June 2023

 Well, I am back at the club after over  6 months away. The meeting was very well attended. When I got there, it didn't look as though I would be able to get a seat at the table! 12 members

Here are a few of them deep in conversation.

OK, so I did my usual and took the photos whilst passing round sheets for the details. I hadn't brought my tripod and booth so the photos were take "al fresco" as it were. 

Bill Banks

Bill brought along some W.I.P. An Academy 1:350th scale warship. Bill tells : "HMS Warspite  kit 1:350 scale Academy.

This was a WW1 ship...one of 5 Queen Elizabeth class battleships. There were intended to be 6 but the Admiralty did not consider the war would be of long duration. The 6th vessel would have been named Agincourt.

The kit was  given me by John Teagle. He has started it with a well made hull. part deck and 2 small structures. I hope to do it justice.

The kit does not agree with ship history. It is based on 1944 construction. History shows that in 1943 the aircraft...2 walrus were removed. They remain in the kit and add interest.

Warspite did not have an interesting history. It was considered to have poor handling and had several groundings and collisions. It grounded when on tow to scrap in 1947 and had to be scrapped where it was."

Colin Ovens

It was great to see Colin back. He brought along his proposed next build. He told us that he has waited a long time to build a Handley Page Hastings. He has obtained a MikroMir (Ukrainian) kit in 1;144th. He gave us some background details about seeing them take off and fly over when he was a student in Corsham - Wiltshire. We look forward to seeing the results.

Crispen Block

As usual, Crispen has brought along a monster. He is in the process of building a 1:16th (!) scale Willys Jeep. It's not called that on the box of course as fees would need to be paid!

David Pennington

I have got more involved in my model railway of late but I have started a Revell 1;87th (HO) scale Union Pacific Big Boy. This is one of Revell's older kits and it does show in the instructions and the build. Never mind, I might even finish it some day!

Gordon Fisher

Gordon showed us a nice little 1:72nd scale Revell P-47D Thunderbolt in La Fayette Armie de l'Air colours - France 1944. He brought along his P47D Mustang from the same stable as a comparison. He outlined the differences - strengths and weaknesses - of both planes and a nice little discussion followed.

John Ovendon

John showed us a really intricate AFV Club Churchill AVRE. He says that it has some way to go but  I think it looks great as it is. He wants to put it in a large diorama illustrating a crossing of a dyke or a canal. We wait with bated breath.

John also brought along one of the new Airfix 1:35th scale K2 ambulances. Although it looks nice as it is, he is waiting for some figures to be available so that he can do an 'Ice Cold in Alex' diorama.

John Rose

John constrained himself this week. Just one W.I.P.! Never mind, we look forward to seeing it finished. He tells us that it is a Tasca M4 Sherman with resin stowage, a Dragon 17pdr barrel. He also notes "various parts replaced from the spares box".  His final comment is "NOT accurate! This type did not carry a 17pdr but Hey , it's fun!"

John Teagle

John has moved out of his comfort zone in making a Tamiya 1:35th scale Sherman. Made out of the box. I think that it looks great so he should do some more.

Peter Carlo

Peter picked a big one this time. A Takom 1:35th scale Porsche Maus - one of the Panzer 46 series of "what-ifs" These were under construction when the war ended. They had huge armour and an extremely low fuel consumption and were taking up huge resources that the 3rd Reich couldn't really afford. But... Peter says that it was a nice kit with no filler required. He also says "Best tracks ever".

Note: All the chalk markings were added by Peter to show how it would have looked when leaving the factory.  Amazing job!

Richard Pearce

Richard showed us a couple of nice 1:72nd scale Sherman's. One is a Sherman Vc Firefly from Plastic Soldier Company.

The second one is a Revell Sherman I from the 33rd Armoured Brigade.

He says that both needed a fair bit of scratch building!

Peter Terry

Last but not least is Peter's nice little Airfix F-84 Thunderstreak in Post War Luftwaffe colours. His comment is " a golden oldie built out of the box!"

Finale

Well that was a nice collection. Next month I will get back to having a feature video.

March 2023

 Yet another meeting I have missed. I can still not get to the meetings, I am afraid and I don't think that things will change in the near future.

Four people brought models along this month.

