Skypirate's Hideaway

[Stamford]

Well not a Cuban Avenger but well worth a cigar for the canopy - the ball turret demarcation is cool too. Lovely

[skypirate]

I have returned unscathed from Aoteroa, the Land of The Long White Cloud...



(still a bit grey, there)
And the Long Green Hedge!...



The Kiwis are very good at these giant hedges, all over South Island, at least.

First workbench task was to photograph the finished Airfix Grumman Avenger and post the pics:

https://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=25320

Hope you like it!

Cheers,

David

[Softscience]

Welcome back, David. Looks interesting. Some reason I assumed New Zealand would be less grey.

[Stuart]

Welcome back David, I hope you enjoyed your trip.

[ShaunW]

Hope you enjoyed your trip, David. I'm glad I don't have the job of trimming that hedge!

[skypirate]

Yes, that was a good trip, thank you.
So I am getting back into the groove now.

I finally put some paint on the 1/72 Yak-28 that has been primed and waiting for some time. I am fortifying myself for the metal finish to follow

And, as part of my continuing 1/72 Bf-109 project, I started a new Amodel 109G-6 with the Naxos radar on the spine.

And the Matchbox G.91Y also got going:
The kit offers wing tanks, bombs and rocket pods. The rocket pods (extreme right, below) are pretty ordinary and I have rejected them in favour of spares which are more finely shaped, and have the open rear ends.
The bombs are also very ordinary, but I have no better spares. I have refined the chunky fins a bit.
The wing tanks are quite unlike G.91Y tanks and more like Hunter tanks, so they will not do. Which is sad, since photos generally show just tanks being carried.
All the pylons have had their leading and trailing edges sharpened.
And the shape of the ventral fins has been easily corrected.



Prepared for priming:



Primed!



After polishing with microfibre cloths, I should be able to start with the undersurface aluminium finish.

Thanks for looking!

David

[Stuart]

That's a nice look fiat!

[PaulBradley]

Very nice!

[Softscience]

I love watching you turn old plastic into great kits. I know it's not always a wise life choice, but it is inspiring all the same.

[skypirate]

I love watching you turn old plastic into great kits. I know it's not always a wise life choice, but it is inspiring all the same.

Thank you, Ralph. I hope I continue to inspire and entertain!
And I also learn stuff, when doing the research to improve old kits. Did you know those 'ledges' on the fuselage immediately below the G.91Y fin house intakes for the afterburner? Cool!
And I checked that the flap line is visible on the upper wings! Woohoo!

Cheers,

David

[B4en]

That's a lot of ordnance for a little aircraft! Looks very neat after the primer.

[skypirate]

That's a lot of ordnance for a little aircraft! Looks very neat after the primer.

I was illustrating the options. Only the rocket pods and bombs will go on.
The rocket pads have been painted and stained.



And the Amodel 1/72 Yak-28 has received some attention after a long wait.
The nose radome has been painted and masked. More masking in preparation for the metal shades to follow.



The metallic finish promises a long slog ahead for this model

Thanks for looking,

David

[TeeELL]

That is a fine looking ‘Firebar’, back in the day we used to have to know all about it, the missiles, the radar and radar signature (Skipspin) - I dug that name from the deepest reaches of my brain, checked it on Google and found I was correct! 50 years and cannot remember what I had for breakfast.

[skypirate]

Good on ya, Tony!

[Stuart]

That really is a mad looking aircraft.