1/48 Land Rover Snatch & WMIK

A little different from my normal aircraft models are these two little land Rover kits from Airfix.  They both come in the same box and the models represent the newest types of land rover used by the British armed forces in Afghanistan.  From the outset I had a clear brief for these two models, they had to be well used and well worn, with crew figures and plenty of stowed equipment. I also opted to use the Airfix photo etch set for the Land Rovers, which greatly improves the detail of some areas of the kits.  For the stowage I could not find much aftermarket but after some considerable searching I found a company call Red Zebra which is just starting up and can only be purchased direct.  I will post a review of the items I purchased at a later date, but suffice to say I am very impressed. For the crew I used the Airfix vehicle crew set which was clearly not meant to be used with the Land Rovers.  All the figures are too large and needed some serious re working to fit.  I added Barracuda netting to the Snatch Land Rover by punching out semicircles into paper. Both models were painted in Airfix acrylic paints and weathered with oil washes.

So here they are...

1/48 Spitfire PR XIX

For my next model I wanted a quick and simple build that would not be too taxing.  I recently purchased some Airfix models and one of those kits was the 1/48 Spitfire PR XIX.  With its attractive box art the kit had been calling me to build it since it arrived but, I had promised I would not start any more models until I had finished some that are sitting on the shelf of doom.  I could resist no longer I finished my Airfix 1/48 Spitfire PR XIX in record time, just a mere three days from start to finish! This was due in part to my interest in this aircraft and the kit being excellent.  For a full in box review click on this link: Airfix 1/48 Spitfire PR XIX review. 

The kit was a dream to build with only a smear of filler needed were the rear of the wing meets the fuselage, which is common on most single engine piston fighters. The only addition I made to the kit was a set of photo etch seat belts form Eduard and some decals for the instruments and placards  in the cockpit form the spares box.  I decided to cut out the access panel as per the instructions so that the camera bay was visible. I wanted the aircraft to be clean so I gave the model a slight post shade and very little weathering. 

I also tired out Humbrol acrylics and was pleasantly surprised with how well they airbrushed, so I will now be getting some more!

1/48 Tornado F.3

Like buses you wait forever for a finished model, then two come along at once!  This is the Hobbyboss 1/48 Tornado F.3, which has been sitting on my shelf of doom for quite some time.

The kit went together with no real issues and has been finished with Vallejo Model Air paints.

The next two kits that are currently on the shelf of doom that I will be working on next are the Academy 1/48 F-15C MISP II and the Airfix 1/72 Nimrod.  

Revell 1/48 Rafale B

The shelf of doom has one less victim today as I have finished a model!  It has been a long time since a model has been finished on my workbench and has reminded me why I love this hobby.  So without to much more waffle here it is...

Next up is the 1/48 Tornado F.3........

Italeri 1/48 Hawker Hurricane Mk.1

The Hurricane is finished!  After a trouble free build and a matte coat disaster, all the small and clear parts are have been added and the model is finished.

More soon......

Cheers Andrew

Weekend of Modelling

My partner and son went back to Sussex on Thursday this week, which meant that I had some free time , in between work and heading down to Sussex in the early hours of Sunday morning.  This could only mean one thing, time for some modelling!

As can be seen from my last post I have quite a few models on the bench at the moment, plus many more on the shelf of doom, more on that later.

This weekend I had two main goals;

1. Finish the Hurricane
2. Paint the Tomcat

It is safe to say I did not complete either task, although I did come close!

First up we will have a look at the Hurricane......

All the decals have been added and they have settled down very nicely with the help of Airfix's Decal Fix.  Next I decided to use Tamiya's flat base and then disaster struck.  For some reason the flat base fogged the entire model.  What to do? I tried a coat of Klear which had no effect so next I tried to remove the Klear and Tamiya flat base with a cotton bud soaked in Tamiya thinner.  Slowly and painfully the fogging was removed.  Panic over I decided it was time to weather the model.  I wanted to give the model a war weary look but not going overboard.  To do this I used three different elements;

1. Black oil paint
2. Vallejo weathering powders
3. Tamiya weathering pigments

The black oil paint was applied to the panel lines and left to dry.  Usually I would do this on a gloss surface but recently I have been experimenting on a matt surface which acts almost like a post shade and gives a pleasing result for a  worn looking aircraft.

Next step was to use non thinned black oil paint in little dots and dragged back with a brush to create oil stains and leaks on the underside.

Black Vallejo weathering powders was used to create the gunpowder staining on the wings and a little light sienna was used on the tires to make them look a little dusty.

Finally the exhaust staining was created with Tamiya weathering pigments applied with a stiff brush.

All that is left is to give the model a flat coat to seal and protect the weathering and then to attach all the small parts. 

The F-14 has had it's three grey colours added and the black squadron marking applied.  In the end, for ease of cleaning, I used Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics thinned with Tamiya thinners and I was pleasantly surprised at how well they sprayed.

Just some detail painting to be done and the model will be ready for gloss and decals!

More soon 

Andrew

About time for a new post

As it has been a while since my last post I thought the first thing to do would be to post a quick update on the models on my workbench at the moment.

First up is Italeri's 1/48 Hawker Hurricane Mk 1...

Decals are almost all on, it has been painted with Humbrol paints and I also used their decal setting solution which worked wonderfully.

Next up is Academy's 1/48 Bf-109 E...

This model is coming along nicely, fit has been good all round and the detail is good, especially in the cockpit.

Third model on the bench is the HobbyBoss 1/48 Tornado F.3 ...

Almost ready for decals! I have just given  it a panel lie wash using black oil paint which has given it a nice grimy look.The model has been painted using Xtracolour paints.

Finally last on the bench is the HobbyBoss 1/48 F-14D Tomcat ...

She is almost ready for paint but I cannot decide what brand of paint to use.  The detail is great on this kit and the fit is excellent.

That's all for now hopefully I will get something finished soon!

Cheers Andrew