1:72 scale Revell Junkers Ju 88 A-4 (new tool 04672)

Second finish of the year/month/week - although this one wasn't started this year, or even last year come to that! The 'new tool' Revell Ju 88 in 1:72nd scale finally finished - here as a machine of KG 76 in Wintertarnung from the AIMS Ju 88 Bomber decal sheet. Reference photo is on page 37 of the AirDoc Junkers Ju 88 A/D monograph. This kit was released around November/December 2011 and I started building it straight away. It stalled about a year ago, some time around the painting stage, but having finished the Wellington, I've spent a few days getting this one off the 'shelf of shame'. The rather rough winter scheme was achieved more by accident than design after I tried out the hairspray technique and ended up peeling off most of the upper white layer off in one go, making a re-spray necessary. That looked terrible but in the end I've grown to like it. According to AirDoc this machine has had an engine change but in the photo the sunshine is so bright that not a lot of detail is visible. I encountered similar difficulties when trying to photograph this one - too much light and everything is bleached out...you can click on the images to see a larger view..

The kit itself is extremely detailed but overly complicated IMHO - the cockpit and forward fuselage alone has around 50 parts, but little can be seen. Each piece of ordnance comprises seven separate pieces. The canopy glazing was masked with Tamiya tape in a marathon session. I've added some brake lines from wire and an aerial wire from hypo-glue for the photos. I think perhaps the model looks a 'stalky' on its undercarriage. Those parts of the kit decal sheet I used worked very well.. for Revell.

In-box review from December 2011 and lots of Junkers Ju 88 reference here
http://falkeeinsmodel.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/new-tool-revell-junkers-ju-88-4-04672.html

The AIMS decal sheet used in this build is reviewed here
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/new-junkers-ju-88-decals-from-aims-john.html

Revell (Matchbox) Wellington Mk X, 304 (Polish) Squadron

A small tribute to the brave Polish aviators who flew Coastal Command Wellingtons out over the Atlantic from windswept Scottish bases during WWII. This is "T" (DV 597) of 304 Squadron from the elderly Revell kit (minus the serial for the moment..). Brush painted finish 'dirtied' with an oil wash to bring out some of the nice surface detail. Decals from the spares box. For such a relatively poor quality kit I must admit to being quite pleased with the way this one turned out, quite tempted to do the Trumpeter Wimpy now.

Following heavy losses suffered in the bombing raids over Germany, 304 'Land of Silesia' Squadron transferred in May 1942 from Bomber Command to Coastal Command. After a short training period at Tiree from May 1942 in anti-submarine operations, the squadron left Tiree for North Wales for operations over the Bay of Biscay in June 1942. Operations over the sea involved flying very long missions over the Atlantic. The unit returned to Scotland to face the difficulties of operating from Benbecula in the Outer Hebridies in the winter of 1944-1945 and over Atlantic waters.

"....The first impression on almost everything else seemed to be bad. The new airbase was on the tiny Isle of Tiree in the Western Isles, only a few miles wide and less than 20 miles long. The place looked howling and under constant onslaught of capricious Atlantic weather.There were virtually no navigational aids. Living quarters were mere Nissen huts, always damp and rattling under heavy winds.  The airmen had no previous experience of flying over the sea and many strenuous hours of patrolling in gray monotony were needed. Generally low marine knowledge of aircrews was a hindrance in the squadron's conversion. Most of the Polish airmen never even saw a submarine, and one crew attacked a solitary rock of Rockall jutting out of the sea some 300 miles west of Scotland. Despite all this, the transition from the Battle of Germany to the Battle of the Atlantic fared well.
    No. 224 (RAF) Squadron flying Hundsons was also stationed on Tiree. A few days after their arrival, the Poles got to know their British colleagues and immediately a healthy, friendly rivalry was born: who would sink the first U-boat. Soon the great comradeship by the British was displayed, when their CO had all his aircraft ready within half an hour, for a search of one Polish Wellington ditched in the Atlantic. On 18 May 1942, S/Ldr Poziomka made the first operational sortie, a six-hour patrol over Atlantic's Western Approaches. From that day on, Polish Wellingtons were regularly airborne for U-boat hunting. On 26 May, the crew of navigator F/O Skarzynski spotted and attacked a U-boat, which was the first attack of that type by Polish aircraft. British Admiralty believed it to be a successful one and that the U-boat had been damaged...."

