king derelict

I finished the display base with a 1/8 inch sheet of acrylic mounted on the matt black MDF board with brass screws. The sheet locates the side walls and gives a finished look to the base, The keel rests on acrylic cubes. Once the ship is levelled the cubes are glued to the sheet. Then the scary part - lifting the case over the model and lowering it onto the base. Thankfully I was able to get this done without disaster. Any doubts about making a case have disappeared. It is great to see the corvette protected from ust and inquisitive fingers and i actually think it enhances the model. The lighting around the room makes it hard to get good photos but I'll try again Thanks for looking in Alan Thank you

Thanks EG, there are some interesting subjects there, I was wondering if the Fairey Rotodyne would fit in there somewhere too. I dimly remember Airfix having a kit (in the sixties?) Alan

AV-8B Harrier II just ordered

Welcome Lou I need to start catering these build groups properly; get the cooler and beverage bar installed and lay on some snacks. Off to Europe in three weeks so I hope to lay in some German Christmas goodies. This looks like being a good build, There is a lot more detail than on the Seehund and I found the Eduard PE set so I ordered that to add a bit more detail too. The idea of spending two weeks in one of those things is staggering. Alan

Thanks Greg I found the Eduard PE set Alan

Thanks OC; glad to have you with us Alan

So many kits - so little time. 🙂 I contemplate building "my" STOVL birds. I have the X-32B, F-35B (Green Knights) I need to add the Harriers and the V-22 Alan

I have a real affection for the Harriers. I spent five exciting years supporting the AV-8B, GR7 and Sea Harrier when accident and maintenance issues were getting us a lot of unwanted attention. It was great project to work on. The USMC really wanted to keep the aircraft viable and the airframer, engine company and customers all really pulled together. I would really like to do a Sea Harrier, GR7 and AV-8B. Alan

Thanks for joining Ken. Yes, they were incredibly brave. Some just disappeared under tow and were never seen again. Supposedly they had an operational range of 14 days and 600 miles and could make 2 knots submerged. And all that time in a five foot diameter tube. Alan

Thank you Craig. There is a small PE sheet to add some covers. There are a lot of fragile plastic pieces too. The control linkages for the rudder and planes are part of the kit so some careful handling is going to be needed. I have seen a suggestion that there is an Eduard PE kit available but I haven't tracked it down. I think the kit is a Merit kit under a new badge so maybe I need to look at Merit kits for upgrades. There are a couple of crew members available in aftermarket and the hatches can be set open - that's an interesting direction to go on. I haven't decided yet. Alan

I'm still on this submarine thing so next up is the I Love Kit of the X craft (WW2 Royal Navy mini submarine) in 1/35. These were the craft that went after the Tirpitz and reconnoitered the D Day beaches amongst other raids. A crew of four in a fifty foot tube. Creature comforts were somewhat limited. This is going to be quite big at 450 mm long. Just fits on the work table and its going to challenge the new compressor for the air brush. A lot of plastic in the box, reasonable instructions and a paint guide (paint it grey) Monster hull pieces And joined together. The fit is good but it needed clamping for a bit. Great idea about using sandpaper on the jaws of the clamps to hold sloping pieces. @CDW I think. Many Thanks There is a strut clamped by a feature in the rear lower hull Its awfully early for fragile stuff like that to be added. I'll be curious to see if it makes it all the way through This looks like an interesting but short build. I plan to liven up the paint scheme with chipping and rust. Thanks for stopping by Alan

I added the wheel well doors and the canopy after a dip in clear coat to get rid of the scratches. I used some Mig streaking wash to add a bit of leaking oil from the gearboxes at the wing tips. Some sooting around the exhausts and I think this one is finished. Photos aren't much better. I need to work on the lighting but at least the canopy is in place. Thank you for all the kind comments and the Likes and for stopping by. Alan

Thank you Edward. It was a lot of fun to build Alan

Thank you so much Mike. I was very nervous about the camo. Now I can dust off the Me262 kit. Its definitely an interesting subject. A STOVL collection would be an interesting project with this at one end and the F-35B at the other. So many models out there Alan

Thanks a lot OC. There are a lot of good ideas that I learnt from this site in the model Alan

Thank you very much Mark. Maybe I need to build a V-22 to park next to it Alan

Thanks very much Ken I'll try some sooting while I'm finishing the details. Alan

Thank you very much Craig. Much appreciated. I think its given me a bit of confidence to try another aircraft soon. This is a great kit for fit and detail. Their interpretation of the concept is quite good. It would be interesting to know if it was ever expected to make a conventional take off. Once the tail comes up those rotors get very close to the ground. Alan

Apart from reflecting on the happy days in aviation I actually have been doing a bit on the Westerflug. I air brushed the light grey paint onto the upper half of the model and had a bit of an unexpected result. The paint went on well but maybe because of the addition of too much thinner or because the panel lines are a bit deep the panel lines came through in the black primer even after two light coats of grey. I was trying to vary the depth of colour across the wings to make the aircraft look a bit used. I suspect the addition of the blue violet leopard spots will pretty much make it worthless. So I seem to have got the panel lines for free. I masked up and sprayed the matt black on the underside and completely forgot to take photos. It came out quite nicely and needed very little touch up. The wheel wells were busied up with some plastic rod hydraulic tubes and brake lines on the gear legs. I forgot those photos too. Then it was time for the scary bit - the leopard spots. I trialed sponge pieces and tried to make a cardboard mask and didn't like the results on a few test pieces, Eventually I settled on using a cotton bud with just the tip wetted with paint and then the excess dabbed off. I found it harder than it seemed to try to get a random pattern but I found that working the dabs over in about four layers got something that I think is acceptable. Possibly the spots are too big but I think teh overall look is okay. A gloss coat was added and the decals went on very nicely. The naughty insignia on the tailfin was a nice two piece decal that was easy to line up I put the rotors on - and they spin - although twiddling by anyone else is banned, The canopy has been masked and painted. Some basic touch up to follow The kit instructions list a raft of Mig weathering products but I'm at a bit of a loss to know whether it really makes much sense. The engine exhaust are in the matt black part of the paint scheme so sooting is not going to show. I've added a bit of bare metal around the wheel wells and gear but I don't see much scope beyond that. Any thoughts would be very welcome. Thanks for all the interesting input and the likes and for stopping by. Better photos tomorrow I hope Alan

Glad things are jogging along OK. Those KGL figures are great miniatures Alan

It will be a shame when this one is finished. Its been great watching such a wonderful aircraft come together. Its beautiful. Alan

Gosh Mike That is wonderful PE work Alan

The wood filters look great. There's always something else to buy. Sigh Great work Alan

That's it Doris. A pure artist with those ships I look at her stuff and I feel like the kid at the back of art class eating the paste Alan

I'm glad the paramedics were on the job and things look promising. Good luck with the doctors visit Alan KGL figures are great