AFV Modelling

U-96 Vent Holes

Vent Holes

To enhance realism on the 1:144 scale U-boat, I begin as usual by drilling out all the vent holes. This small detail brings a lot of depth and authenticity to the model.

I start by drilling two pilot holes in each vent using a 0.6 mm bit. Once all the holes are marked and drilled, I use a Dremel to carefully thin the inner hull from the inside—this helps when cutting out the vents and prevents damaging the exterior surface.

With the hull thinned, I use an X-Acto knife to carefully cut out the vent openings. Afterwards, I clean up the edges and smooth them using Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, which slightly melts the plastic and allows for a neat, finished look.

U-96 Revell 1:144

U-96 im Atlantik

Das Boot Collectors Edition 1:144

Aftermarket Parts

Porco Rosso

Plot

In 1929, Italian World War I fighter ace and bounty hunter Porco Rosso, cursed to have a pig's head, defends an ocean liner from airborne pirates. He dines at his friend Gina's Hotel Adriano.

The pirates contract American ace Curtis to assist their attacks. Curtis falls in love with Gina, but she loves Porco. While Porco is flying to Milan to have his red seaplane serviced, Curtis shoots him down. Porco survives and continues the trip by train with his damaged plane, to Gina's irritation. She reminds him there is a warrant for his arrest in Italy.

Porco meets his mechanic Piccolo in Milan. Piccolo's sons have emigrated, so the work will be done by his young granddaughter Fio. Once Porco's plane is finished, Fio joins him on his flight home as cover should the secret police arrest them. They can claim that Porco took Fio hostage to force Piccolo to help. The new fascist government is hiring pirates for their own use, putting Porco out of business.

Curtis proposes to Gina, but she says she is waiting for Porco. Porco and Fio are ambushed by the pirates, and Curtis challenges Porco to a duel. Fio declares that if Porco wins, Curtis must pay his debts owed to Piccolo's company, and if Curtis wins, he may marry her.

While Porco is preparing shells, Fio glimpses his true face. Porco tells Fio a story from World War I. Just after Gina's wedding to Porco's pilot friend Bellini, their squadron was attacked. Porco entered a cloud to evade his pursuers. He blacked out, then awakened to complete stillness above the clouds. The airmen who died in the dogfight—Bellini included—rose out of the cloud to fly up towards a band of thousands of planes flying together. After offering in vain to die in Bellini's place for Gina's sake, he awakened again flying alone low over the sea. He concludes that he is meant to "fly solo". Fio rebukes him and kisses his cheek.

Curtis and Porco's dogfight devolves into a boxing match when both planes' guns jam. Porco accuses Curtis of being a womanizer; Curtis responds that Porco is worse; Fio adores him, and Gina is waiting on him to the exclusion of any other, but he does not reciprocate. The combatants knock each other out and fall into the shallow water. Gina calls out to Porco, who rises first and is declared the winner. She warns that the Italian air force is on its way, and invites everyone to regroup at her hotel. Porco requests Gina look after Fio and turns away. Fio gives Porco a kiss.

Porco volunteers to lead the air force away and invites Curtis to join him. As they walk to their planes, Curtis catches a glimpse of Porco's face and says he has changed; he asks to get a better look and is refused. As she flies in a jet seaplane, Fio narrates the epilogue: Porco out flew the Italian air force and remained at large; Fio became president of the Piccolo aircraft company; Curtis became a famous actor, and the pirates continued to attend the Hotel Adriano in their old age. She says that whether Gina's hope for Porco Rosso was ever realized is their secret. A red seaplane is docked by Gina's garden as Fio flies over the hotel.

The Airplane Savoia S.21

The Savoia S.21 was a custom-built fighter seaplane with a single parasol wing, above which was mounted a single engine nacelle. It had a flying-boat hull and outrigger floats, and carried two machine guns in the nose.

There are two versions of the S.21. The initial version was powered by an Isotta-Fraschini Asso liquid-cooled V-12; the later version mounted a Fiat A.S.2 "Folgore" V-12, with a modified radiator configuration. In addition to the engine, the new version had a tiny forward cockpit.

