IPMS/USA Classic British Kits SIG

Classic British Kits SIG Disbanding

2011-07-22T22:56:00.003-04:00

With immediate effect, Jim and I regret to say that we have decided to disband the Classic British Kits USA Special Interest Group.

As founders and organizers of the SIG, neither of us has had the proper time to devote to this and this is not likely to change in the foreseeable future, while neither of us feels that there has been sufficient interest from other members to allow it to be carried on by someone else. After much thought and consultation with John Ratzenberger, we have therefore decided to call it quits. It is also regrettable that, aside from John, IPMS/USA is not a SIG-friendly environment.

We'd like to thank those of you who have supported the SIG over these past couple of years, but we would like to remind members that the Classic British Kits UK is a very active SIG, and would appreciate your support in whatever manner you can provide. Jim, John, and I have, and will continue, to support CBK/UK.

Thanks!

Paul Bradley
CBK Sig Co-Leader

First Pics of the CBK SIG Table at the IPMS/USA Nationals

2010-08-09T16:58:00.006-04:00

Mr. Bradley will be along soon with a full report from Phoenix, but until then we have a few pictures of the Classic British Kits Display Table taken by Mike Grant.

John Vikus's Airfix JU-88 Diorama

2010-08-08T14:32:00.003-04:00

In case you're wondering, I tried using a background from the book Wings of Italy, which is full of WWII color photos. I thought it turned out okay.

MPC Helldiver Courtesy of Jeff Selesky

2010-08-07T11:24:00.006-04:00

I recently obtained a Classic British Kit in the form of the MPC release of the Curtis Helldiver. Of interest is the boxart with a very light colored border including a side shot of what is offered in the box. Yes, you can build a stock Airfix Helldiver, but also do a "Hot Rod" version with custom flame decals.

Inside the box is the standard Airfix 1/72 Helldiver, an instruction sheet, and a little tab offering "Moulded in England." Can you get any more CBK? What amazed me is that included in the box was a display stand with room to add more MPC/Airfix kits to it and a clear plastic disk to show your model in flight. Really cool.

Older modelers will remember that MPC re-issued several Airfix kits with custom decals, the Mig-21 being one. But for newer members of the CBK clan, this just might be interesting.

Ron Bell's Airfix Wellington

2010-08-06T14:36:00.002-04:00

The Airfix Handbook - A book review by Jim Bates

2010-08-04T06:33:00.001-04:00

Title: The Airfix Handbook
Author: James May
Publisher: Conway Publishing

Ostensibly this slim volume is a tie in to the recent James May Toy Stories television show. However, it also functions as a short and sweet Airfix history and a good reason to never judge a book by its cover. (Ouch, is that ever a ugly cover!)

This small format hardback opens with a short history of Airfix drawing much inspiration from the Arthur Ward books, a short photographic tour of molding defects, some Roy Cross boxart, and a listing of all Spitfire kits issued by Airfix. We then have a modeling tip interlude by Chris Ellis on "10 things I wish I known when I was 10" before we get into Mr. May's project to create a 1/1 scale Airfix Spitfire. Obviously this project was better illustrated on the TV show, but it still an interesting read. Sprinkled throughout this section of the book is a short chapter on making a war movie out of Airfix tanks and a listing of the "10 Airfix kits every modeler should build." (I would quibble with the choices and suggest that most of the kits listed as honorable mentions (the 1/72 Pup, Lancaster, Vulcan, and Hurricane), should be on the main list, but isn't that what these kind of lists are for...disagreement?) Finally the book wraps up with a short build of the newer Spitfire XIX by Jonathan Mock, and, again drawn from the Ward books, a listing of Airfix kits issued year by year.

This is far from a definitive history of Airfix, but a quick and enjoyable read written by an Airfix fan. Fun.

CBK SIG at the IPMS/USA Nationals

2010-07-30T09:49:00.005-04:00

In less then one week, the IPMS/USA Classic British Kits Special Interest Group will make its first official appearance with a display table at the IPMS/USA Nationals in Phoenix. Manning the table will be SIG Co-Leader Paul Bradley. (Sadly the other SIG Co-Leader, Jim Bates, will be MIA and unable to attend.) Come by and see the display, speak with Paul, and please being any CBKs you wish to display on the table. The more models the merrier!

Paul Bradley's Airfix 1/72 F-111A

2010-05-02T10:49:00.013-04:00

Following up on my Quick Peek of this kit last year, here’s a build report on this venerable kit.

As I mentioned previously, this kit had never been opened, so once I’d removed the parts from the bag, I was able to take a better look. Detail consists of fine raised lines, with heavier incised lines representing the upper and lower wing spoilers and flaps. The most troublesome issue that I could see was the very awkward placing of the upper/lower wing join, which was about 2/3rds of the way back chord-wise across the TOP of each wing...why the pattern maker did not put this on the bottom is beyond me.

Working features were the norm when this kit was released, and so the modeller is invited to build the model so that the wings sweep, the tail planes move and the crew escape module is made to be removable. This last feature results in some awkward seams at the front end.

Interior detail is limited to a basic cockpit tub, into which the then-standard Airfix jet pilots are installed. I painted this dark grey and added some generic instrument panel decals. The pilots were given orange test pilot jumpsuits and when they are in place, there’s not much else to be noticed in the cockpit.

At an early stage of construction, the wing sweep mechanism is fitted. This is a little slack, and I ended up with the wings being about 2 degrees different to each other. The tailerons are also designed to move together, and this worked better. These parts are trapped between upper and lower fuselage halves. The escape module is added next, along with the nose section and radome, and there is some work to be done eliminating seams here. Much of the panel line detail was removed in this process, and I elected to delete what was left rather than try to reinstate it all.

The intakes are simple one-piece inserts; although they are very shallow, I elected to paint the back blanking piece in black. Similarly, the exhausts are two parts with little depth. These were sprayed with ModelMaster Metalizer Buffable Magnesium. I buffed the rear parts, while leaving the afterburner sections dull; the effect is very presentable.

The canopy had previously taken a Future bath and once sufficiently set, was masked with Tamiya tape and superglued into place. The fit was reasonable, but I needed to sand the back and front left side of the canopy to get them to conform to the fuselage lines. This was not an issue, because the canopy has quite prominent framing. With that taken care of, and the one-piece fin fitted, the major airframe work is complete – this is a simple kit; many of the remaining parts are associated with the undercarriage. I elected to display this model on its stand and so these were added to my spares box.

The F-111A prototypes and pre-production batch were all finished in a light grey over white colour scheme. I began by giving the model an overall white coat, which highlighted a couple of areas of minor seamwork to be cleared up.

