Peterpools

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.

Scott I never heard before and it would be welcome if possible.

Mark Nice progress and I can see the pre-shading - a bit light but works

Oh, those night bathroom trips - know them so well. Nice work on installing the LED lights - going to be a gem for sure.

My wife and I took my son to the movies more times then we can remember and when the third episode was released, we sat in the movies and watched all three back to back. Great memories for sure.

Mark (Brother Bear) WOW, absolutely fantastic build and detailing. So good to see you checking in and following along.

Carl Amazing work and the figures - WOW ... surely brings back memories especially of the days before even VCR's that meant numerous trips to the movies to watch Star Wars with my son. The Falcon does look so good on the stand.

Oliver Perfection doesn't come close. Thoroughly enjoying the ride.

Carl Agreed - the flying bridge does look so good and a huge improvement.

Bill Nice start on your Kingfisher and hopefully this week I'll have the P-40 finished and then on to my Monogram Kingfisher full time. According to what I've read referencing to Dana Bell, the cockpit color was Dull Dark Green / Bronze Green. I'm leaning towards Dull Dark Green. IP looks mighty good.

Ernie Holy smokes Batman, looking so good and so BIG! How many gallons of paint were needed?

My money is on Ernie jumping all over the C-46 kit and should be able to detail it from memory.

Very nice progress

Mark Terrific progress. it's not the number of parts but the painting and weathering, which are right up your alley! .

Kev 62 seems so young to me (I turned 75 in November). Still building the bed should get you brownie points for all your other hobbies.😉

Carl Same here - I bought some when they first brought the line out and I some issues shooting them and masking tape tended to lift the paint, a problem I didn't have with MM enamels, which I love. I bit the bullet and moved on.

Chris Yup, great folks and surely helps keep the wallet very thin Never knew you did photography/research work for HPH on the SR71. Could very well be we are going to have two gorgeous Blackbirds this year. I just may need to find a part time job to buy all the kits I know I want. 😉