erik.

Villiers de Vos
The blending of the conversion is taking shape nicely.

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates. Finished the sanding and started rescribing the fuselage.

Jos Jansen
Off course I am in Erik, not behind my bench but from the Eastern front 😉!

Erik Leijdens
Welcome mate! Somebody has to scare off the Russians 🫡😄

Jan Peters
That's looking tidy Erik 👍🏻

Erik Leijdens
Thanks Jan! Mated the radar under the fuselage, not a tight fit but quite easy to blend witn the fuselage I think. The new part for the underside of the fuselage is a different story, will need a lot of elbow grease and filler. Have some new stuff to work with; Apoxie clay. Will see ow that works out.

Ben M
It's such a fat little bird. I'm enjoying watching you get all the parts fitted together - it looks like quite the challenge

Erik Leijdens
Welcome ben 🙂. Started blending the new part for the fuselage, quite a work!

Villiers de Vos
The blending in and re-scribing is coming along very nice.

Andy Ball
My word,…some plastic surgery going on there…results speak for themselves!!

Jan Peters
Masterclass in blending ill fitting parts Erik 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates, I work with Tamiya grey putty and Apoxie clay. Stil nog satisfied though, de radar also needs more attention. So for peace of mind purposes I dry fitted the wings etc to get an idea of the complete aircraft, quite a biggie'!

Jan Peters
A monster job Erik!
I almost forgot how big these aircraft are, even in 72nd scale they are large, let alone in 48th.

John
Awesome blending work! Now go find some snooping Echo class subs.

James C
👀 👍

Erik Leijdens
Apparently TBM Avengers have propellers with wider blades, so adjusted the kit TBF prop with blades from a Eduard Hellcat kit.

Jakub Fiala
Adjusted propeller looks fantastic! 👍

Villiers de Vos
Great attention to detail.

Erik Leijdens
Made some rivets on the wings, didn't have a good drawing so shamelessly copied from Sid de Koning's wonderful Avenger model 🙂

Björn Svedberg
That is some impressive work already. Love the modifications! 👍 I'll grab a chair and watch 🙂

Erik Leijdens
Thanks Bjorn!!! It is the biggest conversion of a model I have ever attempted. So far it is not disappointing I must say. Must be careful tough to not to set the bar too high and get demotivated when something doesn't work out as hoped.

Meanwhile, I started some re-scribing work around the radar hump. Unfortunately, the Apoxy and Tamiya putty crumbled a bit here and there. All in all, I'm not done with the "Warner" soon 🙂

Hanno Kleinecke
What an undertaking ! Watching with great interest how this Avenger changes its appearance

Jan Peters
Keep hanging in there Erik 👍🏻

Villiers de Vos
Very nice progress.

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates, much appreciated

Erik Leijdens
The engine is ready! Now I can add the engine to the fuselage and close the parts of the cowling.

Nathan Dempsey
Good progress Erik. Can't wait to see the paint work begin.

Erik Leijdens
Me too Nathan! The nice thing of the AM Avenger is that the fit of the wings is very good. You just click them against the fuselage. So will paint them separately.

Erik Leijdens
This one is still alive too, although it's giving me a headache sometimes. After each coat of primer to check for anomalies around the resin bits new ones still pop up. Also I added rivets on the fuselage which was time consuming. Luckily the time for primer is imminent 🙂

Ben M
👍

Jan Peters
Looking forward to more Erik

Villiers de Vos
Exceptional high quality of workmanship.

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates, will have to scratch a couple of inlets(?) that will go on the portside of the new "canopy". Almost forgot them!
[img1]

Bernhard Schrock
Eric, I'm impressed by you project. Such a conversion is not off the shelf, but very special. I'm curios to see the next steps especially painting and decaling. Btw your project inspired me to reactivate my dusty Avenger project. Originally I intended to build a TBM-3S in US Navy markings. But I decided now to build a Royal Dutch Navy machine in grey and sky. Do you maybe have any ideas where I might get fitting decals?

Erik Leijdens
Thanks for the nice words Bernhard! It is indeed quite a tricky conversion but slowly but surely there is progression in it. Your project is already very impressive, that engine really is a gem, wow! And the detail you added to the tailplane is really complementary. A very good choice to make your model also of the Dutch navy! Dutch Decal has released 2 sets that have the -3S on them, the one I also use for my -3W but it's about 15 years old, there's also a newer one that also has some on it for the -3S. I have both sets, will see if I can spare some.

Alec K
I have been peeking at this project already, time to officially take a seat. Magnificent progress Erik 👍

Erik Leijdens
Thanks Alec! Hope to show some new progress soon. Still thinking of a way to recreate the small inlets.

Bernhard Schrock
Inlets: plastic tube carefully bended over a candle light?

Erik Leijdens
It took a while but finally I've started painting the Warner Avenger.. Sprayed the wings and fuselage with Sky and the top of wings with Extra Dark Sea grey. Unfortunately, I forgot adding some details to the fuselage due to the fact that when a project is left aside for a while I forget things which were on the "to do" list.. Happy with the result of the rivets under a layer of paint though.

John
Yep, those rivets are looking good as well as the paintjob. 👍

Nathan Dempsey
Oh excellent, the painting has started!

Jos Jansen
Grabbing a chair...again 😉🫡!

Erik Leijdens
Welcome mates!! I hope the chair will be there for a while now Jos!
Dry fitted the wings tonight, perfect fit. Threaded them with a gloss coat for de decals.

