Peterpools

Rob Loads of prep work and loads of time; just part of the game and then when you're ready to add them to the build, WOW a major leap in the construction timeline. Just go slow and take your time, as is so important and the foundation of the build. Keep 'em comin Peter

Bill Nice going for sure and a job well done. I have Trumpeter's small Chisel's that do almost the same but found your solution to be a new way of solving a problem we all face on nearly every build - well done. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Kia Feel great to be back at the bench in my new hobby room (Cave and Studio). Next update should be in a day or so as the decaling is now done and the process is so opposite how aircraft and armor are done. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Gaz Making progress and actually finished all the decal work, so I'm getting ready for another update on my progress. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob With the masts fitting so well and one less large assembly that would need a lot of fine tuning to fit. All those details surely will be adding a lot of character and feel to the deck. Keep 'em comin Peter

Carl Very much appreciated and it feels so good to be in my new hobby room and back at the bench - all the hard work and time Diane and I invested was so well worth every penny. Completely agree that masks saved the day and allow for so much more flexibility. Did you check out Indycals for the masks you are looking for? Michael has loads of decals for the 935's and a good chance masks as well, as they are shown as separate purchases with the decals. I'm also finding Spot Models another excellent resource for masks and all the carbon fiber. Couldn't find two more different types of modeling venues as aircraft and race cars and I'm find the balance between them to be relaxing and keeps the juices flowing - just never gets dull. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Decals just arrived and now it's time to start matching up the blue and getting the wing roots taken care of. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Mark - greatly appreciated. Completely agree that masks and air brushing is a much easier way to go then struggling with decals over compounds curved surfaces. Feeling much better not only on how the teardrops look but also I have the right color as well. Well into decaling and should be ready for an update by the end of the week. Just going slow and enjoying the build. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Phil Feels awesome to be back at the bench in my new headquarters. ---- wow! Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Rob I should have used the masks I bought in the first place and things are now rolling. All I have left to do on the top side decals are the strips behind the rear window and on the rear end and then I'll be starting one of the sides. I've been very impressed with Indycal Decals as they are very then, easy to work with and no bleed through at all. Live an learn and think ahead should be the motto for the build but after such a long time away from the bench, I was itching to get going. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Pretty close 😉 Keep 'em comin Peter

Phil Fantastic progress and for 1.5 steps, the part count must be huge. Nice and busy and again, I always ask myself why manufacturers spend so much, time, money and energy creating parts for a kit that will never be seen. Is there a way you can possibly open up a few access or inspection hatches and help some of the details - engine and maybe the fuel tank, so you can include them? Looking really good Keep 'em comin Peter

Ernie OUTRAGEOUS❗ Digital cammo work looks tremendous. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks gaz The Embraer really isn't that small - she is about 10 inches in length and 7.75 in in span. Regional airliners are on the small side as they need to operate out of much smaller airports. This week, I hope to get her ready for priming and even shoot the primer on. Keep 'em comin Peter

Jeroen Thanks - I should have looked even closer - fantastic work. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Rob The Embraer is a small regional jet and needs gentle and careful handling. Looking forward to making progress on her this week and getting to the primer stage. I have a few more 1/144 airliners in the stash a , both being 787 and they are big and I mean big! he Embraer is sharing bench space and time with the GT40 and I'm finally starting decal work on the her using Indycals terrific decals. Keep 'em comin Peter

Jeroen WOW, what an IP - looks fantastic. Almost looks as if the chassis of an automoble Keep 'em comin Peter

Oliver Perfect - would be a shame to close up all the brilliant details Keep 'em comin Peter

