Hi All,
Another change of tack. I thought of having a go at a more modern offering and have always wanted to do a Drone.
So I bought the Kinetic MQ-9 Reaper kit, which I think is actually from the Skunkworks moulding, and was also re boxed by Revell.
This Kinetics go at it and is nicely moulded in Grey and Clear plastic. It also has a really nice decal sheet with lots of options for Reaper UAV's operated by numerous countries. 
The wingspan is quite impressive, being about two and a half times that of a single engined WWII aircraft. At the moment I have done some basic assembly of the wings and navigation lights. I have also added the undercarriage bays and some plasticene/lead pellets to the fuselage bottom.
The way the model is moulded you would be able to see up and through the engine intake/exhaust, so to prevent this I have blanked off the rear of the undercarriage bay with plastic card and painted it very dark grey, no other detail just the blanking plates on the fuselage and engine assemblies.
The engine intake has some mould sink marks on the inside, both upper and lower. To fill these I used thick superglue and talc mixed together, allowed to harden naturally then it just sands/carves down as plastic to leave a nice smooth blemish free finish.
Prop goes together nicely, just a minimum of filling to do here. The engine pod needs a little work the upper seam needs to be tidied up with some filler and some panel line added where it fades out across the uppers.
Have done a quick dry fit and all looks like it will go together happily with little need for filling.
Some pictures follow:-
Thanks for looking.
Kevin

 

Well, continuing the Training theme, I have decided to make another Provost.
This time, it is a T.4 to go with my Provost T.1, and my Jet Provost T.3, again in 1/48th.
I will be making this one as a an RAF machine based at RAF Brawdy, in a two tone Grey scheme with some Yellow splashes of colour.
The kit is moulded in a caramel coloured plastic with Clear parts for the canopies/lights. In addition there are some nice Resin parts for the cockpit. Note, that I have already 'raided' the decal sheet for the roundels/insignia for the T.1, but it doesn't matter as this one will be using pale blue/pink roundels on this machine.
Some pictures of the kit follow, building will start as soon as I've added the final bits to the Provost T.1 elsewhere on here.
Thanks for looking:-
Kevin

Hi All,
Started this at last playday.
It will be my next project in Trainer Aircraft.
A short run type kit, with some etch brass and masks provided in it.
I intend to make this a T.1 variant used as a trainer by the RAF, not the armed version in this offering.
Some pictures of the kit contents, and the dry run I have done so far. Quite a lot of cleaning up of the parts were required, and will be needed as the build progresses.
Cheers,
Kevin

Hi All,
Well, a while since I posted a build on here but I would like to share with you my Gloster Gladiator in 1/48th by Pyro, though I think it was orginally a Lindberg moulding, plus a offering under Impact.

This has lain in the stash a while, and I did tinker with it a while back but then got side lined. On reopening the box, I found that I had invested in an Airwaves etch brass set, which I intend to use. I also had begun to drill out the duzz fastners on the starboard fuselage halve, but now I think that was not a good idea.

So, the kit is about 60 years old, but for its age is quite nicely moulded with some very fine panel and rib lines. A basic cockpit is provided, but I shall use the etch to improve this. My start point was to put some stretched sprue into each of those holes secured with some liquid poly, it now resembles a hedgehog and will get a haircut next time at the bench. The wings have some moulding/sink marks on them which need dealing with. I scored each sink mark in a cross hatch before using some Mr. Hobby white putty, to fill them. Once dry I'll sand them flush.
The engine is very nicely moulded, but I noticed the hole for the prop was off centre. To correct this I fiiled the hole with Milliput, so when dry can be drilled out centrally.

Some pictures follow of the kit parts and done so far:-

Kevin   

Dear All,

Again I must be the bearer of sad news.

Sadly, Cyril Hansell, former Chairman and life member of the club, passed away at home during the early hours of today 22nd July 2023.

Cyril had not been well for some time, after suffering poor health followed recently by a stroke. He passed away at home peacefully with his wife Pat and daughter Stephanie at his side.

