BlrwestSiR

Time for an update. I finally received my paint masks and decals for the build. So I spent some time today starting on the canopy masks. They're made by New Ware and are precut. I picked the inner and outer set since I'm planning to have the canopy open. The New Ware masks work nicely. The fit is good and I like the option of being able to mask the inside.

Just don't do that near your wife's ankle! What glue did you use for the gear? I have some 1 min epoxy I'll use for that sort of thing. Not as fast as CA but stronger and you have time to finesse the fit.

A bit more progress on the Badger. The exhausts are multi part and a bit fiddly, probably the most so of any assembly yet on the kit. I ended up losing one of the brackets that the exhaust pipe sits on. Sadly I didn't have my usual carpet monster lap cat to catch it for me. There's 3 per side and they are covered so no one will notice. With a quick coat of paint. Followed by their covers. The smoke launchers were next. Okay, these were more fiddly than the exhausts. Guess I spoke too soon.

I didn't have any Chieftains to climb on as a kid since Canada didn't use them. Just an Easy 8 Sherman and a Lancaster to play under.

Great job Peter. The assembly, paint and decal work don't show any of the issues you may have had. Nice to see the comparison with the Tamiya kit and they both look great side by side. Carl

My package from Hannants finally arrived. Now I have the missing pieces for my 262 build. I also got some Spitfire decals. Perfect for that recent addition to the stash.

Honestly guys, if you saw how I build sometimes you'd think there was a 5 year old at the bench. I mean, half the time there's a cat in my lap. Like right now.

Speaking of the A-10, it looks like AFV Club has the perfect accessory coming-out for the kit: a detailed GAU-8 cannon

That's my plan.

Talking to Martin lately, he's been trying to downsize his stash a bit. In doing so, he's helped to make mine bigger! The Spitfire section of my stash has grown by another as a result. In other news, I received another book in the mail. A very handy tool to have around. It'll also open the really old style Mr Color bottles with the big tab on the lid.

Very nice paintwork Rob. I haven't tried the salt method yet but might need to give it a go at some point.

Amazing work Jeroen and great research there Gunnar. I am definitely sticking with OOB for mine...

Jeff, they're very nice engines. I have the same set for one of my Mossies. I've read there is an issue in that apparently they're the wrong type of Merlin for the Mossie. Something to do with details on the supercharger. I'm not sure how visible it is. That being said, it's not going to stop me from using them once I get to that build.

As a follow-up, I heard from Hobbyeasy and they are getting a replacement set sent to me, either directly from SOL or from them, whichever is fastest

In case folks here missed it: There's a great looking J7 Shinden in the film too.

This looks like a must see.

We should. That could be fun.

A test fit of the main gun barrel. Not sure if this thing would have been able to turn the corner in a city.

I've been slowly chipping away at painting the various bits and bobs that are fitted to the tank. I've found it easier to mask them off the tank and then add them on. The tracks are on too.

Thanks @PanzerWomble! Ammo do a Berlin Brigade paint set which is what I'm using. Makes it easier.

Ernie, the door is both sides. Three doors in total per nacelle. I suspect they missed it because they only open when the gear retracts or extends. One thing most folks forget is the B-25 and Meteor were both designed for another company but HK took them over. There was a Dutch company involved which did the research and design but something went awry and HK took over the project under their own brand.

Ernie, here's the pic I have from my build. Looks like they missed the large main doors. They just need to scribed in. Hopefully you can make them out in the pic. The seam between the nacelle halves should be the door edge as well. Here's a link to my album with my build pics. Feel free to see if you can find anything else that's useful for your build. https://carlkung.smugmug.com/Hobbies/HK-B-25J- HK definitely have come a long way since their first kits.

All closed and getting closer to paint. Yup, the radial engines are a bit of a pain but they look the business once they're done. I think the nacelles need some re-scribing to correct the MLG doors if I recall?

Peter, this will be a different build to watch. Never seen one of these before nor the show so both will be a new one for me.

Gunze and now Tamiya both make a metal primer that's clear and brushes on. They're both self leveling too which is nice. On a sheet of brass PE, you can see it changes the colour of the metal slightly so I suspect it's self etching but not 100% sure.