GusMac

Sorry to hear that harv, at least it sounds to be fairly amicable. Hope you get moved as soon as possible.

Think you need one of those pop-up spray tanks that some car body shops use!

100% agree with your order. I remember reading the 633 books as a kid and loving the film which seemed to be on at least twice a year back then.

Love the chipping and weathering.

Bit more progress... The modulation doesn't show up too well in the photos but I'm pretty happy with where it's at. Next chore... masking the feathered edge to the grey. Yay!!

That makes me think of Gene Wilder's gunfighter 'The Waco Kid' in Blazing Saddles. He'd be cancelled in a minute nowadays ole Mel Brooks but his stuff still makes me laugh so hard.

I think it's Windolene in the UK. Ajax here was a powder abrasive cleaner from memory.

That's almost as weird as the first pair of records I bought Rob.... Abba's Greatest Hits and Judas Priest's Point of Entry. My wife tolerates most of what I listen to but Rammstein is where she draws the line. I don't know if it's the industrial nature of the music or just the songs being sung in German but she just will not have it played in the house if she's around.

That's one where the call handler must have had a hard job keeping a straight face during the call. Thanks for brightening the morning Ernie! 😆

Great work Martin, especially the nose window fix. The new ones look really nice once polished up.

Love the eroded edge and overhang at the top of the banking. 👍

Yes, it's very clever Bill and the fit is nice and tight so you probably don't require to glue them at all. Question for the experts on US naval aviation - all the pictures I've seen show a feathered edge between the grey and white on these early airframes. Was this always the case or was it sometimes a hard edge? I suspect it was always feathered but that makes me confront free-handing the colours or using Blutac to create a soft edge. 🤔

I'd second that recommendation. Went there with the kids a few years back and they really enjoyed it.

Felt better at the weekend so cranked up the airbrush and got this primed with Mr Surfacer 1500 and then quick run over with 6000 grit MicroMesh. Tempted to do black again and go Vandy 1 but I'll stick with the grey over white I think.

I honestly thought it would have been in a Trumpeter box given the s**t they get about shape issues. 😆

I think I know where it would end up if I did and it might be a bit painful!

I'd certainly recommend one. It's the first 1/48 kit I've built in quite a while but it's been a real joy. Just clever engineering and excellent fit.

My dad has a lot of really nice old tools like that which he inherited from an uncle who was a master carpenter. I suspect they will come my way eventually as my brother has zero interest in stuff like this.

Brilliant cover and l still can't watch the video without tearing up.

I suppose if you built it there you could fly home in it. Really think my wife would be a bit suspicious if l spent that much on a kit.

Good suggestions guys. Hubert, I think it's just how the front canopy frame mates to the radome that you are seeing. The upper part of the front fuselage there is included as part of the canopy which actually leaves a really nice join. Again, clever Tamiya engineering. The problem actually is that I've built the wrong AIM-9s. These are the later ones which I think must be for the D kit. Only difference is the front fins so I will probably just leave them.

Nice, good quality rebate planes are hard to find over here nowadays.

PS. Prize to anyone who spots the cock-up which I'm minded just to leave.

So, most of the main construction is done. Next step will be primer once my head empties! The main canopy is just tacked on with PVA so I can remove and complete the bang seats etc later.

Hope you're feeling better now Martin. Maybe that was your dog's idea - give you something to take your mind off how you were feeling!