Peterpools

Jereon Very much appreciated and nothing like a change of pace to keep the juices flowing. Peter

UPDATE: 8/12/18: PRIMING AND AIR BRUSHING – DONE It's been a busy week and lots of bench time. First up, the windshield needed the moldline removed, polished and then the Eduard mask set added. Easy and went on well but it only covers the outside circumference and additional Tamiya tape is needed to complete the job. The glass nose tip was painted on the interior surface, glued in place with CCA, sanded and polished. Of course being so small and my clumsy hands in no way could mask it with tape, for the very first time I tried Mr Masking Sol Neo and I'm hoping I did it right. Of course, there will be no way to know until the very end of the build .. oh what joy! The intakes were masked and it was time to move the Harrier into the paint booth. Priming: The Harrier was primed with Mr Surfacer 1200, thinned with Mr Color Leveling Thinner and Mr Color Color Retarder to insure the primer went down level and super smooth. Somewhere during priming I decided to change paint schemes and went with Harrier ZD 464/54, 20 (R) Squadron, RAF Wittering Air Base, 2002 with a gloss blue tail. 2/3 of the way through painting and with the gloss blue tail also done, I changed my mind again and went back to my original build plan, which required scrapping the painting scheme I just nearly finished and back to square one. The tail was painted Mr Color 316: FS17875 Gloss White and then to my astonishment, I didn't have Mr Color 335 – Medium Sea Gray in the paint stash for the fuselage. Nothing much to do but switch gears and I pulled out the correct MRP Medium Sea Gray. Even though both paints are lacquers, I shoot them quite differently, so I had to keep the old brain focused a bit more then usual. All was going well and my first BIG mistake hit me smack dab between the eyes: following the instruction's build sequence, I had installed 4 of the 8 pylons and now painting the yellow/green leading edges turning from what would have been a simple and easy walk in the park, into a nightmare. First up, I didn't have the correct color but was able to make a the mix using MRP paints. Masking the upper surfaces was snap and went very quickly but masking around the leading edges and between the pylons was a tough go. Finally after what seemed like hours of masking I was ready to shoot some paint. Second BIG mistake: Wait, not quite yet: The rear stabilizers needed to have the leading edges masked as well. Holy smokes – why in earth did I again follow the instructions and install them before painting? Now another simple masking job turned into a few more unnecessary work. Finally the air brushing was done and no problems to report. Wait, another easy masking job still needed to be done: the tail cone – now masked and painted Dark Green as per the instructions. The shadow line on the leading edges is a photographic shadow line from how I positioned the lights. I tripled checked and there is no seam line on the model: whew! Next up: Gloss and decals, the gear and wheel wells (?) and start the loadouts. Thanks for checking in

John Can't wait to wish you a happy birthday this Wednesday ... I only have a few months to go myself for the big 71. Peter

Phil Completely agree. Peter

Harv So very sorry at the loss of your brother. I can only image how you feel. My deepest condolences and "Hugs" Your Friend Peter

John Now that would be fantastic! Peter

Need to check both out. I keep buying scribing tools and I’m still searching for the one that works well in my hand. Peter

Ernie Never such a thing as another Mustang - yawn. It’s a Mustang and nothing more need to be said. Let’s get building Peterl

Cees Happy Birthday - enjoy your special day Peter

Absolutely glad you guys are here Peter

Harv i’m sure I have you beat .. closing in on 71! Yup; remember when kits for details had a cool looking blob of a pilot for the cockpit detail and to make sure the decals went in the spot, their location was marked by raised impressions! Pretty cool way of building back in the day Peter

Phil Yikes, I need to make it official Welcome and let the good times roll! Peter

Yup, feeling right at home Peter

Hi John Looks like we're getting psyched up for next years Nats and just the build process is going to be fun for sure Peter

HI Phil Not yet but she is still by the bench and every ime I think I'm ready to dive back in, I get sidetracked with another project. I've been thinking about trying for Chattanooga next year and right now I have two builds I want to do: Tamiya F-4J Heller Lockheed L-749 Connie in EAL livery. If I have time, finishing the OWL would be a great idera. Peter

Ernie It's a crime to do all that interior work and then it's lost forever; a lot like your Felixstowe, just so much of all the detail work you did and it couldn't be seen when she was closed up. Those are three tough choices for the scheme and if there was a pole for us to vote; I would love to see a Midway recon cat. I'm still grinding the gears and if I can figure out how to work Chattanooga in next year with the Chief, I'm going. Build wise, I'm narrowing down what I want to try and get done. Right now I'm planning on Tamiya's F-4J with a lot of AM but no slicing and dicing. After the Phantom, I'm going all the way down in scale to 1/72nd: The Heller L-749 Lockheed Connie, Eastern Air Lines. Not planning on going nuts as there is so much to do with the basic kit. Long way down the road before I have to make any decisions. Peter

Ernie Holy Cow, what a build plans and my money is riding on your - nothing like pressure form the start. I followed Kent's gorgeous PBY build and the work was spectacular. Just need to get my brain in gear and I thinking your cat will be as HPH designed the kit and not a cutaway? Right with you on the gear needing to be metal as she is going to be one heavy Lady. I'm hoping to figure out a way to make it to Nats in Chattanooga next year plus I really need to buckle down and actually build a kit or two to enter. Of course, this will alter my plans at the bench a little but nothing new about that. Keep 'em comin Peter

Thanks guys and glad to see so many old friends here on LSM.. For me, what's in the past is done and over and looking forward to enjoying hanging with everyone, sharing builds and a laugh or two. Just learning how to find where everything is and catching up. I'm finishing up a 48th scale GR,9 Harrier and then it's back to 32nd scale with two projects lined up and ready to go Keep 'em comin Peter

Phil, will check it out. I found this video on line last night and thought the coverage was very good. Only wish I could have gone Peter

Slways a milestone in the build: buttoning up the fuselage. Fit looks mighty good. Keep ‘em comin Peter

Hi Ernie Just saw the post and glad you’re here. Nothing better then building models and doing some hanger flying with old and new friends. Looking forward to following your builds as always. I have my 48th scale Harrier underway and after she is across the line, have the next two 32nd scale projects lined up and ready to go Peter

Just found this link on line and the video on the contest is excellent. Enjoy Peter

Mike Thank you for taking the time to not only take some terrific photographs but to upload them and for sharing them with us. Peter

Thanks Rob, much appreciated. Many years since I built a Hasegawa kit and back in the day, fit issues were common and psrt of any build. I guess, over the years lots of the finer points are forgotten. Still a nice kit but I do think Eduard should have done a better job with the instructions pointing out the correct way certain assemblies need to be done. The drawings are vague and that’s part of the problem. Can’t blame Hasegawa as they did their job years ago but when you add to a kit, bump up the price quite a lot, a bit more care with the instructions would have been nice Peter

John Looking forward to your next update and engine pics Keep ‘em comin Peter