Peterpools

Jeff Completely agree and even for a mainly OOB builder as myself, they are excellent right out of the box. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Mark Much appreciated and I'm with you - looking forward to seeing the paint on. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks John I'm getting closer and closer to air brushing time Keep 'em comin Peter

PROGRESS FOR SURE Not feeling very well this past week and a half and haven’t spent nearly as much time at the bench since starting the Big F4. I’m close to priming the model now and the parts and sub- assemblies that were only being test fitted for the last update have now been glued in place. The smaller assemblies and nearly all the remaining parts have now been primed with MRP Light Gray Primer as well. My thought is to have as many of the parts primed and ready to be painted the appropriate color when air brushing the Big F4 and trying to make the paint sessions as efficient as possible. I’m still a little undecided as to which gloss white to use: MRP 099 or Gunze C316, both being lacquers, have excellent coverage properties and require less color cotes then Tamiya’s gloss white X2. The plan is to do the final clear cotes with either MRP or Alclad semi-gloss clear cote and some very light weathering, toning the finish down to a realistic sheen. The cowling, cockpit sills, rear IP are done and installed. Front wind screen and canopy are being finished up and ready to be installed as well. worked on. I’m leaning on having the canopy being displayed in the closed position as now I prefer that presentation for my 48th scale jets. I have to admit, I’ve run into a few minor fit issues that required a bit of tweaking, sanding and scribing (which I’m pretty poor at). Seeing how wonderfully the kit has gone together, the small fit issues are my doing and I worked as careful as I’m capable of; just part of the game. The burner cans are also ready for priming and they are simply amazing and no need for any AM here at all – the detail is amazing. Seven parts for each and the fit is perfect. I’ve attached the instructions page for both the Tamiya F4B and the ZM F4J, so you can see the difference in design philosophy and installation plus a few pics of each. I do marvel at Tamiya’s execution and delicate details. After the Kit World 3D seatbelt sets arrived, the ejections sets were finished and added to the front office. I needed to use a bit of poetic license as no instructions were included and I surely could have used them. I have to admit at this point they seem to represent the H7 seat rather then the H5 seat – no biggie as they still fill the bill nicely and another sign more versions of the F4’s are in the pipeline. One other explanation is that around 1977 the Navy refurbished 288 of the best F4B’s and they were designated F4N’s and Tamiya might have used a F4N as part of their research; only speculating at best. Thanks for checking in Peter Please excuse the white balance issues - I just received my LED lights and am still learning how to use them. The Boys getting ready to play Upper Instructions: Tamiya F4B Lower instructions ZM F4J. ZM molds their burner cans as a single part as compared to Tamiya 7 part assembly. Z

Kev Glad to read your medical procedure went well - which is the most important of all. Thanks for the follow up on the wood and the ship. Keep 'em comin Peter

Gaz Unbelievable how bad the kit is both accuracy and fit wise and now add in all the extra work you have needed to correct all the errors. This isn't what the hobby should about, at least not in today's age. I never realized how well MRP preforms in double checking filling and sanding mistakes and using blue of all colors - nice find for sure. Keep 'em comin Peter

Gus Simply brilliant work. Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai Looking mighty good and from my end, the cammo is just fine and some beautiful work 👍 Keep 'em comin Peter

Steve Same here, hope you are feeling better and on the mend as well. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Rob Thanks for the information and I to stand corrected Keep 'em comin Peter

Martin is right on the money - Cartograf decals are of the highest quality and application. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks Gaz for the help on the colors and I also would have thought about painting the details first, makes so much sense. Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai Masking looks superb and surely marks the home stretch in the paint shop. Keep 'em comin Peter

John Beautiful work on the decals and she is going to be a stunner for sure ❗ Keep 'em comin Peter

Phil Absolutely. Never understood why a manufacturer would include extra parts that can be used for the version being built and no mention of it in the instructions at all.Sometimes, the wish is for accurate instructions, which is part of what we are paying for. Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai Looking oh so sweet Keep 'em comin Peter

MIke Nothing seems to escape the master's eye. The coolant pipe looks perfect. Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai Amazing for sure Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai Yup, the circle is the green over spray area. The bleached area now makes sense as' it's going to be painted out in the end.' Nope, that was what I was looking at Kai. Photos lie as what we are looking at is often larger then in person and the viewer is directed to look at a specific area rather then the whole aircraft. Looking at the paint itself - smooth as silk .. beautiful work Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai From my end the cammo looks mighty good and there might just be a very light over spray of green onto the sand by the upper rudder. Also the beaching on the green by the dark green seems to look a bit light. Of course, I'm pixel peeping and it could also be the lighting as well. Keep 'em comin Peter

Kai Aviattic seems to be the go to company for WWI and maybe biplanes as well. Need to fly over and take a gander. Keep 'em comin Peter

Gaz Thanks for the necessary four colors - just being a novice at this, what is the actual red and blue or does it matter which shade of each is used? Keep 'em comin Peter

Phil I'll be also looking at the Arma Hobbies Hurricane. I've been slowly working on the Airfix kit here and there and it is amazing - well worth the cost. The Mk1a is a tough kit to find but from what I read, the tropical version has all the parts for the 1a as well. The new Airfix is a whole new ballgame. Keep 'em comin Peter

George Welcome aboard ... Outrageous B-58 - your NMF is as realistic as it gets Looking forward to following your work on LSM Keep ‘em comin Peter

Wolf Brilliant work as always. All that counts is the model meets your vision and you’re pleased with the build. If it should fall short, no worries, I’ll gladly pay for the shipping and the Dr1 can reside front and center in my display case.🥇 Keep ‘em comin Peter