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dwomby

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Everything posted by dwomby

  1. Supermarine designed the 553 to meet a UK requirement for an aircraft to research the kinetic heating effects of sustained flight in excess of twice the speed of sound but the UK government chose the Bristol 188 instead. The 553 never got beyond a paper design but would probably have made use of stainless steel, to avoid the heating limits of aluminium alloy. But what if it had been under construction when the UK government chose the Bristol 188......... Following selection of the Bristol 188, Supermarine halted work on the partially completed 553 and focussed totally on
  2. This is a later Ertl re-issue. It was a cleverly engineered kit in its day but the moulds have aged - lots of flash on the metal parts and poor fit. It also no longer comes with whitewalls for the tyres or glazing. I glazed the windscreen and back window but that's all.
  3. It is the ancient (originally issued as the TFX in 1966) Revell kit. This is an issue from a couple of years later
  4. A8-125 was, IIRC, the first to arrive in Australia and was definitely the last F-111 to fly ever. I added a closed Pave Tack, a correct boat tail and the chaff/flare dispensers in the tail. Decals are by Aussie Decals. The decals are silvered in a couple of conspicuous spots but I overpainted the worst bits which helps a bit. And here are some of her doing her party trick which I was lucky enough to see an F-111C do in 2006! David
  5. Buyers other than the UK or Europe, including the US, I will package here and advise a total cost including USPS mail. Postage to the Europe makes it too expensive for many of our members to buy stuff from over this side of the pond. I am visiting Scotland over Christmas, if anybody in the UK (or the EU) wants to buy any of these, I will take it with me and post it there. I don't know the cost of postage there as I will not package the items until I get there but it has to be less than posting from here - especially for the larger or heavier items. If you want me to post from UK,
  6. I can make some passable ones but if anybody can spare one of the 3 sets provided in that above kit, it would make like easier. I can pay or maybe have something to trade. Thanks David (in Florida)
  7. Airfix Grumman Avenger as AS.5 XB443/384/C of 814 Squadron, HMS Centaur c.1955 . This is the Airfix kit with FreightDog decals. I scratchbuilt the large AS.5 radome and the stores rack under the port wing (thanks to fatalbert at Britmodeller). The launch rails are the Airfix rockets minus fins and warheads and squared off. The arrestor hook is homemade and relocated. Airfix's representation of the exhausts is pathetic but I left them alone to keep this as OOB as I could. I got a few details wrong and mislaid one decal but I'm not telling you where. The whitewall tyres/tires w
  8. This is Airfix's Meteor III done as EE337/FD/051. She was one of the Meteors used to test operations on carriers but this is her later in 1948 at RNAS Ford. I added an arrestor hook from plastic rod and faired in the gunports with the tips of wooden toothpicks. The exhaust nozzles also needed shortening for this one and some bumps on the nacelles had to be removed. It's a nice little kit for its vintage. This was built from a first release and included a stand! The fit was very good all round and it had delicate, but raised, detail. I did sand off the rivets from the fuselag
  9. It's Avenger XB320/998/J - I am hoping to find the serials and codes and the Operation Grapple noseart. I am happy to pay or trade. I'm in Florida. David
  10. Spitfire FR.XIV TZ164, OI-A, 2 Squadron, RAF Germany late 1940s. This is the Frog F.XIV wing mated to the Hawk F.22 fuselage and a scratchbuilt FR.XVIII-style enlarged rudder. I couldn't manage to make the offset tabs at the rear edge. So they are lightly drawn on. The decals are a mix of home printed and Scale Model Products from Canada. The propblur, as usual, is from artwork by James Perrin. Hard to believe these two types were in service less than 15 years apart! David
  11. Thanks for the update. Sorry to hear about hard times for you. All I can do is wish you, and your family, well. David
  12. Lightning F3 XP719/D of 56 Squadron, RAF Lakenheath 1965. This one is the old Airfix F3. I replaced the cable ducts with longer, fatter ones. I shortened the tailplanes and added some card to represent the arrestor hook. The decals are a mix of Xtradecal and Modeldecal who both make sheets for this scheme. The IFR and Firestreaks were stolen from an MBox T55 kit. I really botched the canopy - it ended up pretty frosty. Same wobbly freehand anti-dazzle panel at the T4! David
  13. Lightning T4 XM973/Z of 23 Squadron, RAF Valley August 20, 1965. This is the MatchBox T55 kit cross-kitted with the wings and belly fuel tank from the old Airfix F3 kit. The fin was cutdown to the earlier F1/F2/T4 shape, the cable ducting shortened and a nominal arrestor hook added. Other than that, it's OOB. The decals are a mix of Xtradecal and home made serials. The aluminium paint gave me no end of trouble so I didn't dare mask over it - hence the somewhat wobbly edges to the freehand painted areas like the anti-dazzle panel. David
  14. Thanks, John. I like old kits - simpler than most of the new stuff! Go for it with the Viggen. David
  15. John, Thanks. I only build in 1/72 and the thickness I have has been fine for all I've built so far. This is what I have. It's 4.5mil thick. it does flex but seems to stay pretty much flat when on the models. I expect other brands would work just as well. I think I got this off Amazon. A word of warning - they look like a shiny disc if the light catches them. The photos I take are angled to minimize that but in the display case, you will see it sometimes and they look a bit silly then. Here's a few more examples of the propblurs. David
  16. Thanks, John. I'm not sure of the etiquette re. posting links to other modelling websites on here but, hoping it's ok, this is the link you need to get to the artwork by James Perrin. Note they are for personal use only. https://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?p=27313#p27313 I use software to resize them to match the prop I need and then my inkjet to print them on clear overhead transparency sheets. It took me a few tries to get the scaling process right and also to find the right thickness of overhead transparency to be stiff enough but not too obvious. I cut them out of the s
  17. There were almost 6,000 Beuafighters built in WW2. The RAF mainly retired theirs soon after the war except for target tug duties. However, 2 squadrons - 45 and 84 - used them in the first few years of the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960 )when the Royal, and Royal Australian, Air Force waged war on communist terrorists. RD784 was named "Winnie the Pooh" and had been with 84 squadron but is depicted here after her transfer to 45 squadron. The Beaufighters, with 4 20mm cannons plus 8 rockets and 2 bombs, must have been quite formidable ground attack machines but probably had a hard t
  18. This is Phantom FG1 XV569/013 of 892 Squadron, Royal Navy in autumn 1969. She bears the 'R' on the fin denoting she belongs with HMS Ark Royal but also the markings on her rear fuselage 'USS Saratoga'. That's because, before embarking on Ark Royal, XV569 was one of 4 RN Phantoms that spent time in the Med. on the Saratoga practicing deck landings and takeoffs. Apparently the extra power of the Spey engines, coupled with them being fitted with the exhausts pointing more downward, buckled Saratoga's deck! XV569 flew then in this configuration: no pylons except the centreline one carrying th
  19. I am building the MBox Beaufighter but the rear canopy is for the early version with no gun provision and I need the later one. Here's the difference - If need be, I can try to create a mould but I wondered if anybody has one lying around - I believe it may be spare in some Hasegawa boxings and it's on the Falcon canopy set #2. I'm in Florida and will pay or could swap for something maybe. Thanks for looking. David
  20. My answer is no. Age 66. Stash c. 200. Build rate c. 12/year. David
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