The demarcation line between the grey and white was a wavy line, and I recreated this using a pair of wavy-edged scrap-booking scissors and Post-it notes; with the control surfaces also remaining white, the masking took a while to complete. Once the grey had been sprayed (I used ModelMaster Acryl RLM 63), the masking was removed and some minor touching up done. Once this had set, I masked off and sprayed the prominent anti-glare panel on the nose with slightly lightened black acrylic. Then the model was given a coat of Future in preparation for decaling.

When I opened the box, I could see that the decals would be an issue. Not only were they badly yellowed, but they were also incorrectly coloured, with the blue of the insignia, USAF titles and serial number being far too light. I hunted around in my spares box for replacements, and managed to find enough suitable candidates to properly mark the model. There was some last minute panic when some of the decals splintered in water, but I had enough spares, which I coated with some Microscale decal film.

The last pieces to be added were the long nose probe, which is not a feature of production aircraft, and two small antennae on the spine.

This model was built as part of the UAMF’s Blitzbau VI, and I completed the model with just 15 minutes of the allotted 24 hours remaining. The build was really quite straightforward, and I am pleased with the results. Had I had more time, I might have elected to rescribe panel lines and perhaps added some intake and exhaust trunking, but I still think the model looks quite impressive as is.

John Ratzenberger's Airfix Ford Tri-motor

2010-02-17T18:39:00.002-05:00

This is the Airfix 1/72 Ford Tri-Motor, which I built for the January 2010 Blitzbau on the Unofficial Airfix Modeller's Forum. For those of you unfamiliar, a Blitzbau is a 24-hour build. I take the senior citizen option and do it in 2 12-hour blocks with a rest break. Others go straight through.

I have been doing CBKs of civil airliners each Blitzbau, but in 1/144; this year I kept the theme but kicked up in size. I have never built this kit and haven't read anything about a build, so I went in blind and although things went well for a while, I soon ran into troubles.

The first problem was the wing fit. The method is to build two outer sections then join them to a center section, top half only. One side fit like a glove, the other is a bit high and has a slight gap. I decided to run a bead of CA to fill the seam and ignore the slight offset. Next, there is the matter of joining the wing to the fuselage and putting on the rear deck. To get a good clean fit on top, I will have to put a couple spreaders in the fuselage. There will probably be slight gaps on the underside. This kit is much like a limited run kit -- no locator pins or holes.

The second was the nacelles. I could understand the instructions, couldn't relate them to the parts I was looking at. When I tried to put up the struts and make things match, they wouldn't. Not only that, I've stared at real Tri-motor pix and understand what they should look like but cannot relate that to the kit parts or instructions. So my solution was to take the nacelles apart, put 'em back differently, then fill all the locating holes except for the gear. Then I CA'ed in the front and rear struts on the wing. Then I tweaked, trimmed, aligned, and cajoled until I had the nacelles sitting relatively neatly on the struts and then I CA'ed them in, accelerator squirting. Then I hacked the center struts in.

With parts literally hanging on by a thread of CA and accelerator, I gave it some more drying time, then started on the decals, at which point I knew I had spent a day for naught -- I got the underwing/overwing serials on and knew they looked like they wouldn't last. The American Airlines & Ford insignia's broke a little, the US Mail & tail serials a lot, so I just left them off. I might have gotten away with it, when I brushed against the upper wing serial and lifted off a piece I could not recover.

Final stats: 23.30 clock hours of which about 18 were actual modeling time. I get a complete, but I am not totally happy about it.

The kit is actually OK -- as I noted throughout, it fits but lacks locator pins to help the process, particularly while assembling the fuselage sides, top, and bottom. The instructions, particularly around step 32 where one is supposedly assembling the nacelles and mounting them -- well, I simply could not understand them and the exploded diagram was of no use. There is also a minor glitch around the heater -- the instructions say to make holes if you want it, but the holes are already there. Probably the only other thing to watch is mounting the exhaust ring to the nose engine, being sure you can get the engine firmly mounted on the fuselage. The trailing edges are way too thick and the corrugations a bit heavy.

My two errors. First and foremost, was not prepping ahead of time to possibly uncover the trouble spot with the nacelle and struts. That cost me several hours, which I would have had available if I hadn't been doing real life things. Second, was that I should have realized the decals were going to fail on me. I'm sure there are aftermarket items somewhere and I should have gone looking -- it's not like this was a last minute event.

Oh, well, all my choices...no biggie. For the next Blitzbau, I need to think simplicity...

It does look good, on its stand, in flight. The windows are big enough that some passengers and stews ought to be added. I'm happy with the way Barney & Fred in the cockpit came out -- too bad about the glass (pretty frosted and I didn't attempt cleaning). It wouldn't take much to add the few pieces of rigging to this, in particular a representation of the control cables on the very prominent arms on the outside of the fuselage.

Some Airfix Bombers Courtesy of Paul Bradley

2010-02-16T06:07:00.002-05:00

First we have the Airfix Blenheim that a few of us are building over on UAFM for the Blenheim Group Build.

Wellington!

Airfix Westland Scout by Paul Bradley

2010-02-15T19:58:00.001-05:00

Another of Airfix’s simple helicopter kits, this is a Series 1 effort from the 1960s containing 44 parts, plus a small decal sheet. The interior is basic, but does include a collective stick for the pilot – rather rare for a helicopter kit of this vintage! The engine is rather crude and will need a lot of pipework added to make it look like a convincing replica of the original. The small decal sheet offers two options, one for a British Army machine, while the other is one operated by Jordan. Like many of its stablemates, this kit is simple, but has all the necessary shapes and lines for a nice model to be built with a little effort.

Ralph Koziarski's Airfix Buffalo

2010-02-14T15:08:00.003-05:00

I’ve seen the little Airfix Buffalo in stores many times over. I finally purchased one in October of 2009, perhaps 20 years after first seeing it at the now defunct Stanton Hobby Shop in Chicago, Illinois. As Airfix kits go, this one is pretty much standard fare; good overall shape, simplified detail, and a surface festooned with rivets. Airfix provides you with decals for both an U.S. Navy and a Royal Australian Air Force Buffalo. The decals in this recent boxing were on the 2006-2008 era brown backing paper that Hornby introduced and appears to have since done away with. Good thing, as the brown paper decals are utterly useless. More on this later.

I decided to build the Australian Buffalo, and to do so, a few simple modifications were necessary. I fashioned a new tail-cone from epoxy putty, and installed my approximation of the roll-bar and armor plate installed behind the pilot’s head. While I was at it, I also drilled out some machine-gun holes and shell ejection chutes in the wings (an easy modification that most Airfix kits need), and reattached the pilot’s head in a more dramatic pose.

