HubertB

Hello Dan, First, welcome to the forum. I confess it’s been sometime since I tackled a PoB (planks-on-bulkheads) wooden ship kit, but I am not that surprised that you have to splice the planks. It is quite common in my - admittedly limited - experience. For a ship of this shape, the suggestion anyway is probably to fill the voids between the bulkheads with soft wood (like balsa) blocks, properly sanded to conform to the bulkheads’ shape, and thus ensure you have a smooth flowing curve to support the hull planking strips. These blocks are not supplied in the kit either, but it is a common practice in kit-building, as generally the bulkheads are too far apart to ensure these smooth curves. If you do so, the splicing of the hull planks will be easier : I would still recommend that you have the splice joints on the bulkheads, and alternate the splices so they are not all aligned on the same bulkhead. This kit supplies a set of walnut strips for a second layer of planking, and James’ review mentions they are very homogeneous in colour, so the splices should not be very visible, all the more so as the wooden (as opposed to painted) part of the hull displays 4 rubbing strakes, which will further contribute to visually « blending » the splices... What I am leading to is that the splicing of the strips should not be a big deal, at least visually, and not unexpected on a kit. The woods in Amati kits are generally high quality, the design of the kit by Chris Watton is a guarantee of a well-researched kit, and of a great finished result. I believe you have done an excellent purchase with this one, even though I recognise this is not helping as a comment, if you expected continuous strips for the hull planking. The alternative is to buy longer wood strips. But this is not only expensive, adding to the cost of the kit, and you will loose some wood, as the strips you may find will generally be 1 meter long. And finally, James’ review, whilst not explicitly mentioning the « splicing issue », clearly states the kit is 700 mm long by 470 mm wide, and the strips 600 mm long. So the splicing is inferred, if not explicited. I, for one, will look forward to follow your build log of Fifie here. Hubert

Funny, I was wondering the same yesterday. Last time I read, ETA was March ............... 2018 ! It is still announced as « future » release on their site. So hopefully, soon . In the meantime, I should focus on freeing some space in the stash Hubert

Vey good news indeed ! Let’s just hope it will not only be some camoed-with-swastikas schemes inside ... Hubert

If you used plastic cement, the joint will weaken after a stay in the freezer. Be careful, all the joints will weaken Hubert

Got some decals from Draw Decals. If you have not guessed I am not in camoed aircrafts by now ... I am missing some Dago Red decals. Greg forgot to include them in the first package, and they are on their way. So now I have a choice of a mildly modified P-51 D with Voodoo, or a more modified one with Dago Red (unless I do both, of course ). I also received an interesting package from China, but one "sprue" (technically not a "sprue", in fact) was missing. So you'll have to wait until I get the missing component to see it Hubert PS :and of course, I blame Tony for the Draw Decals' "investment"

I have to say there was something uniquely sleek in the design of the Victor Mk 1 and Vulcan Mk 1. It got worse with the Mk 2 versions of both. Hubert

Totally agree Ernie (but for the « I consider myself a halfway decent resin kit builder » : too strong for me, and too weak for you) Hubert

Will do ... soon , but probably not before next year Hunert

Well, the preserved Ki-84 certainly has horizontal tailplanes, like in the pics here ... https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Nakajima_Ki-84 Hubert

That stabiliser angle looks really weird ... You're sure about it ? Keep up the tempo, mate ! Hubert

Conituning to play with diminutive pieces of resin, and brass ... Hubert

This was discussed here two weeks ago Hubert

You guys put me to shame : some started, or resumed, but none finished ... I got my golfing back in line though, although far from a decent handicap, after a 25 years’ hiatus Hubert

Just plain incredible workmanship ! Extremely well done ! Hubert

Cool ! The Akatombo is a nice little kit ! Thank you all, and especially to Ernie for organising, and Joy’s « magic hand » Hubert

Phew ! At least, the poor overexploited animals (the deers) seem to have escaped and be free ! Animal Rights Activist Hubert () ( deer steak, rare ? .... yummie ! )

What I have read so far : it’s good for a « C » version although it has some parts for other variants like the « -5 ». But the IP is there only for the C, i.e. with part glass, part analogic instruments. The « glass » IP of the « -5 » is simply not there, and should be either scratchbuilt or wait for an AM cockpit. Biggest disappointment seems to be the lack of intake trunks, as on the previous F-5E kit. But overall it looks like a nice kit. And the chances you will get a 2000 from another manufacturer seem a lot smaller than WnW doing a French fighter, if you see what I mean Hubert

Well, guys, if you insist, let me show you what beautiful means ...

Well, I’d better resume the work on the #&@« /! cylinders’ heads of the R-985 I was working on 4 years ago, then (and of which you can get a glimpse of the renderings in the Beaver build thread) ... . I have the 3D printer for it, when the design is finished, btw Hubert

I’d say that compared to the Tamiya Spitfires, it is a Mk V ... Compared to the Revell Mk II, it is also a Mark V .... When I say « it is », I really meant « it is supposed to be », btw. Besides the comparisons above, there is not much to say for the kit ... Hubert

Looks fantastic. I wish I had 1/10 of your talent for painting. For once, we have a model that looks aged, sun-bleached and worn-out like the original, not like it’s borrowed a tartan from your country ! Tremendous result ! Hubert

Hubert

A hint. It's an uneven number ... A second hint : you have the kit, Harv. Hubert

F : yes 4 : no ... Hubert

Some teeny weeny parts to improve a resin cockpit ... The small switches rack in the middle on the extreme right was my fifth attempt and took me some 8 hours overall before I called myself happy . It's made of 14 components overall ... and I confirmed I have to improve my soldering skills And to think nobody will ever notice... Hubert PS: A special salute to the first who guesses which cockpit this is from