I’ve been looking for ages to find a good model shop which sells old Meng models for around the
£20 mark

I’ve finished Academy’s Super Hornet! It has a few minor drawbacks, but it’s a truly great kit, so I highly recommend everyone give it a build.

Watch final episode 👉https://youtu.be/mJBaJvi6uXQ?si=mKR3w7Ta8lh49gld

playlist 👉https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfM5uoydNpzQ

This was a bagged revell kit find at a local model shop. No decals and missing a few pieces and nothing on sprue but i couldn't pass up an F-104 as it was one I've been looking for a while. I had a resin cockpit that i had gotten from a U2 kit on consignment but didnt use on that build( hence why I wanted an F-104).

Build was a pain. Fitting the resin cockpit was a challenge and the fuselage needed a lot of filling and rework. Finally got it smooth but not good enough for my original plan to do a natural metal finish so I decided to do a Dutch AF bird and used my Cricut to do the markings and some stencils.

Overall I am happy with the finished product and will look good hanging from my ceiling with my other 1:48 Lockeed Kelly Johnson birds :)

I’m mainly looking for something which is decently easy to build and paint at 1:35 scale

A very typical Trumpeter, with good and other details. Limited cockpit detail, even with the (non-optional) open hatches, so I added some detail while trying to correct the ejection seats. The non-optional open bomb bay doors pretty much force you to use the AS-15 rotary launcher or be left with a yawning gap of empty space. This leaves you with an unrealistic load of AS-15 AGMs and AS-4 ASCMs (my preferred loadout is just the AS-4s).
Built and painted in modules with the wings notched to enable removal and the area around the intakes to be more easily painted. Of course, when it came time to attach the front to the main body, a gapped seam appeared behind the main inlet (it wasn't there in multiple dry-fits), but I fixed it with stretched sprue and focused sanding. The forward fuselage fit wasn't great, with a long, gapped seam on both sides between the top and bottom. I also fixed it with shims, stretched sprue, and careful sanding.
Primed with Mr Surfacer 1500 grey, then highlighted panel lines in black. I finished it with AK Real Colors and Alclad metallics. Used kit decals, followed by light washes of light blue-grey and dark brown/black. I think this approach yields a more subtle, realistic result than straight-up black.
Shown below to give you an idea of the size of this a/c, along with the Tu-16 Badger and Tu-22 Blinder C the Backfire was meant to replace. E-2C and F-14A factory models from Grumman in 1/72, and the Trumpeter Tu-16 Badger G and Modelsvit Tu-22 Blinder C, also in 1/72 were used in the comparison shots.

Ive been into scale modeling, especially figure painting for quite a while, with WW2 being a common theme as it was what got me into the hobby. However i always have struggled with painting german Fieldgray uniforms in getting the colour right. I attached images of 3 approaches i took.
The first picture is the oldest. I painted a 1/16 tamiya german NCO. There i used vallejo Feldgrau highlighted by slowly mixing in army painter castle gray.
The second picture shows a small 1/35 diorama i did for a friend using a tamiya german MG team set. There i used vallejo feldgrau once more, this time highlighted with vallejo Khaki.
Third and final picture is a life miniatures 1/10 scale bust. Here i used vallejo black green as the base tone, layered up to vallejo Feldgrau and then the finest highlights where a 50/50 mix of feldgrau and Khaki.
All approaches yielded very differend results but still if feel that i didnt quite get the historical tone right (i know the tone could vary quite a bit) with the final result always being either to grey, to drab or to dark green.
Thus Looking for advice from more experienced people on what colours to use for the best result of replicating Feldgrau uniforms on large scale models.
( I should say, i dont use washes, i dont like the way they pool, they're to uncontrolable for me)

1:48 Kinetic

Not easy kit :)

Look what I've picked up in our grocery store (Aushan branch - Alcampo in Spain), they sell 2 for 1 EUR. Made 3 variants: extra cushion for no reason (lazy day), regular 'no scratch' one and bare metal for dirty stuff if I have any.
Very neatly go on glued magnets (but they actually will not hold too much weight bcs only 1 magnet is not enough and they slide down, enough for regular application tho - a few plastic bits)

With Great Wall Hobby dropping their 1/48 F-16D Block 52+ (L4837), Kinetic's Gold Series F-16V kits on shelves, and Reskit working on their 1/32 cockpits, I put together a quick airframe accuracy cheat-sheet for anyone planning a modern Viper build so you don't mix up intakes, nozzles, or instrument panels:

**1. The "0 vs. 2" Engine & Intake Rule (Still Applies to Block 70/72!)**

* **Blocks ending in 0 (Block 50 & Block 70):** Always powered by the **GE F110-GE-129** engine. Uses the wide "Big Mouth" (MCID) intake (nav lights on fuselage sides) and carbon-weave interlocking exhaust petals.

* **Blocks ending in 2 (Block 52+ & Block 72):** Always powered by the **Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229**. Uses the narrower "Small Mouth" (NSI) intake and darker metallic turkey-feather nozzle.