The fit of the major components was mediocre to good. The fuselage halves fit relatively well, and only a small plastic shim was needed to fit the wing/belly assembly to the fuselage. The three part engine cowling needed a bit more coaxing, but after some filling and sanding, I got it to look acceptable. A considerable amount of sanding was necessary to fit the wheels in the closed position as they’re thicker than the little wheel bays inside the fuselage. In terms of fit, the most problematic components were the clear parts. As much as I love Airfix kits, I always dread the clear bits, as their notorious for either not fitting, not having well defined frames, or both. In this case, the frames were very well defined, but the fit was just awful.

Here is how I approached the canopy, but I’m sure a better way exists. First, I attached the rear piece and installed a plastic shim into the large gap between it and the spine of the fuselage. I smoothed this all over with some epoxy putty, and also added some putty along the base of the part where it meets the fuselage sides. Next came the windscreen, which just needed a little putty at the base to close up an uneven articulation with the fuselage. Finally I installed the middle portion of the canopy, which sits at a bit of a jaunty angle relative to the windscreen, but matches up well with the rear canopy piece. Go figure. Each time I tackle a project like this, I remind myself that I need to learn how to crash-mould my own canopies, and each time I get lazy and go with what is in the kit.

As the kit is so small, I decided to paint my Buffalo with a brush. I used some home-brewed shades of Polly Scale acrylics to approximate the US equivalent colors in which the Australian Buffalos were painted; a dark green slightly lighter than RAF dark green, and a dark earth slightly redder than British dark earth were applied to the top, while sky and black went onto the bottom. Later I would come back to paint in some wing-tip lights with red and green. One of the nice things about the RAAF Buffalos is that they had the bottom window painted over, and since the thing is so small on the kit, it would have been a nightmare to mask. Once the paint dried I applied a coat of Future and began to work with the decals.

Perhaps work with is the understatement of the year; what ensued was a titanic struggle, and an exercise in futility. I had heard many horror stories about the brown paper decals and as many bits of advice on how to fix them. I will not go into extensive detail on either, but will summarize by saying that the horror stories are true, while the solutions for managing these monstrosities are not. Painting them with future doesn’t help, painting them with decal fluid doesn’t help, using boiling water to remove them doesn’t help. Each decal will either crack, not come off the backing paper, or if it does come off, it will not have any adhesive to stick to the model. From the kit decals I was able to use two roundels. This meant going back to the paint shop (which is approximately 3 inches from the decal shop on my tiny modeling desk), masking off and painting on a sky band, and then scrounging up decals from the spares box. I unfortunately had little in my spares to work with. I cannibalized some roundels from a Hasegawa Hurricane, serials from a Mosquito, and fuselage codes and tail flashes from a Special Hobby Beaufort. Yes the squadron codes are inaccurate, but if I was strictly after accuracy I wouldn’t be building Airfix kits. Fun first, that is my modeling motto.

And fun this build was. Fun like most CBKs. Maybe that’s why we keep returning to them? It certainly is one of the main reasons for me. In keeping with the fun ethos of the build, after weathering with silver paint and pastels, I decided to hang up the finished model on my ceiling…just like in the good old days.

Clarence Wentzel's Angel Interceptor

2010-02-13T13:29:00.003-05:00

Just to show that some of the older Airfix kits can still be built, here is my Angel Interceptor. Pretty bad fit on many of the parts but it is a different looking model in any case. Like lots of very old kits, this one had a "pilot on two sticks" for the interior. I added a more realistic seat, molded interior side panels and an instrument panel (don't ask me why). Anyhow, it was a fun kit to build.

Jeff Selesky's Airfix 1/72 YAK-9D Build Part Two

2009-12-29T18:38:00.004-05:00

In part two the process of finishing things up begins. First came a gloss coat of Future. I like Future as it ties the paint job together and evens the surface and it is very glossy for any decaling job.

I used the kit decals which have yellowed just a titch but overall not bad for the age. They are flat finished, very thin and brittle. A dip in a little warm water and they came off the backing sheet quickly. I did not use any decal solution and except for over one rivet, they settled nicely into place.

Once dry, I overcoat the whole model with another coat of Future. This smooths everything out again. When the Future is dry, I finished up with Testor's Dullcoat.

Final assembly is started by adding a aerial made from sprue, painting the guns and prop blade tips, and adding the pilot figure who is reclining like in a F-16 because of the seat position. Pastel chalks were used for exhaust streaking. The canopy is nice and clear and fits very well. And of course you have to use the Airfix stand. In this case I have it backwards as the model tips over placed the other way.

Over all, this was a fun project and it looks like a Yak-9D when finished. It would make a great candidate for a Blitzbau.

December Newsletter

2009-12-27T14:55:00.004-05:00

The SIG December Newsletter/Update was sent out today by e-mail. It was basically a rehash of December's update posted last Tuesday, but did include a greeting by SIG Co-Leader Paul Bradley.

Welcome to the first newsletter of the new IPMS/USA Classic British Kits SIG! Our aim is to celebrate the great British kit makers of the past – Matchbox, Frog, et al – and the resurgence of the “granddaddy” of them all, Airfix. Many of us will remember our first kits and I’ll bet that more than a few of you will have built one of those classic British brands early on. My first, at the tender age of 6, was the Airfix 1/72 Bf109G, what is now regarded as a kit well past its prime, but which was the catalyst for my hobby.

I remember well sitting at the kitchen table as my mum cooked dinner. It was a simple little kit, yet I managed to get tube glue all over it(and quite probably the table as well!). I didn’t paint it at all, and I had trouble with the decals not staying put. But it was fun, and gave me many happy hours of play value before all the bits broke off and it was thrown away. But I had other models to play with by that time – I was hooked!

It’s that simple pleasure that remains with me today - even though my hobby and the way I view it has become more mature, I have been trying to build more models out of the box, just like the old days. Even now I have trouble with decals…

Of course, a SIG is only as good as its members make it, so I’d like to encourage you all to send us articles for inclusion, from your memories of CBKs, to build articles, to historical pieces – whatever you think should be included!. And I’d also like to invite you to participate in our Nationals Display at Phoenix in August. We’ll look at expanding our presence as time goes by, particularly at local shows and regionals.

Of course, outside of the Nationals display our main focus will be our web presence, and I'd also strongly encourage you to participate in the Unofficial Airfix Modellers’ Forum (UAMF) – it’s fun and free and we all share a common interest.

