JohnB

I'm a bit surprised no one has posted this here so far. Apparently he had engine trouble and took the best coarse of action to save the airplane. Textbook ditching. I hope the plane can be recovered before the ocean tears it apart.

Coming along very well Martin. WAY too much work to correct that kit. That's why mine is, and will likely stay, on the SOD.

Thanks Phil. That's what I understand. Pretty snug!

Thanks Peter.

I appreciate that, thanks.

Thank you Gaz.

Thanks Peter.

Progress on the cockpit. Nearly done although I can see a couple of things that need fixing.

Thank you Jeff!

You are welcome.

Thanks. Lots of experience here.

Thank you Peter. Strange how birthdays come around so much faster the older you get!

I appreciate that Dennis, thanks!

Thank you Kev.

Sounds like it's time for a Spitfire build! LOL Tamiya's Spitfire kits are a pleasure to build (as are the Corsairs and P-51s).

Thanks for the tip Gaz! I'll "look" into that.

It's a good kit and builds up nicely.

I'm glad you like 'em Jeff. Unlike some PE belts I've tried these are thin and flexible so are fairly easy to work with.

I appreciate that, thanks.

Not too bad I guess. Some fabric ones would likely look more realistic but I just can't see well enough to thread the belts through the buckles. Getting old sucks!

Thanks. Yes, PE kit belts.

Thank you Harv!

Some progress on the cockpit.

Yes, it is a shame Squadron/MMD has bit the dust. One of the old standbys. I have to say I'm not particularly surprised at this though.

I don't have a ICM kit to compare to the MH kit but here are some photos of the MH part trees, etc. Just looking at the unassembled parts it appears this is a really nice kit with lots of resin parts and some PE also. The panel lines on the wings and fuselage are a bit "deep" but not all that bad in my opinion. As you can see, you can build either version of the gun-nose a/c plus either the early or late canopy. I haven't seen a review on a built up kit so far. Just eyeballing the fuselage halves it appears to have the same width as the ProModeler kit. ( To be honest I never really thought the ProModeler/Monogram fuselage was too wide. It always looked okay to me.) For now I will pass on getting a ICM kit. Hmmmmmm.....ve vill see! I don't plan to start on this just yet but it IS on my list of "to build".