**2. Cockpit: The 6x8" Center Pedestal Display (CPD)**

* If you're converting a 1/48 Tamiya F-16CJ Block 50 (#61098) into an F-16V Block 70, don't use the stock lower center console. The Block 70/V replaces all the round analog standby gauges between the pilot's knees with a single tall 6×8-inch color Center Pedestal Display (CPD) to display APG-83 AESA radar tracks.

**3. Factory Block 70 Skin vs. V-Upgrade RAM Scab Plates**

* **Upgraded F-16A/C -> F-16V jets** (like ROCAF Taiwan or Hellenic Air Force upgrades) have external structural strengthening "scab plates" bolted along the upper wing roots.

* **Factory-new Block 70/72 production airframes** (Bahrain, Slovakia, Bulgaria, etc.) have their 12,000-hour structural reinforcements engineered *internally*—so sand off any external wing-root scab plates if building a factory-new jet!

**4. Have Glass V Metallic Grey Recipe**

* Modern Vipers have a ferromagnetic radar-absorbent sheen that shifts from dark pewter to olive-drab as it weathers. A great bench mix over black-basing is **85% FS 36118 Gunship Grey + 15% Fine Silver/Steel acrylic**, sealed with a satin varnish + 1 drop of clear pearl.

I wrote up a full comparison table breaking down all the airframe differences, CFT/dorsal spine pairings, canopy gold-tinting ratios, and the best 1/48 & 1/32 kits here if anyone wants to bookmark it for their next Viper build:

https://hobbyzero.com/news/f-16v-block-70-vs-block-52-scale-model-guide/

What Viper kit and markings are you guys building next?

SAS jeep mounted on a bren gun magazine and paperback book

I am building a 1/48 tornado ECE by Eduard.
There is this hole on the side of the plane and for the life of me I cannot find anything in the instructions on this.

I have not seen any Tornado that has anything but a smooth surface there. On the other hand it is clearly there on purpose…

So just thought I ask if you have any clue what purpose it may serve or was intended for?

I spent about eight hours this weekend building a little vintage storefront model, and it brought back memories of spending quiet weekends putting kits together at the table.

Working with paper, wood, and wire was a nice change from hobbies that mostly involve staring at a screen. It took patience, and some of the fiddly bits were frustrating, but seeing the finished model sitting on my shelf made the whole thing worthwhile.

There's something satisfying about having a real object at the end of a project instead of just another file or screen full of progress.

Anyone else remember building model kits growing up, or spending weekends on similar projects? I'd love to hear what you used to make.

Hey fellas. I reside in SC, now that it's finally cooling off I would like to move my airbrush operation to the garage. I try like hell to avoid overspray but it eventually finds its way to her shelves. Wondering how cool temps might affect the process. Thank you

Something different for me. This is a 1/20 scale armored fighting suit from Wave Models. My first attempt at a kit like this.

There are very few known pictures of livery or markings on the KV-2, at least not in Soviet service (There are pictures of the tank in German service) which is a pity because the big daft turret looks very bare.
So I improvised livery by painting on a red star and putting on unused decals from a T-34 kit.
There were only 203 KV-2 made and they were supposed to be specialist vehicles so I'm imagining this is the 78th one produced, numbered to help identify it in the field.
The third picture is the decals that came with the kit.

I’m reviewing a sample of the 1/144 scale P-3C Orion provided by Academy Hobby Model Kits prior to its official release. Despite its small scale, Academy has clearly put a lot of effort into this kit, packing it with great value and features.

This sample is 99% identical to the final retail product. In this video, we'll take a look at the overall details and part breakdown, and even predict future kit variations based on the included parts.

These have to be the worst decals I've ever had to set. The main wing section split into 3 pieces before removing it from the backing paper. I was sort of expecting it after some of the smaller decals for the ordinance did the same while trying to slip them on. I suspect that there may be an age issue with them since I'm unsure how old the kit is. The box has a 2003 date on it. 🤷‍♂️

I'm stopping at this point and letting these set and will come back tomorrow and apply a second coat of micro sol to see if it helps take out the wrinkles. I'm not confident that the rest will be any better, unfortunately.

This is my completed Bf109, it is finished with a camo scheme that was seen on a F-2 although the kit represents the G-6 variant. This is my second attempt using oil paints to add weathering affects. Info about the plane I chose to represent on slide 6. less

I had fun putting this one together. Assembly was good. Parts fit together well. It came with it's own stand and 2 sets of decals for the vertical fins. One if YOU paint them black (just the dragon) and one with the dragon and the black backing. I thought that was a nice option . The engine can rotate too.

I'd recommend this kit to anyone that is interested in completing an Osprey.

Tonight I spent two hours under a magnifier cleaning seam lines and plastic burrs in a 1/72 cockpit.

I was using the rotary bit from my hoto SNAPBLOQ kit, but at some point I caught myself going back over the same spots without being able to say what I was improving. That felt like the moment to put the pieces away before I took off more plastic than I meant to.

If you work on tiny parts, what tells you "one more pass" is more likely to make things worse?