Homepage Text - August 2016

Wednesday,  Aug 31  2016

Malaysia National Day

Trinidad and Tobago National Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Happy Merdeka to all Malaysians!  

Thomas Ng begins this massive Malaysian update with his 1/72 Airfix HS 125 Merpati.  Thomas did quite the fine job on this Airfix kit and finished it as a VIP transport in Malaysian markings.  Looking first class Thomas...have a happy holiday. 

Aidy Abdullah is here with his flawless looking 1/48 Hobbycraft A-4PTM.  Aidy added a pilot and scratchbuilt details including a windscreen wiper and then gave it a great looking SEA camo scheme to complete this Malaysian Skyhawk.

Kenny Wong is here with his first article on ARC.  This is Kenny's 1/72 Kitech DHC-4 Caribou finished with very well done weathering and a variety of decals to get his Malaysian Caribou.  It looks great in Malaysian markings.

Brian "Mr B" Param & Thomas Ng are here with a double header they built for a Group Build here on ARC.  Here is two of their 1/48 AFV Club F-5F's is completely different camo schemes and one even has pilot figures to dress up the cockpit.  I enjoyed seeing both of these on ARC today. 

Nazaruddin Hashim has done some exceptional cabin and exterior detailing on his two 1/48 Hasegawa S-61A4 NURI.  These are both wearing Malaysian markings and I know you'll enjoy seeing the photos.....the work Naza did on both these models is eye popping.

Aidy Abdullah is here with the classic 1/72 Esci F-5B that he has high regards for.  Aidy did do some added scratchbuilding in the cockpit and intakes which brought his model up to a very high level of quality.  I love the silver finish.

Brian "Mr B" Param has been very busy building his resin 1/48 Fibre Models PC-7.  Mr B chose 2 very different paint schemes for 2 Malaysian aircraft and it you look carefully the green aircraft has a very well done sharks mouth.  Two great looking models that I am proud to see on ARC.

Brian "Mr B" Param has outdone himself today with some fantastic projects.  This is his 1/48 Airfix Hawk 208 with the Neomega nose conversion and plenty of other work.....the painting and weathering looks perfect.  Brian even added a refueling probe.

Brian "Mr B" Param has a very high opinion of the 1/72 S&M Provost kit and to show you his passion he joins us with 2 of his models.....both in Malaysian markings and different paint schemes.  These are both great looking models. 

Aidy Abdullah has created a wonderful in-flight model of the 1/72 Fujimi A-4PTMAidy combined parts from different Fujimi model kits and then used an Airfix pilot figure to complete the in-flight scene.  His paint work of the wraparound camo is flawless.  This is quite the treat to see.

Brian "Mr B" Param is here with his 7th model for today's Malaysian update.  This is his 1/35 Revell Bell 47 is a sand paint scheme and wearing Malaysian markings and looking very much like the full sized chopper.  Beautiful work Mr B. 

Nazaruddin Hashim is here with something very special today.  This is his 1/72 Trumpeter SU-30MKM he built using a conversion set he created himself for the Malaysian SU-30MKM.  Naza did an outstanding job painting and weathering his Malaysian jet and created an excellent looking diorama base to display his model.

Here's a product article for the 1/32 Vympel R-27ER - AA-10 Alamo-C missiles from Zactomodels.


Here's a product article for the 1/32 F6F-5 Hellcat late armament from Master.


Tuesday,  Aug 30  2016

Turkish Victory Day

Kyrgyz Republic National Day

Forums Problem Update  Aug 30 2016
  • I have just signed up for the new dedicated server for the ARC forums at a new hosting company
  • Once the new server is configured with the new programs I need.....then I will contact the folks at Invision (folks that designed this forum program) to get them to move the forums from the old server to the new server.
  • Then the forums will need to be updated by the folks at Invision.
  • Then the arcforums.com domain name will need to be moved.
  • This is a slow painful process but it will progress.

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Tolga Ülgür starts today on the Turkish Victory Day with his amazing 1/48 Monogram B-26 Marauder Part 1.  Tolga did extensive detailing as you will see in his photos today.  Part 2 of this amazing model will be on ARC in 2 days.  Enjoy the photos and all of Tolga's wonderful detailing.

Kenan Turhan is here with his special 1/48 Academy F15-E Strike Eagle.  This fully loaded Strike Eagle is finished in the markings and nose art for Dragon Betty III during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.  This is one exceptional looking F-15E.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 P-51D Mustang Control Surfaces from Ultracast.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 Su-25 weighted wheels from Royale Resin.

