Airfix Lightning IIB

I was visiting my local model shop. I really wanted to make a purchase, but I was struggling to find a "pocket money" sized treat for myself. That is an infrequent purchase bouncing around the £10-£20 mark that is not a major purchase. I looked and looked but was about to give up hope. Then I saw an Airfix starter kit of the new RAF (RNAS?)  Lightning IIB that is supposed to be equipping the Royal Navy's  HMS Queen Elizabeth CV and maybe at some time in the future HMS Prince of Wales CV [or just a spare trans-shipping deck?] too (see below. she is a quirky looking bird but like the Typhoon I should really get one and find an unused piece of ceiling to hang it from): 

By making a model it always helps you spot and identify a real one in the sky, if it pops up quick out of the blue on a spontaneous fly by!  

Airfix Lee/Grant scrapped together from a Donation and bits from the Scrap Box.

The different coloured pieces of plastic tells the sorry tale in itself. This "baby" Grant Tank on the right comes from multiple parents .. at least one brown/orange, one yellow and one green Airfix Lee/Grant kit (plus some hobby store plastic-card, a curved front from what I think was a M36 Jackson, "Sherman(?)" rollers and a PSC storage box to cover a bodged hull to chassis seam). A Frankenstein of sorts or patchwork quilt, but rather than a sad model discarded to the bin, it has a new least of life. I also loved the "edge of your seat" challenge in the making of it (see below, in its front facing Grant guise):  

The rear shot shows the white plastic-card surfaces where the composite spare parts-did not quite stretch or cover enough (see below, though it has to be said working with "old brittle plastic" from the 1970's or 1980's is a curse as it had a tendency to crumble or splinter under pressure - this was a peculiar challenge for me as I had to first disassemble the previous attempt at building it [basically a carcass] and reassemble it [from a haphazard trapezoid to a more regular rectangular cross section]): 

The Lee part of the tale is just a turret swap as it shares the hull, so with a newly completed Lee turret you have the option of two types of tank (see below, the Lee turret was taken from the "original" orange/brown plastic kit - where the majority of the pieces for this kit came from - again care being taken with its brittleness as the Lee turret has some fiddly MG parts): 

Just remembered: The final note is that the "green" track came from the "spare" (as in the more detailed track option) in the new Airfix Sherman Firefly kit I have already made. There you go, I have one more tank to fight the Axis with. It also just shows you the usefulness of keeping a spares box (or two).  

Airfix's "Boomerang Bob" Fighter - A Bucket List Build

I eagerly awaited the 2022 "Vintage" re-release of the Australian WWII "Panic Fighter" (the real thing was made from spare parts from aircraft available indigenous in Australia in 1942) as I remember "seeing it" as a kid in the Airfix Catalogue, wondering about it, but never going about getting it. There was always something more 'sexy' with crosses on it that took preference. A bit like the Fairey Battle and Brewster Buffalo, a missed childhood opportunity (see below, the CA-13 with original box art in all its glory, I bought it direct from Airfix when I picked up some resin buildings in their end of year sale):   

All things said it is not a particularly complicated build, not many parts but I took time as I was in no particular rush (see below, it came together quite nicely):  

If there was a scary part about building the Boomerang it was the canopy as it comes in three parts, the main bubble and two 'sliding' side parts (see below, I took time to make sure things fit well, the inside needed painting before the messy "Clearfix" came into use later):   

The decals were very sexy, the Australian RAAF Pacific version of the RAF roundel, with the red bit missing as "anything with a bit of red in it, got a lot of Allied AA fire" regardless of what it actually was. All the Allied countries discovered the universal itchy AA trigger finger of their AA gunners to their own cost (see below, something satisfyingly distinctive with the missing red that says Pacific War we are fighting the Japanese):  

Primed Airfix Acrylic Grey (see below, you may need to do a double take to spot any difference, but trust me there is a layer of grey paint there): 

Because it is the way I do things now, the whole model got a Vallejo Dipping Sepia Brown wash coat (see below, the brown and green colour scheme seemed to lend itself to brown rather than black for leaving the detail "lined in" after putting on the base colour, I guess it is all about "painting less" rather than more):  

Bottoms up, underside first. I wanted to use as close as I could to the original Airfix/Humbrol paint scheme and as luck had it I had Humbrol 65 (Matt Aircraft Blue) in a little penny packet paint pot from another "starter kit" which saved me a trip to the model shop (see below, the brown wash seems to be working nicely for the dark detail):  

Starting the topside camouflage, first the brown (see below, note this is where I had to use the paint matcher site which said Tamiya XF-52 Matt Earth [4.5 stars match] equates to Humbrol Acrylic 98 Matt Chocolate): 

https://www.modelshade.com/paint-conversion-chart/humbrol/241

Next the camo green part to complement the brown (see below, Humbrol Acrylic 149 Matt Dark Green gets matched to Vallejo Model 70.894 [4.0 stars but also a bit of confusion here, as the site matcher calls this Camo Olive Green - but my bottle says Russian Green, so I went with my 894 bottle anyway]): 

Next: The white tail (Humbrol Acrylic 34) and black (Humbrol Acrylic 33) propeller - note the tips of the propeller were not painted black, but were left lighter to help the yellow paint stand out better, Alos the flight jacket was given a Vallejo Leather Brown base coat (see below, the little bits count as much as the big bits - I think I have also given the pilot some flat flesh on his face and hands too): 

Next a highlight to the brown by mixing in a little yellow, plus the tips of the propeller are painted yellow (see below, I just wanted it to look a little blocky and weather worn over the panelling): 

