Sunday, 2 May 2021

May 2021 IPMS Ottawa On-Line SHOW & TELL

Welcome to IPMS Ottawa's ongoing monthly SHOW & TELL, which allows club members to show off their completed work despite not being able to attend group meetings. Each member is invited to send in up to three photos of a model and some explanation. May marks our twelfth (12th) on-line show & tell. We thank all of our members and builders for keeping alive the hobby.

THANK YOU TO ALL PARTICIPANTS, and KEEP BUILDING. 

! Miniature world domination !

Enjoy our show, and we all hope to meet again soon.

This month's show & tell is brought to you by Tomy the Technical Advisor. Tomy helps with all aspects of building plastic models.

Tomy the Technical Advisor in his natural habitat

This month we have a special guest from France. He is the former president of IPMS France (FFMS). He saw our France theme in March and has sent some photos of his work on post-Soviet aircraft. Enjoy.

MiG-29, Ukrainian Air Force
Jean-Michel Christian (president, FMMS, IPMS France)







Hough MD-3A Carrier Fire Vehicle (Verlinden Productions, resin kit. 1:72)
Michael Roy

Opel Blitz Feuerwehr 3,6, (Wespe Models, resin kit. 1:72)
Michael Roy

RCAF Hampden (AZ Models 1:72)
Michael Roy

RCAF Hudson (Italeri 1:72)
Michael Roy

USN P-25 Shipboard Fire Fighting Vehicle (Brengun, resin kit. 1:72)
Michael Roy


X-Wing Fighter (Bandai 1:48)
I built the X-Wing Fighter as a commission. It is a motion, light, and sound effects kit. It is a ‘Lego-like’ construct which is molded in several colours allowing the assembler (I have purposely not used the word builder in this context) to put the kit together without the need for paint. The X-Wing sits on a stand which provides power and control to the effects which are resident in the electronics/motor box inside the fighter. The pieces fit together by cleverly designed connectors that snap together, hence the phrase ‘Lego-like’ construct. As a model, the model suffers from this style of assembly in that the pieces do not always line up in a smooth surface, like Lego constructs. I used Tamiya cement to hold the parts together so I could sand unevenness and fill the crevasses that occurred between some of the parts. This required rescribing of the panel lines and replacing raised details.  While Bandai provides stick stickers for the markings as well as most of the coloured panels, they also provided the same markings as water-slide decals. However, the decals appear to be pixilated as if printed vice silk-screened.  Except for a few decals (pilot’s helmet, R2-D2 and diagonal striping on laser cannons), all of the panels and markings were masked and airbrushed with primarily AK Real Colour paint.
I had submitted some photos of this model previously as a WIP at about this stage. I then began the weathering of the model, starting with a gloss coat in preparation for panel lining. I used Tamiya Panel Liner, several shades of grey, dark brown and black. Several dull coats followed the panel lining. I again used the panel liners; using them over the dull coat made them act as filters, providing staining and discolouration of the base colour. This was followed by oil paint dot-washes. The engines received a heavy washes of burnt sienna, burnt umber and payne’s grey oils. My thought here is that these fighters were held together by ‘duct tape and wire’ and would not have the ‘polished’ look of the Imperial equipment. Laser blast graze marks were added with a stippling technique using a brush with its bristles cut to about 1-2mm using . These were then accentuated and toned with a bit of silver and grey. Once all the paint dried, I broke out the weathering powders to add a bit of subtle weathering as well as toning down some of the other weathering. 
The ‘industrial’ areas received a slightly different approach than the rest of the craft. All these parts were painted in Alclad steel. Then areas were dusted with a bit of Alclad stainless steel, followed by transparent yellow and blue. I also touched a couple pieces with a bit of Alclad prismatic maple. Once this all dried, I did a black wash followed by drybrushing silver, gold and copper on the parts. I find that drybrushing other metallic colours lends to the futuristic feel of the metal. The last step was use metallic pastels I picked up at an art supply store. The exhausts were treated similarly but instead of pastels, I used a prismatic blue-green-violet powder to simulate heat effects as well as a bit of black powder at the exhaust ends.
Bill Eggleton