Our aim is to be fairly informal and relaxed about our hobby, so beyond Jim and I as contacts, there will be no officers and no dues. We may wish to solicit for donations for special events such as the Nationals, but most of all we’d appreciate your support in the way of chat, discussion and participation – after all, you get out what you put in! The fact that you are getting this newsletter is the first sign of your interest; let’s see what we can build!

John Ratzenberger's Frog 1/72 Fairey Swordfish I

2009-12-26T16:32:00.002-05:00

My fourth and last (as in the paint completely dried the day before I had to mail it) build for Telford -- this requested to be in the float version. I already had this kit in the stash because of my large 'silver wings' collection. The floats were dictated, I selected the 'tween war 'silver wings' scheme.

All in all, it is a nice kit. The raised panel lines are a bit much so I knocked them down slightly. The 3 crew members make/cover up for the lack of cockpit detail. It builds fairly nicely, with just two major problem areas. First, the outer wing panel tabs don't fit well into the center section slots. After opening the slots up a bit, then the tabs and slots had insufficient mating surface and were very weak. On the second try, I got everything aligned and then poured in superglue. Unfortunately the left lower wing slipped slightly.

The second problem is the floats. The kit has you glue the strut assembly into the float then glue each to the fuselage and wings. The glue joint on the fuselage/wings isn't great, but worse than that the floats were canted outboard. I had to carefully saw/cut the struts where then joined to the floats and bend the floats inward, breaking a strut or two off the fuselage/wings. I needed four hands, but substituted tape and superglue and a long drying spell. Needless to say, they didn't dry exactly straight, so it looks as if they had a hard catapult or landing. Last step was the rigging with steel wire.

Paint is Tamiya Gloss Aluminum rattle-can with Humbrol for details. The decals are right out of the kit box, went on like a charm, and settled nicely with MicroSol and MicroSet. I finished it off with Mr SuperCoat Semi-Gloss, something that really makes 'silver wings' look good, in my opinion.

With the crew hiding the empty cockpits, an in-flight display was a natural -- not to mention it's where a Stringbag belongs. The kit looks good and it's my favorite of the 4 builds.

John Ratzenberger's Frog 1/72 Martin Maryland

2009-12-24T07:13:00.003-05:00

Another build for the CBK Frog display at Telford -- this time in the options category where all color/marking options were built. For the Maryland, I drew the Free French marked bird (by virtue of being 2nd to volunteer) while another SIG member did the SAAF-marked plane. I knew little about the Maryland when I started and not much more when I finished.

Another find off E-bay. There were several issues with the kit -- one nacelle was poorly molded and I had to reshape it. One wing half was slightly warped, requiring straightening. The gear doors are very thick and I decided to do it in-flight to simply avoid the hassle of cleaning them up. As usual there is minimal interior, but the crew hides some of that. Fit was so-so but I worked through it. I am convinced there is a very slight warp in the rear fuselage -- the rudder appears offset.

Anyway, it was painted in the kit color scheme using paints from the White Ensign Colour Coats range. The original kit decals were out of register and I got a second set from another CBK SIG member -- to find some of them were out of register. I dug a set of French insignia out of my stash and between the 3 managed to come up with a complete set of decals. You'll see the Lorraine Crosses are different than the rest of the decals.

All finished, at a nice angle on the stand, it looks quite good. I'm not aware of other Maryland kits to compare this to.

John Ratzenberger's Frog 1/72 Gloster Whittle E28/39 Pioneer

2009-12-23T06:09:00.000-05:00

To support the SIG display at Telford, I signed on to do the Frog "Pioneer", a model of England's first jet aircraft. I knew little about it and shamefully can say I haven't improved much on that -- one reason being the builds were Out of the Box so I didn't take off on one of my AMS fits.

I got the bagged kit from E-bay and it was in fine shape. I didn't know until then that Frog had royally botched the scale on the kit, with evidently the wings taken from 1/72nd scale drawings and the fuselage from a 1/64th scale drawing. Looking at any pictures of the real aircraft, the discrepancy is obvious. Frog provided two pilots -- one standing and one seated -- and it appears they got them from two different "scale drawings" as the seated one is very small and the standing one very large. Regardless, the seated pilot is needed to fill up the very empty bathtub cockpit. Continuing the criticisms, the gear doors are very, very thick and the interior of the intake wrong. One the other side, it goes together cleanly with little difficulty or fill. It does require nose weight to keep it from tail-sitting.

I did nothing to the kit, building it right out-of-the-bag, so to speak. I painted it with appropriate colors from the White Ensign Colour Coat series. There is some "controversy" as to the exact configuration, as a prototype it was under continual modification, and the matching color schemes and markings at any one time. I chose to go strictly by the marking instructions provided by the kit.

But not with the kit decals, at least not the second time. Giving the paint plenty of time to dry, I applied the kit decals using Micro-Sol/Set and let them dry over a day. It appeared I could get away with them, but when I then hit it with DullCoat they started rolling and peeling off. Unfortunately, I went off to do something else and didn't see this happen or I could have reduced the damage to the paint -- by the time I got back the Dullcoat had glued the rolled up decals to the surface. After much work, I got them off but then had to repair some paint damage. I reapplied kit markings but using all aftermarket decals and all was well.

I can't recommend the kit, given the major scale discrepancy -- I understand there are other, in scale, kits of this aircraft available.

December Update

2009-12-22T19:57:00.002-05:00

After a long period of hibernation, the IPMS/USA Classic British Kits SIG is back in action. The Holiday Season finds the following action:

1. The SIG blog has seen a few new updated with more to come. The December material includes Jeff Selesky's Airfix Yak build, and four Frogs by John Ratzenberger. John's Whitley has been posted, and the rest of the four will appear as the week goes on. A further update will see a Quick Peek at the small scale Frog DeHavilland Beaver. As always the SIG is in need of any article submissions you wish to provide.

2. The SIG will make our public debut at the IPMS/USA National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona between August 4 to 7, 2010, with a SIG display table. After much thought and discussion the SIG table will feature a "No Theme" Theme. I hear however that some members may be working on their own private themes. For example your scribe is trying to narrow down just what Canadian topics he wishes to build. So plan to be there with you Classic British Kits on display. Point person on the display table will be SIG Co-Leader Paul Bradley.

3. Join in the SIG Discussion Forum at the Unofficial Airfix Modellers Forum. In fact check out the whole Unofficial Airfix Modellers Forum. It is a fun and lively forum of modeling, group builds, and all things classic and British. Come on over and join in on the discussion.

