HubertB

Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself all the time. But somehow these kits have developed an uncanny capability to sneak past the best resolutions. Such stealthiness is somewhat frightening sometimes . Thank God, Trumpeter’s TBD is not on this year’s release schedule (or is it ?). That will leave something for the post-Covid-19 times Hubert

Looks more like target than something wIth wings. And Paul Fisher’s Fairey Firefly in development has gone in flames with the rest of his business, unfortunately for him (and us) Hubert

Gawd ... I’d forgotten about the Bf-108. If I can find a decent civilian scheme for it ... Hubert

Ok, as a (big) number of us have some extra modelling time nowadays, and also time for mulling/daydreaming, and as there are plenty of kits already released, or about to be released, what would be on your « models-to-buy » list for this year ? Your list does not have to be : - aircrafts only, - 1/32 only, - new releases only (for instance I would expect a Tamiya Corsair on JohnB’s list ) - IM plastic only, - complete kits only, if you badly « need » AM stuff. I’ll bite first with my list (all aircrafts in 1/32 scale, ofcourse ) Trumpeter 1/200 Titanic (done) IBG PZL P11c (done and on the bench) Silver Wings DH-82 Tiger Moth (ordered - waiting for delivery) Lukgraph DH-89 Dragon Rapide Dora Wings Dewoitine 500-510 Daco Fouga Magister Fly Saab J-29 (tbc) Well, this is a long list already. Bad news is the income will be down with the Covid-19-induced economic slump, and thus slush funds for modelling. Good news is some releases will be delayed for the same reason. so, what’s yours ? Hubert

Just had the confirmation one of my employees was in hospital with Covid-19, in a serious but stable - very high fever - condition. He has felt ill since last friday. As he was still on the company premises on Tuesday the 17th, he was, maybe already infectious ... His mother is also in hospital in a more serious condition. I don’t know which way the infection was transmitted between mother and son. And some people in this world believe it should be « business as usual » by Easter ? Hubert

Excellent ideas. I confess I did not think about them. Whatever the scheme, red and white seem « compulsory » colors. And don't forget to clip the wings ! A « rising sun » scheme seems an idea (like the Super Corsair), although probably not a good one in an immediate-post-WWII racing configuration, where anti-Japanases feelings were still strong. Hubert

Wow ! Another masterpiece in the making ! Hubert

I agree with Bill. The sleeve-valve system of the engines entailed two intake and two exhaust ports. With 18 holes, this ring is for a 9-cylinder engine. Hubert

I see no reason why you could not use enamels on resin, Jeff. In fact the modus operandi should not be any different from polystyrene. So go for it, and keep us posted of your trials Hubert

This is what I am referring to : the small white hole in the middle of the pic is where there was a sprue gate for the part. You can also see that the rocker-arms covers still need a bit od tweaking before the sprugate marks are fully eliminated - look at Ernie's pics on his build-log in the WiP section to see even more clearly what I mean. Ditto for the top of the valve covers on the engine, although in this case, this, to a normal mind, would not require a special action as it will not be visible under the cowling ... (did I say "normal" mind ? ). Sorry this pic is slightly out-of-focus. Hubert

I have the same concerns about some of the details being a bit on the heavy side ... An additional word of warning. The injection sprue gates are rather large. With two consequences: it will require some significant cleaning on delicate parts (for instance the reduction-gear crankcase and pushrods parts). So you need some new blades for that... Plus the specific nature of the plastic results in cavities in the middle of the sprue gates. So not only the cleaning of some parts is heavy, but you may end-up with some holes to fill where the sprue gate was. Not easy on the said crankcase+pushrods part ... TBC as they say ... Hubert

Targets ! Hubert

For the Brabazon, I fear you will have to fall back on scratchbuilding . On the other hand, you could make a flying RC replica as well. For the Boeing 314, that makes already two potential customers with me. Even the mighty Amazon started as a small dribble in the Andes. Here’s hoping ! Hubert

It's a really amazing kit (just very very slightly on the heavy side on some details like the underwings ribs - which were actually a lot thinner - but I say that just so that IBG feel they have to outdo themselves on the next kit ) I just started mine yesterday thanks to the Covid-19 confinement freed time. Be also aware that the sprue gates, whilst they guarantee a good flow of plastic in the mold, are also on the heavy side. A very sharp blade is required to do the final cleaning of the sprue tabs letfovers. This is how I found out that, among the fresh stock of surgical scalpel blades I had ordered not a long ago, one had a shape unsuited for the way I an usually holding my Swann-Morton handles . Well, the good thing about a brand new sharp scalpel blade is that the cut is neat and heals quickly I will continue today. Somehow, I have to break the curse : I am dreading having to get the airbrush out ! Hubert

Sorry, I was referring to your mention of people having diametrically opposed information. There is so much crap going around on the subject that going back to basics, i.e. listening to experts and scientific explanations rather than trusting gut-feeling is necessary IMHO. And I certainly did not want to inundate anyone with pop-ups through the link. Really sorry about that. I would recommend a search « Los Angeles Times the science behind coronavirus « to anyone interested. Just be aware that whilst the man is a genuine doctor with expertise in the field, he is also the owner of The L.A. Times. Hubert

I actually liked the video this link refers to. Interesting, moderate and informative IMHO. But rather than link directly to the video, I prefer to post a link to a site disclosing the whereabouts of the doctor in the video, so that everyone can make its mind knowingly about it. https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/03/the-l-a-times-uses-its-physician-owner-to-help-explain-the-science-behind-the-coronavirus/ Hubert

