DocRob

Some bright stuff in smaller scales arrived today. The 1/72 Doodlebug resin kit from Brengun will accompany my flashy green Gee Bee Q.E.D. The kit seems nicely casted, simple to build and has some PE and vac-windscreen included. The 1/48 Gee Bee from the Catalan company Dekno. The kit is 3D printed and on first inspection has some superficial print marks. Let's see how this turns out. Black markings are decals printed by Arctic Decals and I hope, they will respond well to decal solutions. It's an experiment for me, but when I've seen the kit, I had to buy it. Last but not least, a vac-canopy with masks for my KI-15 'Kamikaze record plane and some masks for the pronunciation of the control surfaces. Cheers Rob

Love it, great scratch work and paintjob. Cheers Rob

My test decal on the tail silvered and that meant masking time, hooray . The OneManArmy masks are cut absolutely precise, but it's a lot of tedious work. With the Arad, some masks require three layers of masking and color, phew. Masking the walkways on top of the fuselage and wings was not so easy, with trimming the strips to size and align them with a ruler and good eyesight. The larger markings like the crosses were applied with frisket film on top, which makes alignment and placement easier, a lesson learned with my Corsair build. Now I have to think about the airplane codes on the side of the plane, where I don't have the proper masks for. Silvering decals? A false code and hoping nobody recognizes it? Browsing through my masks and try to find something appropriate? Decisions, decisions... Next will be masking the masks , which will be an equally annoying job, before it's spraying time. I hope my new airbrush will arrive soon, which will be helpful with the fine markings and other filigrane airbrush work, but more about that later. Cheers Rob

Thanks Peter and Harv, Gary brought it up, and I stored it for time to come with a hard edge camo. There is always a small demarcation line, where the colors border. That's completely smoothed out and the slightly different color appearance is equaled and somehow it lowers the contrast a tiny bit, which looks better scale wise. Cheers Rob

Like Gus, I love to work with Tamiya lacquers and AK Real Colors. They spray absolutely fantastic, cover well and dry fast. Cheers Rob

Peter, despite all obstacles you managed to breeze through your Mustang build in style. She will be a stunner. I'm glad to hear about the solved medical situation of your wife, not so glad to hear, you have ongoing issues. All the best Robert

I know what you mean, when I built my 1/48 Mig-31, I was more than a bit surprised by the size difference of different bang seats. They claim ALL to be 1/48 . Left: Eduard borrowed from a SU-27 kit, Middle Quickboost or Aires with pilot and Right: Kit supplied from AMG. I'm still wondering, if the kit seat would have fit under the closed canopy. And then sometimes we fight about millimeters, accuracy wise . Cheers Rob

Nice progress Carl. I always have to smile, when I see the unbuttoned fuselages of F-14's. with their weird and in your case very sturdy wing sweep mechanisms. It started with an Airfix 1/72 Tomcat, when I was a youngster. Cheers Rob

Looking good Kevin and the stripes will add a nice contrast. Cheers Rob

What are you trying to tell Gary, pilots grow better than tankers? Cheers Rob

Beautiful build all around with great attention to detail. Your Corsair will be a stunner. I used 1ManArmy masks for my F4U-1a and they are absolutely great. You'll need to do a lot of masking, but they are relatively easy to use, with only one colored stencils. It's harder with the Arado 234 I'm currently building, where some stencils need three different color / masking layers. You also got basic markings and the Stars and Bars in very high quality. One tip, if you go the route, use transparent low tack adhesive film over the insignia, which makes alignment and placement definitely easier. Cheers Rob

Great work on that tiny ship, Mike. I can't wait to see, how it interacts with the Walrus. Cheers Rob

Thank you Martin. I heard it first from you Gary, if I remember it correctly and stored it on my brain HD. It's a great technique and you have the benefit of a smooth surface for decaling or whatever follows. Cheers Rob

