VERY nice

I forgot to ask you if that was the old Monogram kit?

Affirmative Jeremy, it's the old kit (#5486) from Monogram, and there have only been a couple if relatively minor fit issues, easily dealt with. The copyright on the instructions is 1992. Overall I'm very happy so far !!

Cheers, D

Hi folks,

Here's a few shots of my IL-2 cockpit:



The cockpit colour was a bit of a head scratcher- photos show Stormovik cockpits painted everything from a straight grey to a bluey-greeney-grey sort of concoction. With factories all over the gaff and every batch of paint never being identical anyway, the Soviet Air Ministry didn't care too much about uniformity as long as the Stormoviks were flying and destrouying Panzers!



One of many mistakes! I got the mounting of the fuel way off here! D'oh! I've since corrected it. As highlighted a few times before, we'll give a nod to the Soviet Health and Safety guys for placing a fuel tank between pilot and gunner! I guess there's no smoking in the cockpit then!



Stop sniggering at the belts! No, they are not made of helium, but they do seem to be floating. I know, I know, the bottom ones are completely off, but I'm learning!

Later,

Eoin

At least they installed a cap on the tank!
looks good and as far as the belts go I didnt snigger at all...looking good

Damian: Nice, I really look forward to seeing your build completed. I remember really wanting that kit when it came out, before I got into modeling. I guess the bug's always been with me, it just took a while for it to really sit in.

After reading up on the different options others have tried I used RLM02 lightened with white. Funny thing is, I'd swear my cockpit colour is a dead match for yours. Great work mate!

Simon

Hi Simon,

I used a mix of seven parts Citadel 'Rotting Flesh' to one part Citadel 'Ice Blue' for the Il-2 cockpit interior. I had a few attempts at different ratios but that blend looks alright.

Eoin

Hey everyone,
I'm relatively new to this forum and just joined the group build. I'm having a hard time deciding what to build so I thought I'd see what you guys thought.
My choices are

Hasegawa 1/72 A-37 Dragonfly
Tamiya 1/72 F4D-1 Skyray
Hasegawa 1/72 A-10A Thunderbolt II
Revell 1/72 Su-25 Frogfoot
Roden 1/48 OV-1A Mohawk

Thanks for helping with my indecisiveness!

@ Joe- I'd plump for the Frogfoot! An ugly bird but you don't see too many models of them out there!

@ Jim- A fuel cap was probably an optional extra for the Stormovik! "Air-con? C.D. changer? reverse sensor?. ... N'ah, feck it! Give me a fuel cap and let me blow up panzers!"

Eoin

welcome Joe!...my personal suggestion is either the frogfoot or the Mowhawk..gotta love attack helicopters..

Ok, I've started work on the Su-25 and hopefully will figure out how to post pictures so I can post some progress pics for everyone.

Great choice on the Frogfoot Joe! I've always wanted to build one of those for myself

A quick update from me - Sturmovik almost ready for painting, just need to mask the canopy. No pics today, the camera has disappeared - don't know how, can only think my 18 month old son has put it in the bin. Wish me luck explaining that to the insurance company.

SImon

I am gearing up for my Stuka build for this campaign. However, I have a couple of questions regarding the camouflage of night bombing Stukas. You can see the tread with the questions HERE in the WWII tread on Aeroscale. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Here's some more progress shots of the Stormovik. The build was okay, but there are some injector pins in some awkard places (namely the cockpit and around the undercarriage housing), which requires a lot of swearing and filing. Apart from that, it fitted together fairly easily, though a bit of hacking (a piece in the air intake) and more filing. The Zen of model building, eh?

Anywho, here are the photos:





Here's the cockpit masked and [a tip I picked up on the site, folks!] the interior cockpit painted. I'm going to keep the cockpit off until the plane is sprayed and handpaint the exterior colour on because my masking ain't brilliant.



(Don't tell my good wife that I have been laying out half built models on her lovely wooden table again. If I took photos from my study, you wouldn't see the model from a mess of tools, matchsticks, chopped up cotton buds crumbling chalk pastels a mulit-surface wax that claims to be formerly known as Johnson's Klear and most incriminating of all, enamel paints!)

EOin

Just a quick update on my entry, Italeri's A-10. Got her all painted up using Humbrol paints and now need to lay down a couple of coats of Future then decals, weathering, etc. Enjoy

Lookin good there Nick

How do you feel about the Revell A-10?

Hi Nick,

That's an impressive looking A-10 you've got there! Did you pre-shade the fuselage and wings? The effect looks impressive- even more so from the second photo.

Eoin

I've got a couple of possibilities for this GB, but after reading through the posts my first choice is not clearly acceptable. I've got my eye on a Hawker Typhoon which at first glance looks like "just a fighter with bombs / rockets".

As first developed it was a fighter / interceptor but later in the war it was modified for the ground attack role. Adding rocket rails or bomb racks, reinforced landing gear, and heavier brakes for the added weight, a 4 bladed prop for improved take off performance when heavily loaded, and larger tail for improved handling when loaded. These aircraft were assigned to RAF tactical squadrons providing ground support and equipped with radios to talk directly to RAF radio operators on the ground, unlike most figher / bombers that were directed to an area where they just attacked targets of opportunity, not targets prioritized by the forces on the ground.

If that meets the definition of purpose designed then I'll be building the 1/72 Academy Hawker Typhoon 1B. If not I'll have to go back to the stash and see what else gets my attention.

Thanks Jeremy and Eoin The kit itself has gone together pretty well Jeremy, no real issues at all for someone like me, still learning!

Eoin, yeah mate, pre-shaded the whole bird. Have tried on several other builds in the past but just havent come out as good as this one. I usually lay down too heavy a coat over the top!

Have got her all futured up now so will be posting some more updates soon enough; I hope....

Aaron, my 2cents. Go for it with the Typhoon. Like you stated it was redesigned to full fill the ground attack role and anyway, it looks pretty cool fully loaded up!

I've heard the Italeri A-10 is the way to go, but I was wondering if the RMX A-10 was still worth building. If I find that it has raised panel lines when I check it out again, then I will just try to find one of the Italer kits like yours Nick.

Looks very cool, Nick. love that camouflage and the preshading effects. Glad to hear the kit goes together well - especially since I also have it in my stash.

Looking forward to see more.

I got warned away from doing similar planes to the Typhoon - I had similar reasoning to you as well.

thanks
Mike

the typhoon is a very cool aircraft, one of my favorites. unfortunately its non applicable to this campaign as a result of its origins as a fighter/interceptor.