Peterpools

Mark They sure do look very good

Thanks Kev Very much appreciated

Oliver A masterpiece in the works. Absolutely brilliant detailing and your abilities are out of this world for sure. Don't miss your club meeting and bring the H-34, your club members will be amazed and in for a treat.

Chris I'm squally in the Quinta camp. I've been using their cockpit 3D sets since they first came out and just love them. For the P-40 I bought both the Quinta set and the Eduard PE set and it was close, but the Quinta set had the edge and that's what I used. I also appreciate that Quinta includes a nice set of seatbelts and harnesses with their sets and they look really good and are so much easier to apply then PE harnesses. I have a few Eduard Look sets but haven't used them yet.

Ernie Surely is looking like a Big Bad Helldiver. Decals, makings and the paint finish look spot on and so good. You're in the home stretch now.

Mike, back in the days, it seemed as if everyone had someone in their family that worked for Grumman, Republic or Sperry. All had family days and I once was invited to a family day at Republic when they were building A-10's. All are gone now and just part of our history here as the Cradle of Aviation.

Ernie I'm right with you ... I grew up less then 15-30 minutes from the Bethpage factory. Budget cuts was a prime reason Grumman merged with Northrop but another 'killer' was the rapid increase in population in Nassau County and around the Bethpage factory. The runway was too small for big jets and I'm sure there was lots of community complaints about flying jets (noise) into Bethpage. Final assembly for the Tomcats and Intruders were at Calverton and that's a good trip on the LIE out east. If you have ever seen photographs of Grumman or Republic before WWII, it was all country and empty spaces. Today, it's jammed packed suburbia and traffic. I can remember growing up and seeing Trackers and Mohawks flying low overhead on approach to Bethpage - so sad to see those days disappear into history.

Rog Nice additions to the stash. Surely you are a ZM fan and I have a few in my stash as well.

Mark Surely some mighty nice progress

Mark Can't wait to follow this epic build. I never saw a Lego kit being built and a mere 6785 pieces - OMG!

Thanks Huber for the compliments - very much appreciated. Just one work session at the bench to go and she will be across the line. Not an easy kit for sure - a bit over engineered and the instructions caused some frustrating issues but, in the end, a nice kit and well worth the effort.

Carl Very much appreciated and I'm starting to get the feeling the Molotow Chrome pens aren't the way to go.

Thanks Oliver, much appreciated A few more hours tomorrow morning and she will be done.

Jbert - thank you for the nice comments on the P-40. Looking back at the build, there are alternatives to approaching the build and the final presentation, including displaying it with the full Allision visible and the detailed flaps with PE down as well. It's a bit pricy but offers a lot and now almost done, I would recommend the kit - just beware of the instructions - they look so good but are confusing.

Thanks Rob Glass came out well, just a lot of work double asking. I completely missed seeing the out of alignment of those two exhaust stacks and just added them to the fix list for the next and last build session. Part of the problem is the way GWH designed the stacks - they are too small for the opening and there is no positive fit location - they move all over the place. Appreciate the thoughts and experiences with using the Molotow Chrome Pens - I'm now starting to have some hesitations about spending another $7.95 to do additional testing. The Quina 3D decal adds a lot of interest to the hatch and that's the only tiny opening to see all the detailing and work that went into the interior. Just wasn't worth the effort and time I spent.

Thanks Harv Much appreciative. Just a few bits and pieces and light weathering and the P-40 will be across the line and in the display case.

Ernie Sounds great - hoping the Panther makes the list. I have Paul's Connie set and the Heller and some day will find the courage to dig in and do the build. For me, the real Queen of the Skies has always been the L049 Connie - a pinup girl for sure.

ALMOST THERE Finally, I can see the finish line as the build is almost complete. Since the last update: Pin washes and a gloss seal cote done, followed up with a final clear cote mix of Alclad Semi Matt and Alclad Flat, as I prefer a finish with a slight hint of gloss. Here is where you can really appreciate how fine the vast majority of the surface panel lines and rivets are, as the washes had a hard time working their magic. Main Gear assembly done. A lot of time was devoted to painting, weathering and loads of detailed parts. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at a Molotow Liquid Chrome Pen instead of Alclad Chrome and the one I brought, the tip was way still too thick and I couldn’t get it to work as intended. I needed to blot on the chrome and then smooth it out with a brush. I was still pleased with the results and will absolutely buy one with a much finer tip for a more accurate comparison to Alclad Chrome. Tailwheel assembly was built up, painted, installed and slightly weather – looks pretty good. Exhausts: even though the exhaust ends all had then ends hollowed out, I drilled them out a lot deeper and wider for a better effect. The exhaust stacks were finished with Alclad Dark Aluminum and sealed with Alclad Semi Clear Sheen and still need to do the weathering and exhaust stains. The radio access hatch was finished with the addition of the Quinta 3D door decal and installed with the latch lock bar. The armor plate glass and frame were assembled, painted and added; just a bit finicky. If added earlier as the instructions wanted, I would have had problems in masking and painting the interior of the windscreen. All the machine guns were cleaned up and painted. The masking was removed, canopy frames had been painted both inside and outside look awesome. GWH masks are equal to the best AM available. All the canopy glass was added. All that remains is to add all the lights and glass lenses, antennas, a few small bits with detail painting, some light weathering and then the P-40 is ready to roll across the finish line.

Ernie & Chris Of all the paints I've used over the zillion years of modeling, MRP has been my go to paint since I first tried them years ago. Yup, thin and they do require a bit more surface prep (I use MRP Primers as well) but the results are awesome. Over the past few years, more and more newer paint brands have caught my eye and tested and yet, I always come back to MRP as my number one paint. And for me a bonus - no thinning required.

Ernis Has the beautify of a prize fighter with a knockout punch.

John Awesome build and weathering. And surely, no one will ever come close to your build speed without sacrificing the quality and craftsmanship. Posted over at the Finished Forum as well.

Ernie I'm pretty much on the same page, as it makes so much sense to me.

John You have to be kidding! An all-time build record for a Tamiya Birdcage. Weathering is awesome - so very well done.

Scott Please keep us up to date.

Anyone heard from Kai at all? I sent a PM a while ago but no reply. Hope all is well.