airscale

Hi Cees - not for the tailplane, no but I think I will need to for the wings...

evening folks thanks for stopping by ...back with a bit more F7F madness... ..so todays challenge is not mission impossible, but it is mission difficult... - I need to make this... ..it's the nosegear leg I took some photo's of at Chino - note the crazy geometry and different shapes in the casting.. ..I traced out the structure from the plan I have and checked it - I started with one part in appropriate diameter tube I had which turns out is copper (I think..) ..I have no lathe, or milling machine or any of the tools needed to do this properly so I just used a big household drill chuck as the 'vice' and various drills and tools in a dremel to work holes and shapes - first up was the angled central casting... ..for the yoke i put some steel rod into brass tube and bent it - I left some sticking out so I could bend it to get an axle for the wheel.. ..seemed to work.. ..now to fix the yoke to the casting I needed a pin or rod and this needed to be strong - I had no alternative but to try and learn a new skill - soldering... ..I watched Paul Budziks really helpful video and got myself some kit.. £30 GBP all in.. ..this was my first go and no you should not learn on the parts you are making, you should learn on practice parts ..the top image is it after soldering - a bit of a mess, the bottom image is after clean up and actually it worked out pretty well.. ..after a fair few hours I had made a fair few interlocking parts to make the basic leg structure.. ..they dry fit together and I need a LOT more practice soldering before I try and assemble it together (I also can't seem to solder to the copper I used when practicing?) .then I got some shiny new kit - this is a combined soldering iron & blowtorch as I was struggling to get the gun to heat the parts enough to do a good job.. ..I tried the first part and soldered the rings to the copper core - seemed to work... ..and then to the leg itself - this is when what Tim said would happen, happened - some of the other parts went out of alignment as the whole thing heated up... ..I tried to correct it but it started to make it worse so left it... ..then made up a bracket for the retraction arm and held the parts in tweezers... ..cut some thin slivers of solder and rested them where the joints were - a few seconds blast with the blowtorch and capillary action ran it into the joints... ...I use a fibre brush type thing in a dremel to clean off the flux and oxidation - quite pleased with how it came out... ...still many more parts to make, but the basics are coming together.. ..I know it is more like engineering than modelling so not too dull I hope - but I need to do a fair bit of this so the big old bird doesn't collapse on her belly the first time I set her down TTFN Peter

woohoo - tailplanes are done.... ...just dry-fitted and need to finesse the little flared tips a bit and fill them with thick CA to keep their shape, but other wise happy with how they turned out... ..more importantly, the experiment worked - I now know I can do the wings this way TTFN Peter

Thanks Cees pretty sure it won't be a tailsitter - I made the nose from solid resin and cast it around a massive lead fishing weight - if anything it will be a belly-sitter as the gear collapses worryingly I have been crazy busy with real life lately - got a lot going on in the day job and have been away a bit so time at the bench has been limited.. ..I did carry on with the tailplane and added the rear skin - this was not annealed as it was flat which means the trailing edge is stiff to shroud the elevator. I also started to work some pewter into the radiused tips of the tailplane.. ..same process - a tape template, I thought I could do this rear part in one piece and left the rear edge a bit longer to shape the curved shroud.. ..more burnishing to get the compound curves - the front parts had to be two part as I couldn't get it to form as one.. ..not much to say about the rest, but it seems to be going ok and the tip is now complete.. ..and in place on the airframe - there is a gap where it meets the fuselage as it is a loose push fit, when fixed later on it should be fine.. ..gotta do the other side next.. TTFN Peter

evening folks thanks guys for stopping by and your advice - I know having watched me make multiple balls ups in the past you have my best interests at heart ..this is new to me so thought I would give it a go.. ..first I shaped the tailplanes by rough sanding - the finish doesn't really matter as it will be skinned. I primed a couple of times so I could get a sense of the shape and to try and impart some rigidity I coated them with future... ..this seemed to work - they certainly didn't deform when I squashed them between my finger and thumb, but would scar if I dug a nail into them.. ..I thought the easiest way to skin would be bending the litho around the leading edge, so I tried it with some scrap.. ..marked out the panel lines to trace onto the tape template I was going to add.. ..covered in tape and drew out the panels.. ..tried to get a clean fit where it will meet the fuselage.. ..peeled it off and marked out where to rivet and score panel lines - I should have scored last as adding rivets makes the litho bend slightly along each row so it starts to curl up - in straightening it out I nearly broke the scored lines and ended up with lots of small panels instead of one big one... ..put the adhesive on both sides and after fitting to one face quickly covered the panel in tape so I could burnish down on the leading edge and fold it over without kinking... the tape helpfully held it all down until the glue started to go off.. ..and the finished panel.. ..so, it seems to work and is pretty resilient which bodes well for the wings - my worry now is the stub spars for the wings won't be man enough as everything is getting pretty heavy now - will have to think on that one ..one last photo of the airframe so far to remind me I am building an aeroplane not lots of little bits of one.. TTFN Peter

