Peterpools

Fantastic air brush work - cammo work is unreal!

Ernie She surely is a Big Gal and taped together for a test fitting. Can't wait to see her in the paint shop and wear Navy Blue.

Carl Nice work on getting all the glass to fit - looks mighty good. I always worry about fussy and teasing the canopy glass, for fear it would crack or just plain old break, Glad your fix worked perfectly and no issues.

Carl Nice work on the canopy details. And those last pics on the canopy fit issues - a lot of delicate work is going to be needed for sure.

Thanks John I hope you're right and I'm still waiting

John I'm with Scott. I've tried straightening some warps on my Sea Fury and thank goodness Paul replaced the parts, as I couldn't do it. Hope you're a lot more successful. Waiting for a build thread, so I can see how you are doing

Carl You still earned the Title of Forum Hero🏆 Nice to know that the front windshield fit so well on its own and not surprised the balance of the glass needs a bit of work.

Carl Talk about being a hero and an eventful walk❗ Terrific progress on the 104's glass, framing and the details on the IP combing - looks absolutely perfect. The front windscreen fits perfectly and I'm sure it didn't come that way.

Thanks Ernie, very much appreciated. For some strange, unknown reason, I've always had a soft spot for the Whirlwind and that's admitting how little I actually knew about the airplane. To a pilot's eyes, she just looked so good. So far, the Whirlwind has had its moments and a good deal of those moments and "cuss Word" steps has been the result of poorly done instructions, that are unclear, at times useless and the builders blunders as well. The kit itself isn't anywhere near what you have and are going through with the Helldiver, with what seems like endless frustrations, countless corrections and fixes. Believe me, I tip my hat to you, knowing I never would have the enthusiasm and determination to 'engineer' and correct all the kit issues.

Rob Looking forward to your build thread and in my book, there is no such thing as a perfect kit, just a beautifully engineered kit that allows the builder to concentrate on other aspects of a build rather then correcting all the imperfections we find on so many other kits. I know we all have our own feelings on the subject and no question in my mind: I'm a huge Tamiya Fan Boy.

Rob, we're right on the same page. What, no build thread for the Corsair? 🙁

Rob WOW, remarkable. Awesome work on the cammo and the marker was a terrific decision. Sometimes, to obtain an even flat finish, I actually gloss first, now I'm working from a consistent, even base sheen and the flat clear finish sems to work more effectively. With the marker being oil based, how many days do you think it needs to completely dry?

Thanks Rob, very much appreciated. This is the first go at using AK Real Colors as my primary paints and I have to say I am very impressed. Thinned with Mr Color Self Leveling Thinner, they shoot wonderfully, dry very smooth and have a bit of a semi matt/semi sheen to them. I'm sure I will be using them in the future along with MRP and Mr Color.

Thanks Dennis, same here for sure. Looking froward to the decaling portion, as then the Whirlwind will have turned the corner and be heading in the home stretch.

Rob The cammo test part looks great and I never would have thought of using a marker - surely, food for thought

John Thanks for the heads up and I'm sure I'll be ordering one. So far I've built three Tamiya Mustangs and have two more in the stash. I keep holding off buying more waiting for a P-51B to add a few to the collection. Looks like the only way to get a B is follow your lead.

John Nice save and glad the guys came to the rescue. Looking forward to you pulling the panther off the SOD and finishing her - a classic "Iron Works Gang" aircraft.

Some mighty fine work on the engine - completely agree it's a kit unto itself. Sometimes I wish the manufacturer would offer an option of purchasing just the engine for display with the model.

Ernie, with both Helldivers finished down the road, a comparison between the two would be more then interesting, educational fits the bill even better. Two intense builds for sure.

Irishman Thank you for the compliment and looking forward to your upcoming Typhoon build.

Thanks Gaz, very much appreciated. I'm starting to get the same feeling. Once the air brush work is done, I always felt the mechanical portion of the build is finished and I've turned the corner, especially with the Whirlwind. Just seems it's one of those builds where it's always two steps forward and then one step backwards.

Gaz I completely agree. We're talking ZM here and their kits shouldn't have this horrendous fit issue. All I can think of is at some point, the powers to be, decided to get the kit out the door and not to keep fixing the remaining issue, adding more cost to the project. But the real question is: how could ZM even design it that way in the first place? I'm basing my build on yours and this is a major downer.

Thanks Carl, much appreciated. I sure hope so, but I do have my fingers crossed when it comes to the gear assembly - doesn't look very beefy or rugged. Just have to see how things go.

STARTING THE CAMMO WORK Just though I would post a few quick iPhone photos showing I haven’t fallen asleep at switch and cammo work is underway. After cleaning up the two small sanding marks and two mini seams, it was time to start thinking about how to go about the cammo work. Of late, I’ve been making masks from enlarging the painting plans in the kit and I thought I would do the same with the Whilwind. I did find a few errors in the drawings where some of the patterns didn’t line up from view to view and the color drawings were also quite a bit smaller then those in the Tamiya Spitfire kit I recently finished, adding to the time needed to prepare the masks. Eventually I had all the masks done and needed nearly three days/work sessions to place them correctly, including what seemed as if I made a zillion Tamiya tape roll ups to hold everything in place. The hardest areas to work the masks around were the engine nacelles and with a small amount of the John B Cuss factor, they were on. When looking at the color layout drawings, the areas between the fuselage and nacelles aren’t shown and figuring out the cammo pattern took some time to research out. AK Real Colors RAF Dark Brown was used and a very good color match – thank goodness. I found two small spots where I need to go back and clean up a small bit of over spray and then it’s on to the Sky undersides.

Carl Just sems so odd and I've never heard of it before.