PanzerWomble

Ok so first build of 2023 , first completion for this forum. Gladiator HP-B N2308 247 Sdn Roborough Plymouth October 1940 . Revell re pop of ICM tooling. Sillouhette cut masks for seriels , kit decals which were ok for Revell for once . The Revell boxing includes this aircraft, but both the seriels and the paint scheme are incorrect , as they copied from a scheme worn by the Old Warden Glad a few years ago . I’ve wanted to build this aircraft for around 10 years. & I'm not without history on this subject. Two , ( count them ) attempts were made using Roden(t)s 1/48 offering ( both binned mid build as not good ) But why the obsession with this particular aircraft? Well .......247 were the last RAF squadron to use Glads on mainland UK. My father as a young lad (12) in Plymouth remembered seeing them in the air overhead in the summer of 1940 ....well... that nailed it for me as "have to do" . Oddly - as a similar aged child I used to go to (now civil) Roborough to watch the RN Chipmunks train. Isn't life a circle at times? From Aug 40 - March 41 they defended HM Dockyard Devonport based from RAF Roborough , the light civil grass airfield built just north of Plymouth in the late 20s and hastily taken over by the RAF in 1938. The runway was too short to accommodate early Spits or Hurries with fixed pitch props ( which needed a longer take off run ( 1700ft) than the variable pitch props that came later (800ft ish) . In late 1941 a much larger airfield 7 miles north was built at RAF Harrowbeer, and Roborough was left for liaison and the odd SAR aircraft. So the poor old Glads had to make do defending Plymouth with occasional help from squadrons based at Exeter's larger airfield until well into the blitz, when they were swapped out for Hurricanes (Feb 41) . I bought this wonderful book about 12 years ago . Made in conjunction with the Squadron Association , it provides a wealth of details from formation to disbandment , including all the aircraft flown etc . They became "China British" later in the war as they had "sponsorship" from Hong Kong businesses and expats.

Like it , interesting scheme you went with as well . Also impressed you managed to get the wing guns and the intake scoop to behave, I found the fit on these parts were pretty sub par.

The Canadian side of Mount Rushmore .

Whats a turnbuckle .....lifes too short .🤣 I looked through my brass tube collection , but decided against trying to thread this through . I has some of the MIG stuff which was good , but got incredibly tangled and binned .

Spot on build there , and thanks for posting it . 👍 I can imagine that trying to down heinkels by searchlight during the blitz Makes me fancy giving this one a try as it seems the bargain of the year

Yes it's thin and stretchy ( will go 30% maybe) . Has a habit of sticking to anything slightly sticky , apart from what you are trying to glue it to . For one off aeriels on monoplanes it's great , not so much fun full rigged biplane. I was tempted to use 0.3mm wire instead but stuck with this . Took an afternoon , evening to complete. Biggest benefit is that once it is on , if you accidentally knock it , it just twangs back

Been such fun day today . In the home straight now , should finish this weekend , then I can make something else 😁

From the country that brought you Ferrari , Lambourghini , Alpha Romea .....and ...............FIAT ....couldn't guess FIAT is now run by a Frenchman could you ? Such design panache .................

Not mucking up the upper wing attachement ...esp after a night in the pub , I'm thinking this is job for the morning . 🤣

Considering my life choices ....

Looks great - you might need a Type 64 ship to put them on later. 🙂

Ah and if you want to make your own X20A Thinner Measure by volume :- 2 Parts tap water 1 part 99% IsoPropyl Alchohol +2% Acrylic Retarder Fluid . That'll set you back about 70p / 80 US cents for a 250ml bottle ....instead of £10 ....BANZAI !!!! 😬

Normal everyday things rebranded as "modelling" for a 1000% markup .......every time I read "sanding stick" ............ I giggle. Good tip on the sprue goo though , I normally gravitate to Perfect Plastic Putty because I hate sanding and I can feed it in with a wet brush, but might well give it a goo . FYI Tamiya extra thin is ..............according to it's data sheet . Neither chemical too hard to find. Butyl Acetate 123-86-4 50.0 ％ Acetone 67-64-1 50.0 ％ Data Sheet Tamiya Extra Thin.pdf

No , not for that reason ..😁 ..from shaking with wits out of paint bottles to mix them up, esp if they are a bit older . I bought one of these Timodel Shakers a year ago , was a bit dubious how effective it would be , as it is a rebranded generic chinese nail polish shaker. However after using it for a while I can report it works well . With new paint if you added some thinner to the bottle @ 15 seconds and your good to go. Also works for rejunvinating older paints that have settled. For ancient paints I give them quick stir to break up the sediment and then shake them for 30 seconds , with good results. I work mainly with Tamiya, Alclad and Vallejo FYI This one is battery powered ( not great) but works far better on a mains lead . Comes with a UK plug too . Paid £28 for mine from Jadlam , they are on eBay for the same. I've no relation or stake in the company , just a surprised happy user .

Does this mean my investment in Twitcoin is fake ? Dammit .

Guy who bought that one (Number 57) has never rode it AFAIK , just had it in his pub for decoration . Worked fine, fully road legal etc in 2015 , but he just wanted a garage queen . Refused a test ride when he picked it up . A few of my builds ended up like that, just decorating garages. TBH I didn't care, it paid the bills that month .

Fudge !! ......FJ1200 goodness ...my current 1986 early FJ ...large aircooled 4s from the 80's are my thang , in 40 bikes I've only had one with water cooling. 10 years ago I built custom bikes for a living for a while , all based off Viragos . Nice ot look at, horrible to ride, but they sold well .

Re Enactor Fail

Built that back in 1977/8 around when it came out ( my Uncle used to buy me the largest kit on the shelf for Xmas ) . Really fancied building it again , but the prices in the UK are seriously crazy for such a old kit. Look forward to seeing what you make of it . Sea or Stand ?

Makes you wonder how they managed to bin the only British Indian on the entire forum who also had a 100% "good reputation " , almost like there's a second agenda for some MOD. BS ..100% BS . Oh well hope guys like tanks .

Maru my friend , just went looking for you on that other forum 🤧. Found you here instead. What the Furry ?? I'll not repeat what others have said as I'm in agreement mostly , but I'm just amazed after so many years and so many positive posts , who the heck could get upset ? And by what ? Frankly I'm quite appalled , I thought it was broader church than that . At the risk of upsetting anyone it's only gluing bits of plastic together , what the heck is there to get upset about .