I remember, even though it's quite some time now, having also been a mindless youth thinking the world belonged to me ... Still the idea that, even if I would personnally not be more than mildly inconvenienced for a few days by the virus, I could get it partying and then pass it on to my elderly neighbours or grandparents and drive them prematurely to their grave would make me sleepless ... Hubert

Two kinds of impacts, personal and business. Personal: As I live in Portugal, and since the Portuguse governement decreed the State of Urgency last week, I am basically confined at home, but for necessary sorties, like going to the supermarket, the doctor, the vet for the pets, etc. The Government has decreed what must be closed (basically anything receiving some public for a "leisure" activity, including restaurants, bars, sports arenas, etc.), and what must remain opened (like supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, petrol stations, industries producing fist necessity goods, et). Then there is a grey area for the businesses that do not fall automatically in one of these two categories. A lot of businesses have closed down, or operate on a reduced basis, in spite of demands by the governement that people should work. For instance, I have a house being built, and it seems the building is almost stalled, with minimum staff doing small tasks. Not that I can really be sure, as I am not allowed to go and visit the construction site. The Portuguese people are generally very disciplined and with a a strong civvic sense (the same cannot be said of some expats living here, nor for instance of some Spanish people who have fled their country and managed to enter the country even with closed borders). So they respect the rules fairly easily. Supermarkets are open but impose a maximum number of people allowed inside. There are calm queues outside, with social distance duly respected, and no agressive outcrys. The basic necessity goods are scarcer on the shelves, bu there has been no hoarding. All in all, the situation is pretty quiet (and it is also true in real terms with an eerie silence as traffic is down to a minimum). I am stuck in the country, with intra-european flights closed down as of today, and land-frontiers (there are only some with neighbouring Spain) closed as well. I think everyone knows implicitly that the Portuguese Health System would not be able to cope with a major crisis. It was badly hit by the economy measures taken following the financial crisis of 2008 (for instance salaries of the staff in the hospitals were reduced by 20 to 40 % ), and has not really recovered to its prime since. I'd personally rather avoid having to go to the local hospital, so prefer not to take any risk at all. Business: I still own, for another few years before retirement, a small business in France, with industrial customers in all types of activities. I have been commuting there twice a month for the last 30 or so months, and, thanks to a great (and autonomous) staff, everything was going fine until last week. Following the confinement descisions, the business has dropped dramatically. We usually work with a 3-to-4 days orders' portfolio ( not more). A lot of industrial sites closed down last Tuesday, and informed us so. I therefore decided to suspend operations last Tuesday night, but, as some of our customers were still working - some of them because they are supplying first-necessity goods - we changed our operations and resumed a limited production last Friday, with about 40 % of the staff. Still, orders are down 80 % for any foreseeable future. And as people are stuck at home, consumption is down everywhere, and this impact will cascade and ripple through all the sectors of the economy for many months. So the basic goal is to get the business to survive what is going to be a major (read REALLY MAJOR) economic disaster. The French government has put in place part-time working rules and financial help for this. My employees will loose some income (about 25 %) but will still have one, even when stuck at home. I want to avoid redundancies : our business is skill-based, and takes about two years to have fully-proficient employees. So better keep them for when the turnaround will come, at least as long as possible. By the way, the help applies to employees, but not to business owners and independants. I will have to reduce my income, and will not be compensated for it Other measures include helping companies survive what is soon going to be a major cash-crunch crisis, all the more so as, in the end, if you have no orders, you have no invoicing and no income ultimately. I have spent the morning asking my banks to reschedule the down-payments of business morgages, and put in place state-guaranteed fundings. I just hope we will be able to repay all the delayed payments when the economy picks up again .... I have no real way of predicting any future beyond the end of this week, in real terms. Some good news in the midlle of it: I have a stash worth 150 years of confinment, and find myself in a situation where the other things I always prioritise to modelling, like running my business or following the building of the house, will perforce be put on the back-burner, or at least consume less time. So I should be able to get some modelling done, provided I can still get some income to buy the necessary food to support me through it Take care all, don't try to outsmart common sense rules, and follow the basic hygiene prescriptions : remember that so far, the greatest killer of the virus is soap. Hubert

I am using a dental vacforming machine (plenty on sale on ebay and the like, sourced from China) The problem with these, and I suppose with the Mattel one, is the lack of fine temperature control. When using PETG (one commercial brand is Vivak, but there are others) you need to control the temperature to avoid bubbles forming in the plastic (bubbles come from the moisture trapped IN the plastic and vapourising). On my machine, this is done by scrutinising the plastic sheet and adjusting the height, i.e. distance from the heating resistance. Not always successfully in fairness. Solutions for this : pre-dehydrate the PETG sheets by letting them one or two hours in the oven at 50° C, or heat the plastic at 150° C by plunging it in hot cooking oil in the machine for French fries, assuming you have one with fine temperature control (but a cooking thermometer can help here). Any vacuum source, like the Mattel machine, will work then. A plywood box with holes plugged to the domestic vacuum cleaner will also work HTH Hubert

Double congrats, mate ! First for breaking the jinx and finishing off the kit, and above all for the masterful way you did it ! I love the finish and subtle weathering. VERY well done ! Now to the Ki-84 Hubert

« Mort Subite » (« Sudden Death » in English) is a well-known conventual Belgian beer, with a cherry taste. It’s also very strong in alcohol. Both reasons to explain its name. I personally don’t like it. But our Belgian friends have also a very strong sense of humor . One of the many reasons you have to like them, besides their famous beers. Hubert

And some Belgian humor ... if you like beer ... Hubert

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Looking good John ! And a proof that HPH kits CAN bebuilt, and turned into excellent replicas Hubert