PORTERBLE MODELS

1/32 Revell Fw190 F-8

I have never built a Fw190 before in any scale, at any time in my life so far. However I always liked the look of the plane, especially if it had the blown canopy and the gun bulges at the front. I also wanted to do a snow coloured Eastern Front one if at all possible. Eventually I found the markings that I needed and at the same time Revell came out with the kit, which for some reason is difficult to find in this scale.

I bought every aftermarket option that I could get for it but in the end I used little of them for a couple of reasons. Despite glowing reviews from some sites, the Revell kit is not great. The wing edges are thick but the worst part is that canopy transparencies are awful, they are both distorted and badly moulded. I bought two kits to see if it was just a one off quality issue, but the second kit was worse. The Eduard engine is a fantastic replacement however it is nearly a cm too long for the cowling! In the end I just decided to go ahead and built it mostly together, with only the fuel port on the starboard side open. I used the Eduard brass legs which are great however Revell had molded the support arm back the front so eventually I just gave up super-detailing it and decided that would be for a future kit when someone eventually does a definitive Tamiyaesque version of the Focke-Wulf.

1/32 Tamiya P-51D Mustang

The Tamiya version of the Cadillac of the Sky, in this case an ETO version assigned to a Lt Allen K Abner, a Block 10 variant of the venerable Mustang built in Inglewood, California.  Hence the use of Daisy Mae from the Ll’l Abner cartoon strip that run from 40 years starting in the 1930s. One of the great things about WWII aircraft compared to modern offerings is the amazing variety of colour schemes, cartoons, and pin up art that were both common and permissible in that era. They make for much more interesting subjects sitting on your modelling shelf.

This kit proved to be more challenging that the Spitfire. The inserts in the wings are a cow to get to fit so I ended up filling these and then rescribing the detail. In the end this worked well enough but it was a pain to do. They are supposed to just slot in and out with magnets so you can remove the landing gear. I have no idea why I would want to do this so I was happy to forgo this option. The reality is the ambition of the kit designers outweighed their engineering capacity to pull it off. Nevertheless, it’s hard to argue with the result. I decided against filing the rivets in the wings, largely because for any kit to sit of the limited shelf space that I have any model has to be special enough the justify it’s space on there. The extra detail on the wings helps to differentiate it from a boring plastic wing.

1/32 Tamiya Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVIe

I built this a few years back but didn’t post photos of it because, for whatever reason, I just can’t get excited about Spitfires. It is such an iconic aircraft though, and the Tamiya kit is great, so you have to have one on your display shelf, otherwise it is just somehow incomplete. I have always preferred the Hurricane’s aesthetics however it just looks meaner and more fit for purpose so I went about finding a scheme that would work for me. Clipping the wings and adding a bubble canopy adds some visual flair, but the Belgian roundels look great and so I did this one up as a post-war Belgian AF Mk XVIe.

The kit is fairly straightforward, other than the cannot inserts and the cowlings which had little magnets to make them removable. I had this on diorama and hence had taken the left cowling off to show the engine. However in the process of moving countries the diorama didn’t come with me. I added HGW seatbelts and some aftermarket wheels but from memory that is all that I added to it. I painted it with Mr Color paints which are the best out of the airbrush that I have found, chipped it with various coloured pencils and added a bunch of oil and enamel washes.

1/35 Scale Ryefield Model M1A2 SEP v2 Abrams Part 2

I don’t get much chance to do modelling these days, and shelf space is limited. Having a kit with an interior is an attractive option and has always been preferred so that you can leave all the hatches open. This creates the effect of adding volume to the model along with the illusion of extra detail to catch to viewers eye. Despite this figures I still find to be essential to give the model some scale and character, but having an interior means that the figures can be placed in different positions without having to worry about covering up a hatch! In this case I will add the figures later into a diorama, perhaps not even on the vehicle. There are lots of models coming out now with interiors, and so this is a fantastic age to be doing this hobby. I have always felt that not doing an interior is like doing a plane without a cockpit, so given the explosion in new companies that are putting out really high quality kits with interiors it will be hard to do anything without one again. Even if you just wanted to do the fighting compartment, then this kit is an awesome option.

