npb748r

same here, I'm sitting on an only just started 1/200 Bismarck plus all the aftermarket you could think of (bought before I retired at a time when I was grossly overpaid for a living !) and the HK Lanc, again only just started and returned to the box once bored with the build. I also have the 1/200 Yamato that's been sitting in my garage 99% complete for a decade. I'm kind of hoping this Mossie will force me to start to focus on finishing these kits. As I write this I can see my school reports from the mid 70's - "Neil must learn to focus more"; "he is capable but gets side tracked too easily" "if he spent less time talking and more time working he could achieve much more", etc.

yes please, that would be really helpful, thanks. I was kind of hoping, given the price of the kit and the fact that everyone puts it and Tamiya on a pinnacle that it might not need much in the way of AM. I'm already thinking about the Quintas Studio 3d decals - these blow my mind although I;m trying not to make them standard fit on all my kits that they fit.

that's skilled craftsmanship and amazing dedication to accuracy, you should feel very proud. Makes my sticking bits of pre-molded plastic together seem like childs play (which I guess it is given I was doing exactly the same as a 10 year old as I am now !!) neil

It's probably been 30 years since I went there even though it's less thank an hour from me (or 10 hours if the M25 is working as it normally does. I once fell asleep for several hours on the M25 between Enfield and Hatfield - stationary for around 6 hours through the night on a journey from Rugby to Chelmsford that normally takes 2 hours and in this case took 23 hours due to an unexpectedly large dropping of snow (probably less than 2 inches but it only takes a light dusting for the whole of the South East to declare a major emergency). Anyway, I have digressed - I will take a trip to the museum, good shout.

I'm certainly hoping Hubert, otherwise it wont be a first ticked off. I'd like to experience what the Tamiya fanatics rave about for myself, even if at the end I still don't get it 😁

perfect, thanks Jeff, I will do just that

that is a must - can't beat the 633 music - I rate it just above the BoB music with dambusters in 3rd. Haven't seen mosquito squadron for donkey years, in fact I can't recall the story so that will be found and watched as well.

this year I decided to do things I hadn't previously done before in my hobby of kit bashing after around 55 years since I built my first airfix kit. Build a resin kit, build a vacform kit, clear my shelf of doom, make a dent in my stash, etc, etc. I started the year ok having built the planet models yak-23 (albeit with a slight bodge up on the weathering that I may or may not try to correct) so that's one ticked off. Yesterday I bought a kit that will tick off something else. My enjoyment with model making is simple, I have not a care in the world about accuracy or great engineering, as long as it looks roughly like the thing it's meant to be I'm happy. Detailed and complex kits bore me silly, I like simple cheap kits, especially if a little bit of scratch building is thrown in. Every panel and canopy needs to be closed, no dangly flaps and definitely no engine. If it can't be seen once complete, it doesn't get added. The more simple the kit, the quicker the build, the more enjoyment for me. Oh, and if the markings and colour scheme are made up by me because they look better than the real thing then I find that very acceptable. My favourite kit from last year was the old matchbox Mk24 spitfire. I have only ever owned and built one Tamiya kit, never considered buying and building a ZM kit and I would turn down the big Boarder Model Lancaster if offered to me for free. Probably some of the Kitty Hawk kits are the most detailed and complex I've built. I know others will wince at all of that but I'm just trying to set the scene for modelling from my perspective. So imagine my surprise last night, after a red wine or three, I hit bid now button and winging it's way to me is a Tamiya 1/32 mosquito. This will give me a couple of firsts I think. It will definitely be the most complex kit I have every owned. Normally, if a kit is complex I don't finish it - this one I will. I plan to paint, build and detail every aspect of the model to the best of my abilities. Finally, I'm thinking about displaying the finished kit on a small diorama in a glass case with every panel open. That last bit is making me twitch to be honest, I'm not sure I want to go that far but who knows. Even if this last part isn't put into action there are enough firsts there for me for now. I'm waiting for the box to arrive before I reassess my good intentions and in the meantime I'm starting to do some research on the Mosquito. I'm not sure what I've let myself in for and think I may need encouragement to help me complete the beast so it will be a WIP build for me. Oh, and I'm leaving the attempt at building a vacform kit to later in the year - the thought of doing one of those is really causing me to panic ! neil

I was thinking Ajax as the powder cleaner. Will try Windolene, I suspect Ajax will do the job but less subtly 😁

I'll give that a go, haven't seen or used ajax for years so even if it's just for nostalgia purposes it's worth a try - thanks.

