Grumman Duck, 164, Marina de Guerra del Peru, 1961. 1/72nd scale by Airfix.
Something different again. Graham T brought two of these down the club and I was nearly killed in the rush to bag them. Okay, maybe not, they were destined for landfill and I thought that was a shame. Give a kit a new home I thought. Knowing next to nothing about the aircraft and its history, I used a well known search engine to find some examples and some operators. Peru became a natural choice to add to my list of air forces and navies I've yet to build examples for. This particular aircraft was an exhibit on a lake for many years and that's how I've finished it.
This is the Airfix kit from around 1972. It went together okay and was fine for its intended use. Painted with AK Interactive acrylics and mounted on some foam, suitably painted. A bit of fun for the weekend.

Harrier GR.5, ZD350 / 05, 1(F) Squadron, Royal Air Force, 1990. 1/48th scale by Hasegawa.
1(F) Squadron was assigned to cover NATO's northern flank and deployed to Bardufoss in Norway for a few weeks in later winter as part of this commitment. In 1990 they experimented with a trial Arctic camouflage scheme for their Harriers and came up with this one. It didn't pass muster and faded into history. Fortunately someone on the base grabbed a few photos and they provided the basis for this build.
It's the standard Hasegawa kit with the addition of a l'Arsenal Phimat pod. Brush painted with acrylics using Hataka and AMMO Mig paints. Decals from the Eduard re-boxing and some home-made serial numbers. Finished with AKI Interactive matt varnish.

Lightning F.6, XR770 / D "Spirit of Albert Ball", 56 Squadron, May 1976. 1/48th Scale by Airfix.
56 Squadron, "the Firebirds", began their association with the English Electric Lightning in December 1960 when they converted to the F.1A from the Hunter. In 1963 they formed the Firebirds formation team, flying 9 Lightnings in formation. They converted to the Phantom in 1976. It was in 1976 that Lightning F.6 XR770 / D was marked up with "Spirit of Albert Ball" in place of the pilot's name. Albert Ball, VC, DSO & Two Bars, MC was a famous fighter pilot serving with the squadron when he was killed in France on 7 May 1917. At the time of his death he was the United Kingdom's leading flying ace, with 44 victories, and remained its fourth-highest scorer behind Edward Mannock, James McCudden, and George McElroy.
This model is the 1997 release of the Airfix kit. Not bad for its age you have to say, though the parts numbering is a little awry and age may have warped a few items. It's probably just good enough to stop Airfix feeling they have to re-do the kit with modern tooling - a shame as it would be one I would buy in their current range. The instructions need to be modernised and as with a lot of decal diagrams, the plans need to match the kit panel lines and sizing. Aside from a tweak to the decals, it's an OOB job. Brush painted with AKI Interactive acrylics and posed in flight, because that's where a Lightning should be seen!

Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II, AF80244, 122nd FW, Indiana Air National Guard, 2021. HobbyBoss, 1/48th scale.
Brrrrrt. Onomatopoeia in action and usually used in the introduction to any discussion about the A-10, or Hawg, or Warthog, as it is often referred to. It is of course the aircraft built around "the" weapon, the GAU-8 Avenger 30mm gun, and the Brrrrt refers to the sound of it in action. But never mind all that, the focus on this build is the 100 years of aviation in Indiana scheme that is provided in the kit by HobbyBoss. "The Blacksnakes" were recent operators of the A-10, having reverted back to the F-16 which they had before the A-10. In case you are wondering, the 122nd FW adopted the “Blacksnake” name in the 1990s from Revolutionary War figure General Anthony Wayne, the namesake of the city of Fort Wayne. Also known as General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, Native Americans gave Wayne the title "Blacksnake" because he was known for a methodical fighting style where he instructed his Soldiers to lie in wait for the right moment to strike, similar to the hunting style of a North American Blacksnake.
The kit is meant to be the C version, but it does lack one or two details for it, but I decided to build it OOB as they say. The engine nacelles are a bit of a pain in an otherwise simple build. Remember to put plenty of weight in the nose or this will happily sit on its tail. Brush painted with AKI Black and Vallejo London Grey acrylics and finished with Ammo MIG matt varnish. Some of the weapons and pods are in the box and I supplemented them with those from the spares.

Godiager figure. Aoshima, no scale.
A club member said it was time I had a go at a figure and a Harrier SIG member said I should do Sci-Fi. Not sure if this fits both, but the kit was in a bargain bucket at Scale Model World and priced to go - £2. How could I refuse? Easily, but I decided to take the plunge. I knew nothing about the subject then and not much has changed. For a laugh, I ignored the kit's suggested painting scheme and covered it with diamond art drills after application of a rattle can spray of Humbrol Silver. I'm pretty sure it's a unique item as a result. And best destined for a black bag.

