BlrwestSiR

One of the first things I did was to check the ift of the Aires cockpit set. As they're notorious for having challenging fit issues, I wanted to know what would be involved and was it even worth it to grind/shave a ton of plastic and resin to make the 'pit tub fit or just use the kit one. Well I got a pleasant surprise. I taped the fuselage together with the resin tub in place and it was an almost perfect fit. It's slightly short in length but fit between the fuselage sides. Without any sanding or grinding. I did decide to leave out the two resin side panels so I may have cheated a bit. Still worth it to not have the extra hassle. So time for some paint. I used AK Dark Gull Grey and NATO black for the panels. I did the same on the IP panel with Clear green for the screens. There's some PE details to add to this but that's where I am so far.

This is a project I've wanted to do for a long time. Originally I was going to do it in 1/48 using the Hasegawa CF-188 kit but that went sideways. Both times. Then Kinetic came out with their re-box of the Academy kit so I grabbed that. Then purged it from the stash in a bit of down sizing. Finally I got a regular Academy release and started collecting the necessary bits. And it's finally time to get this onto the bench. Some of the AM involved in the build. The decals are only a partial set. They include the smaller markings but give you stencils for the stripes. I contacted the folks at DN Models and they made the templates into masks along with some of the bigger markings so I can paint them on. I've also got an Aires cockpit set, Rhino seamless intakes and some various PE sets. For reference, I have Jake Melampy's book on the Hornet and this book on 439 Squadron. There's some great shots of the two Tiger Meet planes if which I'll be doing the latter one.

Thanks everyone! Definitely a build outside my usual subject range. I've got another ship kit to build at some point but not today. Time to call this one done. It's just too big for me to get decent pics so I'll just post a couple here. I did pick up a couple crew figures so I will eventually get around to them and then add them to the conning tower. Carl

Fantastic looking Dauntless Rod and congratulations on the award. Gaido was also known for having shot down a Japanese bomber from a plane parked on a carrier deck earlier in the war. Carl

Peter, it's a great little museum. It was definitely worth the visit. They had one of those immersive 3D films about firebombers and it was very well done. It really have you a sense of what it's like to fight forest fires. I can post some more pics I took in a separate thread if folks are interested. Carl

Scaleworx is about to release their Cheetah D conversion set so after getting in the queue for one, I thought best to grab the base kit for it. Having seen some of the struggles with building this, it seems like I'll have a challenge in my hand when it's time. Carl

That is one big shuttle kit Mark. My LHS had one in recently. There's so much you can do with that kit. Carl

Nice progress there John. The rivets are definitely toned down. Can't wait to see a coat of primer and paint on them. Carl

It's a Cobra I think. Just not sure which one. G, W, or Z?

Congrats on the award. Can't wait to see what you do with the D-7 battle cruiser. Carl

Glad to hear you're mostly in the clear there Peter. Carl

I bought the Zotz decal sheets for the B that Eli released but not the conversion sets. Might finally have a use for them. Carl

Some great models and photos of them. Thanks again for sharing

This could get... ..expensive. Guess I better get going on the Tamiya ones in the stash so I'll be burned out on Phantoms by the times these come out. At least that way my wallet will thank me. Carl

I've seen one WiP of the Skystreak but that's it. I'm waiting for the Viggen myself so will post once I get it courtesy of our fearless benefactor/enabler. Carl

TMI!!! On a separate note, great start there John. Carl

"He's dead Jim."

Glad to hear you're as safe as you can be. Hope the storm turns to the east and misses you. Carl

So much of your pics reminds me of when we went in 2019. Wish we could go back sometime soon.

Thanks for sharing the pics. Looks to be a great time. Carl

Ok, we're back from our 10 day trip around the north shore of Lake Superior. It's time to wrap this build up and get her finished. There were only a few parts left to add so it's shouldn't take long. First up were the railing supports on the forward deck. I then used EZ line for the rope. I need to tighten it still. There's another line from the conning tower to the bow. I used a thinner EZ line for that and am currently trying to add those little round balls (insulators?) you see on the line in pics. I'm using PVA glue for that adding a bit at a time.

Yes, it's the same type but a smaller kit. That one is 1/72 and mine is 1/35. Still impressive though.

Sounds like it went well. Wish her a fast recovery for us. Carl

Thanks for sharing the pics Harv. Those U-boats look great along with that sub tender as Mike pointed out. Have a fun time there everyone! Carl