TJTX

Fuselage halves are together and drying. Now I'm turning a C wing into an E wing with the AML set.

That does look very good. Perhaps my Zero will be a dirty bird that I can play with. I'll be building one that was rushed onto Rabul for defense of Guadalcan. It was crudely painted and should have been very dirty operating in those conditions.

Yup, that's something I struggle mightily with. I'm always too scared to mess everything up by weathering. And because I dont try it, I dont get better at it. Im stuck in a vicious circle to nowhere.

That's something I have6tried yet Mark and it would probably help spraying a flat on it. Heres literally a two minute experiment. Original left and quick wash and pastel on right.

I decided it was bring your kid day, I was lucky enough to have the airplane at an airport about 15 minutes from the house. Went to lunch with the wife and kid before heading out on the next trip.

Cant seem to get a good picture, but a quick test of applying a fast enamel wash and brushing on some pastels and the belts look great. Then I put in water and removed them from backing paper. Dont think it's very easy to ruin that vinyl.

One thing that also doesnt stand out is the "texturing" in the seat belts. It's got that thick seatbelt fabric stitching too it. I've got two more sets for my Zero and Mustang and I'm going to try and give then a wash on the backing paper before removing them.

Yea, I was playing with that a bit. That's my only knock that they're a bit shiny. I'm gonna go over them with some pastels and maybe try a wash real quick to see how they look after that. I will say they do look more realistic to the naked eye when compared to photos on my phone.

Cockpit is almost wrapped up.

Shes doing great. We had her in an airplane shirt to come visit Dad at work of course! She doesnt say anything yet but boy does she talk a lot!

Just to clarify, the cockpit looking that good has nothing to do with me, it's all the Quinta sets. I've got a second set for my Mustang and another set coming for my Zero. I'll be buying another set for my 2nd Mustang and a set for my Corsair when they have that as an option.

Did you guys get any of the storms yesterday? We were supposed to get some here in the metroplex but just a few rumbles with some rain is all that showed up. Definitely cooler today though.

I've never had a cockpit remotely this good looking! And, I've still tons of parts to add. This is quickly becoming a favorite build.

Glad to hear you like those Quinta sets Peter. I've ordered a set for my next Mustang and Zero.

Some goodies arrived from across the pond. Now I can make an appropriate E wing bird. It blows me away tami6didnt include the few little parts needed to make an e wing when they give you the ability to have a clipped wing bird.

Heck yea that's some cool stuff.

Absolutely beautiful build! I'm still amazed by you guys who get that realistic finish on your builds. Not too shiny, not to dull, just right.

This is gonna look like a real winner when its closed up in the fuselage.

They're really easy to work with and I've had no issues breaking anything on them. I was curious how the seatbelts would work but I can see they'll be plenty flexible.

I also forgot to mention the fit is every bit as good as the base Tamiya kit. It ain't resin, so no shrinking!!

Ok, plain and simple.... There is no other product that will get you a result remotely this good, no matter who you are. I mean look at that radio!!!! This took me honestly 20 minutes to knock out the instrument panel and radio and that's because I'm no speed racer. John would have the whole cockpit done by now!

Also, why the hell haven't I switched to MRP!? This stuff is amazing! Of course i have a draw full of Gunze which I like but MRP is a whole 'nuther level.

First Quinta bits are on. I started with the rudder pedal parts to try and see how these work. Pretty darn cool in my book! I'm going to over paint these when I paint the pedals to be able to blend them in and weather a bit, but the color looks pretty darn close the the MRP paint I have. They're interesting to work with, it doesnt take much time at all to get comfortable with them. The best way I can describe them is after they're removed from the backing paper, the act like very thin rubber. They're certainly pliable but also still strong at the same time. I can absolutely see these becoming a must use just like fabric seatbelts have become. Of course now we have the seatbelts with the Quinta sets!

I left FB years ago as well as all social media except here. Best thing I ever did.