DocRob

Like FA said, it´s good to see some nice ship building here. I will follow and am eager to see more. Cheers Rob

Like Hubert said, but it would have haunted you forever, if you had left it with a visible difference. Well, put in 20% for my future WWI builds, because Mike made it look so good and I couldn´t resist. Cheers Rob

You put that right Martin, but you forgot to mention the fun to do so . Cheers Rob

The preparation of the resin and metal parts for all body and the front suspension is quite time consuming, but the fit is overall very good. All body parts got cleaned up, surface sanded, washed in soap water, swiped with an alcohol soaked cotton rag and finally primed with Mr Surfacer 1500 whit primer, which laid down beautifully. In the meanwhile, I glued together the polished cockpit tub and added some accessories. The battery and fire extinguisher will be hidden under the seat later. One beautiful detail is the number plate of the chassis. It has an etched part as a base, with the chassis number etched in. Onto that, you apply a transparent and black decal with the labeling, a bit hard to see on the pic. Cheers Rob

The KV came out nicely, I like the mud and the color modulation. Cheers Rob

This will be interesting Scott, it´s always a pleasure seeing someone putting together a grail kit and in your case to learn a lot through your build, how to handle 3D printed parts not only as accessoires. Cheers Rob

Looking good on the top side Kevin, but a bit heavy on the underside. Hopefully the Future will do it´s job. On chalks, it does a soothing job, reducing the contrasts. Cheers Rob

Until now everything seems fine Mike, the kit seems to be easier to build than the Cobra Coupe. Fit and engineering is very good so far. There are only these damned coil springs for the exhausts, which I couldn´t attach and that is nagging me. I may try to insert a wire into the spring coil for easier bending. Cheers Rob

There is not too much to show at the moment, as I´m preparing all the resin parts and some of the metal parts for the next steps. Test fitting is time consuming, but helps to recognize, where everything fits and how. During this test fitting period, I made a mock up workbench build up. Cheers Rob

I can only guess, but I think they should have been made from rolled steel. Cheers Rob

It was a trap, Hubert and you fell in . I knew, somebody would bite and I guessed it might be you or Martin. I was about to link a Mano Negra video myself, but thought it to be funnier that way. Cheers Rob

Thank you Paul, about tarnishing, I don´t know, but I guess, very little so. These kind of metals are not overly reactive. My Crocker motorcycle with many polished surfaces looks completely unchanged after about a year. Cheers Rob

Thank you Mike, the white metal polishes really easy in fact. I did a lot of polishing with my Crocker motorcycle build as well. The only problem are slight superficial imperfections due to the casting process, which need to be removed first. This can be quite tedious, as it is not easy to sand the parts without losing detail and not all areas are reachable for proper sanding. I don´t know about other metal polishing pastes, but Autosol is a classic and it works perfect for me. Cheers Rob

Yesterday was the day of mano negra, the black hand . Polishing white metal makes your fingers black with the metal residues, but despite the dirt, it is fun. I used sanding sponges of 1200 to 6000 grit, to get rid off the cast imperfections, then it was about polishing with a cotton swab and Autosol metal polishing paste with works really well. I like the shiny look a lot and it could pass for polished aluminum to my eye. Today, i test fitted for some hours, as now is the decisive step, where the tub has to fit into the body, along all the mating parts. Cheers Rob

Thank you Mike, I enjoyed the Valencia trip a lot, fine weather, good food, wine, art, science and beautiful architecture in a very relaxed city. The flat 12 engine was one of the reasons, why I chose the BT45. I was very close before buying a McLaren M19 instead, but it had the same Cosworth CSV engine like my Lotus 77, my Brabham BT44b and others in 1/20, yawn. Cheers Rob

Indeed, some great models, thanks for showing. Cheers Rob

Will there be folded wings Carl? Cheers Rob

After a little pause, caused by one of my birthday presents, a week trip to the beautiful town of Valencia, I continue with the Brabham. I left the kit with the prep work for the exhausts just started and dreaded continuation, as F1 car exhausts can be a nightmare to build up. I cleaned all the parts and grouped them, followed by drilling all needed connecting holes. I then test fit the manifolds and glued the parts together with CA. MFH claims silver for the exhausts, but what I saw on pictures led me to think of brownish stainless steel. I used metal etch primer, followed by AK´s exhaust manifold and accentuated it with metallic blue for heat staining. While assembling, I tried to install the always dreaded coil springs before ore after inserting the exhaust, but failed. If I have a good idea, how to install these, I do it later or improvise somehow. As a preview, I started to prepare the monocoque parts, which need to be finished in polished aluminum. I´m unsure, If I airbrush the aluminum or if I polish it, which will be difficult due to the shape of the parts. Cheers Rob

Some additional thoughts about the Giraldez edition. The trigger has changed and sports a kind of lip at the frontside, which may not be to everybodies taste. It is thought to move it more with the tip of the finger than normal. For me it works well though. The trigger went closer to the paint cup and descriptions said, it wouldn´t be possible to use the larger cup. I use it always, but it is very close to the trigger finger. Cheers Rob

Bad news, Gus. Airbrush recommendations are always a bit difficult, because of personal preferences, but I use H&S Infinity since many years and like them a lot. About two years ago, I bought the Infinity Giraldez edition, and this is my daily AB now. The trigger is better than the normal Infinity and it has the newer, better marked nozzles and needles, not to speak about the new precise collet for the needle. The nozzles seem to be more robust than my old Infinity ones. They are pricey, but for an almost everyday tool, it´s ok to me, as it comes with sturdiness, easy cleaning and good handling along perfect finish. Cheers Rob

Nice pattern Kevin, but on the pic, it looks very bright. A brown filter would blend the colors better and enrichen them somewhat. Cheers Rob

Thank you Hubert, I didn´t dig deeper, but maybe, the cabin of the night fighter was planned to be pressurized. Sitting under the plexy canopy with one of these weird looking plexy helmets wouldn´t be helpful at night with all the reflections. While testing the Arado 234, the reflections proved to be a problem for the night fighter role, even without the helmets. Cheers Rob

@belugawhaleman BTW: I don´t know, if your forum name has a meaning to you, but last week, I visited Valencia in Spain, as a present to my birthday and the huge aquarium there, in fact, the largest in Europe has a family of Belugas of about five meter size in a huge arctic aquarium. Fascinating animals. Cheers Rob

I have no experiences with soldering PR parts, Paul. I learned how to solder with a soldering iron and with a flame, but never used it in modelling. I may try it with a ship project, where extensive PE works are part of. I use CA from Colle 21 for my metal works, being it brass PE parts or cast white metal. Cheers Rob

I have a different rolling tool since years Paul and I use it regularly. Mine has a rubber backside, which also helps to roll PE parts to shape. Annealing makes rolling PE parts a lot easier, as it takes the springiness away from the brass. Heat the brass part over a flame, until it turns blueish. Don´t overheat and let the brass glow. Annealing takes away the tension in the kristalline structure of the metal. Cheers Rob