Revell Luftwaffe SAR UH-1D Huey helicopter in 72nd - RAF Northolt photocall 2006

Dornier-built Luftwaffe Search-and-rescue (SAR or 'Suche-und-Rettung' in the German) Bell UH-1D Huey helicopter. This particular machine was constructed in 1969 - some 350 Hueys served with the German Bundeswehr and are only now just starting to be replaced by the Airbus Helicopters H145 after some fifty years service. This Huey is now a 'memorial' and was stationed at the Wandsbek Military hospital (Bundeswehrkrankenhaus) in Hamburg..

Hubschrauberdenkmal für das jahrzehntelange Engagement der Bundeswehr in der Luftrettung in Hamburg am Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Wandsbek. Hubschraubertyp Bell UH-1D, aufgenommen kurz vor der Einweihung des Denkmals am 30.08.2008.

 Monument of a Bell UH-1D helicopter honoring the decades-lasting participation of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg's pre-hospital air ambulance care. Located at the military hospital; taken on August 30, 2008, just prior to the inauguration.

This model is another 'save' from the 'shelf of doom'. It was a build that ran out of steam way back when I realised that the two fuselage halves did not fit together. Relatively neat interior but not much can be seen through the overly thick clear parts. Problems really started when I got some thinner on these -  reacting with the plastic they quickly became opaque and no amount of polishing could get them clear again. The fluorescent finish on the doors was another trial - even over primer. I started to put the decals on early in the build - but they were stuck fast to the backing sheet and had to be carefully pulled off  the sheet with the edge of a scapel blade. The fuselage codes on one side promptly folded over themselves. Still, it is another completion..and an interesting subject.

RELOADED V2: @RAFNortholt Photocall 2006

Rotary aircraft from the German Air Force and Army Aviation were great supporters of Northolt events. In 2006 multiple examples of the Bo105 were joined by a UH-1D Iroquois #avgeek pic.twitter.com/ERR3KWfk0A

— Flightline UK (@flightlineuk) May 11, 2021

1:76 Airfix Cromwell IV - 'lock-down' shelf-of-doom completions (2)

New-tool Cromwell (back in 2014) which I had never got around to finishing back then. Finished by brush with the acrylic pots in the ‘Gift Set’. The wheels have been given a very diluted wash of sand/earth and the hull has received a 'black' wash to highlight a bit of the detail.
Still a few items such as the stowed tools etc to detail paint and a burnt umber oil wash away from completion..
Now to finish that Zvezda Panther...

a few detail views of Bovington's Cromwell from "World of tanks - inside the tanks" vid...

A European theater Hasegawa Hellcat in 72nd

First of a few 'shelf of doom' builds to get a finish during the current lock-down which will be posted here over the course of the next few weeks....’old’ Hase Hellcat finished with Kagero decals, including swastika ‘kill’ markings...

Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat from the USN VOF-1 'White 8' and operating from CVE-72 USS Tulagi during the landings in the south of France, Operation Anvil-Dragoon 1944. Flown by Ens. Alfred R Wood and Ens. Edward W Olszewski 15th August 1944, ‘ white 8’ intercepted and shot down four Ju
52s attempting to fly into Marseille...

The Hurricane in Finnish service - Airfix 1:72nd

The Hurricane had a surprisingly brief career in the Finnish air arm. Twelve machines were purchased at the end of the Winter War early in 1940 from RAF stocks although two failed to arrive in Finland. The ten that did arrive in Finland touched down after the Finnish defeat in mid-March. By the time of Barbarossa the Hurricanes - in service with LLv 30 - were deployed to defend south-east Finland and first saw combat on July 2, 1941, shooting down two Polikarpov Chaikas. A DB-3 bomber was downed the next day followed by two more Soviet types the day after that. In both instances the Hurricanes had to break off combat after engine problems and starved of spares the Hurricanes were subsequently grounded for long periods. Even items such as spark plugs had to be retrieved from shot-down Soviet Hurricanes. Indeed the Soviets had specifically asked Britain not to supply the Finns- ultimately Britain declared war on Finland towards the end of the year. During 1942 the Hurricanes flew with LeLv 26 based in Helsinki-Malmi and were primarily used to prepare pilots to fly the Fiat G.50.

