JANUARY 2009

THIS MONTH

A couple of weeks ago I thought I may not be able to produce Update this month, due to an abscess on my back that severely limited my typing abilities (And more importantly stopped me modelling). I sent out an This is the newsletter of Romsey appeal to the usual suspects and have been overwhelmed by their Modellers a multitalented group of response in supplying me enough articles to make this the biggest Update plastic modellers based in ever, weighing in at a massive 24 pages. I have even got a significant Southern Hampshire. We cater for amount of material for next month. all modelling genres and skill levels We have for your edification: The Annual competition results, Vic and from beginners to well seasoned Gary discussing their New Years modelling resolutions, part 5 of Paul’s gurus. rd M1 Yamaha build, Pat’s review of Airfix’s Canberra, Russell Stug build We meet on the 3 Wednesday of Gary writing about what he’s got on his workbench (more like a the month from 8pm to 10pm in workshop), an update on Richard’s Airwing and a review of QuickScale Ampfield, Hampshire, where we software by yours truly. often rrun workshops and club But first some sad news about the passing of Norman Mills competitions but more importantly have a good chat NORMAN MILLS BY PHIL BUTLER about our hobby. We also attend I am not sure how many Romsey Modellers knew Norman, quite a few I most of the local model shows, suspect, though few would have been aware that he had been battling where we exhibit our member’s cancer for the last 3 years as he generally maintained an optimistic completed projects. cheerful outlook. Sadly after a period of clear test results the cancer We have an open door policy so if returned. Norman was admitted to hospital at the beginning of January you want to sample how we can and passed away on the 11th January. help you get more out of your hobby or just come and have a friendly discussion (tea and Norman will certainly be missed by his customers and the people, like biscuits provided) please feel free myself, who counted him as a friend. to turn up (see last page for details nd Norman’s funeral is on Thursday 22 January at 12:00 at the North or visit our web site Devon Crematorium in Barnstaple. www.romseymodellers.co.uk There will be an opportunity to sign a card for Norman at Wednesday meeting.

AIRFIX COMPETITION BY PAUL ADAMS

Don’t forget the next club competition in April. The Test trout theme is ‘Airfix’, so plenty of choice for modellers there. How about being brave and building the new 1/48th TSR2, or have some fun with a Wallace and Gromit kit, or the new 1/48th Mk1 Spitfire. For the space restricted there’s a huge range of 1/72nd aircraft kits. Maybe a change of pace is in order; try the 1/32 Mclaren F1 car. Or course the Doctor Who kit series is proving popular with a wide range of modellers. Armour fans are well catered for too. For a full range of Airfix kits visit www.airfix.com

1 CAN YOU TELL WHAT IT IS YET?

An free lifetime free subscription is available for the first person to email me the identity of my entry into the Airfix competition (assuming it gets completed on time)

ANNUAL COMPETITION 2008 BY PAUL ADAMS

Thank you to all of you who participated in the November and December competition evenings. If you entered or only voted, or both, I hope it wasn’t too painful, and whether you placed or not, the fact that you had the courage to enter the fray was an achievement!! We had 38 entries from 13 members, a little down on 2007, but an encouraging statistic nonetheless. Many thanks to Malcolm and Brenda Pike from Just Add Imagination for handing out the prizes and for making a very generous donation to the raffle. For the record the entries were;

Entry Model description Entrants Name Class Position Number in Class 1 Me 109 Tropical Vic Short Class 1 , aircraft nd 2 USS Hornet Airwing Richard Stewart 1/72 and Bronze below 3 C.A .F Hornet Gary Jarman Gold 4 Tiger Meet Mirage 2000 Gary Jarman 5 Tiger Meet Mirage 2000 Gary Jarman Silver 6 JU 87D Stuka Mark Metters 7 Nieuport 17 Tony Adams Class 2, aircraft nd 8 ME109E Tony Adams above 1/72 Bronze 9 Mitsubishi Zero AM2B Tony Adams Silver 10 Pfalz D111A Dave Henwood Gold 11 Fiesler Storch ‘Africa’ John Ranger 12 Jeep Willy’s Dave Henwood Class 3, Armour Silver 13 Panther and SDKFZ234 Russell Eden Gold 14 SU100 Tank Destroyer Mark Metters Bronze 15 Jagdpanther North Africa Mark Metters 17 King George V and Eclipse Dale Koppi Class 4, Ships Gold 18 Imperial Guard Troopers Russell Eden Class 5, Figurines Gold 19 16/17th Century figures David O’Meara Silver 20 Fire Jeep Keith Hawkins Class 6, Civilian Bronze 21 1992 Ducati 888 Paul Adams vehicles Gold 22 Grp B Lancia S4 Paul Adams 23 Honda F1 RA272 Dave Henwood Silver 24 Shelby Mustang Dale Koppi

2 25 Churchill Mk1 Keith Farmer Class 7, Gold 26 USAF Thunderbird Mark Metters Class 8, Gold 27 USAF Thunderbird Mark Metters Photographic 28 F18 Hornet Mark Metters Silver 29 Airbus A380 Mark Metters 30 Airbus A380 Mark Metters 31 Red Arrows and Vulcan Mark Metters Bronze 32 Red Arrows Mark Metters 33 ‘Tamecat’ Brian Sampson Class 9, I Ran Out Bronze 34 Dambuster Lancaster Tony Adams Of Gold 35 F/A 18F Hornet Vic Short 36 F15C Eagle Vic Short 37 2007 Yamaha M1 Paul Adams Silver 38 Universal Carrier Keith Farmer 39 Imperial Guard FRV Russell Eden Class 10, Gold Miscellaneous

