What's on the workbench!

[McColm]

This idea has been talked about but to my knowledge not built.
So here goes a bit of background info. What if Lockheed decided to double the length of the Neptunes' weapons bay.
Not a straight forward plug but it does work if the cockpit and rear tail is removed from the Shackleton. I've decided to keep the Neptune wing and which will be fitted to the new fuselage plug.
I'll see if I can recreate the 'Vietnam Neptune ' look.

[McColm]

This idea has been talked about but to my knowledge not built.
So here goes a bit of background info. What if Lockheed decided to double the length of the Neptunes' weapons bay.
Not a straight forward plug but it does work if the cockpit and rear tail is removed from the Shackleton. I've decided to keep the Neptune wing and which will be fitted to the new fuselage plug.
I'll see if I can recreate the 'Vietnam Neptune ' look.

Part 2
Been working on the cockpit,  using parts from the Neptune kit as per instructions  and glued together  onto the Shackleton mid section of what was the Endeavour. Likewise the tail section has been glued and set in place.
The roof line is straight but I had to remove the single vertical tail fin to achieve this.
The Neptune wings and undercarriage legs are glued. The Bassler turboprop BT-67 engine cowlings glued upside down to fit.
Will be fitting the twin fins from the Shackleton kit and a back fuselage door with a ladder to prevent a tail sitter or I might move the wings back a bit.

[McColm]

I've managed to get hold of a "spares and repairs "
1/72 Consolidated Privateer painted in French Navy colours with decals to match. Which is ideally suited to be restored or used as a donor model for the Night Hawk Mk2.
Using resin parts taken from HBM Conversions 'Lancaster MkVI with Rolls-Royce Merlin un-shrouded
exhausts'.
The cockpit interior needs painting and a new colour scheme in Royal Air Force post war.

[McColm]

I've managed to get hold of a "spares and repairs "
1/72 Consolidated Privateer painted in French Navy colours with decals to match. Which is ideally suited to be restored or used as a donor model for the Night Hawk Mk2.
Using resin parts taken from HBM Conversions 'Lancaster MkVI with Rolls-Royce Merlin un-shrouded
exhausts'.
The cockpit interior needs painting and a new colour scheme in Royal Air Force post war.

part2
I'm using the Frog Shackleton MkIII nose from the Endeavour I was building. A section was removed to reduce the width so it fits on the Privateer.
Just a question of supergluing the resin parts for the engines and cutting away the cowlings.
The waistline gun blisters have been filled in. I'll  cut back the blue paint to get a key for the new paint scheme.
The Grumman E-1B radome is a better fit than the Hawkeye.

[McColm]

I've managed to get hold of a "spares and repairs "
1/72 Consolidated Privateer painted in French Navy colours with decals to match. Which is ideally suited to be restored or used as a donor model for the Night Hawk Mk2.
Using resin parts taken from HBM Conversions 'Lancaster MkVI with Rolls-Royce Merlin un-shrouded
exhausts'.
The cockpit interior needs painting and a new colour scheme in Royal Air Force post war.

part2
I'm using the Frog Shackleton MkIII nose from the Endeavour I was building. A section was removed to reduce the width so it fits on the Privateer.
Just a question of supergluing the resin parts for the engines and cutting away the cowlings.
The waistline gun blisters have been filled in. I'll  cut back the blue paint to get a key for the new paint scheme.
The Grumman E-1B radome is a better fit than the Hawkeye.

part3
Gone for the same engines that powered the Avro Lincoln,  Rolls Royce  Merlin Mk85 and glued all four to the wings. A little filler will be needed on the upper wings.
The Avro Lancastrian rear cone has been glued in place of the rear guns and where the forward upper turret used to be is now a resin radome which houses the AN/APS-20 radar.Just need to blank off the rear upper turret  and add the cockpit glazing.

[McColm]

1/72 scale
Sky Guardian AEW & C and in-flight refuelling tanker. Needs primer , aerials,  wheels and landing lights. Might fit a metal refuelling probe as the Airfix supplied on keeps snapping off!

