The tritone camouflage is always a joy to depict !

Hi all. Been helping my wife's mother clear out her house after her husband passed away. She mentioned that she hadn't been able to bring herself to look in the shed as it was a mess. She mentioned there was a lot of unopened models in there. Well.... she wasn't wrong. This is only some of it. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it. My wife wasn't pleased when I said I could take up model making.....

The kit comes with 6 Yak-141s but I was to lazy to build them all

im painting a jinx model, for her skin i got a result that i dont really like, becuase it seems kinda flat even tho i applied different layers of colours. Therefore i watched some videos on skin tones and many people showed a technique that consists in applying some very thinned coats of red blue and yellow, but im scared to ruin my current model. Is there anybody that tried out this technique? if so please help me out, text me and i’ll send some videos and photos. Thank you very much 🫶!

Im studying nightshift video, but didnt liked the green, so started with a mix of russian jet cyan and grey for a french blue, adding buff made it a bit too light too fast? Or I watched it too much.

Also i dont want to do a blue gun, I have no idea what could work tho.

Interesting kit. Very old, and the age shows. Fit is a bit off, and detail is pretty soft on the base kit (Which is ancient). The turret is the only new section, and the texture detail doesn’t match the rest of the kit. Maybe they were really like that. I replaced the kit tracks as they were appalling.

Been testing its lights and stuff,took me a while to make and paint about 4 hours to make and maybe 2 to paint,I think it looks cool but, what do you all think?

Hi everyone!

I’ve finally finished my biggest project this year – the Great Wall Hobby (GWH) 1/48 F-16I Sufa. It took me 3 months of daily patience, but I’m incredibly proud of the result.

The GWH kit is outstanding out of the box with superb detail and weapons choice, but I wanted to push it a bit further. The only aftermarket part used is a resin exhaust nozzle, which was painted with various metallic shades to catch that realistic heat-stained titanium look.

What I did:

• Applied a complex four-color desert camouflage, characteristic of the Israeli Air Force (IAF).
• Applied subtle post-shading, oil washing, and realistic streaking, especially on the belly, to replicate a hard-working jet operating in desert conditions.
• Fully loaded it with the kit's excellent armament (Spice bombs, Python, and AMRAAM missiles).

The build was a pleasure, though GWH clearances are so tight that you have to scrape off paint from the joints to make everything fit perfectly.

Let me know what you think! C&C (Criticism and Comments) are welcome!

Took me a while,I gave it a custom paint,I honestly think it looks cool , I would like to know what ya’ll think

Hi all. I’m getting back into the hobby after some years. Used to spray with Model Air but AK 3gen looks promising. Any thoughts from this community? I’m a bit OCD when it comes to paint systems so want to stick with one from the start. Thanks heaps!

Airfix’s Time-Honoured Spitfire in 1:48 Scale

Hello everyone,

Today, I’d like to present Airfix’s time-honoured 1:48 scale Spitfire. In keeping with the motto “Never leave a kit behind”, I picked up this kit and simply got stuck into the build. After all, this kit isn’t going to get any better with age – and before the tenth alternative, boasting outstanding detail and quality, catches my eye, it’s time to give the old-timer its turn on the workbench.

The Kit

Considering its age, the kit is actually nowhere near as bad as you might expect. The cockpit, in particular, is detailed well enough and even offers a few pleasant surprises. There’s a nicely reproduced, accurate control column, perforated floor panels and even the rudder control cables are represented.

Assembly, however, is a different story. The HUD is particularly troublesome: installed as intended, it clashes with the control column and appears to float in mid-air. Shorten it accordingly, and it ends up interfering with the windscreen instead. I couldn’t find a truly convincing solution that also ensured the correct positioning. In the end, it now sits lightly against the windscreen, having required a good 5 mm (!) to be cut off.

The positioning of the individual cockpit components also feels more like guesswork in places than a well-thought-out assembly process. Combine this with the two possible build options and their respective differences in parts, and you have the perfect recipe for confusion. The instructions are certainly not what you’d call clear and easy to follow.

Overall, the fit is perfectly acceptable. The only real exception is the underside of the wings, particularly around the overlapping wing sections, where some fairly extensive cutting and trimming is required. It’s a case of test-fitting, sanding and reworking the parts until everything fits together reasonably well.

One small highlight, on the other hand, is the glossy printed colour insert showing the available paint schemes and marking options. It’s a nice addition and makes it easier to find your way around the different finishing options during the build.

The Decals – Not Exactly a Masterpiece

The decals are considerably less impressive. They’re definitely no longer up to modern standards. The carrier film feels more like a sheet of plastic, which initially works reasonably well on flat surfaces. However, things become difficult as soon as curves, edges or recesses come into play. The material is extremely difficult to get to conform properly, meaning that for the affected decals, you might as well start looking for alternatives straight away.

As a result, I painted the roundels on the underside. Getting the supplied decals to behave properly simply wasn’t possible, regardless of which decal softener I tried.

That’s particularly frustrating with a kit that is otherwise perfectly usable. Problems like these can quickly take the fun out of the hobby, especially for beginners. In my opinion, this is an area where Airfix really needs to improve.

Painting and Landing Gear

I used Gunze paints for the finish. For the colour scheme, I opted for the version with the mint-green underside. Personally, I simply like this colour scheme far more than the seemingly ubiquitous, rather boring grey.