F-4B/N (Hasegawa 1:48)
Marc Racine



Fokker E.VIII (MicroMir 1:32)
Fokker E.VIII flown by 54-victory German ace Erich Lowenhardt. Markings hand painted except for crosses and a real leather seat cushion.
The son of a doctor, Löwenhardt served with an infantry regiment before he volunteered for the German Air Force. He was wounded in action over Roulers on 20 September 1917. After scoring his 54th victory, he collided with Leutnant Alfred Wenz of Jasta 11. Both men jumped from their planes but Löwenhardt was killed when his parachute failed to open.
Marc Racine



Etrich Taube (Flashback 1:48)
Ever spend 15 hours rigging a kit? Just finished a superb Flashback Models Etrich Taube. Interior was not overly detailed so I added framing and other little bits like wire wheels and rubber plumbing O-rings for tires as the kit did not supply them
Marc Racine



Hawk 75 (HobbyCraft)
This is a Hawk 75 in Free French colours.
I got the kit in a trade before the pandemic. I attempted to do it for the theme contest back in March, but was unable to finish it in time.
Additions:
- Eduard photoetch set
- Quickboost resin engine (to replace engine missing from kit), with scratchbuilt pushrods and spark plug wires
- EZ-Line rigging
Painted mostly with acrylics, with some oil washes in the panel lines. Decals only used for the numbers, the rest of the markings were masked and painted.
It was a tricky build; a lot went wrong near the end with parts going missing, alignment issues, etc. But I finished it and I'm happy with it.
Brian Latour



C-130H Hercules in the Boneyard (Hasegawa 1:200)
This is the very tiny Japanese air force C-130H Hercules from 401st Sqdn TAW, Komaki Air Base.
It is shown as a desert boneyard storage queen with taped front glass and a missing engine. The engine is literally missing. It popped off and none of us here could find it in a tiny room. How bizarre. 
Paint is all Vallejo regular and metalizer acrylic, plus Future Floor Wax and decals OOB. I love orange! Paint jobs with the day-glow flouescent orange like these were used on aircraft going to the arctic and antarctic, as well as target towing aircraft and other special purpose mission aircraft which needed to be very highly visible.
Strange Herc fact: entering service in 1956, the C-130 recently passed the Antonov AN-2 to become the world's longest continuously produced military aircraft.
John Clearwater



M*A*S*H Ambulance (Italeri 1:35)
I built this Italeri kit (#226) in about 1984 as part of my M*A*S*H fan phase. For the time it was my best work. I had solved airbrushing, and the mystery of using solva-set to get the giant red cross decal to settle on the roof. I also used masking to paint the rear doors, and to make windscreen wiper patterns on the cab. Inside the back I built wire loops for holding the upper stretchers in place. On the front seats there is a medic bag with a red cross, and a similar helmet. The water and mud in the diorama are actual water and mud from a Manitoba spring.
Over 26 000 of the Dodge WC-54, Ambulances, 3/4-ton, 4 x 4, were built from 1942 to 1945 to serve as the U.S. Army's main ambulance, with several used during the Korean War by the U.S. Army Medical Corps.   I am sorry that all I can show is a grainy old printed photo found in a storage box.



