The Airfix Farewell GB from now until 1st Jan 2007

Well I actually finished a build before the deadline .  Here are some pics of my 1/72 scale Meteor.  I have to say that this is one of the nicer Airfix kits that I've worked on.  I would defintiely do another one of these some day.

Duke,

Thanks for the kind words.  I know all about parts falling off!  I had to fabricate the refueling boom and two HF antennas from stretched sprue because of breakage.  The refueling boom snapped and flew off to who know where while prepping to paint!  I still haven't found it.  As I've stated before, the plastic in this kit was the most brittle I've ever seen.  I thought about using the hair dryer method, but I broke one of the vertical stablizer halves while trying to straight it out with hot water, and was afraid from then on to bend the warped pieces too much.

I've got the Heller kit in storage back in the states.  I'll be interested to see how the two kits stack up against each other.  I suspect they share alot since Heller and Airfix were in bed together for awhile.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I remember correctly, the Heller kit is all raised panel lines.  This Airfix kit has recessed lines on all major fuselage and wing components and on the optional TF33 engines (E-3A/B/C).  Interestingly, the CFM-56 engines (big turbofans for E-3 D/F, the primary engines for the kit) and the rotodome have raised lines, making me think these pieces were lifted from the Heller molds.  Its hard to tell who's moulding what these days without a scorecard!  Post a pic when you get your Sentry done.  You don't see these built every day.

Thanks Osher! I'll be doing more in the new Airfix Group Build too! 

razordws wrote:

Yes I have checked out your other threads Duke, that's why I made the comment.  So do you build ten at once or do you build one at a time, and then post them all at once.  Just curious because if I have more than two on the bench at once it drives me crazy.  I can't imagine doing a dozen at once.

To be honest Dave, I do build anywhere form seven to ten models at a time. I keep everything in their respective boxes and work on a different one while waiting for something else to dry on a previous model. So, when I post a bunch of finished pics like this, it means that I actually finished them all at about the same time. 

I used to be the same with only one or two projects going at once. I found that I was sitting around on the bench doing nothing while waiti9ng for stuff to dry. I didn't want to get up to do anything else while I still had precious time to work on the bench, so then I started a new model again.

Jeff, the AWACS looks great! I'm building the Heller E3B AWACS myself and having an extremely difficult time myself. I had the same issue with one engine dragging on the ground too. I took the wife's blow dryer, set it on the hottest setting, and used it on the wing for a few seconds from about six inches away. Then I flexed the wing a bit and held it till it cooled again (a minute or two tops) and checked it for height. I got it almost perfect after two tries. Now all I have to do is apply the decals, then re-attach the nine or ten parts that fell off while I was trying to paint it!

She's finally done!  Took 4 days of 2-3 hour sessions to get the decals on.  They were horrible to say the least, probably from effects of storage.  The wax paper protecting the decals was stuck on and had to be forcefully peeled off.  One of the larger wing stencils was quite damaged, so I had to sacrifice another from a less conspicuous location to try and fix it. 

The wing warpage results in one of the inner engines clearing by only about an eighth of an inch!  The other clears by about a quarter inch.  Overall though, I'm pretty satisfied by how it turned out, considering its my fourth model since coming back into the hobby earlier this year. I made plenty of mistakes along the way, some are visible in the pics, but I'll let you find them! This kit really stretched me, I've never completed a model this large before (the Monogram 1/48th B-17 I built in 48 hours when I was 11 doesn't count!). 

Overall, a satisfying build.  Now that Airfix has new life, I hope they bring this one back with some correct engines for the E-3 A/B/C so I could build a USAF or NATO bird.  Now, where to put the thing.....

Thanks Dave and sidure! I'm glad you like it. I've been wanting one of these for awhile and finally found it at Orangecon. Not bad for a three-dollar kit!

Dave, have you checked out my other threads to see what else I built with this? They'll tell you how busy I was! And yes, despite the two jobs, I still got my eight hours of sleep a night! 

Well, here it is, my finished Bird Dog:

This is the Airfix 1/72 scale O-1 E/F Bird Dog.

I found a small tail wheel formerly from a Corsair, but it is close enough and I can now declare this one done.

Now to go get my badge....

