HISTORAF.com…a journey through time from the beginnings of the Royal Air Force to the present.
My name is Edward ‘Joff’ Milner. You can call me Joff…
I have spent over 16 years creating a collection of model aircraft which represent the history of the Royal Air Force from its humble beginnings during the First World War to the present day. Most of the models are represented in 1/48th scale. I would like to share these creations with you and showcase my work for your pleasure.
This is an ongoing project with much more to come so I will keep the Website as up to date as I can.
I made my first model way back in the 1970’s when my dad bought me my first kit in Stafford Woolworths. As far as I can remember it was a Messerschmitt Me262…no, NOT a Spitfire as many of you will recall building as your first model. I think I was around 7 or 8 years old. The result of this first foray into modelling madness has been lost in the shadows of time but I’m sure it was an abortion of unpainted grey plastic, misshaped and excessive glue stains with decals stuck in all the wrong places, including chubby little fingerprints, but I was hooked.
For many years I made model aircraft, tanks, vehicles, ships and all sorts. In those days it was Airfix, Tamiya, Revell, Matchbox or short run kits. Every time I went to Stafford, I would head for Bagnalls. From the outside it was a toy shop, but the first floor was a haven for the model enthusiast with every sort of model you could think of at the time. I made many models in my youth culminating in the Airfix 1/24 1930 Bentley. Who remembers that baby? At the time I became fascinated with the Napoleonic Wars and bought hundreds of figures which I eventually got round to painting. I used to wargame with them for a short time. I still have the figures, a little battered after 35 years but they still look great, all 1200 of them. After my final school year the hobby seemed to cease abruptly with new challenges to face in getting employment, rugby and chasing tails.
Many years elapsed until I began again in 2009 for reasons I cannot recall. I bought a Spitfire, made it in a day as I recall and then I was again hooked, but this time I wanted to make better models with better results. That model ended up in the bin.
The idea of creating a tribute to the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm came after a succession of models had been built with a British theme. Since then, I’ve only built RAF or FAA models. As the project has developed and progressed, I have come across many aircraft of which I was unaware served with the RAF and FAA. This has led to some interesting subjects and some fascinating models that represent some of the more extraordinary aircraft. The multitude of American aircraft supplied to the RAF and FAA during WW2 was an interesting venture, some kits being hard to come by.
Of course, many of the aircraft which could be included are not available or no longer available in 1/48 scale. Notable exclusions are many including the Avro 504K, Hawker Siddeley Nimrod, Avro Shackleton, de Havilland Sea Venom, Supermarine Scimitar, Westland Puma, Handley Page Halifax, Westland Whirlwind HAS.1 and Short Stirling to name but a few. Granted that a 1/48 scale Nimrod and Shackleton would be huge and exceptionally costly. (They are available in 1/72 as are the V Bombers). The largest model to date is the 1/48 C-130 Hercules. Its enormous. Although made from an out-of-date Italeri kit, raised panel lines for a start, it looks quite the part.
The majority of the major model manufacturers are represented in the collection and include Airfix, Tamiya, Italeri, Hasegawa, HobbyBoss, Special Hobby, Trumpeter, Roden, Copper State Models, ICM, Kinetic, Kittyhawk and Revell. There are some from lesser-known producers like Smer, Mikro Mir, Sword, KPM and Wolfpack.
The short run multimedia kits have been the biggest challenges and many a tantrum has occurred with rigging biplanes. Dropping tiny parts and spending hours crawling round the floor with a torch looking for a part which is smaller than a pen tip, and as for photoetched parts…mmm. Despite the traumas, it’s all been good fun.
Now, I’m not saying that these models are perfect, and I certainly do not profess to being a top-notch modeller, I’m still painting with brushes having never mastered the airbrush, but I am proud of the results and wish to share them with you. I hope you enjoy browsing through the galleries as much as I have enjoyed constructing over 100 models. As I have said previously, this is ongoing. Once subscribed you will have access to all galleries with many more to come.
