Peterpools

Hubert Enjoy your new home and studio - I know the feeling oh so well. ☺️ Absolutely a fantastic idea and build for the GB and will be following trough the eyes of a former model railroader - I've always had a soft spot for trams, street cars and overhead electrics. Nice start and from the part count, a true Miniart kit. I'll be the one seated right behind the engineer. Keep 'em comin Peter

Martin How do you keep doing it, finding the perfect detail photographs for any build project? Keep 'em comin Peter

Hi Mike And thanks for the warm welcome home - just glad to be back and we're now enjoying our home so much more. For airliners, I much prefer to use AM black window decals which represent how the aircraft actually looks from a scale distance. I've never been a fan of the kit glass as most have all sorts of fit issues and correcting window spacing if need be, is a snap with decals. Many moons ago I use to be a dye in the wool model railroader and used Kristal Klear by the gallon for both structure and rolling stock windows. In those applications they worked so very well but for 1/144 scale airliners, decals are the way to go for me. Keep 'e comin Peter

Hi Martin I'm back and catching up. Ernie's present surely is a gem and I'm amazed, no, close to being blown away by the work you are doing - looking so good. Just love your repair to the canopy and the motherly care the kit is requiring. I do have a policy I stick to: If I receive a kit or anything I purchased on line and receive it damaged, I couldn't care less about what the vendor says - it's their problem not mine. If a new item isn't sent out asap, I stop payment immediately and let PP or my CC company deal with it. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Now that's a great idea for sure Keep 'em comin Peter

Hi Carl Lots of catching up to do and just finished reading through your Cobra build - terrific work and she looks fantastic. I'm with you and I've been using Quinta Cockpit Sets since they came out and they are brilliant. Stellar work for sure Keep 'em comin Peter

Ernie What a great choice and just love your thinking on it. I can't believe it's been five years since the Felixstowe and Gotha, feels almost just like yesterday. Brilliant work on the Fokker - looking so good. Keep 'em comin Peter

Hi Kev Nice start on a excellent project for the GB. The detail is there and all that PE ... steady nerves for sure. Looking mighty good Keep 'em comin Peter

Hi Rob Oh so true and one of the decisions we made was when any of the contractors suggested an addition we had not thought about and seemed good, we did it and all was so well worth it. Of course you're right in that there is always more to be done down the road but at our ages of mid seventies, there aren't any big projects planned as these are the golden years and enjoying each day is a gift we want to enjoy. 1/144 scale airlines seem to be a whole new avenue of building and collecting and should add an abundance of fun to bench time and a lot of color to the display cabinet. Decals for windows and glass - a perfect solution and hopefully all will look good when done. Keep 'em comin Peter

Hi Drifter Much appreciated and good to be back Keep 'em comin Peter

Hi Rob Good to be back in the saddle and so close to the finish line we can taste it. I have a lot of catching up to do over the next few days or more, nothing more enjoyable seeing what everyone has accomplished over the past months. I do have my sea legs on and ready for the rest of the voyage. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Gaz Nice to be back at the bench and building again. I almost forget what it was like with no banging and clanging in the house and outside. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Gus Feels great to be back and at the bench. As we are starting to look back, all the work and hassles were well worth every one. I've always had an interest in airliners and civil aircraft along with all my military builds (I earned my commercial license back in 1970). Just love anything with wings. Glad you're along from the ride and a nice insight about your brother. Does he work for an airline? Keep 'em comin Peter

John Way to go ... completely agree and we're on the same page. Keep 'em comin Peter

Bill Awesome progress - amazing work as the kit surely seems to be testing your metal at every turn. Fantastic work on one tough build. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob OMG, I've been catching up, carefully reading each update, post, all the comments from the guys and soaking in your wonderful images. I don't know where to start or even what to say - I'm just overwhelmed at your progress and talent in the kits construction. Problems have arisen, solved with thought and skill and an 'boat load' of patience. Neat, clean and beautiful work. Bravo ... on breaking new ground. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Mike Thought it would be a very different entry and I've always had a huge interest in airliners and a perfect excuse to give it a go. Now that the home renovation is nearly done and I'm in my new cave, just finding where I put everything is a whole new ballgame. Keep 'em comin Peter

