Peterpools

John nice progress on the 109's front office- looking so good. Completely agree with you and Carl as there is enough play in some of the part fits to add up to some serious trouble down the line. I've discovered some of the engine piping seems to have a mind of it's own and isn't happy being coaxed into place. Seeing the very light and petite molds lines for us senior modelers is a continuous headache for sure.

Carl, very much appreciated. Can't wait to build the Kotare Spitfire and when she is done, I'll have the Tamiya, Revell and Kotare Spitfires lines up on their own shelf in the display case; should be quite a nice sight.

Thanks Joh and looks like we'll finally being doing our Buddy Builds at last. And of course, thank you again for the replacement spinner, as it made a big difference.

Rob, Thank you for the very kind comments. Completely agree on the few issues with the H&S Infinity CR Plus ABs' and I normally just keep a dampen Q-tip on the ready and remove any tip paint build if needed. At time, I follow your procedure of removing the tip guard and need keep reminding myself to be extra careful as the needle tip is now exposed and can be easily damaged; and H&S replacement parts are on the expensive side to say the least. Normally, I work with two H&S Infinity air brushes; one with a .2 tip and the other with a .4, switching back and forth as needed. The more I work with Real Color paints, the more I am becoming a convert. I still have a good supply of MRP paints and need to use quite a few of them up, so I won't be duplicating colors. The ZM 1090 will be painted with MRP paints as I have all the colors in the ready.

Kev Love Mr Color lacquers as well. All my air brushes have the forks on the tips. I can change them with other tips as needed or at times, I just remove the tip. I've pretty much always used my air brushes this way and never gave it much thought, but maybe I should.

heading on over

Thanks Kev, very much appreciated. I was surprised that in the end, for such an inexpensive kit, it replicates an early Spitfire so well. I'm also becoming a convert for Ak Real Color paints.

Gaz Awesome front office and so glad the Kotare Spit is so far everything we expected. I just posted the last update for the Revell Spitfire and am very curious as to how the two will look side by side in the display case. finished

Done and in the Books. A good looking Spitfire when finished, having it's moments and issues during construction but for a $30 kit, so very well worth the extra effort. Can't wait to have it sitting side by side the new Kotare Spitfire Mk Ia down the road for comparison. AM used for the build: Quinta Cockpit set, Barracuda resin and Quinta cockpit set and AK Real Colors paint.

DONE AND IN THE BOOKS Early this morning the Revell Spitfire was finished and rolled across the finish line. I spent three days finishing up, what I thought would only need one day. The gear was a killer as I struggled to install them as correctly as I could, being the locating fittings were sloppy and iffy at best. The main gear strut oleos were finished with Alclad Chrome, tires painted in Tamiya Rubber Black and the wheels with Tamiya Lacquer Polished Aluminum. All the details were picked out with Tamiya Dark Brown and Black Panel Line Washes. The kit cockpit door was used as a mask for painting, now removed and replaced with a modified Barracuda resin door. The flaps were dropped as I had glued the rear spars together when first gluing the wings together at the very early stages of the build, which prevented from adding the flaps in the raised position later on. Going back there wasn’t anything in the instructions relating to this that I could find. The armor plate for the front windshield is a separate piece – I have no idea why Revell decided to mold it that way and since I was using Ask masks, I built up and painted the Spitfire with the armor plate off and would add it later – bad decision. Fit was an issue and required filler twice at this late stage of the game. All the remaining small parts I had left for the end now needed to be added and to be honest there are one or two still in the box I’ll add later on. Final clear finish was Alclad Lacquer Semi Matte Clear, as I prefer a semi matte finish to a dead flat finish. My final thoughts. Not an easy kit to build and a definite cross between various marks. As the story goes, Revell supposedly used a restoration Spitfire for their research and that was a combination of various marks and thusly why Revell’s Spitfire is how it is. Good story if it is true. The front office received a full Quinta detail set and Barracuda resin parts were used to replicate the fabric ailerons. Painting was a joy going with free hand cammo (first time in years since my chemo and all the issues I had with my hands) and using awesome AK Real Color Paints was a dream. A $40 MSRP kit that can be found for close to $30 and for that money it’s well worth the price. I still have two Tamiya Spits in the stash, the Kotare Spitfire coming and the Revell Hurricane due by 3/23, plus the Border Lancaster – lots of RAF WWII builds planned for the next few years. Next up: A Buddy Build with John B: the ZM Bf 109 G14/U4.

PW Absolutely will be building the new Revell Hurricane and it's on its way right now. Just hard to believe how some manufactures can get parts to fit correctly straight out of the box and others can't. For my money, I really don't derive a lot of satisfaction from fixing part fit ... it's just not what I enjoy.

John Thanks for the warning but compared to the Revell Spit, it fit issues and poor instructions, I'm ready to dive in and get going. Peter

Gaz Thanks for the closeup photographs of the gear assembly and your thoughts as well. While Kotare and Tamiya (I've built three Tamiya Spitfires so far) have engineered full proof landing gear installations, I'm struggling with Revells Mk IIa gear as it's is just the opposite and the last major assembly before she rolls across the line. Revell's instructions of how to actually assemble and install the landing gear is very fuzzy, unclear and the fit is poor and the slopy. Just nice to see how Kotare worked through the assembly and it does look full proof. My Kotare Spit is still on it's way and patiently waiting.

John Right with you on dealing with shaky hands, eye strain and I'm crawling along on the DB 605. On my copy, the ignition leads weren't molded that well and no way could I clean them up - just too delicate. Should have the Spitfire done today plus photos and then I'll be joining you on our ZM 109 builds.

Hubert Surely looks very well printed and the details seem to be sharp and clean

Hubert Fingers crossed

Sasha Aces on some awesome s decal and weathering - looking fantastic.

John Nice work on the DB 605 ... looks so good. as the paint work and assembly is spot on the money. I've been working on mine in between trying to finish up the Spitfire and it looks like she will cross the line tomorrow. I'm about halfway through the engine assembly and cleaning and prepping all the plumbing for priming and painting. Knowing next to nothing about 109's, I've been doing a lot of research on the DB 605 for starters and located enough photographs to tweak my paint work a bit differently. Looking forward to starting my build thread in a few days.

Seems they are also releasing a 1/48 TBD ... I wonder ... could it be because Big Brother is finally releasing their 32nd kit?

Paul Nice buy from SH. Enjoy the kit (s).

Chris Sounds good, give it a shot and see how it goes.

Ernie Glad to see your back at the bench with the your Lukgraph GB entry. Woodwork and the IP looks good and don't worry about the map - who would ever really know - the effect is what counts and it does look the part so well.

Phil WOW, the Bofors look fantastic and are going to be an eye catcher on the completed model. Completely agree that the larger he scale, the more detail are needed as so much can be seen. Stellar work.

Looking real good and so well done.

Kev Looking mighty nice and the in-flight display is going to look so cool.