HubertB

Yes. You need to stop the crack spreading further, especially after repairs. I’d drill a hole big enough at its end, plug it with a piece of rod, soak the whole with extra thin. If the sides of the crack are in contact, re-welding with extra thin will work. If they are disjointed, then it’s better to plug the crack with CA gel. CA is good for any assembly exerting tensile forces, and bad for anyone where you have shearing forces. Hubert PS edit: sorry to contradict John, who replied while I was typing mine. I still think that, if the crack started at the wing root, you need to make sure it will not spread further by drilling a stress-relieving hole at its other end.

I don’t think you have any reason to regret the PE fret, Oliver Hubert

It’s looking as good as I expected 👍 ! Well done, Peter ! Hubert

Well, the lines make structural sense on the « flat » shape of the 1/72 kit. But, even if it corrects the wrong shape of the Monogram kit, the Belcher correction looks fatter, with the lines then seeming « off ». If the 1/72 kit is any accurate reference, you have a lot of matter to reshape, but the issue is the thickness of the plastic parts, knowing you already have a big step to smooth on the bottom 🙁 Hubert

I’m in awe of Ernie’s prescience. Here is a man that has the foresight to take a kit, tools, glue, paint, an airbrush and even a compressor in his car, just in case he is stuck in a motel for a few days, because of an ice-storm, and in …. Texas, to boot ! C’mon Ernie, can you PM me the winning numbers of the next Loto draft 🙏 ? Hubert, a admirer in need 😏

Still … Hubert

Thanks for the compliment, but it’s pretty basic arithmetics, once you grasp the concepts of volume relationship between the original and the kit, and of volumetric density. Hubert PS: to explain these concepts, let’s take a cube of 1x1x1 meter. Its volume is 1 cubic meter. If you fill it with water, you’ll get 1 cubic meter of water, or 1000 liters, and the water weight will be 1 metric tonne, or 1000 kilograms, as one liter of water weighs 1 kilogram. Water has a volumetric density of one, table oil of about 0.9, concrete of about 2.4, iron of 7.85. Now, let’s design a 1/10 scale model of the said cube. It will be 10cmx10cmx10cm. its volume will thus be 10^3 (or 10x10x10) cubic centimeters. As water has a volumetric density of 1, 1 cubic centimeter of water weighs 1 gram, and our model filled with water will weigh 1000 grams, or 1 kilogram. The 1/10 scale cube of water weighs 1000 times less (or 1/10^3) than the original cube of 1 meter x 1 meter x 1 meter. QED (and end of thread drift)

One of my pet obsessions is to give models a proper weight sensation, that reflects the bulk of the original. I try, as much as I can, to have the model weight scale-proportional to the original. For instance, a 1/200 Titanic model should weigh 52 300 x 10^3 kgs / 200^3 = 6.5 kgs. (That’s 52 300 tonnes x 1000 - to get the weight in kgs- divided by 200 to the cube, as the density - weight/volume - is constant, whichever the size of the object). In you case, the Yak should weigh between 60 (empty) and 103 grs (full load). And yet another variable introduced in modelling 😂 ! Hubert

Nice result on the rudder, Bill. I am not totally convinced about the « pipe-cleaner technique », which looks to regularly irregular in my eyes, especially on the rear fuselage. As Scott mentioned, the Silly Putty technique, or lifted paper mask, could produce a more convincing faded effect, IMHO. Hubert

One meter would really be boasting, even for Rocco S… As for being a Maid, it’s been a looooooong time since I wore garters 😂🤣😂 Hubert

I’d venture, without 100 % certainty though, that the combination of cold and rattle can played against you. The problem of rattle cans is controlling the flow, and it spattering cold paint does not help, especially as it gets colder as pressure drops. The trick of immersing the can in warm water before using it, and regularly doing it as the can empties, is a good one … Probably worth giving it a try on a paint mule … Hubert

You’re right, of course. So, there you go: in fact, it seems 8.471 % too small in any one dimension, which makes it look about 76.427 % of what it should be … Hubert, the meter-man 😁

I’ve read somewhere that it was all wrong in dimensions … about 10% too small, in length, wingspan and height, in fact … Hubert

You know that, for bonding most resin kits parts, epoxy is very often a better alternative. HPH’s epoxy glue works well on resin kits. Hubert

Me too, Martin 🤣! I stalled the project when life, and real estate projects took over … I was in the middle of masking the windows before splashing some paint. When I finally returned to the bench, it was time for the new GB. So, the tram will come back after a one-year hiatus, when the Cutlass has left the SOD. Hubert

As I am not someone to let a friend in need, I’ll take September Fury away from your overburdened hands, and I’ll finish it for you. Don’t thank me, that’s what friends are for …. Hubert PS Edit : after some thinking through, I realised I was not generous enough in my offer. Please accept my apologies. I was overlwhelmed with the emotion of seeing a friend in distress. To make up for this shortsightedness, I’ll also take the Panther and Rutman’s « B ».

These panel lines on the Belcher tail are positively ugly. Not sure they even make sense from a structural point of view. And I’m with Carl: sprue goo won’t hold to resin. Hubert

Well, the top deck looks a bit skewed with the rear lower than the front (but that is good to evacuate water in heavy seas), but I am sure it will be fixed when gluing and adding the rear platform posts. In short : 👍 ! Hubert

I also noticed on one of the period pics above that the rail of the rear canopy was painted ZC Yellow, not GSB. Hubert

Actually, comparing the FM kit to a sow’s ear is not very kind for that poor sow … But Tom nevertheless is a new kind of super-hero for vanquishing this one 👍 ! Hubert

Regarding the HB W-29, I always wondered how they could expect the rear gunner to stand manning his gun and rotating in all directions without stepping through this bottom transparent panel … My interpretation of this, on my scratchbuilt Aichi Hansa, which was started before we even knew WnW existed, was to add a mobile grid that would take the weight of the gunner when standing. Probably not historically accurate, but common sense, for me at least. Ok, end of thread drift. Hubert

And another link … https://modelshipworld.com/topic/18824-uss-arizona-by-popeye-the-sailor-revell-1426-scale/ Hubert

Oops ! The problem of being as old as the Revell kit 😂 https://brexitmodeller.com/forums/topic/29213-uss-arizona-1426-scale-revell-kit-with-toms-model-works-pe-detail-kit/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-158790 Hubert

Re-enacting « Tora ! Tora ! Tora! », Peter ? I understand the frustrations, but shooting at the wings 😱 ? Hubert 🤣

Retiring to the Ardennes ? Now, that’s pushing obsession VERY far 😂 ! Hubert, who, less originally, retired to sunny Portugal (but whose name Saint was from the Ardennes, and, after converting to Christianism, and forgiving game hunting, ended up founding the town of Liège, being its first bishop )