ALIVE, WELL AND STILL KICKING A big thanks to John B for letting everyone know why my absence from the form for such an extended period of time and what has been going on. A few years before I was diagnosed with cancer, my wife Diane and I were looking forward to our retirements and planned a major renovation of our home. The best laid plans seem to always have a mind of their own and once I was in remission and well enough to allow contractors in the house (social distancing was a must and one of the ground rules my oncologist insisted on), we proceeded to hire contractors, set a schedule and off we went. We never imagined there would be so much to do, decisions to be made and my physical stamina put limits on all the preparation work we needed to do. As with any renovation we kept adding to the project, still thinking it would take about six weeks to two months; we’re closing in on almost six months and close to being finished. I’ve had very little time for modeling or even hanging out on the forum as my model room and cave was moved from one end of the house to nearly the other end (couldn’t ask for more) and became part of the work to be done. We’re in the home stretch and the vast majority of the projects should be completed and a few more remaining as we’re waiting for some items to be made and delivered. A huge portion of the project we greatly under estimated and never gave much of a thought to was packing and organizing and now unpacking, cleaning, replacing everything that was packed up in the beginning. Glad to say we’re hiring a cleaning company to help us, as it’s tiring to just think about it. We’re off and running and there is no rush to finish, to clean and unpack everything all at once – thank goodness. I’m finally back in my hobby room and sitting at the bench, getting ready to start building again and catching up. Revell 1/144 Embraer ERJ 190 Ukraine International Airlines With the Ukrainian GB well underway and now that I’m finally back at the bench, I knew the GT40 build would have to share both bench space and bench time so my entry would be completed in time. The new studio was close enough to completion so that I could start my original entry; the Roden 1/48 Pilatus PC-6 a few very late nights ago and now I know why Roden has the reputation I’ve heard so many times. I spent hours cleaning up some of the worst injector pin marks and injector pin towers I’ve ever seen and a good deal of flash joined the cleanup work. Interior part fit was OK at best. Then the project killer: two C frets are needed – only one in the kit and another fret where one was needed, there were two. At this point, I had already lost most of the mojo for the kit but missing parts and a short build window sealed the kits fate … binned. I still wanted to build something different and with a growing interest in 1/144 scale airliners, some research, I located a set of decals for Ukraine International Airlines and had to hunt down the Revell kit for the Embraer ERJ 190, which I found on ebay, at a very fair price. Not wasting any time, I went to work on the kit during my newly found late night modeling sessions. The Embraer is typical Revell, the only game in town for the Embraer, should turn out just fine and a nice value for the money. First order of business was to seal up the windows, which was time consuming but will be my SOP for all future airliner builds. I pressed fit standard Milliput through all the window openings from the inside out, cut the Milliput flush with the outer fuselage skin (a big mistake), let dry and then followed up with Tamiya White Putty on the exterior, then a few layers of Mr Surfacer and lastly Squadron Fast Drying Gray Putty. Overkill for sure but the windows were sealed smooth and gone. Next build, after I press fit the Milliput through the windows, I won’t trim or cut them flush with the fuselage which cause some gaps and depressions that added to the filler and sanding. I started the wings and some sanding was needed to clean things up. The underside of the wings are not flat and have what seems to be the correct airfoil contours and calling for some tricky sanding. Next up: finishing the wings, gluing up the fuselage halves and moving forward. Feels so good to be back and hanging out again Keep ‘em comin Peter Milliput applied and dried The fuselage sanded and ready to be assembled

Rob Glad you worked out a method of installing she delivered the Minwax Wipe on Poly just in the nick of time. Never thought Minwax Products would be difficult to find as here in the states they are a staple in every hardware store and of course in the big Home Centers as well. Keep 'em comin Peter

Mike Some mighty nice advice and a workable technique for sure. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Following your building techniques and how you have gone about experimenting and testing different techniques is a lesson we should all learn and follow. The second planking is surely testing your resolve but at this point, I have no doubts you will work out the best possible POA and put to be the issue. Keep 'em comin Peter

Harv OH NO, I'm hoping your new medical issues aren't serious and all will be well.🤞 Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Harv Welcome aboard and glad you are along for the journey. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Rob Nothing like a plan that if need be can be modified to keep the build on course and achieve the results we're after. As construction restraints has allowed, I've made some excellent progress on the exterior shells a,d will be ready for the next update this weekend and then primer - all the gluing and fussing is done and I'm in the finial sanding and polishing stages. Also back to the Ferrari 12 cylinder and making progress with an eye focused on how to paint all the parts as color requires. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Gaz So different then military modeling, having a blast and it's also much like military modeling as number one priority: the finish . I've been plugging away at the exterior shell and close to another update and priming. The contractors are making excellent progress now and not too many more weeks before they are done and we are back to normal and of course, being able to paint and build with no fears of all the construction dust. Keep 'em comin Peter