Peterpools

Thanks Oliver and so much appreciated you very kind comments on my progress. Not planning on folding the rotor blades as I have room in my display to show them in the 'in flight' position plus I plan on keeping the entire assembly removable if need be. Once I saw the images I originally posted I knew the dry brushing was way over the top and needed to be fixed - just blends in so much better now. Glad you are onboard for the journey and I'm sure will help keep me on course.

Thanks John and a Big Thanks you for getting me back on course.

Thanks Mark Much appreciated and feels good to have the Viper back on the bench and making progress again.

John It's always something. 😉

MOVING FORWARD Build plan as normal, mostly OOB build with the addition of a Quinta Cockpit set, the DEF 20mm Gun Barrel Brass Detail Set and I’ve replaced the kit’s mask set with an Eduard set as it has masks for both sides of all the glass as so much of the interior glass is visible. A last minute decision and order, an Eduard PE exterior detail set, which I’m still waiting for. My goal; get her built and enjoy the journey. As I continued to make progress on the kit, it became apparent that I wasn’t happy in deviating from my normal style for posting a build thread using the ‘What’s on your Bench’ forum as it’s so hard to keep the build sequence together start to finish and also, not miss any of the comments and posts. A fair number of parts use alignment pins and I found the female holes were a bit too shallow and just not wide enough, requiring drilling them out a bit for a better fit. First up, the front office. No real issues and a good number of injector pin marks that needed to be filled in the cockpit armor plate and seat backs. The Academy plastic is quite soft and care needs to be taken when sanding, as it’s easy to scratch and scar. Instructions are adequate but for me, part location and orientation has already been an issue, relying on arrows pointing to the location. Color callouts have been somewhat vague as well and not complete, especially if a part is multicolored. Disaster #1 (prior to the What’s on my Bench post): I knocked over a small jar of lacquer thinner and it did a number on the front office and the sensor ball assembly. I was fuming mad and emailed John b about it. John calmed me down and offered some excellent advice, which I gladly followed. Best to say, with a ‘clear head’ a few days later, the repairs went fairly well and after repainting, I was back on course – as always, thanks John. The Quinta decals were added and some were different then the numerous sets I have used in the past. The majority of the detail decals were awesome as always but the seat cushions and harnesses had a paper feel and slight texture. This just might be how Quinta is resolving the cracking and breaking experienced with the harnesses in the past – but honestly, they look flat and not much better then normal water slide decals. I should have purchased the Eduard PE harness set initially but decided not to do so – bad call on my part. The office was assembled, primed with MRP Black Primer and finished off with Tamiya Flat Black LP3. I had taken a good week or so break from the bench as my wife and I had medical issues to attend to and a full calendar of doctor appointments to fill our days. Returning to the build, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I looked at the photographs. Blunder #2: the front office dry brushing: not good at all. The original dry brushing was removed as the accent color was way too light and redone with Tamiya Nato Black. I know the edges still look light but that is from the lighting I used for the photographs. if it turns out not to be the case, I'll be redoing the dry brushing a second time. Making steady progress and no matter how careful I was assembly, there is going to be countless hours devoted to filling and sanding.

John Fantastic progress: front office looks so good and you're now already up to priming, which looks smooth as silk.

Rob So very sorry to hear of your loss. I've also been there more then a few times and it is heart breaking and leaves a wound in our hearts, which will heal over time. Thoughts and memories will always bring a smile of the wonderful times you shared. Glad to see the Cobra build continues and is helping you deal with your loss. No matter how well a kit is engineered, there always seems to be challenges that need to be overcome and the results speak so well for themselves. Looking mighty good.

Kev Awesome looking F4F Wildcat. Need to see how it compares to the Arma kits which are also terrific kits.

Going IAF:

Kev Nice progress and agreed, the mask sets looks like a perfect fit.

Paul Nice additions to the stash and supplies. I've had those clamps for many years and find them good for some applications and not others. The key to the clamp is the locking wedge on the outside - well worth the cost.

John Fantastic and isn't that always the way. Surely hoped you headed out and bought a few Lotto tickets as you're now riding a string of good luck. ☘️

Thanks Carl Checked out the link and it seems most of the acrylic XF line is also in enamels - can't wait.

Most Nikon F mount lenses can be used on any Nikon mirrorless camera using the Nikon FTZ adapter. I still have a few F mount lenses and with the adapter they work perfectly and all camera functions work as well. There is no reason to go mirrorless if you're more then happy with your digital Nikon camera or for that matter, any digital camera. Mirrorless cameras and the lenses designed for them are incredible in what they can do. Mirrorless is the way of the future in photography; as the saying goes, once you tried it, there is no going back.

Looking mighty good ... just love the cammo.

WOW, nothing like a speed build and what a beauty of a classic. I remember the kit when it was first issued and back then, average for quality. Some wonderful memories of the hobby when it was so much simpler and all about the fun of building what was in the box. There was there was no AM except decals, paints were enamels, Revell tube glue was the standard and we all used single action air brushes either Paasche H1 or maybe a Badger 150. A whole different hobby back then as compared to now.

Carl WOW, what an awesome conversion and she came out looking fantastic. Followed from day one and a pleasure to be onboard for the entire journey.🏆 I'm in the same boat as you, as my display cabinet is full. I'm trying to add two more shelves which will fill up super-fast as a lot of my current finished builds are being stored in large plastic covered bins. I tip my hat to you and Kev who have the skills to build your own display cabinets.

Scott ... the Reskit details look amazing,and I could only imagine what Paul Fisher would have been able to create with 3D technology.

Mark Nice to see the Raba 250 back on the bench and underway again. Nice progress and some fantastic, realistic weathering.

John Nice change of cammo schemes - can't go wrong with either.

Chris Some mighty sweet progress and I do agree with Hubert about the light blue ... glad you're going to change it with dark brown, as the overall effect should be right with the USAF SEA schemes. Of course, one of the big advantages of the smaller scales is paint last so much longer. 😁

John Always nice to be pleasantly surprised.

Carl I'll be checking out the list of colors. Thanks for the head ups. 👍

Carl Yup, most likely Scott nailed it.

Thanks Scott, Great point, I never thought about the warping being caused by storage issues.