Peterpools

Thanks Dennis for the seat painting help - surely will be coming in handy in a day or so.

Mike, yup. we seem to be countering the same small issues at this stage of our builds. Special Hobby does have a unique way of doing things and once learning their ways and how their instructions depict the work to be done for each step, things do get a bit easier. I'm making progress on the front office and an about halfway through it and getting ready to do a build update in a day or so. Lots of small detail parts that need a gentle nudge into place and then brush painting. One thing I am finding pretty consistent is the small detail parts are all a bit soft and not as sharply molded as I would like but once in place and detailed painted, look pretty good. Any chance of you posting some build photos of your Buffalo? Would be a treat to follow your progress.

Thanks Drifter, I know. Just so many new kits .. it's feast or famine and we're now in the feast mode for sure.

Bill Catching up and some fantastic progress and aces on a awesome build. Awesome solution and decisions on the burner cans, they look fantastic. Completely agree, photographing such a large model is going to be difficult and has its challenges. Best bet would be outside, midday under a white umbrella to kill the harsh shadows, soften out the light. Surely not an easy task.

Thanks Kev, that's perfect advice and a note for future use.

John Right with you for sure. Nothing like staying safe and sound for us seniors.

Mark Brilliant build .. absolutely perfect in fit and finish. She sure is one big model for the display case and will be a stunner for sure.

Thanks Dennis, they absolutely help. SP office isn't as detailed built with a bit of weathering and the decals will come somewhere in the neighborhood. My info shows the seat cushion to be a light-midtone brown canvas material. Ay better info as it's the first thing you see when looking into the cockpit.

Bill Nice progress on the Big Cat and what a perfect solution to the underwing screw hole. hard to believe back in those days, Tamiya had yet learned how to deal with all the injector pin marks - nice going on cleaning them up. Looking good in primer, which I am assuming is Mr Surfacer 1500 Black (Going to be giving it a go on the Whilrwind).

Gaz, very much appreciated, just a wonderful kit all the way around.

Thanks John A fun build and looking forward to a few more Tamiya Spits down the road.

Carl Nice progress on the Front Office Tub. I've become a huge fan of Quinta Decals Sets and love their seatbelt sets as well. Kits World offers their 3D resin seatbelt sets, which are very similar to Quinta's and I'm planning on using them on the Whirlwind. Always a treat to have new products to use that work so well and make life a lot easier.

Thanks Rob, very much appreciate your vote of confidence. One good looking aircraft and absolutely, one that looks a zillion time better up in the air then on it's legs.

Carl Completely agree and as a huge Mossie fan, loving the Whirlwind is a natural.

Hi Phil As I already discovered, starting with the front office, the Whirlwind isn't a Tamiya kit in any stretch of the imagination and I guessing, but nowhere as frustrating and 'head banging' as the helldiver seems to be. I knew this going into the project and promised myself that there wouldn't be any comparisons to Tamiya, just two different animals entirely. As I'm now into the front office, extra time needs to be taken as to where parts actually go and how they are to be assembled. I have found the best resource for figuring all this out is a steady diet of the CAD Drawing on SP web site - just clears up a lot of the guess work.

Hi Dennis Welcome aboard as the journey is now underway with the front office. Same here as I always wanted a Whirlwind in 32nd scale and as soon as SP launched the kit, I jumped on the bandwagon - one good looking aircraft. .

Thanks Gaz Glad you're on board and along for the journey. I've already started the interior and one thing for sure, lots of test fitting and determining where and how parts go is the name of the game. Going to be a fun build with a lot of challenges.

Thanks Bill, glad your on board for the Whirlwind. Over the past years, MRP has become my go to paint, but I am finding myself using more and more AK Real Colors and Mr Color. When it comes to acrylics, Tamiya has always been my go to paint. I've been wanting to try MR Surfacer 1500 Light Gray and Black primers and just might give it a go on the Whirlwind.

Thanks John, nothing like feeling the pressure before I get going. Good thing I had an excellent report from the cardiologist yesterday,

Thanks Mark - much appreciated and digging into the build.

SPECIAL HOBBY WESTLAND WHIRLWIND F Mk1 With the Spitfire completed, it was time to clear the bench and move onto my next project. I was on a roll with WWII RAF aircraft and decided to keep going with Special Hobby’s Whirlwind. Time for me to understand the ground rules: The SH Whirlwind is a limited production kit, not a Tamiya kit, so there will be substantial test fitting, most parts would need some clean up and hopefully not too many fit issues. I plan on building the kit as always; OOB and from the initial look through the box, detailing is right up there with the best of them. Some AM was purchased to mainly help along the way - Kits World’s 3D Whirlwind seatbelts and a set of Art canopy masks. SH went all the way and the decals are Cartograf, so there won’t be any decal issues to deal with at all. No moaning as I’m just glad SH released a Whirlwind to enjoy. Two versions are included: early and late and I’m going with one of the two early versions, most likely P6985, HE-J, No. 263 Squadron, RAF Exeter AB, March 1941. Color scheme: Dark Green and Dark Earth, Sky undersurfaces with the port lower wing black for identification. Paints are now in house: AK Real Colors for exterior colors and MRP and Tamiya for interior colors. I also have the Ammo by Mig Early RAF Paint set but the Green and Brown look a bit on the light side and AK’s colors are closer to my reference materials. I’m also leaning towards using MRP Black Primer to help darken the final hues of green and brown. I’ve read through the instructions a few times, labeled all the frets for easier identification. SH assembly steps use parts from a number of different sprues/frets and the parts on them are very Revell like, as they do not run in numerical order, not a biggie but takes time to hunt the part down. On the plus side, there are terrific sprue breakdown drawings in the instructions to help locate parts and almost all the parts have color call outs as well. The bench is cleaned and I’m ready to go. ALL the AM Supplies for the build

FINISHED AND ACROSS THE LINE Tamiya’s awesome Spitfire Mk XVIe has rolled across the line and ready to take her place in the display case. The final steps to completion: The Barracuda resin wheels have been tweaked and glued to the struts. The Canopy: The intricate and delicate Barracuda resin canopy latch has been added and the rearview mirror has met its fate and most likely devoured by the carpet monster. Both the pitot tube and IFF Antenna were added. The small upper spine antenna (unlabeled as to what the antenna actually is for) had had the locating hole drilled out and then added (stretched sprue). The Merlin’s 12 exhausts were painted, glued in place and lightly weathered. Hardest part of the engine assembly The last of the canons painting completed and waiting some additional light weathering. And at this point, I’m calling the Spitfire done and in the books. Another fantastic Tamiya kit and except for the decal issue, a flawless kit. All the pitfalls were my own doing and I was lucky that the fancy backtracking of striping the paint back to bare plastic and correct what I thought was incorrect colors, didn’t cause any damage. A wonderful and rewarding build.

John Amazing progress as always. Your abilities to work so consistently at this level is a talent I wish I had but don't.

Kev Amazing work! I've always wanted to try my hand at WWII ship, something simple but all that PE just keeps putting me off. I am always in awe of ship modelers who can handle and work with such intricate and fine details - way beyond my abilities these days.

Carl Looking forward to following your progress as the Starfighter is now front and center on the bench.