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Am I correct in assuming that post-war R.A.F. planes had a gloss finish? Specifically I'm doing the last Spitfire PR.19 in Malaya 1954 and planning on a satin finish with minimum weathering, is this right? Also on the the silver F.22s was it silver paint or a bare metal finish?

WOW you did a much better job than I managed. I spent this weekend on mine and ended up trashing it cos there was no way the wing would sit square to the fuselage, made it look like the whole plane was in some wierd sort of skid. Salvaged the cockpit though which will go in a Hasegawa IX. Nice job!

Lovely Mate just lovely, can I put it on my shelf and say that I built it?

Looks like when " life gave you lemons" you managed make a single malt whiskey That is absolutely BRILLIANT!!! What a way to go. Thank you.

DOH! Well after getting the Hasegawa Hurricane I, I've now realised that their Tropical I comes with markings for 80 Sqn in Greece, guess I'm gonna have two Hase Hurris

I'm looking for info on Roald Dahl's plane or any 80 squadron plane in Greece in 1940 for that matter. Every year I make my girls some kind of model for Christmas usually a pink plane, but this year my little one has been all excited that she knows that one of her favourite authors flew Hurricanes so I'd like to do a decent representation of that, the PRU Pink Spitfire I made her last year got her all interested in Spits so obviously it works in generating some interest in history and make learning fun for them. All I can find is the basic history here And this be the only image. Now I'm as

Thanks guys, Mike you should check out the Airfix group build we're doing over at What If Modelers we've already got three Rotodynes entered and I know you're a sucker for them. Yeah I know no-ones gonna see it when it's closed up, but to be honest I just wanted to do it. Great exercise to see if I could do something like this and practice for those times when you will see the detail work. As for nose weight I've checked the balance and it seems pretty good but my secret weapon is gonna be the clamshell doors which are now going on the roof :D as some sort of Radome and is gonna be filled wit

Thought this might be of interest to somebody. When finished it's gonna be a British Army Rotodyne. Yes it's the good old Airfix kit. The interior is pure imagination and any tips would be welcomed. The Full build is documented here

Found a great pic of a pink Spitfire PRU MK X which I wanna build for my daughter for Xmas (they always get some kind of pink or brightly coloured model) Best I can ascertain is that the PRU X was just a pressurized version of the PRU XI And that the PRU XI was basically a Spit MK VIII? Am I correct and would a Spit Mk VIII be a suitable base kit for this model While we're at it what's a good paint to use for PRU Pink? The only manufacturer I can find that makes it is Xtracolour, which are hard to get here and I deal in Acrylics most of the time and don't want to have to deal with the dry

I'll buy Academy over any other manufacturer any day.

Thanks Guys, the image is a Fulmar 808 sqn 1940, same pic pops up all over the place ergo that's how I'm gonna build it, it just seems to be lacking any squadron codes or individual plane numbers. Would they have been left off?

I want to participate in the Battle of Britain group build as it gives me a deadline to finish some stuff in my stash. Planning on doing a Fulmar, now I can find some history, know they served with 808 squadron but the only image I can find is this Wouldn't there be more markings than this, and if so anyone know what they would be?

While we're here anyone got any tips on working with the soft plastic figures like the Airfix R.A.F. ground crew? Cleaning them up and painting them is a nightmare. I've tried freezing them to make the plastic harden so they can be scraped and sanded, coating them with future or white glue to get the paint to stick all with very mixed results. Unfortunately there are very few other 1/72 figures out there so the soft ones are often the only game in town. Any body had successes with them?

Another option which can really give your model some life is to build a photobase. I use a 4' x 2'6" piece of plywood built into a runway section with techniques described in the tools and tips section. I like the natural setting it gives and looks less of an obvious model, and can really enhance a not so great kit. Here are a Matchbox Hawk 200 with a background that is just a piece of cardboard randomly sprayed with rattle cans. And the 1966 Monogram issue of the F-105. Both were photographed outside at lowlight/sunset.

I used to agree with this point of view and think that the weathering/washes was frequently overdone. Then last year at the Mirimar Air show I was walking down "Hornet Row" with F-18's representing just about every VMFA there is and I couldn't believe how FILTHY all these planes were with many a stark black panel line. They were less grey and more of a shade of light black! These were the ones flown in for the show to represent their squadrons, I'd hate to think what the tatty ones in combat service look like. So now I'm a heavy weather convert, but I do agree on it being overall, blended an