DocRob

That looks like a lot of work Mark, but well spent, as it looks really cool. Cheers Rob

Interesting way of cost saving Gaz, but taken into account, that a good set of metal tracks is not much cheaper, than the kit, it's made for. On the other hand it sounds like binning the wearer, when the shoe is not right . Shame on Dragon for using this chemically unreliable stuff . Cheers Rob

Exactly my thought Phil, but the other tracks are still flexible and two of those where in their unopened clear plastic sleeve. These didn't look like vacuum wrapped, though. Cheers Rob

It's a shame, that Dragon uses such an useless material for the tracks and plane parts. Thanks for the generous offer with the tracks Carl, but my four DS equipped kits are covered by three Friul sets and for the last, I have some Magic Tracks as a substitute. I normally try to buy all needed AM, when buying a kit. It happens often, that later some goods are out of production. Oh no, there is a DS made tanker jacket in my 251 kit . Cheers Rob

There are lots of pics and live feeds in the internet, John. I would prefer to be a little further away, than I am . Cheers Rob

Lets hope so, I spent some hours to find the best way, to mask the glasshouse and try to figure the best way to add the IP, antennas and other bits to it. Cheers Rob

The Marder is coming together nicely Gaz. I'd say, that adding a darker dust color in places might be a good idea. Cheers Rob

Yeah I know, the typical 'DS-tracks 'like 'em or not' thread, but no, this is about ageing or reacting of the material they are made of and/or they are packed in. I have four sets of DS-tracks, which luckily in all but one case will be substituted. For some reason, I opened my Jagdpanther G2 box, #6609, and found the still sealed DS-tracks in a state, shown on the pic. Where they were bent in the box, they already were broken and the third crack appeared, while taking them from the box. The tracks are absolutely brittle and the plastic wrap seems to have shrunken on them. I checked the other boxes, a Patton, where I opened the sealing of the DS-tracks and they are still flexible and unharmed. On a Panther G, they were flexible, but due to packing, they had bended guide horns, which I doubt, will be usable and on an early Tiger, I found the same. The kits are all four to seven years old, when I bought them new and the worst, the Jagdpanther is not the oldest one. Do you have similar effects with DS-tracks, and how do they held up under aggressive painting and weathering? Cheers Rob

Hi Harv and Martin, as strange as it sounds, it's usual business with the volcano, bad as it is. It crept into the daily routine and some scientists claim that there is a slight reduction in activity over the last days. As there are no new lave streams, there is not so much new destruction of houses and farms. So far there are no casualties. The problems are the amount of ash, which in some places of La Palma is a some meters thick layer, covering everything and the toxic gases from the volcano. On my island we notice lots of tiny earthquakes, barely noticeable, but they are there and sometimes there is some distant rumble from the eruption. When the wind hits us bad, we have a lot of black ash in the air and I have an acrid taste in my mouth since the volcano erupted first. Of course, these effects are much stronger on La Palma itself and I feel sorry for the inhabitants there. I read, that the use of anti depresiva and sleeping pills has multiplied on La Palma, which I take as an indicator for the state of mind over there, it rattles the nerves even here, where everything is on normal go. Cheers Rob

Gracias hombres, the kit's front and back office are an invitation, to do something good with it. Now the real fun begins with the IP in the glasshouse, which will be challenging, along with an error I made in the beginning of the build. Fingers crossed for that critical section. Cheers Rob

Give the show a miss or just the spending, Phil? I've never been to a modelling show, but really would like to visit one or more, even without my wallet. Sad to hear, that you're affected in such a bad way by the whole C-mess, job related or other. Cheers Rob

I had a shopping spree lately and the last order was the fastest to reach, no wonder as it was from Spain. Lots of RC colors for some projects, like the Kai Phantom, the Do-17 in Africa livery, pre war splinter for a Gaspatch Henschel and some 4BO for my AT-ST aaannnndddd a nice set of Kolinsky brushes. These are not the very best ones, but they are really good. I tested three different for some time and they are far ahead of the typical synthetic hair brushes, so a clear recommendation. The flat brushes are for spreading oil colors and weathering and last but not least, I'm pretty happy, the Xtreme cleaner has safely reached my island. It's my favorite airbrush cleaner by far. It's aggressive, but since I use it, I normally half my cleaner amount per cleaning. On top of that, I bought a plaster cast Diorama base for a T-34 menacing through my old hometown of Berlin, like it happened in the last days of WWII in front of the house of my family. There are the base and the facades included, along laser cut wooden door and windows and some signs and advertising. My plaster parts were partly broken, but this will be no prob to fix with some white glue. RT supplies the exact same casts made with another more robust ceramic for a higher price, but I wanted to try the reasonable priced plaster version first, so I knew about the risk. The cast itself is highly detailed. Cheers Rob

