DocRob

Very nice build. It's scratch build, I understand and not based on a kit? I like your Cutty Sark a lot and even more, as I ventured into the build of my first wooden sailing boat lately. Welcome to the forum and if wooden ships are your mainstay, you will start to close a gap here in LSM, where there are only a few builders of wooden ships present. Cheers Rob

Hmm, GB's, I'm not sure about. I don't want to spoil the party, but my recollections of GB's aren't the best here. I attended two, finished one in time, but both GB's were never finished. As I'm exclusively here on LSM for plastic modelling, these were my first experiences with GB's. Don't get me wrong, generally I like the idea of group builds, as they drive members (me included) out of their comfort zone and it's a great tool to have a bit more interaction in LSM than is at present. There are a lot of builders and 'presenters' recently and not as much discussion and interaction as there were some time ago. I am guilty of that for different reasons actually and all the others do have their own reasons for sure. That is, where a group build can help to stir the situation up a bit, like I have seen it with the Ukrainian GB lately. I like Martin's wide idea of wetties for a GB, where I guess, everybody can find a subject to attend, but have a few questions about possible entries from my side, if I'm in. - What about a 1/72 Schnellboot? - If I make a dio of a 1/48 Walrus, floating in a rough sea, with a lifeboat aside, would that do? Cheers Rob

No belts, no go Rog just my . They are clearly visible, even with the canopy closed. Cheers Rob

Today the post woman was well loaded with parcel for me. Since a long time, I longed to build a second Tamiya Corsair, which is really odd by my standards not to do redundant things. Being a man of consequence, I chose the F4U-1A for my next build, the other one was my re-enter hobby build of the birdcage variant, when it came out. This time it will be tri-tone camo, where I try the AK real colors and mostly oob, except for the Brassin wheels (I hate rubber tyres), HGW seat belts and possibly a Yahu IP. I plan to use masks for Stars and Bars and for stenciling and added a mask set from 1Man Army. For my USS Arizona with wooden deck and tons of PE project, I chose the relatively new US sailors from ION Models in 1/350 for adding some life to the decks. They should be relatively easy to paint still attached to the printing connectors and touched up after cutting them off. Hera is my giant tweezer (beware ) in comparision with the little guys. Cheers Rob

The Lancia is shaping up. I painted the inside of the engine cowlings and glued them to the frame, except one panel, which will be opened after painting the body. I did some detail painting on the interior and some light weathering on the floor and chassis. The interior will be almost invisible, even with the open door on one side, so detailing is sufficient. I wanted to leave the body and the engine cowling removable for easier painting of the camo, but that didn't work due to many parts to align. Cheers Rob

I built their Kai Phantom recently and there were no issues with the build. As Carl mentioned there are no seat belts supplied in fact no PE at all. I bought the belts from Kits-World, but I didn't like them too much. They seem a bit oversized and the protruding parts like levers and pull rings bend easily. The good on these parts, they are printed on both sides. Canopy masks, were purchased from New Ware, which have sets, to allow the painting of the canopy seals and as an add on I bought some Res-kit burner cans. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the kit, but ZM has pointed out the multiple changes they made for the EJ- compared to the E-version. The kit went together very well, fit and engineering were great and the Cartograph decals worked exceptional. The detailing of the cockpit with decals over raised detail was sufficient to me at this scale. Cheers Rob

Nice choice of kit and good to see you jump into the water first. On your pics, all looks like a typical ZM kit, but the manual looks positively unbusied compared to the Kai Phantom. As for the possible schemes, Eduard has a G-14 and a set called 'Wilde Sau' or Saudämmerung' in their portfolio. The manuals are there in PDF with many paint schemes shown. Cheers Rob

I quote myself here Paul Cheers Rob

Muchas gracias amigos, it is indeed a great designed kit with good fits. The manual is on par with WNW or even a tad better, as it shows rigging (not in my case) and wiring on the engine in detail. I really like CSM kits and have more than a handful in Stash. There are the Caudron G.III and Nieuport in 32 scale, the Dolphin and the Armstrong-Whitworth F.K.8 in 48 scale and 35 scale armored car kits, like the Belgian Minerva, the Austro Hungarian Romfell and the Lancia as the first one I build. CSM is about to release the Ehrhardt E/V-4 M.1917 armored car, which was used in the troublesome years of the early Twenties in my old hometown of Berlin, so it is another must for me, maybe with a little dio. @Peterpools: Like you, I'm waiting to see, how my plan for the camo works out. If it fails, I may change for another scheme, but is fail an option ...? Cheers Rob

