Peterpools

Thanks PW, so far, the seat is the star of the game. I've only been able to find what I think are actual seat pics for colors, so I'm just going to follow the instructions and make life a bit easier.

Chris Just always seems to happen when you least expect it .. just part of the fun! gas line and fuel gauge look mighty good - nice progress on the 109. Yup, they surely looked small and tight - not for us chubby's these day. . .

Chris What I like to do on the Quinta belts is just reinforce the back where the bend will be with Tamiya tape and no issues or worries. Works great and I wish they would stop using the ultra thin paper belts as they just don't look that good. Your belts are old school and look great.

Chris Sounds as if you are in my boat - old school and go with what's in the box and commercially available.

PW I'm on board and will be following all the way.

John Looking mighty good and love the scheme. My guess is, by next week you will have finished these two builds and be starting your GB build. Any thoughts as to what you will be building? '

Chris, yup - money is always an issue when retired as medical issues just keep popping up.

Mike Tough to make a decision on the cammo scheme and all so far are going to be a tough act for sure. No doubt, which ever scheme you decide on. it's going to look 'Oh so good"!

Rob Holy smokes - the seats look great with real leather - something I would never have thought of.

THE FRONT OFFICE Diving head first into the GB build, I’ve broken down the front office into two main parts: the office itself and the highlight will be the gorgeous CMK 3D printed ejection seat. A good few hours were spent cleaning up the parts and removing the ever present molding lines and then the release agent in warm water and Dawn. All the parts were primed with MRP Black Primer as the office is black. The Eduard PE cockpit parts were added with only the large electrical box on the rear bulkhead needing to be folded and then added. Lastly some light dry brushing with Tamiya XF54 Dark Sea Gray to pick out the few molded on details. A lot of fussing was needed to assemble and add the two part Eduard IP and side consoles, all requiring either CA or Micro Krystal Klear. I followed the kit’s instructions and air brushed the seat Aircraft Gray and after the update, will be looking forward to a good few days of detail painting. Nothing as ugly as a macro shot of a 48th scale Eduard IP and thank goodness it looks ok when viewed in its actual size. FS numbers are correct.

Mark WOW, what a fantastic project and thank you for the background as well. Looking mighty good right from the start and I have to admit, I in complete envy of yours and all the other guys with 3D printing skills - it's way beyond anything I could ever do. I'm on board for the complete journey.

Carl Looking mighty good and the weathering is perfect.

Scott, just go easy and don't overdo it. Go slow and take all the time needed for a full recovery.

Scott, some mighty good advice.

Carl Fantastic choice for the GB and will be onboard for the entire journey.

Chris Holy smokes, you're off to a flying start and some mighty nice work on the front office. Eduard absolutely gives you your money worth with extra details in their Profi line and details look mighty good, plus the Quita 3D details - awesome combo. Looking at the rudder pedal, just seems under magnification, the paint pigment might be the culprit. But have no fears as once all is in place and the fuselage closed up, a good deal of the details will be hidden and can no longer be seen. On my Sa'ar, I'm trying to add and lightly weather what will be seen but it's so hard to stop, as it's such an enjoyable part of the build. Quinta IP and belts look mighty good and will be the stars of the front office.

Mike Surely bet this is one of the builds where the AM far exceeded the cost of the kit and well worth the investment, as it will allow you to bring the kit up to a whole new level. Add in your talented modeling skills and the bar is going to be raised so very high.

Martin I'm in and looking forward to enjoying the GB - great subject for sure.

Hubert I noticed that when I took a good look. The SMB2 is very much F-100 Super Sabre in look and appearance, especially as I have the two fuselage halves taped together for a fit check.

Thanks Mark and welcome aboard for the ride.

Thanks Chris So far the 3D details from CMK are amazing and as I get into the front office, the joystick has more kit molded detail then the rest of the cockpit - now how about that. Not planning on spending a lot of time on the office as once he seat, IP (Eduard PE) and joystick are added, not much else can be seen and more then enough. I'm pretty sure, this build will be all about the IAI desert cammo.

Thanks PW, Underway and going to be a 'fun build'.

Mike Holy smokes, You absolutely have the entire spectrum of AM for your build. I would go nuts trying to figure out what goes where and when and how it all comes together. And I thought the Big Sikorsky was a complicated project. Surely is going to be an amazing and incredibly journey.

Thanks Mike, glad you're on board for the ride.

Thanks Martin for the video, it just adds to the excitement of the build.