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Some more of the cockpit.

I have not posted a work in progress for years so i thought others might want to see this one , the new Airfix 1/24 Hellcat. I wasnt expecting this kit yet ,but my LHS text me to tell me she had it in. The box is a bit damaged but this is because they had 3 in and one was damaged. I was quite happy having the damaged one , they can then sell the good ones. He did tell me that he thought if it went back he wouldnt get another one as they had sold out. Its a really nice kit , good detail , beautiful stressed skin and a FAA option! Heres the box art. Very nice artwork that nearly made me want to do a US one. Starting with the cockpit , i am using the airscale set. I wouldnt say its really needed as the kit cockpit is really really nice , but i thought i would use it anyway. The centre console is the airscale replacement. It all fits together great so far. Paint is Tamiya mix of Olive drab and yellow green to get the US interior green colour. Lots of detail so far , more later....

This time the model quite difficult to paint. The model Su-27 Ukrainian Air Force in camouflage "Digi" set is Trumpeter 1:32 model well-known so it doesn't make sense to describe something about this set again. I can write one thing - we are waiting for a new model of this aircraft. Model made straight from the box, I painted this model with the home made mask so they are not a perfect reflection of the camo Su-27. I hope, however, that this model will please you, I like this camouflage very much ..

And the Zulu is done. Not as happy with the Zulu and as I am with the Whiskey, but it is all my fault. When I applied the primer, I did not protect the hole where the turret plugs in and as a result some paint dust flew inside the cockpit. Not a ton but enough to be noticeable, bummer. As others have found out, the kits stencils completely blend with the paint job. It was too late for me to use Dave's decals. Here are the pics, I hope you enjoy even if it is far from perfect. The Zulu kit is brilliant, it is a treat to build. Cheers, David

Wow... great shot! Thanks for that info, Alexey! I'll take that into consideration and modify accordingly! So much expertise here at LSP! Using the template that RB Productions provided in the photoetch canopy set, I set about to correct the overly square fuselage spine. The error is very slight in my view and looks to be easily correctable. A few swipes with the sanding stick gets me close to the desired shape. I want to do the same with the canopy but I noticed that there is a flange on the starboard edge of the canopy that is meant to be a gluing surface for mounting the canopy in the open position. I can properly position the canopy in the closed position for the correction so off it comes via razor saw. After preliminary shaping, I place the uncorrected canopy on the fuselage. The difference is VERY slight and hardly noticeable although it will be more so with the canopy painted. I'm pretty close to being done with the re-shaping of the fuselage. I haven't put the sanding stick on the canopy yet but the work should be pretty minor. Waiting to get a Novus plastic polish set delivered.

Hi guys, I finally got around to taking some better pics of this model, which I completed earlier in the year. Chuck, big thanks for nudging me on the pics Thx for looking, Marcel

My suggestion is to wait and see what the price of the kit turns out to be. If WNW say they are trying to keep the price under $400, then I don’t see why anyone shouldn’t accept that. They have been making kits for awhile and probably have a better idea of how much it costs to make a kit than any internet commando. Personally, I’m fine if it only has one complete engine. I’m not a big fan of uncowled engines myself, and even if I were, I probably wouldn’t display more than one. Ideally, you’d be able to display the engine separately but still have the parts to make the engine nacelle closed up like the other three. Little value in speculating about the price. Maybe they’ll keep it under $400, maybe they won’t. It will be what it will be, regardless of any guessing in threads like these.

HI Everyone, I started the rigging today. My main goal was to get as much done as possible before putting the struts and upper wing on. I used Bob's Buckles, but they're very hard to see since my phone doesn't like to take close up photos. For the wires I'm using 1.5Lb test. I blackened the 'wires' with a Sharpie before attaching them to the model. I use a lot of light, and a light colored background to improve my ability to see through the eyelets once the upper wing is on. And I used a box to elevate the jig and inter-wing area to eye-level. But back to work tomorrow... so I probably won't get it all rigged before the end of the week. Cheers! Gaz

The 109G/K oil cooler flap actuator located actually not at the center of flap. It is moved to about 1/3rd right side. The only Erla G-10 model had it in the center.

Recently finished the Hasegawa 1/32 F-16C. Used Quickboost seat, Super Scale decals and Model Master pitot tube, otherwise OOB. Cheers, Jerry 

Howdy folks, I've just published my late-to-the-party review of Tamiya's Spitfire XVIe kit: Tamiya 60321: 1/32 Supermarine Spitfire Mk XVIe Thanks to HobbyLink Japan for the review sample. The kit can be purchased from the following link: Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire Mk.16e Enjoy! Kev

I'm sticking a fork in this one and calling it done. Yet another perfectly good model with all kinds of potential heading off to collect dust on my shelf. Some weathering done with pastels oils and acrylics. Remember I strive for mediocrity Hope it meets approval.

