GusMac

Looking at the HPH renders I'm not sure the ladders do anything for the aerodynamics! Seriously, I put my money on you to be done first Cees even with the Manchester on the go.

Will await this with interest. These things were so slow it'hard to believe they got off the ground!

Schlepper looks great. Do you use the hairspray method for the chipping or some of the chipping fluids on the market?

Nice job on a weird machine. Looks like a flying wardrobe!

Nice whiskies Rick! The wheelwell fit seems to be a recurring issue with the SH tempests.

Looks great Rich, especially the fans. Are they scratched as well or cannibalised from something else?

I've always thought that some of the pronunciation in Gaelic is probably related to the amount of the old 'water of life' that was consumed, so you could well be right Cees.

Looking very nice Cees. The fold-up seat looks especially good.

Thanks Coolboxx. Clouds aren't something we're short of in Scotland Rob! The sunshine being too bright is however rare. I have a couple of A4 sheets of Tamiya kabuki tape so I may trace the tight shapes like the fin onto that and cut out with a scalpel. Thanks for the tip though.

Nice camouflage. The Italians did have some interesting schemes.

Hi Rob, yes the brown will be going over the remaining black primer. As you say, not much call for black in the desert! I started to try and paint the brown tonight but found that the blu-tack method of creating feathered edges to the camo doesn't work particularly well with these Ammo paints for me. Not sure if I'm using too high a pressure but I've got quite a bit of leakage under the blu-tack into the other colours. I've ordered some of the Tamiya flexible tape for curves so I'll try that next. Will give it a slightly harder edge between colours but many of the real aircraft have pretty tight lines so should still be ok. Cheers, Gus

Don't know if you can get it in the States Rick but my favourite Speyside malt is Balvenie. Lovely and smooth. Much to my wife's disgust I'm also quite partial to some of the heavy, iodine rich Islay malts like Laphroaig or Bunnahabhain. They are an acquired taste though!

Good grief, rather you than me! However, you're right Rob that only the PE will accurately give that beaten and battered look that so many half-tracks had, especially in North Africa.

Bit more progress with this build. First two colours are on and I'm hoping to get the final Earth brown down tomorrow night. Photos with and without flash but to be honest there isn't much difference. Really have to get better at the photography at some point but the fun for me is in the build and painting, not the photos. Have to say the Ammo paints are very impressive - thin well, spray nicely and good coverage. The ball bearing stirrers are a nice touch as well, saves searching for cocktail sticks and lots of tedious stirring. Hopefully will have some more pictures after the weekend.

I wonder if it's related but the positioning of the text in the header frame which tells you when things were posted also seems to have gone awry. It now sits too low so half is lost against the white background of the message body.

Yep, PE fills me with dread every time. It always seems especially useless for seatbelts and no-one seems to make fabric ones for modern(ish) jets, so you're stuck with it.

Wow, very nice Michael. Looks amazingly life-like.

Love the burnt effects, especially on the fuel tank.

Nice Barry. It might sound sacrilege to some but I think I prefer the OD finish to the NMF on the Mustang.

Thanks guys. Rich, that confirms my kind of plan to start with the Sand as the lightest colour, so I'm going to go for that and see how I go. Rob, yes that is the Mr Hobby mask. I've only used it to cover any gaps between the kabuki tape so hopefully there shouldn't be too much in any direct contact with the clear parts. The tape parts that Tamiya supply have good overlaps so this should just be a bit of overkill. I did something similar with my F15 and I don't recall any issues and I'm also pretty slow. Fingers crossed anyway. Gus

Just a quick update after some work on the F16 itself. Have to say I'm loving using these Ammo paints. The colour looks a little 'blue' in these with the flash and the mottling isn't as apparent to the naked eye but they give a very smooth satin finish. Second one is without flash just to try and show the difference and this next one is to try and show the nice finish. Anyway, I'm happy with what I've got so far. Next it's on to the top colours and this is where I get a bit confused. Not sure whether it's best to start with the darkest or lightest colour - I've seen both approaches in other people's work and I'm not sure of the pros and cons of each. My inclination is to start with the lightest as it has the largest surface area and work from there but if anyone has suggestions as to a better approach I'm open for ideas. Cheers, Gus

Nice problem Cees. Anytime I try to go on Netflix one of the kids has always got there first! Still, the elder one will be off to Uni soon. Haven't told her but I might turn her bedroom into a modelling space.

Great work on the winch Rich, how much did you have to contribute to the swear box doing that? Does seem a pity to cover up so much of that great work but you'll always know it's there.

Nice start with the TERs

Well had the first run with the Ammo paints tonight and I am seriously impressed. Found they tended to 'bead' slightly with their own thinner but lightly thinned with Mr Levelling they,went down like silk. However the beading may have been down to the glossy surface on the paint mule. Pigment is very fine and they can be highly thinned and give a very nice satin finish. Think I will definitely use these again. Will start on the F16 tomorrow, pictures to follow.