BlrwestSiR

Supposedly Thunder Models is coming out with a 1/35 BR 80 next year.

Now that Canada Post is back to work, I finally received my order from Reskit. I can finally start my F-35B build now. Once I have some bench space. Or I get bored of my current proje... ...hey! Squirrel!!!

https://tamiyablog.com/2024/12/tamiya-products-have-broadened-my-lifes-possibilities-ford-ceo-conveys-his-gratitude-to-chairman-tamiya-and-others-in-shizuoka-city/ Nice to hear I'm not the only with problems doing a gloss coat.

The Tamiya kit doesn't have one. That's for sure. Not sure who might make one though. The new ZM Weasel kit they just announced will have one but it's 1/48.

Stop it Martin, you're making me want to find an Avenger kit.

That's a beast. Looks great though.

A small update tonight. I finished wiring the engine. In a concession to accuracy, I made an attempt at painting the crankcase grey. I was worried about brushstrokes and coverage but it seems to be okay. I had to do some touchups with the black and realized that I was also using black CA. Not a good idea to get those mixed up.

Really next project there Hubert. When I visited the EAA museum they had a display dedicated to the Rutans and their aircraft. Definitely an out of the box thinker.

Avenger would the first to come to mind. Especially in the white and grey camo scheme. Another choice would be the Wildcat but I think they would be more escort fighter than sub hunter. Kit wise, the Trumpeter 1/32 Avenger is supposed to be one of their better kits. Folks have said it's basically a scaled up version of the Accurate Miniatures 1/48 kit. That kit can be found in other boxes these days. Academy has the moulds now. @Martinnfb and I were discussing Wildcats and the Trumpeter kit. I can remember which one is suitable for an Atlantic one. Eduard has you covered in 1/48. Carl

Thanks Gus. Edward had a harder time with it today and ended up staying home from school. She's not the first pet we've lost since having the boys but that doesn't make it easier.

The time frame sounds about right. The museum was having a Father's Day show that year and changed the markings on VR-A to VR-R for the event. They were temporary and they reverted back to the VR-A markings shortly after.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it. Like always, she did thing on her terms. Sue emailed the vet this morning when she saw Fur was having a hard time moving and thought it was time to bring her in. Fur had other ideas. Not 5 minutes later she was gone, quietly in her sleep. Carl

My ever faithful bench companion and personal carpet monster Fursnake just passed away. She went quietly and peacefully here at home this morning. She was 20 and we knew this was coming but it's still going to be different not having her around. She was the last of our pets that Sue and I had when we got together. One of my favourite pics of her. The laptop ended up overheating and died later that day. Carl

Fabulous looking build Rob. They're certainly not an easy guild but they do look good when done, especially when they're done as nice as yours. Makes me want to take out the Tamiya one I started back in '93.

Martin is pretty close. In that pic, there's: - ZM F-4G and RF-4EJ - RFM M551 Sheridan - Trumpy Wyvern - Fisher Sea Fury - Special Hobby Whirlwind I think the Whirlwind is the only one without an actual WIP thread.

Thanks Hubert, I was going from the pic I posted earlier. I was worried a bit about the colour but at this point I'm going to leave it as is. I think it would be too challenging to re-paint it without disassembling things.

You know me too well Hubert.

Wow, stunning. We need a proper, modern P-38 kit in 1/32.

Next up was my least favourite part of a radial engine- the wiring. I used 0.3mm wire for this after drilling the requisite holes in the ignition harness and the cylinders. I gave the cylinders a dry brush with Ammo Gun Metal. It's subtle but there. The cylinders were then glued to the crankcase. I had the scrap the paint off the attachment points as the fit tolerance was tight. Once paint free, they slipped in. Using 0.7mm nickel silver silver rod, I made the pushrods. Finally I attached the ignition harness and started on the wiring.

Thanks folks! If you have any interest in the subject or the kit, don't hesitate. It's well worth it. Continuing on the kit, I finally did step 1 which was the engine. I painted the engine blank in Interior Green and then masked it and painted the engine in semi-gloss black with a touch of gunmetal. While that dried, I drilled out and painted the ignition harness.

I just got my Black Friday order from a Gundam shop. They offer free shipping on orders over $300 (CAD) and like HLJ, you can have them store it until you hit that amount. Let's start with another Mak kit. @DocRob might like this one. I was missing the AT-AT so finally got one. Another SBY kit. And a large kit of the Psycho Gundam. The overkill on this kit is impressive. There's the three rocket boosters on the backpack, which also has a rack for three bazookas, two machine guns, and three Panzerfaust looking rockets. And a couple axes. Guess he's like a good Boy Scout. Always prepared. There was also a bunch of kits for our oldest son for Christmas. He asked for them specifically and they were a bit hard to find but I think he'll be happy.

The lower hull looks great. At least by using screws it should make it a bit easier to level the suspension. Annoying they don't give them to you.

I've done that too many times to count.

I got some work done on the cockpit. For the belts, I used a set of Eduard pre-printed ones. They were in the stash so that made it easy. Details on the side consoles were either brush painted or dobe with paint markers. Everything together.

Like Hubert said, it was a radar pod. The mount looks like it may be a challenge to remove but at least there's a spare.