Ricks' Ramblings

[Rick Lowe]

Thanks. 

[Rick Lowe]

1/72 Mustang 1a RAF **Real World**

Back in the mists of time, I acquired an old, assembled FROG Mustang.
It was pretty rough and I tried to fill a hole in the wing with tube glue.
That didn't go so well, and when I found it had bowed - a lot - I was ready to bin the whole thing.
But I hung onto it because, well... I don't like binning kits.

Later, when I realized there was no other Allison-engined Mustang on the market (at least not at that time), I decided I should do something with it.
So, I hacked the nose off and attached it to a Monogram kit.
A scratchbuilt cockpit and then the belly scoop was cut off and replaced with one built up from plastic card.
20mm cannons were made from a Matchbox M-16 kit's gun barrels inserted into tubes.

Because the 20mm wing ammunition access panels were different from those of the .50-armed versions, I went to the extent of sanding off the raised panel lines and rescribing the whole model; in the end only some of them are still visible under all the paint...
The FROG spinner was used along with a propeller from a P-40.

And there she stalled for a good few years (that was a bit of a theme that developed at that time...).
I eventually pulled it out again (along with the Cavalier Turboprop) and we were away again.

Perusing the references I saw they were mostly used as Photo-Reconnaissance birds, so I removed the radio shelf and scratched up a camera to fit there instead.
I carefully and trepidatiously punched a hole in the Falcon/Squadron canopy - whew! in the right place and everything lined up – then installed it and filled the gaps around it.
Landing gear from spares as the originals had disappeared over time.

Main paint scheme is Model Master enamels brushed on; I masked for the rear tail band then painted that and the spinner Humbrol Sky.

Markings are spares box, to depict aircraft FD472:M of 168 Squadron RAF.

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[Rick Lowe]

And a couple more

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[McColm]

Well done 

[Old Wombat]

Nice work, Rick!   

I prefer the Malcolm hood mod's myself. 

[zenrat]

 

[NARSES2]

Nice work, Rick!   

I prefer the Malcolm hood mod's myself. 

Totaly agree with both of the above comments. 

[Rick Lowe]

Thanks, folks. 

I prefer the Malcolm hood mod's myself.

Yeah, me too - but this is what is looked like in the photos and artwork, so... 
Next time, though...

[Rick Lowe]

Fokker D.XXI *Real World*

Pre- and early-WW2 Dutch fighter.

The old Pioneer 2 kit.

Got as a freebie at the club, once upon a time. Thought it'd be a quick build to keep the momentum going, and to take part in the Build the Same Kit competition it went with.

I made a rudimentary cockpit and detailed the gunsight a bit. Added a radio aerial and tailplane wires.

Paint is Humbrol.

Markings: I wasn't keen on the orange neutrality triangles, so I looked for something else.
I found some Czech roundels in the spares box and painted an orange dot in the centre. Tail stripes are painted.
(yes, there are a couple of shots sans prop - I forgot to reinstall it and couldn't really be bothered to retake them. Use your imagination)

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[PR19_Kit]

Very nice Rick. 

Great work with the dot on the Czech roundels. 

[NARSES2]

Always liked Dutch aircraft of that period, if only for camouflage. You've done a neat job with that old kit. If you fancied a modern one, then the MPM kit is really nice.

Great work with the dot on the Czech roundels. 

Indeed   

[Old Wombat]

Saw the pic's & thought you'd like this, Chris. 

She looks pretty good to me! 

[zenrat]

 

[Rick Lowe]

Thanks, folks.

Yeah; the kit is a bit basic, but not unbuildable.

The cam is interesting, true enough. IIRC I only had the top and one side, so had to wing it (sorry) for the other.

Not something I'm looking to re-do, it was more to take part in the competition and have a bit of fun.

[NARSES2]

and have a bit of fun.

Which iis what it's all about