M134 MINIGUN (4D Models 1:6)
This is a rather large kit, from 4D Models of China, of the General Electric M134 MINIGUN 7.62×51mm NATO six-barrel rotary machine gun with a high rate of fire (about 2000  rounds per minute). It was designed in 1960 and entered service in 1963. Various versions remain in service around the world to this day. This gun has a range of about 1000 m, and a muzzle velocity of 869 m/s. It is called a minigun because it is MINI in comparison to the larger Vulcan guns from which it is derived; and it is a GUN in that it uses standard ammunition. 
There is no such thing as a man-portable version of this gun. That is a movie fantasy only. Where would you carry the battery pack, never mind thousands of rounds of ammunition? 
Paint is a base of Tamiya gloss back, and an overcoat of Vallejo matted metallizer jet exhaust to bring up a more metallic look. Then it was shot again with diluted Vallejo matte. I used a chain to hang it from a model aircraft display stand salvaged from the sprue box.
John Clearwater



WORK IN PRGRESS


SeaRAM (RPG 1:35)
The SeaRAM is a ship-based, defensive close-in weapon system (CIWS) which fires missiles at incoming targets. People are probably more familiar with the vulcan phalanx (gun) version of the CIWS, which kinda looks like the love child of R2-D2 and an A-10 Warthog. RPG released their CIWS kits only a few years ago, and at the time I picked up both the phalanx and the SeaRAM version. Since many modelers seem to build the phalanx CIWS, I wanted to try my hand at the missile version.  The kit is well designed with lots of detail, though there is a LOT of photoetch (PE) parts.  Fortunately, I am no stranger to PE and this did not scare me off. (Yet.)  The build is going well, though when I got to the radar housing assembly, I started to form an idea in my wee hamster brain. Rather than just building it as-is, I decided to scratchbuild a search radar which is housed beneath R2-D2's top dome. Other than that, it is being built out-of-box (mostly).  The full build album is here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Sv5gjPLiMAC4iQCbA
Glenn Cauley



AK-130 Automatic Naval Gun (Takom 1:35)
Being on a bit of a kick of building 1/35 weaponry, here is one that I started in 2020... put away... resurrected & completed building... then lost my mojo before any colour was laid down. Takom's 1/35 model of an AK-130 automatic naval gun is an interesting and fun kit... and it's YUGE!  (ruh ruh ruh)   I scratchbuilt a few minor parts and added some detail.  Otherwise it is out-of-box.  When I finally completed the build, my interest waned before I started painting it.  I wanted to keep BUILDING something, so painting such a large canvas drew a yawn or two. I also want to come up with some sort of experimental camouflage instead of having it be a shade of grey (boring).  So while I ponder a paint scheme and purchase another bottle or two of paint (remember... it's BIG), I moved on to another model. The full build album for the AK-130 is here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dBFUytcQqX1CeZNs7
Glenn Cauley



Dione’s Escape Ship (MPS 1:96)
Dione’s Escape Ship appeared the first season Space: 1999 episode The Last Enemy. The first image is of the studio filming miniature which was about 10 inch long.  The kit on the other hand is about a third of this at 3½”; it is in scale with MPC’s 12 inch Eagle. This tiny resin kit (image 2) requires a bit of scratch building experience. While the manufacturer provides some of the bits required for the scratch building, I decided to just use brass and plastic materials I already had in my hobby room.  The most critical aspect of the build is the landing gear. The struts used on the filming miniature were from a 1/48 B-29 model kit; two nose gear struts for the rear and a rear strut for the front. Unfortunately, scavenging these from two 1/144 B-29 kits wasn’t going to happen. Thus, the first stage of scratchbuilding. For the rear struts, two 1/32” holes were drilled at an angle of ~60 deg from horizontal and ~70 deg front to rear and brass rod was glued into these holes. After trimming to ~9mm, the lower ~3mm was bent forward until vertical. For the front strut, a 3/64” brass rod was similarly fixed at ~50 deg from horizontal. The length of the front strut was cut to give an angle of attack similar to that seen in the episode.  I then drilled holes into the foot pads and fitted them to the brass rods. I glued everything in place with super glue, ensuring alignment using the lines on my workbench cutting mat. I detailed the landing gear by adding styrene rod and pieces of shaped styrene strip (image 3). After adding the engine mount, as well the cylindrical and spherical tanks, I primed the entire ship with Mr Surfacer 1500 Black. Image 4 shows the primed model with MPC’s 1:96 Eagle for size comparison. While fixing some glue streaks and fill issues, I also added a bit of detail forward of the engine mount that I noticed on the studio miniature (image 5). After repriming, I painted the entire band between the upper and lower hulls with Testors (original) Zinc Chromate. Once the paint is cured, I’ll mask the squares that are to be yellow (image 1) and reprime the area in black. While the yellow paint was curing, I tackled the engine bell using all Alclad paints. I started by painting inside the bell with Alclad Burnt Iron. The outside of the bell was painted with Stainless Steel followed by a dusting of Polished Aluminum. I then added some bands of Transparent Yellow. Blue and Red. I toned the starkness of these bands down with a lighter dusting of Polished Aluminum. Image 6 is the result of this process which was done in a single airbrushing session. Once the paint is cured, I’ll mask the bell and reprime the engine housing for the hull colours.
Bill Eggleton






