Italeri 1/32 Tornado built as an 'Op.Granby' Tornado GR 1

A new member of the East Kent Scale Modellers group is Mr. Bill Clark. His latest model was photographed on display at our last club night.

This is the Italeri 1/32 Tornado built as ZA 465 'Foxy Killer', an 'Op.Granby' Tornado GR 1 using the Italeri IDS kit as the basis, borrowing appropriate parts from Revell's GR1. This includes parts for the bomb rack and the larger RAF 'Hindenburger' drop tanks. This fine model is featured on the cover of the latest issue of Scale Aircraft Modelling.

Airfix new tool British Army Ferret Scout car - walkaround detail photos

 

Coming this summer from Airfix in 35th scale is a new-tool British military armour kit - the Ferret Scout car. This example was photographed at the RAF Manston history museum "Skirmish" event on 16 July 2023.

After a successful series of light armoured reconnaissance and liaison vehicles, the Ferret Scout Car saw widespread British and Commonwealth military service from the 1950s onwards, with later variants of the Ferret taking part in the Gulf War of 1990.

A vehicle type which can trace its lineage back to the successful Daimler Dingo scout car of the Second World War, the Ferret was designed with stealth in mind, a light and fast armoured vehicle which could probe enemy positions, reporting any discovered weak points back to commanders, with their own forces moving to exploit what they found.

Weighing in at around 4 tons operational weight, the Ferret was of all welded construction and featured armour protection capable of withstanding most small arms fire, but nothing much heavier, although it was not intended that the vehicle would be operating in direct opposition to heavy enemy armour.

If it did find itself in a bit of trouble, the 4 wheel drive Ferret was powered by a reliable 6 cylinder Rolls Royce engine which gave it a top speed of 45 mph, a speed it could also achieve in reverse if required, something which could prove extremely useful if the crew found themselves in a tight spot.

Hailsham Model Show 2023 - competition tables (aircraft)

 

Last weekend our club headed down to Eastbourne on the south coast to display at the annual Hailsham club show. This is a big show which has more or less replaced the sadly late-lamented 'Southern Expo' I was pleased to see a large number of categories in the competition including a 72nd aircraft category. Surprisingly enough a  Messerschmitt took 'Gold' in both 72nd and 48th scale- trust me to go and enter a Skyhawk!  And the 48th scale Lancaster didn't place either, by far the most impressive piece looking at the tables overall (IMHO).

A couple of points struck me re the competition. First, there were so many categories and quite a few had no entrants at all. Perhaps 'cost' was a factor here - a £2 entry fee was £1 too much in my view. Also in my humble opinion those categories that had just one entrant should not automatically receive a 'Gold' - the model has to 'earn' it. Secondly the judges were chosen from among the clubs - a great idea in theory, but if a judge recognises or is familiar with a colleagues model then there will inevitably be 'biais'. Thirdly should a model missing 'parts' (perhaps lost in transit, as happened here) be placed above models that are 'complete'?  An Eduard Bf 109 (Bartels 'red 13') minus its rudder received a 'Bronze'. I'd be interested in your opinions on this and on model competitions in general. I've only just started entering model competitions, have yet to be 'placed' anywhere, but quite enjoy the process and the 'competition' and am hoping that striving for a 'gong' might just help improve my modelling. Of course this probably means that I am going to rather disappointed every time I enter a competition - we'll see how long this lasts! A view of the models on the competition tables below;

Airfix stand at the Hailsham model show - British Army 30-cwt G.S. Truck, 48th Avro Anson Mk I

 

Researcher Luke was manning the Airfix stand at last weekend's Hailsham model show. Main subjects on display included the Anson, 24th Spitfire as build by designer Paramjit, and the new British Army truck.

The new mould British Army 30-cwt G.S. Truck is now available in 1:35 scale, including two decal schemes, photo-etched parts, and superb interior detail for a total of 133 parts

As Britain prepared for war in the late 1930s, the military wasn't just desperately in need of vast numbers of aircraft, tanks, and guns, they also needed many thousands of trucks and general utility vehicles to support all kinds of operations, and the 30-cwt G.S. Truck was among these stalwart machines.

below; new-tool Anson as completed by Bob from the East Kent Scale Modellers

Airfix 1:24th Spitfire IX by Les Venus

 

New Airfix 1:24th Spitfire IX superbly built and finished by Les Venus using the Xtradecal set to depict the well-known 451 Sqn machine 'BQ-S' MA 466. Colours are medium sea grey and PRU blue.