Spitfire

Sounds familier, I had a torn meniscus in the right knee and ended up with a replacement knee, to get it working properly required physio and a lot of exercise, at home, it took me over a year to get it working right, But I can walk for miles now and I still cycle 8 miles a day as my "penance" for being retired. Cheers Dennis

I am so envious of the way you can build kits so fast and accurate and switch horses in mid stream while I just plod away, keep it up ! Cheers Dennis

Thanks Peter, luckily my left hand was the worst, the two middle fingers would lock up (trigger finger), the thumb joint is shot and the hand used to cramp a lot but the injections have lessened the problems, The hand does not cramp anymore, the middle fingers are behaving but the thumb is still a problem. On the right hand the thumb is improved enough for me to use it properly. As to masking the Re2005 lately I have been using paint masks on my builds (lazy) but I have reverted to the Blu Tac method which I think gives a better demarcation, it is what I have traditionally used in the past, it's time consuming but I like the result is gives. I may use the store bought camouflage masks as templates for the Blu Tac version of masking on future builds. Cheers Dennis

Plodding away, white masked, ready for the green, after cortisone injections in my hands they are working a bit better with less pain. Masking the undersides The Blu Tac method for a soft demarcation. Paint soon. Cheers Dennis

Fanyastic work it will be nice to see a Stirling in all it's glory, the first of the RAF four engined heavies, it's a shame it has been so neglected by kit manufacturers. Cheers Dennis

The joys of resin kit building, nice bit of problem solving there, strangely it all seems to work out in the end. Cheers Dennis

Windshields, I always attach them first, then fill and smooth joints, mask and paint them with the rest of the airframe, sliding or hinged/folding canopies are done separately, masked and mounted with a big blob of Blu Tac and then painted. With the latter I use masking tape and sponge to protect the cockpit internels. If folding/hinged canopies are a good fit I sometimes paint them attached to the airframe. Cheers Dennis

Really sad news, it always is as pets do become members of the family so losing one not matter what their age is a hard blow. We lost our two cats and we could not bear to take on another, we adopted both of them when we lived in Australian from pet homes and fetched them back to the UK where they had great and long lives, one 15 and the other 18 years old. Dennis

Nice to see one built, and built well, I'm just rersearching and gathering materials for my build of the same kit. Cheers Dernnis

One of my favourite subjects and you have certainly done it justice. Cheers Dennis

Impressive work, it looks really great, I'm looking forward to more. Cheers Dennis

HMS Bulwark, that brings back some memories I can remember visiting her when she was docked in Liverpool, I was astonished how thin the skin was on a helicopter when I pushed on it. It must have been in the sixties as I was still at school. Cheers Dennis

Looks fine to me but then again it is a Spitfire and one of my favourite Hasegawa kits. Cheers Dennis

Looking good. Cheers Dennis

Looking good all ready, the Hasegawa kit is one of my all time favourites, pretty dated but also accurate in outline. It wIll definately stand out from the rest with a Malta finish. Cheere Dennis

Hi John, looking through "Malta Spitfire Vs-1942, Their Colours and Markings by Brian Cauchi I found an article on this very aircraft: Spitfire Vb EP829 Coded T*N belonging to 249 Squadron The aircraft was extensively photographed, and these photos reveal that it was not a tropicalised aircaft and did not have the large nose filter, this is clearly shown in one photograph. It had the legend Malta 1000 celebrating the 1000th Malta victory under the windscreen on the port side. There was also a small T above and behind the N on both sides of the fuselage., a Squadron leaders pennant and kill markings were also present on the port side at the rear of the fuel tank. It was part of the last delivery batch of 1942 and was the regular mount of Squadron Leader John Lynch. The paint scheme was a low contrast scheme either Temperate Land Scheme (Dark Green and Dark Earth over Sky or Azure) or the Temperate Sea Scheme (Extra Dark Sea Grey and Dark Slate over Sky). The colour rendition shows Azure blue. However the article does mention another Spitfire coded T*N featured in a newsreel, anothe non tropical Vb but with clipped wings, the serial number was not evident. and it had a very dark overall colour scheme (not named) with none of the other markings that were on EP829. Hope this helps, let me know if you would like any more info. Cheers Dennis

Beautuful crisp build, I really like the VIII. Cheers Dennis

Unless there are some surprise releases (Defiant, Skua, Fulmar, Battle type subjects) I think that I am done for the year and what a bumper crop, all in 1/32 of course. Revell Hurricane IIb Infinity Val Trumpeter Devastator. Kotare Spitfire Italeri MC202 Hobby 2000 Me 110E, at that price I had to Cheers Dennis

I'm with you there John, my favourite paint, looking very smart. Cheers Dennis

Nice little kit that, I built one years ago when I thought that it would never be kitted in 1/32 scale, enjoy. Cheers Dennis

Sounds a bit nasty but also that he is in good hands, but also he has a long road to travel. Dennis

This should be good, Tamiya and a Spitfire, whats not to like. Cheers Dennis

Thank you Peter, it is ever so nice to be back doing some model stuff, I've got too many kits to be lazing around. Cheers Dennis

After a long layoff I'm back at the bench, my eyes are now back to normal so I can plod on with my PCM Re 2005. All ready for some paint. Out with the Grigio Azzuro Chiaro, in this case Xtracolor X134 FS16307, I'm a bit out of practice so I did not mix enough paint so I will have to do the undercarriage doors later. Cheers Dennis

Good update, sounds positive, especially the fried chicken part Cheers Dennis