DocRob

I like the slightly faded paintjob. There is no black in reality, there is always a hue or shine or reflection in it and I think pure black on aircraft or armor models looks wrong. The markings blended perfectly into the camo and that makes it look great. The (sponge?) is looking a bit to strong in places for my liking and you may have used more different pieces of sponge and less color, but that´s just me . Cheers Rob

And proud you should be Hubert. Your Cutlass is a beauty. I love the NMF finish and the setting with the girl taking a snap, snapped by you for an eternal shot in your display shelf. It must feel very satisfying to finish this build after such a long time. Some kits are like that, they are addictive and not finishing them is like an open wound. Cheers Rob

Wow, that´s jaw dropping, Rod. I´m a little afraid, when you say, you can do even better. Time to look for another hobby then . I love the finish of your lawn dart and the photography and setting is also excellent. The glaring NMF and slightly sepia toned pictures looking like a heated airfield in Spain, you could only add some flaring heat shimmer. Cheers Rob

I have the street version of this kit as well, but I think, I will convert it to this hillclimber. Fiat650 NP Giannini gr2 - Full Transkit - With decals | KMP-Scale Models Cheers Rob

Î have some pics from a P-47D, I made in Chino some years ago. Hope they might help. Cheers Rob

I´ve said it about other of your builds and will do so here again, your weathering style is fantastic and looks very realistic, adding a 3D feel to the surfaces. Cheers Rob

Cheers Rob

Wow, Hubert, she´s a real beauty. I can´t see where you could have done better, but I guess as the builder you know about the tiniest imperfections, unknown to the spectator. I like the unique shape of the Cutlass and that there are so many details to spot like the extensive front wheel strut and the well visible cockpit. Cheers Rob

Don´t want to spoil the party, but the Prince of Darkness is gone. RIP Ozzy Rob

Double wow Kevin, there is a lot of detail to catch the eye. Ion Models have 1/200 Kriegsmarine sailors, which would even add more detail. I used their 1/350 US sailors with my USS Arizona build and liked them a lot. Cheers Rob

Good that you found your mojo back with the Henschels. The Opel Blitz is looking good. I also have the Tamiya kit, but as a special edition with a lot of Aber brass for extra detailing. Cheers Rob

Thank you, the good thing about MFH models is, they force you to super detail, It´s all in the box, no need for aftermarket items. The only thing you need is patience and commitment. Cheers Rob

Looking very good, Gus and will be even better with the Hinomarus present. I have a DSPIAE circle cutter, it is really good and quality made. Cheers Rob

Thank you Hubert, I have to question your status as a serious modeler. There is no thing like an overloaded stash, buy a bigger house . The BT45 was a blunt sword unfortunately, but I always have a heart for good looking underdogs. Cheers Rob

Happy birthday Carl, hopefully not too early. I found a matching song for you on my vinyl´s. Nothing against a bit of Stoner Rock for a birthday party with the lizard . Cheers Rob

Looks very nice. The highlighting works perfectly. Cheers Rob

Thank you Mike, despite the white BT45 never really raced, I liked it better than the red version as well. I´m surprised too, how fast the kit went together in the end. It confirms my initial thought, that a F1 car is way easier to build than a full bodied car. It is not that I spent the whole day in the cave during the build. I haven´t decided on the next build. I will travel a bit over summer, so maybe a relaxed in between build. Cheers Rob

Thank you FA, it was a relatively easy project for a MFH build. It took me less than three month, and it was all joy and not a lot of problematic areas. It seems, I slowly develop my car building skills. Cheers Rob

Here is the song. If the Reverend says so it must be true Cheers (I mean it) Rob

There is a song from The Reverend Horton Heat, which is called "It´s Martini Time". The song is like a anthem to me as I love cocktails and specially Martini cocktails, albeit, I never prepare them with Martini. Anyway, the BT45 would fit into the bar, but no chance, no models in the living area . After two more sessions, the BT45 was done surprisingly rapid in the end. The innards of the nose section fit perfectly and on went the nose. It is removable as are the cockpit and engine fairing. It felt nearly indecent, to paint the beautiful turned aluminum rims, but my car had them in black. After drilling all the needed holes very carefully, not to scratch the precious parts, I primed them with Mr. Surfacer 1500 black and found the matte black looked so good, why spoiling it with a color coat. Finally the tyres were mounted onto the rims and then I added the air vents, which proved fiddly. The tyres are absolutely perfect, with pre printed branding and much heavier and durable then e.g. Tamiya tyres. They need to be with the weight of the car, which is also supported by two spacers under the chassis. Well, let the pics speak: Cheers Rob

Lovely detail with the plumbing. If you ever want to do even more, you could use hose joints, which are available for car models. possibly 1/24 could work, which is made for 0,8 mm wires or hoses. There is one example from Decalcas, but others produce them as well. Hose joints for 1/24 scale models: 0.8mm Hose joints set 3 (ref. DCL-PAR061) Cheers Rob

Thank you Martin, at the moment, it´s about hiding all the details under body parts, but they are removable, luckily. Cheers Rob

Slowly, I´m nearing the finish line. I added many details to the body, like fasteners, bolts and rivets and worked on the final fitting of the body parts. I am always a little scared when it comes to vacuum formed parts like the smoke clear windshield. It´s always best to cut it with a pair of scissors, than sanding, because the burr is very hard to remove. Finally I got it done, using Tamiya flexible masking tape as a guideline. The clear part was glued to the body with 1mm wide double sided clear adhesive tape and then received the tiny rivets. The side air intakes are not finally glued to the body, I may let them removable for better sight on the engine, but then, I add some guiding bolts. Now I´m preparing the rims and the nose section and then wroarrrrrrrrrrr. Cheers Rob

Thank you Mike, there is indeed a lot of detail included. Luckily the design of the kit is very good, which helps to get everything into the body. Cheers Rob

Today, I joined the engine with the monocoque. Test fitting was done before, but a last aggregate with three tubes attached needed to be fittet in between. That proved very difficult, but after some attempts, I got it done. If you ever build the kit, don´t glue the metal end plates (M142, M143) to the monocoque, like shown in step 13. Luckily I didn´t, because other ways I would have had to remove them to fit the engine in step 17. And finally, I tried the fit of the center body parts. Cheers Rob