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Ian, Let me see what I have. Usually you need the engine block and supercharger when doing a closed cowl on the Spitfire but I did convert one to a XIV so those parts may be around. Carl

Looks good Harv. Definitely looking like a Tempest! Just need to add the yellow leading edge stripes so they don't mistake it for a 190. Carl

Ian, would parts from a Tamiya Merlin work on the open cowl one? I've got lots of spare bits from all the Spitfires I did with a closed cowl. Mostly cylinder banks, heads and the small bits. Carl

Nice one! I just email Scaleworx the other day about the 2 seater Cheetah D conversion. I'll have to get that once it's out. I always thought the Kfir looked good. Then I saw the Cheetah... Carl

Harv, I looked for one at the same time as I was searching for the fuel tanks but no luck in my stash. Carl

Harv, saw this after our talk yesterday. Carl

Even cooler. I missed out on the bubble top when it first came out and bow all I can find are the car door versions. Probably for the better since it's such a big kit as you mentioned.

Poison gas I think?

Looks good there Gus. Is that the MDC kit? Carl

So, very, very true. I'm definitely guilty of that one. Great work Phil.

I just finished my bottle of Woodford Reserve. So I had to switch back to single malt... Jeff, I've got the Symphony setup and it's been great. My bench is a lot more organized. Not that you can tell at times. Carl

Nice progress Harv. Looks like the wing roots have a nice fit to the fuselage too. Carl

Maybe use some plastic rod for the inner frame since it sounds like it's visual only and not structural?

Thanks Phil and Rob! RLM166 it is! I know there's a few folks on here who will build a Hasegawa kit as a refresh/palate cleanser but oddly enough I've yet to have a 1/32 Hasegawa kit go together that easily.

Actually their favourite is I believe Floquil Reefer White. At least for the Star Wars fans. Gunze make a line of paints specifically for Gundam kits. It's called creatively Gundam Color. Tamiya X-18 semi-gloss black has been sold out at a lot of places here in Canada. I found a shop with 4 bottles in stock so grabbed a couple. Hope it's enough.

HLJ isn't allowed to sell them overseas. It was part of the original C&D that was issued by Disney over where the kits could be sold due to licensing. As I mentioned, it's change since then. Culttvmanshop.com is a good place. They specialize in sci-fi kits. I bought my PG Falcon from them (the one Smitty just got). I know folks have bought them at Hobby Lobby too. I've even picked some up from Amazon but those can take a bit longer to arrive. Carl

Tim, glad to hear your mom is ok. Your dad too. I'm glad the way they design cars these days to protect the occupants. Even if it does make them a bit less fun. Carl

No kidding eh?

Onto the wings. Again, not a lot of parts, mostly the rocket/scramjet bits in the wingtips. I painted the insides in dark iron then gave them a dry brushing with some Tamiya weathering master sets. I mostly used light gunmetal followed by a bit of burnt blue. It won't really be seen so I didn't go crazy. I glued the halves together and they're just drying at the moment. That's where I am as of now. So far so good.

Here's the fuselage sections. The front and rear slot into each other. With the centre ring installed: No glue is needed to hold everything together which is nice and the centre ring can rotate.

Thanks Martin and Harv. I am having fun with it. One of the versions of the kit even has Hydra markings in from the first Captain America movie. I'm still trying to decide what to use.

The front fuselage halves were then joined together and same for the rear fuselage halves. The rear is empty so simple enough. Then I assembled the rotatey-spinny bit. It's not mentioned in the instructions but there is a way for the wings to be geared together so they pivot at the same time. I may try it on a future build if I decide to get another one.

I then painted everything RLM66. Or at least that's what it said on the bottle. Looks green to me. Anyways, I then did the IP bassackwards. I painted it RLM66, then applied the decals. At which point I noticed that the panel around the instruments should be black. So I then painted the black. I added a couple Airscale placards to the panel to add some details. The PE seatbelts were next and then the cockpit was done. There might have been a control sticks and pedals added at some point but I don't have pics. Edit: here they are.

Ok, first step is.... ...the cockpit. No big surprise. The way Miniart engineered it is interesting. The tub is split into upper and lover halves with the upper half holding the side panels. The two parts test fit together. The seat is next. The instructions tell you to assemble the seat, then attach it to the armoured backrest. the seat bottom is keyed to fit into the floor so if you don't get them aligned correctly, that could be a problem. I ended up sliding the backrest in first and then gluing the seat together in place.

Ok, I started this two days ago as a low stress, no AM, OOB build. There's not a lot of parts, fit seems to be really good, no serious controversies around the camo/markings since they're fictitious. Easy peasy.