First of all, Log into your account.

Next, there is a box at the top that says "Upload Images or Video"

Just below it is a link to "add more images". Click on that and the upload boxes expand to five.  Then on the first box, click on  the "Browse" button. A Box showing your computer's files should pop up. Now find your pics. For Example, if your files are in the "My Pictures" Folder, double click on the "My Computer" icon, then the "My Documents" Folder, then the "My Pictures" folder, and then some icons should appear that are your pictures. (I don't know where your pictures are stored on your computer so the folders you'll have to click may be different. You'll have to find them using the above method) Click on one of your picture icons so that it is highlighted, then click the "Open" button. The path of the pic that you want to upload will be input into that little box. Repeat for additional pics you may want to upload. Once you have done this for all the pics you wish to load, click the big "Upload" button and sit back and wait. Depending on your connection speed and the number and sizes of your photos, this could take a few minutes to almost an hour to load. Once it is done, you'll get a screen saying "Successfully uploaded # of files!". And the pics should then appear on your Photobucket page.

Now that you have the pics uploaded, look at the Photobucket page with your thumbnails. Beneath each pic is a couple of boxes. One is labeled "URL" and one is labeled "IMG". click inside the "IMG" box so that all the words inside the box are highlighted. Then right-click and select "copy". Now come back to the reply box of the FSM Forum, click inside it so your cursor shows up in your reply and then press "Ctrl-V" to paste the words you copied when you right-clicked in Photobucket. It should automatically have the Image Tags on it, so all you have to do is click "Preview" to see if the pic shows up in the post. If you followed these instructions, it should. 

Good luck, I'm hoping to see pics of this beast since I have one to build as well. I wanted to build my Vulcan for this build but couldn't find it in the stash, so I built the O-1 Bird Dog instead.

Bird Dog is almost finished. Once I get the decals and final coat on it, I'll post my pics.

Just an update, to prove there is progress, and to encourage others to post build photos.

John

I look forward to seeing some pictures Jeff!

Razordws - great job on the Meteor.  Camo turned out really well.

Traveller - How about some pics of the Vulcan.  Look forward to seeing how it turned out.

 I painted the E-3 tonight.  Used almost an entire tin of Xtracolor Barley Grey, and still have some thin areas I may have to go back and retouch.  As usual, painting has revealed all the flaws and seams that needed more work, but I'm going to learn to love it regardless!  At this point, I have no intention of going back and starting the finishing process again!  I've decided never again to build such a large model in winter.  Its just too big for the spraybooth to cover, and too cold to take outside.  As expected, I broke off a couple of small pieces due to the model being so big and cumbersome, nothing that can't be repaired, though.  I'll take another look at it tomorrow and decide if I need to repaint the thin areas or if I can live with it as is.

Cheers!

Hi all,

Back from the UK and just getting over jetlag. I started my Jv44 Dora-9 today, painted the pilot (he came out pretty well, better than expected) and did about half the building, including CA/adze/wet-polish some jointwork. I'll do my best to get this little guy built in the remaining three weeks of the GB. The underside red for the Pappagei Staffel is the one which took 100 hours to dry, so I'll have to factor that in. My LHS may have restocked with Modelmaster by now, so RLM 83 may be available again, I'll try to get some next week.

I've just had the fun of reading the last five pages of posts, and the work that's been done here is awesome! Karl, Yellow 10 looks absolutely superb, you can be really proud of this model! If mine comes out half as good, I'll be well pleased! Sirdrake, the 504 is a stunner, the rigging and unusual markings make it a real winner. Jon, the Spit is fantastic! You started with a seriously troublesome kit and turned in a result which would pass casual muster alongside the Tamegawas. The paintjob and decals look terrific. Razordws, the Meteor is a winner -- beautiful paintwork. I know enamels stink but they go on so silky smooth, don't they?

Marvelous work, guys, and I look forward to taking part in the welcome-back GB nextyear too. It's great news that Hornby have rescued the great British brands, and with manufacture moving to China we may see Airfix products with a quality they've never known before.

Osher, you lucky devil -- enjoy El Carib, watch out for the pirates. We'll still be here when you get back, and just think how many more kits you can have accumulated in two years, shopping on the web and having them delivered to relatives for storage!

