GazzaS

Thank you, Mike! If you get one of the 217’s, check out Gaspatch Models for radar aerials. ...if you’re not keen to make your own.

Struts look great! I'm toying with the idea of learning to make the LG legs from brass tube.... gotta figure out what size to get. GAz

Cool! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the mini strut tutorial. I think it was good to get that part of the build over with, first. I find it's a good way to motivate the rest. nice job!

Luftstreitkräfte... Check! Saw Combat... Check! You're building it... Check!

Hell, I don't even know if I have a 2020 kit in my stash. ... ooh wait... Meng Dr. I. Heh... my vote by default!

Looks good, John!

Nice work, keep it up. I really like the figure!

Well done!!

Beautiful in every aspect... even the dog!

Thank you all! I really appreciate the great compliments! You've made my day! Gaz

Thank you, Hubert! Thank you ,Steve!

Thanks for looking! Gaz

With the rapidly rising sun behind me I took some photos to bring out the detail of the build. I hope you like them. ...more to come....

Thank you, Rob! I bought this mat pre-made, but am not really happy how it laid out on the base. Future bases I'll cover with static grass. Thank you, my friend!

Very nice build!

That's awesome, Fran!!

Despite my lazy Saturday routine I managed to complete this one, I want to get better pictures in real light. I've decided that the current camera setup likes to be a little further away than I can in my house where I can have adequate lighting. Anyway... it felt like I had to do a million little things to do today to get it finished. Here is the furst run of photos: I decided to worry about the chocks on a later build. Thanks for looking! Gaz

No screens.

To help you guys understand that I don't have filthy appliances... you need to understand that construction codes you know in the northern hemisphere don't exist here in Australia. The average house in Australia is unsealed and not insulated. My house is clad in dark bricks. Every four or five bricks there is a drain hole the height of the brick just one layer of bricks from the ground. Easy entry and egress for anything smaller than a red squirrel. At the roof of the house, there is no layer of plywood over the purloins. No tar paper. The concrete tiles have metal loops in them that hook over the purloins. If you want access to the attic space, just lift the bottom edge of the tile and move it upwards until the loop disengages from the purloin. And that's any tile, in any location. There aren't 'special access tiles'. There are a million places for bugs to get in. Hell, one day we discovered to our horror that a swarm of bees had taken residence in our attic. But, fortunately they were just there one night. Gone the next afternoon. They had gotten a bit excited when I was whacking flies with the fly-swatter under the verandah. Otherwise, I'd never known they were there. In 2011 I added two whirlybirds to the roof: I didn't even need a saw to cut a hole to install it. (this is what my roof looks like except mine is red-brown....even the same tile profile) There is no screen inside the whirlybird. The flies are coming from outside. They smell whatever is cooking... or dirty dishes... whatever... and follow the scent until it brings them into the range hood which vents outside and is screened. I have dogs. Little biting blood flies are always around. ...but usually not too bad inside... until I got the new kitchen. I usually cook outside on the barbie. I'd guess that the fan in the range hood has probably never operated more than 20 times. FYI.... there are different kinds of flies. Blue bottles, green bottles... they like rotting stuff. They aren't the kind getting into my house. We usually get the amber ones, or the gray-brown ones... as well as some biting flies.

Thank you for responding. I hadn't considered sticking something inside the the range hood. I will have to investigate some possibilities.... Like weather stripping. One of the complicating factors is that the lower half easily pops away from the upper half like a box that won't stay closed. I have seen those tools before. When I tiled my bathroom I had forgotten to buy some and ended up cutting a radius on some scrap plastic, and it seemed to work alright. I appreciate the tip. Gaz

What impedes you? WnW is the only kit that you can turn over safely. If it was a Roden kit and you tried that without somehow modifying the struts and cabanes, or clamping it all together ever so gently, but not too loosely, the top wing would shear off.

I like the map idea.

I know... "go to a DIY forum, asshole".... But you guys are my friends, and I think you know more than plastic models. A couple years ago, we got a new kitchen installed with a stainless steel range hood. Since then, whenever something aromatic is cooked, or when the dishes pile up, we get flies. More flies than I ever remember being in the house. Like the other day I broiled chicken thighs with the skin on. It was very nice.... anyway... by the time I was done eating and walked back into the kitchen there were around 8 flies in there buzzing around. Suspicious of the Range hood anyway, I had places some mesh over the side vents weeks ago.... Still the flies came.... My missus was sure they were using the dogs as aircraft carriers.... So... after my chicken dinner, I taped every joint on that range hood with 3M tape, and killed all of the flies. In the last two days I haven't seen more than two flies at a time. Now... here is my question... can you think of any alternatives to seal this thing up other than clear silicone? I can make neat beads, sometime... using the soapy-water trick. But I can't really think of any other neat, unobtrusive way of doing it. Thanks for your thoughts! Gaz

Thank you, Rob! I appreciate the timely and useful information. Sometimes, it gets easy to get into one effect and forget another necessary, complimenting effect. Sometimes, late in the build, when you're searching for something else an inspirational photo comes up. One that you hadn't previously found when using only the nomenclature of the aircraft. For instance, I wanted to see what the revetments might look like at Gilze-Rijen, Woensdrecht, and other airfields used by NJG 1 in the early days of night fighting. Surprisingly, this photo appeared before me: The tires of this early illuminator inspired me to go further in wheel weathering than I usually ever do, as it seems that all of these early night fighters were parked in grassy fields adjacent to the runways on these Dutch airstrips. Truly... I wish I had this photo when I started the build, and not now, so late in the build. There is some detail there on the nose cap that I could have used, even though I would have had to scribe it myself. ....and shit... this photo reminds me that I need to make some chocks... somehow.... Gaz