Homepage Text - April 2014

Wednesday,   Apr 30  2014

Saigon fell, end of Vietnam Conflict  April 30 1975 

Hỏa Long (C7A) is here today to mark the historic events of the Fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam war.  He has brought us his 1/48 MatchBox AD-5 that was made using parts from the  Monogram AD-6 kit.  Also included in his article is the the heroic story of the plane he modeled on the final day in this long and painful war.  This is a fitting memorial to the South Vietnamese pilots that fought and died.

Shawn "phantom" Weiler is here with his 1/48 Hasegawa F-104 G Starfighter #19 finished in the rare and attractive paint scheme worn by the a NASA Starfighter.  Shawn built this one for a Group Build here on ARC and it is one sharp looking jet.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 F6F Hellcat engine from QuickBoost.   This set is designed for the Hasegawa kit

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models


Here's a product article for the 1/32 Heinkel He 111P Tail undercarriage strut and bay from CMKThis set is designed for the Revell kit


Here's a product article for the 1/72 A-4B/P Skyhawk resin cockpit set from Pavla ModelsThis set is designed for the Airfix kit.


Tuesday,    Apr 29   2014 
Mark L. Rossmann is here with the second and final part of his series highlighting his recent road trip to the The Strategic Air and Space Museum – Pt 2.  Mark shows in his photos the huge variety of aircraft and items on display at this museum.  Wow....I'm impressed by the variety of aircraft on display.  Thanks again Mark for sharing.

Jose C. N. Motta Jr. has put plenty of skill into detailing and finishing his 1/48 Airfix EE Lightning F.6.  Jose added a resin cockpit and Eduard PE along with scratchbuilt details and finished his British jet with a first class bare metal finish.  Barematal finishes don't get much prettier than this,,,,,this one is a beauty. 

Here's a product article for the 1/48 JAS-39 Gripen Pitot Tubes from QuickBoost This set is designed for the Kitty Hawk kit


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Air Wing All Stars: Phantoms Part II decal sheet from Furball Aero DesignThis decal sheet gives you markings for 7 different jets.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX E Wing Cannon Bay Covers from UltracastThis set is designed for ICM Mk IX & Mk XVI kits.


Monday,    Apr 28  2014
Mark L. Rossmann starts today's update with photos from his recent roadtrip to the The Strategic Air and Space Museum.  This is Part 1 of his 2 part series and from what I've seen so far, this looks like a museum that is well worth the visit if you are in the area.  Thanks for sharing Mark.

Sean Langley has taken on quite the interesting project with his 1/48 Airfix Jaguar IM wearing Indian markings.  Sean had to do quite a few changes including a new nose, intakes, cockpit and aftermarket decals and a whole host of other scratchbuilt mods to get all the details as accurate as possible.  This one is a beauty from every angle.

Here's a product article for the 1/72 BAC Lightning F.6/ F.2A interior photo etch detail set from Eduard Model Accessories.  This set is designed for the Trumpeter kit.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models.      


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Kfir C2 / C7 Air Scoops from QuickBoost.  This set is designed for the Kinetic kit.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 T-28D weighted wheels from Royale ResinThis set is designed for any T-28D kit. 


Sunday,   Apr 27  2014

Sierra Leone Independence Day 

South Africa Freedom Day

Togo Independence Day

  Netherlands King's Day 


Saturday,   Apr 26  2014

Tanzania Union Day


Friday,  Apr 25  2014

Italy - End of WW2 1945

Australia and New Zealand - ANZAC Day

Burt Gustafson 1/48 has a busy time building his Italeri Kfir C1/C2.  This is not the best fitting kit on the market...but Burt is not a modeller to step back from a build, so he pressed on to get himself a first class looking Kfir in all the glory of an Israeli jet.  For an added touch in the cockpit Burt used photos etch seatbelts.

Harv has done a gorgeous job detailing and weathering his 1/72 Italeri/Testors C-119 Boxcar.  Harv finished it in RCAF markings complete with open cargo doors and a resin nose to compliment the Leading Edge decals.  This one is a beauty from every angle.

Here's a product article for the 1/32 A-4F interior photo etch detail set from Eduard Model AccessoriesThis set is designed for the Trumpeter kit.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Kfir C2/C7 Antennas from QuickBoost.   This set is designed for the Kinetic kit.


Here's a product article for the 1/144 Douglas DC-2 in "U.S. Airline" service model kit from Czech Master Resin - CMR Models.