JOHN COX MEMORIAL TROPHY

Best In Show Russell Eden: Panther and SDKFZ234

nd 2 : Dave Henwood Pfalz D111A 3rd: Paul Adams Ducati 888 Superbike

3 FORTH COMING EVENTS BY PAUL ADAMS

To remind everyone, the club will have its first outing in just a few weeks. The RNAS Fleet Air Arm show at Yeovilton takes place on 14th February. Last years show proved the event is as popular as ever. The club will have 18 foot of table, so all members are welcome to come along and help fill the space. I’m sure the usual suspects will attend, but it would be great to see some newer faces coming along too. The show also has a competition for several classes, and with the standard of entry normally high, this is an opportunity to assess yourself against other modellers. The best model in show gets a prize of an Airfix kit. The recession hit traders will undoubtedly have plenty of bargains to offer those that still have money to spend on modelling!! With a number of us going, car sharing is a possibility. We’ll discuss the show further on Wednesday night. 14th February 2009, 10:00am ‐ 16:30pm www.fleetairarm.com For morel details on the other shows we are attending this year visit http://www.romseymodellers.co.uk/pages/shows2009.htm

NEWS ON THE AIRWINGBY RICHARD STEWART

The airwing is go, right down to a radar equipped Corsair from the USS Enterprise! Next on the blocks are the aircraft tugs and bomb trolleys. As you can see the carrier itself still needs a bit of work!!

4 EIGHT RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR'S MODELLING RESOLUTIONS BY VIC SHORT New Year's resolutions can be a pain or a pleasure. Mine are usually a pain, and this means that one may resolve never to make a resolution again. So resolve to make it a pleasure! The starting point is to focus on something that you really want and to which you are ready to give your commitment. Like finishing that modelling project you’ve promised yourself you’ll actually start “when you get around to it”. Do this and you'll be in a great position to stay motivated and be successful! The Eight Rules for New Year's Resolutions will help set you up for success right from the start.

RULE 1: COMMIT TO YOUR RESOLUTION Successful resolutions start with a strong commitment to make a change. To succeed, you must believe that you can accomplish what you set out to and that belief is bolstered by the unwavering support you give yourself. Choose resolutions that you really want to achieve ‐ and make them positive; Yes, I really would like to be as productive as Gary Jarman. Announce your resolution to everyone around you ‐ they will help hold you accountable (that’ll be club members or the other half then); Don't leave your choice of resolution to the last minute ‐ take time to think about your goals. Questions to ask yourself to determine if you can take ownership of your resolution include: Is this resolution my idea or someone else's? Does this resolution motivate and invigorate me? Does this resolution sit comfortably with other factors in my life such as time restraints or other demands? Remember that there's no reason why your New Year's resolution should take all year to achieve. Wouldn’t it be great to overachieve?

RULE 2: BE REALISTIC The key to achieving goals is continued motivation. If you set the bar too high, you risk failing. Consistently failing at something is profoundly de‐motivating. I should know! Consider carefully before setting the same resolution you set last year. If it didn't work then, you need to make sure there is good reason to believe you can achieve it this year? What has changed? Do you have more commitment to make it work? Aim lower, rather than too high ‐ aim for something that is challenging but that you have a good chance of accomplishing. If there is any doubt, err on the side of caution and expand your goal later if you still want to keep improving; and Don't bite off more than you can chew. There is no reason to set more than one or two resolutions. Anymore than that and you divide your focus and energy and lessen your chances of success in any area.

RULE 3 ‐ WRITE IT DOWN A simple but powerful technique for making your goal real is to put it in writing. There is something inside us that creates more commitment and drive when we take the time to do this. Consider writing it down on pieces of card and keeping it where you'll see it often ‐ on your modelling workbench, the fridge (near the beer), in your wallet (next to the credit card that will buy the next kit you don’t need!).

5 RULE 4 ‐ MAKE A PLAN This is where so many resolutions fall down. Articulating what you want to achieve is one thing; deciding how to do it is quite another. Don't miss out this step! Start by envisioning where you want to be; Then work back along your path to where you are today; Write down all the milestones you note in between; and Decide what you will do to accomplish each of these milestones. You need to know each step and have a plan for what comes next.

RULE 5 ‐ BE FLEXIBLE Not everything will work out precisely the way you planned. If you are too rigid in your approach to resolutions the first minor obstacle (such as the carpet monster) can throw you off your course completely. When creating your plan try to predict some challenges you will face. Like the carpet monster and the temptation of yet another new tooling that takes your fancy ‐ make a contingency for the ones that have the highest probability and mentally prepare yourself for the others. Realize that your resolution itself might change along the way as well. That's not failure, it's reality. As your life changes so will your goals, dreams, and desires. Remember Rule 1 (Commit to Your Resolution): If you need to make changes to the goal so you continue to care about it, do so.

RULE 6 ‐ USE A SYSTEM OF REMINDERS It's hard to keep focused on your plan when you have many other commitments, responsibilities, and obligations. The best way to stay on top of your resolution is to develop a formal reminder system. Have your written down resolutions visible as many times of the day as possible. Leave reminders at work, at home, in the car, on your calendar, on the workbench, at the club etc; Make sure the planned actions are on your to‐do list (perhaps have a special section for them at the top); Set up reminders in your desktop calendar or subscribe to an email reminder service; and Be as creative as you can to keep being reminded, and so make sure your goals stay in the front of your mind.

RULE 7 ‐ TRACK YOUR PROGRESS You won't know how well you are doing unless you keep track of your progress. This is why your plan is so important. You need to know when each milestone in accomplished. The excitement around the little successes will keep you motivated and keep you pushing forwards. Use a journal and make an entry regarding your progress regularly; This will turn into a build article for the club magazine Note when you felt particularly pleased with your efforts; Note when you felt down or felt like quitting ‐ over time, look for common themes and decide if there is an underlying issue that needs to be addressed (change the carpet, use different superglue etc); Record challenges you faced as well as things that went better than planned; Look back at your entries on a regular basis and use your past experiences to shape your attitude and techniques as you move forward; Ask a friend or family member to call you on pre‐defined occasions to discuss your progress. Or, of course, you can ask your friendly club colleagues monthly.