Monday,  Aug 29  2016

Slovakia National Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Chuck Sawyer has spent 14 months building his spectacular 1/32 Trumpeter P-38L.  Chuck used a variety of aftermarket items to improve the detail and finished it all off with a flawless bare metal finish for one of Richard Bong's P-38.  Enjoy the photos....this is a treat to see.

Shawn "phantom" Weiler and Elmo are here with two of their 1/48 Academy CH-113 Labradors.  Phantom and Elmo chose quite different paint schemes and even included patches for these special builds.

Here's a product article for the Photo Etch Cut-Off Set - Large from The Small ShopUse for removing larger pieces from the PE frets. 


Here's a product article for the 1/48 M 117 bomb late style from Eduard Model Accessories.


Forums Problem Update  Aug 28 2016
  • OK...for now I'm working on upgrading the forums program to the latest version. I asked the Invision Tech support to do the upgrade. They said in general it takes 8 days for them to complete this....I guess they have a backlog.
  • I will continue to look for a new hosting company that runs the type or PHP program on their dedicated managed server that I need for running the forums program. In time I will move the forums program to a new hosting company. 
  • Sorry for the delay...but I've been working 18 hour days for the past 10 days and this is my first day off.

Sunday,  Aug 28  2016

Polish (Military) Aviation Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Saturday,  Aug 27  2016

Moldova National Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916
  • Italy declares war on Germany  Aug 27 1916
  • Romania enters the war on the Entente's side. Her army is defeated in a few weeks  Aug 27 1916
  • Conquest of Romania by Central Powers  August 27 – December, 1916
  • Battle of Transylvania, a phase of the conquest of Romania  Aug 27 – Nov 26, 1916

Friday,  Aug 26  2016    
WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916

Shows this weekend include:

Sertac Bayar has added a resin cockpit to his 1/32 Hasegawa F-104G.  Sertac painted his Turkish Starfighter freehand and finished it off with aftermarket decals for 182.Squadron.  Check out the top notch paint job done on the cockpit by Sertac....wow!!!

David Mielke is here with his carefully weathered 1/48 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.Vb.  David chose a Spitfire flown by a Canadian Ace in Malta during WW2 and he includes some info about the Tamiya kit as well as how he did the camo and custom markings.  It's good to see this Spitfire on ARC.

Here's a product article for the 1/72 M40 Parachute Fragmentation Bomb (PAIR) from RESIN2DetailThis set is also available in 1/32 and 1/48.


Thursday,  Aug 25  2016

Uruguay Independence Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916

Paul Maksimov is here with one of my favourites.  This is his 1/32 Hasegawa Ju-87 G2 wearing winter camo and even snow as it gets serviced on the Eastern Front in the battle over the Russian skies in it's anti-tank missions.  Paul's work is so realistic....it will shock you....enjoy each and every photo. 

Peter Doll is here with another of his bare metal foil masterpieces.  This is his 1/32 Italeri Dassault Mirage III CZ in South African markings and one of his jaw dropping bare metal finishes.  I love the choices of markings Peter chose to finish this gem of a model.  You can see more of Peter's models by clicking the link at the bottom of his article.

Here's a product article for the 1/72 L-29 Delfin resin cockpit set + vacu canopy from Pavla Models.

Wednesday,  Aug 24  2016

Ukraine National Day

Forum Problem update

The current hosting company for ARC only offers PHP 5.4.  I will need to move the ARC forums to a new hosting company that has a managed dedicated server that runs PHP 5.6 or PHP 7.0.....does anyone have any hosting companies to suggest?  e-mail me


WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916
  • Battle of Mlali  Aug 24, 1916

Kit joins us with his stunning winter camo 1/48 Monogram Heinkel He-111.  Kit has been very successful in capturing the tired weathered look of a Luftwaffe He-111 on the Russian Front.  Simply beautiful work on the weathering.

John Smalbrugge joins us with his big beautiful 1/32 Czech Models T-33A. John selected Canadians markings from Leading Edge Models to finish his sharp looking Canadian trainer.  I love the look of this one John...well done.

Here's a product article for the 1/32 Vympel R-27T - AA-10 Alamo-B missiles from Zactomodels.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 F6F Hellcat night fighters armament with flash hiders from Master.


Tuesday,  Aug 23  2016    
WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916

Carmel J. Attard starts today with his very attractive 1/72 Airmodel Piper PA-18. L-18 wearing German markings.  This is a vacuformed kit and Carmel explains the process as well as what was needed in the way of scratchbuilding to complete this model to this very high standard.  This is not doubt about it...this is one very exceptional model

Shawn "phantom" Weiler is here with a very special 1/48 Hasegawa RF-4C Phantom #185.  Shawn added drop tanks and then select some great looking special anniversary markings from Speed Hunter Decals.  Shawn is a Master when it comes to the F-4 and this one is a treat to see.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 P-51D Mustang Exhausts from UltracastThis detail set is designed for the Tamiya kit. 


