HubertB

If you google Marion Ball, you'll see some of her techniques / advice on-line. IIRC, she talks about a 10:90 dilution for painting acrylics. She says that, as it dries fast, she can build up the layers quickly. HTH Hubert PS: there is also Kiril Kanaev's amazingly good (that is an understatement, believe me) - but probably expensive when shipped down under - book, sold on AK / MIG's website

Your figure is hundred times better than what I could achieve. From what I read from the experts like Marion Ball, the secret with acrylics is to use multiple very diluted layers to achieve the same blending effect as with oils. Keep going. You’ll prevail on that pig of a kit in the end. Hubert

For a (brief) moment, I thought you had decided to show a Mirage under tarpaulins Hubert Aaaand ….. Is it done yet ?

Having both the ITC plastic and Scratchbuilders’ resin kits in my stash, I’d happily forego these investments for a Lukgraph 1/32 one ! Hubert

I am waiting for the preorders to open, Kai. But they have to clear the Viggen production first (mind you, I’d have jumped on a Draken) Hubert

Many here know my obsession interest in civilian subjects, and requests wishes to see more of them kitted. So this is my private moment to praise the initiative of a manufacturer, who just announced that preorders are open for their new 1/32 baby: The De Havilland DH 90 Dragonfly ! For those of you who don’t know it, the Dragonfly was the small brother of the DH 89 Dragon Rapide, aimed at the private / executive market. If you think the Dragon Rapide lines were beautiful, then wait until you have seen the Dragonfly : the epitome of British flying sexiness ! Well done Lukasj ! I hope you will get plenty of orders for this one (mine’s already passed), especially as the price, for a short-run resin kit with this level of details, seems reasonable enough. https://lukgraph.pl/en_GB/p/De-Havilland-DH.90-Dragonfly-132-PREORDER/182 Come on guys, join me to relish on the Dark Side Hubert

Agree with you, Wolf. Andy’s build shows an inordinate amount of fitting issues and design flaws. On the other hand, HPH kits are notoriously the opposite of Tamiya when it comes to fitting and eas of build, and Infinity is just an injection-molded plastic version of HPH … Don’t get me wrong. I am not an « HPH-basher ». HPH at least have the guts of going where Tamiya will never be spotted (which is why I have plenty of HPH kits, and only one Tamiya kit, in my stash ) Hubert

Usual nice detail work, Peter 👍 Hubert

Based on my own experience, Engines n’ Things products are on par with SAC « metal » landing gears, i.e. an even better opportunity to waste money than a night in a Vegas casino … On the other hand, Vector do a great Pegasus, although the budget for 4 could become steep … Hubert

Sounds like a WWE wrestler catchphrase Hubert

Of course you realise that if I become any fatter than I already am because of all this popcorn, the blame will be on you 😂 ? Hubert

Looking mighty fine, Kai ! Hubert PS: is it done yet ?

Lovely result, John. Original scheme for a neat airframe 👍 Hubert

In defense of your wife, this is not the first build of this size you have done ;). I am sure she insists you store the finished kits far away from the living room However, this one just eats up even more volume than the others... Hubert

And another one I truly enjoyed watching being built under your magic touch ! Very well done ! One small remark, which is not a criticism of your work but rather of the figure design : your pilot has a head more reminiscent of a Frankensteiner moujik than of an heir of a noble Russian family (which - maybe wrongly - I suppose most pilots of the era must have been) (or maybe being of the pilote elite he got an overblown ego and big head from it ) Looking forward to your next build with the same eager anticipation. Hubert

And me, I see things in doubles, with a few glasses ... Hubert PS: and Martin, stop clinging to your illusions of youth, old chap ! Deteriorating eyesight, and stiffness that moves from wanted to unwanted body parts are all signs of age

... And obviously a more suitable size for using a chainsaw, and a trowel to splatter the putty, to butcher cut it to make it more accurate ... Just my Hubert

Great modeling technique applied to one of the sexiest airframes ever 👍 ! Hubert

+1 ! (But you have presented the left wing with the trailing edge leading and the leading edge trailing, says Mr Nitpicker ) Hubert PS: plus it's also upside down. The mechanics with have a hard time puttying all this into an acceptable airframe, not to mention the touchy taxying and taking-off on one wheel

It's a good kit from Trumpeter, maybe not in the absolute best league, but definitely from the "A" team. It's much better than the -4, because at least you do not have to cope with the foldable wings (the -3 had straight, non-foldable wings), which are poor in detail if folded, and have an awful joint to fill and sand if showing the wings unfolded. One often-overlooked issue of the kit (all versions) is the wrong position of the wheel-well opening (which should be moved forward). This creates a fit issue with the rear bulkhead of the wheel well, which is straight when it should be angled, fits poorly, and has a poor-looking recess / wheel-fairing at the rear, which does not match the well-opening. The modus-operandi for correcting this is: 1) set the bulkhead at the right angle (tilted forward). It will fit much better 2) adjust the wheel-well opening to match the bulkhead and wheel-recess, by adding card at the rear and reshaping the front. Alain Gadbois on LSP has shown how to correct this : https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/63960-grumman-martlet/page/2/ All in all a great kit in spite of this boo-boo. Much better than the old Revell offering on the detail department. Plus, with the -3, you can get a yellow-wing deco HTH Hubert

She looks purdy ... Impeccable paint job + nice deco + the smooth lines of the Thunderjet = what's not to like in this one ? Hubert

Gotta say I love what I am seeing ... So ... now I have to ask ... Is it done yet ? Hubert

What Martin said ! Hubert

Lovely detail work and painting, and great progress overall Peter. It definitely looks like a great kit. Hubert

Thank you ! Exactly what I was looking for ! Hubert