James D Kightly

A sprue containing items traditionally associated with france in the french flag color scheme, along with text illustrating the post above. Graphic design is NOT my passion, as you can (or cannot) see.

Bonjour #histscalemodels !
Now that #HeaviesGB has concluded, I would like to propose a new group build for 2026. I floated the idea a while back and people seemed interested, so here we go:

#BastilleBuild will run from May 1st to July 14th!

Details in comments or at
bastille.videospectre.net

#histscalemodels group build concluded.
Have a great holidays season, we will do something similar again in 2026 to make the coummunity come together.

In answer to your Q, good quality rattle cans will quickly look like you've overdone it when spraying, inc lumpiness, orange peel, and slight 'curtaining', but it all vanishes as they dry.

Practice, as always, first for tech and process familiarity helps...

I don't have (want/use) an airbrush, but they are certainly a more 'refined' spray tool than rattle cans. That said, I'm sold particularly on the Tamiya cans: dry INCREDIBLY fast, apply well, tighten down and reveal detail underneath, colour covers well. For a one or two colour model, they're good.

Thank you! It’s a bit rough close up, but it’ll do. Appreciate you like it!

Photo of the Model Fw 200 'flying' over the countryside. Photo and model by James Kightly.

Photo of the Model Fw 200 'flying' alongside the photographer. Photo and model by James Kightly.

Photo of the Model Fw 200 'flying' up toward the photographer. Photo and model by James Kightly.

A low 3/4 angle photo of the Model Fw 200 'flying'. Photo and model by James Kightly.

A few shots taken in daylight with a helpful breeze providing 'engine power'. My model of the Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor prototype as seen on the Berlin - New York flight of 1938. 1/72 Revell with Print Scale decals. Great inspiration by #HeaviesGB in #histscalemodels, thanks, @jaaaagirr.bsky.social !

Thanks! It's a great motivator to get stuck in, and glad to bring my own approach, too.

Some other great models out there was well!

Thanks, Andy! I'm very pleased! It's not perfect, but it's done, it's good ebough for me, and it was worth it.

Thanks Alice! I'm coming away from this a BIG fan of Tamiya rattle can paints. No problems from their product with lovely application, and both the silver and black came out looking REALLY good, and tough despite agressive masking tape use and rough handling within just a couple of days.

Well it's was more 'blue black monster' than airframe and engines at this stage, to be fair!

Formal photos of the completed model. Thanks to @jaaaagirr.bsky.social for leading the project, and all the other contributions to see - good luck to everyone else racing to the finish line of #HeaviesGB in #histscalemodels !

If there's interest I can share some build photos and saga, say the word!

Photo of the not quite completed model at 8.15 pm local time, with the windows in the wet, white PVA alike Kristal Kleer. Model by James Kightly.

*Done as in I'm stopping there, and the Kristal Kleer's been applied, but is still drying - I'm sure it'll be fully translucent by midnight!

A few tweaks and some other display ideas down the road, but I'll taje a breather and enjoy everyone else's contributions, too! #HeaviesGB in #histscalemodels

Well, with an hour and a half to go (local time) and a BIG push to the end, it's DONE*. The Focke Wulf Fw 200 airliner prototype D-ACON, as on the 24 hour non-stop flight from Flugplatz Berlin-Staaken, Germany, to Floyd Bennett Field, New York, USA, 10-11 August 1938. #HeaviesGB in #histscalemodels

Ha! No. The engines aren’t fitted yet. It’s a couple of BIG screws, as hand /hang holds for painting, through the ‘firewalls’: the blank rounds that are part of the wing structure.

Did you miss me? Current status. It was a silver monster, then a lumpy blue monster (masking tape) now a shiny black lumpy monster, but I'm surprisingly pleased to be here - nearing the end of the build and (fingers crossed) the end of #HeaviesGB in #histscalemodels, thanks, @jaaaagirr.bsky.social!

Six panel images of a TV clip from Magnum p.i. ‘The Joro Kill’ where Magnum realises that nuns don’t work on Sunday and shoots the fake nun after (s)he tries to shoot Magnum. There are people who try and explain that nuns do work on Sunday, and these people can’t be helped. Also for the series title card, p.i. was in lower case. There is, of course much more trivia and pedantry.

Tonight’s entertainment brought to you by a ‘working’ ‘nun’ and a p.i.

Punctuation deliberate.

Richard Overy and Lord Russell at KCL History department.

8 Hrs to Aviation Cultures Spotlight on Logbooks and AvDocs! Join us free, online on Zoom to join our distinguished international speakers, followed by the rare opportunity to ask questions of the experts.

Full details aviationcultures.org/spotlights/l...

Good long form read.

I'll be there - after all, I co-organised it. But it you're interested in aviation history, how it's created, researched and examined, the maybe you should be too.

After all we've made it free, online, and accessible, because we think it should be. See you there!

Cleared that up.

Archivists. Be nice, they know where the bodies are buried.

Incidentally, the article's from last year...

The internet is worse than it used to be. How did we get here, and can we go back? In the early days the internet was a free, egalitarian space for anyone to surf. Now, commercial interests rule – but users do still have some control.

Not just you, the internet's worse.

NB: You aren't powerless, you can adapt and overcome. Your actions are important. As elsewhere, making thoughtful smart choices is work, but make a crucial difference.

(Bonus dog on the internet New Yorker cartoon too...)

theconversation.com/the-internet...

Very proud of what @avculturesconf.bsky.social team have achieved. It's 2 sessions this weekend, but packed in there are world class experts ready to share their expertise AND answer YOUR questions, free.

I can't quite believe what we've got! Full details on the website, shares & visits v welcome!

Well, I’m hanging for the proof of the breadth of BlueSky’s reach when someone pops up and says ‘yes’!

a man in a military uniform is sitting in a classroom with other men and says `` it 's classified . '' Alt: I’ma just gonna leave the auto descriptor there: “a man in a military uniform is sitting in a classroom with other men and says `` it 's classified . ''

* And extra points if you can tell us about something YOU put in a logbook. (Or better still, left out!)

You can DM us in confidence, this account isn’t monitored by any retro aviation authorities (probably). -JDK

Poster for the Logbooks & AvDocs free online Spotlight event at Aviation Cultures on 8 November.

Logbook oddities? We’re interested. What’s the strangest, funniest or most unexpected thing that you’ve found* in an aviation logbook?

We’ll be talking ‘Logbooks & Avdocs’ in our next Spotlight event, free, online, in just over a month. Can you tease us with an odd fact first? -JDK

The ‘dress’ has been worn by almost every surviving Spitfire decades longer than the re-production of two seat conversion revival.

The casual watcher of warbirds is getting a brief intro. Not an accurate history lesson - on multiple counts.

Nice! A Tiger Moth with manners!

There’s a lot of interesting developmental elements to the D-520 story.

But in 1944, they were still using the standard model. And it was not capable as an air superiority fighter by then.