The AFV Club 120mm shells are fantastic and after some Mr Metal Primer they really look the part. The Model Master .50 cal and .30 cal shells were also an awesome addition and are far better than just cutting up sections of copper wire. I will go for these again. I didn’t make much use of the AK Interactive camouflage net, but these are really good, but I didn’t want to cover up the vehicle in the end so I just put some rolled up sections tied off with rope. In the future I would like to employ these to better effect.

1/35 Scale Ryefield Model M1A2 SEP v2 Abrams Part 1

The M1 Abrams is an American classic, both battle tested and effective. It has also been a favourite of model builders the world over. As a result it has been kitted in plastic a number of times. I have previously built the Tamiya and Dragon kits, and they were good, but this RFM kit has been described as a masterpiece, and in my experience it earns that reputation as it is on a whole other level. With individual track links, an interior for the drivers and fighting compartments, an engine, and sectional side skirts there is a lot to show off. It builds nicely, fit is excellent, and it is even great fun to build.

I didn’t want to do another CARC Tan M1, so I had to choose between either an M1A1 or an M1A2 SEP v2 if I wanted to do a European Camouflage scheme. I toyed with the idea for awhile between the Euro scheme and the snow stripes and overall Forest Green, but in the end settled for the three tone and some dust for contrast. To do this though I needed to do a V2 variant as the standard M1A2 was deployed in that scheme. To do this I started by using the DEF conversion kit designed for the Dragon kit, but while I was doing this RFM released a V2 kit! So my end result is a mix of both RFM and DEF model.

1/12 Scale Bandai Boba Fett

I have been struggling to find the motivation for kit building in recent years so I have turned my attention to some different forms of activity as a way of trying to get my mojo back. Instead of leaving many abandoned projects scattered over the house I needed something quick and easy to build that would give that creative and energised feel that can come from working on a great modelling project. So I have started on the Bandai 1/12 scale Star Wars figure kits and they are amazing! Quick to build with exquisite and clever engineering that fit well, come with a range of movement options and accessories, are well researched and really look the part.

1/32 Scale Revell Tornado ECR Part 2

The Lechfeld 321 2001 Tigerjet is a remarkable paint scheme but it is not easy to paint! One particular challenge is matching the ‘Lufthansa Yellow’ colour that the aircraft is said to be painted in. You don’t want it to look lemon yellow because it has a certain orange hue to it, but at the same time you don’t want to paint it orange as that is too dark. The official website (listed on the aircraft tail - go visit!) lists RAL 1007 Narzissengelb and RAL 2000 Gelborange however unless if one forgets scale effect then these colours are too dark. To solve this problem I purchased a RAL K7 Classic fan off eBay in order to match the exact colour from the photographs. The correct one seems to be RAL 1028 Melongelb, this looks yellow with lots of light and gives off the right orange hue. To achieve this I mixed Mr Color C329 Yellow with a bit of C59 Orange until I matched Melongelb. Looks just right to me now, although the digital photography darkens it a little - go figure.

1/32 Scale Revell Tornado ECR Part 1

This is possibly one of the most visually impressive colour schemes ever to see a combat aircraft and I immediately took a liking to it. The striking tiger stripes peeking through as the gray overcoat is peeled back just looks amazing. This aircraft was decorated this way in 2001 as a part of a 'Tigermeet' whereby members of the NATO Tiger Association get together with tiger themed aircraft.

Aircraft 44-64 (tail code) which was known as 'Tigerjet' for obvious reasons was a Batch 7 airframe that was produced for the ECR (Electronic Combat.and Reconnaissance) mission.The basic idea of the ECR mission is to hunt down enemy radar threat emissions including Surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft Artillery and destroy them using anti-radiation missiles such as the AGM-88 HARM.

1/32 Scale Tamiya F-16C Fighting Falcon Part 2

As my photography skills slowly improve I might post extra pictures and redo some of the older models ao here are some more shots of the 'Arctic Aggressor'. Time will tell how long it will take me to redo them all but I intend to redo them eventually. In the meantime these shots show some of the detail added with Aires wheel bays and the Quickboost ejection seat. The Tamiya F-16 is the finest jet aircraft kit I have ever made but some extra detailing still helps.  I aim to build this kit at least another two times so I guess that Tamiya gets a lot of my money, but quote frankly these kits they make are totally worth it.

