Back after a break

I am now back at the modelling (kitchen) table after a break for quite a few weeks.  Things have been quite hectic with the day job as I was finishing my Qualified Flying Instructor's course, with that all done I've started my new job at Barkston Heath teaching the Royal Navy's next generation of pilots.  I've done quite a few trips now and flying with these guys does concentrate the mind, just when you think they are doing really well and you start to relax a bit they try and kill you!!!  All good fun.

Anyway, on with the modelling.  I've finished the Eduard MiG-21 (see the whole article here: http://www.scalemodellingnow.com/).  What a fabulous kit, great fit, lovely detail and the schemes are almost endless.  I went with an Iraqi aircraft as this is the sort of thing we were trained to deal with when I flew the Tornado F3 on operations enforcing the Iraqi no fly zone.

I've also finished another tank, this time the Hobby Boss M26 Pershing.  This was my first 1:35 scale job and my first US tank.  I wanted to achieve a dusty look simulating a vehicle from the summer in Korea.  I'm still getting to grips with AFV modelling and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  Again the article is on http://www.scalemodellingnow.com/.

I've also just finished the Special Hobby P-40F/L combo kit, well, the F version anyway.  Once again this one is for Geoff at SMN and will start in the magazine soon.  It's a nice kit but is a challenge in places being of limited run nature

That's the past, now the present.  I'm doing the Revell Hawk, this time for Jay at SAM magazine.  I suppose I ought to do a Royal Navy aircraft from Naval Flying Standards Flight as I flew them with this unit for my second tour.  However, it's quite hard making a gloss black model look like an aeroplane not a toy so I'm going to go with an air defence grey machine from 19(R) Sqn I flew in flying training.

The future.  I'm doing a couple of things next, the Cyber hobby Bf 109E-4 1:32, a special super detailed project which I'm going to keep a secret and something just for me.  Making models for magazines has great advantages, it pays, you get free kits but it can be a chore sometimes having to stop what you are doing to take photos.  It can really interrupt the flow so I'm going to make a model purely for me.  Sometimes the batteries need charging and for me, just building a kit with no distractions is just the ticket.

Until next time.

Jamie