great job Jeroen, this is a wonderful build to watch - I also love the research you are doing, something I enjoy almost as much as the building itself TTFN Peter

thanks for stopping by Cees ..still finessing the rudder, but I wanted to test a theory for building the wings by doing it in smaller scale on the horizontal tail so have been playing about at that today.. ..first I traced the tailplane outline from the plan onto greaseproof paper and stuck that to some 3mm plastic card - then I cut out two profiles of the tailplane without the elevators... ..I put a square tube spar through the one in the fuselage and started to understand the geometry - the spar wasn't straight in either dimension which made things tricky. I used a square to get the profiles in the right position in planform and tacked the tips to the spar with CA so I could mark out the spar position underneath.. ..once marked out you can see how off the spar would be if I used the stub I embedded in the fuselage.. ..I cut out a slot for a mini spar and slotted the end of it to slide onto the tailplane part.. ..and checked again the geometry was right.. ..then on a trip into the unknown I prepared some balsa sheet with a scored groove to accept the spar and made up a sandwich to give the tailplane some bulk I can shape later.. ..I ended up with two tailplanes to work with.. ..I will soak the leading edges and tips in thin CA and shape them to the aerofoil profile in the next few days - the plan then is to soak the whole thing in sanding sealer or something to harden up the balsa and skin in litho... ..in theory it will work, but we will see - if it does then the same process hopefully will be used for the wings... TTFN Peter

Hi Cees - thanks for stopping by ..from what I can tell, the fabric is uber tight on the frame on the real airframe - so much so originally I thought it was metal skinned.. ..I couldn't detect a sag so went with flat, but I do have a job to do to replicate the screws under the rib tape and the rib tape itself.. ..I will have to see how it compares when I finish it.. TTFN Peter

evening folks ..back with a little more Tigercat mayhem.. so, last time I had to finish up the plating at the rear of the fuselage - this is done now except for the final tailpiece which I will leave as I keep whacking it on the bench... ..next was the rudder - I had made a spar and end profiles from card and rod and although it is fabric covered, I made the body from litho plate too.. ..I built some internal structure to mount the trim tab and did the usual tape template to make up the tab itself... ..this part is riveted rather than fabric, so did that before folding along it's spine and adding the supporting structure.. ..now I have been thinking about how to replicate linen and tried paper, tissue and tape but eventually settled on some stuff used for R/C models called Solartex. It is a sort of synthetic fabric that is used to cover a balsa framework. It has an adhesive backing that is activated by heat from an iron, and a bit more heat will cause it to shrink and give a strong (and fuelproof) skin for R/C aircraft.. ..I closed my eyes and tried it... ..after trimming with a brand new blade and working the edges with the iron I was quite happy with the result - it is a bit overscale but I can live with that.. ..I still need to fettle the assembly to get the trim tab to fit properly and then try experimenting with rib tapes... ..thats it for now, but it was quite a fun crossover experiment and hopefully with paint it will look ok.. TTFN Peter

Hi folks ..just a little update with some more skinning done.. ..I have been doing the rear fuselage slightly differently to the other side - I have been adding a few raised rivets and have been alternating the metal grain to get a contrasting panel effect. I also added in some new panels that I only found when I got up close to the F7F in Chino, so each side is different but I can live with that.. ..I added a bottom panel where the tail hook once was - this has pretty chunky rivets on the real thing... ..its the bottom panel here.. ..the made up panel.. ..and in place.. ..also wanted to add the chine that runs along the top of the rear fuselage so bent up a test part and learnt enough to make the real part.. ..masked the top fuselage to add the adhesive.. ..and the part in place.. there is a fairing at the front I still need to make.. ..you can see the panel contrast and the chine better in natural light... ..and this is where I am at - should have the final panels done soon... ..back soon TTFN Peter

