here is the final build thanks to a day off work. Not a bad little kit, and I enjoyed the reason to use alclad. Aside from the decal issue, it went together without a hitch.

Wow! That is one silver bird, Michael. Looks great although almost to shiny. Very striking finish.

I am making slow progress on my Starfighter, but I am slowly getting there. More to follow as I progress.

Wow Michael,them ground crew boys have been putting overtime in polishing that bird up stunning mate ,stunning had to put my shades on
you done a bang up job on the zorst colours,gotta just love Alclad!
Jesper,that there 104 looks bloddy great mate,keep up the the great work buddy.
crack on boys
Andy

Thank you gents. Well, it is rather shiny, but the lighting/flash kinda makes it pop more. I debated post shading the panel lines, but nothing in my mind beats a sleek polished aluminum cold war bird. Takes me back to my first time seeing the F-86... They just look so sharp! (hence why I have an original sabre tattooed on my ribs.) I cannot wait to see what you do with that Starfighter. Are you going to make it the aluminum? Or other markings?

Thanks for the comments, Andy and Michael.

A little more progress on my 1/72 F-104 bird. I am struggeling a little with the cockpit. Decals are actually quite ok for this scale. It is getting there and I think it will look ok overall when finished - especially considering it is 1/72.

Michael, The scheme I am going for is the Italian anniversary scheme on the box art. There are some quite colourful markings and a nice camouflage. The underside will be aluminium, so not all camouflage. A little cold war aluminium finish will be included

More to follow

Those anniversery schemes are pretty cool, and will definitely be watching the remainder of your build. Is that just styrene on the inside of the cockpit? As I have only been back in the game for about a year, I like picking up new things, and am usually disappointed by the lack of 1/72 cockpit details. And what you did looks pretty cool.

Awesome work with the Alclad, Michael!!! Really...

Here's were I am, guys, ready for assembly:



Started yesterday evening, she already stands on her own legs

Thanks for the comment, Michael.

The cockpit is the standard styrene cockpit included in the kit. I have not done anything than paint it and add decals. I will do a bit of weathering, but in this scale the styrene cockpits are not so bad.

Rebilda - Your just about there, and well done I must say. Masterful job on the canopy; clean and sharp edged. Looks like glass. Congradulations on effort!


Jesper - The 104 is coming along just wonderfully. Is the Italeri affair a reboxing of the Hasegawa offering, would you know? I have an unbuilt Hasa thats likely 25 years old, but still looks to be a great kit.
You'll be finished another one before the summer holiday is here. Very well done.

Thanks Guy!

I'm done, pic's in the gallery. Here's some more:





A little dark I'm afraid. Still struggling with my lighting. Any hints on that?

Comments welcome.

Leo, I like it! Natural looking and not too polished. A very decent effort, indeed.

As far as photo lighting goes, diffused natural light is always best when possible. And even with modern digital cameras, a sturdy tripod is usually required for macro work. Works every time.

Thanks for the kind words, Guy. I was going for the 'used' look ao satin and matte varnish only.

I meant what kind of lighting to use indoors with a SLR, 55mm lens and tripod. Daylight pics are no problem but indoors you can see yourself....

Nice work guys. I'm still filling an sanding on the Thud...

@ Leo: Chapeau!! Nice Hun! How do you get the hood so shiny? WD40 or polishing just before melting?

P.S.: Time to have a together!

Servus,

Sebastian

Thanks man! A little polishing then WD40.

Yeah! Beer!
Got some Nastro Azzurro and some Peroni stored for just that occasion!

See you soon!

Looking great boys
Leo ,thats looks lovely mate,well done ,I need more info on the beer!!!!
Andy

Not sure if I'll have my Voodoo finished on time. Had a lot going on the last few weeks so not much progress beyond the cockpit has been done. To make things worse I've now been called up for jury duty the last 2 weeks of June. God knows if I'll get a chance to do much on it while thats going on.
I'll keep bashing away at it but its not looking promising.

Hi all,
Well, I have managed to finish off my entry, but am not happy with the kit at all. It is Hasegawa's offering of the Thud in 1/72 and to to say the kit is a bad one would be an understatement; so much flash and the cockpit was extremly basic with the pilot moulded into the bang seat. Also, the decals that I was going to use from the kit broke up when I tried to use them. I will try and post some photos soon as both my cameras have gone U/S and Im trying to figure out the camera on my phone....

Hi Guys
Happy bank holiday! I can't believe I've got a day off
I went to the De Havilland museum yesterday to get some up close pics of the mosquito for another campaign .
I took my 4 planes outside and primed them with a rattle can,only for it to p swith rain when they were drying off
They might be ok,just waiting for them to dry
Steve and anybody else,if you need more time I will add more time on to finish,please let me know and I will extend (ooohhh)
Happy Hols
Andy

A little more progress on my Starfighter. Almost at the finish line now with just a few details to add.

More to follow.

Here is my finished Italeri 1/72 Starfighter in Italian markings.

A great little kit and very enjoyable to build despite having to handpaint it due to being in the process of relocating.

Comments welcome

Nice Starfighter build, jesper. I'm also completing a Starfighter, a 72nd revell kit but using ROCAF markings.

An extension would be great if everyone else is cool with it. I'll see if I can get some progress pics up by the end of the week anyway.

Thats a cool looking starfighter and very nicely painted.