BACK AND UNDERWAY AGAIN The GT40 was unpacked, back on the bench and the first order of business, if memory serves me correctly (good luck in this department) as to where I left off - somewhere in the neighborhood of finishing priming the body. A good cleaning of the body shell and prepping for priming was the order of the day. My primer of choice for all lacquer paints is MRP Light Gray Primer, straight from the bottle, no issues at all as the primer went down smoothly with no wet sanding being needed. Next up was the Gravity Gulf Blue, straight from the bottle, as with the primer, no issue at all – super smooth and ready for decaling. I decided to try and use the Meng decals at first and there were issues galore, starting with the teardrops over the headlights and front fenders. Micro Set and Sol were completely ineffective, not a chance of softening the decals and conforming to the compound curves - a solid no go. And of course, my Mr Setter and Mr Sol had not yet arrived. I ordered a set of decals for the Meng kit from Michael at Indycals which the following issues and were pointed out on Indycal’s website regarding the Meng decals: “… inaccurate stripes to roundels that are too small …” After carefully cutting each teardrop out (Indycal Decals are silk screened and the carrier film is one solid piece), I went to work on applying the left teardrop which still required a good deal of Mr Setter and Mr Softer to conform to the multiple compound curves of the front clip. Yes, there were still a few small edge wrinkles I couldn’t remove and I had to slice them so very carefully with a #11 blade. My first time using Indycals decals and my first race car, I’m happy to have gotten to this point. Those tiny wrinkles did seem to bother me a bit more each day. The only other issue I did have is the actual color of the teardrop. Meng’s decals are red, the Indycal website shows the model photo with a red teardrop as well and the four-view rendering shows it as orange. The actual color of the Indycal decals were a brownish color, something was amiss, I did a lot of research, discussed this with my brother who knows his stuff and Michael at Indycals; the teardrops should be red. With my original decal purchase from Indycal, I also purchased the tire decals and a mask set for the teadrop – which I should have used in the first place. For me the easiest approach to the problem and removing the two teardrop decals, the Gunz decal solutions seemed to literally glue them to the paint, was to strip the front clip back to bare plastic, re-prime and paint again. Done! A few days later, I used the mask set and painted the teardrops with Gravity Ferrari Red (how ironic) and all is fine. One very important point I learned from Michael is, if a mask set is offered with a decal set, it’s Michael way of saying the best method of applying those markings and the correct color is to paint it on using the mask set. The teardrops look great and the color is correct. Thanks for checking in Peter

Major Assemblies Come Together Yup, 1/144 scale is small but when most of the aircraft are so large, it’s an excellent tradeoff. Fuselage – The instructions called for 20 grams of nose weight, I went with 25 grams to be on the safe side, as there is no way to actually cram all that weight in the nose area, forward of the cockpit. The fuselage was glued together with Revell Contacted Professional Glue, allowing time to align both halves, cutting off the alignment pins, as they actually threw the two halves out of sync. The lower fuselage center section for the main gear was glued into place, fit wasn’t bad but some filler and sanding was needed. The wings were cleaned up, assembled and carefully glue into place, checking to make sure I had the dihedral as equal to each other as I am capable of. The front glass is in, seems and gaps need some attention. I’m ready to start filling, sanding and blending in the wing fillets for a neat and clean fit and when done, will be in striking distance of priming. A few issues needed to be dealt with. The wings had a slight warp which I fix as best as possible Neither winglets were not the same shape, requiring some gentle sanding to get them close. I’m still waiting for my Ukraine International Airlines decals to arrive, so I can find a match for the, dive into painting and then decal work. Next up: Engine pylons and tailplanes all of which will be added after painting. Thanks for checking in Keep ‘em comin Peter

Ernie Looking great and just gotta love it Keep 'em comin Peter

Ernie Brilliant paint work - the masking and cammo work looks fantastic. Keep 'em comin Peter

Bill Nothing like filling and sanding to occupy your bench time. Yup. see what you mean about the slot - surely is aggravating. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Amazed at the rigging for the rudder and the details that need to be completed; looks so good to my eyes. Completely agree that posting images as macros help us see the details but were looking at them so unrealistically as compared to if we were actually viewing the model in person. I do take a lot more macro/close up images of my builds but rarely use them just for this reason. It's nice to see the details but they also over emphasize the imperfections that could never be seen plus some dust that was not seen prior to the shoot. My personal choice to be close for impact and let the work speak for itself but to back off on macro work if possible. Keep 'em comin Peter

George I've accidentally discovered this myself and was saved by the bell! Keep 'em comin Peter