evening folks ..it's been a while and it has taken me this long to actually sit down and do something - I lost my way for a few weeks after going to LA and catching up afterwards... ..to get me back in the groove I thought I would start nice and simple - a panel on the tailfin. I have learned a lot since I started skinning in litho so having done the opposite panel on the other side of the tail with no detail, I felt confident enough to try pre-detailing this one before laying it down.. ..it's the leading edge panel here.. ..usual process to burnish down a bit of masking tape, run a sharp pencil around the edges to get a template that should be a perfect fit... ..after marking out for rivet detail, I scored all the straight edges and used a PE tool to bend and snap off the waste - I use scissors for anything not totally straight, like where this panel meets it's opposite number on the fin leading edge.. ..after riveting, I laid the panel flat and used a sanding stick on the rear face to get rid of bumps & burrs and also burnished it before the next step - taking the masking tape off and annealing it over a cooker gas ring for a few seconds to make it more flexible.. ..I taped the panel in place and worked the leading edge shape with a wooden paintbrush handle so it doesn't mark the part, I also prepared where the two panels meet at the leading edge so there are no gaps... ..as it was made to fit in exactly this position I just folded it back on the tape and masked up to apply the adhesive.. ..a quick brush or two of adhesive and removed the masking ready to fit.. ..used some masking tape to hold tension across the leading edge and burnished again to get good shape and adhesion... ..it came out ok, and more importantly has got me back in the chair to keep going ..I also started to think about starting on the wings and used some brass stock to get some idea of the overall size - I have no idea how I am going to work this on my bench when the time comes.. ..so that's it for now - building a Tigercat, one panel at a time... TTFN Peter

thanks chaps ..but the big news is I got a box of initial 3D parts today from Tim - I am amazed that turning bytes into bits actually works.. check this out.. ..this was the point I was rubbing my hands together... ..engine parts... ..and with a light coat of mr surfacer so I could see the 'stirations'(?) these will clean up nicely... ..and nosewheel parts... ..and mainwheels... ..the parts will clean up I am sure and are far, far superior to anything I could have scratchbuilt.. Big, BIG thank you to Tim for getting me into this Rhino lark TTFN Peter

evening folks I tried doing some of the nose plating in litho but the part I made wouldn't take the curvature without wanting to kink. Luckily the sheet of pewter I ordered arrived so I tried using this - it's nice and maleable and fairly straightforward to work with ..as I have been doing, I added the vertical rivets before fitting - all the horizontal ones will be added once the plating is complete so they all line up.. ..I wanted to do the top nose panel (the one with the circular fuel filler..) which is the first real compound curve.. ..first step is to burnish masking tape down over the panel and pencil mark the outlines from the scribed lines and adjacent panels.. ..next transfer the tape to a small sheet of (expensive) pewter - as the fuel filler cap has 16 fixings around it I got an image off the internet & printed it to mark out where they need to go to be equally spaced.. ..added another circle and soon had the marks where I could emboss the fittings.. ..added all the other markings to set out all of the fasteners this particular panel has all around the edges... ..embossed & riveted, you can see how soft the pewter is by how it 'blows' underneath - this needs to be burnished out with a smooth rounded object (I have a bit of steel rod)... ..the lower image is the finished panel.. ..I spend some time finely tuning the fit by carefully sanding the edges with a sanding stick, constantly trial fitting and taking it really slowly as you can always remove material but never add it back... ..I also mask the area the panel fits to ready for the adhesive... ..and the panel fitted in place... ..still got more to do, but it is getting there... TTFN Peter

Hi Cees - I haven't quite figured that out yet - some skins butt join each other on the underside, while some go all the way around. In some places there are some 1-2mm gaps I might have to deal with by letting in a strip or covering somehow. The problem with this skinning is you can't just fill and cover up your mistakes! anyways, still plodding along... added more panels - same format - scribe a deep panel line to follow... ..the nosecone was really hard to get right - and even now I am not 100% on it... ..I used 1mm flexi tape and made up 2 layers to guide the scriber... ..there are two quite prominent forward hatches (50 cal ammo access) so I wanted to cut these out rather than scribe them... I punched the radiuses and filed the opening - then fettled a new panel to fit.. ..and fitted - there is a hinge at the bottom I will add later - and yes the fastenings are random like this! ..and to round off this is where I am at.. ..thats all for now - back soon TTFN Peter