6 RULE 8 ‐ REWARD YOURSELF Although knowledge of a job well done can be reward enough, we all enjoy a little treat from time to time. Even the most committed person needs a boost and sometimes that is best accomplished through an external reward.

When you are developing your plan, make a note of a few milestones where you will reward yourself once they are achieved. But spread them out ‐ you want to make sure the rewards remain special and are not too easy to get. You’ll be able to get them at Yeovilton, Salisbury or even Telford! These Eight Rules have been adapted from an article taken from http://www.mindtools.com

On the subject of New Years resolutions…..

MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS BY GARY JARMAN

It’s a new year complete with new sets of resolutions to be broken. So far, with the exception of the lose weight resolution, I’m doing well. My first new years resolution was to sort out my stash. So, getting an early start on that one, during the Christmas break I took stock. I have 14 projects on the go! Then I set up a spreadsheet of the contents of my stash and discovered I have 115 unbuilt kits. I plan to go through these and get rid of some (many). For example, 25 of them are Airfix kits, apart from the 7 Scout helicopters (all destined to be Wasps one day … yeah right), the rest will be gotten rid of. Then I have a load of kits that I collected when I was going through my SAAF phase that I will never build, so they too must go. And all those duplicates!!! I’ve already mentioned I have 7 Scouts (and that’s after I’ve already built three). I have 7 Lancasters!!! Why?! Because they were a bargain, during the second M&S 20% off day leading up to Christmas they worked out at under £6 per kit if you bought three at a time. I bought 6! Next new years resolution – resist such deals! That resolution leads on to my next one. I shall buy no more than 12 new kits this year. I started out saying no new kits this year, but realised that was just being silly. Having bought a HobbyBoss 1/48 Hornet kit I was so impressed with it that I feel the need to buy other variants. Also, I have a total of 8 aftermarket decal sheets for Hornets in 1/72 scale and only 5 kits suitable for those decals, so already I HAVE to buy 3 kits. Moving on to those 14 ongoing projects. The first priority is to get most of these complete before starting on new projects. I figure I should have, at most, 5 projects on the go at any one time (my attention span is too short to just do one project at a time). Some of the 14 projects are currently active and I’ll bore you with the details later on in this newsletter (assuming Tony deems this stuff worthy of inclusion in the magazine of course). And finally, my theme for the year – Hornets!!!!!! I have grown to love the plane. There was a program on TV recently that followed 8 Canadian Air Force pilots through their fighter training on the Hornet at 410 Squadron. Brilliant program. So, for 2009, I have at least 10 1/72 Hornets planned, 2 1/48 and finally, if I ever get the courage to actually build it, the biggie, the Academy 1/32 kit! All the kits will have colourful schemes and I look forward to seeing them lined up together. So, now that I have put my resolutions down on paper, let’s see how well I do sticking to them.

7 WHAT DOES YOUR WORK AREA LOOK LIKE? BY GARY JARMAN

I’m always curious to see what other peoples work areas look like. So in an attempt to get you all sharing, let me tell you about mine. I’m banished to the garage where,.

On the one side are my boxes containing my On the other side is my work area. aforementioned stash This is great during summer but has a serious risk of hypothermia during winter. So I make use of the table in the lounge during winter.

MY ONGOING PROJECTS. BY GARY JARMAN

Of the 14 projects I have on the go, the following are ‘active’.

AIRFIX 1/144 WASA I have built two of these kits in my life. I was proud of both of them. It’s a very colourful ship and let’s face it, seeing as how it sank on it’s maiden voyage as it was leaving the harbour, you have a choice of building it brand new or as a rotting wreck, so no arguments about weathering then!. The first one I built was as a kid and it suffered a cruel fate. I had taken one of my sisters dolls during one of our, according to my parents, many fights and was holding it hostage. I made a tactical error by not protecting my room from enemy incursions and my sister took advantage of this and duly took my Wasa hostage. There followed a tense standoff with her threatening to throw the Wasa on the floor should the doll not be returned in one piece NOW! Ha! What a bluff! She’d never do it. She knew how much I liked that kit! Anyway, I learnt a valuable lesson that day … when fighting with your sister never … ever … ever call their bluff. In the time that it took me to reach her and start the physical fight she’d dropped and stood on it (guess she really liked that doll).

8 So now I’m building my third and final Wasa. I’m hoping to have it ready for the Airfix competition. However, like a fool I let my self destructive streak loose and decided that having canons sticking out of boxes embedded in the hull didn’t look realistic. So I removed the boxes and now have to scratch build floors and, of course, 50 off canon bases and some beams etc. just in case it can be seen through the open ports. Why do I do these things? I know that by the time it’s built it’ll be so dark in there that nothing will be seen? Anyway, having committed myself, that’s what I’ll do. I may even try lighting it inside (thanks to Brian Boot’s recent guest talk).

HASEGAWA 1/72 HORNET ‘CHIPPY HO’ Having finished my F‐14 in landing configuration recently I wanted to put it on a base where it had just caught the wire. My attempts to have the wire coming ‘from nowhere’ into the base didn’t work, so I figured my only option is to widen the base to include the aircraft carrier housings from which the cable originates. The problem is that this leaves a very wide base for a single aircraft. So I figured widen the base a little more and have two aircraft, wings folded, chained to the deck on one side of the landing tomcat. And so I started the Hornet. It comes in a box of three kits that allows you to model the history of Chippy Ho. I have chosen one of the (in my opinion) less attractive schemes in the box as I wanted to leave the best for last in the hopes that I’d have learnt from the first two and so the final one should be pretty decent looking. At the same time I started a Hasegawa US‐2B Tracker but more about that later.

HASEGAWA 1/72 TRACKER This, together with the Chippy Ho Hornet was to be the second of the two parked aircraft that would be part of my F‐14 . I chopped the wings up and started on the fuselage, and was proceeding quite happily until I realised I’d made an error.