4. For more on classic kits, please also see the January issue of Scale Aviation Modeler International, where CBK member Mike Grant shows what you can do with the old Matchbox Wellesley bomber. This effectively kicks off a new series, starting in March, by Mike on classic kits - something we at the SIG are very much looking forward to! In the February issue, there will be a piece about our sister SIG, Classic British Kits UK, and their Telford display.

5. Don't forget Classic British Kits are for fun. Build a Classic British Kit today!

Jim Bates
SIG Co-Leader

John Ratzenberger's Frog 1/72 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley VII

2009-12-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

When the CBK SIG listed the Whitley as a candidate build for this year's display, I jumped at the chance. I remembered reading about it in Peter Green's Famous Bombers decades ago and it's hard to forget with the barn door flying surfaces and chin scraping along the ground.

I got the kit off E-bay for a good price, packed in a freezer bag but other than a broken, but present, prop blade it seemed in good shape. The plane was generally well molded, but with numerous small sink marks on the fuselage, all of which cleaned up easily. Panel lines are raised, but very finely; glass is thick and not very clear but that is OK as interior detail is minimal. The lower right wing half was badly warped and required some effort to glue both halves together straight. I glued and clamped in stages, with a bit of heat where needed. Some filler and then sanding on the seams at the nacelle made everything right.

The kit goes together quite well but I had issues with the join at the left wing root which not only had gaps top and bottom but fore and aft -- the right wing fit perfectly. The tabs on the wings and the spar through the fuselage, while making for a strong join, complicate fixing up the root. Gear doors are quite thick and I thinned them down. The gear legs must be installed early on and are vulnerable to breaking, as is the fragile tail wheel.

The only shortcoming with the Mk.VII version is the antennas -- those on top are too thick and the four on each side are not provided. I was going to add them, but decided they would be vulnerable to packing and shipping. The two antenna sticking out under the wings are just waiting to be broken.

The model is finished in kit markings, but not kit decals -- they disintegrated on contact with water. The paint is from the White Ensign Colour Coat range, the decals aftermarket.

This is a unique kit (Frog is, to my knowledge, the only company to do it) and quite impressive when finished. Simple improvements such as thinning gear doors, opening intakes and exhausts, and correcting the antenna will really kick it up a notch.

Jeff Selesky's Airfix 1/72 YAK-9D Build Part One

2009-12-20T20:18:00.000-05:00

This issue of the YAK-9D is Series 2-46 and the instruction sheet indicates the Airfix Corporation of America, Philadelphia 24, PA. I would guess that this 29 part kit is a classic.

The box art.

The instruction sheet "A" side.

The instruction sheet "B" side.

The slightly yellowed, glossy decal sheet. Yellow (gold) outline on the national insignia.

Here is the parts layout.

Initial construction does not take long. Clamps were used due to a little warpage in the fuselage halves.

Here is the construction and a test fit of the "classic" Airfix stand. It sets best backwards as it tips over the other way. The propeller needs a little TLC. Careful filing away flash and mold marks is tedious as there is not much left to hold the blade to the spinner.

The color callouts for the YAK 9D on the instruction sheet was for dark green and brown. I personally felt that the two Russian grays were more appropriate for the 9D. Polly Scale colors were used with a Badger 200 fine tip airbrush. Masking was done with "Blue Tack" snakes.

In Part Two I will gloss it up and added the decals. Then, as they say, "finish up this little lot."

Airfix 1/72 Fi156C in a Poly Bag

2009-08-04T20:09:00.006-04:00

Pattern 127 and it appears to be original. Courtesy of Jeff Selesky.

More Head Scratching Airfix Boxart

2009-05-13T07:31:00.007-04:00

A while back, I posted the Airfix Hunter boxart with the comment it was among the most head scratching Airfix boxart ever. Well I forgot the U.S. boxing of the Airfix Buccaneer. Just why is that Kamikaze Zero attacking a post war British carrier? Did that Zero cause the battle damage on the NA39? Is the NA39 landing or taking off? I wonder if this art was intended to be the movie poster for Final Countdown 2...

CBK 2009 IPMS Nationals Project A No Go!

2009-05-12T07:11:00.000-04:00

I am sad to report that there will be no 2009 IPMS/USA Nationals Classic British Kits SIG Project. Sadly, the Nats organizers in Columbus appear to have little interest in providing display tables for the special interest groups, and communication with them has been difficult. This just illustrates that many in IPMS/USA are not interested in the SIGs and anything not related to the contest portion of the show. However, it appears that the 2010 organizers in Phoenix have a more positive view of display tables and we do hope to have a 2010 Nationals project.

Even with this turn of events, I will be attending the Nationals in Columbus in August, though SIG co-founder Paul Bradley will be AWOL, and I hope to see many of you there.

Some CBK Strikemasters and Provosts

2009-05-11T21:15:00.004-04:00

In the battle of the Strikemasters, I've always prefered the Matchbox art over that of the Airfix.

Jeff Selesky's Airfix 1/72 Beaufighter Build

2009-05-06T10:12:00.017-04:00

Airfix Series 2, Pattern 283, Bristol Beaufighter T.F.X. coded MB*T. I will do it in USAAF markings using a scheme found in Colour and Markings with an O.D. tail unit, 416th NFS Italy. I built this kit many years ago and remember it to a good build. I always felt the cowl rings seemed a little mis-shapened, maybe too flat, but I'm not really sure.

The reference material.

I hope it will kinda look like this, only smaller.

I started by gluing the wings, wheels, and generally anything in two halves together.
The engine nacelles received a filing down of the cowl flaps so they don't look so much like bumps in the plastic. You will notice on the port wing that I got sloppy with the Tenex 7R and had to clean that mess up.

While trimming the edges of the wings, I began to use a round file to clean up the intakes.

The horizontal stabilizers have a rather nasty knock out tab mark that will need attention.

My decals are sourced out from an old Micro Scale sheet. I didn't notice until looking at the photograph that one has a run in the blue color.

I pulled out the trusty razor saw and removed the position lights and landing lights from the wing. This space is now packed with clear sprue and awaits filing to shape. I really did not want to go overboard with this project but it should really look OK when done. Before gluing in the clear sprue, small holes were drilled to simulate light bulbs. The holes received a spot of red and green paint. Also I filled and sanded the marks on the horizontal stabs and cleaned up the landing gear a little.

I filed down the clear sprues and have everything roughed in. Now the progressively fine grit treatment. The landing light has two bulb/filaments and when masked for painting, the two lens will appear.

After a comment by SIG member Bruce Grayson, I decided to correct landing light in the front of the wing. Here is the new landing light. My camera has created a little distortion. The dimple type holes were drilled in the back of the clear sprue and dabbed with silver paint. Not perfect but better than the pin holes I originally started with.