Gyro-plane/Heliplane 'Hercucopter' ( Herculean )
General tidy up, basic shape needs refining with some lumps & bumps.

Atlantic Star
Basic sanding and filling in imperfections ready for primer.

Sea Victor AEW3
Sanding,  filler and sanding.

Shackateer
Sanding ready for primer. Landing gear needs to be added. AEW radome and platform.

Night Hawk AEW.Mk2
Landing gear,  cockpit and filling the gaps.

Protesus
Replacing propellers that have snapped off. Cockpit,  wheel bay doors to be added.

Shorts 'Star Fish' AEW.Mk1
Based on the Be-6 Madge brought up to Be-12 Mail conversion with AEW rotodome and stand
Filler and a change of decals.

1/24
Triumph TR8 hatchback.
The bodywork needs a little filler and the interior trim painting. Was going for tartan seats either red or green as the TR7 had them. A bit more research into this is needed.

[McColm]

Hi,
Been asked to build a Jaguar XK-E straight from the box for a housemates' dads birthday present.
It's weird not been able to Whiff it into something special like a one off prototype.
Following the instructions and checking the spec with photos of the real thing..
Got up as far as the engine.
The request is a roadster red with a black hood.
Time to break out the red paint!

[McColm]

I've often wondered what if the British had built the Sikorsky CH-53C under licence following the Sea King and Wessex instead of buying the Boeing Chinook.
Over the years I have tried to stretch the fuselage. This has meant cutting away the rotor stack and adding a new roof and extending the gear housing to the rear rotor head.
I found some leftovers from the 1/72 Revell Agusta-Westland /Lockheed Martin Merlin HAM.1 kit along with the Airfix Sikorsky HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant.
As you can't see a great deal of interior detail through the Airfix kit windows the rear ramp will be in the closed position. My thoughts turning to using the Merlin rotors, landing gear and under-fuselage radome.

[Captain Canada]

Pictures   

[McColm]

When there was me and one other Whiffing wasn't a problem. Even three in a room worked as there is two bunkbeds equalling four beds.
With the room fully occupied space is now an issue as most of my builds have been broken/damaged  hence the current kitbashing.
I wouldn't mind if the broken parts were kept and not thrown away.
The Heliplane has undergone surgery and is now  a very large helicopter based on a C-130 fuselage with the tail section from a Constellation,  the main gear/ rotor stack is off a Mil Mi-26 Halo and the nose is off the Cammett Nimrod AEW3 resin conversion set.
I'm slowly working on a aircraft conversion of the Halo.
The Airfix Sikorsky HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant now has a radome from the Merlin fitted to the underside of the fuselage. The sponson are from the MV-22 Osprey as the undercarriage legs got broken
  The Lockheed Atlantic Star is looking like a smaller version of the B-36 Peacekeeper. Two Merlin resin engines have been superglued to the inner engine bays.
The Avro-Lockheed Nepton or Shackletune if you prefer. Neptune cockpit, wings and rear with the Shackleton MK2 weapons bay /fuselage and 4 RR Merlin mk85 engines with the twin tail fins from the Shackleton MK3.
EMS pods are from the Nimrod MK2,  AEW Rotodome is from the Hawkeye. I've got a suitable stand so the landing gear is up with the doors closed.loads of filler to smooth down.
Got a few days off next week for some spraying of the larger builds.