Thursday, Apr 24  2014 
Dragan Cvetic has put quite a bit of work into his very realistic looking 1/72 Hasegawa Mirage F1 CG.  Dragan rescribed the panel lines, added a Pavla resin cockpit and made the pitot tube out of a sewing needle and then finished it all off with Hellenic markings and a full weathering job.  Very nice indeed.

Frederick Smith has created a detail rich and very intriguing scene with his 1/72 Fine Molds Y-Wing Diorama.  Frederick explains the process in his article and what he did to pull off the masterpiece.  I love every photo of this Star Wars diorama.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 F4F Wildcat pitot tubes from QuickBoost.

Here's a product article for the 1/72 Spitfire F Mk.22 resin cockpit set from Pavla ModelsThis set is designed for the Airfix kit.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 CF-18 Canada Combat Hornets decal sheet from Leading Edge Models.


Wednesday,   Apr 23  2014

England - St. George's Day

Turkey National Independence and Children Day

Carlos Vargas joins us from Venezuela with his absolutely stunning 1/48 Hasegawa Focke Wulf 190 A-7.  Carlos rescribed the panel lines and added critical extra detail and wrapped it all up in a flawless weathered camo scheme for Heinz Bar.

Juan Jaramillo joins us with his very impressive build of the 1/32 Trumpeter Su-27B.  Juan is a very skilled modeller as you will see in his photos and his big Flanker turned out looking very realistic in everyway.  I quite enjoyed seeing each photo of this big Su-27.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 P-47D-5/6 Cowl Flaps Conversion from QuickBoostThis set is designed for the Tamiya kit.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models


Here's a product article for the 1/72 SAAB JAS 39 Gripen Pitot Tubes & Angle Of Attack probe from Master.


Here's a product article for the 1/32 Heinkel He 111P Interior set from CMKThis set is designed for the Revell kit.


Tuesday,    Apr 22   2014 
Kees Kuyper begins today on a very creative note.  This is his Fairey Rotodyne AWACS with extended wings and and prop motors on the wings.  No doubt about it....this is one very creative design. 

Lucian Capraru has done a first class job on his bare metal 1/72 Academy MiG-21 F-13.  Lucian chose Romanian markings for his MiG and also includes some history about the Romanian MiGs in his article.  Very nicely done MiG Lucian.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 F4F Wildcat Exhaust from QuickBoostThis set is designed for the Hobby Boss kit.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 SH-60B/F Seahawks decal sheet from Mike Grant Decals.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX Replacement Standard Wing Tips from UltracastThis set is designed for the ICM kit.


Monday,    Apr 21  2014

Red Baron Manfred von Richtofen shot down  (1918)

United Kingdom - Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second 

Lorenzo Cassinadri has done exceptionally skilled detailing on the big 1/32 Revell Heinkel He 162A-2.  Lorenzo added scratchbuilt details to most areas of his Volksjäger and then gave it a beautifully subtle weathering job that looks perfect.  His tarmac base is made from real concrete...read his article for the details.  Simply perfect.

Olivier Barles has been busy getting the weathering just right on his 1/32 Hasegawa Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden Kai.  Japanese planes were famous for their peeling paint and weathered look and Olivier has captured this look very well.  Olivier did add some extra detailing to his model, but it is the weathering job that really shows well on this miniature beauty.

Here's a product article for the 1/72 AH-64A interior photo etch detail set from Eduard Model Accessories.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 Eurofighter Typhoon single seater resin cockpit set from Pavla Models.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 He115 photo etch detail set from Maestro Models.


Here's a product article for the 1/144 Avro Shackleton MR.2/AEW.2 model kit from Czech Master Resin - CMR Models.


Sunday,   Apr 20   2014               Easter Sunday
Frank Daniels gets things started with a bang with not one but two Hasegawa F-16 Egg Planes.  Franks built both his Egg Planes using Twobobs decals and one of them even has a "Have Glass" finish....which I thought was pretty cool looking.

Hal Elsberry is an ol' pro at Egg Planes and I'm pleased to see a selection of his models featured today.  This is his very smartly done Blue Impulse T-4 Egg Plane in-flight model with a custom made display base.  Hal never misses any details and this one is a beauty. 

Dave Bailey, aka The Rat is a very creative person and today he has taken the Egg Plane concept in a whole new direction. This is his Hasegawa Zero Egg Plane shortly after hatching a tiny new Japanese Zero.  Dave has a very amusing story to go along with his photos.  Keep doing what you do Dave.

Hal Elsberry is one very creative fellow and this very special looking F-15 Egg Plane is wearing an aggressor camo for a US jet.  There is no limit to Hals skill and creativity and I love seeing his latest model on ARC.