The Hornet, Tomcat and Tracker were not in service at the same time. While the Tomcat and Tracker and Tomcat and Hornet overlapped, the Tracker was withdrawn from service a few years before the Hornet entered service. So in the interests of reality I started a Revell Viking as aircraft number two. However, as I’m so far down the line with the tracker I shall complete it within the next month or two. It’s also giving me the chance to improve my scribing skills.

9 REVELL 1/72 VIKING This aircraft is to be one of the two parked aircraft on my Tomcat diorama. Another kit that is allowing me to improve my scribing skills. I have cut the wings and have the pictures of the wing fold mechanism, now I just need to muster up the energy to finish it.

REVELL 1/72 F‐16 I started this kit in order to be able to use the Model Alliance Winter Tiger Meet decal sheet that I bought for a good price at the Aldershot model show. The plan was that it would be a quick out of the box build that would give me a break from the hacking of wings and scratchbuilding of wing fold mechanisms that seems to be dominating my model building right now. But then of course I had to cut the flaps and then, hey, the undercarriage bay detail is good, let’s try enhance it … you know how it goes.

ITALERI 1/48 F‐14A TOMCAT This kit has always been intended as one of those ‘if it’s a panel open it’ type builds. I’ve done a few 1/48 scale kits before, but this is my first serious attempt at one. Having hacked the front fuselage parts to pieces I lost interest and moved on to the projects mentioned above. But this is a kit I intend to finish in the first half of this year.

10 THE ASSEN ASSASSIN PART 5 BY PAUL ADAMS

So, another interesting month has passed since my last dairy report. Since then much progress has been made on the paint scheme and decaling. Buoyed by the success of the first two colours of the paint scheme, I quickly moved onto masking up each part for the blue. You’ll be aware that this colour has caused much conjecture since I began this project and eventually I decided to mix my own blue. Using the Zero TS23, I slowly lightened about 30ml of it in a new jar, using Zero pure white. I believe the mix ended up around 65/35. The airbrush was primed and the blue went on with any issue at all. These Zero paints are very similar in application to a Tamiya, Gunze or Hannants acrylics, slow application, building the colour, evenly, and without the need to worry about a glossy finish, they are very easy to work with. [1,2]

[1] [2] [3]

The masks were carefully removed, avoiding any peeling of the other paint’s, and the next task was to paint the ‘dancer panels’. These areas are too covered by the decal sheet, but once again, they are too small to fill the void. Masking involved lining out each of the red and green areas using 2.0mm widths of Tamiya tape, masking off the areas to be blue, or dark blue and spraying away. The last colour to go on, the dark blue was done with Zero BMW Williams F1 blue. Not an exact match to the decals, but close enough. After one day of masking and unmasking the task was complete. [3] I next did some painting that later I realised I didn’t need to have done! These areas were for the carbon fibre decals. Normally, the decals are slightly opaque and need a black base to work. I was using Modellers carbon decal, a brand I hadn’t used before. I subsequently discovered they are black backed, and don’t show any colour through whatsoever. Unaware of this, I proceeded to mask up and spray the relevant areas. With the black complete, I was finally able to seal the paint scheme in with three coats of 2k clear.] Applying the decals to a model is always an exciting part of the building process. The markings really bring things to life, and none more so than the bright, vivid markings of this bike. I had sprayed the clearcoat in a cooler temperature than normal (what’s normal?), probably less than ten degrees and paid for it later. The clear had some texture to it, and each part was gently sanded with wetted Micromesh 4000 grit and polish with Mer car polish. I began with the dummy fuel tank as both sides wear a large decal that forms part of the paint job. Both decals went on without a problem, and fortunately lined up nicely with the curve of the painted

[4] [5] [6]

11 parts. A little Microsol was used to get the decal nice a snug around the curves. The blue section of this panel will be masked off after clearcoat, and painted using the mixed blue I’ve used elsewhere. With the other markings, application was simple and I quickly moved onto the side panels. The Museum Collection decal sheet has a small advantage over the Renaissance version in that some of the sponsor’s logos are separate, rather than ‘built in’ with the paint scheme. This enabled me to utilise markings that otherwise I would have had to cut out from the Renaissance sheet. The Fiat ‘Notes’ were from the MC sheet as well as the dancing pair and starbursts. Once more all were applied with the aide of Microsol, particularly the Fiat logos, which were very thick and need copious rewetting and the hairdryer to get them to conform. [4,5,6] The nose received the Fiat badge and race number, which sadly is not quite thick enough to prevent bleeding. The last part I tackled was the seat, or tail section as it is often referred. [7] The multicoloured underside decal was cut in half to allow easier application. This proved the correct choice it is was a little undersized, but still it lined up with my earlier painting. I placed the race numbers on and then set about applying the carbon fibre areas underneath. These areas would then have more sponsorship markings partly covering them. Once complete the love ‘note’s went on and the remaining small sponsors decals. At the time of writing I have still to complete the lower cowl. [8] With all of this success, the modelling world needed some sort of disaster to balance things out and this arrived shortly after completing the tail unit. I dropped it on the floor and broke a stress bearing part off. Six and half months of work later and I’ve still another mountain to climb. [9]

[7] [8] [9]

More next month! Happy Modelling!

12 QUICKSCALE

Richard Stewart tipped me off about Quickscale software, a free (shareware) application that performs numerous calculations useful for scale modellers. As you can see from the following table the application can calculate scale measurements based on the real dimension and the desired scale. It also calculates measurements converts between scales. This will be incredibly useful for scratch builders and for the creation of decals. It’s well worth getting a copy which can be obtained from http://www.quickscale.net. (A link to it is available on our website’s link page)

Function Description Screen Shot Scale Up/Down Calculates either the real size of the model or the real size of the object based upon the desired scale.

Change Scale Calculates the new size of a model when the scale is changed.

Find Scale Finds the scale of a model when the actual size and model size is known.

13 Enlarge/Reduce Calculates the percentage to enlarge or reduce a drawing on a photocopier to a desired scale. This function is used when the scale of the original drawing is not known.

