ok, i was hoping to blitz this blockade runner build but i ran into a small problem that required some glue so i am still on stage one of the instructions!

For the most part finished up the kit today, still have to do a bit of clean up and then matte coat it before taking a final pic for the gallery

Did this as a state OOB build so added nothing to it no paints or fill.
Overall I'd say its a decent kit if you want something for the shelf and like the gimmick of some movable part which include:
A: movable control surfaces on the wings and tail
B: retractable landing gear.
C: wing flaps that can be extended
D: sliding cockpit canopy
E: removable engine cowl and compartment panel
F: spinning propeller
However the movable parts are very delicate so other then maybe the landing gear and flaps probably not going to move them much. also i am probably going to glue down the panel as looking at the machine guns is for me not that interesting. The trade off you get for these movable parts is a fit that is not as tight as other kits so parts like the flap, and landing gear are not completely flush and the canopy is a little wobbly when moved but will hold its position.
out of the box the fit is pretty good only real seams that you can see are on the yellow of the wings and where the tail goes together.
Decals give you some options but are on the thick side and you will have to modify the tail decals so it will go on smoother on the movable tail. I went with what i think is 18th squadron, i cant read Japanese other then the number 18 used so that's a guess. Other option you get are (again guesses)
63rd of the 1st air division
248th of the 1st air division
25th of the 2nd air division
25th of the 3rd air division



Would I recommend the kit? Yes with a caveats that A) you should try and get it from one of the Japanese online shops as state side its going to cost you about $20 vs about $9 from places like AmiAmi or HLJ and B)that the fit can very on these kits so there will be seams unless you want to fill and repaint.



here are the flaps extended and surfaces in the up and down position


Tail moved though didn't realize till after that the bottom part had popped off, like i said very delicate

David, seems to have some nice detail considering how small it is.

Casey, as long as you had fun building it, that is all that matters. Looks very nicely done to me.

Torsten, Nice start on the Blenheim. This one kind of makes me want to do a few aircraft again (how do I get them past SWMBO???)

yeah its a small but highly detailed kit, even with the amazing fit it still benefits from a drop or two of tamiya extra thin cement... mostly used as a filler.

I'm just wondering how you get that engine in the instructions inside such a small model.

I thought I would try this campaign thing with a new kit that showed up last Saturday.



As posted here
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/news/32135

Das Werk 1/35 Rutscher, it’s the forerunner to the Hetzer. The kit is the Amusing Hobby kit released a few years ago. The plastic is soft, kinda like Hobbyboss. Overall the kit is simple, easy and so far a fun build. As this is a paper panzer, I plan for a yellow/green camo with white stars for a US captured vehicle and US tankers from the Dragon 1944 (commander on the radio) and Tamiya European (driver with Hornet head, not pictured one one shown on back is for size) set. I will probably add one more figure (maybe a grunt) outside the vehicle. Let me finish the kit first before worrying about the other items. The only change right now for the kit is the rear grill area. I just don’t like the look. I go back and forth with replacing the track but I can do that later.

A pic of the hull.


After an hours worth it progress.




By the end of the next night. All ready for the paint shop.



My backstory is it was found after the battle of Aachen and tested to be used in the the battle of the Hürtgen Forest to help break through German defenses. I had selected the Panzer 116 unit markings a white jumping greyhound over a stick in and white oval circle. As they took it on the chin at Aachen and it fits the story. The camo scheme to match appears to be dark yellow with olive green and red soft edges.

Wow, that is a small vehicle. It looks like one of those large scale replicas people build and keep in their garage...

Looks like a nice kit to build.

It is small. I think it would have fit the bill of cheap and a punch.

The build was mostly easy. The track was a little tricky as it only had two small attachment points. I have a hobby trax tool I used to help with the individual link sections. Once painted I hope the track will bend to the correct shape when ready.

Casey, lovely Hayabusa you have built there. Congrats on finishing your project!

After returning from summer holidays in beautiful Finland last weekend, I have restarted the works on my Airfix Blenheim. This is how far I came until this afternoon. The main landing gear looks a bit fragile but I hope it will carry the weight of the aircraft later. When you look at it, it looks a bit confusing to get the parts together at the right place but it's easy if you follow the instructions and don't mix up parts for left and right side ....


.... yesterday I glued the landing gear into the lower part of the wings. The fitting is excellent ....

.... and a view from the other side ....

.... today I glued the wing halves together. Dry test fitting looked a bit complicted first but with glue and enough rubber bands it was no problem at all. I'll leave it until tomorrow and will sand the seams then. 55 of 116 steps in the instruction are done now, so I'm half way through the build. First test fitting to the fuselage looked really nice ....