Douglas PB-5Y Catalina, PB-502, Indonesian Air Force, early 1950s. Academy, 1/144th scale.
Information on the history of Catalinas in the Indonesian Air Force is quite difficult to find, but it didn't stop me having a go at producing this model. Having recently acquired the kit, I thought I'd try and build it for display with the Asian Air Arms SIG. Although there were a number of photographs available, I wasn't able to discern much and decided to just build the kit from the box, simply removing the guns. It's a very basic kit and not the best of fits in some places. I had to create all the decals. I painted it with Lifecolor acrylics in a complete guess as to the colour and overall scheme. Fantasy modelling at its best.

Rafale DM, DM-11. Egyptian Air Force, 2015. Revell, 1/48th scale.
In February 2023 the Egyptian Air Force celebrated 10,000 flight hours for its 23 Rafale fighter jets currently in service (1 was lost in an accident). In 2015, Egypt had become the first export customer for the Rafale, and in 2021, the second country to confirm a second order. With a total of 54 aircraft, the Rafale will be Egypt's second fighter aircraft, behind the F-16. It was a reminder that it was about time I built an export Rafale.
This is the Revell kit in a from-the-box build, with the exception of the refuelling probe which a friend has 3D printed. I used a different approach for the wings this time and got a better fit. I was less successful with the intakes but again better than in the past. I decided to try AK Interactive's FS36270 as the base colour - I usually use Hataka's version. It's slightly lighter and is not the colour suggested by Syhart, but it's a reasonable match against some photographs, particularly at altitude. I used Caracal decals for the Egyptian Air Force markings and decided to apply the "Tahya Masr" (long live Egypt) emblem which was seen on a few of the Rafale DMs for a brief period. Personally I think it's oversized. AK Interactive matt varnish was applied to finish.
Time now to continue the trend and build some more export Rafales.

Apache AH-64D, Q-19, Apache Solo Display Team, Royal Netherlands Air Force, 2010. Hasegawa, 1/48th scale.
The Apache Solo Display Team was part of the 301st squadron "Redskins" based at Gilze-Rijen Air Base in the Dutch province of North Brabant. Formed originally in 2002, the team had several breaks before the team re-started in 2010 with the scheme depicted on the model. The team did 5 displays in Belgium and the Netherlands as well as the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford. The following year they changed the scheme again.
I finally get to build an Apache in my preferred scale, having already attempted 1/144 and 1/100th scales. This is a straight-from-the-box build which also includes the decals. A quite straight-forward build with some care required in building the rotors - those little parts enjoy toying with the carpet monster. It's also a challenge to guess what the instructions are trying to tell you in some places. There are a lot of small parts to add once the decals are on - handles, aerials, etc - and not for the faint-hearted. At least it's a simple paint scheme. On reflection, I would paint the orange on the side pods as there's a lot of effort required to get the decals to conform to the rivets, panels and bumps. I used AK Interactive acrylic paints and their matt varnish for the finish. I'm happy with the result in the end.

Super Etendard Modernise, #23, "100 years French Fleet Air Arm" 1910-2010. Kinetic, 1/48th scale.
In 2010, French naval aviation celebrated its 100th anniversary during an airshow at Hyères Naval Air Station. For the event, a number of aircraft received special schemes, including the Super-Etendard n°23 based at Landivisiau. Fully painted in aluminum it was marked up with the insignia of the French Fleet Air aArm. It includes the silhouette of the aircraft carrier Béarn (1928) on the starboard side, and the silhouette of the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (2001) on the port side. I'd seen this scheme at a model show and it gave me the excuse to buy another Kinetic kit and some Syhart decals. The kit was okay to put together but the instructions were really pretty poor - not one of Kinetic's finest efforts. I muddled through with the help of references on the internet, trial and error and some initial guesswork. The model is painted with Vallejo's acrylic Silver which I thought was a reasonable match against the reference photos I was able to find. I was surprised how few there were, but this may have been because it was only done for the celebration and then the aircraft was withdrawn from service? The decals were also a challenge. I'm not sure they were sized for the Kinetic kit as the leading edge of the tail is not covered and the sizing of some other items made for some adjustments and the need to have several decals wet at the same time to get a sensible alignment. All part of the fun of modelling. I had to do some post-decal painting to fill in. It would also have been nice to have some paint masks for the forward fuselage areas.