I soldered my own from flattened brass tube, when I built my D.VIII, but it was tedious. If I had known of the existence of these pre fabricated ones, I would have ordered them. If you are after more detailing, there are some nice Aviattic addons, like the very thin casted cowling and a PE set. When remember right, I used a Le Rhone engine from Lukgraph. You'll love the kit Bill, it's demanding but rewarding and the rigging is a breeze. I'm considering building a second one in a black yellow naval fighter scheme. Cheers Rob

It's 1/48 luckily, Hubert. Aren't there a zillion civilian schemes out there? I hope you do a WIP. Cheers Rob

Thank you shark and Peter, that's exactly what I do with de-masking, Peter. About half an hour of drying time, because I don't want to dab into wet paint. but I will not wait longer and risk cracks in the dry paint. After a proper drying time, I inspected the paintjob and found only some minor flaws, which will be corrected by brush. The constantly pressing on of the vinyl masks payed in the end. To unify the camouflage a bit better, I used a 6000 grit sanding sponge and wet sanded the whole model. It's interesting, how this seemingly unnoticeable effect integrates the different hard edged colors better. I now have a very smooth base and have to decide, if I go the painful route with the 1ManArmy masks or if I use the kit decals. Some markings for my plane are not included in the mask set, so I decaled the Arado's serial number and the kit decals behave exceptionable well. Thin but robust and easy to slide and position. I will evaluate after drying, which way I choose with the markings and stencils. Cheers Rob

This little beauty showed up on my doorstep today. It made the long way from Japan in record time and beat the masking set, I ordered in the UK the same day by far. These will show up next week, if I'm lucky. Mind, I choose the cheapest shipping option from Japan, I have no idea, how they do it. The Mitsubishi Karigane fits into my recent surge for inter war racers and record planes. I also ordered another narrower chisel from wave. I already own the 3 mm variant and the smaller 1,6 mm tool will come in handy. Cheers Rob

I thought about invasion stripes too Carl, but I want to reduce masking after applying the rivets as much as possible. Many great schemes for the P-38 out there. Cheers Rob

Like the others said, those straps look great and add a lot of eye candy to the PT-boat, Phil. Cheers Rob

The kit was with me for some time and I feel the urge to start it soon. I love the Lightning, specially in NMF and that's what I plan to do. Out of sheer curiosity, I ordered Eduards rivet set and I will choose one of the two gals from the Bombshell decal sheet for my P-38. The decision will mainly be about as less masking as possible over the riveted NMF. The decals are printed by Cartograph and include everything from nose art, to insignia and stencils. Cheers Rob

Gracias hombres, I will not weather the Nachtigall too heavy, like you said Carl, the service time was very brief. I may use a fine sanding sponge after masking and airbrushing the stencils and markings and then a bit of Flory's dirt clay wash. Cheers Rob

Great attention to detail Gary and I have to try the baking powder thing as well, never thought about it. I will look forward to your further riveting experiences, as I bought a set for my P-38 build. Cheer Rob

The hard edge camo is done. I sprayed the brown violet over the masked dark green areas and got a sharp result. I used a dedicated masking set, made by LF Models. The masks are made from vinyl and It took some effort to lay them down perfectly, to have no color running under it. The manual is a bit vague in places, relatively small and some codes were printed blue on green, hard to read. Definitely an area for improvement. I always remove my masks rapidly after application, before the color is properly hardened through. Luckily on first inspection, I couldn't make out severe mistakes. After proper drying, I will have a closer look. Cheers Rob

There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed about with your fantastic looking 110, Kevin. I hope for an at leas decent result with the Nachtigall. It was too much work for a complete bust. Cheers Rob

Thanks Phil, I will . I'm very glad, that I finished her without destroying the kit while handling it a zillion times. With my inner eye, I sometimes visualized, moving to fast out of the focus area of the magnifier and hit the superstructure somewhere and having the Arizona slip from the stand into the great nowhere. It was testing at times, but proved manageable throughout all phases of the build and I'm lucky to have a heave AM-ed 1/350 ship under my belt. Cheers Rob