npb748r

I never knew that was there, just found it and worked out how to use it. Makes me wonder what other useful stuff is lurking waiting to be found !!!! Also had to look up what a throbber was. Whilst trying to work out your use of wit relating to the wiki translation of "A throbber, also known as a loading icon, is an animated graphical control element used to show that a computer program is performing an action in the background" I happened to look further down the page and found the slang translation which made me laugh loudly !!! 😁

great build Bill. I've just pulled mine out ready for my next project, I'm doing a 107 Squadron RAAF in bare metal finish. Red Roo Models did do decals but they are OOP so I'll have to work that out later. I've order their book on Kingfishers in the Antipodes so looking forward to learning more about this aircraft. Do you know what the 8 small red cylinders are on the interior of the aircraft ? Thanks for posting, I'll keep popping back to your build as I progress mine. neil

I'm buying (and building) but just the kit, not the extra's. I might get some AM to pimp up the cockpit once stuff is released but I'm really starting to move away from spending a shed load of money that, for my ability, makes little difference to the end results. And I now make a judgement on how much can be seen in the cockpit before buying anything to pimp that area up. So for the price of the kit with no extra's (£99 in the UK) I'm happy to buy. I want the Kate so I hope they carry on, they will only do that if the current kits are bought. I've got both the vampire and the helldiver (again basic kits no extra's) and I'm happy with them.

I saw a video of an in box review, the kit looks amazing. Personally I want the glass nose version but I can see this in my possession at some stage. neil

indeed I can - still not plucked up courage to start it yet but I'm off on holiday shortly and planning on getting some mossie related books to take with me, hoping the break and reading will give me the kick I need to start it !!

It wasn't bad but it was the straw that broke the camels back. Too many unnecessary rude and aggressive responses from other forum members. I just don't get why people are like that. I'll stick here permanently, much friendlier and a far happier place. neil

great weathering and finish neil

even this is an individual thing. I have many kits half built on shelves or back in the box and get pleasure out of taking them to the partial built stage and moving to something else. I always have at least 5 kits on the go at any one time. My big satisfaction is starting something new, I really don't care if I finish it or not as the lure of starting something else calls me all too quickly to jump to another kit. The vast majority of my unbuilt kits are completed at some point in time but not necessarily in the same year that they are started. And once built, if I need space, they ultimately end up in the bin, I get no satisfaction in having them on display and rarely look at them, my only pleasure is in the build, once done, I very quickly move on. The harder the build, the quicker I get bored and move to something else, the easier the build, the more likely I am to finish in one go (hence no modern Tamiya or ZM 1/32 kits built by me yet and I only added one to the stash this year). Every aspect of modelling is personal I think.

thanks - not started yet, I need to get my head in a space to go for it, at the moment I'm still in the "I need simple kits" frame of mind. I'm planning on taking the plunge in the summer but I will start to collect some AM stuff, this is really useful.

It used to amaze me how rude and obnoxious he was and got away with it on LSP. I moved away from that forum several times due to the toxic posts, most of which he was involved with. I wouldn't, out of principle, buy his stuff and line his pockets with my money regardless of quality of the product.

not a brilliant picture but you can see the effect of painting the backplate white. Just found another fit issue which you may not have a problem with if you plan on building with the engine panels off. The engine and panels is much bigger than the fuselage by almost the width of the plastic of the panel in some places. I'm going to live with it and pretend it's not there !

I painted it white and they really stand out. I'm on grandkids care duty today, I'll take a picture and post it when I get chance.

Mike, when you get the the tail cone check the fit with the fuselage - I just had to take my tail cone apart and add plastic to increase the size as it was narrower than the fuselage. No big issue but check before gluing. neil

I've built it and loved every minute of the build (there is a ready for inspection) - went together well perfectly, I plan on building many more but would like different marks. The kit includes unused pieces for a sea hurricane and cannons for later marks so there should be others coming. Wonderful kit in my opinion as it ticks all of my modelling boxes and is really great value for money. Enjoy the build - it's a robust little beast !

looking really good - this appears to have elevated the modelling standard ?? As for the Quinta discussion - count me out as well, great products but tweaks my ethical button. I've just started to use Red Fox Studio products and whilst not yet at the same level, they do make my poor attempts at creating a decent interior so much better. Back to the Kotare spitfire - looking forward to seeing how the engineering of the wings/fuselage comes together - it looks very similar to the approach used by Matchbox with their spitfire in the 70's !!