The general airframe together with the test fitting of the canopy. I must say that over all it is a well fitting kit. The was a tiny step at the wing/fuselage joint but over all, considering the age of the kit, it is all good. I did add a pilots seat. Holes will now be drilled to accommodate the radar antennas. I did give thought to adding a new nose cone but the A1 radar was used in some of the USAAF Beaus.

Here are the engines. Nothing but kit part. Flat black with a silver pris-color pencil in lieu of dry brushing.

The clear parts are fixed in place and antenna holes drilled out. I counted 13 locations in all. The arrow antenna in the nose, two each on each leading edge of the wings, and two each both top and bottom of each wing. When the clear parts are set, I will begin masking for a primer coat.

The Beau is coming out of the paint shop with the usual scheme with a twist. This particular USAAF bird apparently had a replacement tail which was reportedly overall Olive Drab. The roundels were over-sprayed in preparation for the US stars and bars.

Painting and decaling is complete. Pulling the masks off, there was only a couple of touch-ups required.

When thinking it over about the landing gear doors, I elected to pull out my trusty rat tail file and went to work. With the front edge thinned down, the doors were attached. Also debated in my mind was the color I would use for the rings on the nacelles. I finally settled for a Metallizer color Burnt Exhaust as the USAAF received the Beau from RAF maintenance depots and to me that meant they had been around the block a few times and would not show a copper or brass/bronze look.

I noticed that the prop blades seemed to molded with the all the blades at a different pitch. I let that one slide.

The completed build. The radar aerials are short pieces of wire "super glued" in place. Any bets as to how long they stay on? The communication aerial is stretched sprue. Red decal material was used for the gun muzzle covers. I have to admit, it was done for a little splash of color.

Paul Bradley's Airfix 1/72 F-84F

2009-04-25T06:23:00.000-04:00

Great boxart!

The date on the side of the box says 1973, and this is truly an Airfix classic - pretty good detail, excellent fit, fine, raised detail. This will be OOB, except for the pilot who was left over from a Monogram kit to replace the half-pilot in the kit! I shall be using the kit decals, except for the red areas that will be painted - the decals that are supplied for these areas look awful!

Progress has been pretty swift, aided by excellent fit. As you can see, this one is going to be wheels up on a stand, because I thought it would look good! The u/c parts are actually pretty good.

The decals weren't so good - months of bleaching and a coat of Microscale Decal Film did little to improve them, but I was determined to do this literally from the box...

Some 1930s British Biplanes

2009-04-21T22:19:00.002-04:00

John Ratzenberger's Airfix 1/144 H.P. 42 'Heracles'

2009-03-18T19:24:00.005-04:00

Another of the Airfix 1/144 classic airliners, again done for the BlitzBau on UAMF. I'll note that I did not finish in time because I did not build this OOB. I elected to sand down the over-emphasized wing and tail ribs and that took a lot longer than I thought. I also elected to rig the tail section. You need to check that the place on the fuselage where the tail sits is sanded level to get the tail assembly sitting right.

I also had some difficulties keeping the wing pieces aligned when putting in the struts -- it all works but it's a busy time. The instructions and the little jig make wing assembly fairly easy, but you need to pay attention to alignment as each piece is put in. I had it straight at the start but as time shrunk I let the wings get a bit out of alignment -- didn't help that I was using CA and accelerator on everything to beat the clock. Be careful that you haven't introduced a back-stagger to the wings when you finally put that assembly in the fuselage.

I had some trouble with the decals -- I had 3 kits and only one set of decent decals and they weren't very good -- they came loose with milky film floating about and when laid down looked like they had dirt underneath. I found I could rub that out, but I didn't finish cleaning it off the wing surfaces. Next morning I went down and found it had stained/etched the Future/paint!! Please note carefully chosen photography angles to avoid full shot of upper wing.

It's not a bad kit -- it is definitely a bit tougher than their PanAm Clipper. Regardless, it gives you a distinctive looking model of a historic aircraft.

Paul Bradley's 1/72 English Electric A.1

2009-03-17T21:32:00.001-04:00

The Canberra prototype was known as the A.1 and was distinctly different in its initial form from the production Canberra. Most noticeably, the rudder was taller and rounded, and there was a dorsal strake. The nosecone was solid, as it was intended to fit bombing radar to the nose. The A.1 also featured a single “porthole” above the navigator’s position, rather than the later two rectangular windows; the window on the port side was also not fitted to this aircraft. Finally, the canopy did not feature the distinctive rear failing that was added to combat aerodynamic difficulties.

I used Airfix’s old Canberra B(I).6 kit for this conversion. The additions to the tail were made using plastic card, the nose was reshaped, shortened and painted over, and I modified the kit’s clear parts as necessary. The interior was more fully detailed and I used Aeroclub white metal seats to replace the kit’s “lounge chairs.” I took the opportunity to box in and detail the undercarriage and their bays – although not fully accurate, these are better than the gaping holes that were previously there! The final correction was to cut back the intake bullets, as these were shorter on the earlier aircraft.

The A.1 was painted in a shade referred to as “Petter Blue,” after the designer – apparently, this was patterned after the color of his car at the time! I couldn’t establish what kind of car he drove, nor could I find a color photo of the A.1, so I tried to match the color based on black and white photos. What I ended up using was ModelMaster’s Middle Blue with a touch of their Light Blue. Now that it is dry, I think it is a bit dark, but I’d love to be proved wrong…! Decals were rustled up from my spares box, and the model was complete. Not perfect by any means, but a nice representation of the start of a legend.

Jeff Selesky's JAS39 Gripen

2009-03-15T11:02:00.004-04:00

Jeff's 1/72 Gripen is the Airfix/Italeri kit. Mostly out of the box, he added extra seatbelts to dress up the seat a little. Jeff reports that the build was so nice that he finished it off quickly.

More Airfix Box Art

2009-03-14T10:17:00.004-04:00

This time courtesy of Jeff Selesky. All 1/72. I think these are mostly 1970s era boxes.

Airfix 1/72 Jetstream by Paul Bradley

2009-03-12T10:43:00.004-04:00

Here’s a kit that illustrates the perils of releasing a kit in anticipation of an aircraft entering service. The Jetstream was a popular British light business turboprop aircraft, still in service in some areas as the Jetstream 31/41 feederliner. IN the late-sixties, it was marketed as a utility/light transport military aircraft and attracted an order from the US Air Force for 11 aircraft as the C-10. This would be used as a 12-seat transport or 6-case air ambulance, but the order was cancelled before any aircraft were built. Interestingly, one of the pre-production Jetstream was marked in USAF colours and featured in the pilot episode the Gerry Anderson show, UFO.