SOPWITH 
I Started this Sopwith a long time ago but turned my attention 
to something else. Anyway i hope to finish it soon.  Now if i can just find
the instructions! Oh well there isn't much left.




All models are accepted at IPMS Ottawa

Monday, 1 March 2021

March 2021 IPMS Ottawa On-Line SHOW & TELL

Welcome to IPMS Ottawa's ongoing monthly SHOW & TELL, which allows club members to show off their completed work despite not being able to attend group meetings. Each member is invited to send in up to three photos of a model and some explanation. March marks our eleventh (11th) on-line show & tell. We thank all of our members and builders for keeping alive the hobby. This month’s theme is FRANCE. Vive la France!

The beautiful bleu, blanc, et rouge (red white and blue)

Bienvenue au montrer et dire mensuel d'IPMS Ottawa, qui permet aux membres du club de montrer leur travail accompli sans pouvoir assister aux réunions de groupe. Chaque membre est invité à envoyer jusqu'à trois photos d'un modèle et quelques explications. Mars marque notre onzième (11e) émission en ligne et raconter. Nous remercions tous nos membres et constructeurs pour avoir fait vivre ce passe-temps. Le thème de ce mois-ci est la FRANCE. Vive la France!

THANK YOU TO ALL PARTICIPANTS, and KEEP BUILDING. 

! Miniature world domination !

Enjoy our show, and we all hope to meet again soon.



MODELS ABOUT FRANCE

Marianne (FeR Miniatures 1:12)
A resin bust of Marianne, the personification of the French Republic. I had submitted a WIP photo last month and went into detail about my techniques, however there were a few small things that I had to finish to get her ready for the theme. I experimented with some different skin tones and extreme contrast on this piece, attempting to spotlight the face and upper torso. Additionally, I worked in some texture on the hat and used true metallics on the sword. Overall quite satisfied with how she turned out.
Brian LaTour
Marianne - Vive le France!

Caudron G.IV  (Copper State 1:48)
A challenging kit, tons and tons of Photo etch parts but very high quality as with any Copper State model  A great fun build.
Marc Racine
(editor's note: The Caudron G.4 was a French biplane with twin engines, widely used during World War I as a bomber. It was designed by René and Gaston Caudron as an improvement over their single-engined Caudron G.3. The aircraft employed wing warping for banking. The first G.4 was built in 1915, and it was manufactured in France, England and Italy. It was the world's first twin-engine aircraft to be widely used, starting in March 1915. The Caudron G.4 was used as a reconnaissance bomber against the German Empire. Later, when Germany developed a fighter force, the aircraft was used for night bombing. The G.4 was in use in Belgium, France, Finland, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. WIKI)