Cheers,

TB379

Building:

1:72 Martian Excursion Vehicle SF Scratchbuild

Tamiya 1:35 Type 74 MBT OOB

Hobbycraft 1:72 F-86E conversion

Zvezda 1:35 T-72 with ERA OOB

Zvezda 1:35 BTR-70 OOB

Testor 1:48 F-5A conversion

Airfix 1:72 FW 190 D-9 OOB GB

Hi all, decals are on.  I had the usual problems with off register printing and had to do some trimming.  Otherwise everything went well.  If it looks like some of them have silvered it's actually just becasue they are still wet and the setting solution hasn't dried yet. 

This is EE311 which was given to Canada immediately after the war and flew in several victory bond parades before being sent out to Cold Lake Alberta for testing along with another meteor.  According to my sources it is the first jet aircraft to fly in Canada.  Buck McNair attempted to fly it back to Ontario from Alberta but ended up ditching it in a lake in a remote area of Northern Ontario.  Futunately Buck survived and the lake was shallow enough that they were able to recover the aircraft.

jboutin asked: Jeaton01 what scale is that whirlwind? (I kinda like the little buggers too!) 

It is 1/72 scale.  Up 10 or 20 posts you can look at the header card and bag, I posted the photo in a message.  Someone said there was another, newer Whirlwind by Airfix also, and in 1/48 there is a kit by Classic Airframes which I have and need to build.

John

Dave, great job on the meatbox.

Know what you mean about enamels, I would never go back.

Nice Progress Dave!! Jeff and Jeantnn01 looking good.  Jeanton01 what scale is that whirlwind? (I kinda like the little buggers too!) 

I haven't been on the GB forum pages in a long while.  Thought I'd check out this one as I once said I'd build something for it.  Unfortunately quality time has been lacking lately and I will not be able to do this one.

I have been busy working on something else and shall have to show everyone the little bitty once done but you'll have to look in the pages of the dark side! Bwaahhhhahahah !!!

osher wrote:

The mainplanes (wings) are flat.  They should have some dihedrial in them, but too late now.

No, the model is correct, they should be flat!

Nice Meteor, and a great paint job!  I wish I could get my camo to look so good!

Jeff, Duke and Jeaton01, Great progress guys!  Keep the pictures coming.

Osher, looking forward to seeing some pics.  Hope you get the camera thing sorted out.

Now, managed to get the green upper camo on tomight so as promised here are some pics of the meat box (how did it get a nickname like that I wonder?)

 Now to let it dry for awhile, I ended up using Humbrol enamels and boy am I glad I don't use those on regular basis anymore, the acrylics smell much better, well... not as bad at least.  Anyway future and decals later this week.  I intend to do this as the first Jet ever to fly in Canada which I can easily do using the kit decals.

Sorry for no pictures, must sort out the camera!  Buying a new one soon, so better pictures are coming!

• The MiG-15 was finished a wee while back.
• The Morris tractor unit is sort of finished.  That is, it was missing some parts, and others just didn't fit.  However, it's been painted dark green, and looks like a truck.  It doesn't need to be better, as it's going to a friend's kid, along with MiG (and the Gloster Whittle from the First Jets GB) to be played with until destroyed!  Actually, it was quite fun, just assembling and painting for the heck of it, and not worrying too much about accuracy or a bit of excess glue.
• Now working on a DH88 Comet (the racer, not the airliner).  Little bit of warping on the fuselage, but a whole load of strong adhesives and cements sorted that one out.  A fair bit of sanding too.  The mainplanes (wings) are flat.  They should have some dihedrial in them, but too late now.  Oh well.  Still wingroot gaps horrendous, top, bottom, front, back.  Looks like some fun in store for me there.  Removed the moulded in pilots head.  I think this is kit number 11 (at work, so can't confirm), making it older than the MiG, or the Skyhawk.  One of their earlier, and it shows.  Mould is worn out, the canopy has no markings at all now for the lines, whereas, older kits from this mould had lines.

Amazing to see what everyone else has done!  The Whirlwind, the Meteor, the E-3, wow!!!!  Really coming along, and a good testiment to Airfix!  This really is a tribute GB to Airfix!