Peterpools

Kev Good decision.

Kev Nice fix on the tailplanes. Just curious as to the million dollar Mustang question: wing rivets. On the three Tamiya Mustangs, all had the rivets: I left them on two and removed them on the third one. Once they were all lined up in the display case, you couldn't tell.

Carl Awesome progress ... looking so good

Ernie Thank you for posting the link. I was completely blown away by the incredible level of work, his skills and modesty.

Just arrived yesterday, my Tamiya 1/48 F-16's and a Quinta Cockpit Detail set for each. These days, I buy the Quinta sets and any other AM I need for a build with the kit, so I do not have to face the dreaded: Out of Stock availability note and go searching or even worse, pay a small ransom amount on ebay which is always my last resort. Decals and markings are still undecided.

The 'rookie' pilot kept his cools, followed his training and was very lucky the traffic was so light.

Gaz Ingenious; and the perfect solution for your diorama. Details and weathering look so good.

Rob Looking so good and of course eagerly waiting for all the rigging

John Decals and marking look mighty good. I've heard very good things about AOA decals as well.

Hubert Right to the point and 100% correct. And when you actually see how big of a difference the 24% is, it's HUGE.

I watched video a while back on Nigel's Modeling Bench channel where he compared two Huey's in size: 1/35 and 1/32. I was absolutely amazed at how much the size difference really was; it's significant. But with Infinity 1/32 Kate soon to be available, there will be an option. For me, it's not on my want to build list and I'm passing on both.

GHaz Got ya - just never thought of it that way and looking at how many might not be any good, the amount of time needed in the end for the shell creation is less doing it your original way. .

Thanks Rob It's so much easier having' the crew' do the prep work, so I can keep on building and making progress. Very much appreciate your comments on the presentation, engine and plumbing. Of the three, the plumbing on all the Merlin's has been the hardest to do but, in the end, is a real eye catcher. 😉 Of course, compared to your DoK, the Spit is pale in comparison.

Thanks Dennis A bit of post priming cleanup work and hopefully it's off to the paint shop.

Thank Gaz, so very much appreciated. I try to present my builds as best I can, high lightening the work being discussed for the update.

Thanks John

Thanks John Making progress and started to work on the few seams that have popped up. maybe in a few days otr by the end of the week, I'll have the Spit back in the paint shop and start the cammo color coats

IT’S PRIMING TIME Hard to believe but the Spit has finally reached the paint shop and the crew is finishing preparing her for priming. Just prior to the paint shop, I completed the Merlin and the entire engine bearer assembly as far as I was going to go, keeping it OOB. What surprised me when I wanted to check out the Merlin engines I had previously built over the years to be consistent in finish, I was stunned to see that both of the previous Tamiya Spits, a Mk IXc and a Mk VIII both had their cowlings off and the engines completely exposed. So, this would be number three and the last Spit I would plan on building with the Merlin engine cowlings off. As with all the previous seven Merlin’s I’ve built, the most delicate and finicky part is adding the copper cooling pipes to the engine bearers and then hoping they line up, attach to the coolant tank at the front of the engine later on in the assembly process and this Merlin was no different. After all this practice over the years, I felt quite lucky as the fit was pretty good. The next finger crossing part of the assembly is adding the cowling frames and their fit is precise and no wiggle room at all. Thank goodness for Tamiya’s awesome and accurate engineering, as both the right and left cowling frames went into place with just a bit of coaxing over two nights, with one side being taped in place and left to dry overnight and then the other side. The air filter and oil tank were primed, air brushed with MRP Super Gloss Black paint and the NMF was Alclad Aluminum. For just two small parts, I didn’t feel like mixing up a small batch of either Tamiya Lacquer or Acrylic and thought I would give MRP Super Gloss Black straight out of the bottle a try – I was very impressed. The Merlin is an excellent example that Tamiya kits have very tight tolerances of the parts and if the paint is not removed from the mating surfaces, there will be an alignment issue down the road. Just go slow and remember to remove the paint were needed and you are halfway home. The Spitfire was wiped down with gauze and Isopropyl alcohol and then brushed with a Tamiya anti-static brush just prior to painting to help eliminate and minimize dust from being attracted to the model surface and trapped in the paint. MRP Light Gray Primer was used and after letting the primer dry for a good few hours, a few seams showed they needed attention. All six leading edge wing inserts had some small issues and would need to be cleaned up a bit more. Surely looks like there will be filling and sanding going on in Mudville the next few days. The main gear was primed, the oleo’s treated with Alclad Chrome and now drying. All four cowl sections were cleaned up, magnets CCA'd into place and the interior painted with MRP RAF Interior Green. Thanks for checking in. All the fastener holes have been drilled out and well worth the time as they add a lot to the overall effect. Interior engine cowl panels - painted MRP RAF Interior Green One ugly canopy masking and primed

John Completely agree - those rivets just shouldn't be there.

John I've only built the single Mossie and I know you have most likely built more Tamiya Corsairs then anyone in the hobby, so your opinion goes a long, long way. Throw the Mustangs into the mix and they are all superb, but I still think I would cast my vote for the Mossie, just due to the complexity and groundbreaking engineering.

Thanks John No question in my mind, the best 1/32nd aircraft scale kit Tamiya has made - just wish they would have continued with the Mossie series, but I guess the sales were just not there to go ahead with another version.

John Looking forward to seeing the decals and markings on your F4.

Gaz You're making incredible progress on a project with so many elements and focusing on a very short deadline for your club. Figures are coming along quite nicely and then there are the shells. Any thought to casting the shells rather then turning each one, which seems to be a very long and repetitious task.

Gaz Hopefully you will be feeling better and better each day and the coughing will be a thing of the past

Rob Got ya for sure, as we just finished up a major house renovation and I know how disruptive it can be.