Finnish B-239 Buffalo from the 'classic' Airfix 72nd kit

 

The ancient 1:72 Airfix Buffalo is a poor kit. Turning it into a Finnish machine is to be honest a bit of a pointless exercise - everything needs work. But then again, everything needs work anyway. Here I've built up the cowl - drilling out the cooling apertures and relocating the MGs to those little bulges on the top - lengthened the forward fuselage with card and putty by several mms, revamped the cockpit with an instrument panel and head/back armour and substituted the propeller for an item out of the spares box that actually looked like it might have belonged on an aeroplane! The opening canopy section had to be 'plunge-moulded' to actually get something to fit in the open position and I used decal strip for the framing. The raised detail was sanded down and a bit of rescribing undertaken - not my favourite task.The lumps of plastic that pass for exhausts on the kit were removed and replacements installed on the bottom of the cowl. The tail wheel was replaced with something from the spares box. Decals came from an old Colarado sheet. Just to make things worse I used Humbrol 24 for the yellow Eastern Front theatre markings - and it refused to dry! Still to add the pitot but this one is done..

Hs 123 Airfix 'Vintage classic' - applying EZ line/AMMO rigging

 

 I finished this Hs 123 last year - but was always unhappy with the aerials. I decided to replace them  with EZ-line - and took a few new photos. Application technique has been 'refined' since my rigging efforts with the new-tool Airfix Swordfish and the Airfix Tiger Moth. Firstly, decant some accelerator into a lid. Next apply a drop with a cocktail stick to the anchor point. Then touch the EZ line aerial dipped in super-glue for instant results.

Airfix De Havilland DH Comet 1:72nd - finished (4)

..decided to perform some more surgery on the Comet since it was looking a little 'toy-like' and I've now cut out the rudder and elevators and added the engine exhausts and undercarriage struts from fuse wire. Also scribed the cowl hinge line and the cooling gills and added the mass balances on the rudders and elevators. Completed model below - note the neat effect of the flash on the nose landing light! I've since added some better pics taken in natural light. Things still to do, the rear of the prop blades should be black and I guess the internal canopy framing might well be in black too, but you have to stop somewhere. Overall I'm happy with it - a fiver (£5) for a 50-year old kit (!!) with no cockpit and no details worthy of the name is probably a bit much though....still a fair bit of modelling 'fun' for your money I suppose... let me know what you think.