Peterpools

Thanks Phil Looks like I'm going to give them a try

Carl At least you tried and plan C is where I normally wind up when there are any issues at the stage of the game

John You're amazing - looks perfect.

Thanks Carl, I'll be waiting for it.

Might just give them try. yes, I know I'm weak.

Phil They are available on our side of the pond but I've been using X-acto and Tamiya almost all of my life. I have so many X-acto and Tamiya handles. changing just isn't in the cards - of course buying a set of Swann Morton knives and blades is an option for sure.

I couldn't wait any longer and finally pulled the trigger. Before ordering the P-40, I did a lot of research on the kit itself, colors and paints. The colors and paints are a complete quagmire ... way too many opinions and way too many assumptions online and the colors are NOT RAF Dark Green, Dark Brown and Gray underside. You cannot actually buy any of the three correct colors straight out of the bottle, with the old Model Master enamels being the closest. In the end, my final source: Dana Bell! I have a lot of charts as well.

OMG, I've been waiting for the entire 18 years and can't wait to get the Devastator on the bench. I just can't believe after all these years Some day we might know the real story as to why she took nearly two decades to become reality. No question, I'll be buying more then one.

Carl Thanks for the heads up: I'm in for one of each: F-35A, B and C. I'll be keeping an eye for when they are available to order.

Scott Right with you and fully agree .. for the most part I buy X-acto and Tamiya blades, pay more but find they cut better and last longer. Hurricane Ian destroyed Fr Myers and Naples and is headed your way. Be safe tale all the precautions you can.

Jani Welcome aboard and looking forward to following future builds.

Rob I'm already seated front row and ready to be onboard for the entire journey.

Chris Looking mighty good, up on her legs. On my end, the cammo looks terrific and I can't see any overspray - so your sanding/repair work worked perfectly. Right with you, gloss black is a tough color to photograph and I use a diffuser over the light source to remove the hot spots and glare. Working outdoors makes it even worse. Of course, the secret weapon side for me is both Photoshop and Lightroom and I don't think I ever posted a single photograph that haven't been through at least one of them. Nice work on finding a work-a-round the nose weight issue and of course I've been there as well.

Thanks so much Chris. What I did for the masking (I'll take some photos and add them to the next update). I start with the kits painting/decal plans and determine the enlargement percentage as the top and bottom views are normally a different size then the side views. I hit Staples and make enough copies to cut out masks for each of the colors. Then it literally it takes a ton of hours to cut and roll up tiny strips of Tamiya tape attached the bottom of the masks and then a lot of time to place the masks. All this raises the mask a tiny bit off the model surface. The end result is a demarcation line that is slightly soft as compared to a standard mark that yields a hard edge. All the cleanup work I did on any overspray or small bleed through was done freehand. I've been a HUGE advocate of MRP lacquer paints since they first came on the market and are my number one, go to paint. I tried AK Real Colors for the first time and am very impressed and love the way they shoot. For me the big differences is: MRP is shot straight from the bottle and AK needs to be thinned. Right now, I'm on the fence as to which I like better as I get the same results from each. I also have a large investment in MRP paints and am planning on using them on my next build: ZM Bf 109. Looks as if the build will determine the paint. The biggest drawback to MRP is availability while AK is sold by more vendors. Surely seems we have the same issues and thoughts on the MM spray booth but what it is, it is. For now, the spray booth is my limiting factor on how large a kit I can build and paint. I also try to keep the filter clean and do replace them when needed with filters from MM. I'm pretty picky on seams and if I can see it. no matter how tiny, I'll go back and redo them

Kev, much appreciated. Yes the Whirlwind's span is smaller then the Mossie; glad you checked out the specs and it is considerable. The Whirlwind is a much smaller aircraft then the Mossie. I plan on displaying them side by side in my display case.

Gaz Geez, the ZM 109 is certainly having its fit issues and no, I don't think for a minute it's you. I really don't care who the manufacturer is but the more removable panels there are to show off the underneath details, the fit of those parts become worse and worse. Terrific work on your fix and repair, which resolved the fit issues. If the cowl is going to be closed, why in the world couldn't ZM just provide a simple plug to replace the engine (yes, Tamiya doesn't either, but they do not have these types of fit issues) and you wouldn't have had to go through all this aggravation. With a simple engine replacement plug, the entire nose cowl will fit and you could have displayed the engine separately on the display stand in the kit. I'm right with Carl and I'm a Tamiya Fan Boy ❗ You get what you pay for and no they aren't shake and bake kits - they are just well engineered to a high standard that reflects their cost. Most of mine have the cowlings off to show off the Merlin's and on the ones where the cowlings are closed up, at best I had a few minor fit issues, so easily fixed. I'm still planning on my ZM 109 being my next build, taking careful notes on Gaz's build and Bill's as well. For my two cents: just way too much plastic being crammed into way too small of a space - there just doesn't seem to be any breathing room.

Carl Looking so good and nice progress and then; ouch. Somehow on so many of the work in progress builds of late, Murphy has joined the show. Sorry to see how badly the tape glue adhered to the tail and now is an issue and has to be removed the hard way and then a redo in restoring the NMF. Fingers crossed martin's suggestions works like a charm 🤞

John It's surely going to be a lot of work but in the end, you're going to have one beautiful Panther.

Carl it's hard to tell on my end. Just do a quick test and compare the two bottles before moving on. It's seems lately, it's always something.

John The front office is looking good and you're making some tough progress. Just hang in there and I'm right with martin about the epoxy/resin

Gaz Egad, the negative aspects keep popping up their heads. I'm right with you and it certainly seems as if compromise is going to be needed to complete the kit. For me, it's going to be a lot easier as my knowledge of 109's is less then average and I wouldn't know enough to question details on or missing from the kit. I think I can hear your stomach tightening up into a knot!

Bill. I'm with you and I'm not crazy about ZM IP's as well.

Thanks Carl for the heads up. I'm going to buy a few bottles of both Mr Color and AK Real Colors has ADC Gray.

Chris Keep us posted - 🤞

Chris It could be the ovespray being mostly the same layer as the cammo, any wet sanding will remove any paint on that layer. Maybe the answer is to very gently use a small portion of a sanding sponge that only cover the overspray and that should do the trick. 🤞