HubertB

Looking good Ernie ... Now to find the finished Helldiver and P-40 in the "ready-for-inspection" section 😇 ... Hubert

There are so many kits in my stash in need of a good AM R-1820. I needed to find out one after the bitter disapointment of the Vector one with its uneven distribution of cylinders. First of those was the venerable Grumann Gulfhawk, but this version of the R-180 won't fit the bill : Al Williams' Gulfhawk used a G-100 where the ignition harness was BEHIND the pushrods. But all hope is not lost, as I found what looks like a good early R-1820 design on Cgtrader. And, as an ultimate resort, I could always design my own. I have already 3 radials' designs in my lap, with a Wright J-9 for the Mistery Ship, a R-985 and last a G&R Mistral 9Kdrs. But I am getting a bit lazy, if someone has done a good job before me ... Hubert

I remember succeeding doing railings in 1/600 for an Airfix HMS Repulse, using stretched sprue, and it looked to scale, to boot. It was a one-of-a-kind success though, as I never managed to replicate the railings for other projects. With hindsight, it was probably the quality of the plastic sprues I used. I then found PE, and forgot about replicating the « stretched sprue experiment ». Hubert

Great result ! I thought the bottom would look a little barren, but the Nautilus wreck is a great addition 👍! Hubert

This is what the FPW models R-1820 looks like. Definitely far far far far superior to Vector’s offering, although painting it might prove somewhat of a challenge… HTH Hubert

GWH, another offspring of the Trumpeter empire, had already released a few years ago an excellent 1/48 TBD. Which gives me great hopes that the 1/32 will be a good kit, without the need for an Accurate Miniatures or Tamiya 1/48 kit for them to copy … Hubert

Received yesterday from Poland FPW Model’s 1/32 Wright R-1820. It’s an amazing piece of 3D-printing technology … and a challenge to paint … After a cursory glance It looks like a late production R-1820, but I need to check more in depth the corresponding version. Hubert

Regarding the B-24, if it’s scaled down from their 1/32 offering, then buyers will end up with a more modern, but less accurate, version of the Monogram kit … Hubert

No. Upside down 🙃 Hubert

Hubert

I hear you Ernie, yet … - 8 million Ukrainians taking refuge outside their country, 5.5 million displaced in the country, shifting unwillingly their location … - At least 180 000 Russian military casualties, and 100 000 Ukrainian - more than 7 000 Ukrainian civilian deaths - some sources estimate 5 to 7 times more - and 12 000 wounded - again it could many times more … - at least 8 000 children illegally deported to Russia - at least 65 000 war crimes perpetrated against the Ukrainian population by Russian troops - hundreds of thousands - if not millions - of houses destroyed, not to speak of key civilian infrastructures, amounting to an estimated USD 350 Bn to rebuild those, of which thousands and thousands of Mom & Pop businesses - 60 % of the Ukrainian population pushed below the poverty level - Ukrainian GDP down 35 % I’d say that, even if their products are genuinely great, if Quinta were to fall victims of the decisions of their dear leader, so be it … Apologies to Gary for this thread drift … Hubert (whose business lost 18 % of its turnover last year, because of the EU economic sanctions against Russia, btw)

And quorn … Hubert

What I know is that direct orders to Quinta fail because the payment process cannot be completed … Hubert

The problem for Quinta is that they cannot receive payments, thanks to the international sanctions. At least, it proves that the sanctions have an impact on Russian economic activities 👍. Hubert

Purdy little plane 👍 ! Hubert

What’s not to love in a Dassaut delta 🥰 ? Hubert

Some pics of the renderings, to whet your appetite Hubert

I have designed a - very - detailed 1/32 R-985 that can very well be printed in 1/24 scale. Don’t ask me to print it myself, because my 3D-printer is sort of stored in-between house moves. But you can have the file if you find someone to print it for you. Hubert

She’s a beauty 👍 ! Hubert

Cool build and very nice result 👍 ! I remember buying the Alcock and Brown kit decades ago. Resold it after a few years … Hubert

Beeeeg … but « wrong scale » 🤣😂🤣 Hubert

Amazing ! Hubert

FYI, the Vector R-1820 is one that threw me into fits: because they did not understand the shape of the oil sump between the two lower cylinders (which, to simplify, looks like a fat « T » with rounded corners when viewed from above, with the vertical bar of the « T » between the two said cylinders), and to make space for it, they decided to widen the space between these two cylinders. Thus the 9 cylinders are not evenly distributed, with a 40° angle between each … I found a FPW model 1/32 R-1820 recently : https://www.ebay.fr/itm/285150116289 Mine is on its way home from Poland, but it really looks promising, and much better than the wobbly Vector offering … Hubert PS: whilst the uneven polar distribution of the cylinders may not be an issue in the Buffalo cowling - although for me « once seen, never unseen » - it is one when you try to fit it into a cowling of the Grumman Gulfhawk with its bossings above the cylinder heads …

Any scale in « 1xx » or « 2xx » for ships is good in my book 😏. I discovered the USS Olympia kit in the « spare parts » department of Revell GB in 1978. It was already OOP for some time… And of course, I have one (two actually) in the stash, but missed the Encore release where the upgrades are actually a GREAT addition to a venerable kit which is a few years older than me (and THAT’s telling a lot) … Hubert

Hey, this wrong scale virus is not mine! It’s another one coming from China … I’m just a whistle blower (and I whistle strongly 🤣😂🤣) Hubert the 😇