1/32 Scale Tamiya F-16C Fighting Falcon Part 1

This model in an attractive arctic camouflage scheme represents a Block 30 aggressor aircraft from the 18th Fighter Squadron in April 2008. To get to a Block 30 I have combined both a Block 32 airframe from the Tamiya Thunderbirds kit with the MCID intake and the General Electric engine from a Block 50 Tamiya F-16CJ kit. The parts interchange without any difficulty and you are left with enough parts to do either a Block 42 or 52 in the future.

The arctic camouflage is meant to simulate a Soviet Bloc style aircraft and hence it is used in an adversary role training USAF pilots in air-to-air combat in the style and methods of possible 'aggressors'. Reportedly aggressor pilots from this squadron sing the Russian national anthem and keep Soviet era propaganda on base to keep in theme.

I have left this model without external stores because I find the F-16's naked shark like appearance to be very beautiful on its own. While the F-16 looks ballsy all loaded up it also looks this business just as as pure aircraft to fly. The paint scheme is tricky to match and is actually three shades of gray. For the lightest colour I used off-white, then the standard F-16 gray, and then a lightened gloss black. This is the first model that I have painted entirely with lacquer paints in this case the final finish being Alclad semi-matte Klear Kote.

1/32 Tamiya F-15I Ra’am (Thunder) Part 2

On a recent trip to Osaka I made some purchases at the famous Yodobashi Camera shop including a photo studio and lighting. This coupled with an improved camera courtesy of my father-in-law have meant that for this aircraft I haven't been able narrow down my favourite pictures to ten, so for this feature there are more shots of the fabulous Ra'am. Manually reducing the aperture size to f/8.0 has drastically improved the depth of field and also overriding the camera's exposure compensation by a couple of stops has also helped. I am still very much a beginner learning how to take close up photography as there is a real skill to it, and I especially need to improve my work with the lighting and diffusion but I am happy with incremental progress.

The F-15 is my favourite aircraft and the Strike Eagle variant looks really ballsy once it's all loaded up. However, the Americans paint theirs all gray and so I wanted something a little flashier that still inherited the Strike Eagles menacing and malevolent look.  Initially I was thinking that the giant bird painted on the tail might be a little bit gaudy, but now that I have finished it I think that overall the Ra'am looks pretty beastie.

1/32 Tamiya F-15I Ra’am (Thunder) Part 1

The Ra’am as it is called in Hebrew, (‘Thunder’ in English), is a special version of the American Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle modified especially for the requirements of the Israeli Air Force. Modifications include more powerful engines with extra intakes on the conformal tanks, an indigenous electronic and ECM suite, DASH helmet mounted sights for off bore-sight queuing of weapons, improved cockpit displays and Israeli made conformal fuel tanks.

In this case I have created my Ra’am by combining the excellent Tamiya F-15E and F-15J kits and converting the result using a Wolfpack conversion set, various other aftermarket items and some scratch building where necessary. Visual differences between the Ra’am and a USAF F-15E are minor but the big one is the colour scheme with the three tone desert camouflage and the giant eagles head on the twin tails which represents the Hammers Squadron.

1/32 Scale Roden Fokker Dr.1 

One of the most famous fighter aircraft from the First World War, if not from all time, the Fokker Dr.1 Triplane. Many of the famous German fighter pilots flew this aircraft and scored a number of victories in this mount. It was built with advanced specifications, being capable of a superlative rate of climb but it was also tremendously maneuverable due to its short and stubby three wings and its rotary engine. In appeared in late 1917 and had quite an impact until the middle of 1918 when it was overtaken by other designs. It was not particularly fast, but in the right hands an experienced pilot could be a formidable opponent behind its twin 7.92mm Spandau machine guns.

1/35 Broken Bridge Diorama

I started this diorama with the intent of experimenting a bit with portraying bodies of water. Using casting resin in different layers with oil washes between rendered this result. I will certainly build water based dioramas in the future as it is a great way of adding dramatic effect quite quickly.