Spitfire VIII

I honestly don't remember where or when I acquired this kit, and I don't read Chinese so I don't even know who made it, but I really like it. It has finely engraved panel lines, good fit, and save for the cockpit, very good detail.

To upgrade the cockpit, I carefully removed the completed cockpit from an old model my father gave to me to bash. I also replaced the canopy with a Squadron vacuum-formed canopy. With a little bit of work I was able to get the cockpit and canopy to fit and the rest of the kit went together without a hitch.

I had a couple of options for markings. I originally wanted to display my Spitfire with American markings from the African theatre. However, I later found some AeroMaster decals of the famed RAAF "Grey Nurse" squadron; I instantly changed my mind. One other thing I liked about the markings were the codes - they are the first initials of the boys in my wife's family: Zuka, Parker, and Quinntin.

I'm glad I kept this kit from the days before my memory. Everyone should have a Spitfire in their WWII collection, and I think the Mk. VIII had the best looking lines of any of the versions of what is considered by many to be the most beautiful fighter of all time.

Sopwith Camel

Normally I wouldn't build a model of a WWI era aircraft - I don't like all the exposed cables - but the Camel was deemed number eight of the top ten fighters of all time by the Military Channel. Personally, I wouldn't have put it in the top three of WWI, however I am building a collection of the top ten, so I bought an inexpensive Eduard 1/48 scale kit.

To my surprise, I found this kit to be very good. The interior and engine detail was excellent, the fit was good save for the engine cowling, and the doped canvas surfaces appeared quite realistic.

I enjoyed building this kit because of all the new colors and replicating the none-metal surfaces to look like wood and canvas. To simulate wood, I used Model Master Tan as a base, and dry-brushed MM Dark Tan in one direction to simulate grain. It turned out so well that my wife asked me where I found the wood to make all the wood pieces! I brush painted MM Ivory in a cross pattern to simulate the dope color and canvas texture on the interior and undersides of the aircraft.

Having never built an Eduard kit, I was hesitant about the quality of the decals, but after putting the first ones on, I have never seen better quality. After painting and appling the decals came the worst part - the exposed cabling. I now am more sure than ever that I do not enjoy this process and will probably not build another WWI aircraft model for quite some time. But, after many days of careful work and frustration, I finished the kit. Some of the cabling has already broken before I took photos, but I refuse to go through that experience again, so they will stay unattached from this point on. All in all, I am glad that I added this kit to my collection, and I look forward to completing my Eduard Fw 190 kit.

MiG 15bis

I bought this Tamiya model on my mission in Russia in '98 and just completed it last spring. My father is quite jealous because the only release of this mold curently is the clear version. I certainly enjoyed this model; the fit was superb, the detail was excellent, and I love the subject.

I quickly decided that I wanted to be able to display the VK-1 engine, which meant that I would have to do some work and add some detail. First, I opened the visual blocks on the intakes and added some ducting. Then I had to research the engine. I found a good picture of the VK-1 on the internet which I used to reference colors, wiring and plumbing, etc.

The bare-metal paint scheme was daunting to me because it would be only the second time I have attempted it. First I masked the bare metal areas to prevent overspray onto those surfaces and painted the Italian Red nose and tail. Once that dried, I removed the masking, masked the red, and painted the bare metal surfaces. This seemed to work pretty well but I still have some practice to do. (I'll try again on my P-51D.)

The decals gave me huge problems however. I don't know if it was due to age or something else, but the decals were extremely brittle. It got so bad that I was not able to use the blue "4115" number on the nose because they disintegrated in the water. Instead I had to use the red "384" decal. I know that it is not accurate (I have seen the photos of Blue 4115) but I don't care - I'm the one that looks at it everyday and I'm fine with it. Needless to say, however, that I was glad this model only had 6 decals (the numbers and national insignias).

I love this model and it was a big hit at my ward talent show last spring. It was also a good investment, because it will be included in my Military Channel's Top-10 Fighters collection.

Ju 88C-6 Tagzerstorer

This kit was the Dragon Models release of an earlier Monogram mold. I love the cockpit detail (which unfortunately is difficult to see with the dark grey interior paint the Germans used) The fit was generally good, save for the wing root and engine nacel joints. I mostly built this kit out of the box, including the markings.

I kit-bashed the cannon breeches from one of my Edward Fw 190A-8 kits to put in the lower gondola. Again, hard to see, but they look cool in person. I also had to use some sheet-styrene to build the firewalls between the engine compartments and the main wheel wells.

The big problem I had was finding swastikas since providing them is now politically incorrect. With the advice from my knowlegeable father, I bought some EagleCal 1/32 scale Fw 190 decals and used the swastikas on that sheet; it worked well. The Dragon decals were very thick and the false window spar decals were virtually impossible to use on the nose. Instead, I cut up the white backing decals from the EagleCal sheet into thin strips and used those.

All in all, I enjoyed the build, which was challenging enough to hone my skills, yet not so difficult that I wanted to give it up.

5/21/08 - This model won 3rd Place in the Aircraft Large Prop. Detailed category at the IPMS Salt Lake City show on April 26, 2008.