80 Years of Airfix GB

Nice progress Das.

And no Stik, i didn't catch the Stones referance.

Some progress on Stuka. I built both the engine and the cowling, will see which one will I install. The upper part of the wing is dry fit

No worries Bish.

CN, that is looking beautiful! I take it this will be in markings for Africa?

CN, the Stuka is looking good so far. One of my favorites!

Just got the wings and fuselage together on the Hurricane. Kicking myself because I didn't read the reviews close enough. The only fit issue, which made the wings come out a little "wonkee", is YOU MUST SAND THE WING SPARS DOWN. I should have sanded more and not muscle the parts together with a thermonuclear glue bomb. But if that is the only fit issue this kit will be a dream. This is coming from somebody who builds models that are shite.

Both looking good there nice, nice to see the paint go on the Stuka.

I'm getting ready for the part of the build that I dread. Painting and weathering. I'll be painting dark green and brown camo over black. Hopefully I can achieve a worn and faded look when I'm done. Any tips along those lines would be appreciated. Anyway, here's where she stands today.

cwalker3

I'm getting ready for the part of the build that I dread. Painting and weathering. I'll be painting dark green and brown camo over black. Hopefully I can achieve a worn and faded look when I'm done. Any tips along those lines would be appreciated. Anyway, here's where she stands today.

 

Painting is my favorite part by far. I can't wait to get done with the build so I can paint.

The way I get a worn faded look is I black base first then sprat light coats of the base color followed by adding additional color to he panel areas. I will then lighten the color some and go back over the panel areas. I'm still working on the technique but I like the results.

Here is my update for the Blenheim. After fixing the nose mess-up and masking, I black based and added the tan base color. I plan on adding the green tomorrow.

The Lanc is looking nice. I do enjoy the painting stage, but decals are my favorite.

I have all but given up on black baseing. I am tending now to just add a lighter version of the base colours and then a light streaking with Flory washes.

Steve, good to see the paint going on. Looks nice.

Modelcrazy, thanks for the tips. I've never been very good with an airbrush, so my prior attempts at painting individual panels or pre-shading panel lines just never came out the way I wanted. Lately though I have been getting a little, and I do mean little, better. I think one of my problems is that I am partially color blind, so I really don't see what I should to make the paint job come out right. The other is that I am so inpatient that I tend to put down too heavy a coat of paint instead of lighter ones. We'll see how it goes.

Bish, I normally just rely on washes to do the job of lightening up the color. With armor, it's always worked pretty well, but aircraft don't get muddy so they aren't as forgiving as a tank. This is only my third aircraft, after building armor for years, so I'm still learning. And it's funny that you mention decals being your favorite. For years I stayed away from aircraft because of the dozens of tiny decals. After finishing a Corsair and B-25, and placing every single stencil that was called out, I found that it wasn't so bad. And they really make the model stand out. Maybe now I can build that F-14 that's sitting on my shelf. 

I always struggle in decideing what to do about weathring aircraft. I am not a huge fan of fading, especially WW2 aircraft, as i don't think they were not around long enough. As you say, they don't get muddy, maybe some around the landing gear ifyour on a muddy field on the eastern front. I am often tempted just to do some exhaust staining and leave it at that, but it never looks right. But i am edging towards a less is more thinking.

having recently done an Airfix Phantom, i know what you mean about the stencils, especially on modern aircraft. But for me the decals give the subject an identity. It turns it from just a generic subject into a specific aircraft or tank.

Some interesting builds showing up now.  Keep'em coming!

Bish, I'm finding the black baseing the whole thing is not nessesary, but it look good where there will be shadows such as wheel wells. I manly do the entire kit as a primer.

I got the green on.

Well, the "bug catcher" arrived from Lone Star Models today. I can press on with the WB-29 now.

BTW: We're driving up to Douglas, GA tomorrow to witness some history. The XP-82 is supposed to fly!

Very cool shading Steve!

Thanks Chad, l think I'm getting better at it.

Steve, ye, i see what you mean with that.

Thats come out really well.

Cheers Bish. I noticed I needed to do some work on the black around the fuse. Time to start the ole compressor.

Well I thought I would have this done sooner, but....well....I don't want to bum anyone out. 

Camo painted.

Then on with the decals. 

A bit of final assembely, and weathering, and it's done.

Not my best, but still much better than the first one I built.  First Airfix kit I've done.  Went together pretty well.  Didn't have any major issues.  Decals were a bit fiddly, but settled down nicely. 

Nice looking P-40, Keyda. Interesting choice of markings too.

Wonderfully done Keyda. You have done a remarkable job. I really like the scheme you portrayed. It's boss. I've got to say that with all you folks building the P-40 it's got me quite excited to build mine. Kudos on your finish Keyda.

That looks pretty good to me Keyda. The camo has come out really well, and an overall nice build.

Thanks for taking part and i will update the front page.

Guys, please bear with me over the weekend. The power lead for my laptop has packed up and i have just ordered a newone. But that means i won't be able to get on over the weekend so will have to catch up when i get back to work on Mon.

A lot more progress on the P-51D: fuselage halves together, wings and tail added.

I just can't decide ...

This one

or this one

And no, buying another one is not an option

CN, buying another kit is always an option.

Kits are like bicycles, N+1 is the ideal number to have, when N is the number you currently have...

Finally decided what I want to build. This kit was first produced by Airfix in 1967, the boxing I have seems to be from 1973. 

The kit comes in two configurations, a bare metal finish Pan American airliner and a WW2 era camo finished British Overseas Airways Corp aircraft. The kit appears to have very nice molding, but the decals seem to be questionable. I'm leaning towards the Pan Am Clipper version, taking off from a water base. Just have to finish another build (or two!) before this one. 

Good choice, Mr. Paladin. I'm building the kit myself, as a "what-if." The Clipper is nicely molded with very fine raised detail. It goes together without too much putty. You'll like the build. Here's where mine is at the moment:

..

Had the airplane all primered and I thought ready for Alclad when I saw a valley down the spine of the airplane. The kind of thing you don't see until after you spray primer. Oh well. Some Bob Smith gap filling CA glue helped fix the problem and I'm ready to prime the repaired area. I couldn't find any after market Pan Am Clipper decals to replace a ancient kit decals so I opted for a "what-if" scheme.

Be advised, Mr. Paladin, you may have some broken propeller blades. The props are very delicate. I had to get a second kit to have four unbroken propellers.

fotofrank

Good choice, Mr. Paladin. I'm building the kit myself, as a "what-if." The Clipper is nicely molded with very fine raised detail. It goes together without too much putty. You'll like the build. Here's where mine is at the moment:

 

..

 

Had the airplane all primered and I thought ready for Alclad when I saw a valley down the spine of the airplane. The kind of thing you don't see until after you spray primer. Oh well. Some Bob Smith gap filling CA glue helped fix the problem and I'm ready to prime the repaired area. I couldn't find any after market Pan Am Clipper decals to replace a ancient kit decals so I opted for a "what-if" scheme.

Be advised, Mr. Paladin, you may have some broken propeller blades. The props are very delicate. I had to get a second kit to have four unbroken propellers.

 

That's looking good! Thanks for the caution on the props. I'll do spinning props if any get broken. I haven't looked for aftermarket decals. I'll scan this set and try printing them if they don't work or can't find replacements. 

I'm suprised at how popular these Boeings seem to be.  I finished one a couple of months ago.  Despite their age, the kit can build up into a nice model.

I had to recreate the decals for it.

I love the choice of the Clipper UP. Fun watching folks building this one. Certainly not a kit you get to see very often. Looking forward to your progress.