thanks Rick - you might need some headphones though - I can assure you there is quite a lot of choice anglo saxon expletives going on while I am doing this bit so, all the time I am getting somewhere I thought I would drop in another update - I am sure once the novelty wears off I will slow down a bit... ..I have a small problem as I have been learning more as I move forward from the tail - each panel seems to teach me a new trick and I wish I had been doing what I do now from the first panel... ..I should have added the rivets as they are much easier while the panel is flat.. ..I should have scribed access panels etc for the same reason.. ..I should have varied the grain of the metal to contrast panels.. ..I should have riveted onto a cutting pad as the perspex sheet I used for the first two spine panels is too hard & the depressions are too small.. ..I should have used a wide, flat, soft brush to apply the impact adhesive.. ..I should have deeply scribed the whole fuselage to give guides for the tape templates.. oh well, we are where we are and lets look at it this way, it can only get better... anyways.. I needed to do the top of the spine as I want to try to do the lower fuselage panels in one strip curving right under the bottom and up the other side to reduce the number I need to make.. ..I started with a tape template / rubbing which is transferred from the scribed lines (or fitted panels) and this time added the rivets/access panels,panel lines by scribing, scoring or using a rivet wheel.. I had scribed the access panels on the airframe so they can be positioned correctly and these too were transferred to the template.. ..this is a different panel, but once detailed I roll it on the back of a stiff cutting mat to impart curvature - the mat must be flawless as any lumps or bumps will transfer to the part.. ..and this is just about good to go... ..THE most critical stage is applying the glue - I mask where I am putting it on the fuselage, but the masking must be removed immediately or when you pull it off you pull off the glue with it (it's like elastic..).. I also hold the panel on a rolled bit of tape so as not to get glue everywhere... ..and the panel fitted - carefully lining up and then squeezing it down with thumbs & fingers is key to getting a solid & neat fit.. ...a few more of the airframe as it stands... thats all for now.. TTFN Peter

you guys are too kind! thank you so, we're off! the litho plate arrived and I have the next day and a half off so on with it... ..the sheet is 6 thou and from a printer (£14 GBP for 10 x A4 sheets) so one face has stuff on it... ..the other side is nice... ..I tried a test piece, annealing it, embossing it on different surfaces etc... learning about the material - I also tried to discolour it by boiling with an egg but that didn't work... ..got some impact adhesive & cleaner - I thought I would try spray as well as painting it on... (£18 GBP all in...) ..I made the template from tape and cut out the first panel... ..masked up for the first adhesive spray - it goes on both surfaces - good job I did the panel first as it goes everywhere and I added to this masking to prevent a gloopy aeroplane... ...VERY carefully applied the panel - it doesn't move about like a decal and I suspect peeling it off would kink the material... ...when annealed it is quite maleable (I will use pewter for proper compound curves), I also decided to detail after applying as there will be no way to emboss the rivets from the other side and have them all line up accross multiple panels - an ugly concession to accuracy as I really wanted raised rivets at the rear, but hey, I am hoping the overall effect will be worth the loss... ..I have been using tamiya tape as templates and marking out the panel with a pencil - the scribed line is a good guide, and the last panel laid is used almost like a brass rubbing to get the correct shape to match up to... ..I soon got into a routine and have one side done (well half of one side - the easier half..).. each panel is anything from 15 - 30 minutes to make & fix. I have stopped using the spray adhesive as there just isn't enough control so use a soft flat brush. Mind you the solvent to clean the glue seems to destroy brushes and just about everything else pretty quickly so care is needed.. ..I am ending up scribing the airframe anyway so haven't saved any time as I need the scribed lines to determine the panel shape - I finished up the rear end and started on the fin... ..I needed the two big panels on the fin to run all the lower panels up to - it would be much harder to make all the lower panels end in a straight line separately.. ..I burnished the shapes where the panel has to curve at the leading edge with a cocktail stick and cut out the part for the rear of the fin.. ..after quite a few hours work most were done - the photography is rubbish as is the lighting sorry... so much to learn... I have also laid some test panels on an old kit to experiment with finishes as the test parts I did came out a bit weird - they seemed to have colours in them - greens & reds faintly visible and different layers of grain when finished with micromesh - i have some different grades of wire wool on order as thats what I have heard is supposed to be used... ..only trouble is I may have doubled the time to finish it by doing this! TTFN Peter