Phantom FG1, XT597, A&AEE Boscombe Down, 1983. Hasegawa, 1/48th scale.
This Phantom FG1, assigned to the A&AEE at Boscombe Down, was given special markings for its display at the International Air Tattoo in Greenham Common in 1983 to celebrate 25 years of flight of the F-4 Phantom (first flight May 28, 1958).
The Hasegawa kit comes with the scheme decals included in the kit, together with photo etch (primarily for the cockpit) and metal replacement parts for the undercarriage and refuelling probe. They have also provided vinyl tyres. There are some fit issues with the fuselage and intakes and overall I'd say the kit is showing its age. The instructions are somewhat vague in some places. Not one of my finest builds and paint jobs, but the scheme meant it had to be done and I did get the kit from a friend. Brush painted with Hataka acrylics and given a gloss finish using AK Interactive gloss varnish.

Mil Mi-24D, TZ-406, Malian Air Force, 2012. Eduard, 1/48th scale.
I've always fancied having a go at this helicopter and when Eduard did a re-boxing with some interesting schemes I decided to buy it. However, when I got around to building it, I decided to go for something different. The kit is a re-boxing of the Zvezda kit and comes with photo etch for the cockpit and the airframe and a nice glossy instruction sheet and book. The book is nice, though I can't read a word of it. The instructions - awful, simply awful. The build sequence is illogical in some places, the placement of parts vague and I pretty much gave up. It was one of the reasons for switching schemes, as well as the desire to build a Mi-24 flown by an African country. On the whole it fits together reasonably well when you can work it out, but it does lack a lot of surface detail which is offset a little by the photo-etch, though I ignored a lot of it and some simply didn't fit. I chose a Hind with the Malian Air Force and used a mixture of AMMO Mig Atom, Hataka and AK Interactive acrylics for the scheme. Of course I had no details of the actual colours and all the reference photos seem to show a variety of patterns and colours. In the end I chose Earth, Middle Stone and a blue I mixed myself. Barley grey was used for the interiors. For a change, I decided to go with an open doors approach. A friend created the decals which I then printed on an inkjet. Tamiya weathering and some panel line wash completed the finish. Coated with AK Interactive matt varnish.

F-15E Strike Eagle, 97-0219, 492nd FS, USAF, 2019. Revell, 1/48th scale.
Probably one of the most famous of the modern fighters, the F-15 Eagle has been in service with the USAF since 1979. The F-15E Strike Eagle and F-15EX may be the last versions of the "world's largest MiG distributor" to fly with the USAF.
This is the venerable Revell version of the F-15E and deemed to be one of the most accurate representations of the early F-15E. The aircraft has since been updated and the F-15 enthusiast will have to add these changes to make an up-to-date model. I did a few but not all. The kit goes together fairly well, with just a few areas around the fuselage and intake joins causing extra work. I replaced the LANTIRN targeting pod with a Sniped Pod from Eduard and from the spares box added LAU-28 rails, AIM-120, AIM-9X and ACMI data link pod. Two new aerials and a GPS antenna were also added.
I used AK Interactive's FS36118 for the main scheme and their black and white paints for the stripes. The D-Day 75th commemorative scheme markings were from the Furball Aero-Design "Heritage Eagles" decal sheet 48-071. There were no issues with their application. Matt varnish was used for the finish.

Harrier AV-8A, 159249 / NM610, VMA-231 Det, 1976-77. Kinetic 1/48th scale.
The US Marines and US Navy agreed to test the interoperability of the Harrier AV-8As with a traditional Carrier Air WIng's operations on a US Navy carrier. The USS Franklin D Roosevelt was chosen and VMA-231 deployed a detachment of 14 Harriers to it from October 1976 to April 1977. The Harriers worked successfully alongside F-4 Phantoms, A-7 Corsair IIs and E-1 Tracers.
This is the Kinetic kit with the now familiar trials and tribulations I have dealt with before. I used AK Interactive's third generation acrylics for the scheme and the decals are from the kit. Ideally I would have liked to have fitted the AA37B3 practice bomb dispensers but they were not available (cheaply) at the time of the build. Matt varnish and some weathering to finish.

T-346A Master, 61-11, 61 Stormo, Italian Air Force, 2023. Kinetic 1/48th scale.
The Italian Air Force purchased 18 T-346A Masters from Leonardo for its 61 Stormo training wing based at Lecce / Galatina. Additional orders are operated by the International FLight Training School at Deccimomannu.
This is my third build of the Kinetic M-346 Master and I've gone for the Italian Air Force option in the single grey scheme (Lifecolor Sky Grey FS36280). I decided to build it as an in-flight option, adding a pilot from the Academy T-50B and two smokewinders from Syhart. Decals are from the kit. The finish is matt varnish and some bits of weathering wash and powders.