My model is another build of the new-tool Airfix Mk I, decals from Xtradecal representing Hurricane HC-451.

Below; 'HC 452' is the machine in the FAF museum. 'HC 465' was a Mk II delivered duing 1943 and owner Philip Lawton who lives in Finland had his restored example (see below) painted up in the scheme it would have worn during the war.

The first two images below are original war-time shots from the Finnish SA-KUVA archive

 During 2014 a Canadian-built Hurricane II was restored and repainted in temporary Finnish Air Force livery as HC-465, an aircraft originally captured from the Soviets after putting down on a frozen lake after running short of fuel during February 1942. It was the only Mk II that the Finns flew. HC-465 flew the last mission by a Finnish Hurricane on May 31, 1944. The restored Hurricane was registered G-CBOE in the UK. Owner Philip Lawton lived in Finland and displayed the aircraft there. The aircraft returned to the UK after a display season in Finland where there was great interest in the type..

I have to say that I think the Airfix new-tool Mk I looks less like a Hurricane than ever when not in RAF markings. There is something in the shape of this kit that does not quite look 'right' - some have suggested the height of the canopy is over done and that translates into a 'shortened' fuselage. The only view that looks more or less correct is that seen from above as below. However the details are nice - cockpit, undercarriage, wheel wells, exhausts - and this is a big improvement on the 'old-tool' of course. I have still to build my Arma Hobby kit. Perhaps soon.

..good day for the stash!

..a good day for the stash.....wandering into my local curios and collectables shop I spotted a couple of rare kits on the shelves... only £15 - a 48th Airfix Buccaneer and Hi-Grade F-4 from Hasegawa with metal parts and etch fret. For some reason there are four metal ejection seats in the Hasegawa F-4 box..

" ...That's a lucky haul and then some! I've had both in my stash for some time now though had to pay (relatively) daft prices by comparison. The Phantom had been on my radar since seeing it as a kid in 1987 (Hasegawa like Tamiya kits were 'waaaaaay' outside my pocket money or even Christmas budget) and I went a little 'wild' when I returned to the hobby in 2011 and discovered eBay. Main problem for me with the Bucc kits has been whether to pull the trigger and put the effort in or wait to see if the Tanmodel kit pans out. Best of luck with the kits!.."  'Nocoolname' on BM

..and an example built for display currently for sale on ebay

Have a break....

KitKat's latest ad campaign takes the brand's "have a break" tagline to 'innovative new levels', pairing up with kit company Airfix who created a special edition of their new Spitfire XIV. The kits were sent to a number of model-making YouTubers who, upon opening the packaging, discovered a KitKat incorporated in the kits mounted on its own 3D-printed plastic sprue. The KitKat itself comes into play at step 38 of the model-making process, under the instruction "have a break".

Airfix Sea Fury FB 11 48th - build review finished

Second completion already in 2020.....

The new -tool Airfix Sea Fury is finally finished -what a lovely kit this is. Despite one or two small issues, especially around the cowl I can't be anything but pleased with the way this turned out. I used the Aeromaster Sea Fury sheet to do an example sporting stripes - FB 11 VX 726 aboard HMAS Sydney during 1952. Shame Airfix's decal options were so 'dull'. The Aeromaster sheet was of course designed for the Hobbycraft kit - so the stripes don't wrap around the fuselage all that well. They are in fact about one whole centimeter too short! The gaps were masked and painted as were the wing stripes ....

A long documentary from the video-tape era posted on youtube. The Korean carrier footage is at around the thirty-minute mark, well worth watching. A single click to view here..

 

More pics of the build in progress and the real machine

https://falkeeinsmodel.blogspot.com/2019/05/airfix-sea-fury-fb-11-hms-glory-korean.html

https://falkeeinsmodel.blogspot.com/2018/04/airfix-hawker-sea-fury-fb11-new-tool.html