BlrwestSiR

They're the mounting holes to install the body onto the chassis. The body may be shorter than its supposed to be but I guess that's in context once on the chassis. RC is where Tamiya really makes their money.

While I'm waiting for the He219's wing spar to dry, I got back to the Honda City and stated on a VW Bus. Got to find my Lexan paints for the Bus first though.

Gaz, the finish on your Leopard looks like your reference photo. Really great. I need to try all these filtering techniques. Carl

Any of Jake Melampy's books on the Viper are a great resource. I'm still learning myself. I've only learned enough about the versions I plan to build. That gets confusing enough.

The Tamiya Thunderbirds kit is long discontinued but GT Resin makes an NSI intake you could use. If going with the Academy kit, Zacto does the NSI intake for that kit.

I'm hoping for the best. The first try didn't hold and my second ended up misaligned. Which is why I decided to attach the wing panel hoping that'll help with the alignment. Thanks Harv! It's coming together.

I assembled the cowlings. After a quick coat of silver paint, these were attached to the engines. This way, I run less chance of snapping off any of the cowl fall rods. At the same time, I did a test fit of some of the cowl panels. It looks like I'll be able to leave at least a couple as removable and not need to glue them in place. I then installed the non display engine to the cowl. At this point I decided to tackle the broken wing spar. I inserted a metal rod but it was too springy and wasn't enough. I then added some doubler plates to either side of the spar and the upper wing skin. I'm hoping this will keep everything aligned and we'll see if it's strong enough. Worst case scenario, I display the fuselage like it was at the Smithsonian.

I've built one too and still have 2 in the stash. But I'm waiting on a XIV conversion before I build them.

Nice! You don't see too many XVI Spitfires get built. Carl

Oh and between Harv and Ernie with the 190s plus Jeff and Danny with the trucks, I'm constantly searching for kits of subjects I wouldn't normally consider. Even caught myself looking at wooden boats.... You guys are worse than squirrels!!!! Carl

Must have been mottled for it to sneak in like that.

Gaz, great looking Leopard.

With the display case out of the way, I got back to the 219. First thing I noticed was a small issue. Somehow the main wing spar had snapped in two. Looking at the break, it's outboard of the fuselage and there isn't quite enough material to just glue it back together. I'll try pinning it using some steel rod. The wing skins overlap the break so that should help a bit as well when the time comes. I decided to take advantage of the situation and work on the nacelles. This way, it was easier to maneuver them on the bench. I needed to use some tape to hold everything together as the glue set but after some initial getting, they went on fine. I also test fit the basic engine to see what work will be needed if any.

Thanks guys! I'm hoping I'll be able to leave one engine visible. Or at least with the cowls removable. We shall see.

My 2002 Civic had the shifter mounted up on the dashboard. It was practically next to the wheel. Great for just reaching over and changing gears. Ron, Danny you guys have some crazy mods planned for your builds. The craziest I'm getting is putting a trunk and rear seat in a "73 Ford Falcon XB. For some reason, they moulded it with a pair of gas tanks there instead.

They're doing a phased in approach here too. So restaurants with patio space are allowed to have sit down customers suitably spaced. There's one caveat that's been creating attention though. No singing or dancing is allowed. Guess folks won't be allowed to break into song about how great their appetizers are.

Talk about progress. I remember when it was the little McD coffee stirrer spoons that's folks would use to put recreational substances up their nose. Maybe it's just giving them a reason to discontinue straws and save a buck or two...

Truly impressive looking build. It's really coming together now. Carl

Great looking cockpit. We are such children at times. My wife's just happy I have friends to play with.

Hmmm, I've got the Trumpeter 103C kit in the stash...

These arrived from Hubert yesterday: Thanks Hubert for filling a couple holes in my stash.

Nicely done Martin! Fast too. You should add a Jagdpanther to the mix so you'll have S,M and L, like the three Bears.

There's an idea. The Stratos is one of my favourite cars.

Thanks Graham! That's still one thing I haven't tried. One day...

Thanks Rob! I was really happy with the ay it turned out. Honestly, I had forgotten to apply them at the time and decided not to mess with it. Maybe on my next one I'll remember to use them.