Scale % Calculates the percentage to enlarge or reduce a drawing on a photocopier to a desired scale. This function is used when the scale of the original drawing is known.

Old Scale Converts the old scale method of "1 inch = ?? feet" to the more modern convention (such as "1/48") and vice‐versa.

14 MEMBER SURVEY 2009

Due to being temporally laid low I haven’t made as much progress as hoped on the member’s survey. I am now pretty much recovered so I will get to work on it ready for next months meeting, in the meantime please let me know if you have any suggestions for questions.

AIRFIX 1:48 REF A10102 ENGLISH ELECTRIC CANBERRA B(I)8.BY PAT CAMP

Below is a brief review I wrote for a French magazine on the Airfix Canberra ‐ although the references to girls in mini skirts and the crew being children was edited out of the published article for some reason! I'll leave the tiny bit of French at the beginning for the club members to figure out for themselves.

Dim. ou 1:48e: long. 416mm, env. 406mm. Dim. ou maquette: long. 416mm, env. 406mm (spot on!). 153 pièces, 2 pièces transparentes, 3 décorations RAF, RNZAF & SAAF.

To English aircraft enthusiasts, the Canberra is an iconic post‐war aircraft and this kit release is from another post‐war icon: Airfix models. Many modellers of my age group were weaned on a diet of Airfix kits during their childhood until we became attracted to those exotic kits being imported from the orient and girls wearing the latest fashion of mini skirts!

The aircraft developed from a requirement issued as long ago as 1944 for the conceptual design of a jet powered medium bomber that would utilise high speed and high altitude to evade enemy fighters. The prototype bomber first flew in 1949 and its aerodynamically smooth profile proved to be highly adaptable to various roles such as tactical bombing, photographic, electronic and meteorological reconnaissance, electronic counter measures and ‐ as in the instance of the B(I)8 version in this kit – night intruder and ground attack duties. This later variant differed noticeably from its predecessors in having a fighter style canopy set to one side to improve visibility for "specialised interdictor" ground attack duties, where the aircraft could be armed with a wide range of guns, rockets, conventional and nuclear bombs. Over 1300 Canberra’s were produced both in the – by English Electric, with Handley Page and Short Brothers also producing aircraft under license – and overseas: by Martin (as the B‐57) in the United States and Government Aircraft Factory (GAF) in Australia. The aircraft served a long and illustrious career with the RAF and was retired only recently after an impressive 57 years of service.

15 So what about the kit? Well, this is a big kit of substantial weight and, correspondingly, comes in a large, strongly constructed box. Remove the lid and you find the main parts – the fuselage halves and wing sprue – protected by bubble wrap from the six other parts sprues that are contained in a single polythene bag. The transparencies are in their own bag within this. There is a well produced 14 page instruction booklet detailing construction over 39 steps. It includes a message of gratitude to those who helped Airfix with the kit and that is a nice thing to do for the volunteers in the various museums listed. Humbrol paint numbers are given, but no other colour information. Also in the box is a comprehensive and well printed decal sheet and fold‐out colour guide for the three finishing options in the kit. These are for the B(I)8 of No.16 Squadron, RAF Laarbruch, Germany in 1972 depicted on the box art with its shark's mouth design and finished in a camouflage scheme of Dark Green and Dark Sea Grey over Light Aircraft Grey, although the painting guide calls out silver for the undersides which is contrary to that given in Profile 11 “Canberra Part 2” published by the The Aviation Workshop Publications Ltd. The second option is for a similarly camouflage finished B(I)12 of No.14 Squadron, RNZAF, Ohakea, New Zealand in 1968. The third is for a B(I)12 machine of No.12 Squadron, SAAF, Waterkloof,

South Africa in 1969‐1975 finished in High Speed silver. No French option is offered, but two B(I)8's were delivered to CEV and used at Bretigny and Istres so well worth researching these if you want to have your model in French markings. As for the parts, this is the first of the newly tooled kits that I have examined since the company's latest renaissance and, knowing that it is produced in China, I was keen to see if the mouldings resembled those from you‐know‐who. The answer is that they do not: they combine the Airfix heritage in being solid and simple to assemble with modern manufacturing techniques to produce parts that are crisply moulded, free of flash and distortion. Dry assembly of the fuselage halves showed a perfect fit and a perusal of the seven sprues of parts revealed some delightful detail and finesse, giving me confidence that this kit should go together nicely. The construction of the airframe looks to be fairly straightforward and much of the parts count is accounted for by the generous weapons stores for inclusion in the detailed bomb bay and on underwing pylons – although the instructions lack information about what these are which is disappointing. This kit looks as though it will build into an accurate, albeit basic, looking Canberra. There are one or two places that you may wish to correct, such as the shape of the fin fillet and tips of the elevators. Panel lines are slightly soft and overdone – particularly on the rudder ‐ whilst there is a complete absence of panel lines on the horizontal tail surfaces. There is plenty of scope for detailers amongst you to work on the cockpit, bomb bay and wheel wells, but the basic kit will also build into a fine model of the aircraft straight out of the box. Some nice features are the tyre bulges on the undercarriage wheels and the nose section being a single transparent piece which I think is an excellent approach. The other transparencies are also nicely done. You will need to rise to the challenge of placing 100 grams of weight into the limited space of the nose to avoid the model from tail sitting – this will be difficult to do unless you happen to have access to some depleted uranium to use as your weighting material – although Airfix include a support prop should your best efforts not prove successful!

Assembly starts with the seated aircrew. Yes, aircrew ‐ that is a rarity these days! However, unless the Canberra was crewed by children then they are under scale. The kit has a control column rather than yoke that I think was actually fitted. The cockpit canopy comes as two parts, but on the B(I)8 the canopy was not

16 opened; access being by the side hatch in the nose. The instructions make it clear not to have the canopy positioned open.

