Aircraft
B25J Mitchell bomber. After years of tanks I finally built an aircraft model and then I had to set up a page. I always wanted a large bomber, but many 1/48 bombers are quite expensive. (1/48 seems to be the largest scale that bombers are made in.) Since I did not want to risk ruining an expensive 4 engine job, I thought I had better practice first. I did learn a few things and I was introduced to the joys of masking and painting vast expanses of glass (or more likely perspex). That Future is magic! You can see clearly into the cockpit. Wasn't expecting that!
Fokker triplane made famous by the Red Baron himself. If I remember correctly this is a 1/72 Revell model. This is a model I built when I was still a kid, later painted and also repaired many times! Approximate year of construction: 1962! I believe that this is the oldest model on the site and the reason that this is not a tank is that my very early tanks were relegated to wargaming once my modeling skills had improved.
Royal Navy Westland Wessex helicopter. This was a 1/72 kit by Frog. Approximate year of construction: 1968.
Fairey Swordfish. Another real old model! I reckon it dates from around 1966? I spruced it up a bit as it was very dirty and the decals had yellowed around the edges. I ditched the pilots as they were truly awful - very flat ugly things they were!. The torpedo was lost somewhere down the years, but since this guy is loaded with rockets that's no real loss. I don't think these rather old planes could handle a load of both!
Harrier prototype P.1127. Original kit issued in 1963. This is the Airfix 1/72 kit that I remember getting free - as a mail-in offer I believe. (I don't think they would have stuffed one of these into a cereal box, even in a plastic bag!) This is NOT a pristine bit of model-making here folks! This is a old model from my childhood. Probably built this in 1965 or 1966. This kit is notable as I used strips of aluminum foil so I would not mess up the painting of the cokpit canopy. The aluminum has corroded a bit over the years. I had to make a new front wheel for this as it had broken off and gotten lost. Decals are in pretty good shape though the clear (not visible in these pictures but shows up under the wing in the numbers) has yellowed quite a bit.
Harrier GR1. Original kit issued in 1969, and I think I built it soon after release. Again, not the very best model now but I made a real effort at the time to paint it really well. I also used a gloss top coat so the decals are really sealed in on this one! Unfortunately the top coat went on very thick as you can see, and has also yellowed badly over the years. (Very noticeable on the light grey underside.) I had to do a little repair work on this one too - new nose point - the pitot I presume - and I had to scratch build a missing wing-tip "training" wheel affair. I added the double pylon for the mini-missile pods when I built it in order to stack up the ordnance. I wasn't even sure they did that but I have since seen pictures of Harriers so equiped, but that might be later models. (This might be overloaded for a GR1!)