Hi all, I made a really novice error right at the end of the build so the kit sits 100% built but 99% finished. I got the painting sorted out, decals on, final coat of future before really light weathering, mainly panel lines darkened using a flory wash. Went to wipe the excess off once dried and it wouldn't come off. I think, because of the cold in the room I model in, that the future wasn't fully dried and the flory wash merged in with the future. It looks awful, so now sits at the back of a shelf. Resin experiment over, I'm back to IM kits at present. I would build another one if the subject was right for me, I learnt a few things along the way but I guess I'm a creature of habit, I like working with IM, I know what I'm doing and I know what to avoid where I have skill weaknesses. Anyway, some pictures pre and post my error.........

she's on her legs (yet to be painted), this is not my best build but I'm doing something new and learning lots of new things after 5 decades of modelling ! I have been shocked at how heavy it is, I thought I overdid the nose weight by a country mile however it's just at that tipping point, if a bee landed on it's tail it will tail sit !

thanks Hubert, will give this a go, I'm not a regular rattle can user.

my lack of experience with resin is kicking in now I've got to the painting stage. I washed all of the parts down before starting and gave the plane another clean once the wings were on. I'm now struggling with patches appearing in some place as per the photo (you can see where I've rubbed down a section on the flap - ignore that, it's work in progress ) I'm not sure if it's because it's cold (my hobby room is in my loft and it's certainly chilly up there) or because I never got it clean enough. The primer seems to cover much better without an issue so not sure what's going on - the silver is rattle can tamiya - thought I'd avoid the airbrush cleaning and cheat as I had the can handy, maybe that's the mistake. I'm now eyeing up with pleasure my IM kits but wont give up.

not sure why but going through one of the normal slow patches with my modelling. Anyway, did a few hours work today for the first time in 2 weeks. The amount of time I have put into this kit doesn't reflect what I look at in terms of progress. I'm definitely learning new things. Working with just CA glue is not as difficult as I expected, I quite like working with resin but there's so much more effort to get pieces ready to stick together compared to IM. Anyway, I've got this far, should have the cockpit closed up tomorrow and primer on, more filling and sanding no doubt. Working with the vacform canopy has been the scariest part for me, cutting it to shape and masking afterwards was delicate work compared to my normal heavy handed approach ! neil

just spotted this - sorry I missed it. I wont next year, I have some kits in the stash that I know I wont build and would make perfect gifts !

I was 16, at that point where girls and music seemed to hold more interest than building models so my output slowed but never stopped. That catalogue whisks me back to happy days - the clothes they are wearing on the front picture has the opposite effect !!!

looks good and it is hard to tell there is an issue - keep going, those builds that kick back at you are, for me, the most satisfactory when finished. And I agree, there's a touch of batman there as well !

It feels like I've been working on this for hours over the past 4 days however I've not got much to show. I am learning a few things - every component I thought I had ready to fit but no, it needs adjusting. I seem to be forever sawing and filing resin over and over again. The mess is unbelievable - resin creates so much dust !!! Thankfully I have a room in the loft that my wife never goes into so I'm getting away with it. Working with only CA glue is a different experience, I feel like a novice - I've stuck the hairs on the back of my hand to the back of my hand and somehow the cuff of my fleece is stuck to my wrist. I've washed the resin, paint behaves randomly on some areas - I've worked out Halfords rattle can primer is a good base. There was hardly any detail on the IP and cockpit sides so I've added a throttle handle and used some Airscale PE and decals to add a bit relief. It's not accurate to the real aircraft but that doesn't bother me, as long as it looks like a cockpit I'm a happy boy. This is what I have so far, it will need more paint touching up but I'm not far from joining the fuselage halves together and there's not much more build work after that according to the instructions. Nothing is finished in the pictures yet (sorry about the small pictures, I selected the wrong size). thanks neil

that looks brilliant - weathering is spot on. I'm deeply impressed by anyone who tackles wires and extra wings, it sends shivers down my spine just thinking about them !!!!! Great personal story to go with a great build. neil

thanks all for the kind comments - it was a pleasure to build, I highly recommend the kit, great value for money and some really smart engineering.

the insert for the arrester hook and the hook itself is in the kit but I think the wings are wrong for a sea hurricane but you could fill in the panel lines for the extra 4 guns. They clearly plan on releasing the sea hurricane as well as a mk IIc.

@Bomber_County just posted a few pictures of both the completed build and the decals. Thanks for the encouragement. neil

This is a first for me, having just finished the Hurricane, my next build will be resin, one of my new years resolutions was to build a resin kit. Completely new learning curve and I'm feeling a bit apprehensive, especially as one of my other new years resolution is to share some of my builds on this forum so you will get to see every mistake as well as success ! Anyway, this is the kit, it's not complex and should be ok for a first build. Funky looking aircraft but I enjoy first and second generation jets. I suspect that, as long as the build goes ok, I will be building more resin kits in future, they cover some great subjects not released in IM. I have glue (BSI Super Gold) arriving on Monday so will be doing prep work over the weekend. neil

Hi all, so I don't normally post pictures of my builds but I've realised that's a bit selfish as I want to look at everyone else's builds, if nobody contributes there's no forum so it's a new years resolution for me. Anyway, this is the new tool Hurricane, Kitsworld seat belts added and H-Model Decals stencils which I've since relaised is wrong as the actual aircraft was painted black in the field, stencils were most likely not reapplied. Great fun to build, the kit goes together with some clever engineering especially around the wings/fuselage connection. The cockpit is amazing but very little can be seen. Hope you enjoy neil