Peterpools

Thanks John - they sure do spoil us. Pretty much close now to closing up the fuselage and for me, the Skyraider is a much more enjoyable build up to this point then the 109 has been. Still, you can see the seeds of ZM's over engineering and hidden detail parts. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Carl, much appreciated. Good to know the update wing fold instructions work and even if you used the old method, were able to have the wing fold mechanism working. I'm pretty sure you posted the link on John's build and I took your lead and downloaded them. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Mike, very much appreciated. Not planning on doing the Toilet Bowl Bomber as I was planning on going with the MIg Killer Stinger Bee markings. Always good to hear of a one of the guys getting a great buy on ebay, as they seem to be far and few between these days. Most of the vendors who carry Quinta have recently received large restocks, and if you are planning to build the Skyraider down the road, best pick up a set as soon as you can. I bought mine before I had the kit. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Hubert. much appreciated. I know exactly how you feel and it's a shame that an expensive resin Fisher kit's cockpit wasn't up to speed. When I built their Sea Fury, the exact opposite was true. it would be interesting to find out how the detail for thew Cutlass's office wasn't up to his normal standards. I've been using Quinta sets on every build possible and they are amazing. Keep 'em comin Peter

Oliver Glad you're on board and hopefully down the road, you will do a build thread on your Skyraider. Keep 'em comin

Thanks Kev Yup, just love those Quinta sets Keep 'em coming

GETTING STARTED While I am waiting for my DN mask set for the Bf 109 to arrive (I'm guessing a good few weeks), I was itching to start the ZM Skyraider – hopefully not a glutton for punishment. One of ZM’s older kits, I believe no longer in production and so different in execution as compare to their latest kit; the Bf 109. The instructions are a lot less confusing, easier to follow being cleaner and clearer in presentation (who says older isn't better at times). The Skyraider is nowhere as crisp nor as precise as the 109 and a good deal of time is being devoted to cleaning up mold lines and removing the oily feel of release agent that required washing in Dawn. Unlike the 109, I’m not adding any detailed interior parts or a drop of paint behind the cockpit, which would be a total waste of time, as nothing can be seen. The only internal parts that are being used, is to strengthen the fuselage and prevent any warping down the road. The front office is done (less the gun sight) and complete with a beautiful Quinta detail set. Paints are MRP Lacquers except for the interior green floor which was shot with Mig acrylic, as I discovered my MRP paint stash was out of interior green. As of now, no issues at all with all the work to date aimed at getting the fuselage ready to be glued up, as per the instructions. Test fitting and tweaking are the orders of the day and so far, the better fit award goes to the Skyraider over the 109 but of course, that could change.

Gaz It's pretty bad when someone makes a commitment and then doesn't follow through - right with you for sure. I'm sure the AM guys most likely will be releasing decal sheets with alternate markings. Since you waited this long, maybe a bit longer wouldn't hurt. You know what will happen, as soon as you use the kit markings and finish, a slew of decal sheets will hit the market.

John Terrific work on the front office - no need for a Quinta cockpit set, when yours looks so good.

Martin Thanks for the additional images and I'm right with Hubert.

John agreed for sure, especially with Quinta coming from Russia and almost all the kits and AM, seem to be either out of stock or backordered. Yup, a RN Corsair or two would be cool.

Martin Thank you for sharing all the images - absolutely incredible modeling and way beyond my abilities. The 1/72 armor alone was enough to make me think about finding a new pastime.

Very nicely done and looking mighty good

Oliver - unbelievable, simply perfection.

John Nice work on the front office - looking mighty good. I keep buying Quinta sets for rainy days as I've found out, as you did with the Corsair, don't wait until needed - they tend to sell out very quickly.

Phil OMG, L90 - what a steal. I paid $154 with tax and shipping for just the kit. My favorite part of any build is actually painting and decaling and in the case of the 109, the issue wasn't the Cartograf decals but ZM choices regarding the fuselage crosses. In the end, this is forcing me to learn how to use masks and that's a big plus for sure.

To be honest, I'm still out to lunch on the yet to be released ZM 190 kit. I'm on hold on my ZM 109 build, waiting for the DN mask set to arrive, as the decal crosses and decisions about them by ZM are poor at best. While on hold, I'm knee deep in their Skyraider kit and lessons from the 109 are being applied: leave out all the never to be seen details except those that that add strength the model. I am hoping they will release both the SMS and the often talked about standard version (never actually seen) and odds are doesn't exist. There are fit issues with the 109 and while the instructions looks grand, part location and orientation for some parts were frustrating at best. I prefer their older style instructions of the Skyraider, which are clearer and cleaner over the 109 instructions. Yes, the Bf 109 is lightyears ahead of the Skyraider in molding and crispness, as all the new technologies have been applied.

Carl I thought Ernie was also referring to the clear carrier film on the edges as well.

Absolutely

Ernie Try Mr Setter and Mr Softer, they are about the strongest decal solutions out there. I can see a bit of the carrier film and a final cote of clear gloss should do the trick.

Mark Some mighty nice armor under way.

Rob Absolutely going to be using them in full on my Lancaster build later this summer. The juices are starting to slowly flow. and gather steam.

Bill NIce going and it surely looks as if you have those nasty seams whipped and in the books.

Gaz Fiddly yes and surely a pain to install but they do goo add and add so much. I,m right with Rob, once paint and some weathering, they will look spot on the money. You're so right, nearly as dangerous as sailors who climbed the rope ladders (can't remember the correct name) to insanely work on the sails and yard arms, high above the deck and sea.

Rob It just seems conversations, pots and sometimes heated debates on paints and colors are never ending. Honestly, if I could have my one choice of paint and brand, I would leave the world of lacquers and acrylics and dive headfirst back into enamels and Model Master paints. Of course, this just can't happen as Testors stopped manufacturing the paint many years ago. Nothing shoots like enamels, even taking into account it's slow drying times. What was the debate about on Modelshipworld?