Monday,  Aug 22  2016    
Happy Birthday to my friend Chris Hughes....we share the same birthday.

WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916

Christos Papadopoulos joins us with his first model on ARC.  This is his highly detailed and beautifully weathered 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire IXc RHAF.  Christos added quite a bit of scratchbuilt details and the results of all his efforts are spectacular.  Welcome to ARC Christos....you do amazing work.

Björn Leichsenring has done a wonderful job scratchbuilding detail on his tiny 1/144 Attack Hobby MiG-15UTI "Midget" 127.  Björn scratchbuilt the cockpit and finished his MiG-15 trainer on east German markings and took some very realistic looking photos of his MiG.  Beautiful work Björn.

Photo Etch Standard Rolling Set from The Small Shop.  Make curved photo etch parts. Aluminum base makes rolling your parts easy!


Sunday,  Aug 21  2016    
WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916

Saturday,  Aug 20  2016

Hungary National Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916

Friday,  Aug 19  2016

Dieppe Raid 1942

WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916

Charlies Rodriguez is here from  the sunny Dominican Republic with his first article on ARC.  This is his 1/48 ESCI UH-1H is a Chilean chopper in United Nations markings as seen in Haiti.  Charlies made custom decals and finished the weathering with help from his wife's eyebrows pencils.  It's a great looking Huey and I'm excited to welcome Charlies to ARC and hope to see more of his models on ARC.

Dragan Cvetic took the classic 1/72 Italeri F-104 Starfighter and added scratchbuilt details to the cockpit and a improved pitot tube before giving his Starfighter a wonderfully faded Pakistani camo scheme.  This was an entry for a Group Build on ARC and is one great looking F-104.

Here's a product article for the 1/72 M117 bombs early from Eduard Model Accessories.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 IAI Kfir C2 resin cockpit set from SBS Model.


Thursday,  Aug 18  2016

Afghanistan Independence Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Edwin Alvarado has created something very rare and special for his first model on ARC.  This is his 1/72 Italeri HESA Saeqeh IRIAF made by converting a standard F-5 with 2 scratchbuilt tails and other work to create this very accurate looking Saeqeh.  I love the look of the twin tails and the IRIAF camo scheme.  Welcome to ARC Edwin.

Andre Mimizu has been busy scratch building and kit bashing to create his 1/72 Heinkel 277.B7/R1.  This was a rare aircraft that never got past the prototype stage and Andre tells the history as well as what he did to create this special 4 engined Luftwaffe bomber.  Very nicely done Andre.

Here's a product article for the 1/48 pre-painted S31 Spitfire PR Mk.XIX photo etch detail set from Maestro Models.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 JAS 39 Gripen resin cockpit set from Pavla Models.


Wednesday,  Aug 17  2016

Gabon Independence Day

Indonesia Independence Day 

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Iwan Winarta is here for the Indonesia Independence Day with his sharp looking 1/72 Hobby Boss MiG-15UTI.  Iwan built this trainer out of the box and finished is as it appeared in the early '60's.  It's cool to see this  Indonesian MiG-15 two seat trainer on ARC.

Alex Sidharta is here with his very attractive 1/48 AFV Indonesian F-5E Tiger II.  Alex chose a great looking camo scheme that even includes a sharks mouth on the drop tank.  I love the blue camo scheme.

Iwan Winarta joins us with two eye catching Indonesian jets.  These are his 1/72 AZ MiG-17F & MiG-17PF which were a bit of a struggle to build, but that did not prevent Iwan from completing these 2 beauties.  Iwan finished both with special paint schemes that are a joy to see.  He has also included history of the MiG-17 in Indonesian service.

Alex Sidharta has done a marvelous job building and weathering his 1/72 Academy (Quick-Build) F-16C.  Alex explains in his article some of the mods he did to make an accurate Indonesian F-16C.  His choice of camo scheme is first class and his weathering job is excellent.  Beautiful work Alex.

Iwan Winarta has done an outstanding job building and finishing his 1/72 Academy MiG-21.  Both of these wear red lightning bolt stripes down the side of the fuselage along with some tail art.  Iwan did a perfect job on both of these....enjoy the photos.

Here's a product article for the 1/32 Vympel R-60 - AA-8 Aphid missile from Zactomodels.  This missile set is the Vympel R-60 - AA-8 Aphid missile has been carried by a variety of Russian jets including the MiG-21, MiG-29.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 F6F-5 Hellcat - late armament from Master.


