Peterpools

John Nice progress - seam and fit good very good.

Thanks Rob Cockpit final fit is 100% my fault, as I should have kept sanding and then sanded more but I didn't. I just assumed the fit was just fine after only a few partial test fits and that lead to a few fit issues down the road. All is finally OK, just required more work I shouldn't have had to do; lesson learned. What I feel is the real issue, is not the kit or even the aging builder but some very poor instructions. The kit is from 2014 and has Revell's older instructions, where some of the parts in the instructions do not exactly match the actual part as to how they attach, including the attachment faces and that leave two choices: the right one and the wrong one. I guess, I picked the right one only 50% of the time. The more Revell kits I build, the easier they become as you start to understand Revell's philosophy. Don't have any qualms on building them, as they are well worth the cost and time. For what Revell retails them at, they are just fine.

Thanks Dennis Moving along and hoping to make some nice progress this week.

Kev Agreed - details keep changing and enhancing the look ... looking so good.

Mike WOW! Incredible work adding all the interior PE.I don't think at this stage, I could actually see all the PE parts on the frets, let alone move and add them to the model. Of course, most won't be seen but just knowing it's all there and we're witnesses to the all the delicate work. Looking fasntastic

Gaz Outstanding work and a terrific update. Loads of work and all looks so good. To the untrained, ship modeler eye, everything looks perfect and what small gaps I can see, surely appear to have been on the actual "E" boat. Going to try your method of oil washes and with white, add a touch of blue to blend in the effect even better - thanks for the tip Gaz.

Kev Amazing progress. I can only imagine the feelings as the frustration builds after reworking such small parts so many times, but the results are so well worth your determination to get it right. Awesome work.

Kriss Surely loos as if the parts won 😉 Beautiful start on the free hand cloud cammo.

Some mighty fine work on creating the diorama base as the scenery and details look wonderful. In my model railroad days, I must have spent more then 700% of my time doing scenery and structures.

Martin Brilliant work and wow, nothing like being able to pout your hands on the real deal for reference down to the last detail.

Thanks Kev, hopefully this coming week I'll be able for finish the basic kit and maybe be ready for priming - just see how it goes.

Thanks Gaz, greatly appreciated.

COMING TOGETHER AND TEST FITTING Making progress as the fuselage has now been glued together and as with most of the Revell 32nd scale kits I’ve worked on, closing up the fuselage has been a slight adventure. It seems no matter how hard I tried, the cockpit assembly was bit too wide and required a lot of sanding to fit. I was very careful to follow the instructions but to no avail, as to what I thought would be a good fit surely wasn’t and closing up the fuselage was a testy process, taking nearly a week’s time. Liberal amounts of Extra Thin was used first on the upper cowl and after three days drying time, the lower portion was glued up and left to dry for a good three days as well, with an abundance of Tamiya tape wrapping the complete nose area as an extra thin wicked off and dried. The wings were built up as per the kit instructions and the underwing MG cartridge chute openings were sealed up from the interior with Evergreen Styrene – will look more convincing after painting. Mr Surfacer 1000 was used where needed on both the fuselage and wings. The story goes Revell based their kit on a Spitfire Mk IIa restoration, which had parts from different marks and thus the discrepancies in the kit itself. But the kit does represent a restored Mk IIa so, there is some justification for using the questionable kit parts. The interior of the radiator was painted MRP RAF Interior Green Gray and the radiators with Tamiya Lacquer Light and Dark Gun Metal, followed up with Tamiya Black PL Wash. The wings, horizontal stabilizers and windshield are being test fitted and a pair of Barracuda fabric ailerons will be added after the wings are glued into place. I spent a lot of time tweaking the wing to fuselage fit and there is only one small area remaining to adjust the fit: left rear fairing. All the major components being test fitted with the Barracuda ailerons ready to be cleaned up and added after the wings have been glued in place. Surely wish Revell would have followed Tamiya's method of attaching the front windscreen at a panel line away from the glass - life would be so much easier and the firt so much better.

Mark Nice choice of Apache's - maybe there should be a GB next year for the Ah 64 Apache as so many of the guys already bought the kit.

Oliver A knockout! The wiring looks simply spectacular - just love the way you used different sizes and types of wires - looks as realistic as can be.🏆

No question in my mind.

John Nice work on getting the MG's in place, they do look so good. I originally thought the same as Kev but once you see how the wing attaches to the fuselage, the angle is on the money.

Mark WOW, going to be an awesome scratch-built project and will be following all the way.

Mark Nothing like an OOB build and even better, low budget one to get the juices cranking. Which kit is it?

Frank Just catching up and can't believe I missed this post. Awesome build - one terrific looking P-51.🏆

Mike Nice build and finish - so very well done.

Tim Add another WOW! Some mighty fine modeling and a steady hand. So very well done.

Paul Terrific build and nice to see this type of model being built.

Phil Looking forward to branching out and trying my hand at something new for me: helicopters. The kit does look great and I promised myself I would even take the shrink wrap off the box until the Spitfire is done as I know I have no willpower. 🙃

Fingers crossed 🤞