It’s been a long time since I posted, but I’ve been busy. Not only writing, but I re-discovered an old pastime – making up model aircraft kits.
I last did this nearly 50 years ago with Airfix kits in plastic bags. Lots of glue over everything, paints (which you didn’t always use) were Humbrol enamel in little tinlets that dried up and needed cleaning. and the transfers (decals) were few, and pretty hit and miss. The kits themselves were quite crude. You might get a pilot as part of your kit, and there might be something for him to sit on. Engines? Invisible.
Now, all kits come in boxes, and are much more expensive. Many come from Poland or Czechoslovakia, or even Russia. The quality and detail are incredible. Every dial on the instrument panels is moulded. Not only does the pilot have a seat to sit on which is more than just a moulded blob – but they have seat belts (even more important if the seat is to be left unfilled), and the cockpit, even at 1/72 scale, is a masterpiece of miniature engineering demanding exquisite hand/eye coordination to assemble and paint. Paints are acrylic, airbrushed for large areas, and varnishes are applied before and after the decals (many of them, often 2mm or 3mm square) go on.
Then there is weathering, and also aftermarket parts – resin or photo-etched metal. So it’s a far cry from the days when you built a Spitfire in an afternoon.
But it’s a great lockdown hobby. You need all your concentration, there are always new things to learn, and it keeps you busy for a long time. I guess knitting, or indeed, any handicraft, will give you the same result, but I happen to like aircraft, and that’s what I am doing right now.
Since June, this is what I have built:
DH Vampire (Revell 1/72)
Photo in b/w to hide the terrible mistakes A very early British jet fighter, constructed at least partially out of wood!
Mikoyan-Gurevich 17 (MiG-17 “Fresco”) (Airfix 1/72)
Though there were Vietnamese markings for the MiG, I didn’t feel my painting skills were up to the task of doing that camouflage, so it went in as a Soviet fighter, sprayed from an aerosol.
Junkers Ju-87 (“Stuka”) (Airfix 1/72)
A famous (or infamous) plane – quite a lot of delicate parts – air brakes, slats, etc. And a rather complex dazzle/splinter camo scheme. My first try at masking and at spray painting. A few pieces got lost – some broke and had to be scratch-built. Even so, I was quite pleased with the result. Ground crew once again from Zvezda.
Beriev Be-6 (“Madge”) (Playfix 1/72)
A brute of a thing. An East German kit from 1986, picked up for very little money on eBay. I wanted to make a fantasy colour scheme, and I ended up with a Republic of Scotland Air Force model, complete with tartan fin flashes and the like. Along the way I scratchbuilt three crew areas, including making an instrument panel and fitting resin aftermarket seats, and designing and printing my own decals. I documented the process on my SmugMug page here.
Gloster Javelin (Mister Craft 1/72)
One of my favourite jet fighters – but a rather horrible kit to make (Polish, and dirt cheap). It also joined the Scottish Air Force. There was less need for scratch-building, but I added a couple of resin bang seats, and had to make my own decals again. Rather a nice camo scheme, though I say it myself. Again, the process was documented on SmugMug.
Republic P-47M Thunderbolt (Revell 1/72)
Made out of the box, with a few photo-etched parts here and there (mainly invisible), scratch-built seat belts and with quite a lot of work on the painting. Basically, quite pleased with this. All decals went on fine, and the carpet monster went hungry. The b/w photo is my model in front of a stock photo of a USAAF airfield. More photos here.
And for my next trick…
Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu Type 11 (“Rex”) (Tamiya 1/48)
My first Tamiya for a very long time, and my first 1/48 ever. Wish me luck.