[1:32 Wingnut Wings Fokker E.I Early (LF.70)]

"Far East!"  all right!  Great stuff.  What a beauty.  Cheers, Ralph.

[1:32 Hasegawa Ki44-II (item 08220)]

Hello AligaNick.  The finished model is in the "Ready for inspection" forum.  Cheers, Ralph.

[1:32 Hasegawa Ki44-II (item 08220)]

Hello ophthoidoug.  No - no lines first.  I scale rivet plans to 1:32 and then use a pair of dividers to mark the start and endpoints of the lines.  Then just align the flexible steel rule and emboss the rivets.  The steel rule is just held in place with fingers - much easier and quicker.  For NM/silver finishes I gently sand the rivet bumps with worn 1200 wet-and-dry emery paper under the tap.  For camo schemes, I leave the bumps there and gently sand after the camo's been applied.  That way you can expose some of the rivets and add a darker wash to contrast the "hole" against the paintwork/exposed rivet.  Hope this helps.  Cheers, Ralph.

[1:32 Tamiya Spirfire Mk.XVIe No. 601 (County of London) Squadron RAuxF, 1949]

Kent:  I deepen any rivets with a pin in the areas that need beforehand.  Makes them easier to find afterwards - and they can be deepened again if needs be.  The double-handling can be tedious.    Otherwise I use Radu Brinzan's RB Productions Rivet-R tool fitted with the wheel that matches the kit rivet spacing.  Hope this helps.  Cheers, Ralph.

[DONE: Eduard BF109E4/7, Hptm. Ernst Wiggers "Black 6" JG 51, 1940]

Cracker Dan.  Really lovely work.  Glad to be of help.  Cheers, Ralph.

[1:32 Tamiya Spirfire Mk.XVIe No. 601 (County of London) Squadron RAuxF, 1949]

Cheers Peter:   link much appreciated.  Hope all's well.  Ralph.

[Silver Wings 1/32 Fokker D.21]

Impressive progress Jeroen.  Great stuff.  Looking forward to the colourful camo!  Cheers, Ralph.

[Tamigawa Spitfire Mk.Vc Trop]

Solid progress indeed Tim.  Keep slamming!  Cheers, Ralph.

[1/32 Avenger TBF]

Interesting method Laurent.  Great to see your progress. Cheers, Ralph.    

[1:32 Tamiya Spirfire Mk.XVIe No. 601 (County of London) Squadron RAuxF, 1949]

Many thanks for the feedback Gents.  Will let the silver cure for a few days, then clear it with Tamiya's X-22 acrylic gloss in preparation for marking painting using Mal's masks. The Kagero artwork shows the aircraft codes in red.  Freightdog Models shows them in black on their 72nd scale decal sheet.  No clue which one may be more correct.  Cheers, Ralph.

[1:32 Tamiya Spirfire Mk.XVIe No. 601 (County of London) Squadron RAuxF, 1949]

Model painted with Floquil Old Silver after the ill-fitting upper engine cowl was removed and replaced with the spare Mk.VIII/IX part in the kit.  A small blister on the VIII/IX part was removed as it did not appear on the XVI part.  

 

 

 

For no clear reason, the fit of the replacement part was much better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Old Silver looks a little too "NMF" to me at this stage.  No idea yet how to convey a painted RAF High Speed Silver look.  Perhaps adding some grey to the silver, or using Humbrol silver (H11) might have been closer to the mark.  Although not a HSS scheme, David Parker achieved a very interesting result on his Tamiya P-51D a while back - but I can't recall seeing a description of what he did.

 

Thanks for looking.  Cheers, Ralph.

[1/32 Avenger TBF]

Hello Laurent.  Very crisp work - and photography.  Looking forward to seeing more of your Avenger.  Cheers, Ralph.

[Buying extra Hasegawa sprues?]

Hello Colin.  Many thanks for your reply and suggestions - much appreciated.  I'll follow up here in Australia.  Hopefully I'll find what I'm after.  Cheers, Ralph.

[Buying extra Hasegawa sprues?]

Might anyone know whether extra Hasegawa sprues can be purchased anywhere?  Any thoughts much appreciated.  Cheers, Ralph.

[DONE: Eduard BF109E4/7, Hptm. Ernst Wiggers "Black 6" JG 51, 1940]

The Battle's nearly over!  Good stuff - not far off now.

[1/32 Spitfire Mk I QJ-K K9998 "First light"]

Cracker Mal.  Hope you enjoyed getting some time at the modelling bench for a change.  Great result.  Hope too that the model was well-received at its new home.  Cheers, Ralph.

[Tamigawa Spitfire Mk.Vc Trop]

Big stones Tim!  Watching with interest.  Cheers, Ralph.

[1:32 Tamiya Spirfire Mk.XVIe No. 601 (County of London) Squadron RAuxF, 1949]

Nope - too stupid to think of tat when the part was still loose.  Had already glued the cowl before rechecking the instructions.  Currently looking for a basket weaving club.

[1:32 Tamiya Spirfire Mk.XVIe No. 601 (County of London) Squadron RAuxF, 1949]

No idea Repeater, as the other three panels all fit lengthwise.  Rechecked teh instructions to make sure I used the correct upper part - apparently so.  Will see how the side panel fit goes - may have to find a different scheme.

[1:32 Tamiya Spirfire Mk.XVIe No. 601 (County of London) Squadron RAuxF, 1949]

One of those "WTF!" moments...

 

The top engine cowl just didn't want to play - no explanation why it would be 1.5mm too short.  Operator error of some sort.

 

The repair won't stand up under silver paint - not sure where this one will go from here.

[P-51 D Tamiya 1/32]

Apparently a lovely kit to work with.  Looking forward to seeing more.  Cheers, Ralph.

[1:32 Revell HE-111-H6]

That's a big leap Mish - the 111 is a monster!  Cheers, Ralph.

[Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 Super Riveting Set]

Will be sure to keep eyes peeled for your Dora build using the set.

[DONE: Eduard BF109E4/7, Hptm. Ernst Wiggers "Black 6" JG 51, 1940]

Good Stuff Dan.  Stay the path and you'll have time to do a second Emil for the GB!!

[Eduard Bf109 E3, Oblt Wilhelm Fronhofer, 9.JG26, Fallen Eagle]

Any progress is good progress!  Great stuff Dave - don't stop now.  Cheers, Ralph.