DocRob

If it is a leather seat, my method, I tried first with my RSO build might work. I love the result you get using cigarette paper for leather. Here is an excerpt from this build. Cheers Rob Next on my RSO schedule was the interior and I wanted to try something new. The leather bench painted in Tamiya semi gloss black looked way too new, so I decided to do something good for the health of my part time smoking wife and took some of her cigarettes, got rid of the tobacco and crumpled the paper. Then I applied some white glue-water mix to the bench and backrest and applied the paper. After that I dabbed some Tamiya earth brown onto the still a little wet cigarette paper as a background for the crackles. Looks ugly, but that was what I was expecting and the rib structure of the paper pays off. After everything was dried, I applied first some semi gloss black with a near dry old stiff brush carefully only stroking in one direction. After doing that several times, I changed to flat black and continued. While stroking I emphasized the places, where the crew must have left the most wear with the fewest color and added a little volume. The effect was a bit to glossy for my liking, so I mixed some drops of future with Tamiya flat base and applied again nearly drybrushing. A little shine should be left, like worn old leather develops. I like the result and the bench looks much more realistic and textured that way and sports the wanted crackled effect. The interior with all it's levers got some treatment first with Uschis steel pigments, some yellow penciling an

Love it, your progress looks great. These dozers and tractors have a very addictive appeal. I was urged to take out my started Doobi kit. The yellow seems to be a bit - err - yellow - if it should be factory Caterpillar stuff. Cheers Rob

That sentence, beside your Avatar, makes me think about the quality of my build . Cheers Rob

Thanks for the warning, I will inspect the nose gear closely. Cheers Rob

Indeed, but maybe it is a different seat, because it is from a SU-27. The odd thing is the general difference in size. Somebody missed out big time . Cheers Rob

Lovely internal work and like Gaz mentioned, those Ammo belts look the part. The pre painted Aluminium forces you to alter the painting process with the masking work to be done at an earlier stage, where normally overspray would not be an issue, but hey, no risk of paint lifting, I guess . Cheers Rob

Like Ernie, I rub them between my fingers, before assembly with the PE buckles and glue them in with CA when ready. I can't think of a way to pre form these belts and lay them loosely into the seat. The moment of gluing the bellts on to the seat always scares me a little. Just Yesterday with my Arado build, I managed to get a CA smear on the leather part of the seat, while doing it. It was easily hidden with some matte varnish. I use to fiddle the belts through the PE buckles, while these are on their fret. It makes the assembly process much easier. Cheers Rob

Thanks Kevin, I like that idea too, when there is enough space and the kit construction is flimsy. By the way, welcome to our relaxed place for Large Scale Modelling and other stuff. Cheers Rob

As much as I hate to wiggle these HGW belts together, as much do I like the result, but why a two seater ? After installing the belts, they get a thin red brown wash, to pop the stitches and some matte varnish for the otherwise too shiny metal parts. It took the actual heat wave, to get me into my cave and finalize the second seat for the operator and I am close now to close the fuselage. That is how the reinforced wheel struts worked out. Here they are half slid in and the fit is tight. I may not even glue them in later, because it is nice to get the struts removeable for transport or painting. Cheers Rob

Some other project got in the way of the Mig, but it's not forgotten. One of the reasons were the Aerobonus pilots, I was waiting for. Today I removed some resin and made the final comparison of the seats. Interesting to see, how different the interpretation of more or less the same thing is scalewise . Left is Brassin from a SU-27 kit, middle is Aerobonus with the pilot molded in and the one for Giants and Cyclops is the kit supplied one. I will use the Aerobonus ones, if I get the little fellows painted right. They look good in the cockpit sizewise, but headless at the moment. Cheers Rob

Sure, and naturally out of scientific reasoning only, I'm sure , that's at least, what I tell my wife in this kind of situation. I'm not that deep into this trucker and babes thing, but maybe this is because I don't own a truck . Cheers Rob

Now that's a cheap girl . Cheers Rob

Looks like a lot of work, but at least you can use your own brew of RLM 66 . Cheers Rob

Nice detailing and painting the pit. I don't now if I had it in me to repaint the PE around the bezels. From what I have seen from your earlier pics, it was not as worse as with the TA-152, where I spent a while, thinking what to do about the gruesome IP. In the end I noticed how deep it is set into the fuselage and used it. No option here under the Uhu's glass dome. Cheers Rob

After my recent Wingnut Wings acquisitions, I tried to convince myself to a little time of new kit abstinence. Didn't work out and with the help of Ernie's excellent WIP, I had no choice .

