BlrwestSiR

The Canadian International Airshow starts in a couple hours so I'm going to take the boys. It's a quick 15min bike ride from our house. Then, I'll see if I can get a bit of bench time.

Wait, two different Aires cockpit sets that fit their respective models without grinding everything paper thin??? Definitely time for a lotto ticket. I'm like you John, I play the same numbers weekly. Carl

Just catching up with your progress and it looks fantastic as always. Carl

Yup, like the others have said- a fantastic looking finish. Carl

Stunning engine there Rob. I love the heat staining on the exhausts. I've done the odd bike kit and have thought of doing one. I recently missed out on a Tamiya Bimota which would have been cool with its truss frame and dual swing arms. Carl

So I found my old Tamiya airbrush. Man, is it simple. It's mostly plastic and single action. There's no air valve so the air just seems to flow through it constantly. I can't recall if that's the way it's always been but I tried it and it still works. HLJ has them for around $30 so I was half tempted to get a new one to see. That of course led me down a rabbit hole and I ended up getting something else instead. I found a Procon Boy double action trigger style airbrush on eBay for $130 CAD and the seller shipped it via FeDEx. It's got a fan style spray pattern that you adjust from vertical to horizontal so should give the coverage desired. I'll give it a try later this weekend and let you know how it works. Carl

I think I found out why I'd put the Esprit back in the box. Masking the trim and window frames... Now to do the sub version. Carl

Thanks Rob! Looks like I might have a project for next spring. I was thinking of Muskoka chairs originally (they're like Adirondack chairs but Canadian) but I like that yours are something different.

Thanks gents! Got the second vertical side of the intakes glued in place. I still had to do some sanding but it wasn't too bad. There's a bit of CA for filler too around the intake join but again, not much Now onto a bit of re-scribing the odd panel line or two. Carl

Peter, saw this on the news this morning. I'm glad to hear that you're high and dry. My aunt is in Queens but haven't heard from her family yet. I'll check with my folks as I'm sure they'll have been in touch. We had some heavy rain here a few days ago and some parts of the city flooded then but nothing like what NYC is experiencing. There's a major highway that almost always floods these days but there's a huge infrastructure project that recently started to help mitigate that in the future. Stay safe and same goes for your brother Joel. Carl

International travel is still too screwed up so it's too early for me to say either way. Carl

Nice job on the planning stage there Harv. Looks like my CF-18. Having tackled a couple Fly kits, they definitely need planning and test fitting when you put them together. But if you take your time, they do seem to go together well. Carl

Rob, those chairs look amazing. Got any plans for them that you could share or where to buy them? Sue would love something like that too. Carl

I'm still impressed by all that rivet work. Even if it's only 38. Carl

Thanks Mark! Thanks Rob! I've been more of an F-16 fan myself and my favourite oil burner is still the Tomcat but the RCAF did so many unique schemes that they've slowly won me over with the Hornet.

Yup, it's sitting on my bench. Well, on the floor next to my bench. Definitely a must.

Awesome! Can't wait to see more. Carl

Rob, sadly no. That would be way beyond my skills. Thanks Peter!

Phil, I didn't add any new display cabinets but I have been thinking of making another large one like the one I did before.

Well, I decided to get out another sub kit to work on in between steps on the CF-18. Got the land based companion there too since they're basically the same kit.

Looks like there's a new set of in flight crew figures coming out. https://www.hobbyeasy.com/en/data/apgyyv44xyjr7ifgjlpx.html There's upper turret and rear turret 'gummers' too.

Guess I know what I'm selling my kidney(s) for. Carl

Anyone going to do one of the other schemes? I know the Fields and Meadows is the default but it can't be the only paint job. Of course, once I found out I was getting a Viggen I ordered the mask set. Carl

Thanks folks! Progress is coming along nicely. Better than I had thought it might. I installed the resin intakes. By leaving the front half unglued it was easy enough to bend them apart slightly and slip in each intake. Before I did that, I painted the interiors in white and added the engine fan faces. Here you can see both intakes in place and the front still unglued. Once the CA dried, I aligned the sides and houses them together. Next up was the fuselage sides. To get the edges lined as best as possible, I inserted a piece of sprue to act as a spreader bar. This was temporary as it lifted the gear bay high enough so I could glue it to the side but too far from the top. I then glued the side panel in place along the MLG bay and fuselage bottom only. This left a small gap along the sides. But once the bottom seam was dry I inserted a knife blade and pushed the spreader bar loose. The fuselage gap then closed up. Once this side dries, I'll see if I have to do the same on the other side. I closed up the front fuselage halves as well. This was straightforward without any issues.

Peter, I agree. The LHS didn't have it listed on their website and it wasn't with the rest of the kits in the series that they had. If you can find it online, it's easily double what I paid for it. As for the size of my stash, it's not too bad. It has gone up a bit but the boys "help" when they raid my dwindling 1/72 kits for new projects. Carl