April 2021 Virtual Meeting

 Well, we are still stuck but, after all the excitement of the Work Space competition (!!)  we are back to our regular meeting venue - our keyboards and screens. Still, it look possible that the May meeting could be face to face or, at least, mask to mask. Let's hope. Anyway, here we go for this month's table.

Bill Banks always provides lots of information about his models and this time he has sent us details of his build of a Matchbox Curtiss Helldiver. 

He says: "

Curtis Helldiver SB2C Matchbox kit 1.72 US Navy Divebomber Squadron VB 17 USS Bunker Hill July 1943.
Replaced the Dauntless in Us Navy Service. A heavy aircraft..over 7 tons...had difficult handling characteristics. Rejected by RAF...28 aircraft...never used in combat.Also rejected by Australian Air Force. A scathing report on the Helldiver production meant the end of aircraft production by Curtis. Despite difficulties the aircraft flew to the end of the Pacific War with high combat record. Many pilots grew to like it.

The box art shows open bomb doors. It would have looked good on the kit.It went together well with no problems. Moulded in self colour but I sprayed in the darkest blue I had.

Curtis still exists as Curtis Wright manufacturing aircraft parts and military items.Based in USA and Uk with several associated companies."

Next up is my 

Douglas Dauntless SBD-5 - 'Slow But Deadly'

"This is Hobby 2000 (ex Hasigawa) 1/72nd scale kit. Like all Hasegawa kits, it goes together nicely. The decals provided went on very well.  I made this kit having made an Accurate Miniatures version back in the day with fond memories plus I have recently watched the film Midway, where the SBD is definitely the star of the show. I have just noticed that I haven't fitted the landing hook!"

John Ovenden has sent us some shots of a German WWII lorry that he is building. He didn't provide any details but I assume that it is the 

ICM 1/35th scale model. 

A work in progress so we expect to see the finished item soon.

Another w.i.p. but 99% finished, according to John Rose.  He says "Tried to clear desk of part/nearly done kits and the gods conspire to thwart me yet again!" This is his

Tamiya 1/3th scale PzKfpwIII

Jim Smetherham has a tale to tell about his building of an

AFVClub M42 Duster

For the gory details, check out his "Member's Article" on the club web site.

Peter Carlo send in details of two of his recently completed models.

First up is 

A Kittyhawk kit of the

FJ2 North American Fury

"The kit is typical Kittyhawk needing very careful fitting, scrape apart from mating surfaces glue in short sections while holding with tape. Again recessed panel lines aid painting for natural metal finish in essence darker panels are generally stronger or more heat resistant.

The aircraft had a short operational life due to being over weight because of modifications to fit it for the naval role which left it under powered, only carrying 20mm cannon as armament.

This is a very pleasant kit to build but you need to take your time and to quote--- fit twice fit twice more then glue ! There is very little filler needed just care and patience."

Peter's second offering is

Lockheed Starfire F-94

"The starfire is a Kittyhawk kit. It goes together very well with next to no filler but does need careful fitting before applying glue. Panel lines are recessed which helps with masking as this takes as long as you have patience and/or time for but the results are worth it. The aircraft was the first US all missile interceptor. The missiles/ rockets mounted in the nose and the two mid wing pods this  turned out to not be very reliable but was all that was available at the time."

Lastly, we have two contributions from Peter Terry.

"This month I have another 

Airfix Spitfire Vc. in 1/72nd scale

This time in Australian markings from a training squadron in 1943. I got further information on camouflage for the foliage green colour from Brett Green of Hyperscale ."

The second kit this month is the 

AZ Bf109e 

from the North African boxing.

Seeing the images better

Can I remind you that you can double click on any image to see a larger version for more details. If you do this then click on the X in the top right hand corner to return to the blog.

The club website

This has been up and down over the last few months and I have finally resolved to do something about it. Gloss over this if you are "techie phobic". I decided to move from my normal platform to a Smalltalk called Pharo. Within this, a service called  "Seaside" helps me build and run the web pages. It has taken some time to get to grips with the change in the environment but I think that I am pretty much there. All that needs to be done now is to move the development over to the 24/7/365 web server running under my desk. I expect to get this done on the next few days. Hopefully, the web site should then run without a hitch.