Hal Elsberry has done a first class job on his F-86 Blue Impulse Egg Plane.  Hal went the extra mile and found a pilot figure to fit into his F-86 so it could pose it in-flight with a custom made base.  This is a very attractive paint scheme for an F-86 and Hal's Egg Plane version looks outstanding.

Here's a product article for the F-16 Eggressive Eggs decal sheet from Twobobs Aviation Graphics.  This sheet features massive variety of Eggressor F-16's Egg Planes in a huge assortment of Eggressor paint schemes. 

Here's a product article for the F-16 Falcon Eggs decal sheet from Twobobs Aviation Graphics.  This sheet features massive variety of F-16's Egg Planes in a huge assortment of paint schemes.  I can see building a few of these....the tough part will be deciding which ones to build.

Saturday,   Apr 19  2014

  Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)  


Friday,  Apr 18  2014

Doolittle Raid - U.S. bomb Tokyo '42

P-38 mission to kill Yamamoto '43

Zimbabwe National Day

  Iran Armed Forces Day 


Thursday, Apr 17  2014 

Syria Independence Day

Shawn "phantom" Weiler has been very productive building his 1/32 Hasegawa / Belcher Bits CF-116A (CF-5A).  Shawn combined the Belcher Bits CF-116A conversion set with an F-5A to back date the big kit and make a Canadian fighter from the famous Cold Lake AFB.  This one is a beauty Shawn.

Chris Parsons took on a very involved project with his 1/32 Revell with AIMS Models Ju88 G-6.  Chris used the very extensive Aims Models conversion kit to convert the Revell Ju 88 A 4 to a G-6.  This is an amazing conversion kit and in the skilled hands of a modeller like Chris, it builds up into a spectacular model.  I particularly loved the camo Chris chose.  Spectacular. 

Here's a product article for the 1/48 U.S. Mk.8 Gunsights from QuickBoostThis set includes 6 identical gunsights.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models.


Here's a product article for the 1/32 Su-27 intake correction set from Zactomodels.  

Here's a product article for the 1/48 SAAB JAS 39 Gripen Pitot Tubes & Angle Of Attack probe from Master.


Here's a product article for the 1/32 Heinkel He 111P Undercarriage bays from CMKThis set is designed for the Revell kit. 


Wednesday,   Apr 16  2014 

Denmark Queen's Birthday 

I'm pleased to report the ongoing IP address issue on the ARC forums has been fixed.  Special thanks goes out to Neo for fixing this annoying problem.

CJ is here with an absolutely stunning 1/48 Hasegawa F-22 TIGER.  CJ did a custom Tiger stripe paint scheme that fully takes advantage of the awesome lines of the Raptor. The stripes were painted over a special mix of paint that has the sheen that the F-22 is famous for.  Check out the Tiger heads on the tails.  WOW!!!

Ryan Gay is here with a special treat today.  This is his 1/32 Revell Bristol Beaufighter Pt. 2 and in today's installment Ryan explains the scratchbuilding he did on the interior as well as how he rescribed the panels lines.  Ryan followed all this up with a variety of weahtering techniques including one interior weathering technique that involves painting different layers of different shades of paint, then using a damp Q-tip to rub off layers of paint for a worn looks.  I find this technique fascinating. 

Here's a product article for the 1/48 F-105G Thunderchief Antennas from QuickBoost.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 F-22 Corrected Nose/Radome from Sierra Hotel Models.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Adversary Ghosts Topgun decal sheet from Fightertown Decals.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 P-39 Airacobra Seats (with American Harness) from Ultracast.


Tuesday,    Apr 15  2014 

   In honor of the victims of the Boston Bombing - 2013 


Monday,    Apr 14  2014
Lucian Capraru joins us with his Iraqi 1/48 Italeri MiG-21 MF.  Lucian tell the history of 2 of the Iraqi Air Aces as well as the history behind the MiG- 21 and it's Iraqi service.  His model turned out looking excellent and his article is a very interesting read for the MiG-21 and the Iran-Iraq War.

Vince Pedulla did quite the impressive job detailing and modifying his Korean War 1/48 Tamiya AD-4NA Skyraider.  Vince details the process and the aftermarket goodies his used to create this beauty.  I'm very impressed with how the whole project came together.

Here's a product article for the 1/32 Spitfire Mk. Vb / trop interior photo etch detail set from Eduard Model AccessoriesThis set is designed for the Hobby Boss kit.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Sepecat Jaguar A Air Intakes from QuickBoostThis set is designed for the Kitty Hawk kit.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 Gloster Gamecock Mk.I model kit from Czech Master Resin - CMR Models.


