Peterpools

Mark Nice to see you jumping in on the GWH Flanker - their kits are great. I built their P-40 and after the GB, will be back on their A-10C. Looking forward to following your progress and I'll be along for the ride.

Scott The right decisions are the toughest and you've made them. Just stay the course and you'll be good top go and back at the bench. pain free faster then you think. So glad you will be still hanging out with us and checking in on our doings.

Ernie She is just like a beautiful woman - care and lots of tender loving care. As we've talked so many times, my first 20 hours so many years ago, were in a J3 Cub and learning to fishtail when taxiing and getting the nose up as fast as possible on takeoff was so quickly learned. Landings in a Cub were a joy and compared to the Starduster, you certainly need to be on your 'toes' and way ahead of her. Knowing your past, hours, time and love of taildraggers, your Starduster will be a dream to fly and land whether paved or grass. Moving the gear forward seems to be a good solution to getting the wing to stall on landing, so you're not bouncing and floating when landing. Please keep us in the loop as to your progress and they can never be enough photographs.

Thanks Kev I was very pleased to see how clean the castings were with only slight mold lines which took nothing to clean up. Plastic is soft and even Tamiya Extra Thin eats into it right quickly, needing a bit more care.

Thanks Mike so much and we have our fingers crossed. I haven't had much bench time this past week but I'm almost ready now for priming and painting the front office and the basic structural rotor assembly, as I've completed the build through step ten in the instructions. I am amazed at how nicely the kit is details. with enough to look quite busy. Hoping to make some nice progress this week and do at least one update.

Thanks Chris so much. Diane and I are doing much better but the number of procedures/tests she has to go through is daunting. We are working our way through each and fingers crossed all should work out well.

Chris Right with you and I'm fully committed and finally underway. Bench time isn't as much as I would like as our doctor appointments and procedures require a lot of time but come before any on our schedule.

John Just a left post in the completed build forum. Awesome works and just love the outstanding flawless finish. 🏆

Carl Hoping your build schedule has room for the Flanker - awesome work and on board all the way.

Sorry John At times the PC and spell check just guesses and changes things that aren't even English. It should have said: gorgeous. I corrected the post.

Maru Thank you for posting - the video was awesome. I was very lucky years a go to see the Red Arrows preform and the show was spectacular.

Carl Rest up and fill the tank ... when you are up to get, you will enjoy the journey, that much more. Work does have a nasty way in in the way of good quality bench time.

John Absolutely a brilliant build. Flawless in fit and finish. Aces on a gorgeous 109.🏆

Thanks Gus and right with you about the IsraDecal Books, just awesome.

STARTING THE FRONT OFFICE Finally, the AH-64 A/D Peten and Saraf in IAF Service by IsraDecal reference book arrived and early this morning the Hataka lacquer paint set for IAF Helicopters was delivered. I was good to go. While I was waiting for the last of the necessary items, I decided to start working on the front office by assembling all the numerous sub-assemblies – and every part of the Office is a sub assembly. As the photos show, part and assembly fit is quite good and now with the IsraDecal Book in hand, it’s off to the paint booth for priming and then substituting a very dark gray for the flat black - just a better scale effect and even in the book, the flat black has a gray tone to it. Once the interior base color has dried, it’s time to add all the Quinta details and the balance of the kit cockpit details. When I had reached the point, of being ready for the spray booth paint ,as I couldn't proceed any further with the cockpit until the IsraDecal book arrived, I started working on the rotor shaft assembly. Waiting proved to be the right choice as some of the colors in the instructions will need to be modified. The Saraf is BIG and no time like the present to drill out all the holes this version requires, clean up the fret attachment points and do a test fit: here again, the fit seems to be really good and surely hope it stays this way.

Carl So glad you are on board for the journey and I'm sure I will be buying a few more AH-64, including another Tokan kit as well. Since then, I have had the helicopter bug bite and am pretty excited about building them at this stage of the game. I've also read and even seen a few photographs of the canopy issue and hoping Meng corrected it but I doubt it. Just have to see how it goes and at worse the two options might be: Building up the fuselage to remove the gap Maybe have the canopy open if that's an option or not.

PW Yup, the Saraf is BIG and she looks awesome. Going to keep the rotor assembly removable for display if need be. The only other Meng kit I've built was their 1/24 GT40 and if I remember correctly, there was some fit issues and the instructions did leave a lot to be desired. So far the Saraf has been nice sailing with just a few part orientation issues as the instructions aren't that clear in places.

Chris Right with you. I have a few IsraDecal books and they are a gold mine of information and close to the equal of the Daco Books. Color photographs are super sharp and highlight all the details I was looking for. I've used Hataka lacquers a few times and was very pleased with them, I'll make sure I give my opinion of the IAF Helicopter set as I start using them.

Thanks John Just needed a good break from the Mystere and the Saraf so far has been a pleasure to work on and a nice change of pace.

John Sweat work with the decals ... looking as perfect as always.

Kev & John Glad you are both OK and haven't had any damage for the hurricane ... nasty weather for sure.

PW Brilliant, fantastic work and the weathering is spot on and oh so real. 🏆

Hubert I'm completely blown away. I was born a good 20 years too early.

STARTING THE SARAF After plugging way for a good two or three weeks on the SH Mystere, for the time being, I just lost my enthusiasm to work on the kit – mainly due to fit issues with the three part fuselage. My initial GB entry was going to be the Meng AH-64D Saraf and I decided to go back to that plan. I started working on the front office by building up all the various sub-assemblies and after test fitting the office, I planned on starting the painting process. A few details held me back: I wasn’t so sure the instructions' painting guide was correct as I had a hard time finding detailed photographs of the IAF Saraf’s cockpit to go by - problem now solved. I also wasn’t happy about the exterior color callouts as the paints chosen in the instructions are from the Meng Line of paints (acrylics) and online searching showed they are AK paints (?). FS numbers were all over the place from other builds as well. Lastly, the beautiful color painting guide was a bit hard to follow to my eyes and the aircraft shown on each side of the large four view painting guide, looked to be exactly the same (?). I bit the bullet ordered the AH-64 A/D Peten and Saraf in IAF Service book by IsraDecal. WOW, the book arrived today, a gold mine of incredible, all color photographs and equal to their F-16I Sufa book in every way. I also ordered the Hataka IAF Helicopter Lacquer paint set and it’s on the way as well. Research shows the exterior colors are not the same FS numbers (colors) as the current IAF Fighters. The correct Helicopter FS colors as per the IsraDecal Book: FS30219 Dark Tan FS33448 Stone Yellow (Dark Yellow) FS36492 Light Gray While the instructions call out for flat black for the entire interior, a quick look at the photographs in the IsraDecal book, using a very dark gray (Nato Black or Rubber Black) would be a much better scale color. There are also different shades of gray used in the front office, which was overlooked by Meng’s instructions. I have the two Quinta 3D detail sets for the Saraf and they look fantastic. Only detail I found that appears to be incorrect are the lap belts, easily corrected. Friday starts the front office painting and I’ll take a few photographs of the test fitted front office before hitting the paint booth.

Hubert Thank you for your good wishes and concerns. Getting older has so many issues we never give thought to until we reach the Golden Years. We're so thankful that we have each other and look forward to each day. I know you and your family have had your share of serious medical issues and so glad they 'seem to be better now'. There are good days and ones that aren't so good, it's all part of life, I guess. I seem to always be at a loss of words to express how I feel and yet our true feelings do come across.