evening ladies - thanks for stopping by so after spending some time hanging around the 'pit and getting part way there, I thought it a good idea to get back to the fuselage and get it in some sort of shape where it is actually worth dropping a cockpit into... ..spent some time filling dinks & seams and got it into basic primer - the finish is quite rough as I have to spray it outside - no matter though, it will clean up... ..now up close and personal the F7F is smooth riveted at the front and dome rivets at the back, also the airframe I am modelling has some great contrasting natural metal toning where this is going to be really important to the finish - here is N7654C... ..and here you can see the overlapping panels, quilting, rivets and surface texture typical of the rear fuselage which is where I thought I would start... ..I had always been a bit worried about how I would scribe & rivet at this stage - the subsurface is not really like injection plastic so may not take the pressure, or lead to chipping when I hit filler etc. I also thought about maybe going for resin rivets, but on an NMF bird the tests I have done with Alclad mean it is really hard to get rid of the carrier film (you can see it through foiling too..).. ..at this size & scale it would be hard to get right... ..anyways I thought I would throw some panels on and see what it looked like... started with the plans and marked some out... ..they can be seen more clearly here... ...not happy - it looks too clean, too uniform and not really what I am after... ..then I had my Alan Clark moment and remembered his method of skinning in lithoplate or pewter - beautiful, real, textured and quite mind blowing to look at... ..that was it - I have some 6 thou plate on order, I have some experience of working brass sheet, I have tools and motivation - why not do it - afterall the saying goes there is more than one way to skin a Cat right? ..the next post will hopefully be a start on the process, or a graceful exit and back to looking at getting the effects in other ways... until next time... Peter

oh yes..

evening ladies - thank you for your kind words, I very much appreciate you stopping by ..so, on to whats been going on... ..I finished the side console by adding a handle for the emergency gear drop and the piping & valves to the fittings.. I made the handle end from tube & sprue to try and get the moulded rubber shape right.. ..also fitted the throttle quadrant and all the connector rods and added some placrd decals to finish up one of the sidewalls... ..needed to paint the rear bulkhead & seat so first shot some alclad.. ..lazily dinked some maskol about the place to allow for chipping the paint & shot some tamiya black (a mix of blacks actually..) and tried to give a battered look to the seat - this is a tired old firebomber so figured it would have seen quite a lot of abuse... ..working up to getting the cockpit parts into a workable group to slot in after I detail the fuselage exterior... ..and this is what it sorta looks like all together.. I still have to do lots more, but the key is does it fit, and can it be droppen in through the cockpit aperture.. ..it's like brain surgery and definately a bad way to do it, but so far I can egt it all in and out ok... ..so, I have some more to do to get the basics in here done, but actually the focus next is to get the fuselage ship-shape and then add all the panel lines & rivet detail - the airfame is split in the sense the nose half is all flush rivetted and the rear is dome rivetted like a battleship so will test me in getting it looking right.. ..I also got a very kinfd invitation from the Planes of Fame museum in Chino to crawl all over their F7F-3N when I am in LA next month - that has totally made my week! until next time.. TTFN Peter

evening folks - hope all are well thanks Cees - me too - it is made up of parts so I think when printed it will be an assembly job - all the cylinders are separate for example and will need resin rocker cover heads - the core, carbs and rear section are another 5-6 parts so I am hoping it will be like a DIY kit - if need be I will use the 3D parts as masters and cast them though would rather not as it would be all together easier if the parts are good enough on their own.. so, a few bits done in the last few days.. I wanted to get the rear part of the cockpit switch console finished.. ..this bit on the right behind the main switchbox... it has some detail and a bunch of wiring & pipework beneath it ..I made up some of the parts including pipe unions and the mounting for the big handle which is for dropping the landing gear in an emergency.. ..used a spare PE console to make the base this all sits on as it needs to be dropped into the cockpit as one, I can't just mount it onto the floor... ..a shot of interior green... ..added the pipework - it all looks a bit wee weed (as we say in the UK) now I look at it closely... ..added some wiring bundles to the switchbox - these were stripped out of an old laptop - I just battered it with a hammer & took some bits I thought might be useful one day - it turns out the bundle that connects the screen to the keyboard is full of ultra small scale wires ..still need to finish it, but this is where I am at.. ..back soon... TTFN Peter

