Slowly I plod along. Better get into gear to finish this by April. Going to paint the major color scheme camo then put the gear and tanks on. Try that route. 

 

Hey Cliff,

You are right, not that showy, but it won't be the box top colour scheme. It will be the RAN gloss white over Oxford blue. So still a bit of bling.

I will have to go back to camo on the next model just to cool my blood...

Piers: Ohhhhhhhh very cool! I note it's a somewhat more subdued scheme than your last chopper. 

Thanks LA.

That Wessex looks nice, look forward to seeing that. I take it your doing the Australian navy one your showing there.

Keen to see how this kit builds as i wouldn't mind getting the HU.5 Italeri does.

Two very good builds there Bish.

Great to have a connection with the Apache. The restrained weathering looks just right for a modern aircraft. 

Nice finish on the Mossie too, despite the frustrations of the decals. A good scene tells a great story too. Such a good looking aircraft

Griff, thanks for the kind words, it is a very easy build, and fun to play around with. Not Russian surplus, but they are available on the black market at a very reasonable price...

And for my real Connomwealth build, I will put together Italieri's Wessex as the RAN 31B variant:

Thanks Griffin.

Lost: That freighter is awesome. Great looking build, bud. How'd Uganda afford that kind of hardware? Russian surplus? 

Bish: You're a machine. Excellent build after excellent build. You should open a military modeling museum. Great work, bud. 

modelcrazy

They look great Bish  It's pretty neat that that might be an Apache that you supported.

What do you use for grass? I've always wanted to ask but keep forgetting. I need to get some Flory Washes to try.

 

Thanks, i thought it would be a nice idea. We didn't work directly with the Apaches, our main job was underslung loads for various larger types. But we were right next to the heli pad so used to see them taking off all the time, usually escorting the Chinooks we had just attached a load to.

 For the grass i spray diluted white glue and then spread an assortment of the fine scatter materials and different colours of the Woodland scenices flock. I always build it up over several sessions and for these aircraft ones i try not to make it to neat and tidy. I don't want it looking like a well kept lawn.

Bish: Both the Apache and Mossie looks great!!! BTW did you ever get the figures for your earlier build?

Piers: Awesome, love it!!!

What a great pair of builds you have completed Bish, excellent work.

You have to love a Mosquito in any scale, just an all round favourite of mine. And the Apache, just wow!

Great work all round, I always enjoy seeing your diorama/builds come together at the end.

Damo

Nice Apache.

They look great Bish  It's pretty neat that that might be an Apache that you supported.

What do you use for grass? I've always wanted to ask but keep forgetting. I need to get some Flory Washes to try.

Thanks jack. I was lucky to have found the site. I had several aircraft to choose from but this one arriving the same month just seemed the right choice.

Hi Bish, great looking pair these last two completions. 

I like how you have researched the Apache to serve as a momento of when you were stationed in Afghanistan - very cool.

regards,

Jack

And then the Apache. Once the decals wewre added i gave it a flory wash useing there sand wash and was really pleased with how it came out. I came across a site which lists the history of every British Army Apache by serial number and i choose one that arrived in Afghanistan in Nov 2008 which is the same month i got there. I was part of a small unit known as the Joint Helicopter Support Unit, which along with the Apaches, Chinooks and all the other helicopter related assests were under the command of the Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan). I don't know if this aircraft operated from camp bastion where i was, or if it was at Kandahar, but we were both in the country at the same time.

The ground crewman is a re-used figure from one of the Hasegawa sets. I simply painted over his OD's with British Army desert camo.

And thats my lot. These 4 builds have all been interesting in their own ways, from cracked canopies, wrong choice of paint colour and lousy decals. But over all, i am pleased with the outcomes (mostly) and have deffinetly learnt a few things. And at last i have a British Army aircraft on the shelves.

Time to wrap up both my remaining builds. I have been going full on to get both these and another build complete by the end of the year so i can start 2019 afresh and i just about managed it. That along with the issues i have had with all 3 meant i just plowed on and didn't get any updates. But now i am just glad they are done.

