DocRob

Bummer with the finish, Hubert. I use X22 as a base layer for decaling my WW1 birds with huge Aviattic Lozenge and usually have a perfect glossy finish, when thinned with Mr. Leveling Thinner, no orange peel, no nada. When you add a clear cot on top, you have an even better look, somehow deeper. I love the guy with his aviators and flowery Hawaiian shirt, so cool. Cheers Rob

Great detail work on the engines, Mike. Like Hubert, I mostly drill tiny holes with a hand held pin vise, but when there is a lot of drilling to be done, like with MFH kits, I use my Proxxon micro drill on a stand and with a foot pedal, which works equally well, with both hands free to hold the parts. Until now, I never made larger tarpaulins, but liked the tin foil of wine bottle caps very much. The oil cart will be a very nice addition to the dio. Cheers Rob

Indeed, as well as sponges for cleaning pans. Coarse steel wool can be also used to spry through with the airbrush, to achieve unregular base layers. Cheers Rob

Thank you Carl, Chris and Mike. I can feel the discouragement Mike is experiencing and hope to avoid it. At this point of the build, all subassemblies going into the body has to be test fitted and approved. All clean up needs to be addressed, my head is whirling and I permanently find new parts or areas, which need to be put into consideration. This is why I shied away, buying the Alfa Tipo 33 Stradale with it´s huge bonnet and wing doors. My next MFH build will probably be a F1 racer, where it is easier to get the smaller body parts to fit. Cheers Rob

Only missing a wee dram as a digestive, Gus Cheers Rob

Thank you Gus, for being the embedded researcher for Scottish fishing vessel affairs . The layout of the hull is very much looking like mine, which is typical for these boats. I ´ve seen some pictures of other boats, which share the shape of the hull, but are different above the deck. I´m really astonished about the bulwark being so low with these tough weather proved boats. There is not a lot of protection from the sea on deck. Cheers Rob

This could be my next wooden ship build, before or after finishing rigging on my Duchess of Kingston. The scale, the subject and not a lot of rigging triggered me with the Fifie. Cheers Rob

I haven´t looked too closely, but haven´t you received two kits in the raffle, Hubert? . Cheers Rob

Another Christmas present arrived lately. Actually it was a great Black Friday deal of the Fifie fishing vessel, which I wanted to have in my net since a while. It is noticeable designed by Chris Watton for Amati, who now does his own business with highest quality approaches in form of Vanguard Models. Another real benefit of the kit is the 1/32 scale, large enough to detail and widespread enough to source some decent figures. I eventually plan to build the Fifie in a worn, used look, which would be completely new to me, considering wooden ships. Cheers Rob

The Cobra Coupe is not forgotten and got some love lately. There is not a lot to show, but a lot of work has been done in advance to painting the body. Numerous sub assemblies has to be finished and you have to browse through the entire manual, to see, what connects to what and with which diameter the what´s need to be drilled. Alignment of doors, bonnet and rear hatch has to be taken in consideration, as well as fitting everything to the chassis. I think, this is the most critical sequence in the build and I want to do it properly. I also think about adding some 2 mm magnets to hold the closed doors and hatches secure in place. Cheers Rob

Merry Christmas / Feliz navidad / Frohe Weihnachten to everyone. Cheers Rob

A bit cheaper: Buy AUTOMOTORE FS 206/207/208 SOGLIOLA RAIL SHUNTER 1/35 - TREN DE MANIOBRAS online for 35,95€ | AK-Interactive Buy BREUER IV RAIL SHUNTER 1/35 - TREN DE MANIOBRAS online for 35,95€ | AK-Interactive Cheers Rob

I tried Zero Paints lacquer clear with my just finished McLaren and liked it a lot. I ordered five more jars today, after my initially testing. No idea what the Ford guy did, bubbles , maybe he thinned with Champagne . Cheers Rob

Muchas gracias, Mike and Chris. I don´t feel very comfortable with dioramas, but when I start with them, I usually have some fun. I like telling a short story, like a snapshot would do and when I found the battle suit in my stash, I initially searched the net for some scale skulls and luckily found some. It was the same with the PE-bottles, but I never would have believed, that such a thing existed, squeezed plastic bottles and not in 1/35. It´s a strange hobby we have . Cheers Rob

Very nice, especially considering the scale. Paint decals and weathering blend beautifully. Cheers Rob

It´s a completely different experience, Kevin. I shy away often from making dios, but when I do, it´s a lot of fun. Cheers Rob

Thank you Hubert and Martin. Initially I was very unhappy with the sandbox theme, but when I got the idea for my dio, I was a bit happier. Now that it´s done, I kind of like the result, because it represents my thoughts from the concept phase and the implementation worked. Cheers Rob

Cool Aviators, Hubert, hopefully tinted deep green as they should. Cheers Rob

The Kampfanzug´s pilot has bitten the dust and the medical Neuspotter drone can´t help it. My Sanbox GB entry is buried under the sand now. I wanted to do something different and when I found the MaK Friedrich battle suit in my stash, I formed a picture of a pilot tormented by a sandstorm and died for thirst, after all his PE bottles were empty. The Neuspotter drone was added later to the scenario with it´s sinister looks and I wanted a bit of black humor seeping out of my little dio. The AI driven drone was probably smart enough to wait for the storm to cease, where the high tech equipped pilot died, because there was not enough water left for him. Some final pics, this time in my photo box with better lighting. Cheers Rob

On a side note, I wiggle a lot with the MFH Cobra Coupe at the moment and it´s not easy to get the doors and bonnet aligned perfectly. There is a lot of test fitting, sanding, routing and scraping involved and that´s maybe the main reason, why I let the Alfa pass. Cheers Rob

Nothing wrong with a bit of number magic, but what will be the 44 car? I hope not this one: Cheers Rob

Another self Christmas present reached my doorstep, but in fact, it´s also a story about being a coward. I always wanted to build one of the famous black and gold Lotus racers and therefore, the new released Lotus Type 77 was an obvious choice. At the day, I ordered, MFH had a message up on their website, that they will re-release a short batch of Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale kits in January. That was a car, I always wanted to build. It came so close to what I "designed" when I was in my late teens and I had a knack for car design. It had all the ingredients, the shape, the visible cylinder funnels, large air intakes, plexi covered front lights ... , so I was more than tempted by that re-release, which could mean, it´s gone forever afterwards. I searched for build logs and only found one, a double build on YouTube and both builds, by a resourceful modeler showed gaps in the rear bonnet at the end. I couldn´t live with that and the swinging doors with tiny hinges also gave me the creeps and I CHICKENED OUT . Gone is the car of my dreams and a bit of self esteem. Anyway, I´m happy with the Lotus and the parts count and being without carbon fiber decals seems to indicate a relatively easy build. I borrowed this picture from the MFH homepage, to show the car. This would have been the Tipo33, only to have a picture of it. Cheers Rob

I will always remember the furry pics of your beloved carpet monster, Carl. Sad news, equal the age, she was a family member. Cheers Rob

Thank you Carl, I´d like to see your McLaren, but are even mor intrigued by your Stratos. I think, I will continue with the Cobra Coupe now or maybe another rapid car build. Cheers Rob

Absolutely Hubert and if you do a full build with all the components shown, there is nearly nothing hidden with a F1 car. The construction is somewhat inside out. Cheers Rob