GusMac

Just saw this and it's a real shock. As others have said, never met Harv but you did feel you knew him, His input was always so upbeat and encouraging and he made this a great place to be.

Rob, I've used the Bob Smith 5-minute epoxy on the Viggen and Attacker as it works great with resin and I've had no problem with the 'strings' although it might depend on the applicator used. It also dries like an absolute rock. However, you're right in that it is difficult to mix small quantities with any consistency and I did tend to CA for small parts.

Got the panel line wash on and then flat coated it and added a bit more weathering with oils. I'm pretty happy with where the airframe is at now, so it's on with the landing gear, pylons, etc.

Looking good.

I think it's only the Eduard decals from mid-2020 onward which have the removeable film. Yours are from 2015 aren't they Chris, so definitely the conventional style.

Thanks Kevin. With a bit of experimentation I've found that the best 'tool' for removing the film from these is my thumbnail! Lift a corner with the scalpel and then use the nail to lift the rest off. Works especially well for the smaller decals and stencils. The film is big enough to catch with tweezers on the insignia, etc.

Shiny! Looks great Rob

Tried after 24 hours and the carrier film came off okay thankfully. Used the mineral spirit tip I'd seen first but it did nothing. Best option was just to pick up a corner with a new scalpel blade and peel from there.

Anyone used the 'new' Eduard decals and have any hints as to how to remove the carrier film? Specifically, how long did you leave them before trying it? I've seen various answers from a couple of hours to a couple of days on the web and I'd rather not screw it up at this stage.

Looks great.

What are your thoughts on the Gauzy Carl? I've never seen anyone using it before but the canopy on the Infinity Val look like they might benefit from something like this.

Got all the detail painting done and a gloss coat on. So, it's decals up next. Eduard provide a million stencils for this but given my distaste for wasting hours on them in 1/48 and looking at pictures of the real aircraft I'm only going to use a few. If I can't see it in the pics then it's not going on! Should save me a few hours and a few quid in the swear box. 😁

Decent progress made today. My wife had her twin sister visiting and they were going wild swimming, so plenty of bench time as the dog took one look at the weather and thought 'stuff that'. Does make me wonder whether the dog is smarter than the wife?! Anyway first thing was to get the grey-black down. Glad I went with the Mr Color as the alternative being suggested was Tamiya rubber black and I think it would just be too dark. Only a few minor touch-ups needed which was a pleasant surprise. These pictures also show off the oopsy I made the other day when I spilt some Tamiya Extra Thin on the cutting mat and it ate straight through the rubber top. Thankfully it missed the kit completely for once. Next up was some quick masking and on with the underside light grey. I'm pretty happy with where it's at. Next up is some detail work with the airbrush for the exhaust, nose ring and dielectric panels.

Thanks Jeroen. Kind of makes me glad I've never got into 3D printing as I have enough obsessions rattling around in my head without adding something like this! 😁

That's ridiculous that the wheels actually turn. Is that something you deliberately modelled in the files or just a happy accident?

I always emphasise to our medical imaging students that, no matter what the manufacturers claim in their glossy brochures, no medical imaging system has yet been invented that can come close to reproducing the performance of the human eye. Mother Nature is bloody clever sometimes....

Love Martin's pic of the driver's cab. Bit of a contrast to most modern cars!

More fun with masking tape and scissors and we're ready for the grey-black. Hopefully get that done tomorrow and we can move on to the underside.

Felt like I was back at primary school today. Not glue and scissors but masking tape and scissors! Result was... All the areas which will be white are now masked off. So, two hours masking for 5 minutes with the airbrush and the lighter grey will be done! 🤪

Got some white on today while I contemplated the masking process. The instructions make it look like a soft-edged camouflage so I was thinking of using blutac worms but I wasn't sure how to get the shapes detailed enough that way. On looking closer at pictures of the actual plane it looks more like a hard-edged scheme so masking tape is the way I'm going which should be easier to do thankfully.

Can't believe how thin those fenders are. Do you use a razor saw for the print supports or just snip them? I'd be terrified whatever method I chose.

Was waiting for the Master pitot tube to arrive to finish the basic construction but it arrived this morning, so I got it attached. Quite nifty that you can attach the tip with the delicate fins separately, so it'll go on right at the end to reduce the chances of me knocking it off! So primer is now on. Went for grey as the colours are all fairly light. Just waiting for a couple of the Mr Color call outs to arrive as I didn't have anything that matched up closely enough.

Not sure he will be as the SRU are fairly useless at making decisions like that, but I think he should be. We've probably got as good a player pool as we've had in the last 20 years and they've never won anything with him. Just fold under pressure every time, yet the core of the players have won the URC and other things, so you do think it's how he sets them up. I still feel they dumped Cotter too early just to keep Townsend onside but he might have been better with more club experience before getting the top job. They could do worse than Franco Smith who's done a good job at Glasgow.

They were never in the game. Eagles dominated completely and worthy winners. The late touchdowns make the score more flattering to the Chiefs than it should have been.

Think I might be better sitting up for a late night for Mahomes and co in the Superbowl! Didn't see the rugby live as my wife got us tickets to the cinema to see the Donmar production of Macbeth with David Tennant but just watched it back (mainly on fast forward) as Scotland were terrible. Think it might be time for Townsend to go as the tactics such as there were today made no sense whatsoever.4 Go Chiefs! Three-peat time