Caudron G.IV

Caudron G.IV

Caudron G.IV

FT-17z Fumatorami "Gas Tank" (Meng + RPM 1:35)
Viva la France!  I finished my entry for the "France" theme contest several months ago -- a French FT-17 tank converted to a FT-17z Fumatorami -- so I can finally reveal it to the club now. Nicknamed the "Polish Gas Tank" (because it was converted by the Polish Army), this diminutive tank was used to create dense smokescreens on the battlefield; only one known prototype was built and tested. The base kit is a Meng 1/35 FT-17 while the "smoker" parts were donated from an (atrocious) RPM FT-17z kit. There is not a lot of information available about this tank -- in fact, only a few scant exterior photos -- so I had to rely on some ingenuity to figure out how this thing might actually work. In the end, I went to town and did a LOT of scratchbuilding on the interior as well as improving upon the donated RPM kit parts using strip & sheet styrene and other preformed shapes. It afforded me the opportunity to try various weathering and texturing techniques. The base included with the Meng kit was fairly impressive, but in improving on it, it too turned into a mini project. (It was featured in the December 2020 online model show & tell.) The base was extended by about 3" and I added mud and many other ground effects using a variety of products and techniques. The trench was improved with the addition of shattered & splintered wooden boards and a walkway made with wooden sticks which were weathered in various manners. As a final touch, wooden retaining walls were added on the sides. All in all it was a fairly intensive project but it turned out very well. The full build may be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CuHsw9oHzapYwERx8 
Glenn Cauley
FT-17z Fumatorami "Gas Tank"



Nieuport 11 "Bébé" (A-Model 1:32)
Flown by 17-victory ace Raoul Lufbery. One of the most respected aces of the Lafayette Escadrille. Because he served in both the French Air Force, and later the United States Army Air Service in World War I, he is sometimes listed alternately as a French ace or as an American ace. Officially, all but one of his 17 combat victories came while flying in French units.
Marc Racine
Nieuport 11 "Bébé" 

Nieuport 11 "Bébé" 

Nieuport 11 "Bébé" 

char Leclerc T5 tank, MBT (Revell 1:72)
A last minute build as I was sure that I did not have a kit that would fall into this named contest.
On further stash reviewing I found this kit (03131) about a month ago. This is just another project completed as a retirement past time. Basically OOB, added 2 antennas, used Tamiya paints, some airbrushing with a little hand painting.
Looking forward to next years topic. Thank you.
Michael Roy
(editor's note: the char Leclerc tank was built from 1990 to 2007 for the French army and for the UAE army, with some 860 being produced.)

Leclerc T5, MBT

Aeronavale F4U-7 Corsair (Italeri 1:72)
Hi Guys!
Here is my model for the March theme- Any French Subject:
Aeronavale, Suez Crisis Egypt 1956
Terry Jones
(editor's note: These were tasked with destroying Egyptian Navy ships at Alexandria but the presence of US Navy ships prevented the successful completion of the mission. The Corsairs attacking Egypt dropped a total of 25 tonnes of bombs, and fired more than 500 rockets.)

Aeronavale F4U-7 Corsair

Aeronavale F4U-7 Corsair

Aeronavale F4U-7 Corsair

Renault R-39 tank (Heller Humbrol 1:35)
Renault R-35 light infantry support tank, but with the SA 38 turret gun making it into the R-39 tank used immediately after WWII. This version shows the tank in service with the French expeditionary army trying to re-occupy and pacify Indochina (Viet Nam) after WWII, but they were then totally defeated and humiliated at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. This was France's main tank in WWII, with a production run, until the Nazi scum invasion, of about 1600 units.
I bought the kit from Bill C. at Hobby Centre in Ottawa as a quick project, and it turned out okay for a three day build. Paint is a mix of Vallejo and Tamiya acrylics. The chain comes with the kit and is most appreciated. The tracks are the rubber-band type and of acceptable quality. The drive wheel has teeth which are far too large and close together to really fit into the slots in the track links. As the actual tank is very small this 1:35 scale model looks like a very large 1:72 scale kit. 
The tank is photographed in front of a reproduction of a 1954 battle poster extolling the PAVN fight to win over the French enemy at Dien Bien Phu, Tonkin, Viet Nam.
John Clearwater
Renault R-39 tank in Viet Nam

