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Ben M
Never seen stars like those before. Looks cool.

Curtis Caden
An interesting build. We have a club contest in November for dive bombers. I selected this one because it seemed like a good kit to build. I was a bit concerned about painting the canopy, but a fellow club member told me that FrogTape® Delicate Surface Painter's Tape worked great. It allows you to see where to cut as it is somewhat translucent. The aircraft is two-tone although my paint choices may not have brought that out as well as it could be done. As to the stars, all I can say is that it is a Navy aircraft!

Ben M
The canopy masking is super precise.

John Ballman
Can I get back to you on this, I am re-arranging and painting my home interior and do not have access to my stash right now.
Respectfully,
JB

Nasa
yes ofc i wont be needing them for a good month or more so please do take your time and i hope the redecorating goes well

John Ballman
Thanks for showing interest.
This Decal sheet is complete and in excellent condition.

I use Pirate Ship for USA and International. I will accept MO or Cashiers Checks, Paypal for US ONLY, ALL INTERNATIONAL PAYPAL. My shipping services needs your email so you get shipping alerts and tracking for delivery assured.

My email/Paypal is john_ballman@att.net
Please correspond via my email your address information.
Respectfully,
JB

Nasa
are you not able to do bank transfer sorry for the late reply i am still intrested but will be the 23rd if you cant do bank transfer i will find a way of getting paypal

John Ballman
No worries, Check or MO if US. Email your info to me so I can get your shipping quote.
JB

Nasa
im in the uk blackpool fy12be

Nasa
and you do have the 1/48 scale sr71 nasa decals but the nasa logo is in white?

John Ballman
Can you send me a scan of that decal sheet and circle the markings you need and email that to me.
JB

Cristian A
The Alligator is finished, I appreciate the professional photos from my IPMS club colleagues. More photos will be added to this album later.

★ Starfish ★
Fantastic!

Cristian A
Thanks Mike_AUT, looking forward to your Alligator ;p

DerMattes
Great build! 👍

Cristian A
Danke schön DerMattes

Dave Flitton
Looks good.

Cristian A
Thanks @Dave! 👍

Cristian A
Bronze at BMT 2024 in Basel with my Ka-52 Alligator 🐊 in 1:72 scale ! Proud Moment to remember from the Scale Model Competition 🏅

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.

Sergio Ordonez
David, do you know any resource I could find about the upper platform? I get some photos but are not very clear

Sergio Ordonez
I have the Firing Line 101, but I admit It have some flaws I am still trying to solve. Nevertheless, is the only one in the market.

DerMattes
Following 👍

Cristian A
Welcome my friend 👍

Sergej I
following 👍

Cuajete
Me 3!

Łukasz Gliński
Me 4, will follow before this kit makes it into my stash 🙂

Cristian A
Welcome Sergej. Cuajete and Lukasz!

The kit is very nice and I love the decals, they show exactly the 43 blue in my photo posted here. So far I've found a small fitting issue to the front, but if you start slowly and work your way towards the wings it gets into place.

Oliver
Oh, I take a Seat

Guy Rump
Following as well! 👍

Ludvík Kružík
I still miss this small helicopter in my collection of flying machines used in Czechoslovakia. The time has come for me to rectify that. 😉

Villiers de Vos
I will follow along.

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome Villiers! 🙂

Greg Baker
Oh. I built a 1/72 version of the Mi-1M... This should be interesting.

Ludvík Kružík
Hello, Greg. I know there's a Mi-1M kit in 1/72nd scale. Unfortunately, only this and a rather old kit from Special Hobby exists in 1/48 scale. In addition, this kit is an older version of the Mi-1A, which is different from the upgraded version of the Mi-1M. It has a different nose shape, different cockpit glazing and other minor changes. And since I decided to build the upgraded version of the Mi-1M, I will not avoid modifications to the kit.
To give you a better idea of the extent of the modifications to the kit, I've included a picture with the differences between the Mi-1A and Mi-1M versions color coded.

Greg Baker
Oh, neat! I didn't realize there were so many changes between the versions. This is going to look great!

Ludvík Kružík
Greg, thank you for your support.
____________________
I started building the model by making new transparent parts.

