Make it 12. Now I just have to quit my job to finish all the builds I started

Naseby, it is a great little kit you have in the Walrus. However, be careful when aligning the engine struts to the upper and lower wings. I let mine dry in place on the engine before attaching them to the upper and lower wings which made aligning them a nightmare. Better build the whole thing in one go, while the glue is not completely set.

Great ribbon, Damian.

I am planning on either a He 115, Halifax or Lancaster - or maybe all three

Nice choices, Jessica. I have not build those. looking forward to follow your build(s).

Count me in with this campaign.
I'll be doing either the Wellesley or Seafox. Maybe even both. If I can find it I do have the 2 seater Saab Viggen. Plenty of time to decide before we all start.

I'll definitely be doing this one:

Probably a 1982 boxing (so as old as me!), its only some tape on the sides holding it together. Luckily the decals have held up with no yellowing, but I will put a coat of liquid decal film on them just to be sure they don't disintegrate. Optional markings are given for a camoflaged aircraft aboard HMS Asturias in 1942, and a very nice pre-war silver Seafox on HMS Arethusa at the outbreak of war in the Med. I'll probably be going with this finish.

Obligatory sprue shot:

Bright green and silver sprues! Matchbox really knew how to make colours clash. I've still yet to find a Matchbox kit as psychodelic as the bright orange and yellow Bf-109E I made as a kid (I remember the box proudly stating that it is moulded in authentic colours and that no painting was required ) . Luckily only one fuselage half has come off in all this time and no parts have been damaged, not even the delicate wing and float struts. Fortunatley it has the M-stand, as I see no other way of displaying this short of scratch building a catapult, trolley or trying to make it look like its floating on water. Should be a nice easy build.

hi guys,

just signed up,this will be my first Aeroscale campaign, i usually lurk around the tread heads, but because i will really build anything, and also i have a couple of matchbox kits gathering dust, i decided to give it a go

this is my entry.

the good old gull winged STUKA...





cheers

Hi Mark.

Welcome aboard sir, and thanks for joining us on this nostalgia trip. I'm looking forward to your build of the Stuka.

Off-topic, are you a fisherman by any chance ?? SQUIDGIES are my favourite style of fishing down here !

Cheers, D

Wow that Stuka brings back some memories. My dad built me that very one when I was a kid!

@Jesper: Thanks for the hint, I will keep it in mind when the time comes.

@Stephen: What a great choise, I would buy that kit anytime if only I could find one. I have a soft spot for ugly seaplanes.

@Stephen: What a great choise, I would buy that kit anytime if only I could find one. I have a soft spot for ugly seaplanes. [/quote]

Naseby, theres a couple on ebay at the minute if you fancy putting a bid in. Kingkit.co.uk is another good place to look, they generally have a lot of old kits in stock and are the first place I look. I think Revell have re-popped it in recent years (unless I'm thinking of something else). Heres hoping they do again soon, this time with decals for HMS Ajax's Seafox.
Its certainly a unique design with that inline H engine and enclosed observer position (strangely not the pilot). I also wouldn't mind having a crack at the Stranrear.

Hi Guys
Joined a while back but not said much till now. I've got a Revell boxing of the Matchbox 1/32nd scale Venom. If it meets with official approval then I'm in!







The kit is housed in a VERY big box and I must admit to liking the Revell decals very much as I think they've provided quite a few more stencils than matchbox did. (I think!) Oh and Damien I thought I'd do the Aussie version ..... seems appropriate somehow!

Just as an after thought here's a pic of my Fairey Seafox so far, time for some masking and a lil' painting!

Well in that case how can I possibly refuse? It's an obvious re-pop Chris, so you're confirmed as a starter mate, thanks for joining us.

Might as well use the opportunity for a promotional BUMP as well, who else has an old Matcbox kit in the stash that's just screaming to be built?

Cheers, D

Looking good. What marking scheme are you going for?
Is it any easier to assemble biplanes fully and then paint and decal, or do you think its easier to add the top wing and floats after? I only ask as I've had very little luck with biplanes in the past and really don't want to cock this one up when it comes to building.

thats me signed up!
off the top of my head I have in my stash-

original matchbox boxing
Junkers 188
gloster gladiator
arado 234 plus V1

revell re-pops
halifax
hawker fury
heinkel He 70

looking forward to this already!