Renault R-39 tank in Viet Nam

Renault R-39 tank in Viet Nam

OTHER MODELS TO ENJOY THIS MONTH


Mil Mi-24 Миль Ми-24 летающий танк (US name: "Hind") (Zvezda 1:48)
I used kit decals, Tamiya paints and sprayed the cammo freehand.  I decided to have some fun wiring up the engines and equipment bays.  None of it is in anyway accurate as the real thing is just a pile of spaghetti.  I used a Quinta set for the cockpit and I have to tell you, what a great product!  I don't think I will be going back to resin or photoetch now that I have tried this stuff.  It is that good.  I have written an article about the Hind and my impression of it and this model on my website - I think you will enjoy it.  https://modelairplanemaker.com/2021/03/02/1-48-zvezda-mi-24-hind-a-model-of-the-most-destructive-military-force-ever-conceived/
Chris Wallace
(editor's note: The Mil Mi-24 Миль Ми-24 is built by the Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and has been operational since 1972 in the USSR then 48 other countries. Project codename Yellow 24 was overseen by Mikhail Mil himself. Soviet pilots called the Mi-24 the "flying tank" (летающий танк; letayushchiy tank), a term used historically with the famous World War II Il-2 Shturmovik armored ground attack aircraft. Over 2650 have been built. For ten years it held the official world helicopter speed record. A design oddity is that the airframe leans to the left; the rotors to the right; and the tail is non-symmetrical all to account for various aerodynamic forces.)

Mil Mi-24 Миль Ми-24

Mil Mi-24 Миль Ми-24

Fokker E.III  (Blueprint Models 1:24)
Another challenging build, a true multi-media kit including Vacuform body parts, white metal struts, undercarriage and engine cylinders, loads of photo etch parts including wire wheels, Brass sheet to form cowling, many resin interior detail parts and a collection of brass, metal and plastic tubing This large kit was an extremely rare limited run model, sent by the manufacturer in a plain cardboard box. Even included 3 identical sets of really good decals (in case you ruin one or two). I managed to "MacGyver" some brass hinges for the moving stabilizers and rudder.
Marc Racine
Fokker E.III

Fokker E.III

Fokker E.III

North American F.86 Sabre (Monogram 1:48)
A vintage built kit that I was given that I revived out of the ashes, was poorly built and painted in camo colours. Got the Canadian "Golden Hawks" decals and airbrushed it with Vallejo Air Gold acrylic. 
Marc Racine
F.86 Sabre

F.86 Sabre

F.86 Sabre

AVGP Cougar (Trumpeter 1:35) 
Hello, Everyone,
I finished this build about a month ago. It’s the Trumpeter 1/35 scale AVGP Cougar (Early Version) as used by the Canadian Armed Forces. There is a personal connection to this model as it represents one of the vehicles that I crew commanded during time with my Regiment in Petawawa. The Cougar (a Fire Support and Reconnaissance Vehicle), along with the Grizzly (an infantry Armoured Personnel Carrier) and the Husky (a Mobile Repair Vehicle) came into service in 1977. I joined an Armoured Recce Squadron in 1981 on posting to Petawawa and became the Squadron Battle Captain, callsign Two Bravo. I used this vehicle for two years before being posted to Brigade Headquarters in Petawawa.
The Early Version of the Cougar featured two propellers at the rear of the hull in order to do any amphibious operations. A later version did away with these propellers and fitted extra storage bins in their place. The build is very straightforward: good instructions, a fair number of external stowage and fittings and a well-detailed suspension system. One thing to watch for is the incorrect disruptive pattern provided – only Olive Drab and Black. In fact there are three colours to use: a medium Olive Drab, a mid-Green and a faded Black. I used Tamiya paints and free-handed the disruptive pattern with an Iwata HP-C airbrush. The license plates (fore and aft) came from JBOT Decals but I’ve had them for several years and I’m not sure if he is still in business.
COVID-19 didn’t adversely affect my building habits or processes very much. I’ve got a fairly good cache of kits plus a sufficient supply paints and glues, tools and styrene strip, rod and sheet. The internet and my local hobby shop came to my rescue now and then when I needed a special aftermarket item. Being retired and being locked down gives me a green light to the modelling table once any home-based tasks or duties were completed.
I hope that you’re all in good health and are taking good care of yourselves and your families. Here’s hoping that we’ll meet together soon!
Best Regards to All!
Gary Barling
AVGP Cougar