Alec K
Taking a seat, this brings back memories of ABC magazine 😜👍

gorby
Nice work moulding the new transparent parts.

Greg Baker
Yeah. Nice work on the heat-n-smash moulding for the clear parts. That can be tricky to do.

Ludvík Kružík
@Alec K
I used to buy ABC magazine regularly as a kid and eagerly awaited each new issue 🙂. I assume your mention of ABC magazine refers to the occasional modeling tutorial section.

@gorby, @Greg Baker
It's not too difficult to make new transparent parts by stretching warmed transparent foil over a pre-made template. Preparing the template is the most work. Stretching the warmed foil onto the template is just a routine that anyone can do after a few attempts.

Alec K
Correct 🙂👍👍

Robert Podkoński
How have I missed this? Taking a seat for sure! 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
Hello, Robert! Good to see you here. You haven't missed much so far. Up to this point I've been more concerned with preparation than building the model.

Ludvík Kružík
I want to try to use the sandwich construction in the production of new glass parts for the coptics. So I made (using the same process as the transparent parts) parts out of white plastic sheeting. These parts will have holes cut out for the windows. The transparent part will then be inserted between these two parts. The white outer and inner parts will form the embossed framing of the transparent part.

Jennifer Franklin
That looks great (as per usual 😛)

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome, Jennifer, we're glad to have you on board and thank you for your goodwill. 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
I came back from vacation and it started to rain. Ideal conditions for modelling. 🙂

So I'm back and continuing to work on the model. I need to glue the finished nose to the glued fuselage so the cockpit overlay fits exactly. That determines the workflow. First I have to finish the nose and the inside of the fuselage and glue all the parts that need to be glued to the fuselage halves from the inside. After gluing the fuselage halves together, I would no longer be able to get to these parts (or only with great difficulty).

Photos of the work progress will be coming soon.

Alexander Grivonev
Oh some modeling for big boys, not glueing perfectly fitting parts together and throwing on some paint! Following 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome, Alexander! 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
I glued several parts to both halves of the fuselage. These parts are glued from the inside, so they have to be glued before the fuselage is closed.
I also started working on making new parts for the cockpit.

Landlubber Mike
Wow, this is incredible work Ludvik! Thank you for sharing your steps - I've learned a lot from your pictures and descriptions!

Villiers de Vos
Fantastic scratch build skills.

Ludvík Kružík
@Landlubber Mike
Mike, thank you for your interest. Welcome aboard!
I've had the idea for this rebuild in my head for a few years now. Mainly because I've been waiting to see if anyone would start making 1:48 scale Mi-1M kits. Unfortunately, to this day, no manufacturer has this kit in their lineup. So I decided not to wait any longer and start building a model from what I have available.
My rebuild is just beginning. Most of the work on the model is yet to be done. I'd also like to try some new techniques that came to mind while planning to build this model.

@Villiers
Thank you for the compliment. I appreciate it very much.

Ludvík Kružík
I didn't have much time today, so I didn't make much progress on the build. But every little bit of progress counts. 😉

J35J
Great progress and detailing! Following

Bruce Huxtable
Wow! You don't shy away from challenges! Watchinh with admiration, and hoping to learn lots too. Hoping you are not amongst the floods? Stay safe!

Ludvík Kružík
J35J welcome! I hope you like it here.

Bruce, I like a challenge like that. I like to experiment and enjoy thinking of and then implementing ways to improve my model.

I appreciate your concern for my safety. I live in a town in the highlands that wasn't badly affected by the floods. Only the river that runs through our town has increased flow, but it hasn't spilled out of its bed. Moreover, our house is 80 metres above the river, so even if the river had spilled out of its bed, it would certainly not have reached our house.

Bruce Huxtable
It sounds an idyllic location.....Opravdu, česka příroda je krasná....

Ludvík Kružík
Bruce, thank you for the compliment. I'm sure the nature is beautiful in England too. 😉

Ludvík Kružík
I'm slowly continuing to make small parts.

Alec K
Nice progress, this will be a beauty 👍

bughunter
Another big bunch of parts, not to mention some kit parts, come together to form one big model! Not to be missed!
I'm late, but I have an excuse. First I was on holiday, and then this stupid C-virus knocked me out.

