Peterpools

Rob, very much appreciated and that sure is an terrific reason to build a WNW's kit. I just finished masing out all the leading edges for their NMF and felt as I used a good few square feet of Tamiya tape again.

Thanks Scott, very much appreciated. Looking forward to seeing your decaling update and you are way ahead of me. I just finally finished masking out all the leading edges that will receive a 'polished aluminum' finished and getting ready to shoot the Gloss black base. Loads of small painting to do as well including the burner cans. Another boatload of Tamiya tapes was used today.

Gus, sure hope the finished gear aby doors equal the rest of the kit. Could be JetMads quality might be pushed to the limit as they are producing so many kits now.

Thanks John Yup, I do remember those days for sure. Just seems Tamiya must make more money on its non-modeling products then kits - my bench is overflowing with them 😉

Thanks Mike and I wish I was but just a lot of work to still do. Hopefully in the next week or so, I'll have the Big Cat done, if it ever stops raining.

John I never knew that but surely, good to know.

HI Chris We have gas heat and it's on but at this stage of the build, no need to take a chance. Waiting a few days surely won't hurt or slow me down as I've been in low gear for the build - just too many medical issues to deal with right now to work at a steady pace.

John You're always in high gear and looking so good.

IT AIR BRUSH TIME Work continues with most of the color coats done. With all the rain forecasted for the next few days, painting the aluminum leading edges will have to wait until the end of the week and better weather. Priming: With all the sub-assemblies and the fuselage completed, it was time to head for the spray booth, spend a good few hours priming and checking for redos. I was pretty amazed there were only a few small redo’s to take care of. Primer of choice: MRP Gray Primer, applied with my Iwata Eclipse HP-CS; 3.5 tip. Color Coats: Initially the undersides and control surfaces were going to be painted in Insignia White FS17875 but both MRP and Tamiya lacquer versions seemed to be a bit too tannish in hue to match the photographs in my Daco Tomcat reference book but most likely the correct color. I decided to go with Tamiya Lacquer for the first coat and when dried, still seemed a bit off color to my eye. When the second color coat went on, very well thinned out Tamiya X2 Gloss White over the Insignia white base coat, the white matched the book very well. The topcoat was MRP Light Gull Gray FS36440 and no issues at all. Being a mat finish and needing FS16440 a gloss finish, I very gently wiped down all the Gull Gray with a Tamiya 3000 sanding sponge and smooth as silk, as I didn’t have the correct FS paint in my MRP stash. The Furball mask set was used for the upper control surfaces – worked perfectly, saving a lot of time and frustration in masking out all the hinges. Next up was all the orange tips everywhere there was a tip to be found. And of course, the only orange I had was an old bottle of Italeri acrylic FS12197, the correct FS number, but the paint was unusable, pretty well dried up in the bottle. I mixed the orange as close as I could get with Tamiya lacquers: Pure Red (2 pts) and Pure Yellow (3 pts) ... looks good and time to move on. Just so hard to believe how much masking has been required on the Big Cat to this point. Seems to me the hobby has become: The many uses of Tamiya masking tape. Wings and stabilizers are only being test fit for the photographs and will be added at the end of the build, which is still a good way off.

Phil I've seen them home made from blocks of wood - anything with a bit of weight and wide enough will work just fine.

OOPS, almost a double post.

Rob Looks perfect for the job at hand.

Scott Looking mighty good and almost not enough paint in a full bottle for the He 111 .. I'm sure you were stretching the end of the jar as far as it could go. 😉

Andy Welcome aboard; both to the forum and the GB. Nice choice for the GB and as with Scott, will be following.

John Amazing progress and a beauty in the making. I

Phil Pretty cool idea.

Phil, they are one of those modeling accessories we never think about and are so useful.

Gus Yikes, seems to be a drawback of 3D printing on the flat. Fingers crossed the cleanup works like a charm.

Brother Bear Absolutely a brilliant build and my apologies for not posting before. 🏆

Rob Glad your rigging arrived for your WNW GB build. Tat quite a unique collection of kits but my eye was on the Tamiya P-47 Razorback Jug.

Carl Going to be a great build and thread to follow. Scale hobbyist has all three in stock for $75.29 plus shipping.

Rob Amazing progress and just so many issues to deal with - glad you are sorting them all out, one by one. I'm surprised that they were bent struts in a WNW kit - was it molded that way or some heat over the years took its toll as they seem to be very delicate? Decaling work is extraordinary and perfectly done. 🏆

Chris Awesome progress and glad you have the office sorted out. Normally I go with the Quinta set made for the kit and don't expect them to be 100% accurate. For me it's the overall look and feel that's important and in my book, you have greatly passed that point. Just keep going at your own pace and everything will fall into place - seam lines just always creep into any build, even Tamiya as I had a few small ones on the Tomcat as well.

Ralph Looking mighty good and the color now looks spot on - perfect.

Phil Awesome progress and you're absolutely in the home stretch. I started using the 3D bottle holders for both Tamiya glues and Micro Decal solutions and since then, haven't knocked over a single bottle - highly recommended and they are more then worth the cost is just saving spilled solutions and glue all over the bench.