Subscribers’ Gallery – Aircraft ‘I-J’

This is the Mini Hobby (aka Hobby Boss) 1:72 scale SR71-A, depicting an airframe based at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan as a detachment from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.

Painted using a black basing technique with five shades of Black / Dark Greys on various panels, then adding further weathering using Mig AMMO pigments to obtain the streaky effects.The only additions to the OOB build was to add some detail to the afterburner cans interior to replicate the ceramic panels and replace the pitot tube with a more to scale metal one.

Mick S.

Check out his fantastic video below…

• RAAF F/A-18C Hornet, 1:48 HobbyBoss (Main graphics are painted)
• Polish Air Force F-16D Block 52 Fighting Falcon, Tigers “what if”, 1:48 Hasegawa (all graphics are painted)
• UAE Air Force F-16F Block 60 Fighting Falcon, 1:48 Hasegawa
• Pakistan Air Force F-16B Fighting Falcon, 1:48 Italeri

---

This model was made from the Revell boxing of the ICM 1:32 I16 Type 24.
The model was made with only a few modifications. The machine guns and pitot were replaced with telescoping tube from Albion Alloys allowing me to have hollow ends to the parts.
No seat belts are supplied in the kit and so I attempted to make some from parchment paper soaked in diluted white glue. This was not as successful as I had hoped and next time I build a kit in this scale I will acquire some photo etched or preferably cloth seat belts.
The undercarriage was retracted using cables and these were replicated using fine braided wire.
I deviated from the colour schemes available in the kit as I did not wish to use transfers. I made some masks using masking film placed on top of photocopies of the transfer sheet and based the final colour scheme on a photo I found on the internet. I find that red is a difficult colour to spray (particularly over dark colours) and so the stars were sprayed in white first.
My reference photo showed a very battered and beaten up aircraft with what appeared to be quite roughly applied markings, but I couldn’t bring myself to make things look quite that messy!
Weathering was done using some chipping applied with a silver pencil and pastels were then applied to the wing roots to replicate the worn dirty areas seen in photos. Pastels were also used to add some depth to the recessed areas and to give the impression of some exhaust staining.
Hope you like it!
Dai W.

With Tamiya kits, I find the fit is so good that I am able to paint the wings and fuselage separately before assembling the model. This allows me to get a smooth paint finish at the wing root.
I first did this when I built a Tamiya 1/48th scale Douglas A-1H Skyraider.
Since then I have used this technique on almost every model I’ve made.
This also includes camouflaged aircraft such as the Shturmovik.
The components can also be weathered & have decals applied before assembly.
With the Shturmovik,I also attached the undercarriage & weapons load.
I left off any small parts that could be damaged,& also leaving off the transparencies.
I painted the entire model using Tamiya acrylics.
I used a thin sheet of engineering wax to make patterns of the camouflage shapes to use as masking templates.
I’ve never tried it before,but thought I would give it a go as it is easy to cut, conforms to the shape of the wing & fuselage,
& also holds itself in place.
After enlarging the kit plans on a photocopier,I made paper copies which I cut out to use as paint templates.
I stuck these on top of the sheet of engineering wax,then I cut the wax sheet to shape,which gave me templates
for the brown & green sections.
I sprayed the upper surfaces brown first,I then positioned the relevant mask on top to cover the brown
camouflage pattern areas.
I did the same with the green,leaving the Dark grey to be applied last.
I polished the whole model with micro-mesh in preparation for the application of the decals.
Lastly,I weathered the model using black artist gouache & different shades of Tamiya weathering master
for highlighting.
I sprayed the entire model with matt varnish.
The wings were glued to the fuselage,the transparencies were stuck on.
To finish the model I used knitting elastane for the radio aerial.

This is Tamiya’s superb IL2. I had previously built Eduard’s kit and really enjoyed that, to the extent that I didn’t really see how it could be improved.

However having heard good things about this particular kit, I decided to give it a go. What a blast. People have said that it’s a well engineered kit. No kidding. As ever, everything fell together, tolerances were precise and everything just clicked into place.

Amendments to the kit included putting flat spots on the tyres, replacing the wing cannon and machine guns with hollow tube and aerial wire from Uschi. The paints are a mixture of Mr Hobby and Tamiya, with fine details picked out with Vallejo. There is some shading and chipping on.

