Monday 24 December 2012

2012

2012....not a very productive year really mainly due to problems spraying paint and varnish (cold, damp and compressor problems), having said that I did do 21 kit reviews for Model Military Int'l plus two full articles so at least my loft is well insulated :o)
On this blog there are projects that I started this year but never finished due the issues detailed above; The Tristar Storch needs a complete repaint and the dihedral (or lack of) fixing, plus there are two visible sink marks on the top of the wings so that's been moved to the Shelf of Doom; The 1/48 Hasegawa P-51D has been sanded back to try and remove the gritty look and that has been fairly successful, the only thing that spoils it is the star and bar decal has a triangular looking divot in it where the Johnsons Kleer melted when I tried to steam the decal on....bugger. A least it will be finished and sit on the shelf; The Hasegawa Ju87B is ongoing and up to the painting stage so maybe that will get finished in the new year and finally the AFV Club 1/35 Sturmtiger which HAS had the base coat put on but little else due to lack of interest.  Sue me! :o)
2013 looks to be another great year for modellers with LOADS of new stuff coming out but technically speaking I really should'nt buy anymore kits ...YEAH RIGHT! LOL!!!! Revell are doing their 1/32 BAe Hawk in RAF camo, Meng have released the Me 410, Airfix have an 1/48 Gloster Javelin in the pipeline.....lots of shiny things :o)
Have a great Christmas people and here's to 2013!


Wednesday 5 December 2012

Hasegawa 1/48 F-104C Starfighter

I got this kit at the Telford 2012 show for a good price and although I do have other things on the go I have made a start with the sole intention of building it straight from the box, that is until I started reading the superb new Daco book 'Uncovering the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter'. So I've added a bit of detail to the cockpit using Eduard etch and some homemade bits;



The version I want to build is an F-104C that flew in the Vietnam war circa 1966 and the plastic lumps on the cockpit coaming panel are meant to represent the RHAW (Radar Homing And Warning) gear that was fitted to the Starfighters during the conflict. I've made an attempt to depict the de-mister tubes that fit on the inside of the canopy using 15 amp fuse wire and styrene sheet, some tube and wiring was added to the rear of the cockpit tub and all that was used of the kit seat was the base and headrest. So much for an out-of-the-box build :o)