Peterpools

Thanks Phil, I have my fingers crossed.

Rob Thank you for the detailed photographs, as they will come in very handy as I start to assemble all the major assemblies and work on the exterior. I'm hoping to get the wings to actually fold and if I get close to Carl's fit, I'll be very pleased. Working parts just have a way of not working as intended. I'm not sure what you mean:"... I was not overly impressed by the cockpit, which somehow looked a bit flat to my eye ..." I thought the detail level looked great, as it is a full Quinta set and as colorful as cockpits were in the 1970's. As far as the rudder pedal go, that's a known issue and ZM blew it. Not sure if the Trumpeter kits are the same. Yes, while the seat could move forward and I'm not sure if the rudder pedals were also adjustable, as you would have to be a giant to reach them. First two things you always do when settling into the left-hand seat: adjust the seat to reach the rudder pedals, making sure you have full travel to move the rudders to the stops plus the toe brakes and can move all the controls fully, in every direction. Then seatbelts and harnesses. In the case of the model, with the fuselage glued up, even if the rudders were moved forward, they never will be seen. Just nice to know they are there.

Pete OMG - awesome

Rog & Ernie Well said. I've shied away from the Helldiver and have very little interest in the Val or Kate but that's just me. A Beaufighter would have been a whole different story and an absolute purchase. Add a SB2U Vindicator to the initial release list and I would have been all over it and bought at least two! Knowing and understanding your market is the issue as to the necessary building skills is something quite different. I was a very active member of LSP when Brian's lifetime dream kit, the Grumman F7F Tigercat (resin) was released and he jumped all over it and Brian's skills are second to none. I was almost ready to buy the kit but when Brian's troubles and nightmares began (still exist to this day), I decided not to purchase the kit. Adding to Rog's list of Brian's war: the gear and specifically the nose gear is a dog. The nose wheel was terribly weak, needed a wire brace extending out the bottom of the strut and is inserted into the nose wheel: come on guys. For a kit of this cost the gear should have been engineered to a higher standard, cast from brass and included with the kit, not AM from another company. Enough said. The issue here are IM releases. Yes, the Helldiver is a limited run kit and has all the 'building virtues' we have come to expect from such type of kits. Infinity was fresh out of the box and to help purchasers see beyond these fit issues and costs, HPH could have reduced the buyers cost and made it a much more attractive purchase by including a lot of the AM extras with the kit rather then as extras and adding to the final cost of the kit. I'm sure the actual cost put off a percentage of purchasers. I'm an average builder and do not enjoy a good fight to build a model, I enjoy building the kit - there is a big difference. I've been accused as being a Tamiya fan boy and proud of it. For my money it's what a high-end kit should be. Presently, I have two ZM kits underway: their new Bf109 and the out of production Skyraider. Which kit so far has been more rewarding to build up to this point of construction: the Skyraider by a mile. I could go on and on but that's not important. Let's just leave it at as ZM engineering has advanced and the 109 does have a number of fit issues, of which a good deal are mine, trying to figure out the correct part orientation and fit. The Skyraider has folding wings, so the difficulty/fit issues are there but solvable with an addendum instruction page on their web site. Am I going to buy the Fw190, right now I haven't decided but leaning towards the "no" right now. Rog compared the Revell kits to the ZM kits and for my money and enjoyment, I would still go Revell. Revell does have fit issues, nowhere near the details but at their price point, for me, it's a better value when all is said and done. I recently built the Revell Spitfire Mk IIa and was very happy with the kit. Getting back to HPH/Infinity, the kits need to be more strongly marketed as limited production and purchasers need to understand the shortcomings. Online builds and conversations that I've read, the issues of fit have put many buyers off, including me. The Helldiver for the average modeler (which is where I stand in the modeling fraternity), it's a lot to take on and I'm sure there are a lot of Shelf Queens out there residing on the SOD, as the builders were just overwhelmed. Ernie and John are both way beyond the level of the average modeler and I am guessing, the average builder would/will find the kit more then they bargained for. I do hope HPH sells enough Vals and Kate's to stay in the game and learn from all the comments over the web on how to improve their kits. .

Gaz I didn't know either, but I do like the way The Kotare molded on belts look. For my last few builds, I've been using the Quinta seat belts that come in the cockpit detail sets and for me, they look pretty good.

Thanks John - absolutely will.

Hi Carl Your folding wing seam looks perfect and I'm going to try and have it functional as well. If I'm lucky, I'll get close to yours..

Phil Interesting for sure

Oliver - I always listen to my wife's advice, as they are always at least one step ahead and see things we miss. Looking mighty good.

Carl HGW belts look mighty good for sure.

WING ASSEMBLY TO FOLD OR NOT TO FOLD With the fuselage mostly completed and ready for some filler and sanding, it was time to build the wings. Way over engineered with details that will never be seen and a finicky wing fold mechanism. In fact, the instructions actually call for painting the complete interior of the outer wing sections and the complete interior center section as well. What a waste of time as most of the interior real estate will never be seen. All I painted were the areas that will be seen and skipped the rest. Part fit is good, just carefully follow the instructions and the assembly sequence and test fit as you go. Carl posted a link to the ZM’s correction page for the folding wings, downloaded and used. Biggest decision – still needs to be made: Wings extended, wings folded or wings being operable for folding or extending. I’m hoping to fold the wings and see how it goes. Some of the painting callouts did not match my research and I’m going with my research. Painted areas: MRP New Gray Primer – just a good as the discontinued MRP primer but somewhat darker in shade. Tamiya Lacquer Gloss White – smooth as silk as always. Mig Ammo Interior Green Tamiya Dark Gray Panel Line Wash was used to highlight the main gear wheel wells.

Scott Now that's perfect timing. priming looks spot on the money.

Phil, wow the Red Fox set looks tremendous and will surely bring the interior way over the top. I'll be following and if needed, only a PM away.

Gaz Amazing detail work and I tip my hat for going more then the extra mile in searching out missing information: i.e: the Flags. Yes, I completely agree about how our work looks in macro, under magnification and the biggest reason I try not to do macro images for my builds; while it shows all the detail, it always shows all the imperfections, beyond what the human eye capable of seeing. I've always felt work intended to be seen in macro or ultra closeup photographs and to look perfect, were most likely accomplished with ultra magnification and an incredible steady hand.

Nice progress on the Spit and choice of markings.

Carl Looks might good and she does dwarf the Panzer III.

Phil Will be riding shotgun all the way and just go slow and follow Tamiya's instructions and a museum model will be the result.

Dave Glad to see your Corsair is underway and will be following all the way.

Yes, It's time

Rob Outrageous and I'll be along for the entire journey. 🏆

Martin Terrific car show and thank you for posting all the photographs. Love the two Jag convertibles.

Any reason why you decided not to use the kit deals - they look terrific?

Oliver Brilliant detail work as always and glad you went with the doors open. Awesome, a wonderful new addition to the family.

Scott Glad you realized you hadn't done the intakes yet, as finding out now, surely saved a lot of backtracking. Right with you, as masking out the cockpit is always a tedious and time consuming job. Most f the time I prefer it to using the kit canopy as I've had issue with fogging in the past. Time well spent.

Hi John Yellow and white masking came out perfect - looks so good and adds a lot of 'pop' to the paint scheme.