First, the Mosie. I finally got the decals on after digging out the decal sheet from the other kit but even though i was more careful i still had issues with them coming apart in places. I dffinetly won't be useing Tamiya aircraft decals again. I do have 3 more Tamiya mossies which fortunatly i have am marking sets for and i have now ordered some am stencil sets.

Here she is with markings on, main issues is around the wing roundels on one of the right side which have had little bits come away.

I gave it a light weathering, these aircraft arrived new at Horsham St Faith in Norfolk in May 4942 and were only there for 6 months before 105 Sqn moved on, so i wanted to depict an aircraft that had not been long in service. I added a bomb trolley fom Flightpath and just about managed to find 3 figures that fit the scene, though i really am now scraping the barrel.

As you can see, i have not added a name plate. I am having priner issues at the moment so i'll added the plate once thats sorted out.

modelcrazy

 

 

lostagain

The Eurofighter looks cool, will it be Rebels or Imperial?

 

 

Actually, I'm not sure......Bish, what is the RAF?

intresting markings, nice weathering. I see a Roo and Rino, is the other an Emu?

 

Given i am ex army, do you really want me to answer that

Well spotted Steve, 

Rhino - individual ship marking

Roo - a tag that mysteriously appears on craft serviced by Aussie techs

Not an emu, a crested crane, Uganda's national bird

LA,

Great work mate, excellent addition to anybodies collection and will be in yours!

Look forward to the next project.

Damo

lostagain

The Eurofighter looks cool, will it be Rebels or Imperial?

Actually, I'm not sure......Bish, what is the RAF?

intresting markings, nice weathering. I see a Roo and Rino, is the other an Emu?

Steve,

The Eurofighter looks cool, will it be Rebels or Imperial? Sorry, you did say, it's with the Empire...

And I see you have graced the reader's gallery of the recent FSM with your 1/72 Zeke - good stuff!

Calling the USF Corelian freighter done: Decaled up, pinwashes, pastels, nicks and scratches, drybrushing and the windows painted.

Piers: Whoops, look like I missed you. Looks awesome, love it. Looking forward to the finished product! 

Steve: Ohhhhh very cool. 

Thanks LA, Your build is coming along a treat, and I second the paint style, very nice.

I have another NMF project in the future I will try AB Alclad to see how that fares.

D

Will do Steve, i really must get myself that Eurofighter i have in my e-bay wish list this year.

Bish, I received this Eurofighter for Christmas and wanted to do it in RAF markings. Can I add this to my list? I will start on it next week and should knock it out just before completing the Swordfish.

No. 17 (F) Squadron OCU, Warton, 2004.

LA, like where your going with the national colours. Looking really nice.

Damo,

the redone NMF looks really good to me. Know the feeling on NMF, haven’t done a good one yet, though the results with Vallejo Metal Colour have been encouraging.

GH

The Cat looks like a big unit, it will be good to see it under paint.

Eric

the Tomahawk is amazing, a great level of finish has gone into that. It really looks like the super weathered planes from the desert war. Marvellous work.

Colin,

very nice finish on the Vb, very even and neat.

Griffin,

Like the detail in the cockpit. Agree on the pedals. Nice desk there too. Now I have to look up the YouTube channel…

I am having loads of issues around logging in. I cannot log in with Firefox, Google Chrome or my phone. Microsoft edge let me log in, but I cannot change my signature???

Kept going on the Ugandan Space Force freighter. Got a bit of decoration in the national colours on board to start with:

Gamera

Looks pretty darn smooth and perfect to my aging eyes! 

 

Thanks Mate,

Apart from the first bump in the road, its come up pretty good when all said and done.

Will get to decaling this weekend, as I have the Christmas period off work, yeah to me...

All the best and Merry Christmas and all that.

Damo

Looks pretty darn smooth and perfect to my aging eyes! 

Thanks Bish,

It was touch and go for a a while, me touching the hammer but letting it go....

The AK Extreme metal paint is quite nice to AB. Next time I do a NMF I will do a black gloss base and use my stash of Alclad and see how that goes.

Have a Merry Christmas Bish and a I look forward to more of your builds in 2019!

Damo