Friday,  Apr 11  2014 
Angelo M Picardo gets things started in a big way with his very impressive looking 1/32 Revell F-4F Phantom.  Angelo used a resin nose and resin intakes plus parts from a Tamiya F-4 along with his own scratchbuilding to improve upon the Revell kit.  All this pulled together very nicely indeed and the addition of the Luftwaffe markings and subtle weathering makes this quite the masterpiece.  Wow...sit back and enjoy the photos.

Tolga Ülgür joins us from Turkey with the latest gem from his workbench.  This is his 1/48 Eduard Spitfire Mk.IXc Profipack wearing the markings for a Czech pilot in the UK in 1944.  Tolga is a well known and highly skilled modeller here on ARC and I always get excited when I see his latest model here on ARC. 

Here's a product article for the 1/72 B-17G interior photo etch detail set from Eduard Model AccessoriesThis set is designed for the Academy Minicraft kit.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models


Here's a product article for the 1/48 BAE Hawk T100/T2 cockpit set from NeomegaThis set is designed for the Airfix kit.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 Martin Baker Mk 4 ejection seats from PJ ProductionIt is designed to be used with Lightning, Alpha Jet, Hunter, Canberra, Vampire.


Thursday, Apr 10  2014 
Gustavo Antonelli has created quite the battle weary 1/72 Hobby Boss T6G Texan.  Gustavo added plenty of scratchbuilt cockpit detailing and then did some very skilful weathering on his French Texan.  I quite enjoyed seeing his chose of markings with the sharks mouth and the weathering looks fantastic.  This is one very cool looking Texan.

Raúl Corral is here with another beauty today.  This is his 1/48 Hobby Boss F/A-18A wearing Spanish markings and just a gentle amount of weathering for realism.  Raúl  has deployed the cockpit ladder and his cockpit detailing and painting is first class.  This one is a beauty!!!

Here's a product article for the 1/48 WW2 Finnish Pilot from Jaguar.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 P-39 / P-400 Seats (with British Sutton Harness) from Ultracast.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 Su-7BM resin cockpit set with vacuformed canopy from Pavla ModelsThis cockpit set is designed for the Modelsvit kit.


Wednesday,   Apr 9  2014 

Portugal "Dia do Combatente" (The Fighter's Day)

Day of remembrance (La Lys Battle 1918)

To honour this special day in Portugal.....here is a link to the story of a very heroic Portuguese soldier from the horrific battle in 1918 that is the reason for their remembrance day.....his name is Aníbal Milhais.  Some of the models above in the top header are wearing Portuguese markings in honor of today.

Shawn "phantom" Weiler is here to begin this update in style with his eye popping 1/32 Hasegawa F-5E.  Shawn added a resin seat and decals from Twobobs to complete his aggressor F-5.  This is one sharp looking jet.

Tanel Kask has done an exceptional job on his 1/72 Revell An-2 "Colt".  The AN-2 was reworked in most areas with resin and photos etch and scratchbuilt parts and then finished with painted markings for an Estonian aircraft.  I love the finished model and the in-progress photos are quite interesting to see.  Tanel put plenty of work into this Colt.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 U.S. N-3A/B Gunsights from QuickBoost.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models.     


Here's a product article for the 1/32 MiG-29 Exhausts from ZactomodelsThis set is designed for the Trumpeter kit.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 SAAB 37 Viggen (mid and late versions) Pitot Tubes & Angle Of Attack probe from Master.


Here's a product article for the 1/32 Heinkel He 111H1/H2/H3 Conversion set from CMKThis set is designed for the Revell kit.


Monday,    Apr 7  2014
Orlando Sucre Rosales joins us from sunny Venezuela with his stunning 1/72 Academy Hurricane IIc.  Orlando added a bit of scratchbuilding to make his night fighter more accurate and then gave it one of his flawless paint jobs complete with exhaust stains and subtle weathering.  This one is a beauty.  Happy belated birthday David.

Richard Spreckley has captured quite the scene with his 1/48 Airfix Hawk T1 2009 Display CAD West sortie.  Richard chose one the most attractive Hawk schemes and then detailed up the cockpit for his in-flight display over the UK countryside.  Read about his very simple technique for the detonation cord on the inside of the canopy.  Richard builds some great looking models and his British Hawk is no exception...excellent work Richard..

Here's a product article for the 1/32 P-51D Interior late ser.30-35 photo etch detail set from Eduard Model AccessoriesThis set is designed for the Tamiya kit.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models.   


