DocRob

Thank you Peter, ZM will be more buildable for sure. Detail wise the Fly kit is a mixed bag. The plastic is so-so, but the resin parts for the Cockpits and other areas will be hard to surpass. Cheers Rob

Thank you Carl, most went on ok but my error from the very firs day of building the Nachtigall shows. The lower antenna posts are in front of the upper ones. I somehow mis measured the holes in the top canopy and there is nothing realistic, I can do about it. In late 2019, when I started the build, I mentioned a possible upcoming AR-234 from ZM, but it hasn't materialized until now. Portfolio wise, the Arado would fit though for ZM. The Fly kits seem to become sparse, like you said. There is Artscale in Czechoslovakia claiming to have the night fighter available. Cheers Rob

I took all my guts and glued the canopy shut, first the lower half, followed bey the upper glasshouse. I used Tamiya cement and after the glue had settled, ran Revell Contacta Clear over the seams three times for filling and sealing. The radio operator compartment was closed as well and received the same treatment. Cheers Rob

These wheel wells look fantastic Peter, more and more details along the great engineering of the kit. The tail assembly seems perfect. My original thinking was for my future P-38 build, to do it along a second P-38 from Academy. I'm not so sure anymore . Cheers Rob

Thank you Gentlemen, these clear parts are by far the most touched and handled ever in my builds. I hope, I can keep them unharmed with so many things going in and on there. Yesterday, I realized, that my process to add the upper canopy first wouldn't work, because the lower side has trapezoid 'fins' fitting between fuselage and upper canopy. This way, it's impossible to adjust the IP wiring after closing the canopy, bummer. I prepared everything that the wires will bend to shape, while gluing on the upper half of the glasshouse. Cheers Rob

I have the Romfell in my stash and thought about a steam punk conversion. Not sure, but it's a maybe. Cheers Rob

Slowly progressing with the cockpit. After finally gluing in the instrument panels struts, I added the struts for the FUG antennas and hope they are more or less correct aligned. Not an easy job, because the cockpit is slightly tilted to the front and you have only the curved canopy shapes for orientation. I finally made some touchups and let some Pledge run around the drilled holes in the clear cockpit parts. Next will be final masking and then the canopy will be glued in place, first the upper half, then stowing the cables and then the lower half. Cheers Rob

Two times yes, Carl. Please do another 234, it would be gold in your hands. Even with the difficulties, this build throws at me, I consider building a second Arado, but only a single seater. And yes, it's the toughest part of the build, not made easier with the added night fighter equipment. Cheers Rob

As I don't have UV gel, I will use PVA. I have a bottle of relatively thick PVA for woodworks and hope it will work. I need a self leveling solution, because I don't want to sand the clear parts. Cheers Rob

Fantastic result Gus, she's a beauty with the slightly faded and weathered surfaces, contrasting the nicely blended decals. Are these the kit supplied ones? Cheers Rob

Thanks Peter, I hope to close the canopy soon and forever . Where the two canopy halves meet, I will try to use white glue as a filler, let's see, how this works out. Cheers Rob

I managed to get some of the hard stuff done. I'm never to keen about gluing parts into canopies, but here it's a bit more than the odd rearview mirror and it's a mix of materials, plastic, resin and PE. The canopy was bathed in Pledge before masking, a long time ago and my recent glue tests showed, that there is no fogging with my CA and Tamiya cement. I somehow fiddled in the IP and the IP framing, after I installed the base strips for the antler struts. It was not easy to align the parts without smearing glue somewhere on the inside of the canopy, but I think, I got it done. The IP got two shim parts made from styrene, where they meet the canopy for a larger gluing surface. Now I let that dry until tomorrow and then will attach the lower struts of the IP framing and make some touch ups. Cheers Rob

