Peterpools

Kai Black outlines of the wing triangles look smooth and by tomorrow, they should be ready for the insert yellow/orange color. Nice work on the NMF tanks .. looking mighty good. I'm hoping when you said:"(I have no extraction unit for airbrushing) ... doesn't this mean you are not using a paint/spray booth? Back in the day who knew how harmful the chemicals in the paints were and I started using one now for a good ten year, as it's a must plus I wear a good respirator. Keep 'em comin Peter

Hi Kai The canopy issue seems only when using the closed version for each kit, as they are a bit too long. An hour or so and fixed, including the hinges at the rear that I removed and filled in the small gaps. The parts for my compressor are on the way and should be here in about a weeks time. Yup, love my H&S air brushes and I went through quite a few over the years until settling on H&S equipment. Keep 'em comin Peter

Tom Perfectly done - the tail feathers are looking mighty good Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai Same here - painting is my absolute favorite part of any build. I'll be waiting your next painting update Keep 'em comin Peter

Ron Nice progress and the pace at which you work is unbelievable. Keep 'em comin Peter

MIke Stunning work - looking so good Keep 'em comin Peter

John Simply beautiful work as always - what a masterful build and your NMF - outstanding🏆 Keep 'em comin Peter

John Heading over now Keep 'em comin Peter

Wolf Insane work for sure and isn't that always the case - the manufacturer (Aviattic) releases a dedicated set after you worked your magic with the their standard set. Perfect work on the decals. Cowl nuts - I not sure I can actually see them -and if I ever tried anything so delicate, the parts would have been lost to the carpet monster the second Iwould have attempted to remove them from the casting fret. Keep 'em comin Peter

Craig Speechless as usual and that's something for me to say❗ The radio operators room window is perfect. Looking so good Keep 'em comin Peter

Mark Insane - absolutely stunning work and completely agree with Kai .. Awesome work, simply beautifully done Keep 'em comin Peter

Gaz Nice work for sure and the start of the rocket launcher tubes looks mighty good. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Glad to help. Just wish the ZM burner cans would have matched the detail level of their kit but I'm sure "The Old man" must have a few Tamiya Phantoms and is checking things out. Maybe ZM will offer an AM set of burner cans for us. Looking forward to the Kai Phantom build Keep 'em comin Peter

NIck WOW, Correcting the corrections but in the end, your cammo and markings are right on the money and look terrific.- so very well done. Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai Air brush magic for sure ... - some mighty fine work. Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob - Burner can pics as requested: Tamiya is on the left and ZM on the right. Inside detail has to go to Tamiya and the exterior detail - I'm still out to lunch on it. Tamiya's cans will need painting and washes to bring out the exterior details as they are a bit shallow and soft, while ZM shows the Turkey Feathers as one piece and they aren't - some scribing and ZM's cans will look much better. Keep 'em comin Peter

Phil Completely agree and both kits are enjoyable and a pleasure to build. Absolutely do another ZM F4. Two completely different approaches to the Toon for sure, with each having it's own strengths and weaknesses. Later this year, I plan on building the ZM F4E (kit is in the stash and calling my name). Keep 'em comin Peter

Oliver You simply knock me out - your work is beyond amazing Keep ‘em comin Peter

Ron Nice start on another awesome project Keep ‘em comin Peter

Thanks Gaz. Tamiya designed their kit so that the stabilizers and the stabilizer plates (flush against the fuselage) are installed as a small assembly and they are completely movable. They cycle through the full range but make make painting harder then if they would been installed traditionally with a tab. The biggest advantage is the correct anhedral is built in. Too bad Tamiya didn’t combine both methods. In any case the fit is perfect. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Thanks Kai Finally the Big F4 is coming together and not to far from the paint shop. Completely agree agree about the elevators, as I would also prefer to have them added individually after painting; ala ZM, just makes life easier. Just started playing around with the canopy and a few fit issues - nothing major and needs a bit of work to clean it up. Actually it's exactly the same fit issue I have with the ZM kit where the canopy is a bit too long and needs some trimming and the end tabs need to be replaced with filler. Hopefully I'll have it fixed sometime tomorrow. Of course, now that I'm close to painting, my pressure gauge bit the dust and I had to order both a new pressure gauge/regulator for my Iwata Power Jet Plus. compressor It's a dual piston compressor and I've had it for a good five years and this is the first issue, so no complaints. I can still air brush but will have to guess at the working pressures, as I mainly work normally between 12-15 psi. The problem is I use a few different H&S airbrushes with different tip sizes and need to play around with the regulator so I'm where I need to be. Should be here in about a week - no biggie. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thank you for the information and a mini tutorial. Looking fantastic Keep 'em comin Peter

Rob Got ya Just to show you how dangerous having a great local hobby shop is, back in the early 1970's the original Squadron Shop had four stores if I remember correctly. There was mail order and of course no internet as there was no such things as pc's, cellphones or the web. My brother and I visited the Squadron Shop in Syosset, NY (we have always lived on Long Island) and after finding their add in Scale Modeler Magazine (modeling magazines were big back then) and the rest was history. Oh how dangerous it was as you couldn't just visit, check out the models in display cases and not buy a kit or two. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Rob, much appreciated. Each manufacturer took a completely different approach to the burner cans detail and molding and I completely agree with your comparison with the Tamiya Mosquito tires and wheels. I've built the Mossie and she is one of the pride and joys of my collection. The process Tamiya chose certainly is a bit more complex but allows for a much higher level of detail. Give me a few days and I'll take some close up of the burner cans on both F4's for you. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Kai That was some fantastic detective work and solved a big mystery. I'm assuming on the Kfir raised fastener heads were a problem that needed a unique solution - pretty ingenious for sure. Keep 'em comin Peter