War of the Worlds

Here are some images of Pegasus models 1/48 scale Martian War Machine. The most difficult thing about this model was the stand. Still I feel any Sci Fi model builder worth his salt should have one in his collection. Plus at around $20 Cdn it's a great deal.

SPAD

Here are some images plus a composite of Revells 1/28 scale SPAD S.XIII. This is one of the aircraft flown by Capt Eddie Rickenbacker of the famous 94th Top Hat Squadron. In case anyone is curious SPAD stands for Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés .

Night Hurricane

Here are some images of Revell's 1/32 scale Hawker Hurricane Mk IIC night fighter. These aircraft were used during the London Blitz in 1941. As far as old Revell raised panel line kits go The Hawker Hurricane is one of the better ones. With the addition of an Eduard photo etch detailing set the Revell Hurricane makes a nice display piece. The one thing that bothers me about Revell on their kits is when they call out the colour Anthracite. It's Flat Black not Anthracite! The undercarriage for this Hurricane for example.

Messerschmitt BF 109 E3

Here are some images of Matchbox's 1/32 scale Messerschmitt Bf 109 E3 "Emil". This was one of the many aircraft flown by Adolf Galland. These early Messerschmitts were the aircraft that participated in the battle of Britain. Matchbox were one of the few model kit manufacturers whose kits featured recessed panel lines from the 1970s. Unfortunately these panel lines were like trench's, not so with this 109. The one mistake that I can see with this kit is it seems to have a canopy from an E4, mind you I could be wrong many E3s were converted to E4s during the battle of Britain. This could represent an aircraft in mid conversion.

Johnnie Johnson

Here are some images of Tamiya's 1/32 scale Supermarine Spitfire MK IX C. This is the aircraft that was flown by wing commander J.E."Johnnie" Johnson for Kenley Wing "The Canadians" at RAF Kenley 1943. Johnnie Johnson became the western Allies top fighter ace of World War Two in the European theater with 34 victories to his credit as well as seven shared victories, three shared probables, ten shared damaged as well as one destroyed on the ground. In 1943 Johnnie Johnson took over Kenley Wing and despite initial objections from those obnoxious and stubborn Canadians were quickly won over by his sheer force of personality. Johnnie Johnson continued to serve with the RAF after the war eventually retiring in 1966 with the rank of Air Vice Marshal. He passed away on January 30th 2001. This kit has got to be the best 1/32 scale Spitfire ever produced, every bit as comparable to Tamiya's 1/32 scale Zero. The detail is amazing right down to the back of the shoulder straps attachment. My only real complaint is the decals lacked elasticity, easily fixed with plenty of Microsol though one should keep an eye out for cracking. Plus at around $150 Cdn can be quite the tidy sum. Oh and one other complaint. Why doesn't the figure look like Johnnie Johnson?

Opel Blitz

Here are some better images of Italeri's 1'35 scale 3 ton Opel Blitz. This was one of the most common vehicles in Germany during World War Two hauling everything from cargo to troops to even being the main support vehicle for the Messerschmitt ME 323 cargo plane.

Last of the Spits

Here are a couple of images of Dave Porters Airfix 1/48 scale MK 24 Spitfire. First appearing in March 1946 the MK 24 was the last of the Spitfires though Seafire variants carried on into the early 1950s ending with the FR 47. Dave finished this model using Aeromaster paints.

Moskito

Here are some images of Revell's 1/48 scale Focke Wulf Ta 154 "Moskito". Hailed by the propaganda ministry as Germany's Mosquito. The wooden Ta 154 had excellent performance and came very near to being a major combat type but it wasn't to be. The Tego film used to bond the wood together in earlier aircraft was satisfactory for use however after the RAF bombed the Tego film plant builders were forced to use a cold glue adhesive which proved to contain to much acid which of coarse ate away the wood, a problem that was never fully solved. So as a result the Ta 154 was never put into service.

Mosquito

Here are some better images of Monogram's 1/48 scale Mosquito FB VI. The De Havilland aircraft company planned the Mosquito in October 1938 as a high speed unarmed day bomber, with the added attraction of wooden construction to ease the strain on Britain's hard pressed materials suppliers.

Space Station 5

Here are some images of my scratch built model of Space Station Five from 2001 A Space Odyssey. You can read my article on 2001 here. The materials I used for this model were a 4'x8' sheet of 1mm styrene from Cadillac Plastics here in Edmonton, 1/2 inch PVC electrical pipe (this is what determined its size), the windows are from a coil book binder punch and various types of sheet and strip styrene from Evergreen Scale Models for structure and detail. The model itself has a two foot diameter and as I mentioned before my calculations were taken directly off the TV screen. One does what is necessary to get the job done I suppose.

Dago Red

Here is an image of Dave Porters unlimited racer “Dago Red”. It’s based on the Revell 1/48 P-51D. In order to get the correct racer canopy, Dave carved a mold out of bass wood and vac-formed the spine over it. He did the same procedure for the clear parts. The wings were chopped as well. The decal outlines were created on the computer and printed on to decal film. Dave then coloured the decals with thinned enamel paint to give the markings a “chrome” look. He painted the aircraft with Gunze and gave it four coats of clear and then wet sanded and polished the finish. The propeller was from a 1/48 Skyraider kit.

VF 19 Valkyrie

Here are some images Dave Porters 1/72 Hasegawa VF-19 Valkyrie from the anime series Macross. This kit is of very high quality and it has an extensive decal sheet. It is finished it in Tamiya colours.