AVGP Cougar

AVGP Cougar

F4U Corsair cockpit (Aerocockpit 1:4)
I meant to build something french but I never got it going.  It was going to be an awesome Corsair with cool suez markings.  
Here is my 1:4 Scale F4U Corsair Instrument Panel by Aerocockpit.  It is a generic instrument panel designed for RC models but it has sufficient detail to make a cool piece of art. This is not as accurate or as detailed as the 1:4 scale panels that Eduard makes but they only make two panels.  Aerocockpit makes many many more.  I wrote an article about it and you can check it out here: http://modelairplanemaker.com/2021/02/09/and-now-for-something-a-little-different/
Chris Wallace



Flettner FL282 V-6 Kolibri synchrocopter (Miniart 1:35)
With only a few hours to spare, I can now move this build to the "completed" list and share it with the club. Coming on the heels of my first MiniArt kit (Avro gyrocopter), I decided to build a second kit by MiniArt: this time a 1:35 Flettner FL282 V-6 Kolibri synchrocopter. This early version of the German synchrocopter truly showcased just how well MiniArt engineers and molds their kits. The skeletal framework and linkage components are truly marvelous to behold and are for the most part very well crafted. The fit is a bit finicky at some points due to the complexity of the assemblies and sometimes small attachment points. There are lots of mold seams to remove and smooth, and so a steady hand and a LOT of patience is beneficial to a good build. Since I wanted to display this helo in a partially-disassembled state, I added a lot of detail to the engine bay and linkage components. I decided to leave the detachable rotor blades off -- they were installed before flight -- and so posed a single rotor blade in a scratchbuilt wooden storage box. During painting I used my tried & true blackbasing process using AK Real Color lacquer paints, my "go to" paint brand for several builds now (highly recommended). For weathering I was a bit more heavy handed than usual, as it is my plan to build a diorama base of a ship deck with the weather-battered Kolibri shown before a flight. 
The full build may be found here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gpAuWD5ugRvdJaAz9 
Glenn Cauley
Flettner FL282 V-6 Kolibri synchrocopter

Flettner FL282 V-6 Kolibri synchrocopter

Flettner FL282 V-6 Kolibri synchrocopter



WORKS-IN-PROGRESS


Leclerc MBT (Revell 1:72)
WIP – or actually stalled!? The kit is the early model of the Leclerc, the French discovered, like a few other countries that tanks in a desert environment NEED an a/c system. The white plastic on the r/h rear of the turret is basically the a/c module, there are some vents and grills that stopped up this work, but recently I have found some ways to get by them but not in time for this month. I did buy an after market resin replacement turret but found it was a copy of the Revell kit and the added detail was a bit too soft for my taste! So it was used to get measurements to replicate the addition in styrene. The other half of this project is to build the French ARV, and that got a good start by stretching the hull to 7 road wheels vice 6 but then the scratchbuilding prospect slowed it down. Must get this one started up again and finish it off!!
Graham Mansell

Various French Aircraft
A couple started before contest announced,rest started last year, but what happened to my time? Should be finishing several as year marches on... 
Ken Allen

ELASTIC VISE
This handy tip may be too much for those who may be squeamish about real life situations.  I understand if you would prefer to stop reading here.
As part of a medical predicament I had a catheter...which has a leg urine retention bag at one end, and the bag had to be changed weekly. Low and behold they each come with a pair of nice new elastic leg straps......now what can I use these for??
Elastic vise maybe, as they can wrap around various shapes....



