GusMac

Some of those tail squiggles look like some of Slartibartfast's ideas for fjord designs!

WOW! Just stunning.

The pale wash looks very effective Rob. Using a variety of washes over the different colours/surfaces definitely works best for me and I find the Ammo sets good for giving a decent mix for this.

Thanks Rob. The masks do give a great result with a bit of care and patience.

Bit more progress to show on this.... Main paint done on the bulk of the fuselage and the main engine parts and everything gloss coated. All main paint work done with Ammo's Late WWII RAF colours set. All insignia done using Maketar masks and Gunze colours. First time I've used masks for the roundels and they are very fiddly but worth it for the result you get. The chipping with the frisket looks a bit stark at the moment but hopefully will settle with the weathering. Next step is a quick once over with the micromesh then weathering...

Good grief!! Rather you than me.

Lovely finish. Are those the kit flaps? I've seen a few of these done with the Eduard ones, but if those are the kit ones they look very good.

Neat! That's some seriously fiddly PE work.

Nice start with the figures.

Ah, the unplanned glitches are the hardest to bear! Sounds like your postal service operates much like ours - erratically.

I can sympathise with the airbrush issues Rob. I was working on my Spitfire the other night and suddenly got no air coming through the airbrush. After 20 minutes of trying to fiddle, adjust, clean, etc I realised the leg of my chair was on the hose! D'oh!

The results look very good Rob. Haven't had the courage to try mottling myself yet and I'd be very happy if my first attempt looked like that.

Instrument panel looks amazing. Is that the kit supplied one? Thanks for the grid ref, as you say the site is still discernible. Amazing after 70 odd years. Sorry, just realised that must be the Eduard panel as you showed all the AM at the start. Silly question.

Instrument panel looks amazing. Is that the kit supplied one? Thanks for the grid ref, as you say the site is still discernible. Amazing after 70 odd years.

Nice project with a great back story. Lots of PE though which would put me off. As this is so local to you Jeroen I guess you must stay near Wilnis? I'm not stalking you I was just intrigued to see where this was on Google Maps.

Thanks, that makes it even more impressive! It must have taken hours to mask and spray all of that design.

Lovely job on the camo and weathering. Looks nice with the 'clean' look and no ordnance. Where did you get the masks for the digital camo?

Very, very cool!

Looks great Dave. The stowage and ammunition, etc really set it off. The figures look very nice as well, would be good to see it once they and the base are done. Hope the surgery has been successful. Back problems are never fun. Funnily enough mine resolved when I stopped playing cricket!

I suppose it's more of a height issue with these, rather than the area they take up, Danny. Think volume rather than floor plan! Do you have a photo of them all together in the cabinet?

The 'Head Hunter' claims another scalp! Very cool Danny, these must take up quite a bit of display room. Where do you get the polystyrene heads by the way?

Thanks Rob. I can't claim any credit for the buckle tip as it's just something I'd seen elsewhere but it does make things a lot easier. Without it I think you'd need 3 hands to assemble these. The last couple of LSP kits I've done are also Tamiya, F-15C and F-16CJ, and the difference in fit quality even between these and this is amazing. They just seem to be making huge leaps forward every time. I'm not really interested in the F4 Corsair but I'll be interested to see what their next offering is. I feel your pain with the Ta-152. I've done the Trumpeter Mig-23 and P-47D and neither were a barrel of laughs. The P-47 also had lots of extraneous internal detail which just made fit an issue, similar to the ZM stuff. You're beating it into shape though and I'm sure it'll end up looking great. We have major snowstorms here in NE Scotland at the moment so hoping to get some good time on this at the weekend, too snowy to go anywhere!

Haven't posted any progress on this to date but have been beavering away for the last few weeks. The kit, which I'm sure all are familiar with. Goes together like a dream with very little problem and very little seam work. This is the current state of play. Cockpit done and installed but didn't manage to get any pictures at that stage. Used the HGW seatbelts and painted and weathered everything using Ammo's RAF cockpit set. First time I've used the HGW belts and although fiddly they weren't too difficult. I followed the tip I've seen mentioned on a few forums to leave the buckles on the sprue until you've threaded the belts and it certainly helps. Primed with Mr Surfacer 1500, then Vallejo Metal Color pale burnt metal on the leading edges and wing roots. Applied frisket with a toothpick and sponge to try and replicate chipping and foot traffic. Never tried this before, so will be intrigued to see how it turns out after painting. Leading edges painted and masked off - not really visible here as the Tamiya tape and Gunze yellow appear almost identical! Next step is the paint job for which I have Ammo's late RAF colour set. Hope to get started on that this weekend.

Seems a shame to hide all that detail Rich but at least you'll still see the dice through the windscreen!

Nice work Rob but obviously frustrating to have to do so much hacking. If you fancy trying acrylic metallics again, I can recommend the Vallejo Metal Color range. Nice fine pigments and best of all, no smell.