Tamiya supply a set of masks for the windows that you need to cut yourself. They worked really well and I was more than satisfied. They also provide a decal for the seat harness but I went with an Eduard belt for a more 3D look. Nothing beats Eduard buckles for setting off a cockpit. The decals were a mixture of out of the box and the remainder of the Cartograf sheet from the Eduard boxing.

Fair to say that I was pleased with this.

Rick G.

This is the 1:72 Revell Jaguar. I used a Pavla seat, Eduard cockpit set; I also used the venerable PP Aeroparts weapons and ladder set. The decals are from Xtradecal and I use Lifecolor paint.
So here she is… Regards, Gerry
Wherever you go there you are

This is a blast from the past! From what I can remember it is the Airfix 1:48th kit, Paragon flaps and slats, Paragon wheels, PJ Productions pilot, Eduard PE, a resin seat (can’t remember by who) and the decals where by Xtradecal.
Cheers, Dave C.

This is the old Tamiya 1:48 scale kit that has Monokio decals (http://stores.ebay.com/monokiomall?_rdc=1)

Glad you like it.
Seung-Yong R.

GALLERY ONE

GALLERY TWO

After 10 months of building I’m finally able to call this dio complete. Being a huge fan of the aviation artwork of James Dietz, I came across the print “The Color Guard” and the companion print “View From the Chateau” and the seed was planted.

When Wingnut Wings came out with the Jasta 5 combo kit, the planted seed grew! I present to you my dio titled “Jasta 5 – Green Tails”. Thanks for viewing!

Bob W.

Today (September 2017) I have something really special for you. I am finally allowed to post online the pictures of finished completely new Jeannin Taube from Wingnut Wings. This kit is according to their website planned to be released during October and I really have to say that there is a lot to look forward to. Taube may look like a simple and small airplane, but actually it is large as two Albatroses together. It was quite a huge airplane I must say.

Final model may look a bit complicated, but don’t worry, everything is really cleverly 3D designed actually by Dean Reynolds, who did really excellent job on this kit. It can be seen for example on sections like fuselage/wings joint ,which is so shrewdly made, that it holds geometry by itself. This will be one of the best kits of this year, believe me. And rigging may look complicated, but with EZ line, I had it finished in 5 hours :).

Zdenko Bugan

Here’s my Airfix 1:72 Jet Provost T.3

Hope you all like it!
Joseph F.

I managed to finish this one over Christmas it’s the Heritage resin JP3 kit made as a XR679 JP4 of 79 Sqn RAF Brawdy. Canopy is poor in the kit so it was replaced with a much clearer Aeroclub one. This aircraft went to Cosford as an instructional airframe but is now in Canada. Apart from the canopy a very enjoyable build. Photos by IPMS Farnborough’s best photographer – Chris Bradley
Regards Chris M.

Just finish this lovely little model: Airfix 1:72 Ju 87 R-2 (captured aircraft in RAF markings). Hope you like it!

Paulo L.

Some pics of latest aircraft model hot off the production floor, it’s a Revell/Hasegawa 1:48th scale Junkers ju87B-1 of 2/St.G 77 Caen France August 1940, aircraft was shot down by aircraft from 602 Sqdn on 18th August.
It’s had Aires and Eduard bits inserted into it and a little plumbing by myself on the engine, other than that, pretty much from the box.
Ian R.

This model started as a Ju 88 A-1 in scale 32 from Revell.
As it’s forbidden by law here in Germany to build correct aircraft from the Luftwaffe (swastika), I tend to build them from foreign users.

To my knowledge there was no foreign user of the A-1. So I bought a conversion set from L´Arsenal Aero and 6 months later Revell issued the A-4! But that helped me later on. When Dutch decal released their Set PT-decal 3201 I had my choice, a Ju 88 in French colours with invasion stripes! I added Ju 88 Bomb racks from MDC, Montex masks and HGW seat belts.

Everything went smoothly, nice instructions from L´Arsenal with resin parts of a good fit. Until I did a first test-fit of the massive resin engines. They must have shrunk, as they are about 4 mm too small in diameter to the Revell parts. Nothing one can correct with some putty – a killer to my project. I thought.

