BlrwestSiR

Very true.

So are the cuts on my fingers. Although those take a bit longer than the mats to heal.

What's funny about this is that Tamiya is the distributor for Italeri in Japan. They often put Italeri kits in Tamiya boxes sometimes with a few tweaks to them.

Gaz, thanks for sharing those pics. I've got one of the kits coming on the very slow boat from China so I'll be sure to check for that. Carl

Great start Rob. It good to hear Tamiya is finally giving you precut paint masks. Much of the actual car is built by Multimatic not far from me. For the finish, I would recommend doing a clear coat prior to polishing. This will give the paint more depth as well as protect the paint in case you get carried a bit too far with the polishing bit. Tamiya make some different grades of rubbing compound you could try. Carl

I ordered some Reskit burner cans from Hannant's and those arrived today. The F-5 ones are absolutely tiny compared to the Super Hornet ones much less those for the Mig-29. I also had a small order HLJ arrive at the same time. An F-16 Night Falcon This goes with that F-15J Kai I got earlier. Both are from Patlabor. I also got the ADFX from Ace Combat. It seems I'm slowly building a collection of 1/144 fictional aircraft.

Been there, done that. Didn't get the tee shirt though as my fingers were too stuck together to grab it.

Rob, I hope you start a WIP for the Ford as it would be great to follow along. The Tamiya lacquers really do spray nice don't they? Carl

That's for sure!

They are in last week at my LHS and they put them out over the weekend. $135 CAD so a bit more than Sprue Bros. But if you preordered it, they gave you a 15% off coupon for your next purchase. I still like the long nose Phantoms more so didn't get one. Maybe down the road we'll see. Let us know what you think of it Peter once you start.

With the news that Kitty Hawk was winding down, I decided to get off the fence and pick up an HH-60 kit. I ordered it from China on the third and it arrived today. Looks to be a nice kit and it'll go nicely with my Little Bird. Carl

I've tried a few different brands and some don't live up to the hype that's for sure. I'm still mostly a Tamiya paint user and now that they've got their lacquers, it is hard to not use them. I used Gunze for a while when it was more available and then it becomes hard to find here. Now there's more shops carrying it so I've started getting that again. It's handy as it's compatible with Tamiya. I've also got AK's Real Colors as they're easier to get than Gunze and have a nice selection of colours. The big change for me is that my sons are now building kits and I'm trying to find suitable options for them. Paint that's easy to clean up and not too pungent being the main criteria.

So a quick update. I've been using the compressor after the cleanup without any issues until last night. Looks like a connection has popped somewhere as it's got a slow air leak. Not from the tank but I can't see/feel where it's coming from. It would seem I cursed it by doing that service on it. Time for the spare to step in I guess. The old one is in the left.

Thanks folks! The mottling hasn't worked out as well as I hoped so I'm going to do some post shading ok it once I've got the whole lower side colour on. The port side is now done so I can start on the starboard one next. So far I've used about 1/4 bottle of Mission Models Gunship grey. Now I understand why my LHS said they haven't made any money carrying the brand. It seems to last a while.

Thanks for letting us know Maru. Condolences to his family. Carl

Got any pics you can share with us Scott? I'm still waiting for mine to arrive.

As mentioned above, the seams on the hull are now sanded smooth Soni started adding some of the details like the dive planes and the deck walkway. I then started on the paint. I wasn't sure how best to break up the monotone of the hull so I started with some squiggles for pre-shading. I'm not really sure it's worked out so will most likely do some post-shading once the hull is completed. We shall see.

So, the other day I had the hull by the laundry sink drying after rinsing off the sanding dust and got confirmation of the above. Sue wanted to know what the monstrosity was. When I told her and that I was thinking of a diorama with it (jokingly), I got the look.

I could be up for that but need to finish something on my bench first. Anything really.

Just watched Blues Brothers last week with my kids. They had a blast watching it. I did have to explain what Neo Nazis are to them though.

I'd say Belushi myself.

Thanks Kev! I keep wondering what could be bigger. Than I get the silly idea of a diorama with the Hobbyboss B-24J in Coastal Command colours. Alithough I suspest Sue would use that as ground for a divorce.. Thanks Peter. They're not perfect but I'm happy with them.

Peter, looking at where you are now, I wouldn't never think that it's as Kuch of a bear as it has been. I guess that's testimony to you skills and perseverance on the kit. As for the Kingfisher, I actually managed to get the engine and cradle installed. The only thing I recall about doing it is not following the instructions. I think they showed it upside down or something. I do need to go back and finish building it though. Carl

With the upper hull seam dry, I glued the lower hull together. This one has a few more gaps in it but it's the underside so shouldn't be as visible. After cleaning up the seam on the conning tower I had to replace some of the rivets. They're raised so I tried some Mr Surfacer 500 dabbed on with a piece of wire. It mostly worked out. Now to let the hull dry a bit and then start working on the seams there.

It really isn't that much but the hull is basically empty. Shipping is the only challenge if you're ordering it from overseas.