Peterpools

Thanks Mike, very much appreciated. It isn't often I get stoked to keep working so consistently at the bench but I'm on a role and hope to keep the juices flowing at a good clip until at least the main assembly is done.

THE FRONT OFFICE Steady work on the front office and it’s about 95% done. A full Quinta cockpit set was used and it brought the rather plain jane office to a new level. Getting all the parts to fit has been a chore and I’m still at it. The kit’s instructions are the old style and a good number of specific fit details are either not shown or are just too unclear to be of help. I’m still fussing with trying to get everything to line up and it quite doesn't. The other issue is fitting the cockpit assembly into the fuselage half so the left cockpit wall can be added and the fuselage closed up. Just a lot of tweaking and sanding but I’m getting there. My office has a few 'goofs' but they look fine and when everything is closed up, none can be seen. Hopefully by tonight, the fuselage will be together. One small part that stills needs some TLC is the rear portion of the Sutton harness .. just a bit finicky. As it seems, I’m getting into WWII RAF aircraft this year and after the Spit, I’m hoping to start the Border Lancaster. I’m waiting for the Quinta Detail set to be released hopefully tomorrow and then have to decide if it’s safe to order it directly from Quinta or wait for Sprue Bros to receive it.

Martin It's been well over twelve years now and I'm still waiting and hoping.

Rob An incredible amount of work to go for sure. Be honest - how many pieces of PF have been lost to the carpet monster? If it was me, I would easily have lost agood 25% of the smaller pieces knowing my past track record.🙃

Rob Some mighty serious and delicate PE work. The Flying Bridge and masts are looking mighty good. I always take into account the extreme magnification and at 1:1 scale, they will be perfect. .

Ernie, I'm old and slow 😉

Thanks Mike, much appreciated. Might even make myself a little plaque for the display case: First to Cross the Line LETS GET READY LSM GB 😉

Thanks Sasha

John Absolutely already has.

John, that it is but if Monogram was still in business as Monogram with engineers and craftsman who really understood modeling and with today's technology, I can't imagine the quality kits they would be turning out today.

Thanks John I'm following your build as it keeps me on the path and more importantly, what to look out for.

Thanks Dennis, they are fantastic and well worth the expense. I have a good number now and treat them in the same light as canopy mask sets - a must before starting a build. I'm itching to get going on the Border Lancaster but the Quinta detail set isn't available yet. It is supposed to be released this week and I'm still tossing as to order direct or wait for SB to receive them.

Ernie Whether GWH has then right or wrong isn't the issue for me. The issue is the decals don't match the decal placement guide; one is right and one is wrong as per the kit and not whether the sizes are actually correct. That's a QC issue. For me, I just wanted to get it right as per the kit.

Thanks Carl I look at Barracuda resin as 'old school' and showing its age. The Quinta set has all the bells and whistles and no issues adding plus it comes with a nice set of Sutton harnesses and no brush painting required.

Ernie, just went and took a look at my P-40 and you are absolutely correct, the lower roundels are correct and the upper is too small. I also never believed the story on why the lower roundels are so dark with the kit decals. As far as I'm concerned, GWH; poor follow on the research and zero QC on the decals.

Best wishes on your wife's recovery - falling for seniors is a pretty dangerous occurrence. .

Chris Aces for sure on working out an ingenious solution to the cockpit figures and they do look quite natural, seated in their flying positions. Nice to approach, going one step at a time and you're starting to get the juices flowing about adding a figure or two to my next build.

Kriss Nice progress and the primer coat looks smooth as can be.

Rob, thanks so much. Even with the few setbacks and needing a second kit, the Monogram Kingfisher was a lot of fun and brought back good memories. Hoping the Kingfishers on your USS Arizona will be the same.

Carl, very much appreciated and my vote is for you to go for it.

Thanks Kev and right with you - my favorite era for aviation - colorful and the rivalry between the navy and the army produced some awesome looking aircraft color schemes.

Ernie The Chines roundel on the lower wing now is so very close to the photograph being used and it is the perfect resource pic; It's a keeper and way to go. Carl said it just perfectly about the tailwheel - it will show up in time after having caused all sorts of aggravation and requiring a replacement which would have been accomplished way before, so you can finish the P-40. I tip my hat as you kept on digging and found the correct solution. My only question, why couldn't GWH have done the same, followed through and then printed the decals as per their research and color drawings?

INTRO AND STARTING With so many starts and stops with the Kingfisher and then the weeks of the stress crack repairs, the build spent a lot of time in the repair booth doing nothing but drying as the repairs kept going on and I had basically nothing to do. I knew I wanted the build the Revell Spit Mk lla after following John’s build and would go at it a bit differently. Over the years, I had accumulated a lot of Barracuda resin sets all of which were for the cockpit except one, which was for the exterior upgrades. Most of the sets were designed as I can see for the Tamiya Spits and with some work would work on the Revell kit. I also had Edgar’s notes and would incorporate a good number of his suggestions. The game changer for me, was the awesome Quinta cockpit set and I’ve become a huge fan of their products as my last two builds used them: GWH P-40B and the Tamiya Spitfire Mk XVIe. Crisp and clean, easy to use and no hunting around as to where they go. I decided to save the Barracuda sets for other Spitfire builds and just use the exterior upgrade set and leave the interior to the Quinta set. So while waiting for the Kingfisher to immerge from the repair shop, there was plenty of time to start the Spit. Lots of part clean up and these are the old Revell instructions – so care needs to be exercised. The front office is done and except for some cables that need to be added to the right hand cockpit side wall from under the IP and the shoulder belters for the Sutton harness, the fuselage is almost ready to be glued up. MRP RAF Interior Green was used for the entire interior – I really like their rendition and for touch up work, I have the MRP matching color from their acrylic range – perfect combination. Typical Revell and with some work the interior looks good and with the Quinta detail set, it’s close to a wow from a just OK. Quinta IP Set Both the kit joystick was done as well as the Barracuda joystick - not sure which to use. The seat still needs work as well, as I forgot to paint the actual seat the reddish brown Bakelite color - has since been repainted.

Thanks John, right with you.

Thanks Gaz