Last year was a very good year for me. Besides a transition from one career (US Navy) to another I was able to expand my hobby of building model aircraft and ships from a solitary function in my basement to a club and network centric hobby. I am a very active member of my local club; I edit the monthly newsletter; and I’ve done this while getting models built — that’s what it’s about, right? So how I did:
- I started a blog of my Spitfire builds;
- I started a second blog of my other builds;
- I participated in 2 Group Builds
- I completed 13 models (9 were Spitfire/Seafire models over on my Spitfire blog).
In order of construction, here are the non-Spitfire builds:
Hasegawa Hurricane IIb, 11 OTU, SAAF (March Theme “Training Day”). Nothing special about the build, although masking all that yellow was tough, first a coat of white, then the yellow. Dark Green and Light Green over Azure. Decals by Model Alliance (72148).
Revell USS Midway (CVB-41) (May Theme, “100 Years of Naval Aviation). Okay, not 72nd scale or aircraft, but I’m including it for completeness. Old school build, no aftermarket parts, but I used Starfighter Decals’ decal set to make the markings more accurate and of course painted it per their directions, not the kit’s. That’s a Corsair on the deck, not enough patience with 8 decals per aircraft to complete the rest. Hull red, haze gray, deck gray and black, with some weathering. 
Frog Blackburn T.9 Shark I, K4358/657, HMS Courageous, Mediterranean Fleet, 1936 (June Theme “Damn the Torpedoes”). Lots of frustration making this silk purse from the sow’s ear. This was a repop from some Russian maker that was heavy with flash and missing parts (probably short shot). I decided to learn from it and I certainly did. Some of the struts are scratch built, the cockpit is completely scratched, the markings are all masked other than the roundels. Cerrux Grey, Silver and Black. My favorite build of the year; I always try to do at least one biplane each year.
Airfix Hurricane Mk I, W9266, 274 Squadron, RAF, F/L Dudley Honor, Gerawia, Egypt, 26 May 1941, (July Theme, “It’s a Dry Heat”). A great story and a unique paint scheme, I had to do it. Even though it’s an old kit it still looks the part. The tropical filter came from my spares box and didn’t fit well, but I got it to work. The decals came from the same Model Alliance sheet as the Hurricane IIb from 11 OTU SAAF (72148). The Italian squiggles came from a Print Scale sheet. Sand, Dark Earth, Middlestone, Sky Blue.
Thanks for looking.
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