Similar yellow mixed with the green for another blocky highlight, I also give the pilot a highlight on his leather flying suit (see below, at this point I think the paint job is starting to come together nicely): 

The tail gets a final white highlight which is just another coat of paint giving it depth to the prominent places, and neglecting the recesses, touching up with a brown wash. The cockpit glass is put into place using ClearFix - my least favourite Humbrol product as I find it very messy and stringy and I am odds to get it in the right places, even carefully dabbing it on with a cocktail stick (see below, fixed in place I leave it to set overnight): 

Fixed in place the plexiglass gets blacklined (see below, by this point I am almost exhausted painting, so I go slow and carefully, absolutely no rushing):  

From black to camo green and then a subtle highlight (see below, begging for the Australian decals to bring it to life):

The decals really make it look the part. However there is a sorry tale to tell here. As the Humbrol product I used, DecalFix reacted badly with the Tamiya and Vallejo paints, as in it stripped them away beautifully .. sadness gripped my heart. Now to worry I carried on and let the decals fix, then when all "well and truly dry" I painted round decals as best I could (see below, I think I got away with it; interestingly the subject of DecalFix melting Tamiya paints is well covered on the forums - I subsequently found out):  

The underside, the only thing to add is the fact that I highlighted the Humbrol Aircraft Blue 65, with a Revel Aqua Colour, Sky Blue, then adding a touch of white for a subtle highlight of a highlight in places that just caught the eye (see below, tickle that tummy, which has a bulbous camera housing in it, dead centre): 

The final act is a matte varnish (see below, Humbrol Matt Cote): 

Bucket list item .. "Done" and I am very proud of it.

My "Last" Airfix Churchills

There are Airfix "Vintage" kits and then there is the Airfix Churchill, more challenge than nostalgic joy, but satisfying nevertheless (see below, one look at the picture and old-timers will know where I am coming from - "bogie wheels are us"): 

Apparently there is a clever - "keep it on the sprue until the last moment" - technique I have never been privy to (see below, one done bar the turret, the other WIP, plenty of glue being used to keep everything in place): 

Both ready for their tops, but one will have a twist (see below, when you get as far as this point there is a certain "downhill from here on in" satisfaction as you sip your tea, with the 'hard bit' well behind you):

A standard Normandy 75mm Mk VII turret and a "bridge layer" - yes it is that "add on bit" to the vintage kit model. Airfix seemed to go through a phase of taking an old standard kit then adding a specialist sprue on -  Churchill Crocodile, Churchill Bridge Layer, Sherman Flail, Sherman Calliope and Matilda Hedgehog .. all good stuff (see below, my final Churchills are now made, small question of painting and decals):   

The Airfix Bridge Layer Churchill complements the Matchbox Revell AVRE Bridge Layer. I like the fact that this is a non-fighting specialist AFV. One for the bucket list done!

Airfix Tribute Forum: Military Kits Listing

As of late, basically a spin-off from Xmas activities, I have kept on assembling some of my collected kits concentrating on the Airfix ones (it was basically a case of "do it now, or never"), also the box was getting too big and unwieldy in the loft for its own good. I came to thinking, "How close am I to completing the wheel?" - as in for my Airfix military vehicle collection - one of each kit there is (hands up here - I am talking vehicles only, as I am nowhere near the same kind of collector for the aircraft and ships, for wings and water I just dabble)? 

The Airfix Tribute Forum seems to have the "definitive vehicle" list:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/airfixtributeforum/military-vehicles-t1679.html

Considering only the [1:72, 1/76. HO/OO] kits I seem to be good on all the WWII (excluding the airfield utility stuff, RAF Emergency, Refuelling, Recovery and the RAF/USAF "bombing up" kit) and with a sense of pride, I have most of the modern stuff too! The exception being the mysterious SAM 2 missile launcher (now a lost mould) and a West German Leopard 1 (although I do have the "very business like" ESCI one). If I include the JB Models stuff as well, I am missing the modern (as in post WW2) British Army 105mm Howitzer, Soft Top Land Rover and again modern Bedford Trucks (but there is little chance of getting them now unless Airfix decides to re-issue them). 

Heller Footnote: I remember that Airfix picked up some [1:72] Heller kits too, Willy's Jeep and the GMC US Truck from off the top of my head, but no mention of the other Heller kits so I presume they didn't buy the right to use those moulds. I know Heller also did a Sherman, Tiger, Somua S-35, AMX-13/105, AMX 13 DCA, Churchill, LCVP, VAB and AMX-30/105. Heller seems to have had it's ups and downs.  I did find this interesting blog post on the web though:

https://modellersofballarat.wordpress.com/articles/armour/hunting-down-heller/

Back to Airfix .. so with the completion of the "build" of the Bedford Trucks (2010) I call this "inner wheel of Airfix" now completed (see below, these Bedford trucks were an absolute joy of engineering to make, the paint and decals still to be done though): 

If I see them again in the shops I would happily buy them in an instant (see below, I love the subtle touch of the AA Bren gun on its casual mount, plus the bicycle slung on the back of the lorry - it would be nice somehow to fill those infantry seats up with infantry though): 

Does this mean I should move onto "other" vehicle manufacturers and completing their 'wheels' - this seems too big a task for my tiny pair of hands. But once the thought has been put into my ting mind smaller ranges might just become a target? As much as I enjoy a cautious "Vintage" Airfix retro-kit build, I am more of a fan of new Airfix, their new tooled kits are masterpieces as they almost fit together by themselves!