In summary, this is a simple, well produced kit that will build into an excellent model straight from the box. There is scope for detailers amongst you to make some corrections and add further detail should you wish to do so, and there are plenty of alternative schemes in which to finish your model. Well done to Airfix and Hornby, and I wish them every success with this kit and their future offerings!

WEBSITE UPDATE

The website has continued to grow in popularity; we now have had over 1100 unique visitors from 59 countries. The hit rate has continued to increase; typically we get over 25 visits a day, with many new visitors doing an extensive search of the site. The average visitor looks at over 6 pages per visit. I have not added a lot of content in the last month, partly due to my incapacity and partly because I’m restructuring the site to allow a new style similar to this newsletter to be imposed. I have introduced the new style on some of the main pages and will be rolling it out across the site over the next few weeks. During this period there may be a few errors on the pages. I am hoping to get the whole thing sorted by the being of the show season. If the Middle Wallop show is anything to go on, the web site will complement the club stand at model shows and encourage interest in the club to encourage new members to come to our meetings

A NIGHT WITH PAT

On a dark night between Xmas and New Year a number of club members met in the Potters Heron Pub for a reunion with Pat Camp and his wife Melissa. Pat, back from France for the Yuletide festivities was in excellent form telling us about his life in France and about his fascinating job working on the ITER project to create a working fusion nuclear reactor (see www.iter.org). Pat even has time to attend two modelling clubs and entertained us with stories on how he was welcomed by the French modelling community (with lots of Pastis), his experiences of French model shows and even his attempts at playing Boule (he will be turning up in a beret and striped shirt next time we see him!).

One of Pat’s modelling clubs is planning a week long expedition to to visit the Telford show in the autumn. It is hoped we can arrange a special club night in order to meet them (and liberate some of their supply of Pastis).

On a related note, a number of us discussed introducing a monthly social night, probably on the first Wednesday of the month in a conveniently located local pub. I’ll bring it up for discussion on Wednesday. If the worst comes to the worst I will tell you which pub I’m going to each month and if some club members turn up to carry me home it’ll be a bonus.

17 WHAT THE PAPERS SAY…

DATABASE: The Short Sunderland... The story of Short's majestic Sunderland. Over the Front... A dramatic multimedia exhibition in Australia recreating the Western Front. The Stuka Stealers... The Hidden History of the RAF's first airworthy Junkers Ju 87, captured in the Western Desert during September 1941. Aircrew... The risky job of a Gloster E.28/39 test pilot is under the spotlight this month. Uncle Sam's Lethal Leathernecks... US Marine Corps Phantom II back‐seater we to Robert F. Dorr about his combat experiences during the Vietnam War. Mud, Glorious Mud!... Avro test pilot Tony Blackman recalls getting stuck in — literally — while proving the 748's rough‐field performance for the RAF. On a Wing and a Prayer... The early days of the British wingwalking revival reintroduced by the Tiger Club in the 1960s Out of the Blue... What's like to own and fly a warbird with a difference — the highly manœuvrable Russian Yak‐3. Faster, Longer, Further —two‐part survey of photo‐recce Mosquito variants concludes with the record‐setting PR.34.

IMR ‐ A build of one of the more obscure T‐55 based Combat Engineering Vehicles StuG Mineroller ‐ An unusual Post‐War StuG based on archive pictures Back on Track ‐ A Canadian M113’s given a new lease of life in Afghanistan Combat Support ‐ A Canadian M113A3 TLAV in 1:35th scale Sherman Up Close M4A1 – The beginning of a series providing a guide to the Sherman variants Extreme Detail ‐ Matilda Mk.2 Keeping Track ‐ More new releases A Photographic Memory ‐ Italen’s 1/72nd scale Sd.Kfz.232

Pfalz D.III ‐ The Roden 1:32nd scale WW1 Fighter. ILA 2008 Berlin ‐ A selection of photos from the Berlin show. Raw Force ‐ Part one of a feature on building a naked IL‐2m Sturmovik Sand ‐ recreates one of the buried Iraqi Su‐25K “Frogfoot” using the kit Xtreme Detail ‐ The F7F‐3P Tigercat. Mosi ‐ Tamiya’s 1:48th scale Mosquito modelled Brushing on a budget ‐ We compare three budget priced double action airbrushes. Air Born ‐ New releases Grumman F7F‐3N Tigercat ‐ a build of the recently re issued 1:48th scale kit

18 Showcase: Modeling a Cold War icon, A master goes deep on this Typhoon‐class sub Cover story: Make your models indestructible Innovative techniques for sturdier models Kitbash a Sherman Firefly Plastic, resin, photoetched metal, and three kits! Improve a multimedia Super Corsair Aftermarket details soup up Special Hobby's kit Skill builder: Post‐shadingThis painting technique can make drab exciting! Desert weathering for a Bf 109 A unique look for the ubiquitous German fighter Shorten a 737 Saw your way through a simple conversion Workbench Reviews Hasegawa 1/200 scale 737‐700 airliner HobbyBoss 1/48 scale MiG‐17F Fresco C Kits compared: Bronco 1/35 scale Land‐Wasser‐Schlepper Kits compared: HobbyBoss 1/35 scale Land‐Wasser‐Schlepper Accurate Miniatures 1/72 scale Predator UAV Dragon 1/32 scale Messerschmitt Bf 110C Moebius 1/24 scale "Lost in Space" Chariot Tamiya 1/35 scale Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf J Bronco 1/35 scale Fieseler V‐1 flying bomb SAIPAN SHUTTLE Italeri latest armour kits their 1/35 Amtrac. Detailed notes will help you get the best from the kit MARDER Tristar's Marder III Ausf. H is a well detailed, albeit, complex kit that needs care to assemble and paint well. ACHTUNG JABO! Delayed from last year, The builders tell the story of their wonderfully architectural diorama. Step by step ideas and plenty of hints and tips will have you running to the bench to build something similar for yourself! DESERT LEOPARD The Leopard 2 A5 DK serving with the Danish Quick Reaction Force (QRF). Stunning full sized pictures help tell the tale of this impressive vehicle SKYSTREAK A build f the amazing looking Douglas Skystreak in 1/48. Though wonderfully detailed, it's the fantastic red finish that makes this a real standout… SCALE MODELWORLD 2008 The IPMS' showcase event from the International Centre, Telford