Some more progress on the Lancia armored car. I finished the chassis with engine, transmission and axles, sans exhaust and some weathering pending. I did test fitting the body parts and there is absolutely nothing to complain. The fit is great on the whole kit. I want to keep the body seperated for the delicate camo painting and that seems to work, when I use the base of the cabin with it and don't glue it onto the chassis now. From the interior, not much will be seen, so detailing and weathering will be only minimal. Cheers Rob

Phew, better now than never Peter, that was a close shave. Your surgery seems to have been successful. Doing a WIP can avoid a lot of trouble with the ever observant members here. Cheers Rob

The Hetzer with it's simple undisturbed shapes should be easy to mask. Like Carl said, there are some mask sets out there. I used J's Modelwork masks on another build an they worked with a little bit of improvisation. You can also opt for disc camo, where Uschi van der Rosten has stencil masks. Cheers Rob

The cockpit looks great and busy, nice work. The detail of the parts is amazing. There is a lot of glass over the innards, which will allow a lot of detailed views. Cheers Rob

These Japanese ships do have some beauty and you nailed them Kevin. All the extra detail pays in the detail pics. Painting and weathering looks all convincing, great job. I've also to build my first WWII ship. I have some in stash and I think the USS Arizona will be first, with a wooden deck, lots of PE and figures. Cheers Rob

You'll like the Hetzer Paul. I built the Academy one some years ago, a pretty easy build and I expect the same from Tamiya. Mine was not German though, instead from the Czech resistance without gun. Cheers Rob

Nice progress Scott, it starts to look like a Texan and the kit seems to be decent at least. Cheers Rob

Just catching up with your great work on the Starfighter. The pits looking great with the added detail and seat belts. I used KitsWorld details for my 1/48 ZM F-4 and found the belts itself not too shabby, but didn't like protruding parts like levers and pull rings, as they are too soft and tend to bend. PE is better suited for this. Cheers Rob

Thank you Kevin, I have this build pinned along others, which guided me through my build. MSW is really a great source of knowledge, when it comes to ship modelling. Cheers Rob

Thank you Kai. It's very true, I change my subjects frequently as I get bored easily. I hate redundance and boring routine. I try to learn a bit (sometimes a lot as with the DoK ) from every build and some of my builds, I started only to incorporate new techniques. My interest are wide spread and I build only what appeals my immediate interest. If you have only the slightest interest into wooden ships, you should try one. There are kits for every level of builders out there in great quantity. The build of the DoK was extremely rewarding, in fact one of the most satisfying builds, I ever started. Cheers Rob

Quite an interesting beast Mark. I like those working vehicles, where function rules clearly over design. Cheers Rob

You are on a run now Peter, the kit needs a bit of extra work and your solutions seem to work out perfectly. For drilling out cannons, I use the tip of a triangular scalpel blade and turn it, after hitting the middle to have a mark for the drill bit. Cheers Rob

Would be cool to see that one as a kit, but mainly your pic gave me the idea to replicate wet tarmac for an airplane dio as an experiment. I will store that in my mind for ruture use. Cheers Rob

I like your dio a lot Gus, nice color rendition and modulation on the positively cluttered tank. The base could have been a tad smaller for my liking, to concentrate more on figures and Comet, but as Martins pictures show, the setting is perfectly believable. Cheers Rob

Texan interior is looking great Scott. I'm buckled in for your WIP, as I have one of these in stash along with an Eduard big set. I will build mine as a Portuguese bird with decals from Zotz. Good to learn of the merits and shortcomings of the kit through your build. Cheers Rob

I do Gary, what a fine display. The foiling looks very realistic and there is the very slight ribbing in the foil, which makes the Mig look even more metallic. Foiling one, painting nil . The figures and Gaz fit like a glove. Cheers Rob