John Ovendon

John brought three models - all armour and all Tamiya 1/35th scale. Firstly, a Sherman 105mm Howitzer that is noted as "work in progress"

Secondly, there was a British Matilda  in the Western desert, which is again "work in progress".

His third was a British Crusader "Cruiser" tank from the same period.

Peter Carlo

Peter always seems to set himself difficult tasks. See the "Urban Warfare" camouflage on his German Leopard 2A6 - again from Tamiya.

Peter's second model was of a Revell kit (which is actually a Tamiya mould!) for a Pzkfw IV flak panzer.

Peter Terry

Peter is a brave soul. I have always found Special Hobby kits to be too difficult to make but Peter has made a great jon of their 1/72nd scale A/W T11 Meteor in Danish Air Force markings. Check this out.

Crispen Block

I am told that Crispen brought along a Roden kit of a Mercedes Bus as used in the film "Where Eagles Dare" which was very much in the beginning of the build. However, I didn't get any images so that's all there is to say. Sorry.

February 2023

 I am sorry but I missed last month's blog but am now back in harness. I still can't get to the meetings and it looks like a situation that will not change for the foreseeable future so I am reliant on Peter Terry for details of the meeting and, this month, to Andrew Stacey for the images - with his new camera!

First up is Peter Terry with two nice Airfix Royal Navy Phantoms on Ark Royal in his usual 1/72nd scale. 

Andrew Stacey returned after having a new knee fitted (I nearly spelled that as knew knee!), not only with a new camera but with a nice 1/56th scale Panther (no mention of a manufacturer unfortunately).

Gordon Fisher, who is still e-mail-less I guess, showed us an unusual 1/200th scale Tamiya A-7 Corsair which is quite an old kit.

John Teagle brought along a "work in progress" Kinetic 1/32nd scale F-86 Sabre.

Last up is Peter Carlo who showed us two models of disparate subjects. Firstly, was a 1/48th Airfix Royal Navy Blackburn Buccaneer which Peter said was an enjoyable build and that he is looking forward to the Royal Air Force version.

Peter's second model was  a 1/35th scale British Army Centurion AVRE in Gulf War markings. My information is that it was a Meng or a Takom kit.

Lastly, Crispin Block gave a short talk on making large scale figures for very large scale armour and 88mm gun crews. I am sorry that I missed it.

That's that for the meeting. Don't forget that you can see large versions of these images by clicking on them. Use the back button of the browser to get back to the main blog page.

December 2022

 This is traditionally the Christmas meeting where Peter hands out Xmas cards. Well, I missed all that as of problems at home meant that I couldn't make the meeting. Everyone was saved my edition of Jingle Bells on my concertina! Thank you to John Ovendon for taking the photos and making all the notes. My not being there means that this will be a bit of a bland entry as I am not aware of all the little bits of conversation that go on.

Still, there we are. Off we go.

Bill Banks

Bill brought along a W.I.P. Revell Bismarck. I didn't receive anything extra from Bill so that is all I know.

Gordon Fisher

 Gordon brought two items along this month. The first was a W.I.P. Tamiya 1/100 scale LTV Corsair II. 

The second kit was a Supermarine S6B in 1/72nd scale. Gordon noted that it was a very basic old Airfix kit.

John Ovendon

John had three kits on the table this month, all of which were work in progress. Number 1 was an Sd.Kfz 234 Puma armoured car. This is from an Italeri kit in 1/35th scale.

Number 2 was a Cruiser Mk.II  for the 80th anniversary of El Alamein. Again this was W.I.P.

The last of the three was a Tamiya Matilda - again W.I.P.

Peter Carlo

Like John, Peter brought along 3 models. The first was an Hobby Boss LTV A7D. Peter's comment: "very nice kit - no filler". 

His 2nd model was an Hobby Boss Centurion Mk. 5 AVRE. Comment - very nice kit but complex to assemble.

Lastly, he brought along one of the new Tamiya McDonnell F4B Phantoms. He thought that this was an amazing kit but it had weak main undercarriage legs!

Peter Terry

Peter's contribution was an Airfix 1/72nd scale Fairey Firefly. Comment - "Built for Golden Oldies!"

Conclusion

Well, that's it. Let us all look forward to a great 2023 from a modelling point of view. I hope to see you all again next month.

David