Bristol’s Fighter Eduard’s superb Bristol F.2B Fighter, with scale drawings Corsair Country Describes the venerable A‐7 Corsair in Greek service The Little Prince’s Last Flight Describes Antoine de Saint‐Exupéry’s last flight and models his aircraft in 1/32 scale SEPECAT’s Sea Cat Reveals the story of the would‐be carrier based Jaguar Queen o’ the Boats Builds the 1/72 scale Airfix kit as a Sunderland Mk V The Condors of KG 40 Builds Trumpeter’s Fw 200 SCALED UP RAF Leuchars’ Tornado F.3 Wing, A photographic look at the current operational Tornado F.3 fleet INSIDE 8pg Supplement sponsored by Airfix, Sunderland, Describes the colour schemes and marking applied to the Sunderland Mk IIIs of Coastal Command during WW2

19 The Right Stuff TF‐104 Starfighter Twin‐seater Panzer Cracker Jerry Rutman’s awesome 1/32 Henschel Testing Time A quick build of the 1/48 Airfix TSR.2 Test Shot Brenda’s Iron Sledge The F‐105 in 1/48 Mr. Postman Building CMRs Boeing 40 B‐4 in 1/72 Knocking off the Spots A camouflage pattern made easy with FineMolds’ Tony Miltons Schemes Tubular Belles Revell’s 1/144 Boeing 747‐400 Scale Modelworld A Brief Glimpse of the UK Nationals PLUS Scaling Down Canberras: more new options in 1/144 from Freightdog and OzMods

Simple Weathering – Pt I We always have time for Coffee Build a 1943 Russian winter scene in 1:35 Mine’s a Sherman Converts the Dragon 1:35 M4A1 (76)W Operation Cobra Sherman into An ‘Aunt Jemima‘ mine‐clearing variant using Verlinden’s roller set Desert Stork! Builds the 1:35 Tristar Fieseler Fi 156A‐0/C‐1 Storch In the Dog‐House An Israeli Nagman I ‘Pill‐Box’ using the 1:35 Academy M113 and Blast Models conversion Cold Weather Warrior Models Dragon’s Panzer IV Ausf.G of the Pz. Gren.Div. ‘Totenkopf’ 1943 British Para Models Pegaso’s exceptional white metal bust Real & replica Kanonenjagdpanzer (KaJaPa)/ Beobachtungspanzer, Full sized reference and related build of the Revell 1:35 kit Scale Modelworld 2008 A Look at the UK Nationals

Kwik Build The ICM 1:72 Nakajima Ki‐27a Trumpeter 1:32 F6F‐3 Hellcat by HobbyBoss 1:72 Fw 190A‐6 by For the Motherland Trumpeter’s recent MiG‐3 ‘Early version’ in 1:48 Daunting Dornier the Do 17P in 1:72 from RS Models Fiat G.55 Centauro Shades of OD How to weather the Eduard 1:48 Curtiss P‐40N

FLAKPANZER 38T REVISITED Tristar’s state of the art release. E THAT’S A BIG BOAT ED The Editor starts an epic build of Italeri’s massive 1:35 Schnellboot S‐100 COOL CAT Dragon’s latest Jagdpanther A SHOW TOO FAR MMI visits the Factory show in Eindhoven RAM HIM! part 1Recreatation of a famous incident from Operation Goodwood PREVIEW Resicast’s Rolls‐Royce armoured car

20 AFV Club Churchill Mk. III We check out the ‘nearly was’ Panther F The long awaited Direct Vision Sherman II from Tasca A hands‐on look at Tamiya’s all new Jagdtiger kit in 1:35 BOXY BTR‐40 A full size reference report on an IDF BTR‐40

Stalin’s D‐Day World War Two ‐ Hitler’s nemesis on the Eastern Front Retreat to Victory Napoleonic Wars ‐ 200 years ago—death of Sir John Moore Secrets of Colditz World War Two ‐ Notorious prison camp myths exposed Vikings versus Celts Medieval Warfare ‐ Brutal clashes with Norse raiders on the Celtic Churchill Frustrated World War Two ‐ Churchill at war with his generals

Adhesives A to Z Choosing the right glue makes model building easier Kitbash a 1955 Chevy pickup Finishing a stalled truck project Build these super Novas! Stock and drag versions of Revell‐Monogram's hot new 2‐in‐1 1969 SS kit Caricature builder This Corvette Grand Sport looks wacky, but check out these great building tips Midyear Mopar colors Paint options for Chrysler's midyear colors from the muscle‐car era Portfolio: Ron Ramsay's racers "Drag racing is in my blood," says this lifelong racing fan SCIMA Model Contest Great models from Indianapolis

MARDER‐MANIA COMES TO QUARTER‐INCH SCALE! Tamiya’s mini‐Marder in 1:48 ‐ The first build MCLAREN MAKEOVER Tamiya’s 1:20 ‘88 McLaren MP4/4 gets some subtle enhancements BIG IS BEAUTIFUL! We begin work on Dragon’s amazing new 1:32 Messerschmitt Bf110 KIT PREVIEW Tamiya 1:35 Jagdtiger Tamiya 1:24 Xanavi GT‐R Fine Molds 1:48 X‐Wing Fighter Tasca 1:35 Sherman II Direct Vision SINK THE BISMARCK! Revell’s stunning new 1:350 Bismarck battleship DIFF’RENT STROKES... We tests three airbrushes from the budget end of the market NEW PRODUCTS FROM SCALE MODELWORLD ’08 New kits and modelling products from the UK IPMS Nats BLITZKRIEG ON THE SEAS! Italeri’s amazing new 1:35 S‐100 typ schnellboot, previewed GO COMMANDO! Photographic references of the Cadillac Gage Commando armoured car,

