DocRob

Thanks Gaz, but it will be AK's Xtreme Metals not Alclad for a test and definitely no foil, I'm not up to it . Cheers Rob

The Lady in the Lake changed to Lady in Black temporarily. To get the full shininess of polished metal, I honed the primed surface with 12000 grid pads and after a rub with an alcoholized piece of cotton I primed again with Alclad shiny black primer. After redo the honing and the rubbing, I now have the surface I'm looking for to prepare the NMF. After that much alcohol for the lady it's my turn now to get some liquor into my system Cheers Rob

Hey Gaz, at least the wash camouflaged the smoke rings , just joking. In the end she came out good, so what the heck. It's a thing about modelling, that you always try to do new techniques and not all of them work to perfection. On the other hand you get two benefits out of that, you learn to get a fine result despite the difficulties (like you did here) and you gain a lot of experience for the next build. Cheers Rob

Great progress with the cockpit and IP. Never heard about those seat belts, but they do look good. I like the early war RLM 02 interior colour, because it has more contrast and enhances details better than the dull late war RLM 66 caves. Cheers Rob

Wow, courageous project. Seeing the thread the first time I thought it must be a non LSM build. I will follow for sure. Cheers Rob

You are absolutely right about the magneto. Trusted the Colour callout in the manual and didn't even check my own photos, dear me . I will try to correct that after painting the fuselage and get rid of the masking. Thanks Ernie, to hear that from you makes me proud. After starting the build I decided to choose the Dottie Mae design instead of another one and give the whole bird a newish look, like the original lady from the lake after restauration. Because of that late decision, I even have to repaint the wheel coverings, which I weathered to much. Cheers Rob

That is truly brilliant, the way you present the Wellington with the reference to the crew, the crash site near your house and historical background is something special. Cheers Rob

Nice, you must have steady hands to pick out these details, looking great. Cheers Rob

Very nice busy looking cockpit. The wiring adds a lot, it tends to enhance the 3D representation of the workplaces. Cheers Rob

Looking good, what a pleasant surprise to the eye to see these colorful cockpits, compared to a RLM 66 dull workplace. Nice work on the details and rigging. Cheers Rob

Thank you Peter, my fingers are itching, but there is still to much dust in the air to start, I think I will precut some masks today for the colored panels of Dottie Mae. Cheers Rob

You seem to like a bit of a challenge, do you? Go for it and enjoy . I like a challenge sometimes to, but this one hit me a little off guard, I didn't expect that mess. I'm not a quitter though and that meens, the Komet and me, we need a little time to get along, but we will in the end. Back to the PE. The Eduard stuff is great and besides the IP, the seat and it's substructures are a gem, but not much will be seen in the end. Fit of the PE is very good.

Got her primed yesterday and can't wait to bring on the first layer of polished Aluminium, but have to wait, because there is Kalima outside (again) . This is a hot storm from the Sahara area with lots of dust in it, so not a good day for starting a NMF job. For preparation, I took a lot of time to finely hone all the imperfections of the surfaces and after a rub with alcohol to get rid of dust and fingerprints used Tamiya's rattle can fine primer for a durable surface. I plan to use different shades of Aluminium for painting and has to mask some panels, which is not the best thing to do with metal Colours. I will use detacked masks to keep everything in place, fingers crossed. Cheers Rob

Hi Nigel, sounds a bit fast to take it out of the portfolio. But there is another little helper in form of Yahu Models out there with two IP's for the Meng kit. http://yahumodels.siemianowice.com/132-124 Unfortunately there are more serious troubles with the kit itself. Fitting the numerous body parts is a pain, if you go for a closed fuselage. I stalled with the build and WIP some weeks ago because of that and need some mojo to continue. Cheers Rob

Hy Iwan, you can't have everything For sentimental reasons I will show you that one, found close to my old hood in Berlin. Having no Mig's at all on my tiny island in fact there are only ATR-72 island hopper and a helicopter for those who don't respect the strength of the ocean. Cheers Rob

Good to have you back here. Nice start with that 190, will follow, because I have two F8 in my stash with lots of goodies for two different settings. Cheers Rob

Nice result and a clean build Ron, I would have reduced the shine a little like on the red spinner. How do you keep your spray booth that clean after having done the kit? Mine looks like a Colour slaughterhouse . Cheers Rob

Nice job smoothing the tiny edges of the kit. Your A-7 looks pretty good and nice work on the resin, all blends in perfectly. Cheers Rob

Holy smoke, thankfully no Italian birds in my collection. I will sit on my terrace now and do some real smoke rings with a little cigar and some wine, thinking about my next mottling job or the NMF of my P-47. Cin cin Rob

Very interesting subject and combined with your skillful building a clinic, nice. There is a sequel of related WW1 pilots stories out there. The plot is a little soso to my eye, but the paintings by Romain Hugault are brilliant. No idea though if there exists an English version. https://salleckpublications.eu/Gesamtverzeichnis/Der-Pilot-mit-dem-Edelweiss/ Cheers Rob

Feliz Año Nuevo Señhoras e Senhores, due to summeresque conditions outside, my pace has slowed a little, but some progress on this very pleasurable build is made. Most of the sub assemblies are done and painted. I cut and grinded the places for the navigational lights, to fit in the transparencies. These were drilled and the holes where filled wit transparent red and blue-green. After touching up the engine it was installed in the lower cowling part and the other three cowlings where glued and sanded on the front lip. All the cowling part, the cooler and cooler ring plus the engine where glued in situ, to be able to align everything properly. So far no problems, fit is very good. Same goes for the wing Attachement, nearly no gap here. before gluing together I sanded the leading edges of the wings and fuselage connections with lots of patience, because I think good preparation is the best way for a good NMF. One question for the experts: What is the purpose of the leading edge hole close to the fuselage on the right wing? I found no clear part and photos I took from the original don't show glass either, so it seems to be a vent opening. The smaller square hole beside that one has to be a gun cam, am I right here? Cheers Rob The navigational lights look much better in reality, the Colour dots are just refractions, which will reduce with a silver background

Nice progress Peter, painting stage not to far ahead. On my Birdcage F4U I used the Brassin wheels without problems, the gap was perfect to my eye, but I've heard about that problem with the gap between wheel and hub in other places, so maybe Eduard altered something while producing. Cheers Rob

That's definitely not sprue cutting and gluing together, this is awesome scratching at it's best. Cheers Rob

That's what I call burning rubber Cheers Rob

Looking great, but painting will not be an easy task, lots of tiny parts and seemingly no sub assemblies, you sure like the challenge. Cheers Rob