The Hamfisted Modeller: 2023 - A Year in Review

A respectable 7 completions this year. Same as last year. The tally this year was 2 jets, 2 World War II Props and 3 pieces of armour. The last one got across the line on the 24th December

One highlight was completing the Special Hobby Viggen. This was one subject I have really wanted to add to cabinet for a long time. It was a bit of slog but I'm happy with the result and it should be appearing in a magazine in 2024.

Onto the images. If you want more on any of the builds the title is a link to the build.

1/48 Kinetic BAe Harrier Gr.3 - No IV (AC) Sqn Royal Air Force

Depicted as aircraft XZ997 / V from No IV (AC) Sqn Royal Air Force RAF Gutersloh, West Germany, 1992.

I have always liked the look of the Harrier Gr.3 with the LRMTS nose. So I was happy when Kinetic finally released that variant.

1/48 Tamiya T-55

Depicted as generic tank from a Middle Eastern Army. I wanted to do something other than an all green Warsaw Pact machine. In the end I went for a generic vehicle using a lot of images found online of other peoples models and actual machines. I also used Martin Kovac's (Uncle Nightshift) build of the T-55 as inspiration.

This model won it's categories at the 2023 Scale Model Show and ScaleACT 2023. Needless to say I was pretty happy with the results.

1/48 Eduard North American P-51D Mustang - Marie

Depicted as P-51D-5, SN 44-13298, flown by Capt. Freddie F. Ohr, 2nd FS, 52nd FG, 15th AF, Madna, Italy, Autumn 1944.

This is my third Eduard P-51D. You can see the first here and second here. The third was to be another bare metal aircraft as bare metal is not something I feel I'm particularly good at.

I chose this one from from Eduard's Chattanooga Choo Choo Boxing after seeing Spencer Pollards build online.

1/48 Tamiya Marder III - 19 Tank Destroyer Battalion 19 Panzer Division

Depicted as a vehicle from 19 Tank Destroyer Battalion 19 Panzer Division in Russia, Winter 1942.

This model got a highly commended award at ScaleACT 2023.

1/48 Eduard Supermarine Spitfire Vc Trop - No 243 Sqn RAF

Depicted as aircraft JK715 flown by Squadron Leader Evan "Rosie" Mackie, RNZAF when flown from RAF Hal Far Malta in June to July 1943.

Evan Dall "Rosie" Mackie, DSO, DFC & Bar was the highest scoring flying ace to serve with the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) with a total of 21.5 victories. Wikipedia has a good article on his life if you're interested in reading more (click here).

One of the interesting things with Mackie's JK715 was that he fitted a set of exhausts from Spitfire Mk.IX. Mackie was originally a mechanic so he was always interested in the maintenance of his machines. He first fitted these exhausts to his another Spitfire. After it crash landed, he removed the them and installed them on his new JK715.

1/48 Special Hobby Saab AJ-37 Viggen - F15 Wing Swedish Air Force

Depicted as an aircraft from the F15 wing based at Söderhamn, 1978.

The Viggen was one of those aircraft I loved from the moment I saw it - jumping out of the centrefold of Airplane magazine in that amazing splinter camouflage.