To my help and also dismay then came the release of the A-4 from Revell. I sent an e-mail to “Abteilung X” from Revell and asked for the engine sprue of the A-4. And I got the sprues at an amazing price of 7 EURO! With that I could continue the project.

From there the build was straightforward including the bomb racks from MDC. The masks from Montex were a great help in masking the greenhouse and the decals from Dutch-Decal are fine. A shame that they stopped the PT range with their exotic schemes. The seat belts from HGW are fantastic in their detail, but you need some patience to put them together. The result is worth the effort!

In the weathering I tried to do a compromise between heavy and moderate wear and tear, as the Ju´s were a bit refurbished and partially repainted before their use in the French Air Force.

This is my first try in scale 32 for many years – now I only have to find a safe place for this monster!
Jürgen J.

Here’s my 1:72 ‘Special Hobby’ Junkers Ju-w34 model project.
It’s painted using Revell Enamels with everything by hand and no accessories.
Vladimir K.

The Latecoere 631 flying boat was big in reality, measuring 43.46 metres long with a wing span of 57.43. Even when converted to 1:72 scale, it makes for a big model that creates a challenge to anyone’s storage space. The aircraft first flew in 1948. Only 10 were built, the last one coming out of service in 1955. It was built with luxury travel in mind but it proved to be both unreliable and too costly to operate.

The kit is a 1:72 vacform by Contrail. Building it involves a lot of cutting, sanding and resulting plastic dust. There was also an element of monotony in having to cut out so many windows then working on six identical engines.

The colour schemes used on these aircraft were either light grey or aluminium overall. There were, however, several art deco designs that were considered, but never applied. I opted for one of these designs as it looked rather more striking than the alternatives. This involved taking a few liberties with the registration code. Hopefully this ‘what-if’ colour scheme does not detract too much from an appreciation of the model. The model can be displayed either on a trestle or on a sea base, the latter being its natural home.

Fred M.

Growing up close to RAF Coltishall I the 60s and 70s, seeing Lightnings approach over my house an their approach to Colt was a daily occurrence, so I always have had a soft spot for the Frightning (!) Interest was reawakened again by Mr Coughlin’s build of the T-Bird Lightnings from Sword in SMW (1:48); accordingly, I had treated myself to a couple of their kits, also I was looking for a model to practice using the Alclad2 metallic lacquers that I had been acquiring and a friend asked me to put together some old boxings of the single seat Lightnings. So workspace was cleared and Swaffham Aircraft Factory started to impersonate BAC Warton and Salmesbury factories in the 60’s!

The kit detail is great for something that stems from the mid 90’s and I was going to do an OOB build. Build was very straightforward.

The individual components were painted in Alclad 2 Aluminium with some areas masked off and painted polished chrome (nose ring and fuselage side access panel and the tailpipe shiny part), The tailpipes were painted a dark exhaust colour, again from Alclad2 and I was pleased with the results and effect it gave.

The nose section, upper engine hatch, wing leading edges and rudder were masked and painted in High Speed Silver to add interest and varying colour texture to the airframe. Gloss was the ubiquitous Johnsons Klear applied with a wide flat Tamiya sable brush.

Black areas such as fin tip, refuelling probe and anti dazzle panel were masked and painted with Tamiya Nato Black, canopy was masked with Tamiya Tape and Gloss Black Alclad2 primer used before adding canopy decals and matt varnishing. The nose radome and fuselage ventral fin wear plates were sprayed an Olive Drab and dry brushed with a linen colour to simulate the Composite nature of the nose cone, finishing touch was using the Chrome Molotow pen to add the stainless steel nose cap, the oleo legs and refuelling probe tip.

The white radio bay on the spine was painted in Tamiya flat white, with the Radio aerial mount painted a buff colour, finishing details were adding the two stub aerials carefully trimmed from one of the better halves stiff hair brush bristles (!) and cyanoed into two 0.5 mm holes drilled into the spine and painted the same buff as the mounting panel.

I used some dark panel wash on the undercarriage legs, main wheel recesses/brake areas and oleos and Geoff’s technique of a sharp HB pencil to highlight a few of the excellent panel details on the airframe surface and she was ready to sit back and admire. So after 40-50 hours of work, am very pleased with it and hope you like it too?

Great model, go build one if you haven’t, I have two more single seaters to do plus the T-Birds…can’t wait !
Stuart M.