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Racers could be fun too. Different paint finish for some of us. I definitely have some kits along those lines.

Ohhh, a Davis Monthan diorama! In 1/32!!! Might be a bit big. Otherwise sounds like a great idea Martin.

Scott, when I need to do touch ups, I use Post-It notes to mask over delicate surfaces, be it fragile paint or decals. They have just enough adhesive on them to stay in place but not enough to impact the surface underneath. I put them on on right before spraying.

Nice to see this back and glad to have caught up on it. If you're running the True Metal on, how are you keeping such a clean a sharp demarcation? They look like separate parts.

Peter, Christian at Mezzo Models told me to email Michael at: scalegrafixx@gmail.com for decal options. Apparently he's the one who does the decals. If the quality of the Escort is nice, I'm considering the 962 as well but probably the IMSA one especially if Lowenbrau decals are available.

We walked through the 727 at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Edward was impressed by the airstair at the rear of the place under the tail. The rear engine placement threw him off a bit until I explained the ducting.

It is a bit worrisome as John is on here fairly consistently. I hope everything is okay.

Nice helo kit there Peter. I'll be looking froward to watching your build. Flying Leathernecks just released a decal sheet for it. They had it at the Nats.

I didn't want to clutter up your build thread but here's the link. The price and shipping seemed very reasonable. https://mezzo-mix-models.jimdo.com/modelparts-for-sale/ford-escort-mk1-race-version-in-1-12-scale/ There was a build of the kit on Britmodeler which is how I found out about it. After ordering the kit, Christian needs a 2-3 week lead time to print it out. He has several other models too and decals are available from another company. The engine in your Cobra is looking amazing. I'm still in awe at some of the details that MFH includes in their kits, such as the exhaust gaskets.

Rob, sorry to hear about your dog. Hope he's better or gets better soon. I looked around at the Nats to see if anyone had any MFH kits for sale but didn't find any. I've settled on a plan B at the moment for a 1/12 fix but it'll be a month before I see the results. Carl

I'm moving that way myself. I still have a few more in 1/32 to get through but any new jets are 1/48.

You've got to love a shark mouth on an F-4. Just suits the plane perfectly. I've used Zotz decals in the past and found them to be on the thicker side but tough as a result. It's interesting that you had the ink run on them. I've used Solvaset and even Tamiya X-20A thinner on them without the ink running. I just picked up the 1/48 sheet of the same decals you're using at the Nats. They've been hard to find as they're out of print and I wanted to do something other than the box scheme on my ZM build when I get to it. I may have to do some tests first before I apply my chosen scheme. Carl

Thanks for sharing Maru!

I picked up a few things at the Nats. Some stickers I was looking for: At the ZM booth, I picked up the Concept Notes book for the Shinden and the new F-4E late kit.

Supposedly the Trumpeter 1/32 Swordfish is a scaled up copy of the Tamiya kit which means it avoids some of the accuracy issues that can plague their kits.

Nice work on the Spitfire Peter. I'm just catching up on your progress. It's unfortunate that Tamiya didn't choose the route that Border did with the Lanc and provide a dummy engine for those who want the cowlings all buttoned up. I've found you can get away with the basic block, supercharger and cylinder banks. Everything else can be left off.

Well, I went to my first Nats and it was great. It was great to meet @biggtim and @denders and others. My son had a great time as well. Everyone was really great there from the vendors to other attendees. The only earful I got was from the IPMS Canada president when he found out I wasn't a member. And it was in a fun, polite way. Guess I know what I'll be doing. Sorry I missed out on meeting up with @Clunkmeister and any others but we could only do the one day. Carl

Not a kit you see built that often so this should be good to see. You could always do the one seen in Fast and Furious 7.

That works for me nicely. I'm just waiting on missiles from Reskit to arrive and then I can finish the build. Thanks Martin!

See some of you tomorrow!

I'm in Chicago visiting family. We spent an hour sheltering during a tornado warning. So much fun. The paint is really coming along there Scott.

Saw a nice Aston Martin display today. The DBS needed a bit of bodywork though. The Vantage had the optional winter package which would be handy for Canada. Finally there was a really old one in silver.

Brave man!

Glad to hear you managed to avoid a full blown heat stroke. I've been out in some of the heat the past few days up here working on a client's house. I ended up spreading the work over a few days as I was getting wiped out. The Cutlass is looking good under paint.

Looks nice and shiny to me.