Tuesday,  Aug 16  2016    
WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Carmel J Attard starts today with his amazing vac-u-formed build of the 1/72 Airmodel FW-58.  Carmel did add plenty of scratch built detail to his FW-58 and then finished in some very attractive Bulgarian markings.  Carmel has included history of this rare aircraft along with insight into how he built this beauty.

David Mielke has built another classic model kit.  This is his 1/48 Tamiya Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero (Hamp) based at Rabaul wearing one of the best looking camo used by the Japanese during WW2.  David also added seatbelts to dress up the cockpit of his Hamp.  I really enjoyed seeing this Japanese fighter on ARC.

Here's a product article for the 1/32 VF-143 Pukin' Dogs: Taproom 102 decal sheet from AOA Decals.


Here's a product article for the 1/72 AT-6 Texan/Harvard resin cockpit set from Pavla Models.


Monday,  Aug 15  2016

India Independence Day

Congo National Day

Republic of Korea National Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Tom Thounaojam is here on the Indian Independence Day with his eye catching 1/72 Special Hobby Gnat, IAF E296.  Tom chose a bare metal Gnat with black and yellow stripes which makes this one of the more interesting Gnats.  It's a good looking model with a well done pilot figure to complete the scene.

Tom Thounaojam joins with his second model for this special update.  This is his 1/48 Smer Su-7BMK B817 finished in an attractive 3 tone camo complete with full weathering job.  It's good to see this Indian Su-7 on ARC today.  Jai Hind. 

Here's a product article for the 5.5" (5 Speed) Hold and Fold - Photo Etch Bending Tool from The Small Shop.  This Photo Etch Bending Tool is the 5.5" (5 Speed) Hold and Fold.  This is the Revolutionary 5 Speed – Most features of any Photo Etch Bending Tool Ever.   


Here's a product article for the 1/48 M 117 bombs with airbrakes from Eduard Model AccessoriesThis set contains 6 bombs and 3 different lengths of fuses.


Sunday,  Aug 14  2016

Pakistan Independence Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Saturday,  Aug 13  2016    
WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Friday,  Aug 12  2016    
WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Shows this weekend include:

Luqmanul Hakim has done some stunning detailing on his 1/700 Trumpeter Admiral Kuznetsov Carrier.  This is 1/700 but that did not stop Luqmanul from adding plenty of detail and finishing it off with some excellent looking aircraft. I enjoyed seeing all the photos of this Russian carrier.  Beautiful work.

Thomas Brückelt is here with the very cool looking 1/72 Azur Cierva C.30.  Thomas did a first class job on building his Gyrocopter and even includes a 12 minute build-video with some video from a simulator with this aircraft in flight mixed with his in-progress build video.  His article was a treat to see along with the video and the Spanish markings give a rare markings choice.  I loved the video Thomas.

Here's a product article for the 1/32 Vympel R-27R - AA-10 Alamo-A missile from Zactomodels.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 F6F-5 Hellcat late armament from Master.


Thursday,  Aug 11  2016

Chad Independence Day 

No update today.


WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Wednesday,  Aug 10  2016

Ecuador Independence Day

No update today.


WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Tuesday,  Aug 9  2016

Singapore National Day

Nagasaki Atomic Bombing Aug 9 1945  11:02AM
Peacekeeping Day in Canada 

In memory of 9 peacekeepers killed on Aug 9 1974

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

S K Loh has done a massive amount of scratch building on his 1/144 Dragon S-70B Seahawk. SK finished this little gem in Singapore markings to honour their 51st National Day.  Beautiful work SK.


Leslie Choy joins us from Singapore on their National Day with his 1/48 Italeri RSAF Mk 74B Hawker Hunter.  Leslie added custom markings and a first class weathering job to finish his Hunter to a very high standard. 


David C S Teo is here with one of the coolest airliners I've ever seen.  This is David's 1/144 Revell ANA Star Wars Boeing 787-900 (JA873A) in a very cool looking Star Wars livery.  David put plenty of work into his airliner and achieved excellent results.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 P-51D detailed wheel well doors from UltracastThese are designed to fit the Tamiya kits.


Monday,  Aug 8  2016    
WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Dirk Schenk has taken the classic 1/72 Frog Canberra T Mk.4 and turned it into something very special.  This is his South African Canberra T Mk.4 finished as a side by side 2 seater photo recon jet. Dirk put quite a but of patience into this build between the older kit fit issues and all the mods to make this a photo recon bird.  I love the look of his finished Canberra and the PRU blue looks great.

Kees Kuyper is here with a very creative VTOL design.  This is his 1/48 Arado Blitzer wearing a very complicated camo pattern.  I love the look of this design.