Length: 7,92m

Wingspan: 10m

Engine: Initial version: 430 hp (320 kW) Isotta-Fraschini Asso liquid-cooled V-12 engine
Second version: 430 hp (320 kW) Fiat A.S.2 "Folgore" V-12

Speed: 330km/h

Armament: Initial version:2 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 08 (Spandau) machine-guns
Second version: 1 × 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 08 (Spandau) machine-gun

Crew: Initial version: 1 and Second version: 2

Introduced: early 1920

After a Dog fight the Savoia S.21 was a heaviliy damaged and after a emergency landing then transported to Milano shop Piccolo S.P.A for reworking and modification.

New Motor installed in Milano: 430 hp (320 kW) Fiat A.S.2 "Folgore" V-12

Ligthning Controller

Lightning Controller V1.0

Lightning Controller for Scale Models

Bring your models to life with realistic lighting effects!
The Lightning Controller is a compact LED driver module developed to enhance spaceships, fighters, or any custom models where you want illuminated cockpits, thrusters, or attack-mode effects.

Available Controller Modes

Idle/Attack Controller – Creates dynamic lighting effects that simulate engine idle, acceleration, or attack mode.
Color/Brightness Controller – Adjusts LED brightness and color variations for different lighting scenarios.

Core Hardware

The controller is based on the Adafruit Trinket 5V (ATtiny85), chosen for its small size and flexibility:

Microcontroller: ATtiny85, 8K flash, 512B SRAM, 512B EEPROM
Bootloader space: ~2.75K used, ~5.25K available for code
Power:
- Micro-USB input
- On-board 5.0V regulator (150mA output)
- Accepts up to 16V input with reverse-polarity, thermal, and current-limit protection
- Automatic USB/external power switching
Indicators: On-board green power LED + red pin #1 LED
Controls: Reset button
I/O: 5 GPIO pins available for LED control

Integration in Models

Scale compatibility: Designed to fit directly inside 1:18, 1:24, and 1:29 scale models
For larger or smaller models: Recommended to install the controller inside the display base/sockel if space is limited
Main PCB includes multiple connectors for easy LED hookup

Key Benefits

Small size for hidden integration
Plug-and-play with LEDs
Multiple effect modes (idle/attack, brightness, color)
Protects your LEDs and model electronics with built-in safety features

This is the Idle/Attack Version

Supported LEDs

Thrusters: Digital addressable LEDs (WS2812/APA106‑class “NeoPixel”). Form factors: 5 mm or 8 mm through‑hole. 1 LED per thruster is typical.
Cockpit/aux: Any standard LED channel (optionally PWM‑dimmable) via series resistor.

Current notes (worst case): Addressable LED ≈ 60 mA @ full‑white. For 4 thrusters at colored flicker (red/magenta), practical draw is typically 10–40 mA total depending on brightness.

Modes & Behavior (X‑Wing)

Idle / Cruise (wings closed): Thrusters = Red flicker (subtle, low/med brightness)
Attack (wings open): Thrusters = Magenta flicker at full brightness (more intense)
Switching: Detected by Hall sensor. Magnet hidden in wing linkage selects mode.
Override: 2‑pin jumper lets you lock flicker color if you don’t want auto‑switching:
- Jumper on IDLE pin → always Red flicker
- Jumper on ATTACK pin → always Magenta flicker
- No jumper → Hall sensor decides (default)

Digital LEDs (NeoPixel thrusters) – flicker effect in Idle/Attack
Blink LED channel – fixed 50/50 on/off blink for any LED
Steady LED channels – simple ON LEDs (or you can connect pre-blinking LEDs if you like) for cockpit, R2-D2 eye, etc.

And key wiring notes are:

All non-digital LED connectors give out 5 V → you just add a resistor.
Digital LEDs (thrusters) need no resistor except the small inline data resistor.
Power can be via Micro-USB (5 V) or X5 connector (6–16 V DC).

Would you like me to update the wiring diagram in the spec so it shows the Blink LED and steady LED connectors side by side (so builders instantly see the difference)?

This is the Light/Bright Version

Color/Brightness Controller (55 × 19 mm)

No Hall sensor
R1 potentiometer selects one of 8 preset flickering colors for the thrusters
R2 potentiometer adjusts both brightness and flicker behavior (so you can make engines glow softer or more violently)
Still supports cockpit LEDs (steady or blink) and a dedicated Blink LED channel
Power and connector scheme same as Idle/Attack version (USB or X5, 6–16 V DC)