Peterpools

John Awesome project and a great start. As always, your office looks spot on the money and perfectly done.

Peter Absolutely amazing museum quality work. With each of your builds the bar keeps on rising to new heights. So happy you have shared the build with us from day one. And of course, onto your next build adventure.

TWIN GE -T700 ENGINE ASSEMBLIES DONE FORWARD ELECTRONIC BAYS DONE Slowly making progress the past few days and have finally finished both T700 engine and engine bay assemblies. My build plan is to add the engine bay assemblies at the end of the build and they are in all reality, mini models unto themselves. What I was worried about were the gaps and seams that could result and all the photographs I’ve seen and studied, those gaps are actually there. Paying careful attention to the loads of external systems and parts which cover the Saraf nose to tail, all seem to be easily removable for maintenance and repair and the actual fit does have seams and gaps, which appears to be a plus for the maintainers. So far, all the paints used have been MRP, but as I move forward, the Hataka IAF Modern Helicopter Lacquer Paint Set is coming to the forefront. Taking a short mini break from the twin engine sub-assemblies, I built up the forward electronic bays using the dedicated Quinta 1/35 AH-64D EFAB set and no question, Quinta has broken new ground with this set. I’ve been using Quinta sets since they first became available as their technology and expertise has moved forward, what they can do is incredible. Besides from the black boxes, all the electronic cables are added as small groups and the detail is incredible. The only drawback is the time and patience required but so well worth the effort. The fuselage side wall still needs to be painted Chromate yellow and all the details painted

Carl Good luck on that one 😉

Chris I've used Dullcote very sparingly over the chalks and the effect was less. One method I haven't tried but will is to apply the chalks directly on top of the Dullcote while it is still drying. I'll need to test it out but over the years, especially my days as a model railroader, once I applied the chalks, I never handled the model or structure again. Mike's suggestion most likely is the most effective.

PW WOW! Looking mighty good.

Hubert Just finished catching up and am completely blown away by the effort, time and knowledge that is required to print at your level. I wish I were a lot younger and would have loved to learn printing but being almost 77, knowing my limits keeps the frustrations and costs down. I also was amazed at the difference of the detail and sharpness of the printing between the two resins. Of course, your initial question of whether or not we have major reservations on cutting up an expensive model and in today's ages, that seems to be most kits and all the time, as there is always the worry, something will go so very wrong, and the kit then qualifies for the bin. I've been an OOB builder for decades and it so greatly helps keep my nerves from going into overdrive.

Hubert Absolutely incredible work and your attention to accuracy is inspiriting. Of course, I have a bit of a hard time following some of your issues and thanks to the photographs, have a good idea f the work that has gone into the conversion.

Thanks Chris, so very much appreciated and a first time for everything, even for us old timers. I cleaned a bit of the weathering up in a few spots I thought were a bit overdone, as the Saraf's lives in the dessert and photos in the book shows, how well maintained they are. Meng offers the builder a few variations of how to display the engine sub-assemblies and right now, I'm planning on having them pretty much full open - just need to see how it goes.

Thanks Kev, much appreciated. Agreed to a point but I needed to clean up a bit of the weathering, which I finished doing last night. Thoroughly enjoying the kit.

Thanks Oliver, greatly appreciated. I've cleaned up some of the weathering which for me seemed a bit overdone and hoping to finish both engine sub-assemblies this weekend. Never realized how many parts are in helicopter kits - could be because I've followed yours for years and you're just so organized and scratch what you need - way beyond my abilities.

Carl And I'm willing to bet, you know where everything is without having to look for it. For us seniors, just remembering I we put something down as we're working on it. is a full-time job.

Chris Looking mighty good and I'm a firm believer in chalks. I bought my latest set at Michael's, as the first set lasted well over twenty years - I use to use them all the time and for whatever reason, just stopped but will be getting back to them. Mike is 100% correct, that once you apply the chalks, no clear flat or gloss as they dissolved and disappear. The biggest negative is handling the model and fingerprints - extra care is needed but the effects are endless.

My heart goes out to all those who lost family, friends and so much from the hurricane. From what I've seen on TV, the military and the government need to provide every available resource to help those in need, which should be at the top of the list. In times as these, we as Americans need to band together. Today, I will be donating to the Red Cross.

Carl Right with Rob - amazing progress and you absolutely are on an armor roll. Looking mighty good.

Mike Holy Cow, your progress is amazing, and the CMK interior set looks incredible - details are amazing. No question they are so different in execution then the Big Sikorsky and the painting is going to be a whole new ballgame.

Thanks, Rob Not sure why I decided to do a bit of weathering on the engines but every photograph I have shows some weathering, so I guess no time like the present to give it a shot. I've never done much weathering, as this this surely is all new ground.

Much appreciated Hubert. Making progress and hopefully by the beginning of next week, I'll have both engine bay assemblies finished and moving on to working on the fuselage and canopy glass.

Thanks Martin so much. Just wish the instructions were a bit more builder friendly as there are so many small parts to deal with, times two.

Thanks John Very much appreciated and now I'm ready to kick into high gear and make some good progress.

Carl Terrific progress and looking mighty good.

Chris Right with martin and some mighty nice progress. Always something that seems to break or go wrong in the last stages of a build and those aileron counterbalances were just waiting for the right moment.

T700-GE-701-C ENGINE ASSEMBLIES The two T700 engine assemblies are easily mini models by themselves and required a boat load of time in both assembly and painting. I’m still not done with the engine sub-assemblies as bench time has been hard to come by the past few weeks with doctor appointments and procedures for both my wife and me. The instructions aren’t bad but leave a lot to be desired in locating and orientating the nearly endless amounts of small parts and piping, times two. The kit color callouts didn’t seem to match both the Saraf Book nor the color photographs I found online and sorting this out as best I could, just took time. My goal was not to be spot on the money but close enough to look good and add interest. There still is a lot of detail painting to be done, plus dry brushing, additional washes and cleaning up some of the light weathering, something I normally do not do and am on shaky new ground for sure. The T700 engines are pretty much ready to be glued to the main assembly floor, which first needed to be painted yellow chromate on the interior and the cammo added to the exterior. The detail level of the Saraf is incredible and so far well worth all the extra work.

Scale Model Cafe with Jamie Haggo has also confirmed the same and the Eduard 1/32 P-51B/C is going to be a reality. Now the wait. Of course, we have been waiting for an accurate P-51B for nearly as long as we waited for the Tamiya P-51D. Hopefully we will see it in 2025 but no schedule nor release date has been hinted at all. Eduard has recently released their incredible P-15B/C in 48th scale, so all the basic research has already been done. I'm planning on buying a good three or four Mustangs to add to the collection.

Kev Nothing like constantly test fitting and double checking to make the instructions are correct and the parts actually fit- geez so many times these days the instructions aren't correct. Could be the kits are just getting too complicated and the manufacturer just hadn't allotted enough time and resources to double check and make the corrections. Nothing like good research and its eye opening when new information, especially the airframe finish comes to light BEFORE the paint work is done.