thanks all - I am thrilled to hear you like what you see ..so, not much of an update as I have been busy, but I guess this is about building a Tigercat even if it is one piece at a time! The part in question is a canopy winding handle, this is what the pilot uses to crank it backwards & forwards.. I assembled the PE parts I had made by laminating them to make thicker parts... ..the re-stock of scale hardware nuts & bolts included these - they even have threads - unbelievable given they are less than half a millimetre in diameter.. ..shot silver on another side console part that is up next... ..the winding crank actually has a wooden handle so I turned a cocktail stick in my dremel - i figure nothing looks more like wood than wood itself.. ..painted it and did a bit of chipping - my new favourite way of weathering.. ..so to make up for my rather weak efforts at progress on the bench, I have also been spending some late nights trying to get the engines up to scratch - Tim has been really helpful (thanks Tim) - I still have loads to do but in the long run I hope it saves me a few months scratchbuilding them (twice)... ..also gave the fuselage another primer coat and am still trying to get rid of some rather persistant seams around the nose join which I really hope isn't caused by flexing between the very heavy resin/lead nose and the card structure.. more soon hopefully... TTFN Peter

evening ladies thanks for your kind words - every one inspires me to try harder.. so today is not mission impossible - just mission difficult.. before I self destruct, we need to build this... ..alright I cheated and had some PE made, so I scratched off the paint to show the detail underneath - it's just sprayed with a silver rattle can and then tamiya semi gloss black.. ..next I made a paper template to work out how to best cut the brass sheet and make up the structure of the switch panel.. ..drilled & punched holes where needed to allow for fixings & pipework.. ..a bit of concentration with the folding tool - i.e bend the face that is not being looked at - here everything is bent away from the top face..also some scale hardware rivets have been added.. ..added the cable conduits and due to bad planning had to chop out part of the top section to allow for the glass etc where there are dials.. ..sprayed it silver, then black and added the side indicator panel.. ..picked off the maskol stippled at the bottom.. ..added lots of bits of sprue for switches and detailed what I could see - still more to do but then this is two days at the bench for what most peeps say 'you can't see anyway'... ..love every minute I build cockpit stuff back soon TTFN Peter

evening folks... a little bit more done today - I moved on to the lower panel.. ..first I primed the PE with Mr Metal primer... ..then shot some Tamiya silver out of a rattle can... ..I blobbed a few bits of maskol along the lower edges and airbrushed the black finish... ..then got some placards and added them where needed along with a couple of dials... ..added two starter buttons and the two red handles for emergency lowering the undercarriage... ..I still need to add some switches and two very distinctive 'ring' handles that are fuel controls, but I haven't figured out how to make them yet.. ..here it is with the panel.. ..I am enjoying myself - this is my favourite part of any build I do... ..thats it for now... TTFN Peter

evening ladies just a small update, though it is a fair few hours of fiddling about... ..the IP is pretty much done... ..and again a little twist into the light to see the 'glass'.. ..will be moving on to the central panel below this with all the fuel / engine controls next... TTFN Peter

evening folks Thanks for stopping by Grant - I will try to illustrate how it goes, but I am not doing the actual 'printing' so will likely just get the parts in the mail. I am lucky I am getting some help so I will see if I can ask for some 'in-progress' shots as they are made.. ..so, I am still making the engine core and am now thinking I might even do the cylinders as well as they are going to be quite a faff & hassle to get 18 of two types (front & rear) cast up - especially as casting limitations mean they will likely be 4-6 parts each.. ..this is where I am at.. ..and checking the layout when ofered up to the 1/24 plan... ....now - onto some actual modelling... I primed & painted the PE instrument panel and it's rear face part, I also cut out some clear to represent the glass - the top right two instruments need to be made seperately as they stand proud of the panel on square mounts so no glass needed for them... ..I carefully stuck the glass to the back... now I don't make a 1/24 US Instrument set so I gathered the graphics from the masters of the 1/32 set and scaled them & had them printed up on some nice satin paper.. ..it didn't work out.... they were too low resolution for me (I remember now - thats why I started airscale!) so I used the layout to add what US instruments I did have from the 1/24 P51 Instrument panel set (these are also in the 1/24 RAF set)... for a couple I just had to use 1/32 USAAF and hope no-one notices ..then I carefully laminated the parts and cut the paper sheet & edged it with black paint.. ..there are many, many details to add - switches, knobs etc but the basics are there to work on... ..and with a little twist into the light you can see the reflection of the glass - the tricky bit will be adding the detail without messing this up... ..thats it for now folks - back soon TTFN Peter