While no aliens are included in the kit, there are two pilots in a reasonably detailed cockpit area, while the cabin features a set of stretchers attached to the sidewalls, and the rear cabin door, featuring a set of built-in air stairs, is separate.

Detail over the airframe consists of fine raised lines, with engraved lines for the control surfaces. The undercarriage is fair, but there is no detail inside the bays. The engine pods are separate and represent the Garrett turboprops that were to be fitted to this version.

One set of markings are provided, for a spurious USAF scheme – I don’t think I can salvage the ones included in my box…!

It would be possible, with a fair amount of work, to produce an actual Jetstream using this kit. For the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy versions, the engines would need to be replaced by the standard Astazou units used by these versions, and there are numerous detail changes that need to be made. I’ve seen it done, and was also impressed by Bruce Leyland-Jones “what-if” USAF gunship version, the AC-10, featured on the UAMF forum.

This is a good little kit and with a little work can be made into a nice model.

Frog Canberra PR.7 by Paul Bradley

2009-03-11T13:11:00.000-04:00

Here’s another of Frog’s earliest offering, but surprisingly, this kit is still the only early Canberra photo-recce mark that’s ever been released! The Canberra PR.3 and PR.7 were slightly lengthened version of the B.2/6 airframes with extra room for cameras and photo-flash bombs. While we’ve been treated to new Canberras in recent years, including great kits of the later PR.9, no-one has produced either of these marks.

Typical of the period, this kit very simple, has a moulded in half-pilot and is covered with heavy rivet “detail.” There are just 21 parts including one-piece main undercarriage units. As was typical then, there are no undercarriage bays, just slots for the legs to fit into. The kit is rounded off with one of those classy Frog stands.

Decals are included for one aircraft, WH773. Amazingly, this aircraft still survives, at the Gatwick Aviation Museum, and is looked after by a well-known contributor to the Britmodeller forums!

This kit compares well when laid over plans and could, if so desired, make the basis of a good super-detailing project if combined with some aftermarket parts. The nose is better than the old Airfix kit, but it remains to be seen if a PR.3/7 conversion set for the new Airfix kit will be produced.

As I checked this kit for completeness, I noticed there were some extra bits. On closer inspection, I discovered that sometime during its life, the box had acquired a complete Heller Cadet-series 1/100 SO Trident. Bonus! While I don’t think Packer No. 8 had anything to do with this, I’d like to thank her/him for ensuring that all the CANBERRA parts were in the box!

Frog Sabre by Paul Bradley

2009-03-10T10:46:00.000-04:00

This was one of Frog’s earliest plastic kit releases way back in 1955. This was at the height of the Sabre’s fame, just after the cessation of hostilities in Korea and during deliveries to the RAF as a stop-gap fighter while issues with the Hunter and Swift were being worked on. So it’s no surprise that this kit offers the earliest of RAF markings, for an overall natural metal machine. Aircraft delivered to the RAF were based in Germany, so quickly acquired a camouflage scheme of Dk Green/Dk. Sea Grey and PRU Blue. The simple decal sheet offers one set of markings with no indication of squadron.

A child of its times, this is a very simple kit with all the hallmark features of a kit produced as an early venture into this new market. There are just 14 parts plus a lead nose weight. Detail is extremely basic, with the cockpit being represented by the half-pilot moulded into the fuselage halves. The undercarriage is represented by simple one-piece mouldings that fit into slots under the wings and fuselage – no bays are present. The whole model is covered in huge rivets that would do the Clyde shipyards proud. These are thoughtfully discontinued in the places where the decals are supposed to go.

The kit is topped off with one of those stylish Frog stands with the sweeping arm and circular base, and the very neat nameplate decal to go on it. This is one aspect of these kits that should be re-introduced.

I haven’t measured this one for accuracy – what’s the point? It looks like a Sabre and it’s a great nostalgia piece!

By the way, if anyone has a copy of the Tri-ang Magazine advertised in the accompanying leaflet, I’d like to take a look!

Airfix 1/72 F-111A by Paul Bradley

2009-03-08T18:08:00.001-04:00

Airfix released this kit in 1968, when the real thing was just entering service; hence the non-standard camouflage scheme featured on the dramatic box art and in the instructions. This shows the USAF fighter camouflage of the day, Light Grey over White, which was in the process of being phased out in favour of the SEA four-colour scheme.

This example is still in its original poly bag, and I didn’t wish to remove it at this time. The very pale blue parts feature fine raised lines for the majority of the detail, with neatly recessed lines for the control surfaces. Being an Airfix kit of the sixties, it is gimmicky, with pivoting wings of course, but also a separate crew escape module, “Just Like The Real Thing!”

Detail is sparse, with clunky undercarriage and a very basic interior, which includes two crew figures in the standard Airfix pose.

Decals are limited to a single option, 39766, presumably a pre-production aircraft with dramatic lightning flash markings on the fin. As mentioned earlier, this features a non-standard camo scheme for an F-111.

“Accuracy?” I hear you ask. I have no idea; I know nothing about the F-111. But I understand that the later, revised boxing wasn’t too bad, so I imagine this would make a fair early F-111. You could even paint and mark it as an F-111K, the abortive RAF replacement for the abortive TSR.2. That was official British Government policy in the sixties – develop an expensive weapons system, spend lots of money on it, cancel it, order a replacement that turns out to be equally expensive, spend a lot of money on that, then cancel that too. Then actually buy another system that’s half as capable as the original you were developing years before, at almost the same cost.

Here’s a kit that you don’t see built very often at all, but I think it would be quite an easy build and an interesting one in the colours and markings from the box. And what’s not to like about that box art?!

Airfix 1/72 Hudson by Paul Bradley

2009-02-27T18:15:00.003-05:00

This kit was originally released in 1964, and is still current – in fact, it was re-released with new decals and box art in 2008! Mine appears to be an original 1964 release, and features the great silver plastic that Airfix used back then, along with the original style written and pictorial instruction sheet. In my box however, I discovered that the instruction sheet had only been printed on one side – the history, and painting guide were there, but the actual building instructions were missing! Luckily, someone at UAMF was able to send me their old sheet, correctly printed.

You’ll also notice the original decal sheet – I think I shall need to buy a replacement, eh? One option is provided in this boxing, for 206 Squadron, RAF. I think the codes should be in medium sea grey rather than white.

Interior detail is rather sparse, and although a full crew is included, these are very poor. The glazing is very thick, so it’s probably best just to paint the interior in black to discourage closer inspection!

