CANicoll

Mike, I'm sending you my radial engines for your excellent work! Cool!!! Love the camo. A .18 needle? I have to see what my finest needle is, but super job on the green blotches. They look amazing. PSI please? Also, the 129 camo is lovely. You ended up using the Vallejo masking agent (just checking!)? Great how you did that work. I bet it did take hours, but the results speak for themselves. I cannot imagine any other way to achieve that result. I MIGHT see about using that technique on a 1/72 Japanese Hien. On second thought, looking at my existing build of that aircraft (using the Tamiya decals!). Nope. I think I would 1. go blind. 2. go crazy trying to make that work. Do you think its easier on a larger (1/48, 1/32) scale? Sucks about the SOL trucks. But the Tamiya kit sounds like the answer, along with the SOL figures. Can't wait to see all of this come together. Hang in there, Mike!

Sorry to be absent for a couple of weeks. Time flies! Making some progress, slowly, but hope to catch up here pretty soon. The Caps are doing well, as are the Commanders so those games are fun to watch. Working on the wheel wells and there are LOTS OF PARTS! Part placement was not perfectly clear in the instructions, but the fit of the actual parts was pretty clear. I really had to work to make sure G16/G46 and G15/G47 were assembled correctly. Again, the fit was perfect and very clear. The little lugs made sure these two critical parts were perfectly aligned. The square holes inside is where the landing gear is attached to the wings. Painting to come. I was not as careful putting the fuselage halves together as I should have been so had to fix my error with a bit of filler. I used Tamiya Extra Thin and thought I had the halves together smoothly. A view of the seat in the cockpit.

Ditto!!!

Don't see the ugly, looks terrific to me! Nice work!

Sorry to blow up this thread, but aside from the great P-40, I'm in awe of Scott's organizing in the background! Labeled bins for everything!!!

That is really cool!! What is the pad it is sitting on?

That's what I was going to suggest. White as an underlayer. Or, sometimes, Silver/Aluminum/Steel also works. Great work on the mask!! Something I'd never have even thought to attempt... I thought you had a Cricut machine as clean and complicated as those cuts are. Nice work!

Carl, Thanks! I am VERY happy not to have to try and negotiate the Wako belts. Wow. Very thorough instructions, however. The most complete I've seen. The "double Y" is what I don't understand. Fortunately, I'm not having to actually create the belts from component pieces, just figure out how to place the various parts. Best as I can tell I think I'm reasonably close.

Making progress and here is my interpretation of the Sutton Harness question. I always leave the gunsight off until I'm attaching the canopy as I have a good history to knocking them off while masking or whatever.

I think the general answer is: in absence of a clear corrected color picture from the period (HA HA HA HA!!!), you can kind of pick and choose the colors you think are close and nobody can really call you wrong. Wartime paint production was not exactly exact and even 'standard' colors were not consistent batch to batch. And all were subject to fading, esp in the desert/Med. Have fun!!

Crazy how easy it is to get caught up in trying to figure out some small detail, huh? Found these images online which help with the placement of the various pieces. Whew! Also figured out the image from above and below is from Radu's OOP set.

Like this!

Ahh, ok, did a bit of digging and the Quinta seatbelts represent a Sutton Harness - best as I can tell anyway. Here are the instructions for the HGW belts showing that part A (Part 2 on the instructions below). But the Quinta instructions seem to show the harness very short of where it should be. More research to come...

Hi guys, Flu is getting better. FWIW the foggy brain is gone, well, as much as it is ever gone... after the fever broke last night so now it's just dealing with the cough. Making some headway on the cockpit and again having a bit of an issue with the Quinta parts. Some of the instructions are not very clear on placement of a few pieces. To wit: Where does part A of the seatbelts go? And how about 29 and 30? I put the small placard on the top of the throttle body where is mostly fits, but the line for 30 just ends... Not that any of this has kept me from moving forward. 👍 Painted the seat Luftwaffe Red Brown, which I asked Gemini (from Google) what it was made of an actually got a complete answer (!). They were made of SRBP Synthetic Resin Bonded Paper to save on valuable aluminum. Apparently they were also easier and faster to make than an aluminum seat. Go figure. Love the texture of the Quinta seat pad and the worn look, which goes well with the intended weathering. Started on the sidewalls included some weathering; still some work to do. Test fitting the sidewalls: I think I need to trim inside that seat! The IP and bulkhead: More to come!

