BlrwestSiR

I got the rad fairings all painted up and installed. I started by painting the black. This was masked off and the white was done next. Then the Med Sea Grey was sprayed and the fairings installed. At the same time the lower cowl was painted and installed. I then assembled and painted the MLG. Yup, there's two sets there as I could decide if I wanted to use a set of (horror!!!) SAC legs. I've used them on previous Spitfire builds and they've held up over the years. They were already in the stash so might as well. Here's the finished gear. It turns out I didn't have the correct hub spoke pattern from Barracuda so I used the kit ones including (more horror!!!) the stock rubber tyres. Looks like I've broken a bunch of unwritten rules here. The important bit, the Spitfire is on its legs now.

If he likes cars, Revell has some under their Build n Play that are decent. They're very simple, go together well and can be played with after. Most of the other snap kits they have aren't as nice. Airfix has a Quick Build series that are like Lego in the way they go together. Unlike the other kits I've suggested, those can be built and taken apart over and over again.

But an F-4 could still fly with its wings folded. Just wasn't recommended. I think I'd add some correctly sized burner cans to your list. The kit ones are very undersized. Some folks will cut the tailplanes apart so they can install the exhaust section to the fuselage and clean up the seams easier. I've done it both ways. Don't forget to sand down the raised panels on the fuselage. Some are BDR patches and others aren't so check your references. Carl

Here's some listings for you: https://store.spruebrothers.com/SearchResults.asp?searching=Y&sort=7&search=Cute&show=90&page=1&brand=Tiger Model Meng make ships and tanks as well. https://store.spruebrothers.com/category_s/2009.htm?searching=Y&sort=7&cat=2009&show=60&page=1&brand=Meng For the Star Wars kits, CultTV Man usually has a good selection. They're also readily available on Amazon too. https://www.culttvmanshop.com/Star-Wars_c_7.html Edit: I forgot about Freedom Models even though Martin and I were talking about them yesterday. They do some "cute" planes kits as well. They're not bad either. One nice thing is they include more than one version in the box. Some even have three full kits. You'll have to scroll down a bit. They call them Compact models. https://store.spruebrothers.com/category_s/2563.htm If you really get into these, Retro Wings and Kasl both make AM detail sets for them.

Any of the Tiger model ones are quite good. Same with the ones by Meng. If you're looking for a nice snap fit kit, also consider the Star Wars kits by Bandai. They're very well engineered and go together nicely. You can also get away without paint on them. Here's their TiE fighter kit I threw together in about 45 minutes. This was completely OOB with no paint or glue. Hope that helps. I've got two boys 6 and 9 so let me know if you have any questions about kits. Carl

Thanks for the info. That's good to know as I haven't decided if I'll get AM turrets yet. Carl

Looks good Harv! One more side to go. At least they're not the tiny things I had on my Marder. Carl

Heresy!!! We'll, that will atone for some of it.

I finally figured out how to attach the bands for mounting the barrels to the bomb racks. Profimodeller gives you some PE latches but they are way too big to be used. I decided to cut some metal rod and fit it between the ends of the bands. I then installed the RB rad screens. These are made from very fine PE and are much better than the kit parts.

That's usually what happens to me as well. They are a close enough match thankfully.

With the 109 done, I've got my Spitfire back on. Mostly the final fiddly bits left: landing gear, exhaust pipes, and rads.

Anyone know if the nose and tail turrets can added to the fuselage after it's been joined together? I'm thinking it may be safer during assembly to leave them off.

Happy Birthday Steve!

I've only ever rigged a single biplane kit. I used EZ line and whenever I need to move it (thankfully, not often) the wings wiggle just a bit so I can see what Ernie means. Carl

Amazing gear bays. I was wondering if you were going to try and improve them and I now have my answer. Carl

Trumpeter make one. It's about $10 from Asia. I've got a pair of them. They work as well but I've heard they can get dull faster. We'll see. I also have some by Gunze, Wave and Tamiya. Some are better than others. The ones made by Godhand are even more expensive than the Dspaie ones. Haven't tried those yet for that reason.

Nice Corsair Phil. The cowls have arrows moulded on the inside that point forward if that helps.

They're great nippers but don't drop them. I did and have one broken blade so they're a bit stunted now. A similar single edged nipper is one made by Wave that has the cutting tip on an angle. I find those help get into tight spots.

Great looking Nautilus Rob. I thought about getting one for my son as he's been reading about the Nautilus in his book Oceanology. But I figure it may be a bit challenging for a 6 year old. The dinosaur kits that Pegasus makes are fantastic too. They're in the same vinyl that the squid is made from but have some great detail to them. Carl

Same here! At least our brewpub is still open for pickup only.

Ok, got the last couple pieces installed and I'm calling it done. I'll try to get some nicer pics up shortly. The Spitfire should be back on the bench after this. Carl

Restaurants here are now allowed to sell alcoholic beverages with their take out and delivery orders. Hopefully that will help some of them stay in business longer.

I tried that with my B-25s. It didn't work out so well. I did manage to pull off 4 Spitfires at once though.

Thanks! It's gone together very well. The fit is excellent, I've got hardly any filler and there's a decent cockpit too if you don't want to bother with any AM. Best of all, there's none of the annoying separate tail bits like you find in their 109G-6 or their P-40 kits.

My dad told me they were in the underground tunnels that the Army had dug into the island. It was sort of like Gibraltar. Everyone was garrisonned underground due to the occasional shelling. I don't think he saw any of the 104s but I'll ask him next time. One of the things that they did on the island to pass time was there was some sort of factory that made tank shaped liquor bottles. You could only get them on the island. There's one at my parents' house. It looks like an M48 with really soft details.