Peterpools

SUB ASSEMBLIES 7/31/21 Picking up the pace a bit and making steady progress again. As I am nearing finishing up the fuselage and getting close to the paint shop, my trusty compressor coughed, gave up the ghost and needed repairs. I ordered what I thought was the correct parts but of course they weren’t. What I actually needed was the regulator, pressure gauge and moisture trap (sold as a single unit) and cost nearly $105 plus shipping. With my Iwata Powerjet II compressor being well over five years old, my wife thought spending that much on parts was silly and I should just buy a new compressor, patch up the old compressor and to be used as a spare if needed. I have to be the luckiest guy in the world, as my wife Diane is a Princess for sure. I ordered a Sparmax TC-620X and it arrived yesterday: WOW , what a machine. A lot more bells and whistles then the Powerjet II and now completely set up and ready to go. In the meantime, I was able to use the Powerjet II on small sub-assemblies, where not being sure of my working pressure and moisture build up wasn’t a big concern. Back to the build While waiting for my new compressor, I built up both the nose and main gear assemblies, the four wing pylons, gear doors and all were first painted with MRP FS17875 … looked good in the bottle but after the paint had an opportunity to dry, the MRP paint (Interior White) looked a bit creamy / tan in shade. Jumping to the rescue was Tamiya X2 Gloss White; a pure glossy white – fitting the bill perfectly. I edged all the doors in red, the numerous oleo’s where painted chrome and then spent a few hours applying Tamiya Black Panel Line Wash very carefully, so the gloss white stays gloss white. Next up all the Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles. BTW, the Sparrow missiles seem to be exactly the same as the ones in the ZM kit and virtually interchangeable, while the Sidewinders aren’t only by the means of attachment to the launch rails With a little work they would work as well as the Tamiya missiles. I dead read on one of the kit reviews, that the Missiles in the kit are from a previous kit and were not made specifically for the Phantom – doesn’t bother me a bit as they are just fine. By the time I finish up the missiles, I’ll be ready to jump back onto cleaning up the fuselage and getting ready it ready for priming. Thanks for checking in Peter Most of the smaller sub assemblies ready for installation when the time comes. All the parts are gloss white and the lighting created some shadows that cause some to look a bit gray. The canopy has bee masked and the interior details added as they will be seen through the closed canopy on completion. The gear - loads of parts - they all fit and the detail is amazing. Sidewinders from both kits: the four in the front (still missing the paint work on the tailfins). The Sparrows - almost all brothers Paints used and to be used Pylons - ready to go. Please excuse the red tips on the rails. What is facing forward will be hidden by the Sidewinders so I wasn't as fussy as need be

Oliver Your work is amazing as always; what a build❗ Keep ‘em comin Peter

Mark Nice progress on the seats and front office Keep 'em comin Peter

Cees Glad to see the motivation is back and you're at the bench again. Keep 'em comin Peter

MIke Superb detailing - looking just so good Keep 'em comin PeterJ

Gaz Fantastic work on the rocket pods. Yes, macro photography doesn't lie but again, you're looking at a part magnified much greater then life size and sometimes what we see is unrealistic - it's nearly the same as looking at the assembly through a microscope. The rocket launcher looks and is brilliantly done. Keep 'em comin Peter

Tom Awesome progress as always - amazing work. Loads of scratch work and model engineering to bring the vertical stabilizer up to speed and installed. Keep 'em comin Peter

Cees Same here, any update on your Sterling build? Keep 'em comin Peter

Brian Very much appreciate the kind words on the F4B build - just another phenomenal Tamiya kit 😉 . Part fit and detail is amazing and I look forward to each bench session. I'm hoping to have another build update this weekend as I've pretty much finished building and painting the gear and gear doors, missiles and drop tanks. I had to deviate from my build plans as I needed to buy a new compressor and thought while I'm waiting for it to arrive, work on the smaller assemblies whose air brush work could still be accomplished. Looking forward to you starting your F4 after finishing the JU88A4 Keep 'em comin Peter

Mike Fantastic detail work with the addition of the brass rod. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Kai Coming together so nicely - beginning decals look spot on. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Ron Amazing work for sure. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Phil The Ultra is an H&S air brush and a thoroughbred with all qualities of the brotherhood. Keep ‘em comin Peter

One of the burning 32nd scale questions of all time: When are we going to get an accurate P-51B ? It’s always been on the most wanted list and naturally on all Tamiya lists but just never has appeared. Just doesn’t seem as if it will ever happen 🙁 Keep ‘em comin Peter

Hi Phil My ZM canopy (using the closed, single piece part) fits pretty well but needed a bit of tweaking exactly as did the Tamiya canopy - just a tooth too long. No real issues in correcting such a minor problem, even for me. No way, you H&S Infinity CR Plus is not an entry level AB but one of their better air brushes. I have two and they are soldi performers all the way. Keep 'em comin Peter

Mark Nice progress on the front office - looking mighty good Keep ‘em comin Peter

Kai A knock out for sure 🥊🥊 Keep 'em comin Peter

Martin "The essence of awesomeness" Simply brilliant and I'm awarding your a PhD for English 🥇 Keep 'em comin Peter

John Go Buddy Go. I'm all charged up for another Corsair build. Your front office looks brilliant and if I didn't know any better, I would swear the seat belts and shoulder harnesses were the real deal. How did you do them? Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai We need to change your name to "Rocky Balboa" 🍺 Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai Holy Smokes the triangles came out absolutely perfect - what a paint job for sure. Can't believe the paint peeled in two place and even though you have it easily under control, just seems the Mirage is fighting you to be end. Keep 'em comin Peter

Phil Sometimes things just fall together for no particular reason and I'm glad Lady Luck was on your side. Keep 'em comin Peter

John Absolutely agree Keep 'em comin Peter

Phil Nice find for sure and hopefully a F4F will be hitting your bench. Slowly but surely I've stopped buying on eBay as the prices are nothing to write home about. Keep 'em comin Peter

John I've been on the fence on whether or not to buy the kit, as all the detail kits that Infinity offers with the kit, just has me feeling some of them should have been included. I'm basically an OOB guy and loves a good front office. The fact that you are unhappy with the office and hoping for an upgrade kit, isn't good news. I'm also a bit leery about the gear as G Factor is offering a Brass set and I am wondering how substantial the kit's gear actually is. I'm going to wait for Ernie's review as his thoughts on the kit building into an impressive OOB model. Keep 'em coin Peter