ExNurseGaz

Myself and SWMBO will be sailing up the coast of Norway, calling at Narvik, Alta, Tromsø and Ålesund. We're going searching for the Northern Lights! On C*****mas Day we'll be cruising past Torghatten (The mountain with a hole in it- you can see daylight through it, honest) and the Seven Sisters mountain range. We'll be docked in Ålesund on New Year's Eve.

Got her finished! Photos in the gallery. I have 3 weeks before I set off (again!) on a cruise holiday. Wonder if I can fit another in? . . .

Tamiya's 1/100 Fiat G.91 is a great little kit, except for the decals. The ones that came with my kit didn't want to release from the backing paper, and when they finally did, they were a nightmare! The side numbers broke up, I was only able to salvage 4 roundels from the flaking mess. However, here she is. Numbers to make up "109" were found among my spare decals, and in spite of being an incorrect font, I've used them. The FIAT G.91 was a 1950s contender to become the standard fighter in European NATO air forces, but (of course) its career was blighted by politics. The French,

Well, after a search through my spare decals folder, I've found some tactical numbers (wrong font, but hey . . .) and can produce something. Photos after numbers are sorted! Then, on to the next "Under New Management" subject . . .

Don't be sorry! Thank you for trying to help. I could get another kit, but its decals could be as bad. Maybe I'll call it finished and look to "repair" it sometime in the future . . .

Thank you for that offer, Richard. My steel ruler and Mk.1 eyeball report 8mm as the diameter of the roundels. Even when measuring twice . . .

Ready for decals: And what a disaster those decals were! They took about 10 minutes' soaking to start detaching from the backing, and then promptly broke up irrecoverably. The small ones- bang seat warnings, NATO emblems, HAF fin flashes, serials- went on without falling apart, but with tactical numbers and HAF roundels I failed miserably! I'm not putting up a piccie of her current partly decalled state, not until I find some replacement decals that work. Because of the scale they may be hard to find- perhaps I need to get another kit, but will those decals be any bet

And me! C'mon , telluz! . . .

Wow! Modelling with Tamiya in 1/100 is quick and easy!. Painted bang seat, jetpipe and 'pit, left them an hour to dry (the wonder of acrylic paint, eh?!), then 5 minutes gluing and sticking, left her an hour to set (again), another 5 minutes sanding and filling seams, and we're here: The nose seam requires some more work, and it was about /\ this point that I realised that those little fairings/intakes on the fuselage sides below the 'pit were in the WRONG PLACE! So they were cut off and re-attached somewhere rather nearer to the intended location, and the damage made good

Diving straight back in, here's a FIAT G.91 flown by the Hellenic Air Force. I'm building in 1/100 from the old Tamiya kit. This one: # A Hellenic Gina is included in the Kit's finishing options, 4 examples were supplied to the Greeks for evaluation, eliciting an order for 25 aircraft, which was later cancelled. But Ginas flew in Greek markings . . .

In late 1943 the US Navy acquired their very own Fw190, and took it to the USA for evaluation. It's recorded as having been flown from Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio in March 1944, when it looked like this: It's also known to have flown from NAS Anacostia, and undergone comparative trials against F4U Corsairs and F6F Hellcats- the verdict was that the FW was easy to fly, although the automation of many engine controls made it difficult to maintain close formation, and both USN fighters could out-turn it by a large margin. Here's me model:

Thanks, guys. She's finished now. More in the gallery very soon!

And all at once, she was pretty much painted! I told you this scheme could make any aeroplane look good! awaiting matt coats and final parts adding now . . .

Looking great, that! One of the few Airfix kits I've not built- looks like I've missed out!

What an interesting little movie!