'...211 in progress'

Yes, it's the Kinetics S2E Tracker in 1/48, which has been malingering in my kit storage for some time, a crime I am about to set right.

It's not a kit which gives stunning detail, but it does have nice engraved panel lines and rivets, and the parts fit is not too disappointing. It mostly does what is says, and looks just like the photos say. Decals are by Fightertown, and go down real well, with good register.

Care above and beyond the usual to be taken when assembling the engine nacelles or you can end up with irritating gaps. The nose gear door needs its mounting bracket attaching first to ensure easy fitting to the gear leg, contrary to the instructions. Speaking of which....THEY ARE QUITE HARD to read, swapping as they do from UPPER CASE to lower case and back AGAIN. Test fitting more important than ever here then.

I'll be finishing the model soon, but already I think it will look pretty impressive. On the basis of size alone, it's quite a show-off. Just test-fitting it meant I had to stand in the hall.

So crime averted. Photos to follow. Next up for some caped crusading - the Hawker Tornado.

Where have you been?

So much to do and so little time. Sound familiar? But in this case, it's really true. There's enough to fill your day with all the duties of family life, but then I need to get on with my real job...

The benches have been crowded lately. Some recent completed builds; first the Eduard BF 109E-4 in 1/32 scale. I'll let you guess whose markings it's in. This is a great kit but it's flawed by its own central theme. You can have everything open from the pilot's seat to the propeller, and the detail is superb, helped along by two frets of colour etched parts. All very well, but what if you want something closed - the engine compartment, or the weapons bay? Eduard give you extra parts for this, but you have to proceed carefully. The panels don't want to fit as you'd wish them to. See my earlier entries on Eduard's FW 190.

Next is Hasegawa's Henschel Hs 129 in 1/48 scale of course. A lovely representative of this interesting anti-tank aircraft, and with few vices. A very enjoyable build, and I was able to add some nice touches - brake pipes, seat belts, metal landing gear and resin tyres.

I'm still building this Grumman Tracker from Kinetic. Not a bad build, and it will look impressive when it's complete. More on this project later.

Finally, an update on the Hawker Tornado. A kit of mixed blessings. It's currently in its first coat of primer. This highlights any problems. Faults in the model's surface finish are easily spotted - and there are a few. These will be rectified without a problem. Hopefully. This model has thrown up some interesting problems, more later.

So that's my update. How about you?

Max

I want to say a few words today about Max.

He was a big brown dog. No particular breed, just a big brindle boisterous dog. Back in 1995, some friends were moving away and couldn't take him. They offered him to us, and we couldn't say no to him. At eighteen months old he became an instant part of the family, and our three children spoiled him rotten. Whatever happened at home, Max was in the middle of it, with his lop-sided ears and always a big smile. He would do anything for you, especially if you had food. He thought teeth were purely for eating carrots and smiling with, and he was an object lesson for people - he never showed us a bad mood, just trust and a huge sense of fun.

It was hard the last couple of years to see him slow down and get grey around the chops. The children are in their twenties and have left home, but the first thing they did when they came back for a visit was lie on the floor and snoodle with Max. He became blind and deaf, but he still knew who was tickling his ears.

Yesterday, at the age of seventeen, he died. Anyone with a dog will tell you that he was much more than just an animal. He was a member of our family, and it was a privilege to have enjoyed his company for so long.

The Emperor's New Clothes?

The last couple of months have seen Tamiya's 1/32 Spitfire coming to life on my workbench, thorugh intensive stages of construction and paintwork.

This kit has been hailed as the superlative Spitfire build. Such hyperbole merits further examination, I think, and a realistic response. It's certainly an accurate kit, which is really important to me as a kit basher. Parts fit is maybe eight out of ten - everything fits perfectly till you get to the fuselage, and then things start to come apart a little. For example, the wings have fillets, or inserts, that allow Tamiya to offer different marks. These inserts have to fit precisely - and they don't. You need to be particularly careful when you come to build and fit the wings - test fitting comes in to its own here. Engine installation is equally uncharitable; bulkhead, engine bearers, hoses and engine itself need to be fitted in the exact spot or the covers won't fit. There's no margin for error.

I've always been a big exponent of Tamiya. I think their kits live up to their hype, which doesn't go for every manufacturer. They break new ground with almost every release. However, this is not a £20 kit, it's a big serious high-end bit of tackle, and as such you want a kit that offers the builder some respect. The Spitfire is good, but it's not that good. I would say it is over engineered, and leaves the builder a lot of unnecessary work. Nevertheless I enjoyed building it, and given my time over would cheerfully build it again. Just don't believe the hype....

Dora

A natural follow on to the recently completed FW 190 A8 is the D9, also from Eduard.

I happened to have Eduard's detail set, and a set of Kommandeur decals with an interesting colour scheme. All I needed was an appropriate kit. Then Eduard issued their D9 with perfect timing.

I posted recently on my Red 19 build, and this is essentially the same thing. This kit offers the open gun cowling and wing root guns. The engine is not included in this kit, but otherwise the overall build-up is the same.

There was an anomaly. On assembling the fuselage, the parts seemed banana-shaped, with one side looking longer than the other. To overcome this potential disaster, I attached the rear fuselage first, allowing twelve hours drying time. The forward half could then be secured relatively easily. Thus is the banana eliminated.

If you've built a few of these before and know where the pitfalls lie in advance, it helps. It's well worth a few scares for the results.

"Red 19'

Instantly recognisable is Ernst Schroder's 'Kolle Alaaf' or ''Long Live Cologne'. This aircraft was lost while trying to evade several Mustangs during a bomber raid. Schroder luckily survived the war.

So much for the history lesson. This model was based on Eduard's FW 190 A8/R2 kit - a superbly detailed kit which is nevertheless a bit hung up on its BMW engine and weapons. It's designed to have everything on show via appropriate panels and an open cowling. I'd built it before, and it looks great displayed in this way as Eduard intended for the kit.

With this brief, I had been asked to keep the panels closed. It was not too problematic; I just needed to sand the detail off the wing root gun panels. But the fuselage gun cowling was different; The gun tray and bulkhead needed to be eliminated. The overwide fuselage then needed to be braced around the gun cover and carefully cyano'd into place. Finally, the instrument bezel had to be secured to something as the gun bulkhead was gone.

Once this little procedure had been performed, I was able to proceed with the rest of the build. It was a positive experience, and I was left with a model to be proud of and a feeling of accomplishment.

The base and accessories are from the VP product range, and I think they set off the model beautifully.

The first Tornado

Not available from regular suppliers, or even irregular ones such as the cottage industry kit makers, this Tornado is a private venture. I was asked to build this kit some time ago when its creator, a real aviation enthusiast, initiated the design and build.

Using Hasegawa's 1/48 Typhoon kit, the cockpit area, propeller and radiator have been properly altered. The new parts have been carefully integrated into the fuselage. Compared with diagrams of the real aircraft, it looks seriously authentic.

I will have to add the slots for the double exhausts, remove the cannon fairings and fill in certain panel lines on the wings. There's a lot more work to do, and of course, there's be an account of it on here.