CANicoll

Gaz, Oh beautiful!! I'm definitely taking some of your ideas, such as Bob's Buckles, which are brilliant. I didn't know about the wooden mast, which means I need to go back and redo a couple of my builds. Really like the rivet effect and the overall weathering - it blends so nicely. Just a super job all around. I'd almost say you had a WWII 109 in your backyard as reference - lovely work! Chris

Ernie, THANKS for the welcome and I am very happy to be here and part of a terrific group of folks. Really enjoying the conversations and the fine work everyone is doing. Looking forward to the holiday raffle. Chris

Ernie, GREAT idea! I'm in, and will take a hard look at what I'm going to contribute. I have a few options I am thinking of. Give me a few days on that, please. BTW, check your wording on 8.a. GREAT idea to substitute gift cards for those far away instead of paying outrageous amounts for shipping. Thanks! Chris

Sorry, been a bit busy doing lots of other things, including trying to put up cellular blinds (only 2 of the four ended up actually working, now two more are coming as replacements, ugh), the usual Thanksgiving stuff (cooking, baking) and also a woodworking project. Have had a bit of time at the bench so its a good time for an update. Did a bit of a light spray on the exhaust end of the jet engine using the same Model Master Burnt Iron Non-Buffing Metalizer (that is a mouthful!). I figure those engines were not the cleanest so there were likely exhaust stains around the exit. This is a nice touch - intake covers! The wingtip lights were an adventure amongst themselves. They are TINY and have an annoyingly difficult to remove sprue attachment. There is a divot for the color of the bulb respectively on each side. Working on the antenna wire. Tail-to-canopy is connected (and the excess in the canopy has since been trimmed) and now letting the vertical wire set up before attaching it to the horizontal wire. The piece of tape has two purposes - 1. Make the string easier to see/find and also gives the end some weight which makes it easier to manipulate. Right now it is just folded over the antenna wire. Here is the IP and very out of focus gunsight, as well as the armored glass inside the windscreen. Not too bad for an OOB IP. Plus, this angle hides the edge gauges which are off-center. Win-win!! That's all for now!

Wow, this thing is a beast!! Looking good and thanks for the update. Can't wait to see how she turns out.

OUCH!!!

I did this YEARS ago as a goof. I don't remember which two kits I used other than the P-51C and I think the floats from a Kingfisher, both 1/72. Once I mounted the main float, I had the propeller clearance issue to solve. Hence the cut-out. BMF prop, canopy framing and leading edges, Model Master Acryl Kandy Scarlet I think.

I was going to say lets start now! But Jan 1 is good, I'll just start something else in the meantime. I usually have 2 builds going at a time, just to keep things interesting.

Scott and Bill, Ditto with the back pain, although compared to yours, mine is a 2, not your 10. There are times when I just can't walk but fortunately those are temporary. Good luck to both of you! Chris

Thanks, Gary! I'm not quite where you are but have some plans to try and replicate what you did with your fading. Will try anyway!

I am also noticing how clear the markings and warning markings are, over what looks to be faded and weathered paint... Hmmmm

Very cool. I used the Quinta stuff in my 104 and SU 27 builds and it looks amazing. Have fun!

Really nice recovery and way to get back into it. Hate to miss such a nice cockpit and the plane is just iconic. Very cool you have the photograph of the aircraft. NMF is so unforgiving, but your repair job looks terrific. Great job!

Thanks Peter and Mike! The one thing I struggle with on the MIG products is the fumes. I have a spray booth I can vent to the outside, but when I'm just doing panel line washes and such, I have to turn on a small fan in my room. But I do like the products...

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...