HubertB

Superb ! I’m with Gaz. Your ejection handles look very realistic and a lot better than most (especially mine ) attempts. Hubert

VERY nice ! A nitpicking comment : your base and the presentation would benefit from having the « ground » level (or above) with the frame, rather than ensconced in it. It would give a more « open » impression of the whole. I hope my comment is clear. Hubert

Btw, Marion is a woman , a Swiss lady from Zürich. Her site is in English and German. Hubert

Do you know Marion Ball ? One of the legends of figure painting ... http://www.mb-miniatures.com/pages/en/home.php Hubert

Excellent result with what is not a very easy kit. The look of the M.1 c is really interesting compared to a lot of its contemporaries. Very racer-like, which HAS to please me Hubert

Finishing a kit .... nuff’ said Hubert

The trick most figure modellers do is to fix the figure to a big cork (like a sparkling wine cork) whilst painting it. Drill holes in the figures’ feet, insert and glue some sewing pins in the holes, and plant the pins in the cork. Voilà ! A convenient handle for holding figures during painting. HTH Hubert I added a pic to illustrate. The zip-lock bag contains some in-progress figures for subjects I am working on like the Gee Bees. They moved like that from one home to another. A way to keep any loose part sealed;

Reminds me of my youth years, when I discovered in awe the Verlinden books. Looks like I may have to add a modelling book on my list for Santa ... And it’s been a long time since I bought one Thanks for the review, Fran Hubert

And extremely good service. Less than 5 days from Hungary to Portugal ! Hubert

To me, the right wing looks a tad lower than the left one (reversed on the front pic you show : the right wing is on the left). I was about to comment before I even read your question Hubert

Had a shopping spree with RP Toolz. Got the chopper (reviewed here by our « upset » James) plus some PE benders from Pinranha and RP Toolz. I can confirm the sturdy and precision build of the chopper. It remains to be seen whether blade deflection is less than on my previous « The Chopper ». As for the PE benders, having already used them on my IBG PZL, I am a vey happy camper: the machined aluminium gives sharp angles, much better than the molded plastic of the PE bender I bought from Mission Models a long time ago. Hubert

On French aircrafts, the blue is always in the front in the direction of flight, John. Hubert

1 mm tube definitely looks too big, agreed ... Albion Alloys have some 0.5 mm dia tube, with 0.3 mm inner diameter. One 350 mm tube will get you a long way on rigging a biplane. I can send you one if you want. As for tensioning, a soldering iron is a bit too big as well. I personally use an incandescent toothpick. Light it with a lighter, blow off the flame, and get the incandescent tip under (about 1 cm) the monofilament. It will shrink magically , HTH Hubert

Excellent work Mike. I suspect that, even though the structural strength was only a secondary consideration for going the brass rods’ route, you are now happy with the decision ... and another demonstration that monofilament Is a good material to give strength to these flimsy WWI kits ... Looking forward to the RFI pics. Hubert.

Agreed. Great result and beautiful finish. Extremely well done ! Hubert

As usual, your painting skills are second to none. Lovely work on the exhaust of the Huskie. Hubert

One of my regrets is to never have bought a second ST-M kit while Paul was still in operation ... I have an extensive stash of Fisher kits but would not have minded a second PT-20 ... Hubert

Now the IBG PZL P-11c is back on the bench... I found out that it was another casualty of the move: given the flimsy contact point between the cockpit floor and the rudder pedals part, I had to glue it many times. When the move came, I forgot that the assembly was attached to a « third hand » crocodile clip that was packed with other stuff. Of course, the rudder pedals went MIA ... But I have a cunning plan : this is where my 40-years old « Plany Modelarskie » drawings prove their usefulness. They feature detailed 1/5 drawings of the cockpit components, including the rudder pedals. Just a matter of scratchbuilding a new part, which, btw, will be stronger and less flimsy than the IBG rendition, judging from the drawing’s dimensions. TBC in the WiP section Hubert

Well, after a 5-months hiatus during which surveying the final works of the new house, moving and settling into it took priority, I am back at the bench, to do some repairs to the finished kits which had suffered some (minor) damage in the move. I had to redo a full fork for the ST-M tailwheel, in brass, as the original resin one did not survive in a good enough shape. I really suck at welding, but I prevailed nevertheless ! Me happy Hubert

I got the trick from jewellers. As they are working with short-focal magnifying glasses, they have to be really close to their work, which implies a sore back and shoulders with standard chairs and tables. To overcome this, they have very high benches, with their elbows literally at the level of their shoulders. A high bench is one way to achieve the goal, the other is to use a telescopic chair set at its lowest, with a standard-height table. I lower my chair when I have to work close to the bench, especially with the Optivisor. HTH Hubert

Happy B+1 day, Harv ! Hubert

No problem at all . Glad to be an inspiration for something, if not for completed models Hubert

Resuming my IBG PZL P-11 in 1934 Paris Airshow livery is #1 on the list. Then there is Fisher’s Gutless, or maybe Micro-mir Miles Magister ... So nice I got a second one before starting the first Hubert

Rien, zero, zilch, nada ... But then it means I have completed the move to the new house and I have finished resetting the workbench ! Time to reintroduce sme clutter, methink Hubert

Yes, it was definitely a one-man operation. I am surprised to see a stick rather than a yoke, but then it is somewhat reminiscent of the D-VII arrangement ... Hubert