Aggie, that Panther looks incredible! Way to go.

I'm still in this. I've just been having problems getting my silver coat to go on right on my F-86 Sabrejet, Fourth attempt, and I hope it's my last! I'll post pics when I finally have something worth posting.

Aggie, sweet looking Panther, very nice

Steve that is an awesome Panther!!!! Well Done indeed!!!

No problem I will build a 1/72 scale Pro Modeller me 262 with Aeromaster decals for Maj. Walter Nowotny.

THANKS

Damon

G'Day Mike

Too late to join ? I'm starting back up again after a busy year moving/changing jobs etc.

Finishes late December...hmmmm got a 1/72 Airfix Meteor 8 with some RAAF Korean war decals I'm itching to get this one done .....

Hi Simon,

Never too late! Welcome aboard! I'll add you to the leaderboardm and look forward to seeing your build!

From the G'day and the decal selection, you sound like an Aussie -- we have a few down here active on group builds!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Simon, to the GB...Always good to see another Aussie around

Aggieman: Wow, the Panther looks spectacular! Always liked the looks of the aircraft and you did a great job on her.

BTW Mike I feel like I'm cheating a little since the Kikka had been started before the build. I'd like to toss in a Classic Airframes 1/48th RAF Vampire trainer when I get the Kikka finished (hopefully this weekend). The Vampire I'm starting from scratch.

Hi Gamera,

A second build would be more than welcome! I'll list it on the leaderboard right away. But please don't think you cheated, finishing shelf-sitters is always important!

Cheers, Mike

Simon: Very coo! Looking forward to seeing your build.

Mike: Oops! Sorry both of the RAF trainers in the CA Vampire kit are natural metal which I really don't want to tackle in a limited run kit since it's going to need a ton of putty and filling. I'm going with the dark grey and white Royal Navy  trainer instead. So I should have said Classic Airframes 1/48 RN Vampire trainer. My apologies...

No worries, Gamera, I'll switch the leaderboard listing -- can't wait to see her go together!

Cheers, M/TB379

Steven - I really like the Panther... she's a beauty!   I like the way you weathered the paint too. I used that method when I built my Hind to replicate the sandblasted and sun beaten topside of a desert theater Hind.

Well done sir!

Since the Kikka was already started I didn't post any cockpit in-progress shots. Well, the pics are a little fuzzy and it looks a little rough but here's a shot of the cockpit parts for the two-seat trainer version of the Vampire. The instructions told me to paint everything black except the belts but I fudged a little on using dark grey so everything wouldn't disappear into a 'black hole' once I closed the thing up.

Ok, I finally found a kit that interested me and wasn't double dipping with the Korean War GB. I'll join in with a 1/72 Amodel Yak-15, I should be getting started in a day or two depending on how work treats me. 

The Meteor is under way. I had started this kit sometime last year, but had only painted the cockpit interior and snipped some parts.

The kit was one of those commissioned by Hannants under the Xtrakit label. Some sort of deal allowed the manufacturer ( I think it was MPM) to sell the molds to Airfix or lease them or something and Airfix promptly released the same kit at about half the price of the Xtrakit ones, much to the justifiable chagrin of Hannants !

Anyway the kit is typical of a 'limited run' offering, with no location holes/pegs etc, so construction is a little unusual !

Couple of pics below :

The Box artwork

This better not be a tail sitter !

Coming along ! The Xtradecal sheet I have doesn't have the Korean war markings I thought it did, so it will either be a 'Meteorites' RAAF Aerobatic team aircraft, of a 77 sqn CO aircraft with an interesting green checkerboard on the vertical stabiliser.

coming along nicely Simon

Simon: the Meteor's looking good!

Ok, finally some photos of the 'finished' Kikka. I noticed there is a small pitot tube on the right wing I still haven't attached but she's 99.99 complete so here's the photos anyway.

And the Vampire is coming along slowly:

The RN trainer version:

Yeah, it's a limited run kit and it fits like one. Every now and then I like to beat myself to a pulp with a kit where nothing fits...

Wow, I can finally post here. Yes, I am still in this.

You guys are doing such incredible work, I feel unworthy!

Anyway, here is my progress. I finally got a coat of silver on my Sabrejet that I am happy with. This one will be decaled soon:





Maybe now I can move forward on this. I'll be applying decals next.

Thanks all for looking in.

Gamera, The kikka came out great, love your weathering...Very cool Goodluck tameing that Vamp

Duke, Sorry to hear about your silver issues, good to see you have it all sorted out nowThe sabre is one of my favorites so i'm looking forward to seeing some more...

Gamera -- beautiful Kikka! Page 1 updated, she's on the roll of honour!

Duke -- Sabre's looking great, can't wait to see the markings!

Page 1 is also updated with the badges -- at long last! (Courtesy of my digital imaging expert sister!) Dig in, guys, all as finishes, collects their badges, arrrrrrrr!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Mike, cool badges, i like the Mig....I've just about finished my 190 so i'll be getting stuck into the Arado very soon...

Gamera- Nick job on the Kikka.  Not quite as elegant of design as the 262, but a beautiful plane in its own right.

Duke- Looking forward to seeing the finished product.  I am another one of those Saber fans.

As for me; the Army has eaten up too much time to allow modeling.  I am living vicariously through you guys.  My Venom may end up waiting for my return.

Getting ready to go to Wings over Atlanta today.  Taking the kids to see the Blue Angels and the Snowbirds.  At least I can make a little family time model related.

Thanks guys!

Duke: looking good, she'll look great with some colorful decals.

Helo: How did the show go? I saw the Angels and Snowbirds some years ago and they put on an awesome show.

Not too bad.  The kids got tired of walking around, so we ended up leaving before the Blue Angels flew.  I did get to see the Snowbirds though.  I was impressed with their precision.  They weren't as spectacular as the Blue Angels but the formation flying that they do is impressive.

Hi everyone,

Gamera, love the Kikka, especially the finish. I assume you did some pre-shading which looks great. It's a skill I've yet to master as you'll see in my update. Any tips appreciated. Nice start on the Vampire as well.

Simon - Like the Meteor so far. Look forward to future updates.

Duke - Gotta love those shiny Sabers!

As for me the Fury is coming along slowly but surely.

Her she is with the primer coat.

I pre-shaded the underside with a dark grey which will be over sprayed with flat white.

I would have thought more of the gray would show through the white. The shading is pretty subtle.

I pre-shaded the upper half in black as a flat gull grey will be sprayed over this.

That's all for now.

Mac: Well at least you got to see part of the show, dang. The last one I went to was in June/July and was so hot I thought I was going to pass out. Still it was a great show aside from that.

Tom: She's looking good so far! I notice that you're doing the pre-shading the same way FSM says. Sometime back I started pre-shading the panel lines with paint only slightly darker than the base coat, say on a light ghost grey base useing dark ghost grey for the pre-shading. Then I mist the model with thinned about 50% thinner base coat to tone everything down. It just seems less work to me than using black pre-shading on a light model and then having to cover it back up again.

Gamera - The Kikka looks awesome! Nicely done!

Well, life has been throwing me curve balls lately so I haven't been around much. I just wanted to pop in for a quick update on the P-59. Alclad is on and she looks alright. I'm a little disappointed with the fact that, despite my best efforts, I have lots of dust and crud in the paint. I don't know whether to leave it alone or try to repaint it again. I suppose I'll ponder on it awhile. Couple of pics...

I sure love the look of Alclad!

Jmabx -- that Alclad looks FANTASTIC! up close you can see your dust and such, but it is absolutely not visible in the pics! You really make me want to add one of these to my own collection!

Cheers, Mike/TB379