Thank you Peter, the next steps will show the fate, the Nachtigall will meet. Yesterday, I worked on the canopy and there showed the big mistake I made right to the beginning (I knew about it since then, but wanted to address it when time comes). The holes in the upper canopy half, which take the FUG posts are to far to the rear. Somehow, I measured wrong, when drilling them. There is no way of correcting this, but to hopefully align them as good as possible and to say, the setup is a development from the first B2-N model. Easy to assert, with the sparse documentation of the Nachtigall. Yesterday, I performed some glue testing on the inner back of the clear parts, to avoid fogging. I tested my go to CA and Tamiya plastic glue. Let's see, how this worked. Cheers Rob

Indeed Phil, I'm a bit of a coward, when it comes to the canopy. You have to add structural parts, IP and IP framing, the antennae posts and some levers and instruments into the clear parts. Yesterday, I did a bit of test fitting and after some minutes, there was a bunch of parts cluttered on my desk, ready to be puzzled again. Cheers Rob

Great work on the engine and cockpit parts, everything looks crisp and clean. For wiring, I use lead wire, which you can purchase from different companies, like PlusModel or Ask. I have an assortment of different diameters and they are supersoft and good to glue with CA. Cheers Rob

C'mon Hubert, it's nearly done . I like the looks of your pit a lot, well detailed and lived in, but personally, I can't wait for you tackling the weird outside looks of this interesting bird. Cheers Rob

...and what a beauty it is, congratulations. I hope your precious PZL can trigger Hubert to follow through with his. Cheers Rob

Poco a poco Phil, the Mossie is a demanding project. Your cockpit looks great and you finished the fiddly bets, which add a lot of reality. Is there a reason, why the cockpit floor is still on the sprue? Cheers Rob

Welcome to the forum Collin, nice Job on your Mitchell. I really like the faded OD paint job and the beautiful in flight display. Cheers Rob

Interesting technique Mike, I will keep that stored. This way the spars are much more convincing 'pre shaded' than with the unmasked spray over. Cheers Rob

Your Messerschmitt looks absolutely fantastic Kevin, the paintjob is great with the subtle mottling. On my H&S Infinity airbrush, I don't use the forked protective cap anymore. There is less sputter and it's easy to clean the needle with a cotton bud, soaked in thinner. It's easy to bend the needle though, only yesterday, I hit the side panel of my spray booth with it and bent it terribly. I bent it back (soft steel it seems) and gave it a new finish, using my Japanese grinding stone, honing the tip with 6000 grid. Cheers Rob

Thank you Kevin and Gary, I hope I can finish the Nachtigall this time. It's one of those kits, throwing a lot of trouble your way, but is somehow rewarding on the other hand. Closing the canopy is most critical, as there are many paarts to glue into the clear parts while closing, making it really hard to align everything. Cheers Rob

It has been a while, since I was working on the Nachtigall, but the kit, resting on the shelf was never forgotten. I need all my cojones to continue with it and after finishing some builds lately, I initially wanted to start the 1/32 HKM Do-335 B2, but then remembered the Arado. I love planes that may look quirky, but are so much ahead of their time engineering- and design wise, that they immediately attract me, the unusual the better. The Arado even beats the Pfeil in that subjective category and now, I hope I can pull the build through, having most of the difficult work already done. After evaluating, what I had done, re-reading my thread to catch up, I wanted to close the canopy now and started to add detail to the cockpit and bezeled and wired the instrument panel with the Yahu PE parts, which are cleverly done. The manual calls for 1mm pre drilling, where the dials should go and the backside of the dials has a protrusion, to place them. The bezels have a little nub for aiding the placement, which has it's counterpart on the dial. This way, you can be sure, the instruments are orientated correct. Cheers Rob

You should come together, would raise the amount of modelers to four on my island . Cheers Rob

Nothing against digital sources Gary, the only thing I detest is crappy sound. Bad sampled mp3's from tiny boomboxes via bluetooth, shudder You have to bring the vinyl's then, only have one KC and no E, L, P, but thousands others. Cheers Rob