Two for Melbourne Expo 2014

[Cap'n Wannabe]

G'day All..
Just a couple I'm throwing together for Melbourne Expo..
Airfix 1/24 Wallis Autogiro, built as "Little Nellie" for our club display
Airfix 1/72 P-51D Mustang, built as ZK-CCG, the "Mobil Mustang" for the airliner-civil-aircraft-modeller.com display. Just a quick word about the site...as the name suggests, it's a modelling forum primarily for those interested in airliners and civil aircraft. At this stage, there's an annual $25AUD subscription to join the site, however it is planned that it will be phased out in the future. The forums are freely available to view, though.

Anyhow, on to the pics..

[Cap'n Wannabe]

And the Mustang almost ready for decals..

[Cap'n Wannabe]

Some decaling done on the Mustang...I really like these civvy schemes!

[Cap'n Wannabe]

Little Nellie almost done - just a couple of small parts to attach, and the weapons:

[Cap'n Wannabe]

Mobil Mustang - just need to attach the canopy and exhausts (which I'd completely forgotten about!)

[Cap'n Wannabe]

My Melbourne Model Expo 2014 fleet, from left to right:
Airfix 1/72 BN Islander, built OOB (the clear coat attacked the red on the wingtips, hence the crazing. Might fix it one day, might just build another instead )
Airfix 1/24 Wallis Autogiro, "Little Nellie", built OOB
Academy 1/72 Hawker Hurricane IIc, 1950 King's Cup racer, Lifelike decals
Airfix 1/72 F-51D Mustang, "Mobil Mustang", Red Pegasus decals.
The Islander, Hurricane and Mustang will be displayed in a civil aircraft display, and the autogiro is for my club display.

[Mofo]

Nice collection. And nice job on the Autogyro. What's that kit like, anyway? I always seem to give that box a once-over at the LHS, but knowing its age and target demographic, I'm always worried what I'd get.

[Cap'n Wannabe]

Thanks Mofo.
Little Nellie was a bit of a pain - none of the holes were open in the front fairing, and the instructions were a bit difficult to understand in places.
The worst sink marks were on the missiles, and really difficult to fill, but most others were ok. Not too much flash, and what was there was fairly easy to clean up. Fit was ok - not great, but not too bad, either. I did deviate from the instructions to make it easier to remove the seam from the top of the fuel tank....but that made it difficult to remove the seam from the bottom
If you mask it right, the decals cover the demarcation between the yellow and silver - the only issue with the decals was the striping on the tail, as that decal was a bit oversize. I think if I ever build another, I'd mask and paint the fin instead.
The one major problem was getting the engine to fit properly, but I think that was of my own making.
Overall, an enjoyable, if challenging build.