CANicoll

Rob, So I sent an email off to Martin at HGW and he responded in less than a day. He appreciated the suggestion and has talked to his internal staff about it. Not sure what will or will not happen, but I was delighted at the quick, and positive response by HGW. Thanks for spurring me on to send them a message! Chris

Rob, I wish I had thought of that! I have another set for a 1/32 build and will do that - thanks!

So I just have to laugh at myself. Doing some weathering tonight and took a closer look at the marking options in the kit and notice that, somehow (probably the stop-and-go nature of my work on the plane lately) I've combined two different aircraft: The markings of Green 1, with the camo pattern of White 13. Amazing, huh? Oh well!! I'm using the MIG Neutral wash on the bottom, but did the flap outlines with the MIG Dark wash. Here is a close up: The flow was not terrific, probably as I didn't have as strong a gloss coat on the bottom (fewer decals...). Once the wash dries, I take a cotton bud/swab and use the MIG thinner. I turn the thinner bottle upside down, then right side up, and rub the cotton bud around the inside of the lid to just barely pick up a bit of the thinner. Even that little bit works wonders in removing the wash. I tend to move in the direction of the airflow and allow the bud to dirty up the panels, as well as remove the excess wash. If I want a cleaner aircraft, I use a clean bud and repeat the process. But usually I like the result. The bud does get very dirty and then it seems to just smudge the wash, not remove it so I flip ends as needed. Sorry, I thought I had a 'before' picture to compare the results to, but now I can't find it... Also took the opportunity to add the elevators which fit beautifully. I used Gorilla Gel inside the tail opening. Very tight fit. Here she is so far. I have to mask and paint the canopy still, and shoot a flat coat over the aircraft. Hopefully will get a bit more bench time this week. That's all for now! Chris

It always amazed me how filthily the underside of the planes were, leading oils and fluids and such. Amazing all the good work you are putting into this build.

I thought Radu did a terrific job on the 'new' Revell P-51D he helped them with so high expectations for the Hurricane. A 1/32 SR-71?? Who is that coming from? I took a several hundred pictures a few years ago of the SR-71 at Udvar Hazy for some folks who said they were going to do a kit. They wanted to see all of the access panels and such. The staff thought I was a bit nuts, sitting on the floor inching around to get all the photographs...

OH, and I am SERIOUSLY envious of your paint racks! WOW...

Very cool and I find it very interesting how you are building it and painting as you go. I'm a big fan of painting on the sprues, but you are also doing the same thing with the assemblies as you add bits. I like that! VERY cool subject and looking forward to how you tackle the lighting.

Ohhh, how did you do the spinner? I have such a difficult time doing that spiral - just cannot seem to make the proper mask for that. The weathering on the prop is excellent - I need to get better at that. Looking good!!

You'd never know of her misadventure - looks terrific. What a great shape for an aircraft!

Oh, that is frustrating! Good luck with the fix. I hate it when I do that...

Wow, really impressive Gary! I was thinking "Awesome" actually. Hmmm. Hubert has a point, but I'm with Rob as well - I think the subtle work you have done is terrific. I just spent more than five minutes just looking at your pictures, back and forth. I think you delivered a master-class in the rivets and HGW needs to feature your work on their website. Agree with @Peterpools, the rivets really add a lot, subtly. You might want to take a look at the very front of the exhausts on the left side of the aircraft and maybe the black wing roots need just a bit of weathering to match the terrific job on the rest of the aircraft? Perhaps the first stack needs just a little bit of touch-up, which you probably just have not gotten around to yet. I never noticed the wing crosses were so far inboard - further than the ones under the wing. Interesting, and thanks @Martinnfb for the visual images. You have me wanting to build a 1/32 109 now... As for the Commanders - they started going downhill before Snyder bought them, and it has just gotten worse since then. Ugh...

Nick, Your build thread is a masterclass all in itself - thanks and great work. Agree on your bits about some of the detail stuff. I was really unhappy with the Barracuda battery bit interfering with the Canopy support, too. Still urks me when I need to move the canopy. Also agree on a lot of the cockpit detail going unseen - I added a pilot to one of my builds and that just made matters even worse. On the other hand, I think we are our own worst critics - your build is beautiful and awe-inspiring. So many cool things (thanks for sharing your thoughts) you did there but we always want to do better on our next build. Awesome job! Chris

The B-17 looked like it was simply flying around and from the angle of the P-63, I don't think he ever saw the B-17. This picture shows the devastation of the impact. The P-63 fuselage is upper left but one of its wings is shown under the Elevator of the B-17 - the P-63's wheel is coming out of the wing. The P-63 hit so close to the B-17 cockpit that I wonder if the B-17s's pilots were instantly impacted. Looks like the P-63 split behind the engine. Just horrific.

Thanks, I do know Rick. CN

Very cool! Nicely done!

As much as I would love to build a unique subject like the He-100, I just can't see spending nearly $50 (with shipping - the kit is $30 with discount) on such a simple kit. I like detailed cockpits and I just don't see a lot there to work with. Oh well!

I see they have the kit on special this week, for 1/2 off or about $35USD. What I see is not a lot of parts so wondering if, even if it is "only" $35, is it worth the price? Thanks, Chjris

Making some progress on the finishing - decaling and washes. Here is the first pass. Topside decals and stencils mostly completed. I'm not a big stencil guy, but for some reason am tackling the job on this build. I really don't like the Tamiya decals. They seem to silver on me in the strangest of places, even on a glossy coat. And I seem to break more than a few just gently getting them into position. The crosses we bear... Used MIG Dark Wash for the wing panel lines. I don't think I'm going to do the same on the fuselage. I've looked at as many pictures as I could find on the internet and I just don't see panel lines on the fuselage (and honestly, I can't find a lot to show the wings!). There ARE a few specific lines - such as the lateral line on the side of the jet engines - but not many overall. If anyone has other references, please let me know! The Red/Blue fuselage band is the decal - I just did not have the proper colors on hand and this was the quick and easy way to deal with it. Hopefully more to come later!

Second! Looking great!

Wow, really impressive Gary! I was thinking "Awesome" actually. Hmmm. Hubert has a point, but I'm with Rob as well - I think the subtle work you have done is terrific. I just spent more than five minutes just looking at your pictures, back and forth. I think you delivered a master-class in the rivets and HGW needs to feature your work on their website. You might want to take a look at the very front of the exhausts on the left side of the aircraft and maybe the black wing roots need just a bit of weathering to match the terrific job on the rest of the aircraft? Perhaps the first stack needs just a little bit of touch-up, which you probably just have not gotten around to yet. Honestly, that is all I can suggest! You have me wanting to build a 1/32 109 now...

I just saw this too. We are our own worst critics, Martin. I know YOU know the flaws, but looks terrific. I'm seeing great weathering, the insignia fading is lovely and I wish I could dirty-up a plane as nicely as you do. People must love it in your LHS!

So very sad. Just horrible to watch the video.

Can you imagine if HGW comes out with the rivet kit for the A-20? Gary will go crazy!! Not sure how I feel about all those rivet lines. I was never a fan of the A-20, preferring the similar B-26, but this is a nice-looking kit and I love the idea of a camo A-20. Just kills me to do a detailed interior and then close it all up (Monogram's 1/48 B-17G kits....).

Looking good. This is before primer? Wow, a very clean build!

One of my favorite subjects, too! I did the big Italeri 104 and it too had a number of fit issues. I really like it in camo, tho. LOVE your cockpit - beautifully done!