Peterpools

Thanks Martin for the photograph and inspiration but the Tomcat will have to wait for another day as the Song Bird is front and center on the bench.

Guy Very much appreciated.

Martin so very much appreciated. I was surprised that in the end, with all the little annoyances and fussing as compared to the Tamiya Jug, MiniArts Jug looks every bit as good and they now sit shoulder to shoulder in the display case.

Rob, thank you so much for the very kind compliments and I was in the same camp when it came to NMF. But these days, I've changed sides and prefer a painted look as you.

Thanks John Very much appreciated. When I took the photograph, I thought of I would surely need to build a lot more Jugs to equal your collection of Corsairs.

Chris, thanks so much for you very kind comments and compliments on my building style. After all these years, I've settled into building, where the aim is to display the finished builds in my display case, as my miniature museum.

Thanks Mike very much appreciated. In the end, the MiniArt kit was well worth all the extra struggles ... just wish a b it more thought to the builder would have been incorporated into the planning of the kit.

Thanks Guy, very much appreciated.

John I can only image. Only once in all the years I flew, I had a passenger throw up in the right-hand front seat. I had nowhere to go and I needed to fly the plane. When we landed, he had the honors of cleaner out my plane, but the odor lasted a good long time.

DONE AND IN THE BOOKS I’m calling the Jug, Done and in the Books. With the decals sealed with Tamiya X22, a final clear coat of Alclad ALC 312 Klear Kote Semi Matte was applied, which is my go-to display finish. The landing gear was tackled next and a bit finicky. No matter how many times I glued on the small upper LG doors, they popped off as I fussed the gear into place. With the help of a lot of John’s ‘cuss words’, I finally managed to have the gear glued into place. I was fresh out of wiggle room to do any adjustments and how the gear legs with its wheel alignment are, it was as good as I could get. I let the gear dry overnight and then started to tackle the remaining small parts: the spine antenna replacing the one I had already broken, the canopy sliding cross bar, the pitot tube and finished up with adding the replacement .50 MG’s which came from Quickboost, which looked a whole lot better then the kit offering. The nav lights were painted with Tamiya clear red, green, the landing light added and IFF Lights were painted as well (sure wish these would have been decals). The exhausted were painted and exhaust stains added with oil-based caulks. Last item to be added was the huge paddleblade prop. The last photograph is of my now two Bubble Jugs: Tamiya and MiniArt’s offerings. Who is the top dog, as both have their pluses and minuses. In my opinion, for ease of assembly, clearer instructions, precise part fit, better fitting checkerboard nose decals and a zero ‘cuss factor’; Tamiya is the clear winner. If your goal is the model with the best overall level of detail, positional control surfaces and Cartograf decals, then your choice will be MiniArt. For how I build and what I look for in a kit, Tamiya is the clear winner for me.

Peter Simply brilliant work on the floats ... another incredible amount of superb engineering and craftmanship 🏆

Me, I would burn my styrene ... brilliant work Oliver, truly amazing.🏆

Glad you were able to find another position and things are back to near normal again for you. Some mighty nice progress on the 172.

Carl Just catching up and quite the build while waiting for the SU33 parts to arrive. Love the cammo and it's an eye catcher for sure. have to agree, navigating in city streets and around corners with a barrel that size, surely wouldn't be an easy feat. Nigel (Nige's Model Brench) built a Chieftan (hope I'm right with my very limited knowledge of armor) with the same cammo and it looked awesome - so different, it would be an eye catcher in the display case for sure. Some mighty nice progress for sure.

John A piece of history for sure. I've seen a good few T50's back in the day and never flew in one. Seeing what you went though, I would have passed on the ride for sure. And to think, after all these years, you must remember it like yesterday.

John He sure did and back in those days, I thought the 310 was incredible as compared to the T50. I've always been a 310 fan and just a shame the production lines have long been shut down and gone.

Sure wish we could go back to the 50's and the good old days for some tings but not everything.

Er🏆nie hit it right on the head about family TV back in the 50's.

Hi Ernie Part of the hobby for us old timers is the memories the kits and subjects bring back and I feel the same way as you. From what my research shows, the original Songbird was traded in for the 310B because it was plain old worn out. As a kid, I loved the 310 way better then the Bamboo Bomber, but these days, it's the other way around. Those early model 310's as with the Piper Apache's were way under powered but were the beginnings of two great lines of twins for decades to come, with the Apache ending with the Aztec and the 310 was always a 310, just so much larger and more powerful. Can't wait to get started this week as the Jug is close to being completed.

Being a Dad is number one on the list and our hobby is the least important. Just glad you're digging in now to get a good jump start on the build.

John when I'm done with my GB entry, it absolutely will be an easy ship build and with very little PE as well.

Mike Nice progress in the office and the fuselage window modifications look absolutely perfect. You're rolling for sure.

John Great projects and so glad you're moving full steam ahead. You're starting to peek my interest in doing a OOB ship in the near future for sure.

Welcome aboard. Brilliant vignette, superbly done.🏆

Martin Not at all - good, wholesome tv and always family values. ,Never any need to see what the kids are watching as compared to today.