Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf FW190D-9 1/72 Airfix

Another freehand airbrush practice target, this Langnasen-Dora was an inexpensive but good-looking Airfix 70's kit.






Decals from Hasegawa Me-262 kit, the camouflage at least plausible if not confirmed accurate.

Luftwaffe Fouga Magister C.M. 170R 1/72 Heller

Tiny French jet trainer in Luftwaffe colours from the 70's. Heller kit straight out-of-the-box with kit decals. Besides the small scale size and canopy fittings no other major problems.





Finnish Air Force used these planes too, but didn't want to apply Finnish aftermarket decals for this kit.







Canopy glue should be trimmed off some day, no other complaints really.

Aeronavale Liore et Olivier 451 1/72 Smer/Heller

This model was inspired by Aircraft In Profile -series, I wanted to find out if this kit was good enough for conversion purposes. French geographic society used old "warbirds" in the 50's and they had interesting planes like B-17 and re-engined LeO 451.




Old-skool style with no weathering or effects, all painting done with a paintbrush and Revell enamels.







Kit quality was like expected, good by 70's standards but a bit dated today. Civil conversion could be done with moderate effort.

Armee de l'air NH-90 1/72 Revell (fictional)

This Revell kit is the older edition of the badly delayed NH-90 Nato helicopter prototype.





Kit is okay to build, but some details are simplified or omitted when compared to the actual flying prototype.






This was supposed to be a camouflaged Finnish version, but a French "what-if" seemed more appropriate in the end. The United Nations supply helicopter could have been nice, but I wanted to spare the decals for future projects.



The crouching pilot is from Italeri's Nato Pilots and Crew figure set. Building and airbrushing practice target, with mediocre results I think. But definitely a keeper model!

USAF F-86H Sabre 'Hog' 1/72 Special Hobby

When I built this model the Sabre wasn't easy to find in 1/72 scale, all old kits were sold out and Hobby Boss etc. weren't available. The limited edition Special Hobby kit was surprisingly good with etched parts and acetate films.




Kit decals were usable too, quite thin and fragile but fortunately no major disasters this time.







No weathering or other modern rubbish, I like my models clean and shiny.






An earlier Sabre in 1/72 might be fun to build, but after that it would be enough Sabres for me?

Finnish Air Force MiG-21F-13 1/72 Revell

Best MiG-21F-13 kit is made by Revell, only issues are main gear wheels and intake cone details. This was built out of the box, with the exception of cockpit aft yellow plumbing made from thin electric wires.




Decals were modified, #92 is possible to do with cut-and-paste within the original sheet.






The original plane belonged to the Reconnaissance Wing and it was repainted complely with aluminum dope. It is on display at Keski-Suomen Ilmailumuseo (Central Finland Aviation Museum) and this model represents how it looks like today.

From Künnapuu, Ants: 100 Ōhusōidukit. Illusteerinud V.Tōnisson (Valgus, Tallinn, 1975)

Royal Air Force Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IXc 1/48 Revell/Hasegawa

1/48 scale isn't my favourite, but Spitfires are so cool they must be built in every scale available. Very nice Hasegawa kit, possibly some issues with the fuselage section lengths but fine by me.




No weathering as such, just some shading and contrasts with ailerons etc.















No extras or aftermarket parts, all straight out of the box.








1/32 Tamiya Spitfire might be the next stop, 1/72 and 1/24 Airfix are on the workbench already.

Finnish Air Force MiG-21bis 1/72 Zvezda

From Künnapuu, Ants: 100 Ōhusōidukit. Illusteerinud V.Tōnisson (Valgus, Tallinn, 1975)

I don't know why I like Zvezda's kits so much, besides that they are usually cheap. No matter how lousy the fittings are, they are fun to build and sometimes they are accurate representations like this MiG-21bis.
For this model I did some research visiting Tikkakoski and Vantaa Aviation Museums where real 21bis planes are on display. All markings are from the kit decal sheet. Some details are a bit crude, but considering the 1/72 scale it's okay. I think I'll pop the canopy open one day, it just doesn't fit but perhaps the ground crew has left it partly open...

Royal Air Force P-51B 'Mustang' 1/72 Revell

Basic but good Revell 1/72 scale kit for my RAF collection, no actual weathering but trying to use slightly uneven painting coats in the camouflage on purpose. Didn't turn out as well as I thought, but can't know without trying!






Yet it doesn't look totally awful, must be the British markings on a Mustang and good Revell kit underneath?






Sometimes it just doesn't work despite all the effort, this is no masterpiece but I keep it anyway

Royal Navy Fairey Swordfish Mk I 1/72 Revell/Matchbox

An old Matchbox 1/72 kit reissued by Revell, representing the famous Bismarck raid aircraft K8375. References used: Aircraft In Profile, http://wp.scn.ru

All painting by paintbrush, Revell and Humbrol enamels. Rigged by .009" guitar string. Kit decals augmented by E.S.C.I roundels. Looks like 'Stringbag' well enough, nice kit to build despite the age.

U.S. Navy Ling Temco Vought F-8E Crusader 1/72 Hasegawa

Somewhat older kit from Hasegawa, but nice results nevertheless. Airbrushed Revell enamels, Cartograph decals included with the kit. Final coat Johnson Floor Wax, weathered with enamels diluted in turpentine.

Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf-109G10 1/72 Revell

RLM 82 Braunviolett, RLM 83 Dunkelgrün, RLM 76 Lichtblau. Revell decals, swastika from Academy Me-262 A-1a kit. Freehand mottling with Iwata HP-C double action airbrush, Revell enamels. Final matt varnish Revell No. 2.



Cheap but nice and reasonably accurate kit for practicing the airbrush mottling technique. It isn't too easy in the 1/72nd scale!

From Künnapuu, Ants: 100 Ōhusōidukit. Illusteerinud V.Tōnisson (Valgus, Tallinn, 1975)