While I was in Finland of course I visited the FiAF Museum in Tikkakoski again and look what I found in their souvenir shop ....

Now .... should I .... should I ....?

Torsten

Nein, Nein….

For this time I stick to the decals of the kit. Honestly I wait for Airfix to come up with a Mk. IV. And that will definatly become a finnish Blenheim then. The observer on BL-129 was 1Lt Lauri Äijö, a Mannerheim Cross wearer. But I'm seriously thinking about getting another Blenheim Mk. I to build in Ilmavoimat service. Well, who knows what old Santa brings .....

managed to do a little more construction work on the blockade runner from star wars. although the fit is good it does benefit from some tamiya extra thin glue.

ok so all the assembly is done now and i have purchased some after market decals as you only get stickers in these small scale bandai kits.

David,
Your build is looking good! Where did you find the aftermarket decals? I have the same kit but haven't attempted it due to the stickers.
Take care,
Don "Lakota"

Those decals look great, but just how small are they?

PM sent

Hey guys,
I'd like to hop in with two simplified 1:72 scale kits released this year by First to Fight (FtF) company.

These are:
1) Kit no. 068 Sd.Kfz 232 6-rad;
2) Kit no. 070 Sd.Kfz 232 8-rad (limited series with metal gun & mg).

As I said - kits are simplified, because FtF kits are designated for wargame called "Wrzesień 1939" (September 1939). It also means they're good to practice some armour in 1:72nd... or maybe not practice but to find out if my eyes can stand some non-plane kits in "royal" scale.

Nevertheless here are kits in unspoiled condition:


Quality is kind of okay'ish, but instructions are poor-to non existent. Only very small diagram on back of the box. I really need to use magnifying glass to see them. Plastic is soft and very frangible. The antenna arrays on both vehicles will be a nightmare, but ... challenge accepted - it's a do or melt for these kits

Cheers,
Radek

A lot has happened since my last update. I have nearly finished assembling the Blenheim. Fitting varies between good and ugly .... Good is the fitting of the wings to the fuselage. Ugly is the fitting of the green house canopy (see yellow arrows). It consists of only 4 parts, more would be better. First I thought I am too stupid to do it right but a friend of mine had the same problems with his build earlier this year. So I'm not alone .... The fitting of the left side is slidly better than the right side. But I needed pressure and some force to get the parts in this position. I have masked the canopy with Eduard EX626 ....


.... there's an open hatch on top of the canopy which can't be glued to the rest of the canopy before painting otherwise a small part on top of the fuselage right behind the canopy will be left unpainted (see blue arrow). But I want to leave that hatch open anyway ....

.... some more masking to do now before primer (blue arrows). The landing gear is covered with kitchen paper ....

.... and fresh from the paint shop this afternoon. The cockpit grey-green is on. Here you can also see the fitting problems ....

.... I'm already working on the engines, so next update comes soon ....

Have a nice Sunday!
Torsten

how did you cut the masks for the cockpit windows?

David, as I have mentioned in my posting above, I use the Eduard mask EX626. It's essential for this green house canopy and doesn't cost the world ....

Wow, the gap is huge Torsten. Could it be that the top forward section of the fuselage needed to be heated and pulled out? From the pics it is almost like it was twisted inward.

Peter, the gaps only look huge in the close up photos. When you look at the model it's not that big, though still annoying. You know, macro always kills ....

Anyway, here's the weekly update of my Blenheim. The engines are assembled and the cowling ring is painted with Vallejo 71068 Copper, the same paint as on my PZL 37 from last years Bomber Campaign ....


.... they are covered with Parafilm M, which will stay on until the model is finished.
White primer all over ....



.... and fresh from the paint shop this morning it's Revell Aqua No. 8 Black all over the underside. So you see, I will build a RAF bird and not a finnish one, well, not this time ....


.... some more masking to do for next week, then comes Dark Earth.

Have a nice Sunday!
Torsten

well i have coated the ship in "primer" paint which is actually tamiya neutral grey. i usually use car primer paint but i think it would be to thick to use and my wipe out some of the ships detail so i have opted for the tamiya acrylic paint instead.

ok well here i am after four coats of tamiya acrylic paint, i started off with xf-53 neutral grey as a base/primer coat and then added flat white, to two more shades each one becoming progressively lighter and finally a light coat of flat white to finish at this point.

i will leave it for a few days to fully dry out before coating it with tamiya spray can gloss clear so that i can add the after market decals on as the stickers that come with the kit are way to think for using in my opinion.