Accuracy is rather poor, with questions asked about the shape of the cowlings, the size and shape of the undercarriage bays, the nose and the shape of the wings. This is one of those kits that should probably be built for the pure joy of building a kit, with a blind eye to accuracy! What is interesting is that while there have been newer, more accurate kits released of the Hudson, none is as easy to build as the Airfix kit.

Jeff Selesky's Gallery

2009-02-03T20:26:00.004-05:00

The Airfix Harrier GR5 out of the box with kit decals. I added the "slime lights' in the correct light green color and I etched the canopy detonation cord on the glass with a number 11 blade tracing lightly around a tape template.

The Airfix Chipmunk built out of the box in CAF markings using the kit decals.

The Matchbox/PM Hawker Sea Fury which was built for the UAMF Blitzbau. A really fun build. Tamiya silver was used on the overall finish.

Airfix 1/72 Hunter F.6

2009-01-31T07:17:00.005-05:00

This may be the greatest (and most head scratching) Airfix boxart painting ever. Aerobatic Hunters shooting polka dotted rockets at drones? Wowie! I believe this was boxart for the U.S. issue of the Hunter F.6. Just wish the kit had been as cool as the box art!

Paul Bradley's Gallery

2009-01-29T17:28:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the SIG Co-Leader Paul Bradley's Classic British Kits.

Airfix Canberra B(I).8 converted to E.15

Frog Hunter F.1, converted to P.1067

Matchbox Hunter T.7

Airfix 1/32 Vehicles

2008-04-09T00:53:00.000-04:00

Today's selection from John Ratzenberger are 1/32 vintage cars. Note there are different boxings; a couple original Airfix, a couple USAirfix, and one German Plasty-Airfix (the Lanchester.) John notes that he doesn't have a few of the cars including the De Dietrich, Morris Cowley, Vauxhall Prince Henry and while he hasn't gotten around to building any of them yet, he will in the future. John also notes that all the cars have lots of parts.

Airfix 1/32 Scale Figures

2008-04-07T20:47:00.000-04:00

Thanks to John Ratzenberger here are some nice examples of vintage Airfix 1/32 1815 figures. I always love to see Airfix Blister Packs.

Clare Wentzel's HS-123

2008-02-07T07:20:00.002-05:00

I noticed that the 1/72 Hs-123 is being re-released by Airfix in 2008. This is one of the easier biplanes to make. See the here for two photos of mine. I looked at Floyd Werner's build of the 1/48 AMTech model to scratch-build some interior details and I removed the headrest. A fun kit to build.

Clare Wentzel

John Ratzenberger's PanAm Clipper

2008-02-06T21:11:00.002-05:00

This is the Airfix 1/144 scale Pan Am Clipper, kit #4172, of 1964 vintage.

I decided to build it for the Un-official Airfix Forum / Classic British Kits SIG "BlitzBau", which is a challenge to build a kit in 24 consecutive hours. There was, fortunately, an option to break the build in two parts just in case there was a need to accommodate real life. I chose to take that option, calling it the "senior citizen option", because I knew I'd never make 24 straight hours and in fact might even reach a point where I no longer remembered what I was doing ...

I've never built this kit before and never built a model in a day.

I opened the box, found the '64 copyright in the wing, and everything seems OK except I only have 3 and 2/3 props -- the 2/3 prop is in 2 pieces and two of the others are a bit mutated. Well, I have about 24 hours from start time to solve that problem. In case you are wondering, I have no problem building a classic kit.

I officially started at 0918 EST (9:18am civilian time), 26 January 2008 and officially finished at 1839 (6:39pm) 27 January. I went 14 hours, 12 minutes the first day, took a break and came back to do 9 hours, 39 minutes the 2nd day, for a total working time of 23 hours and 51 minutes -- cutting it a bit close.

You can read the gory details on the build thread.

For the record: Airfix Craft Master 1/144 Pan Am Clipper, OOB. Tamiya cement mostly, CA to mount the wings to the fuselage. Main paint was all Tamiya rattle-can (TS-29 Semi-Gloss Black, AS-12 Bare Metal Silver, TS-49 Bright Red) and Model Master 1961 Gloss Lacquer. Miscellaneous bottle paints used for engine, props, etc. Tamiya "Kabuki tape" and Glad Press n' Seal for masking.

Post-build, I did not take the opportunity to go fix a few flaws, maybe another day -- although I did remove the masking tape from the upper windows behind the cockpit that you can see in these photos. I did take it outside in the sunlight to get some better shots. Despite my workmanship, it is quite an impressive model -- it just looks really good, as an airplane, at certain angles and I've tried to capture that with these photos.

I'm impressed with the kit itself, a 1964 release I think -- looks good for 40-ish !!! The rivet and panel line detail is really nice. Yes, they are raised, but it is so subtle and so well done !!! Also, if you check the head-on and nose close-ups, you'll see fins on the cylinder heads, pushrods on the front row, and a decent looking prop hub. Window pieces aren't up to current standards, but do fit cleanly into the hull. A great kit from Airfix.

This was my first "BlitzBau" format model build, and it'll be a while until I do another -- it simply does not match my building skills or style. I said before I'm slow -- some of that is (lack of) skill, some of it is that I like to spend my time on things -- witness wandering off for 3 hours to work on the engines & props, when they could have, and should have, waited until later -- ie. while paint is drying. Same with the ending -- I usually take a week to do paint, decals, etc -- a day at a time ... Not that I actually produce contest quality stuff, but I have a little pride ...

Anyway, glad I could participate and hope I contributed to what appears to be a very successful group build -- I certainly commend all participants for their enthusiasm and skill.

John Ratzenberger

Vintage Airfix Boxart

2008-01-02T09:08:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Paul Bradley here are some nice examples of vintage Airfix Boxart.

Jim Bates's Matchbox 1/72 P-47D Thunderbolt

2007-12-31T11:11:00.001-05:00

This is my Matchbox 1/72 P-47D Thunderbolt finished as a stateside P-47G. This kit was an Anti-AMS project done for a local P-47 group build. As I was doing an Anti-AMS build, I painted it with Humbrol enamels applied by brush.

Welcome to the IPMS/USA Classic British Kits SIG

2007-12-30T20:07:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the new IPMS/USA Classic British Kits Special Interest Group. IPMS/USA CBK SIG is the Colonial Office of the IPMS/UK Classic British Kits SIG. The purpose of the SIG is to promote the enjoyment and building of Classic British Kits, including such manufacturers as Airfix, Matchbox, and Frog.

SIG Contact is Paul Bradley
Webmaster is Jim Bates