Clunkmeister

Brad, this is really nice. I'm not a big armor guy, but even this propeller head can appreciate that! Very nice!! Can I put it up on the Facebook page?

I haven't looked through RFI in quite awhile and wow, was that a mistake. Danny, I hope you can display this in front of the appropriate Brain Bucket. Beautiful F-4

The kit certainly has it's challenges, but sure turns into a nice model. Stunning work, John.

Tim, this is the build of the year so far, as far as I'm concerned. And I look at alot of them. Brilliant, brilliant build, and so perfectly executed. I'd say this is a first place at the Nats.

Jerry, I'd say this is easily the nicest finish I've ever seen you do. You're definitely got the NMF nailed. GORGEOUS, man!!

Smitty this is gorgeous, Man!! Of course I've followed this along throughout it's gestation period, but it turned out nicer than I ever thought it would.

Lothar, this is one of the nicest P-40 builds I've ever seen. Clean, crisp, realistically weathered, and just simply real looking. respect, respect, respect

Yeah it's a bit of a tricky kit, but oh man are the results stunning. I'm ready to do another, and this may be my scheme. The only thing I'll add is the amazing AMUR Reaver flaps. Are those the kit decals?? Flawless work! Congrats! may I put this on our Facebook page?

He's safe in his doghouse. Dick Dastardly is out finding fuel for his pigeon hunting kite

What is it about a WW2 solid two blade fighter prop that is so hard to get right? I've seen plenty of resin and injected 1/32 kits with very inaccurate looking props that look like they were hand carved with a butter knife

I took a sanding stick to the prop roots already, trying to correct the blocky angles IBG gives me, and they do look a lot better than they did on the Sprue. But we’ll see I guess. And I had my first close look at the oil cooler last night. I’d say yes, it’s one of the few parts that could benefit from the preciseness of a resin casting. I’m looking forward to seeing those wheel spats Hubert. Id certainly be open to purchasing a set or two if you’re reproducing them.

Yep. I go on a limb and say that they were successful before they changed everything. It’s the old game, drop prices and sell gazillions more but make more in the end through volume. That adage just never seems to work. Everything under one roof. A fair and profitable price for a superlative product, and charge shipping. By moving it all out, they gave away the profit margin. Lean and mean. That’s how I make money. If I expanded to five additional locations, I’d have 50 times the headache and 2000 additional ways to get my financial ass handed to me on a plate and ended up busted ass broke on a street corner.

Harv, the prop is mounted blade by blade on the spinner. You can see the indentations where it goes.

If you love the esoteric, and you also really like the look of British 1930s radial engines with their quirky exhaust collectors, you’ll love the P.11c model. the first impression is UGLY, but once you study the design, you see it’s a militarized version of a very sexy 1930s design. You could tart this one up and smooth it out, and it wouldn’t look out of place lined up next to any of the purpose built racers of the period

The Bristol Mercury installation really looks the part here. 100%. OOB

So the wing is on, and for the most part, the fit is superb. I have yet to find any surprised big enough to bite an experienced modeler, which, for as complicated and potentially treacherous a build this is, is surprising, in a very good way. I’ll note two things of import. Number 1 is to paint and decal the wing and fuselage before joining them. The bottom of the wing might prove to be a very difficult masking job If it’s all assembled. Number 2 is that once you join the two, expect a small join line that will need to be removed (see pic)

I’m not sure it’s that simple. SPJ gave control over to a CEO several years back and just a couple years ago, got stung badly by his GM at TVAL who scammed him for a few million. I expect WNW is looked upon by the bean counters as a liability, not an asset. I expect it made money when they were a small operation with everything but production centered under one roof in one town. They tried to expand, subbing out all warehousing, and allowing a third party to become the retailer. In essence they became a wholesaler. They sell to distributors who then sell for the price they used to sell for. They gave away their entire profit with that smooth move. I expect the CEO expected the sales numbers to skyrocket, but he neglected to realize that it’s a small market. So they might just have seen their net profit nosedive. Good luck getting those molds back out of China, though.

100% agreed, Peter. This forum and the good people on it, almost singlehandedly performed the research for my RCAF Lanc 10MP. Without this Merry Band of Miscreants, my build would never have reached the level it did. These guys are truly awesome.

Just listen to the old George Jones song “White Lightinin” if you have any questions.

They have their style over there and we have ours. My thoughts are with the great people who have run that outfit for years, and through their devotion, have given us the best model kits this world has ever seen. All those releases, and there’s not a dog in any of them.

Tim, c’mon out this way and I’ll hook you up with some 180 proof. Then, if you can handle it there grasshopper, we’ll dial it up to 195 80 proof? Like making love in a canoe...... F**king close to water!

Alright, time for an update, folks. I’ve made a few little mistaakes here and there, but all were minor and just simple builder errors. Nothing remarkable, just all fixable things like forgetting to drill the holes for the spent brass ejectors. The ejector chutes are solid. They need to be hollow, so for my next build I’ll either hollow the ends or buy AM somewhere. A word. I looked on eBay and there are multiple AM pieces being issued for the P.11, so I expect this is going to be one VERY popular kit around the world. This kit really doesn’t need much AM. Resin engines, nosecones, wheels etc are all available, but the kit parts are truly superb OOB. Techmod supplies the kit decals, (makes sense), and as is usually the case with Techmod, the decals are superb. Very, very thin, and they stick like glue. They are impossible to “float” into position, so make sure you get them in place quickly. A bit of dish soap in the water helps the decals ease into position a bit easier. I decided to decal the bottom of the wing before mounting the wing, so tomorrow, on goes the wing. The bottom insignia were quite difficult to locate correctly, but eventually, they found their spots. Just keep them well lubricated. Then hit them hard with MicroSol to snuggle them down. They’re still drying here, I’m on my third coat of MicroSol, and then a clear coat followed by some weathering. Decal performance has been absolutely stunning.

Good grief, alcohol abuse! That Scotch is about to spill! But have no fear, anyone who knows me understands that my taste in alcoholic beverages runs much, much more refined than that swill.

It looks like a diagram of football play just to get to Carl’s bench.. hahahahaha.