He was a great advocate for the club, and was a superb Military modeller turning out great examples of Tanks and other fighting vehicles. Always willing to give advice, and help others, he had a great deal of friends in the modelling community and had an infectious laugh when something humorous tickled him.

He will be sadly missed by all who knew him, and our thoughts and prayers go to Pat and Stephanie at this sad time.

Joe, is in contact with Stephanie and will advise of the funeral arrangements once they have been arranged.

Another sad loss for the club.

Kevin
   

Hi All,
Well I haven't posted a build for a while so I thought I'd share this project that I am starting.

Firstly, a little bit of history.

The ATL-98 (Aviation Traders Limited) Carvair, was a conversion in which a new nose was grafted onto the fuselage of a C-54 Skymaster. The purpose was to elevate the cockpit above the fuselage level and allow cars to be driven into the fuselage.
Already, the car ferry operation had been carried out by the Bristol Superfreighter 170 Mk.32, which could accommodate 3 cars and up to 20 passengers. The new Carvair aircraft could accommodate 5 cars and 22 passengers, but had the ability to be reconfigured to carry mixed freight/cars and up to 55 passengers so making a better more useful airframe.
The initial design was the brainchild of Freddie Laker, who drew a rough drawing of what the aircraft would look like on a cigarette packet. From there he formed the Aviation Traders Limited, and began buying war surplus C-54 airframes with the view to converting them into Carvair's by adding a new bulbous nose and a strengthened floors. As a result of the floor the nose undercarriage had to be re-configured.     

To model a Carvair in 1/144th I could have bought the Roden kit, but having seen some builds, there seems to be an issue with the cockpit area.
So I decided to kit bash a Minicraft C-54 Skymaster and Braz Carvair fuselage conversion. The conversion parts are a bit clunky, but after refinement I think will be okay. In addition I purchased some new decals for BAF (British Air Ferries) in a nice pale blue and pale brown livery.

I intend to display the model 'loading' a car into the nose, and this means I will have to scratch build a 'Hylo' scissor lift. This was made by ATEL (Aviation Traders Engineering Limited) and was created purposely for Carvair operations, later variants would be sold to other airline operators such a Flying Tiger Airlines using Canadair CL-44 swing tail freighters.

A layout of the parts and decals follow, for your information.

Next post will see the build underway.
Thanks,
Bigkev

Hi All,
Though I keep watching the posts on the website, I am frustrated by my own ability to model during the summer months.
I find that I cannot get comfortable to sit down and model. The heat, the light, the other outdoor events/jobs all conspire to mean that I cannot 'get into' modelling. I have a few 'halfway projects' that I hope to restart once the nights get shorter, the days a bit cooler, the jobs a few less.

So I apologise to my fellow contributor's, that I have not posted a build or project for a while,  it is not that I don't want to model, it's that I find it physically not for me at the moment.
Does anybody else have similar problems, or are you all able to adapt at this time of year?
Bigkev

Hi All,
Well another of my incomplete models that I have decided to complete.
This is the Airfix Sopwith Pup in 1/72.
I decided to adopt a different approach for fixing the upperwing and filled the slots of the interplane struts to just leave the strut attachment points to attach to. I also did a little bit of work on the fuselage sides trying to replicate the cockpit ribbing.
So far, it is now painted and partially decalled, all coming from the spares box and using the Scalemates website to see the paint scheme and decal placement on the instruction sheets. Roundels came from two sets of Frog Swordfish decals, these being at least 30 years old!!
Need to touch in the rudder stripes, add a serial in the box on the fuselage, and the word 'Anzac' from Modeldecal lettering. Paintwise the struts need a flesh base before using Oil paint to streak and replicate the varnished wood. The wheels need painting. Assemble top wing to the rest of the airframe, add the wheels and then rigging the model.
Some pictures of my 'Pup' as is now:-
Cheers,
Bigkev