It's still <$49 there.. Trying. so. hard. not. to. buy.... But then Carl says he has 15 of them and this would be ONLY two for me... so I'm still WAYY behind him.... and its Tamiya...and its an Mk. IXc to go with the Mk VIII from the Christmas Raffle....... The PlazaJapan search engine is frustrating. Searching "F-15" hardly turns up a kit, but lots of other stuff. But "F-15E" turns up some kits... Can anyone recommend a good 1/48 or 1/32 F-15E Strike Eagle kit? PJ has the Bunker Buster version but that seems like overkill. I'm looking to show this inflight so don't really need all of the radar/avionics stuff to detail. (Not that I know hardly anything about the F-15 TBH).

Nice grab!!! Tex Hill autographed a copy of his biography for me years ago. I still need to build a better copy of his plane. Let me know how you like the GWH kit... I think @Peterpools also did this kit a while ago. Edit: @Clunkmeister also has a build thread on this kit. Great info on both threads!!

Got some of the Quinta bits into the cockpit, but not really enough to post. Hopefully tomorrow! Thanks guys, the flu sucks.

And now I have the flu. ARRGH! Hoping to feel well enough to keep working on the cockpit tonight.

Kevin, For a nice 1/32 P-51 as much as I like the Tamiya kit (I did Big Beautiful Doll), there is so much stuff with that build that is kind of extraneous that I prefer the Revell kit, with some extras like AMUR flaps (GREAT oil canning) and some additional cockpit bits. Without having to do the engine or the movable flaps/ alerions or the removable landing gear, the build goes so much faster. I do like to use 3D Printed exhausts with the Revell kit, but I'll either use one of the Tamiya canopies or an AM one. I have one more of the Revell kits in the closet, with a TON of AM to go with it. Not sure I can even count how many Mustangs are in the display case! +

Rob and Kevin, thanks!! I'm looking forward to the build and will keep you posted. Kevin, your build looks terrific. Did you have a build thread on that? I have not done an Eduard P-51 yet, but I have 3 in the closet. I do like their P-39/P-400 kits as well as their 109's so was hoping the P-51's would be more of the same...

Beautiful work, John. Love the IP!

Way to go!!

With the snow and taking a snow day, thought I'd try and start another build. Something fairly quick as my schedule these days is kind of packed. This is the Eduard ProfiPACK kit with some color PE but also have the Quinta cockpit set which will spice things up a bit, a set of camo masks and AM decals for a different Polish pilot. I do like the Eduard kits as they seem to go together pretty easily. Looking to do A/C#1 below, and also shown is the ProfiPACK PE set The sprues include both the early and late wings, with the top set in the picture having the canon-relief bubbles. Something I have never seen is tape to keep parts attached to the sprues. Got started on the cockpit, building armored plate - five parts! The seatbelt will (hopefully) drape over the bar. And attached to the seat frame Its a start...

Wow, and smart to get the snowblower. "Heart attack snow" is a real thing so better to be smart. I live in an over-55 community (where I'm the 'young guy' at 64!) so the snow removal here is stellar. Now, once you get outside the community, it's a different matter. I have an indoor garage spot which is nice. Took a quick drive this morning to check out the roads and how the new car handles the snow. All good! (Plus, Starbucks was open - bonus!). Stay warm!

Nice work, Mike! The detail on the carts is terrific. Looking forward to seeing the planes under paint. How much snow did you get/are getting? Seems to come and go here in Lansdowne, but steady. Keeping the plow-folks busy.