Peterpools

Now that's the place to go for inspiration and and history. Hope your boys enjoyed the museum. Keep 'em comin Peter

MArk Nice welcome home present for sure Keep 'em comin Peter

Another Phantom - bring her on - can't wait to follow another F4 build. Keep 'em comin Peter

carl Large scale for sure and RC - WOW! bring it on Keep 'em comin Peter

Bill Coming along quite nicely and you certainly tamed the fit issues I read so much about. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Looking at all the possibilities from the guys as to he whys and possible fixes, I'm glad you decided to leave it as is. Of course wanting a definitive answer to what caused the canopy issues, is something we may never know and that's a shame, as we all would learn from it. I am a bit surprised you don't display your models at home, as they are surely a work of art. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Gaz Just a fun build and zero build issues. Tamiya just keeps raising the bar and the panel lines and are brilliantly molded. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Gus Completely agree, as back then when it came to gorgeous color scheme, the prize surely goes to the USN. Keep 'em comin Peter

John I sure hope so Peter

Mark, agreed and I wish they were - my hair might not be as gray😉 Keep 'em comin Peter

John Yikes, buy a Lotto ticket, the Aires cockpit fits! Nice progress on the interior and front office. Nice going on painting the seat Bronze Green - right on the money. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Glad you backed off the idea of prying off the canopy which never seems to work without causing issues of it's own. Looking at your closeup photo, the rear canopy blemishes almost appears to be stress marks in the plastic itself and maybe the Revell Contacta Glue released some fumes when drying which reacted with the clear plastic. I'm with Phil, your build is awesome and I would leave things as they are. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Mark Enjoying the journey and nothing like a colorful build. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Rob, so very much appreciated. The kit really is amazing, a joy to build and a boat load of fum. I love keeping my builds on the clean side and a CAG aircraft - what a combination. Keep 'em comin Peter

DECALING AND PANEL LINE WASHES ARE DONE 8/24/21 Holy Smokes, the fuselage and wings decaling stage is done, requiring five long days at the bench to finish. I needed to decide which set of decals to use, Tamiya or Furball (Cartograf), as well as which clear gloss to go with. Why chose one set, just pick the best from each set as I went for each specific application. To be honest, while the Tamiya decals keep getting better and better, Furball (Cartograf) is in a class by themselves – thinner and clearer clear decal film, plus their stencil data sat down so much better. Decals application was normal: few drops of Dawn in the soak water to break the surface tension, as the water alone would just bead up on the gloss surface rather than flow, a few drops of Micro Set in the water as well and lastly both Micro Set and Sol on top of the decals during application – old school for sure. At this stage, I outlined the red wing and rudder tips with the Tamiya black stripe decals and the gear doors were completely decaled: no issues at all. I also decided on Mr Color Clear Gloss #46, thinned with Mr Color Self Leveling Thinner and being a true lacquer, dried smooth as ice and rock hard. I carefully used Tamiya Black Panel Line Wash to enhance the Phantom and add a bit of ‘flying time’ but paramount was keeping the CAG aircraft rather clean. I’m quite happy as to how this came out – the details that Tamiya lavished on the Phantom is amazing. The panels lines are super thin, wonderfully done and with Mr Color Gloss on top, allowing ample channeling for the PLW wasn’t easy. Even getting the PLW to remain in place was a job in itself as the finish was so smooth. I might use a black ink pen in some spots buts that it as the overall effect is exactly what I was after. Next up: Apply either Alclad Semi Matte or Semi Gloss Clear to seal up the work to this point and then to finish up the Sparrows, Sidewinders and centerline drop tank. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Mark Nice progress on the Mirage and a great save. Completely agree with Kai that ALL instructions should specify if weight and how much is need to keep an aircraft on its legs. Even better, to include the weight as some kits do. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Guys It's hurricane season and just so glad we we able to dodge a bullet. The rain after the majority of the storm had past was close to a record for us. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Thank you for the explanations - just glad the NMF was 'cleaned up' and fingers crossed the canopy issues will be a thing of the past later today. Keep 'em comin Peter

Hi Rob Looking so good and somehow, these gremlins have a nasty habit of popping up when we least expect it. I’m thinking that going with Pledge for the canopy fix would be the best path to take, as it can’t damage any of the canopy framing. Not sure about the spot on the underside of the wings - still trying to understand what caused it. Keep - em comin Peter

Hi John hard to see the rivets and details and that’s good for sure. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Tennessee surely was clobbered with rain and floods, resulting in a lot of deaths and property damage. We had areas here on the island that received 6.5 inches of rain today and thank goodness, no loss of life. Some late day thunderstorms and tonight we should be clearing. Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai I see what you mean but for my taste, I always some hint of gloss in my final clear finish, just seems to add to the effect of metal under the paint. . Keep 'em comin Peter

Mark Fantastic progress and some mighty amazing work. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks mark for the info Much appreciated Keep 'em comin Peter

Mark Nice going and can't wait to follow your build. Does JetMad have a mailing list or newsletter so you know when pre-orders are being accepted or do you need to just keep checking the website? Keep 'em comin Peter