Lastly

Important news from Peter regarding the return to face-to-face meetings. The first meeting in May is delayed so read this carefully:

"Hi Everyone,

I am pleased to announce that we will be resuming regular meetings from May. For this month only we will be meeting on the third Thursday of the month that being the 20th and from June onwards we will be meeting on our usual meeting night of the first Thursday of every month.

Please note the following shows have also been booked,

The Essex Modellers Show Hannakins Farm Community Centre Rosebay Ave Billericay Essex CM12 0SZ.

Sunday the 25th of July.

St Ives Model Show, Burgess Hall St Ives Westwood Road St Ives Cambridgeshire PE27 6WU

Sunday The 26th of September .

SMW Telford The International Centre St Quentin Gate Telford Shropshire TF3 4JH

Saturday and Sunday 13th and 14th of November. 

Regards Peter"

Just to remind you that all of the shows that Peter has booked are listed on the website should you need reminding of dates or locations.

That's all for this month. See you all soon!

March 2021 Workbench competition

 Here we go. Here is the description:

1. Send in one or more photos of where you work to create your models and

2. Provide a nice description of how it works for you.

Prizes!

1st:  A Sphere Products paint stand comprising space for 20 Vallejo sized pots and 16 Tamiya sized pots plus 3 brushes.

2nd Place: A Sphere Products paint stand comprising space for 10 Vallejo sized pots and 8 Tamiya sized pots plus 3 brushes.

In the case of a tie, my wife will pack the winner out of a hat.

Voting. After each workstation image and description there is a link. Click on the link for your chosen workstation (each one has a dedicated link). This will open up a new e-mail with the correct address. All you have to do is click on the "Send" button (or whatever on your phone) and I will receive your vote. Easy. However, last time some of you got confused. Please do it this way as it makes it easier for me to count the votes.

Here we go:

Bill Banks

Bill says: "This is a view of my bench in its usual untidy state at the near end of a project. I then have a spring clean before starting the next.On the right is my paint cupboard. That certainly needs a sort out.However the view is good when.   one needs an eye rest. The bench is constructed from an mdf board clamped to  a camping table from caravanning days. Fine if one does not kick a leg as it collapses in style as it did for me two weeks ago..Smile.

Vote for Bill  - Click HERE

David Pennington

David says: "The top images shows my nice electric desk. This was supplied by the Open University. It can be raised or lowered to change the angle for my back and, more importantly, my neck when working. It is 2m wide and 1m deep so has space for my modelling, programming, New Zealand stamp collection and my concertina! The second image shows where I store my sewing machine (into patchwork) and, hidden, my compressor. The compressor is turned on and off using my Alexa system. The abundance of white cabling is part of my ongoing installation of Sky Q, where the two Sky wall connectors are, of course, buried right behind my desk!"

Vote for David - Click HERE

Jeff Adams

Jeff says: "Please find attached, some photos for the workbench, competition. Pictures: one and two, show my normal set up, in my workshop. Pictures: three and four, show my temporary, "winter" set up, in a spare bedroom. I will be moving my model activities back into the workshop soon, now that the weather is improving and hope to start airbrushing again, after a long absence."

Vote for Jeff - Click HERE

John Rose

John Says: "Here's my not so tidy workbench or the tank(sherman) assembly line as I like to call it. Chaotic? Nah, I know where most bits are. From here, the completed item goes to the paint shop. Sorry I meant shed."

Vote for John - Click HERE

Peter Carlo

Peter says: "Regarding the  photo of work space competition this is mine .It came about when I came home from hospital a couple of years ago because my wife said you had better use the table so that you are not doubled up and are sitting properly. Now I am getting the occasional complaint that I am encroaching on the whole of the table especially when a new kit box is opened and spreads down the table   Just for a few minutes honest!"

Vote for Peter - Click HERE

Peter Terry

Peter Says: "I like having every thing to hand no stretching or reaching and a place for the coffee mug a work board that is easy to remove with every thing in place so i can clean down the desk when necessary with a room that is compact and warm in winter."

Vote for Peter - Click HERE

That's all. Best of luck everyone - oh! As I am donating the prizes, I will not figure in the results, as far as prizes go. 

March 2021 Virtual Meeting

Well, we are still where we are. Hopefully, May will be the first real meeting of the year, but who knows?