21 TAMIYA 1/48 STUG B BUILD PART 1 BY RUSSEL EDEN

As I mentioned on my last write up I was going to do a stage‐by‐stage report on my next build. Well here’s part 1. I’ve been planning a diorama for a while now. I decided on a Stug B being reloaded from an sdkfz 252, with Tamiya figures and a base made by me. A tall order, It will hopefully be ready by the 2009 annual competition. For Xmas I asked Santa for the 1/48 scale Tamiya Stug B and sdkfz 250 half‐track. As I’d been a good boy all year, honest, I got what I asked for – superb. I started the Stug over Xmas. Actually I lie, I got the first set of stowage for the Stug in November and had finished painting by it the annual competition. I almost entered it into the unfinished section – ‘stowage awaiting for tank’, but I forgot to bring it – Doh! I also ordered the etch set, some more decals and a metal barrel before Xmas too! As this was the third panzer III based vehicle I was going to build you’d think it would have been plain sailing, well, this is me we’re talking about! On to the hull, Tamiya use metal hulls on most of their 1/48‐scale kits. I like this although it means you have to superglue everything to it. Not a problem. The wheels went on fine with none of my fingers being left attached to the hull. Next, the tracks which were OK too, although I ended up using a single link from one of my old kits instead of the double link supplied on the right hand side. Which is funny as I used the double on the left hand side – maybe it’s just me?! As with most Tamiya kits the build up is easy and clear, unlike the etch kit. Luckily I have now had enough experience with Panzer III etch kits and have a lot of reference material so it’s not usually a problem. The Stug was going to be even more battered than my DAK Panzer III. After going through my books I decided to chop off a big part of the front mudguard (after landmine damage the track and wheels were replaced and the mudguards were usually cut off as they weren’t too instrumental to the performance of the tank). The rear engine deck was shaved so I could fit my rear stowage and the other mudguards were removed as these were going to be replaced by etch ones. The build‐up went quite smoothly with the etch mudguards going on relatively easily, for a change. The left hand rear mudguard was left down in position; the right hand rear was removed with just the hinge fitted (part of the plate was also slightly battered and bend down); the right hand front being battered and laid flat on the mudguard and the left hand front not fitted as the mudguard was removed quite far back. This layout shows the numerous details of the etch kit, let us hope the details survive my painting and weathering. Nothing lost on my rug, yet… The gun mount was fitted next, along with the top superstructure which went smoothly. I ordered a metal gun barrel as I like them and there’s no mould line to remove, plus you can just about see some rifling at the end of this one. The Stug was looking more or less complete by this point , the build was going well and quite quickly. Next, the tools and other such delights, more fun with etch time. The front headlight covers were replaced with etch, one left shut and one open showing the headlight. I used the un‐used right hand mudguard light

22 here in this scale it looks ok. These covers have added wing nuts, which being about 1mm long are somewhat fiddly to mount, ping, and the rug eats another piece of etch, as it did! The shovel was next for etch, I broke off the front of the plastic one and slotted it into the etch cover and glued the mounting brackets on, this was really fiddly and I lost the end stop to my rug. I made another one from a spare bracket. Tip : If it starts to get frustrating , walk off, have a cuppa then go back to it, before you lob the model across the room – modelling should be fun, not a chore! My major problem with mounting the etch on the mudguards was the texture, you really need to flatten off the mudguards where you mount the etch and without the worlds smallest dremel this is nearly impossible. This results in an excess of superglue used to make the part secure, this can look messy unfortunately and if it goes on it the wrong place the part is a pain to remove. Still, once in place they look better than the kit ones. As ever I use only the etch parts I feel I can utilise with my abilities and that will look ok on the kit. I have loads left over from over kits, which is handy when the rug monster eats the occasional bit! My only major disaster was when I was making the etch struts for the raised toolbox, the bend went in the wrong place and when I tried to rectify this, the etch parts snapped and wasn’t salvageable. Bugger. By then it was too late to use the toolbox as originally intended as I’d chopped the legs off. Oops. What to do next? A moment of inspiration and I chopped off the other toolbox of leaving a nice hole in the mudguard – not pretty but perfect for mounting the jerry can rack from my stowage selection. Next, the hatches, I was leaving them open so I could have a couple of figures in the tank, one loading shells and the other? Well, I’m not sure yet but I’ll have him doing something. The etch kit included hatch detail which was handy. The Stug has no interior and I could not afford or find the Verlinden set so hopefully the figures will obscure the lack interior. The grills and rail were fitted to the rear of the Stug next, a bit fiddly as the diagrams weren’t very good but lots of reference photos helped and I think I got it in the right place! I had a resin early model fire extinguisher with etch in my spares box so I added that instead of the kit one. The taillight brackets were replaced with etch next and I think that’s about it. Apart from the front stowage which is on back order. Going to have to wait for that then. The Stug is now on hold until that arrived, and then it’s on to the painting.

23 CLUB DIARY

December 17 Christmas Evening.

January 21 Club Night

February 18 Club Night

March 19 Club Night

April 15 Test Trout Competition (Airfix)

May 20 Club Night

June 17 Club Night

July 15 St George’s Competition

August 19 Club Night

September 17 Club Night

October 21 Club Night

November 18 Annual Competition

Next Meeting: Wednesday January 21st (8pm to 10pm)

Ampfield Village Hall Morleys Lane Romsey Hampshire SO51 9BJ

Thank you to this month’s contributors to this publication Paul Adams Vic Short Russell Eden Phil Butler Richard Stewart Pat Camp Gary Jarman

CONTACT INFO

Web Site www.romseymodelllers.co.uk Editor Tony Adams Tel: 01794 519153 / 07736 555664; email: [email protected] Competitions Paul Adams Tel: 02380 398858 Treasurer Vic Short Tel: 01794 511843

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