Ludvík Kružík
Alec, thank you for your support and your kind words.

Welcome, Frank. I hope you're okay, and I'm really glad you're one of my guests.
It's definitely not too late. I still have most of my work ahead of me. In fact, you could say I'm just getting started.

TH SCALE MODELS (Thomas Haberl)
Uhhhhhh … this is going to be another good one from you! I'm in 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Thomas, welcome. It's good to see you among my guests. 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
I'm struggling with time rather than the model at the moment. At least I managed to draw a new dashboard. After printing it in scale (1/48) on photo paper I will use it instead of the kit part.

John
Another Ludvik conversion build with all the accuracy and attention to detail.we've come to expect. It's looking good, can't wait to see the final result! 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome, John. Please have a little patience. This project is quite demanding and I will need a lot of time to complete it.

John
Ok, I aimed that to "I can wait to see the final result" (but I'm still eager) 😉

Alec K
Wow, the dashboard looks amazing. I can only imagine how much time that took. Really interested how it looks completed 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Alec, I drew the dashboard in the evenings for 5 days (about 3 to 4 hours each day). Add to that additional time (about 5 hours) for test printing and subsequent corrections.

I am attaching a photo of a test black and white print of the dashboard after all the modifications are complete. I will print the dashboard for the model in color later.

Ludvík Kružík
According to the photos I modified the fuselage where the main landing gear is attached to it.

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Jakub Biganovsky
Good morning.
Realy nice and fine work.

Robert Podkoński
These modifications are just perfect, Ludviku...

Ludvík Kružík
Guy, Jakub and Robert thank you for your comments, it's a nice encouragement for further work.

After today, the hull is glued together. Now I'm adjusting the shape of the transparent cockpit cover.

Ben M
I continue to enjoy seeing this one take shape. Quite the effort to convert it!

Ludvík Kružík
Hello, Ben. I'm glad you're interested in my project.

Greg Baker
This is looking good!

Ludvík Kružík
Thank you Greg!

Villiers de Vos
Starting to take shape.

Ludvík Kružík
Villiers, the completion of the fuselage is only temporary at this time. It's only to modify the shape of the transparent cockpit cover.
Once the cockpit cover is the correct shape, I will take the fuselage nose down again to continue work on the cockpit interior.

Ludvík Kružík
Work on the model continues with the production of the cockpit.

Greg Baker
This is becoming a scratchbuilding masterclass!

Ludvík Kružík
Greg, thank you for the compliment.

A small shift in the work on the internal equipment of the helicopter's nose.

Jennifer Franklin
Ludvik, I greatly admire your skill.

Rando
Ludvik, a modeling god. The detail and scratchbuilding is just otherworldly and I always learn so much from your build logs

Ludvík Kružík
Jennifer, thank you for your kind words.

Randa, thank you so much for your contribution. Although I don't consider myself a modeling god, your comment made me very happy. Thank you.

Ludvík Kružík
This afternoon I continued making details for the nose of the helicopter.

Ludvík Kružík
Little progress today. The cockpit got a floor, internal construction and a coat of grey paint. Now I can start to get the cockpit "settled in".

Alec K
Great job on that instrument panel, turned out great 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Thanks Alec! The dashboard isn't complete yet. I still need to add a few more details. But I'll add those after gluing the dashboard to the nose of the helicopter, because I would (very likely) break them off while gluing the dashboard to the nose.

Ludvík Kružík
Again, little progress. I'm prepping the seats for the helicopter crew.

Jennifer Franklin
The red on the seat and cushion pops, starting to look natural.

Alec K
This build made me cautiously open the MPM 1/72 version of this chopper. I closed it back up very quickly… 🤣

Ludvík Kružík
Alec, I don't blame you for making that decision. The MPM kit isn't very good. To build a nice model out of this kit requires a really large amount of work on virtually all parts of the kit. Plus the plastic the kit is made of is quite hard and cracks easily.

Alec K
Agreed. The original MPM kits are now almost in the same category as the original KP: collectors' items. To be sighed over, but not disturbed 😁