Here's a product article for the Photo Etch Bending Tool - The Wrangler Wire Forming Tool from The Small Shop.  This Photo Etch Bending Tool is for rings, loops, grab handles and more.


Here's a product article for the 1/48 B-17F/G engines from Eduard Model AccessoriesThis detail set is designed for the Revell Monogram kit. 


Sunday,  Aug 7  2016

Cote d'lvoire National Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Saturday,  Aug 6  2016

Bolivia Independence Day

Jamaica National Day

  Hiroshima Atomic Bombing Aug 6 1945  8:15AM

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Friday,  Aug 5  2016

 Russia - End of Kursk operation (1943) 

 Croatian Victory Day or Dan Domovinske zahvalnosti 

 (similar to a Thanksgiving Day) 

WW1 Events - this date in  1916
  • Battles for Longueval and Delville Wood (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 14 – Sept 15, 1916
  • Battle of Pozières (Initial phase of the Battle of the Somme)  July 23 – Aug 7, 1916
  • Battle of Kowel  July 24 – Aug 8, 1916
  • Battle of Romani. Ottoman attack on the British in the Sinai peninsula fails  Aug 3 – Aug 5, 1916

David Mielke has done a fantastic job on the classic 1/48 Tamiya Nakajima A6M2-N Type 2 Float Plane.  David built this one mostly out of the box with the addition of some custom markings.  I'm really pleased to see David's float plane on ARC.

Here is a product article for the 1/72 AM-39 Exocet Missiles from Eduard Model Accessories.

Thursday,  Aug 4  2016

Burkina Faso National Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Andreas  'Goggo’ Gordes starts today with his beautifully finished 1/48 Trumpeter USN KA-3B.  This is a very special record breaking KA-3B and Andreas explains this in his article.  I enjoyed seeing this special model on ARC.

Shawn "phantom" Weiler did a fine job on his 1/48 Italeri CH-135 Twin Huey.  Shawn used Belcher bits decals for this SAR chopper and he has even includes photos of his other 2 SAR choppers.  This is a sweet looking Ch-135.

Jake Melampy is here with a product article for the 1/48 F-16 Guardian Vipers decal sheet from Speed Hunter Graphics.

Here's a product article for the 1/72 F-14A Tomcat resin cockpit set from Pavla Models.


Wednesday,  Aug 3  2016    
WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Richard Spreckley is here with a very special Spitfire.  This is his 1/48 Spitfire MkVa by Airfix supporting Help for Heroes built in the markings of the famous RAF Ace Douglas Bader.  Richard added Eduard seat belts and a Bader figure and then gave his special Spitfire a lovely weathering job and Richard also explains the gun configuration of Douglas Bader's Spit.  It was a treat to see this Spitfire.

Björn Leichsenring joins us with his sharp looking 1/144 Eduard MiG-15bis "Fagot" 48.  Björn scratchbuilt a cockpit for his tiny MiG and then gave it a BMF paint job and finished it off in East German markings.  It's a treat to see this German MiG on ARC.

Here's a product article for the 1/32 Vympel R-73 - AA-11 Archer missile from Zactomodels.  This first set is the Vympel R-73 - AA-11 Archer missile that was carried by MiG-21, MiG-29, Su-27 and Su-30.


Here's a product article for the 1/32 F6F Hellcat early armament from Master.


Tuesday,  Aug 2  2016

Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia  National Day

WW1 Events - this date in  1916

Dragan Cvetic starts today with his latest.  This is his 1/72 Trumpeter MiG-29 9.12 that he built for his friend and finished in Yugoslav markings complete with a very well done camo job.  This is a great looking MiG-29 and I'm pleased to see it on ARC.

Carmel J Attard joins us today with his very colourful 1/72 Aeroclub Felixstowe F2A/F3.  Carmel finished this WW1 flying boat in a very exciting Dazzle paint job and a delicate weathering job.  The rigging is first class, this Felixstowe is stunning to see.  Carmel also includes some great history on the Felixstowe as well as it's history in Malta including 3 vintage photos.

Here's a product article for the 4" Hold and Fold - Photo Etch Bending Tool Mk IV from The Small ShopThis Photo Etch Bending Tool is the 4" Hold and Fold Photo Etch Bending Tool 4" Mk IV RTH. 


Here's a product article for the 1/48 P-51D Mustang Canopy Braces from UltracastThis detail set is designed for the Tamiya Kit #61040 and #61044


Monday,  Aug 1  2016

Benin Independence Day

Switzerland - Foundation of the Swiss Confederation

No update today....it is a holiday in my province. 

WW1 Events - this date in  1916