Bill_S

Carl - a little history on this kit. When it first came out, the fuselage forward of the cockpit was way off. So much so that the importer made Trumpeter retool the fuselage (you can imagine the rumblings on TOS!). Trumpeter complied, but neglected to make changes to the cockpit and firewall. As such, the fit in these areas is wonky. I had to clamp things together with zip ties, and even then there was a gap that needed to be filled. When fitting the wings together, I had some interference; it took me a while to figure out where it was. If you lay the bottom wing on the top, you're guaranteed to get interference (see arrow in the picture below). A little bit of gymnastics is required to get things to fit. The wing is designed so that the outer wings have to be sandwiched between the short stubby wing sections. All in all, it's not a bad kit, and I got it pretty cheap!

Some color on the Trumpy Wildcat...

Brengun makes them https://www.brengun.cz/e-shop/1-32-accessories-31/wwii-u-s-navy-wheel-chocks-1557 Here's an ebay link. Scott ships very fast. https://www.ebay.com/itm/382913444039?hash=item59276b78c7:g:QvYAAOSwUM9cvMqe&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4NyszR6DVdpNWK3NMr8DvkJPgScbkb0VJfws4j%2BEkkbHHQlABGxdvVpkwOTZpzhs6Fru%2BtpDz9HKHrYIT29WgD6XrvUx5e1akINL%2BXqQvMt0cnadqCqsHuvAg02OoHOn8uSmZQ0GiIsltLmu%2BLSXYGkeGt27ALxgDqKBvi4cKV82g027RyDGO%2Fyc2Qd%2Fr52%2Fi67oow8pBDDC6Jk%2BahciTSzDHat2B84lbCZP74JYx0B7LDjdwmrIV4Q6qcXFRCecy8xeBmTwIt3xulPBEqoKIwOsHYYtXHKripjb0licK9Op|tkp%3ABk9SR8bIp8r2YQ

The PE might be meager, but I'm glad to see it doesn't have Trumpy's silly PE and shaft control surface attachments.

Amazing work there, Martin. Thanks for sharing!

Cleaning up the worst seam on the Academy Hornet. I wish I could develop a product like Tamiya putty - one that's indispensable and the user expects to wash 95% of it down the drain!

It sure looks the part, Peter. Nice paint job!

Good to hear you're doing better, Peter! I myself had a near death experience years ago. It changes your focus; things you thought were important became inconsequential, the little things grew in importance. Revel in each day.

Someone told me not too long ago that they're supposed to look like trout...

Others may know this, but I had a revelation while scribing my XB-70. I'm right handed, and I found that if my scriber is on the right side of my Dymo tape, I have a natural tendency to pull the scriber towards the tape. The scriber on the left of the tape, and it wanders aimlessly. Simple, but it's been a game changer for me.

Jennings is the sole reason why I will never buy these. I always thought he was meant to market a line of abrasives.

Filling craters on the Trumpy Wildcat... Also, some ordnance work on the Academy Hornet.

I hope you're feeling better, Chris. Not being able to find a cause for the problem can be very frustrating.

I could be wrong, but I'm under the impression that Model Art only contains images of models. I checked Famous Airplanes of the World (FAOW), but didn't find anything on the Tojo. Maru Mechanic or the smaller Mechanism of Military Aircraft are good references. https://www.ebay.com/itm/225428028313?hash=item347c8ebb99:g:glIAAOSwi9Bj7tYt&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4GldlUzA2L99WqRqBMR3Qjh7arq2sP%2BldienejvOt08HW5FyGnIdRtUoKlnLEPnW3WKResNepa%2BvIdwztOHce0XZFJt6r0cIZjV17ROG88vH2X7rNJy%2FF6GKGm%2B53YUOgp%2BtK9PMQ%2FLeBMLE30SlmTrMqdhmeji7NRc7YewiVx2KuMjFgEQwEih4hd%2Ba1E0%2BG5BgzsDgCPzboybfWfa4WVUhsEq%2BegpQujzhAWy4bbkIQpHfU1UKe8rfGUT9Al9LB0C%2FmRwuXYVYlNbzgIn4LmjRBjCmNhlOE%2FzlFWX0C6Mw|tkp%3ABk9SR7qGkfjqYQ https://www.ebay.com/itm/255867737684?hash=item3b92e7d654:g:TVUAAOSwQ2djkUeF&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4HTuMaiTRbZ96ycR8pCrRDCrHCJ2X37q0b%2Fg7Wj0bDVKUw%2BqCkrOTLXLI2ZliAAStq9Q5cn6%2BkqSGuY2%2F%2BEJLnm7kOsVVu8U7bgsL4FRgLl0zNFC0HeDZqZVjjngJhcR6yWjrIyKKnNF3%2FUobzVS7v0kuieg06oB3KD64HM39%2BnZXsP0RIlvRDz64Vr3bJWEsZh%2B%2BuS2OWUmhgnCDHa%2FEQN%2BLZa%2BZGy3VHsRaIgwMzw58z83XuHgOaZ5EiWdppakWuuoifWweswRBGU7pt9Kua9hO0U%2B8PuHEhZJbdR49BFE|tkp%3ABk9SR6zmqPjqYQ https://www.ebay.com/itm/304729534459?hash=item46f34baffb:g:OXkAAOSwr3hjj031&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAwI3jmXHdlc6mW1JYPqanx6ZZFkytX0wC4IFP6P4aiP2rJnLi3PRO2N0CQMVGhLnM1ousHVMdTOVhjeUABDuzQZleJeC6xJaexDBv6qmWs2KHw0iIAUlLFwoN%2B7F7egYKsPDpZAkdo0FFfHqWhZyNoC7RiFUmFrEkZe71GhR1HL5T%2BEJyy04MTLdz0JuZeRR1LklZyyXa9Cfyo3yS5Xq44M1%2FXy5pIUEh8HjVgt3h16kLrx3roeobhpUgSPk%2FhbD5Tw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR67nvvjqYQ

Despicable.

Best of luck in your new digs, Harv. Maybe now you can match John B's output. No excuses!

Waiting on this one. Somewhere, I have the old Revell Mk.I with a resin cockpit from MDC.

This arrived in yesterday's mail. I picked up this at the hardware store today. The Hasegawa V'ger has a multi-part PE boom that will need to be soldered. Two parts, and a 120 degree twist. I don't trust CA to hold up to that.

I worked on a couple of projects while I was in Florida. Trumpeter's F4F-4 Wildcat. Academy's F/A-18C They're headed to the back burner while I complete the Kingfisher and the Birdcage Corsair.

Just got back from Florida, and my Kotare Spitfire was here waiting for me. An awesome looking kitset! I picked this up before I went on vacation...

Awesome stuff here, Sasha! I was in Valiant Air Command, a museum in Titusville, Florida a couple of weeks ago. One of their planes is an XP-82; and it's airworthy!

Tamiya's Birdcage...

Yellow is (for me) a difficult color to paint. Yours is impeccable. Well done, Sir!

A few fiddly bit remain, but they seem to take a long time. I added bracing wires to the main float; they're 0.013 in (0.33 mm) diameter piano wire. What's left? the antenna mast and aerial wire, a few small lenses and a wash. Unfortunately, I leave mid-week for a month in Florida. This bird likely won't be complete until some time in April. I'm bringing a couple of 1/32 projects to keep me busy while I'm away - Academy F/A-18C and Trumpeter's F4F-4.

Quite likely my last WNW purchases... Bought at retail price, even!