I'm going with the HMS Asturias camouflage scheme. I've always built my biplanes completely except for those bit easily broken off and then painted them because I've always had trouble getting everything lined up and the Fairey Seafox was no exception to this rule.

There was a jig you could buy that ensured all was perfectly aligned but I've never built enough biplanes to warrant the purchase, although almost every time I do one I wish I had! LOL I love the biplane in world war two so very anachronistic! String bags, Fiat Cr42, Gloucester Gladiator to name a few. And we were still flying Blackburn Baffins and Vickers Vildebeests and Vincents at the beginning of world war two!

@Mark: Hey Mark what are my chances of getting a scan of the Stuka instructions? As I've got a kit with those and the decals missing! I've also got a Revell re-pop of the Halifax..... two kits for the build anybody?

Well, I said I'd join in, so I've done it. But 6 months probably isn't enough to take on putty monsters like the B-17 or the PB-4Y, and a helicopter is out of the question. I either have to have special dispensation for the F-86A or I have 3 months to find another kit.

My only prior experience with bipes is from doing some of the old crappy airfix ones, Albatross, brisfit, tiger moth and the like. All ended in disaster and has put me off in the past. I am partway through revells repop of matchbox's gladiator I'll be finishing as a Malta defender (thanks to a mate who gave me the spare decals and 3-blade prop from the airfix). From what I've seen so far matchbox bipes do look a little better than ye olde airfix so I have hopes for the Seafox.
Now rigging is something I haven't yet built up the courage to try

Oh yeah I've done rigging once as an experiment to work out what might work for me, Hobbycrafts (Academy) 1.28th scale Sopwith Camel F1. I've got a Grumman Goose to build for a friend as the Goose from "Tales of the Gold Monkey" which will need rigging and I could do with the practice!

Nice work. I bet it must be a lot easier to do on the bigger kits.
What do you use for rigging? I know aeroclub used to make an elastic nylon thread that was supposed to be great for rigging but they seem to have dropped off the face of the earth and I cant find none for love nor money.

I use either invisible mending thread (smoke coloured) or fishing leader. There's a slightly elastic type called Spider Wire that works really well.

The trick is to drill partway through one wing and anchor the line with superglue. Then drill all the way through the opposite wing, pull the rigging thread through and hang a weight from it (I use a pair of hemostats). Once it's nicely taught, put a drop of superglue on and let it set before trimming off the excess and cleaning up the paintwork. Drill the holes before assembling the wings and struts for best access.

A more advanced technique uses "turnbuckles" made of wire loops anchored into the drilled holes, and stretched tubes for the body of the turnbuckle. Thread the rigging through a tube, loop it through the wire loop and back through the tube again befofe anchoring it with a drop of superglue and trimming off the excess. Now here's the tricky part. At the other end of the line do the same: through the tube, loop around the anchor and back through the tube. Pull everything tight and superglue the rigging to the tube. Terry Werner (thegirl) does an amazing job with this technique. Take a look at her B.E.2c.

All this talk of rigging makes me ask. The rules for this campaign say "Out of the box", yet biplanes cry out for rigging. What's our policy toward rigging going to be?

Yes it's much easer in the bigger scales and the inter plane struts had holes moulded in them for the rigging to go through as well as a diagram of how to rig the beastie! I use Silver sewing thread it's wrapped in a shiny silver plastic that mimics steel cable nicely in this scale. Not to sure just how it would look in 1/72? Other than that I'm with Jessie I use invisible mending thread and for weights I use clothes pegs.

As to rigging well it's not out of the box so I guess not? LOL but I'm more than willing to be corrected!

I have a candle and I'm not afraid to use it!

Good question. Do the instructions show where the rigging should go ? Do they give recommended diameters and material ? I'm open to suggestions from the enlisted ranks regarding rigging, but I'm still sticking with OOB regarding PE and resin AM goodies.

Cheers, D

The Gladiator and Fury both have the rigging clearly shown on the box top, and the most prominent mounting points are moulded on the wings but that's it.

And to top it off, I've just discovered that neither kit has its clear parts. I can scratchbuild the Fury's windscreen with a scrap of acetate, but the Gladiator will need something aftermarket, so it's out of the running for this campaign