Anyway,  we have just six contributors today so, let's get on with it.

Bill Banks

Bill always gives nice little details about the model. This time it is a SEAC Chance Vought Corsair in the nice camo finish. he says: 

"Chance Vought Corsair F4U -1. Otaki kit 1:48 scale. An old kit which research puts at early 70s. A simple kit with few parts. All went together well. Panel lines are very faint. The eagle -eyed amongst you will note the incorrect roundels. The kit items fell apart. The livery is early FAA colours later in the Pacific red was removed and finished in dark blue all over.  Had no dark blue. A very interesting aircraft. Fitted with 18 cylinder Pratt and Witney radial which required a  large propeller . This I scaled at 10 ft radius. Consequently the straight wing prototype had tall undercarriage legs with resultant excessive bounce. The gull wing reduced this together with leg valves. However there were now wing stall problems. These were designed out. The USN would not accept the aircraft for carrier use. The FAA modified the plane for carrier use. The seat was raised 7 inches with a redesigned cockpit cover and covers over vents which diverted oil spray away from the canopy to the fuselage sides.Carrier landing procedure was via a shallow LH turn which enabled the pilot to see over the gull V.  USN accepted all this and it became a very successful carrier aircraft. The heavy 5 ton aircraft played havoc with arrester wires. Production of the Hellcat put paid to Convair carrier use.  US carrier based losses are interesting. Aerial combat 189.Ground/ship fire 349. Operational losses combat 230. Non combat 692. Damaged on ship/ground 164.     The RN received 2012 aircraft. Serving on HMS Victorious, Victor, Formidable, Colossus, Vengeance, Venerable and others. 8 inches was cut off folding wings to fit deck heights.. Fying was not impaired. At the end of the Pacific war unaffordable lease lend aircraft were dumped off the coast of Australia. One of the few aircraft still produced after the war. On line, there are good shots of museum examples and carrier action." 

John Ovenden

Panzer Mk 3 Aust L from Ryfield pleased with finish but slightly over-engineered so I wouldn't buy again i'm afraid. Here it is in black and white.

John Rose

John has sent his usual collection of interesting items, including a huge Tiger tank!

"The last picture, surprisingly,  has a couple of shermans waiting for the shop to open. I had an overwhelming desire to build a marines sherman in the Pacific theatre. Trouble when you start researching  - I've ended up building seven. Thank goodness for the spares box!! 
And just to prove I'm not one dimensional,  there's a couple of oddities too."

Jim Smetherham

"Attached is another model for the table 

Model : US Army RQ-7B UAV 
Make : Academy
Scale: 1:36
Paints: hand painted using humbrol and Tamiya
Other: very small and expensive for what it is "

Model : Mustang p-51k with 4.5 inch rocket launcher
Make : Dragon
Scale: 1:32
Paints: airbrushed using Vallejo acrylic and some brush painting using extracolor. 

Model : J-11 People’s Liberation Army (chinese)Air Force. Ser.  11137
Make : Hasagawa. Special edition of Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker with alterations for PLA J-11
Scale: 1:48
Paints: airbrush with Vallejo model air and brush painted  with mr Hobby 
Other: in box etched brass included. 

 

Peter Terry

"This month I have been working on the new Airfix Spitfire Vc and what a gem of a kit it is. It goes together superbly with a good choice of marks - American and South African. I went for the latter having a small collection of Mediterranean second world war aircraft. In fact, I purchased two kits one down and one to go but I have some Xtradecals sheet marking to use on that one. Speaking recently with the Brotherhood Hall caretakers, we could restart meeting from May on a regular basis. I will confirm to members regarding this as I get more information."

David Pennington

"I have gone for a 54mm figure this month. I haven't done one this size for a long while and was concerned that it might be a bit small. However, I persevered and it came out well, I think. The model is a Hidalgo-Beneito metal moulding. It is listed as 'British Soldier, Two Versions, Afghanistan 1879, Ginnis 1885'. I chose the option of a British soldier in the Mahdist War in Sudan in 1885. It is a very relaxed pose with his jacket off and drinking from his water bottle. I didn't know about the battle of Ginnis but Wikipedia has an article if you are interested"

Workdesk Competition

There are a nice set of entries so read the next blog entry for your chance to vote.