http://www.polishsquadronsremembered.com/304/304Story.htm

.. from the superb 304 (Polish) Sqd blog - a neat pic of a Wellington in difficulty on Benbecula, image possibly 'colorised' but so close to how I finished my model that I had to post it here!

Revell/Matchbox Wellington Mk. X 1:72 - back to the brushes!

Having marveled at Diego Quijano's latest amazing creation, back to rather more mundane modelling matters - my build of the ancient Revell (ex-Matchbox) Wellington. I'm putting this together as a 'quick'  OOB build, but its been a while since I've had to work this hard on a kit and I'm wondering whether my 'skill' level is up to doing this one justice.  Progress has been slow and painful - poor fit and airbrush problems! Having replaced my broken nozzle I have been unable to get my airbrush to spray as nicely since I snapped the nozzle in the first place to the point that I have ended up brush painting this one ...a thin enamel coat or two with a wide flat brush over a primer undercoat, its been a while since I finished a model like this but I quite enjoyed it. I used a spray can for the wheels/props/armament. Goes without saying that white is a very hard colour to paint... and photograph.. As for my airbrush troubles, what a pain. I've always used a very cheap set-up (Badger 200, Premi-Air G 35, some Chinese copy, cheap Iwata compressor) on the basis that it keeps things 'uncomplicated' and up to now that philosophy has never given any problems. But all of a sudden I've got three brushes in bits on the bench and no idea what to do next frankly - aside from invest in a new Iwata Eclipse or some such. Will see how I feel when the 'On Track' show comes around at the end of February. Meanwhile nozzle, needle, seals have all been replaced and I'm still getting far too much splatter and the nozzle (0.30) clogging after a minute or so spraying on the G 35 - which up to now has always worked well for me.  I know the paint is not the problem- highly thinned enamels go through one brush, acrylics through another! Anyway the point is, that I've done anything at all recently is down to brush painting. Brush painting too has stirred all sorts of long-forgotten memories; from finishing a Frog Blackburn Shark to my first Airfix Dogfight Double aged 11 and knocking out a 1:24 Harrier in a matter of weeks aged 13 - all brush painted!  Of course some of the best modellers out there use brushes - not perhaps technically the best, but as people, certainly among the best! You can see why  too. Brush-painting is very therapeutic for one thing. You do of course lose all pretensions to becoming a modelling 'deity' knowing that most modellers out there will look rather disdainfully at your work ..but if you've got the paint at least you can get some modelling done!

Revell Wellington Mk. X, stalled builds - failed to complete anything in December !

December 2012 is the first month for three years that I've failed to complete something - in fact I haven't done anything of note for nearly two months now. I had been tinkering with some stalled builds  in the hope of finishing something before the end of the year - but no such luck. My usual remedy for 'modellers block' -  a little and often - is not really working for the Airfix Sea Vixen. My effort has been in the works for two years now and no end in sight...I'm still sanding and filing the lower boom/flap join which has proved to a real pain - in fact I pulled the flaps back off to go back over the join with more filler. At least the area is primer-ed now. And I haven't broken off the arrestor hook yet ....

Still, the modelling is ticking over -  a part-started Revell (Matchbox) 1/72nd Wellington Mk. X is also back on the bench.. I remember now why I put this one back in the box - no cockpit or indeed any other details to speak of and loads of masking of the two turrets which in itself will take a couple of sessions. I've been attempting to blank over the fuselage windows and am looking to complete this one -soon- as a Polish 304 Sq Coastal Command machine..I'm not going to bother with the Eduard interior etch set for this one - I just need to get something finished-  but have put in a scratch instrument panel, a bulkhead and door from plasticard, a new control yoke and tarted up the pilots seat. Nor am I bothering with any internal geodetic structure..

