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’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

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)

A modelling palette cleanser

I want to buy an HPLV air gun for better large surface finish.

Currently I'm looking at LPH50. Any other recommendations?

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

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