With the Skyhawk done over the weekend I hope to be able to work on the design of the Skyhawk book next week, as well as trying to build the first of my Legacy Collection Vignettes.
28th March 2025
Hello, everyone! Welcome to Friday, the end of another week and the start of what I hope will be an enjoyable weekend for you all.
Before running off to watch the Coventry City game this evening, glass or two of beer in hand, I’ve a few things to round up, beginning with the announcement from Airfix that their much-anticipated SEPECAT Jaguar is now available to order.
This new mould A11010 SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1/GR.1A in 1:48 scale is undoubtedly the most complete Jaguar kit ever released, featuring a detailed cockpit with optional early or late ejection seats, also including airbrakes, flaps, slats and ailerons modelled in the down position. It also features detailed undercarriage and wheel wells, slide moulding on nose and fuselage for maximum detail, fine panel lines and rivets. Stores include 1000lb bombs, 1200L fuel tanks, EMI reconnaissance pod, AIM-9L Sidewinders, PHIMAT and AN/ALQ-101 ECM pod. Alongside these features, the kit consists of 243 parts, ranking at a skill level 4, including four striking schemes to choose from and measures an overall length of 348mm and a width of 181mm.
For further information on this brand-new kit, please visit the Airfix website at the following address:
SKYHAWK PROGRESS!
In other news, I’ve finally completed the sub-assembly stages of my Skyhawk build. Feeling like the Neverending Story it’s good to have a collection of parts on my desk that will hopefully come together tomorrow, to create a miniature A-4M Skyhawk II.
Though I’ve rattled on endlessly about this kit over the last few months, the fact that it is the central core of my new book (and hitherto unpublished as a feature, anywhere else) there’s been a degree of pressure that I hadn’t expected when I bought the kit at Scale Model World, last year. The complexity of the model and my need to capture as much of its construction and painting has turned what should have been a few weeks of work, into several months of what seems to have been continuous endeavour which was very much not what I had planned!
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With nothing on the cards for tomorrow I’m looking forward to gluing all of those little parts in place, excitement being tempered somewhat by the trepidation of bringing it all together without error. Though this stage is always the most enjoyable part of any build, there’ is always’s endless fear that at the last minute something will go wrong (which has happened many times, least of all as I attempted to complete a Tamiya F-16, was five minutes from doing so, only to drip glue down the nose and over the perfectly applied decals…). So, tomorrow it is then: wish me luck!
And finally, it would appear that my new Legacy Collection is beginning to gain pace. Not only have I now purchased a Ferrari 312T3 that allows me to build the second of my planned trilogy of 1/20 racing dioramas, yesterday I managed to find another very rare Verlinden DCS building that formed part of the vignette that you not only see above, but which also appeared in ‘The Verlinden War Vol.1’.
These old DCS buildings are now so rare, I find it difficult to resist the temptation to buy one when they’re so infrequently offered for sale. Having already purchased one of the original DCS buildings last year in order to recreate François’s 37mm flak gun vignette, it was great to see its twin building (the backdrop for Tamiya’s quad Flakvierling) on sale on eBay. Knowing the chances of this ever appearing again being almost nil, I grabbed my chance with both hands, the kit arriving here to examine over the next few days.
This now gives me the chance to build both of the vignettes. Indeed, it could be argued that there are three scenes all linked by very similar looking buildings, because there is also the House Corner structure that first appeared in the DCS range, but was then released as a plastic kit by Italeri, this one forming part of the scene in Vol.1 that also featured the Tamiya Krupp Protze. Three dioramas; three similar buildings; three engaging projects should the mood take me!
So that’s been my week; one of ups and downs, but one that hasn’t been bad, all told. With the Skyhawk done over the weekend I hope to be able to work on the design of the Skyhawk book next week, as well as trying to build the first of my Legacy Collection Vignettes. I will of course keep you all informed as to progress and if possible, bring you a few behind the scenes peeks of how it is all coming together.
With the International Break now over, I’m off to the pub to watch Coventry City’s visit to Sheffield United this evening. Though it will be a tough game for the Sky Blues, I’m hoping that we at least make a fist of it in our push for this season’s Play Offs. What ever you are doing, I hope you have a wonderful evening.
Have a great weekend everyone and I will see you tomorrow.
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LATEST COMMENTS FROM VISITORS TO THIS WEBSITE!
Hope you feel better soon!
My home in Sweden this evening. 25-30 cm snow, all within 24 hours.
That certainly resonated with me Spencer, my work area is invariably a tip and also working on one kit at…
With respect, disappointment is when you get beaten when a victory was on the cards. It’s known as supporting Brentford…
Ah… where the magic happens! Looking really great Spence; mine is overdue a good looking at.
SPENCER POLLARD'S KIT BOX 
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