BlrwestSiR

I got to spend a bit of time today (so far) at the bench. I started on the J-79 engine. Italeri gives you a full engine and the option of displaying it either installed via the removable rear section or outside the fuselage on a stand. Since I've joined the fuselage halves together I'm going for the installed look. I also won't need to add the external detail so that should speed things up a bit. I've painted the rear halves in cockpit green. I might give them a quick wash before joining them together. I then painted the flame holder. There's a ring that goes onto the engine next. This ends up being the mount for the kit burner can. After cleaning up all the moulding pips on the inside of the ring, I checked and realized it isn't needed when using the Eduard burner can.

Nice as always. What colour do you paint the wires? Carl

Really nice build Tony. Carl

I wish they still had that offer. The only option to Canada was FedEx.... Hopefully that means I won't have to wait 3 months.

Sadly, it would be minutes for me.

I ordered the Symphony set last night along with a couple extra units. Unfortunately no more free shipping so that was a big ding. But with me sharing the bench with my boys and the....cat I think it'll be well worth it.

Looks great so far Michael. I knew the S boats were big but that gun mounting really puts it into perspective. I wouldn't mind building the Vosper one day. Carl

For me, the best part of the HK kit is that it's more or less a Mk X which is what I'd want to build anyways. Just need to get some of the recent AM releases for it.

"Inconceivable!"

Thanks! I think I'm going to get them. Fed up with the cat using my current setup as a scratching post Mostly I don't want to find him skewered after knocking all the tools over.

Got a quick question for you Harv. The little tray sections in the middle for the Tamiya cement bottles and the paint trays. Are those one piece to the tool holds in back or can the be left off and save some space? Thanks!

Harv, me too!

Good thing he wasn't annoying the bugs and setting fire to the dog! As for the Merlin, the wiring looks good. You may want to test fit the cowling frames to make sure it clears them though. I know that's been an issue for some folks.

Phil, I hope I'm a good enough teacher. Don't want to lead you down the Dark Side.

Thanks Martin! Speaking of seats, yours is on its way.

Ok, progress has been a bit slower than expected. Partly because my boys don't sleep any more now that they're home from school until most likely Sept. First thing I did was glue the fuselage front and rear halves together. I don't plan to show off the J-79 so might as well eliminate/reduce a potential step in the fuselage. The seam edges need a quick sanding to make sure they're free of mould lines. I then started on the bang seats. I'm using the Eduard fabric belts which come with some PE bits. I've started assembly of the seat on the left while the one on right shows most of the kit seat parts. The Eduard instructions are a bit vague on what goes where especially with regards to the replacement seat back. I ended up assembling the lower sections and then attaching the seat to that section. I also cut off the pour blocks from the Eduard resin burner can that you can see in the background. Next up I started cleaning up the MLG legs. They're not bad but the mould seams is quite pronounced.

Wheels & Wings had the AEG in stock. A bit closer than NZ too. https://www.wheelswingsestore.com/wnw32042-wingnut-wings-1-32-aeg-g-iv-late.html

Ernie, check out the Zacto Models intake for the Academy kit. It's very nicely done. He has both big and small mouth intakes. Carl

Oh, I don't think you'll be the first person that's made that mistake. I nearly did the same on my Mosquito.

Harv, the tracks look good as does the exhaust. It's nice knowing you're at least half done when dealing with working track links. Carl

GT Resin makes a small mouth intake for the Tamiya kit. I'm using that for my Polish F-16 build. You also need a parapack tail. PWMP makes a specific one for the Tamiya kit or you can try to find someone's leftover one from their Academy build. That being said, I found it easier to splice the PWMP tail into the kit one as I found it created a better overall fit. That's as far as I've gotten on my build. Those are the Model Maker stencils. The stock landing gear is fine from my understanding which would be the biggest hurdle. I'll have to double check that though. Carl

Some great pics. Thanks for sharing.

It still is. Just with the LSM touch.

A Canadian Lawn dart:

Michael, that looks awesome. Big too.