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Ki-45 Kai Tei gun barrels from QuickBoostThis set is designed for the Hasegawa kit.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 A-10 Closed Decelerons from Sierra Hotel ModelsThis set is designed for the Revell/Monogram kit.


Friday,  Apr 4  2014 

Senegal Day

Sertaç Bayar has done a first class job on his stunning 1/48 Academy NF-5B Turkish Stars.  This was a complicated project requiring quite a bit of work to scratchbuild the cockpit and then mask and custom paint the complicated markings for this Turkish aerobatic demonstration team jet.

Steve Negley took the 1/32 Hasegawa P-51D Mustang and built it into a big beautiful replica of the famous Mustang "Dallas Doll".  Steve loaded his Mustang with resin and photo etch from 5 different companies to get very delicate detail and finished it all off with a flawless finish.  Steve got everything perfect on this one.

Here's a product article for the 1/72 UH-1B interior photo etch detail set from Eduard Model Accessories.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 US NAVY Triple ejector rack TER-7 (A/A37B-5) from Aerobonus.


Here's a product article for the 1/144 Avro Shackleton MR.1/MR.1A/T.4 model kit from Czech Master Resin - CMR Models.


Thursday, Apr 3  2014 
Dragan Cvetic is here with one of the best looking camo schemes worn by the MiG-29  This is his 1/72 Italeri MiG-29 UB with scratchbuilt cockpit detailing and rescribed panel lines, but it is the beautifully done camo scheme that makes this model such a eye popping beauty. 

Carmel J Attard has done as most amazing job on his 1/72 Airfix Boeing WB-50D conversion.  Carmel started with the Airfix B-29 kit and then added an Airmodel conversion set to create his WB-50D.  Carmel explains it all in his article and makes it sound so easy.  I love his in-flight photos of this stunning model.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 Mk-77 Mod. 4/5/6 fire bombs from Aerobonus.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 P-51 Mustang Pt 2 decal sheet from Lifelike Decals.  The 4 aircraft include two P-51B and two P-51D's and all 4 feature noseart including 1 with sexy noseart and includes 2 aircraft in D-Day stripes.

Here's a product article for the 1/72 SAAB J29A/B Tunnan detail set from Maestro ModelsThis set is designed for the Tarangus kit.


Wednesday,   Apr 2  2014 

Falklands/Malvinas War Anniversary

Kitt Janpayom joins us from Thailand with this most amazing 1/48 Hasegawa F-4E Phantom II Kurnass 2000.  This Israeli F-4 has a variety of aftermarket detail items including resin and photo etch from the cockpit to the weapons load.  Then is is all finished in one of those beautiful IDF camo schemes complete with weathering for added realism.  This Phantom is a work of art.

Gustavo Antonelli joins us today with the very classic 1/72 LS Nakajima Ki-43 I from the early '60s.  Gustavo scratchbuilt the cockpit and then went to great lengths to weather and chip the paint job to show his fighter as a true war weary bird.  The end result looks perfect and captures the look very well.  He put quite a bit of work into this old kit and he was rewarded with a very nice looking Hayabusa model. 

Here's a product article for the 1/48 U.S. K-14 Gunsights 6pcs from QuickBoost.

This detail set is available directly from Sprue Brothers Models


Here's a product article for the 1/32 MiG-29A Correction kit for Revell kit from Zactomodels

Here's a product article for the 1/48 SAAB 37 Viggen (mid and late versions) Pitot Tubes & Angle Of Attack probe from Master.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 Boeing B-47E resin cockpit set with vacuformed canopy from Pavla Models.


Tuesday,    Apr 1  2014 

Canada - RCAF Birthday

United Kingdom  - RAF Birthday 

S K Loh is here to mark the RAF Birthday with his very special 1/144 Mini Hobby Models Sepecat Jaguar GR1.  This tiny Jaguar was given custom made drop tanks and adorned in special anniversary markings.  There were many other things done to make this beauty and you can read about them in the article.  It is amazing to see the work that went into this tiny 1/144 kit.


Claudio Moura has a passion for central and South American aircraft and today he joins us with his very attractive 1/72 Tamyia F-51 Mustang wearing Bolivian markings.  Claudio  did a conversion on the tail and gave his P-51 custom printed Sharks mouth markings plus weathering.  This is one very attractive Mustang. 


Here's a product article for the 1/32 BAe Hawk T.1a Landing flaps from CMK.  This set is designed for the Revell kit


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Air Wing All-Stars Tomcats Part 1 decal sheet from Furball Aero Design.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 P-39 / P-400 12 Stack Exhausts from Ultracast.  This set is designed for the Eduard kit