Peterpools

Scott, right with Chris - hang in there are your doctors are on top of everything and you will be good as new.

Thanks John, very much appreciated. Seems the easier portion of the build is what I've completed and the engine assemblies, loads parts to add, including the entire exhaust assembly is fussy and intricate, which is the focus of all my build time. Meng surely gives you your money's worth in parts and even the occasional eyestrain and headache; loads of tiny parts that require specific orientation and here the instructions aren't that good. Going slow and taking my time. .

Thanks Chris, very much appreciated. I'm not a big fan of having all the access panels/bays open as it kills the look of the aircraft and I have to hand it to meng for making the best fitting access doors I've ever seen, including Tamiya - now that's something. Engines are just a small portion of the complete engine bay assemblies (two of course) and what has been done is only a small portion of the actual assembly, which I've been working on as time permits; our weeks are full of doctor appointments and procedures and we're staying the course day by day.

Hi Oliver Very much appreciated and so glad you're on board for the journey. I never realized how different helicopter builds are compared to fixed wing aircraft and I'm slowly learning the ropes. The front office went well and the engines, just what has been done so far, is only a small slice of the complete assembly that I'm working on now and show be able to be added close to the end of the build. doing. Jump right in if I'm off course and need advice.

John What a great find. Worse come to worse, just go with the B&W checkerboard.

Chris Nothing like shooting with a real camera as compared to a phone and shooting in RAW. Color temperature seems to be the issue causing the problem as the camera cannot adjust for all the various light temperatures in the same image and need to be corrected in post, as RAW files will allow you to do that. I always work in both Lightroom and Photoshop. For my own images, I use 5000k daylight bulbs, shoot in RAW and then if needed make any adjustments in post. Yes, it's a lot of work but I'm a nut about photography. I also go over the edge in that virtually every image I post is a blend of 3-5 images for the best possible sharpness, front to back - again way over the top and not necessary - just how I do things.

Chris Super progress and congrats on only knocking off one of the counterbalances - now that's an accomplishment. Color issue most likely is a white balance issue and easiest way to avoid these issues, try and use daylight bulbs(5000K) in your model room and Auto WB in the camera if you don't do post work; I always shoot in RAW and do post in both Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop - way too complicated if you.

Carl, got ya. - looks mighty good.

PW Thank you for the information and it's a lot to digest. Maybe Danny should have been a bit clearer as to why they did the first 250 kits, using 'pre production' molds or if these are old photos and the steel molds are done.

Hubert Thank you for clearing up all the bits and pieces of information I have been reading. Since I hadn't purchased/pre-ordered the kit, I would not have seen the note from Danny. Going to wait a bit and then after things settle down will place a pre-order from the second batch. What hasn't been discussed is if the kit will be available from distribution/ the larger online vendors or just a direct sale. Looking forward to your review.

John Right with you and I'll never buy anything from them.

I saw photographs of the molds and they do look like the real deal. Just doesn't make sense to produce kits in such small lots when so many are needed to break-even but having zero knowledge of the injected molded business, I just don't know.

Seems the first 250 kits CM 170 Fouga in 1/32 from Daco are sold out and the way the website reads, the next batch is going to be a while. Yet on LSP, the owner said he needs to sell around 5000 kits worldwide to break even and yet it seems they are being produced in short runs. I'm a bit confused on the whole deal.

John Looking mighty good and that's nuts about the decals. The beauty of the decal markings is the checkerboard. How can they offer the decals without the highlight of the markings? DO they offer any suggestions or just assume the builder will make his own?

Mark Got ya and hopefully not too far down the road, time will permit the Big Cat working her way into your build schedule.

Most likely the general feeling is it isn't going to happen and I've heard nothing at all.

Carl Nice progress and looking mighty good. The counter rotating props are an unique touch and something I don't think I've seen before on a kit that actually work. Nice work on the wings and except for very few kits, folding wings in the down position are normally a terrible fit and a major headache - your procedure is absolutely the right way to go.

Chris Super progress and looking mighty good. Congrats on only knocking off one of the counterbalances - now that's an accomplishment. Color issue most likely is the white balance was off and or the lighting was mixed and cameras have a hard time dealing with that. Easiest way to avoid these issues, try and use daylight bulbs (5000K) in your model room and Auto WB in the camera if you don't do post work; I always shoot in RAW and do post in both Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop - way too complicated if you're not into photography and a camera guy. BTW, using Daylight bulbs is a must when building and painting as the colors will look much closer to true. Normal builds are either too warm (yellowish) or too cold (bluish).

Thanks Mike, very much appreciated. Last year, I tried a 1/35 helicopter build and it was a complete disaster. So far this year I started the Academy AH-1Z Viper and it has been tough going and stopped it for the GB projects and will get back to it later. I am thinking of downsizing the scale if I build more (most likely) as I had no idea how large they are and so far, overly complicated. But they are a nice change of pace. Loads of great kits in 1/72 and 1/48 scales - absolutely give one a try.

Phil WOW, the large scale Jeep looks awesome. Can't wait to see her painted and done.

Mark Holy smokes can't wait to see you work your magic on the Big Cat. Can't imagine the size of your stash, if this big box was hidden. Will be following all the way.

Chris Some mighty nice progress and the scheme is so different ... looks awesome.

Kev Now that's progress for sure.

PW WOW, incredible build and of course, you're almost reaching the lightening speeds of John b. As Chris said, I converted over to MRP a number of years ago and just love 'em. Color range is excellent, a bit pricey but the hardest part is finding and buying them. My go too vendor is SB but I've never been able to buy all the colors I need to a project at one time as the wonderful "Out of Stock" jumps up way too often. And if SB is out, I'm pretty well left in a holding pattern. I now fill in with AL Real Colors when I can but will need to give the Mig Atom paints a test. I have a lot of their paints in the stash, but I just can't get the same results with them as I do MRP and AK.

Dom Welcome aboard and looking forward to following your progress on the B-17 fleet ... going to be amazing when done. r