Alec K
Looks great Erik 👍

Erik Leijdens
Added a gloss coat and decals, the Dutch Profile decals are quite old (2008) and not very responsive to Mircrosol but they look gooood. And the only ones on the market for a Dutch Warner Aveneger I believe.

John
Well there is always the "nuclear option" of Solvaset...

Erik Leijdens
Hi John oh yes and I also have the Strong version from Daco but sometimes they are just too aggresive..

John
Definitely have to be careful with that stuff. I had Solvaset chew through an X-22 clear coat like it was the blood from Aliens.

Remco van Haren
Nice work! Following.

Jan Peters
Lekker!
This is looking better every time 👍🏻

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Ben M
I always let tamiya gloss dry for a week or so before I do stuff like micro-sol. So far that has worked for me.

Bernhard Schrock
I'm very glad to see the progress and looking for the completed model. 🙂Decals & markings looks very good.

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates!
@Ben, patience is key indeed!

Erik Leijdens
Off course after all the paint work I discovered the Warner Avengers have two handgrips on each side of the fuselage. The kit only has 1 molded, so some work is required!

Villiers de Vos
Very nice attention to detail.

Alec K
It's looking great Erik 👍

Erik Leijdens
So, after some time of not doing anything to the hobby I can finally show an update on the Warner. This one is really nearing the finish line now thankfully. The last few days I applied a light gray wash + a satin coat over it. The MLD Avengers were high gloss but in 1/48 satin seems better to me. Also removed the masks from the canopy and the undercarriage is placed, also added some zebra stripes to the tailhook. I have not yet decided whether to glue the wings on or keep them removable, they do snap on nicely so I am leaning towards the latter. Also the turtle back handles and steps still need to be put on and of course an antenna wire. And also the window in the roundel still needs "glass".

Nathan Dempsey
Good to see you back on this project Erik 🙂

Erik Leijdens
Thanks Nathan, hope to get some fresh mood in modelling now.

Hans
I say! Your cat does a nice job sanding and re-scribing. I love anything MLD. Wonderful job.

Erik Leijdens
That's always a good thing Hans, interest in the MLD

Rui S
Looking Great 👍

Bruce Huxtable
Superb end results for sure! Perhaps the break was needed, after all the early hard work? So glad to see you are approaching the final steps, on this stunner 🙂

Erik Leijdens
Thanks Bruce and Rui!

Erik Leijdens
After 4 months of no modelling at all decided it's about time to finish this Guppy, only a couple of small to be done. Added some handles and steps from brass wire today.

bughunter
Oh, Erik is back 👍

Jan Peters
Welcome back Erik

Ben M
Welcome back!

Nathan Dempsey
Woooo! Welcome back!

Jakub Fiala
👍

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates!! Happy to be back

Villiers de Vos
Perfection. Welcome back.

Alec K
Glad to see you back, and to see this thing come together 👍

Erik Leijdens
Well mates this one is finished, just need find the right time to make some nice daylight photo's. But the weather is all wet and grey the last weeks in the Netherlands unfortunately, and when it's clear I'm at work 🤔

Rui S
I Like it vey much👍

Zbynek Honzik
Really looking forward to seeing pictures of the finished model, Erik!
The building process looks great and inspiring.

Jennifer Franklin
Looking at everyone else's work amazes me; I have much to learn. Very nice.

Damian Güttner
Erik, a very good job !! Very nice, interesting model with even more interesting paintwork. This model will be very well received at exhibitions !!

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates! Still waiting for some decent light conditions.

Mr D
Excellent model art 👍👍

Ben M
Looking forward to it! The details are amazing.

Desert Marlin
That's cool 😎!!!

Erik Leijdens
Finally the end picture are there! Hope you all like it! In very happy with it, was quite the conversion for me.

Mr D
It's Great 👍👍 like it.
Really nice colour on the Belly.
Brilliant job 👏

Michael Kohl
Very nice model of one of the ugliest planes ever. 😉

Zbynek Honzik
👏👏👏

Nathan Dempsey
A great finish Erik! Love those colors on the Avenger.

Villiers de Vos
An epic effort beautifully done.

Jan Peters
An incredible build, but beautiful outcome, it was great to see you master the challenges of this conversion.

Alec K
Beautifully done mate 👍

Ben M
A great finish! I really enjoyed watching the progress on this one. Well done, mate.

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates!! 😅

Skyhiker
Oh my that Avenger is pregnant with an AN/APS-20.

Jakub Fiala
Excellent result, Eric! Very well done 👍

Thomas Bischoff
great subject and a nice off-the-beaten track finish 👍

Guy Rump
Excellent result, congrats! 👍

Erik Leijdens
Thanks mates! Glad you all like it!!

Jasper Breur
Fantastic result to all that hard work Erik, well done!

Robert Podkoński
WOW!

Guy Rump
Very impressive! 👍

Stephan H.
Thanks mates!

Chan Li
This is neat！

Spanjaard
excellent

Paulo Castro
Thanks mate

Neuling
Same as Spanjaard.

gorby
WOW, beautiful!

Stuart Fowle
Fantastic 👍

scalemates
1st thought: hmmm
2nd thought: hmmmmmmm

Richmond
Seem to remember in the past (long ago) this would happen if a topic was merged (or perhaps emptied)

SCM Topic: Communication boat-Project 1388NZK - this is the only 1 with the same shipyard - albeit the missing ship's shipyard is spelt Sokols as opposed to Sokolsk.

scalemates
I reset the search for Topics and it is solved now

Richmond
Ok Thanks