GazzaS

Wow! Interesting, I love that jukebox, Ernie! Really lives up to it's nickname, too. But hafta admit that it was before my time. All of the ones I have ever seen were very rectangular. I've never contemplated either Jukeboxes or pinball machines. I never had a thing for cars or bikes either. Once I get out of my mode of transportation, it's nothing to me until I need to motor again. I had a dream about collecting guns. But it was out of my reach for so long that I eventually gave up on it. If I had money for another hobby... I don;t even know what I would choose.

So... I found these drawings/profiles of the camo schemes as supplied by the various factories. Of course, I used the cross locations as well. That isn;t to say that there might have been some issued with the crosses that way... but there are none in my limited archive.

Peter, the cockpit shots look so good! Really inspiring!

Have you been to Disneyland?

Well, thanks. It’s a bit too late to do anything about it now.

The wing crosses align on the outer edge with a panel line just outboard of the flap/aileron line.

Thank you, Peter. Actually, I’m feeling like a more complete modeller by using the rivets. I just hope that results will improve as I go. I’m glad the Commanders put up such a good game. I feared the game would be another lame prime time contest. We have had a lot of them this year. I think my Lions face off against your Giants next weekend. But I could be wrong. But we’ve already played the rest of your division, so it will happen sooner or later.

Nice! I love it when the masks fit.

Thank you for your attention, friends! I had the day off, so I devoted a significant amount of time to modelling.... and watching Monday Night Football. On to the fun stuff... Someone else had the idea to show the two rows of rivets along the cockpit sill... so, I copied the idea with middling results. Some of the rivets drifted out of place and will have to be fixed later. HGW transfers have a knack of working just less than 100% of the time. And... succumbing completely to the seductions of the dark side, I pulled out my beading tool and drunkenly applied rivets to the wheel well covers. It's not the best picture. The rest of my efforts were aimed at weathering the white parts of the markings and the lighter shade of RLM 76. I used white on the upper reaches of the white areas to lighten, and a shade of blue gray on the lower reaches. And I used pale gray to highlight some details of the RLM 76 areas. Around the nine... it looks rather untidy. I think i will need some air brush touch up here. Anyway... that's it for now.

Too many planes in a small space at low level. Just an accident waiting to happen. I imagine the NTSB and FAA will have a scathing report on this.

Wow!

I'm afraid that the days of cheap models are over. Even at it's earliest days the kit was selling for 90$. But patience may reward you, some day. I remember partaking in the auction of a deceased modellers stash. I thought I would get the 2 or 3 I wanted at a great price. Yet... everything went over retail. I came away empty handed.

You can't find the Italeri A/C?

Nice choice! Built up... it will be quite huge. I saw one at our local model show last year, and it had quite a presence.

I too have fallen behind, Rob. The LG and main photos look sweet! Looking forward to more.

Nice to see Progress Peter. The cockpit looks excellent and I am glad to see that the nose pieces came together sweetly. Will you be sanding away the Mr. Surfacer, or using the cotton bud method to strip the excess away? I'm sorry for your loss and medical issues. I hope things clear up for the both of you. Anyway... Mostly I'm glad you're back.

So sad, John. Question: Did you sand the whole plane just a little before you painted? I find that really prevents paint lift when masking occurs.

Thank you Peter! Glad to see you back! Had I riveted the whole plane, I would have gotten tired of it. It doesn't take long to lay the rivets... but waiting 8 hours for them to dry... that's the killer. It's also another reason I have more than one build on the go. I always have something on which to turn.

The biggest problem with the build is the lack of detail photos. I think there are only one or two cockpit photos. I think it was a cool looking plane. But it was small. Small wings meaning high wing loading. Meaning lower maneuverability and higher landing speeds... Two things that fighter jocks reportedly hated. I believe arming it to tackle bombers would have been problematic. And I don't believe it would have been the answer to the USAAF bomber streams and throngs of fighters. It would have suffered the same problem as the 109 that wasn't rectified until the arrival of the G6/AS: A need for better high-altitude performance. What would have made the difference would have been doubling the size of the Jagdwaffe before 1943 while the USAAF bomber offensive was still small. Some Luftwaffe leaders realized this... but by then it was too late. These reasons kinda take away the "What-if" prospects for me.

You may be cool... but you'll never be as cool as a crab riding a crocodile.

Thank you, Rob! Thank you, Chris. Honestly I haven't even detail painted the exhausts, yet. And the exhaust smudges are one of the very last effects I add to a model. Thank you, Carl! Thank you, sir!

Chris, looking excellent!