Peterpools

Bill Fantastic progress .. Your Big Cat looks so good and you well into the home stretch.

John Looks perfect! Awesome work.

Ernie I've seen the Snowbirds twice and what a show. The Tudor is the perfect size for a 32nd scale jet. and I would easily be in for one.

Scott, can never hurt to ask but my guess would be until Trumpeter releases the kit, Quinta most likely might feel the market isn't strong enough for offering a 3D set for the T-28 right now.

Rob You're flying through the build and the Lancia is looking so good. Priming is as smooth as silk and a great idea priming the lid and having a test bed for the camo to practice on. Being able to add the MGs after painting as is huge plus for sure.

Bill My vote these days is always to go the route of 3D cockpit Decal Sets. There isn't any way a kit manufacturer can come close with an injected molded IP and side consoles. My guess is, down the not to far distant future, kit manufactures might be offering them as part of the kit, just as PE is.

HI Bill, thank you for the tips. I've tried using Extra Thin for removing glue on parts a few times and it did work but the noise had four solid plastic shims added in the inside faces and there was no way for the Extra Thin to actually reach those glue faces. I do use a needle in a Pin Vise to help locate the center holes and my success rate is still pretty low and always takes a long time and multiple attempts to get close.

M Ike Agreed, they are climbing in cost and they work for most modeling but large ships most likely require a different type of paint booth or even just large extractor fans in a room with the door closed when in use plus a good respirator. As far as the fan and motor go, there was a lot of discussion about what motors/fans systems are safe to be used with solvent paints, as the general consensus was, most aren't and care needs to be taken. How true this actually is, I still on the fence about it.

Thanks Rob for the very kind words on my progress. No question, the Whirlwind's long thin wings is so like that of a sailplane or even the U2 Dragon Lady. Strange looking in appearance, yet still has some good looks. Nice modification on your spray booth, as I find mine getting tighter and tighter as the builds seem to be getting bigger and bigger. Lately I've been thinking it's time to buy a second flexible vent hose from Micro Mart and hook up the Artograph 1530, which has two extractor motors and needs the two vent hoses. I never leave the vent hose in the window and only hook it up when painting. See how it goes and I'm also thinking about your modification.

Thanks Martin, I never knew or even thought. Nice to know for dry brushing in the cockpit.

John It's a good feeling when things fall together rather then fighting an uphill battle.

Gaz Quality and well engineered kit. Can't wait to start mine

Thanks Martin, they might have worked but at this stage of the game, the kits cannons are cleaned up, drilled out and will have to do. With my luck and how the build has gone, any tinkering will lead to a disaster. 😉

John Good call... the nose looks like a perfect fit and a much better choice then the Tamiya nose. Nice choice for the markings as well.

John Can't wait to see the completed nose grafting pics.

Thanks Dennis, priming today.

Thanks Mike,. very much appreciated. I'm actually priming later today and finally I feel as if I'm over the hump. I used a paint booth for years but not religiously. Since being now in remission and through chemo therapy, I am ever so vigilant about chemicals, paint, paint fumes and never air brush without using a paint booth and a very good respirator. I use a paint booth I purchased from Micro Mart, single extractor motor and about 16 inches in width: Fold Up Spray Booth for Spray Painting Models (micromark.com). The Whirlwind just squeezes in and to turn it around or over, I need to pull it out, reorient it and then back in she goes. Even the Spitfire was a tight fit. I have another and much larger spray booth I use to use but haven't set it up as it has two extractor motors and double the exhaust ducting: Artograph 1530 (Artograph 1530 HOBBY MODEL SPRAY SYSTEM® (madisonartshop.com) which is 30 inches wide. Most likely I'll eventually wind up hooking up the Artograph 1530 as it's much more convenient to use and our home renovation is done.

FINALLY KNOCKING ON THE DOOR PREP FOR PRIMING PREP: It’s been a lot of work to reach this point, countless go backs, redo’s, cleaning up mistakes, errors and blunders; one by one they have been slowly corrected and redone as best as I can do. With the wings and fuselage assemblies sanded, polished and cleaned up, it’s time they were attached together and of course, a few more gaps and seams now needing attention. The front windscreen and canopy were masked using the ASK set and they are superb, easy to work with, very complete and each mask is numbered making life a lot easier. The windscreen was carefully glued to the fuselage with Tamiya extra Thin and a spot of filler was required – a nice, tight fit. The oil cooler doors were added, slightly in the open position for a bit of added interest. Gaz had pointed out the nasty mold seams on the cannons in the macro shots for the nose repair and since there were no Master Barrels sets available, I spent a lot of time cleaning up the seams as best as I could, using my magnifier lamp and a brand new Tamiya blade. Not perfect but much better then before. I decided to risk it all and add the two front antennas as the glue points are very small and trying to do this after painting is a disaster waiting to happen for sure. I just need to exercise care for the balance of the build and hopefully not knock them off. Masking: Just seems masking these days takes forever and I decided I would use foam blocks in the wheel wheels so I could sit the Whirlwind down during all the painting stages without worry of marring the paint itself and also act as nice chunk of masking. Both prop assemblies are also now ready for priming. PRIMING TIME: Here we come. The canopy still needs to be tacked in place Mighty wide wingspan - reminds of a Gooney Bird

John I take the Fifth Amendment. Just glad you have the Revell nose to work with.

Scott Right with you: What were they thinking or better yet why weren't they thinking things through. progress may seem slow but it takes a while to undo what KH did and then do it correctly.

John Oh no, sounds like I must have been involved somehow as parts are missing and a change of plan is now the order of the day.

Ernie Agreed the Helldivers fate after the war was seen by so many other aircraft, especially with the dawn of the jet age. ✈️

Paul Nice progress and the Mr Surfacer texture looks spot on.

Chris Right with you, the HGW belts give me a battle and I have a set of the new Airscale seatbelts coming for my ZM 109 build.

Gaz Nice start on the front office. Parts do look very well detailed and brush painting is going to be a challenge for sure. One of the best features of ZM's instructions is all the colors for each step is shown at the bottom of the page - mighty handy.