Hi Martin, loving the build it's looking fantastic. What's the story here with the plotter, I would really like to be able to produce my own masks like this - what's involved, the results are amazing ! thanks neil

I am planning of great globs of CA glue at all attachment points !

I thought mine looked ok visually but just offered up the rear canopy and you are right, the right fuselage doesn't match the canopy . It's not out by much but it's really noticeable. I'm thinking I might try and reduce the canopy framework at the bottom to bring it down to the fuselage rather than build up the fuselage. Will be interesting to see if you have the same issue. I'm still working my way along the banana halves gluing the seam's where they popped undone as I remove the tap. Whilst extra work, it's not too hard to sort out and it's all part of the modelling experience. I will go for a shake and bake build after this one though (I need a simple 70's hasegawa kit but have none in my stash so will go searching for a cheap purchase !). Looking forward to your next steps ! neil

Hi Mike, I thought of doing similar but because of that window in the belly of the plane anything that goes into the fuselage will be seen. I'm still scratching my head how best to approach this minor problem, interweb searching is underway as others must have dealt with this, we can't be the first builders of this kit. I'm guessing that the cockpit floor in the real plane is the main wing spar, otherwise I have no idea how the wings stayed on the aircraft ! Regarding the underwing lights, my instructions show both remain in place, I'm also off to hunt down some photos of RAF buffalo's. I've just glued the fuselage together, starting at the front and worked backwards. Not the prettiest of joins and filler required but most of the bigger gap is now at the back and underneath of the plane. It's almost as if the fuselage halves are banana shaped but your trick of installing the sub-components on one side first worked a treat - thank you. neil

thanks for the interesting pictures Mike, I'm sure you'll avoid the need for a BW-372 diorama ! Just got all of my interior stuff fitted so ready to join the 2 halves - couple of test fits and it didn't look too bad so I'm ever hopeful. I am pondering the best way to fit the wings though given there is no tabs and slots - have you had any thoughts ?? I'm with you on SH kits, this is my 4th in 1/32 - they are fantastic subjects but need a different mindset and a touch of creativity/bodging to get a decent build. Value for money wise they are spot on, relatively cheap and complete with PE and resin so no aftermarket needed. So far I'd say the Buffalo has been the most enjoyable and so far easiest to build. thanks neil

looking good and really good timing as I pulled my RAF version out at the weekend and started it. You are a tad ahead of me so it's nice to have yours as a reference - I'm finding it a really enjoyable build and not having a green or grey interior is a nice change. I'm also worried about the fuselage fit, I figured I would need to do it in stages and work my way along but I can see it will be a fight, especially with all of the interior sections. I'm adopting your approach so thanks for posting. thanks neil

thanks for posting, looking good so far. I really like the way they have engineered the kit so there is no central seam to sort our where the fuselage halves join together. I'm waiting for the early mk1 kit to be released. neil

masking canopies is the most enjoyable part of a build for me. Tamiya tape and a really sharp knife, I have to remind myself to breath as I focus through the magnifying glass. It's even more enjoyable with rubbish moulded framework. I'm a weirdo I know and have yet to slip and cut my finger (7 years of butchery when I left school made me fed up with trips to the hospital to stitch up cuts and gave me a strong focus when using a knife !!!). Really enjoying your build. neil

just looked it up, the moulds are 5 years younger than me, the box is 11 years younger than me. Despite that, we are both similar in looks, odd shade of green, bit rough around the edges and lots of marks on the surface ! Great looking aircraft and one that I never managed to buy and build. Looking forward to seeing this progress.

that would be a yes for me !!! neil