DougN

I would say its one of the best, except for the upside down "flaps" of course (drains point down) Side windows seem to fit fine, probably best left until the end to attach (which is what I ended up doing with the one I am working on). Fit on the rest of the kit can be challenging if you don't take your time to get everything assembled properly. Doug

Here is a link to the only WIP I'm aware of for the HpH 410: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=53305 I've got the kit in my stash as well, and it's on the short list for a build (which means probably in the next couple of years, lol) Doug

Here is another of my hobbies, although I do spend more time driving them than working on them: '66 MGB '73 240Z Doug

Looks good so far, can't wait to see some paint on this one Doug

That wood really looks nice! I may have to try this myself one day. Doug

Looks great Aaron! The kit is indeed a very nice build with few vices. Just need to get rid of those two frames on the windscreen. Real thing doesn't have frames, but the plexi pieces join there so you don't need to obliterate the frames, just polish them out so that they look like the clear plexi join lines. Doug

Thanks for the comparison!

Could be Ali is going out of business as suspected, or maybe he wants to get out of the retail side and just make products. Until further annoucements from Ali, hard to tell. Doug

I'd be all over a 1/24 Gladiator!

Thanks for the kind comments everyone! I really appreciate it Doug

As promised, here are a few snaps of my finished MiG-3. As those who followed my build thread saw, this was a nice, pleasant build with only some minor "modeling skills" required to improve a few areas. And, for those who prefer, it turns out there are some aftermarket sets now available to provide replacement control surfaces and prop blades, which can make things even easier. For this build I tried to replicate "Red 02" seen in a photo taken in March 1942 on the occasion of the 120 IAP, responsible for Moscow air defense, being "promoted" to the 12th Guards. Analysis of this aircraft by some authors indicates that the wings were a close match color-wise to the red on the fuselage markings. It is also clear in the photo that the outer wings do not have the leading edge slats, making it seem these were replacements from an earlier aircraft or from spares. This has led some to surmise that the outer wings were actually green. However, other winter scheme MiG-3's also have additional red markings applied, and it would not seem unrealistic that the 120 IAP would have painted the replacement outer wings of one of their MiG-3's red to celebrate their "promotion" to becoming a Guards unit. And since red looks much better than green on this scheme, it convinced me to err on the side of red. The model was painted with Mr Color paints, with the exception of the underside A II Light Blue, which was from White Ensign. As the photo of the actual aircraft shows some "crud" around the join between the engine cowls and the fuselage, I used some burnt umber oil paint to try to capture that look. The rest of the aircraft appears to be quite clean, suggesting that perhaps it had been "cleaned" up a bit for the photo-op. On to the photos! The real thing: My effort: Overall, I am pleased with the build, and the end result is a colorful addition to my display case "museum" that really stands out. Now if I can ever source a new windscreen (see build thread for details), I will build a summer scheme with my second MiG-3 kit. Thanks for looking! Doug

Engine looks great, looking forward to more! Doug

Great looking 219! Well done sir! Doug

I think it looks great, and also think they would have sold at least 2 to 3 times as many (or even more) had they done it in 1/32 scale. Doug

Ok, got this one about wrapped up. Of course had a "last minute" issue to deal with, but that's normal for me The kit has some recessed circles behind the cockpit that are supposed to represent the ventilation holes on either side of the fuselage. While I was rigging the aerial wire I was looking at that area and decided I needed to drill them out. Not bothering to go get my references, I selected the drill bit that matched the size of the recessed circle and drilled away. When completed, it looked much too large. At that point, I checked my references and confirmed that was indeed the case. So, I filled it in with some Mr Dissolved Putty, let it dry, sanded it out, re-drilled the correct sized hole, put some Mr Surfacer 500 on it and finally sanded and repainted and re-weathered that area: Finished: The aircraft I am modelling is "Red 02", which may have had red, or green outer wings. As cases can be made for either color, I decided to go with red as it looked better This aircraft is overall pretty clean, however there is some "gunk" around the rear of the cowling panels where they meet the fuselage, as can be seen in this photo. I tried to replicate this look using some burnt umber oil wash, and applied it as follows. The port side is speculative of course: As on the real aircraft, the "gunk" and dirt was applied the heaviest around the engine area, and then progressively lighter further away. I also added all the last bits to the model. such as the aerial wires, pitot tube from brass tube, and the wire landing gear indicators: So that about wraps this one up! Here are a couple of poor photos to get the overall look. I'll try to take some better photos to post in the finished builds section in the next few days Thanks for following along! I hope you enjoyed this build as much as I did Thanks, Doug

I use blue, green, white and a few spots of pale yellow on RLM76. I do the blending (as Matt describes above) in the direction that rain would follow with the aircraft on the ground, rather than airflow. Doug

Thanks guys! @ Eric - yes, I've made extensive use of Massimo's site during this build @ Jeroen - yes, they also have sets for the prop/exhaust, control surfaces, and gear doors. I don't know what is wrong with the main wheels that they have released that set. The prop/exhaust and control surfaces sets can make life easier for the builder of this kit if you would rather not do the work I have shown here to address the control surfaces and prop blades. The kit gear doors suffer from lots of ejector pin marks that are not easy to fix (I didn't bother) so I would recommend getting their gear door replacements. Doug

Thanks guys! @ Dennis - the underside is painted with White Ensign Soviet A-II Light Blue. All other paints are Mr Color. @ Ralph - actually they are aluminum tubes, so I didn't need to paint them Master does some really nice brass barrels that would work great for your 110 btw. If you're going to the Atlanta model show on May 10th, I'll have some at my table if you want to check them out. Just working on the small bits to get everything attached and getting the weathering done. Not a lot to see at this point. Added brake lines to the main gear: Hoping to get this one wrapped up this weekend! Doug

Another update for those still following along Got some paint on the bottom: Painted the uppersurfaces white, and then used some masks for the national insignia and aircraft number: Finished up the red paint: Painted the engine "pod" silver (prop stuck on for "glamor shot") and ready for a little weathering: Thanks for looking! Comments/questions/critique always welcomed! Doug

Great looking builds Dave! Doug

I still prefer "fishing line" otherwise known as monofiliment. I don't really like EZ line as it's actually flat and can be a bit lumpy. As for springs, just take your smallest drill bit (like a #80 or smaller) and then take strand of fine wire from a telephone cord and wind it around the smooth end of the drill bit. Very easy to do. I use this method of all the aerial wires (see completed builds in sig for photos) Doug

Very nice Mike, as others have said, you nailed this one! Doug

Nice looking Storch! I really have to drag mine out and build it someday as well Doug

Looks like the old Trumpy rivet maker found a new job working on this kit I think a good coat of Mr Surfacer as a primer should tone them down a bit. As for the IP, I'll wait for the Eduard one and use that anyway. The windscreen looks interesting, attaching the armored glass should be fun, I would prefer to just have two different windscreens. Doug

Love the look of your 219! Doug