Spitfire mark XIV (Airfix 1:48)
It sure feels good getting back to my work bench, it has been a while.  I had a couple of projects on the go and had to verify where they were in their stage of constructions.
1-      The first one that I started last year when we had our first Build Blitz back in May 2020 was the Airfix 1/48 Spitfire mark XIV in Canadian marking.  It had been painted but there were seams showing through the paint that I couldn’t let them go without fixing them.  So, it was back to sanding and filling the cracks and repainting the repaired zones.  Now it is at the stage of doing the markings not using the decals but painting my own markings.  After buying a Silhouette Cameo 3 last year, I started fooling around doing stickers for my daughters and finally had enough experience with the supplied software to start doing my own masks.  That wasn’t a big issue.  How to get them painted is another problem.  These markings have 4 different colours, so the method is going to be doing one colour than masking, doing another colour than masking again until complete.  The big problem is that the whole plane is already painted.  So, as you can see in the pictures, I have done a lot more than I will need just in case I screw up.  I will keep you guys posted on the results via Facebook or next month’s meeting
2-      While I was preparing the masks for the Spitfires, I also did the ones for my Daunting Dauntless in both 1/48 and 1/144.  Even at this scale, my Cameo 3 can cut the stencils down to 1mm which is great because the markings for the 1/144 scale weren’t the one that I needed.  These markings will be a lot simpler than the ones of my Spit.  I’ve also tested out on a very old Monogram kit used as a mule, various paints to obtain the very faded look compared to the original colour marked with an arrow.  Of course, these are all new techniques that I never tried.  We’ll see what it looks like.
3-      Last, I have been working on my Caudron Racer until I stopped doing models for a while.  This model was for this month's theme and of course it is not complete.  The whole cockpit was scratch built. The fuselage was completely sanded for removing the raised seams and I replaced them with grooved panel lines instead.  The exhausts were all scratched built using aluminium tubing that was bent to shape, then cut in the desired angle and polished for bare metal look.  Even the marking of this racer where designed on the computer because the original decals were not great looking.  





Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c (Airfix 1:72)
Sorry.  It isn’t French; it isn’t even a Royal Flying Corps aircraft that made to France.
I bought this model at one of our swap meets (remember when we had those!).  I think it was from Marc Racine, who always inspires me with his WW I models, although it is hard to imagine him parting with anything that has multiple planes and requires rigging!  As seems standard with the new Airfix, the fit is excellent.  There are jigs for the placement of the interplane struts plus a one piece combination of the cabane struts with a part of the upper wing and of the fuselage that should lock everything into place.  (As you will note some of my interplane struts have wobbled out of alignment but that is my fault and they should be easy to correct when the upper plane is joined to the lower.)
One of the options in the box is William Leefe Robinson’s 39 squadron aircraft with which he shot down airship Schütte-Lanz SL 11 on the night of 2-3 September 1916.  This was the first instance of a pilot shooting down an airship over England, for which he was awarded a V.C.  Except for the area of the forward fuselage most of the aircraft is in clear doped linen.  In various photos I have I was stuck by how the ribbing stood out through this.  I tried to simulate this by outlining the rib positions with a brown fine line Sharpie.  (Any blunders, such as getting your own thumb in the way and ending up with a semicircular outgrowth from a rib can be easily corrected with a Q-tip just moistened with thinner.)  I include two photos, the first the lower surface of the upper plane with a first fine spray of CDL and the ribs outlined (with some evidence of correction as mentioned).  The second shows the upper surface of the upper plane finished.  Something about the lighting in our kitchen minimizes the rib effect; it is actually just noticeable when viewed in person, a subtlety I usually don’t achieve, but which you will get to judge for yourselves someday in the future.
Eventually this will be joined by a 39 squadron Canberra PR9, the hemp upper surface perhaps harkening back to the CLD of the BE2c. 
John Greenhorn