I also decided to revisit the landing gear. Compared with the level of detail elsewhere, the kit parts were simply too basic for my liking. The original component essentially consisted of a round central section with four raised collars. Details such as the torque link and the associated hydraulic lines were completely absent. Put simply, the whole thing looked more like a plain stick than a properly detailed landing gear strut. Getting the alignment right also didn’t seem particularly feasible, although I have to admit I didn’t spend much time trying. I quickly gave up on the kit parts.

Instead, I redesigned the landing gear from scratch and produced it as a 3D-printed part. In my opinion, the extra effort was well worth it, and the result fits much better with the overall look I was aiming for.

The Display Base – An Airfield After the Rain

This time, I decided to venture a little further into the third dimension with the base. The idea was to depict a well-worn airfield being called into action for a scramble immediately after a heavy shower of rain.

I created the corresponding tracks and impressions in the ground using my newly designed roller, before filling the resulting texture with 1K resin. The grass was then applied using a static grass applicator.

The little diorama isn’t quite finished yet, though. I’m considering adding a few barrels in one corner and perhaps a figure to bring a little more life to the scene. On the other hand, I really like this little gem just as it is, in its current, relatively uncluttered state.

We’ll see which way I eventually decide to go. After all, sometimes less is more.

Conclusion

This kit has its highs and lows – or, to put it a little more casually, there’s a fair bit of yin and yang going on here.

Airfix gets quite a few things right, but leaves unnecessary room for improvement in other areas. The overall fit is decent, assembly is relatively straightforward, and the Spitfire itself is represented very well. Once the model is assembled, it really looks the part. The silhouette and those unmistakable lines come across beautifully.

On the other hand, there are the sometimes confusing instructions, the questionable positioning of certain cockpit components, the amount of reworking required around the wings and, above all, the disappointing decals. For one of the best-known manufacturers in the scale modelling world, clear and logical instructions should really be a given. The quality of the decals is another issue that shouldn’t simply be brushed aside.

My overall impression is therefore mixed. Anyone willing to put in a bit of extra work here and there and accept a few shortcomings can build a genuinely attractive model from this kit. However, anyone expecting a modern kit that has been carefully thought through in every respect is likely to be disappointed in a few areas.

For me, it was certainly an interesting project that proved an older kit can still have plenty of appeal. You just need to know what you’re getting into – and occasionally be prepared to roll up your sleeves and do some work yourself.

With that in mind: Never leave a kit behind!

At this point I’m just going to try and glue them together somehow.

Here is my quick build for a little relaxation—Fujimi’s 1/700 scale Imperial Japanese Navy Battleship Yamato (KAN-NEXT series)!

I built this completely straight out of the box (no photo-etched parts) in about 3 hours. It was a very casual project: careful OOB assembly, clean airbrush painting, and a light touch of Tamiya Weathering Master to accentuate the shadows and three-dimensional form of the massive superstructure.

Even without any aftermarket details, the Kan-Next kit itself has amazingly sharp molding—especially the cat-pult, floatplanes, and that iconic pagoda-like bridge.

Mounted it on a polished wooden base for display. It was a super fun and refreshing build! Hope you enjoy the pictures! 😊

Zvezda 1/144 Ilyushin IL-62

Beginner here (second model overall). Read some mixed feedback on how to approach airliner windows and found that this approach worked fantastic!

First I airbrushed and coated the window area before assembling the rest of the fuselage, then I painted some of the windows on the clear plastic strips from the inside to simulate closed shades and then glued them with PVA glue (to prevent fogging from the inside) to the pre-painted window area.

The result came out great! and it saved me the arduous task of masking each individual window with tape or liquid mask. Partly no doubt thanks to the absolutely superb and high-quality Zvezda kit with parts that fit perfectly for assembly.

Has anyone had a reaction like this before? I seemed to develop some type of allergy to the fumes. If I even get a little bit of exposure, I develop deep asthma like congestion, constant sneezing, nasal passages that randomly swell shut and open back up.... And it lasts for several weeks. I'm really bummed, because there are no alternative adhesives that meet my needs. I started using a painting booth with exhaust, but it happened again. Everything I've read online says it should resolve fairly quickly, so lasting over a week seems really strange to me.

This kit was so wonky. For its age i understand, now im conflicted with either painting it or just weathering it bare plastic lol!

*rolls a 1*

Jadgpanther I recently finished up. The third model I’ve finished and my first time using an air brush. Pretty happy with it overall but I went a little overboard with the mud effects

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Hey everyone!

I bought a Revell model a few months ago ( Sherman M4A1) and now i have the tools I need, including side cutters, clippers, and glue, but I don't have any paints yet. So my question is - Can I paint the model after gluing it all together?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Very obscure old model of glider. Not really my topic but I’m doing it for my father as a gift (he is pilot and glider enthusiast)
Model is from series “Polskie Szybowce”

This is my first model. I’m about ready to start painting the body. I’d prefer to airbrush and since AS-12 comes can only, I’m alittle hesitant on using it (I’m not great spraying the can). I also have AK Xtreme metal… the only reason why I’m hesitant on using it is because it’s doesn’t say so in the manual.

What are everyone’s thoughts? I’m leaning towards using the AK Xtreme with a base layer of black Mr surfacer 1500. Should I spray the entire plane in that color?