Today, I glued the lower non clear section of the canopy to the fuselage, which needed some fixation, before the glue settled, because the used plastic is way thinner, than that of the fuselage. I then added first the side consoles, then the left and right wall section and then the devices onto them. with that order, I ensued, that everything fits well into the tub. I did some more detail painting and highlighting and then glued the PE front in place. On the pictures, the pit looks dusty and I don't know why, because there is no visible dust there, but there are still some areas for touch ups, after all has cured. Cheers Rob

Thank you fellas, the resin parts for the cockpit and operator area are among the best, I've ever seen. Sharp detail and perfect fit. Opposite to the plastic they are absolutely flawless and to me that's what always motivates me while working on the shortcomings of the kit. Is there another kit out there with that kind of glass house, where you wouldn't buy some extras for detailing. OK, I did with the Yahu instruments and the HGW belts, but with the supplied PE belts and decals for the instruments, you can build that area easily oob. Cheers Rob

Ouch, these Fly kits, they throw some italeriesque fittings at you, but soften the impact with their sweet resin. Cheers Rob

Definitely not a Ferrari guy, but this engine is a beauty as well as the car itself. Cheers Rob

Make my day, it's always good to see you fellows suffer as well with your projects . Bummer that the pre cut masks didn't work. Cheers Rob

Muchas gracias Amigos, the placards are from the kit and from Airscale. When I remember it right, it's the first time, I used some in a German plane, because normally not a lot is visible under the canopy, here, it's quite different. The kit supplied decal sheet is very extensive and of good quality, hopefully for the large markings too. Cheers Rob

After all that grinding, cutting and sanding, it was about time for some finer works. I continued with the cockpit, where I added the Yahu dials and bezels to the side consoles. The instruments were then treated with Revell contacta clear, not only for clarity, which was given on the Yahu instruments, but to secure the bezels as well, which tended to pretend, they are food for the carpet monster sometimes. The instruments got a 0,3 mm lead wire glued in on the backside, which then were painted with a drop of titanium gold for the connector and yellow for the cable itself. Cheers Rob On the pic the consoles are only dryfitted. They need some cleanup and some more detail painting as well, but it's good enough for a first impression.

That was exactly my thought, when I compared the Naxos to the boring star shaped radar. Cheers Rob

It never ends with buying new stuff , but the sanding stone is at least to me a multi purpose item, for sharpening knives, tools and now, scalpel blades. One of the 190's will be made as a plane from the Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland, an organization formed by the Soviets with German POW's who were willing to fight against the Nazis, the other will be crashed and showing a lot of details like engine other innards. That's the plan at least. Cheers Rob

For my stupidity, I instantly tried to sharpen an old Tamiya blade and it works a miracle, it's super sharp again . I have the HE-219, the Mustang and the Horten from ZM and built only the TA-152 until now. I only would add to these, if I have a very pleasant build with one of the others. When I remember right, they announced an Arado 234 as well, but for a second build, I might would buy another Fly kit again. The resin and PE is just too tempting. I hope the best for my two future Revell FW-190 builds, where I have a lot of goodies and plans for the finish. The only other LS Revell, I own is the early Arado seaplane with mono float, which doesn't look too bad in the box. Cheers Rob

Oh my, what have I done. Last week arrived my Honda RC166 kit from Europe and today, I received all the metal goodies from Japan. Looking at the single link chain and single spokes for the wheels makes me shiver for fear and anticipation . Cheers Rob

I would not buy a sharpening stone for the scribing tools, but already have one to keep the good kitchen knives and other tools sharp. By the way, I could resharp my scalpel blades with it, never thought about it before, stupid me . The only Mustang kit I have is the ZM P-51. In the box it looks pretty good, but after my very mixed feelings, while building their TA-152, I tend to have the same opinion as you about all the inner clutter, which mostly isn't even correct. Only a build can show, how well the kit is designed, though. Cheers Rob

Thanks Kai, lets hope for the best with the Arado, there are still some areas of concern, like the multi part cockpit glazing and some others. I've never seen the resin kit of the 234, it must be a quite heavy thing. Cheers Rob