HubertB

Very happy with Smugmug, even though I am not using all the functionalities my paying formula entitles me too. After the PB debacle, I swore never to believe anymore the claims of « free » image-hosting. There is no such thing as a free lunch, as they say ... And, btw, Flickr and SmugMug are now the same company, the latter having bought the former. Which may be another proof that a sound business model with paying - as opposed to « free » - services lasts longer and is more successfull. Hubert

I was sure I had seen a detail set, but when I checked, after my post, I found out Pontos did not have a set, nor did Ka-Models ... On the other hand, Shapeways seem full of detail sets for ship kits, including this one Hubert

One of the good things about LSM is the fact that you can upload directly your photos to the site. However, some, like me still rely on hot-linking from a photo-hosting site. I moved (and how glad and happy I am for doing it) from Photobucket to Sugmug at the time of « The Great Photobucket Scam », some 2 1/2 years ago, when they tried to extort USD 400 per year for continuing to host and and hot-link their users’ pics. I certainly was not the only one doing so, and their business seemed hurt enough that they removed the CEO responsible for this debacle from office - served him right - and then allowed a return of the hot-linking, albeit with a - very often VERY obnoxious - big watermark ... And now, I noticed in the last two days they are again stabbing their users / customers in the back : hot-linked pics appear blurry, with just the watermark clear and sharp . You need to click on the pic to access a clear, in-focus picture. In short they have done it again : betray their users. Maybe one day, this will become case lesson in how to run a business in the wall ... Hubert

Great find Ernie. I understand there are some upgrade kits for this one. I am not even sure there is not a Pontos set Hubert

In fairness, I swore never to use the Vallejo black primer again after this experience (and the frustration of having to dig deep, looking for a basic information like what thinner to use with it). The reason I kept it was to remember not to use it, or not to buy it again ... Hubert

Me want one ... Hubert

Hear, Hear ! Yes, we need more civvies and utilities, and less bombs and guns Hubert

Well don Ernie and Tony, and sell-deserved wins ! (just a quickie, and it’s most certainly a photo-induced impression, but the left wing of the Lanc looks significantly higher above the ground than the right one ... ) Hubert

Agree that it is a « miracle product » in most instances (like Tamiya X-22 clear, for another purpose). Be aware though that, mixed with Vallejo acrylic black primer, it turned the mix into a gooey mess within minutes, in the airbrush cup, and around the airbrush nozzle and needle. It took me almost a day, and strong stuff like pure acetone, to clean and recover the airbrush, with a very narrow escape from the « vertical filer » for the AB. ONLY WATER will work to thin this Vallejo primer (but it’s not mentioned on the bottle, and only a long internet search produced this information ) Hubert

I’d say that, after an appropriate number of cocktails, whichever they are, you’ll get the colors you want ... Just my experience Hubert

Spam is in the same league as Marmite : awful, unedible stuff, the taste of which can only be acquired by people who have also been educated in British boys’ boarding schools And this definitive judgment is from a man with impeccable food tastes, which include eating frog legs, snails, living oysters, andouillette (a typical French sausage made of pork tripes), sweetbreads, tête de veau (literally veal-head), pig trotters, and steak tartare Hubert

Why, oh why, did you mention the Draw decals site ? I went there, and now I am tempted to get one or more Mustangs ! As if my stash needed more kits ! I am almost tempted to jinx your build, so that you do not tempt any more than now Hubert

I’d say the light still shows a bit of an uncanny bulge - à la Trumpeter F6-F - in the center of the area I have circled below ... Probably just my old eyes, sorry ... Hubert

Fantastic work (as always), Peter. However, can I raise a question ? The photo below leaves me with a strange feeling of a humpback impression ( in my circled area), not quite in line with the smooth flowing lines of the original. It may just be a parallax issue, or the eye being fooled by the change of alignment of the rivet lines, but the impression is bugging me ... Hubert

If HpH’s C-47 is already too expensive, then the De Agostini’s DC-3 is .... what ? Hubert

Hushhhhh ... don’t tell anyone else, but I have seen on Scalemates today that the Japanese guy behind « ONE MAN Models » has upscaled his 1/72 SaRo Princess to 1/48... Now, this is talking « huge and awesome » Hubert

The Wright engines are no big deal. There is a representation by Vector, which has only a "small" glitch, in that the crankcase has an uneven distribution of the cylinders, to make room for an inaccurate representation of the oil crankcase ... But I have designed an accurate center crankcase for the R-1820, and can 3D-print it. Ditto for the cowlings, which I would need to design, but that is an easy shape compared to a finned cylinder for a radial engine ... I could probably design and print internal seats for a civilian conversion as well - and then think about the waste of time and energy a civilian which hides the internal ribbing means for the HPH kit ... Just remains to find the "right" price. I have not had that chance so far ... Hubert

I was (and still am) one of the guys jumping around at the idea of a 1/32 DC-3 ... But, in all my posts about this kit, here or on LSP, I always wrote two conditions : 1) I wanted a DC-3, not a C-47 ... I know the difference was sometimes small (to summarise, mainly the cargo door and the extreme rear end without the glider hook) and that most post-WWII civilian DC-3s were in fact ex-C 47s, but, still, I was disappointed to see the kit only offered the option for boring olive drab military versions ... 2) Above all, I expected a price point in the range of the former Catalina. i.e. 600 €, VAT included for us Europeans. I braced myself for this cash-out. But, at something like 750 € with VAT, it was just 20% above my expectations, and psychologically priced-out for me ... I know the internet has extended beyond dreams the capacity to sell items even in small quantities, but a business can still price itself into a teeny weeny niche ... HPH did it for me with the C-47 kit As for the Buff, if you want one in large scale, you can find one for less than 50 € as a paper model (as well as a Tu-95). A lot of work, but then HPH kits are not shake-and-bake either ... And finally, I’d greedily jump on a B-58 (even though I already have the paper kit) IF the price point was right, i.e. significantly less than the C-47 ... Hubert

Well that’s assuming you don’t buy any new kit until 2189 ... And, at my current building pace, my stash will still be here when they launch Picard’s new Enterprise ... Hubert

Good choice. The finish calls for foiling, methink Hubert

I’m sure you have seen this, and taken care of it, but the cowling looks also different from the Camel. Hubert

Agree with you there ... Just like with the Lancaster. Only this one is even less advanced as a project, judging by the pics which seem very early stage. They appear to be leveraging their brand franchise to undercut competition’s projects. A departure (and far less gentlemanly, IMHO, I might add) from the early days when they would not do kits because « there were already competition doing it » ... Hubert

Looks like WnW is also developing a kit of the same ... http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/productdetail?productid=3206&cat=5 That makes a lot of offer for an esoteric (not to say insignificant) WWI fighter ... CSM should focus on French or Italian subjects, as WnW do not seem that interested in them Hubert

Definitely no bulge nor depression Hubert

That looks more like the solution... if you reduce the bulge, you will more or less align the rear end of the fuse with the opposite end near the cockpit ...at least it looks like it. Hubert