The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

I've been putting together this Leyland Hippo & Thor Missile...




I'm just putting a small diorama base for it to sit on

That looks neat. What kits are they?

David

I've seen this on your WW thread and it looks great. Will we get to see it the flesh at one of the shows?

The kit is by B. W. Models

I've been watching your multimedia wrestling match too Ratch. It didn't look easy but it's come together rather well. Very nicely done

And the vignette...
In 1958 a new era started for Harrington when the Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles were chosen as a nuclear deterrent. Bloodhound Mk.1 SAMs at separate sites provided protection. Construction at Harrington was completed in early 1960 and 218 Sqn took up residence. The allocation was short-lived as Harrington was de-activated 23 August 1963.









The Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile was an American design, operated by four R.A.F. Squadrons along the Eastern side of England. Each Thor complex was manned by approximately 1,000 R.A.F. personnel who had complete control of the weaponry except that American personnel had the final authorisation for the use of the nuclear warhead. Polebrook was the second Northamptonshire site to deploy Thor missiles.

Mate that looks awesome!
It would be a welcome addition to our display at any show!!!
Cant wait to see more of your work mate.

Thanks, I've just started on a B-47E

And here it is...
31963 of the 301st Reconnaissance Wing at Chelveston, 1959.

Ooooooh very nice Rach!
I especially like the detail in the bomb bay well done!

Its been quite some time since my last foray into this genre, but while rummaging through my stash the other day I came across this Airfix Hunter in rather a distressed box. I opened the sealed polybag to discover a number of parts separated from the sprue-gates and the pilot decapitated. The parts were washed in soapy warm water and I chose a replacement pilot from my spares. I brushed black over the internal surfaces and selected a 5g tyre weight although I’m unsure how effective it will be. The instructions call for just 4g but positioned as far forward as possible in the nose. My weight would only fit behind the pilot’s seat, so may be too far back. I constructed the main parts and a quick check indicated that the nose weight is sufficient. I had lost an outer wing pylon and had to scratch another from 30 thou plastic card. With the basic construction complete it was time to prime. The airframe was airbrushed with a light grey primer, then black primer was used to pre-shade the panels.


The under surfaces were airbrushed, then masked. I airbrushed the upper camouflage scheme freehand, following the pattern illustrated on the instruction sheet.


The insides of the wheels wells and undercarriage doors were painted then Klear was sprayed over the airframe. I put Blutac in the wheel wells and fitted the undercarriage doors. I chose an incomplete set of decals, partly because I wasn’t concerned about the small stencils, and applied these using Microset and Microsol. I used a sharp scalpel to cut around the doors.


I made up a number of ‘Remove Before Flight’ tags and painted the tyres and nose. The paint and decals were protected by airbrushing Vallejo 26.518 Matt Acrylic Varnish over for my desired finish. I then added the undercarriage, aerial and the pitot tube. I decided it best to allow for the undercarriage to set before setting the aircraft down on them. I removed the masking from the canopy and added RBF tags to match references. I finally touched up the tyres and all was complete.

XE624 flew with No.79 (Shadow) Squadron, No.229 Operational Conversion Unit, RAF Chivenor, 1972.















From the Airfix 90 years Triple Pack 2 (08657)

Nice one Ratch, that has turned out very well.

Lovely.

Nigel

Thanks guys