Some month ago I bought an Ebbro kit of a Citroen DS, my favorite car, only substituted by a real Jeep recently, because the steep hills of my island would kill the DS. This kit has also pre chromed parts and I tried on some test sprues to remove it. I used the cleaner / degreaser meant for the glass front of my fireplace. I sprayed some in a plastic bag and within a minute the chrome was gone, even in tight corners. The plastic was unharmed. I immediatly rinsed the plastic in clear water, to avoid damage. I had a toothbrush (not my actual one ) at hand, but it was not necessary. P.S. Look what I found this moment: https://www.themodellingnews.com/2020/05/canfora-keeps-on-truckin-in-2020-with.html Cheers Rob

Cool project, remembers me of what I call, my first period of modelling I scalemated it and it shows it's from 1971. One one hand I feel a little older now, on the other, I still remember having lots of fun building it. Your kit seems to date back to 1972, which at least gives you a timeframe for the original. I remember seeing a few of these on American Highways some years ago. Cheers Rob

Great looking pit, the shading of the RLM 66 looks very convincing. With the conversion taped on it looks really nose heavy, but that might be caused by the wide angle look. Cheers Rob

Those two are looking great, congratulations. Your sons reminds me to take off the hard top off mine with summer approaching. Mine has both tops. I really like the refined look of the JL Jeeps and I definitely would like to have the new 8 gear automatic shift for mine (manual shift would be even better, but is no option on the better equipped Jeeps), but I bought one of the last JK's on purpose, it looks more old school Jeep and has less electronics on board and last but not least, I fell in love with it on a long trip through the south eastern states of the US some years ago. Driving 6000 miles from Louisiana to North Carolina, always with the open top, enjoying the dust of the road, the wind and the sun. Cheers Rob

Quote of the day . Nice choice with the Siemens Schuckert. As usual, I will follow with great interest, I have two Eduard 1/48 boxings in stash, beside some resin goodies and Aviattic Lozenge. Cheers Rob

I don't know, if they really revised something. Mine had the later grey only plastic, but I'm not sure if there were changes to the moulds. The kit is not all out bad, it has some terrible designed areas, specially around the engine struts-lower front fuselage,-front wingroot areas. Some details in the cockpit and inner fuselage (not the engine) are toyisch and have soft detail. Some of my dismay may had been caused by higher expectations of the kit on my side, but at least it's done and doesn't look too shabby. Cheers Rob

Your little Kitten looks fabulous, like your other works. Beside the great work, I like how you finish your work and emphasize on the materials a lot. Faces are matte, leather partly shiny, …. I try that on my builds too, because it enhances the result beautifully, but it's not easy to achieve. Cheers Rob

Looking intriguingly good so far Carl. I had some encounters with Eduard's interpretation of RLM 66 myself. It's off and in some sets like the ZM TA-152 looks rasterized, awful. Sometimes, if it's not too bad you can use it and paint the rest of the pit a tad darker and let it go as a highlighting effect for the upper panels, catching more light from above. To me it's the opposite approach. I have built one unexpectedly partly very bad kit by ZM, the TA-152 and without that experience I would have started the He-219 by long. Cheers Rob

Nice and muddy little fellow, can't wait to see it with tracks on. The dull coat will darken the pigmented mud, so be careful if it should look dried up like now. Cheers Rob

Thanks Steve, and you are absolutely right, whatever sports you do in an ocean, it is always relaxing in a very special way. You have to take what the see gives you, it will be stronger than you all the time, but surfing and swimming offers me the small sensation of partial mastering the element, which I treat with great respect. Cheers Rob Me too Phil and it took some time to put it to reality. I just love to see the Ocean in the morning, it's quite relaxing and I have to confess, my first observation is about the direction of the swell, the tide and the wind. Surfers yarn , As a bueno side effect, surfing generates the best beer thirst you can have with the salty water and exhaustion. There is nothing like a post surf cerveza, best drank with the dudes. Cheers Rob