[McColm]

When there was me and one other Whiffing wasn't a problem. Even three in a room worked as there is two bunkbeds equalling four beds.
With the room fully occupied space is now an issue as most of my builds have been broken/damaged  hence the current kitbashing.
I wouldn't mind if the broken parts were kept and not thrown away.
The Heliplane has undergone surgery and is now  a very large helicopter based on a C-130 fuselage with the tail section from a Constellation,  the main gear/ rotor stack is off a Mil Mi-26 Halo and the nose is off the Cammett Nimrod AEW3 resin conversion set.
I'm slowly working on a aircraft conversion of the Halo.
The Airfix Sikorsky HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant now has a radome from the Merlin fitted to the underside of the fuselage. The sponson are from the MV-22 Osprey as the undercarriage legs got broken
  The Lockheed Atlantic Star is looking like a smaller version of the B-36 Peacekeeper. Two Merlin resin engines have been superglued to the inner engine bays.
The Avro-Lockheed Nepton or Shackletune if you prefer. Neptune cockpit, wings and rear with the Shackleton MK2 weapons bay /fuselage and 4 RR Merlin mk85 engines with the twin tail fins from the Shackleton MK3.
EMS pods are from the Nimrod MK2,  AEW Rotodome is from the Hawkeye. I've got a suitable stand so the landing gear is up with the doors closed.loads of filler to smooth down.
Got a few days off next week for some spraying of the larger builds.

I've thought of a better name for the kitbashed Neptune & Shackleton.  The Blue Bird.
It was down to the blue plastic used on the Hasegawa kit.
Filler has been ordered.

[McColm]

The Canadians put Rolls Royce Merlin engines on a DC-4 and named it the 'Northern Star' ,so I was thinking to do the same with a DC-6B.

The Rotodyne AEW using the Revell kit and the Sea King AEW "dustbin " as I have the Freightdog deflated conversion set.

Revell sell a 1/72 Su-34/32 FN Flanker but spell Sukhoi 'Suchoi' instead. I'm working on a four seater version with glazing in the rear of the hump.

[McColm]

Bought a 1/72 Airfix Avro Vulcan B2 built kit off eBay and was expecting this to arrive damaged through the post but due to a lot of packing by the sender all that is broken is the access ladder and in-flight refuelling probe. The paint work is good but the fuselage body is scratched due to heavy sanding.
Landing gear is down and sits very well.
Might do something about the exhaust pipes and a new paint job.
Maritime Vulcan with vertical tail fin MAD boom, harpoon /Sea Eagle missiles on pylons.

Water bomber-forest fires

The Valiant photo pack or troop carrier pod fitted to bomb bay- similar to the proposed Victor transporter.

[McColm]

Using the wing from the Mach2 Armstrong Whitworth Argosy BAE cargo version on the Frog Avro Shackleton MR.3 kit works.
I've done a dry test and mounted the wings just above the fuselage windows .
The Shackleton fuselage will need to be cut to allow accommodate the twin boom.
I have already glued the fuselage halves together and added the windows but have left the roof of the weapons bay off .
There's no cockpit floor or nose landing gear fitted at present. I'll see if I can add a pair of cargo doors.

[McColm]

Bought a 1/72 Airfix Avro Vulcan B2 built kit off eBay and was expecting this to arrive damaged through the post but due to a lot of packing by the sender all that is broken is the access ladder and in-flight refuelling probe. The paint work is good but the fuselage body is scratched due to heavy sanding.
Landing gear is down and sits very well.
Might do something about the exhaust pipes and a new paint job.
Maritime Vulcan with vertical tail fin MAD boom, harpoon /Sea Eagle missiles on pylons.

Water bomber-forest fires

The Valiant photo pack or troop carrier pod fitted to bomb bay- similar to the proposed Victor transporter.

I've gone for the Vulcan C3 troop carrier. The pod is from the Revell 1/78 Rotodyne,  cut down to size. The windows were added and the floor adds extra strength as there isn't any roof on the pod. The bottom half of the crew entrance door will be glued open and the steps added. The rear end has been squared off. There's plenty of ground clearance,  I haven't fitted any seats or passengers and glued the pod directly to the closed bomb bay doors. A little filler was needed. Might try using the camshell doors as a rear fairing.
Got an idea to use a crew member climbing up the stairs. Will scratch-build hand rails to either side of the steps.
As upper side of the wings have been scratched , they will need sanding so the grey and green paint scheme will change. Light stone and dark earth looks good although light aircraft grey and desert pink could work just as well.