I have also made an attempt to finish the Revell Junkers Ju 88 (1/72nd) -  here's the latest view. This one stalled after I completely messed up the white camo finish, but after putting it away to forget about it I'm quite liking the overall effect now -suitably distressed I think you'll agree. Just got to put on some KG 76 AIMs decals and this one is finished ! See you again in 2013 hopefully, when I'll be knocking out a few AZ Spitfire IXs....

Polish Mustangs (303 Squadron, AJ Press)

Airfix P-51 in 1:72nd scale finished with Freightdog resin parts as Mustang IVA of No. 303 Squadron. Finished in the markings of CO S/Ldr Witold Lokuciewski. Note scoreboard of 11 black crosses under the windscreen. Decals and inspiration from the superlative AJ Press 'Polish Mustang units' book in their 'Fighting Units in Color' series. Roundels and flashes and Aeroproducts prop decals from the Xtradecal Mustang Mk IV sheet. (to be added)

Super package - A4 decal sheet, colour profiles and full page photos, perfect for the modeller ..and only £12. The decals were a little tricky to apply though, being incredibly thin. Made a mess of two of them. No colour pictures in the book although I did discover a nice colour(-ised?) view of  Jakub Bargielowski's 303 Sq. PD-Y in Militaria XX magazine from Kagero. Below that, a view of the Freightdog resin louvred intakes. I've still not achieved a particularly good fit on these.

Airfix North American P-51 Mustang Mk.IV Gift set - GA-S 112 Sqd - second finish of the month!

 Just finished this one which is good as I've managed to snap the nozzle in my airbrush when trying to extract it for cleaning - won't do that again in a hurry! As before, the weak point of this brilliant little kit is the sliding canopy hood as a two part assembly comprising of a `solid’ plastic framework and a clear glazing bubble. Same applies to the windscreen - because of this extreme care must be taken when removing the clear parts from the sprue as any mistakes cannot be hidden later and the joint between the parts is very toy like. 

   


 After two coats of Dark Green disruptive camouflage the model had a couple of coats Klear applied ready to receive the decals. Unfortunately the decals provided by Airfix for GA-S have a few errors. The roundels for the fuselage and lower wings are good and were used, along with the sharks mouth and fin stripes. The kit decals include red and blue B Type roundels for the upper wing surfaces which should in fact be the late war C Type with the narrow white ring - these were sourced from the Italeri P-51 kit. The code letters for GA-S appear to be white which is correct, but the serial number KH774 is missing from the sheet altogether. Also missing is the small crocodile insignia which was applied to the left fin area of Mustangs painted by 159 MU, but this could be sourced from the decal sheet of the old Airfix Mustang kit. Note the so-called 'firewall' paint job on this 112 Sqd Mustang. An oil wash brings out some of the nice panel line detail, especially on the resin louvred intake from Freightdog which can be seen nicely in the view below. Also worth mentioning that Freightdog do corrected decals for this machine as well now, which I should really think about investing in as I have no manufacturers decal on my resin Aeroproducts 'uncuffed' prop....you can click on the images to get in a little closer if you've a mind to..cheers, thanks for looking  and see you soon..

Zvezda Bf 109 F-2 in 1/72 - (4)

Nearly finished the Zvezda Friedrich, here in the markings of 'weisse 12' flown by nine-victory ace Ltn. Karl Vockelmann of 7./ JG 53. I have still to add a hint of exhaust staining and some stencils. Decals were taken from a variety of spare Academy and MSAP sheets. Vockelmann was reported MIA on 19.5.43 after Luftkampf. The Zvezda Friedrich kit was a little pricey and a little short on detail options compared to, say, the recent new Airfix Emil - no poseable flaps, aileron mass balances or separate rudder for example. Fit was indifferent and the large locating lugs on the canopy spoilt the overall effect - the model looks a little toy-like I think.