I've been getting on with my Harvard build in my few spare moments, nothing spectacular but I'm almost at the priming and painting stage. The first hurdle that had to be overcome however, as I mentioned above, is the tailwheel configuration. As supplied by KH, the tailwheel fits directly into the fuselage, as here on this fine build (I'm not sure who's it is but I hope he doesn't mind me using one of his pictures!): The actual arrangement is shown in the previous post, but since my model is going to be airborne the rear shock won't be under pressure so there's a very distinctive look about it: I started making mine by carving out a piece of resin left over from the Brassin Mustang wheels: and measuring it against the clearest photo I could find which I reduced to about 1/32 scale. My research also showed me the structure of the whole arrangement: and it soon started to look reasonable. A couple of bits of shaped 10 thous plastic glued to a piece of channel and some plastic rod quickly produced the end result: I'm rather pleased with the look of it all. Priming next then I'm going to try the "Scotchbrite" black-basing method.

got some work done on the seams, all of them on the assembly so far have been dealt with: [ and on the bottom side of the fuselage, not too bad: and I have also assembled all the moving surfaces of the wings: then continued dry fitting some cockpit parts. the seat was just assembled to compare with the resin version from Aires: and as others have already found out, the canopy does not fit due to the seat sitting 2 mm too high: with the new seat I also need to do something, but the conflict is smaller: the new seat itself fits without any further adjustments: I added a Tamiya F-16 pilot in the seat, everything fits almost without any cutting or sanding:

, Thank you Lothar, well it isn't. With this build it's really uphill all the way, as there's absolutely nothing that just goes into place. Every part has to be modified/scratched to some degree. I'm actually looking forward to the rigging... Now the fitting of the parts into the converted cockpit, has developed into a bit of a nightmare. It's an endless series of trial and error to get everything fitted into place. There's really no extra room anywhere. I've deliberately postponed working on the piping for the fuel tanks, as there's almost no space for the fuel lines and pipes. But I'm sure they were there... somewhere. . Now the main parts for the cockpit have found their place, I think, the last parts to fabricate, are the rudder pedals... Then again, I have no idea, where to put the gauge panel for the fuel tanks, every little space is already occupied... Cheers: Kent

Hello fellow modelers. I now embark on my 4th and final 1/18 scale mod project - an F4U Corsair. My past efforts have been a P-51D (Miss Velma), a P-38J (Lucky Lady), and a P-47D (Glen Eagleston's Eagle). You can find articles on the P-51 and P-38, and WIP and RFI posts on the P-47 on this site, if interested. All three took more than two years each, and I expect the Corsair will too. At least. Here are the customary "before" shots: Cool huh? I obtained this toy/model a few years ago along with the P-38 at a local hobby shop where a whole bunch of these large toys were donated by an estate. As you all probably know, these things are no longer manufactured. The manufacturer is Blue Box (probably originally 21st Century Toys). The date on this one is 2005. To my eye at the time, it looked realistic enough to be a good mod project. My plan is to greatly improve the following items: Engine (all new scratch build, including back section) Engine compartment including engine mount Cockpit Landing gear Gear bays Wing fold mechanisms Flaps Ailerons Elevators Rudder And there will be smaller projects as well too numerous to list, similar to what I did with the other aircraft, except even more ambitious. I hope my eyes are not bigger than my stomach here - it is entirely possible I run out of steam somewhere along the way, or not get up to speed at all. After all, I just finished the P-47. But I think not. I'll take my time and try not to put any pressure on myself (yeah right!). So when I sat down and really inspected this toy, I saw things I like, and things I don't like. As usual there are lots and lots of inaccuracies that are fixable - I expect that. Here is what I did not expect - I was very disappointed to see that the engine cowling is not correctly shaped. I mean it is deal breaker to me unless I can fix it. Here is what I mean: The engine cowling has a round cross-section just like it should. But it should also have a slight taper as shown in this side profile (drawing VS-33001): Can you see it? The taper is slight but noticeable (at least to my eye). Now look at the toy model: From the cowl flaps forward, this cowling has a constant cross-section. No taper at all until you get to the front end. This sticks out like a sore thumb, makes the nose look bulbous. So what to do. Well, this model is going to get a complete engine anyway, with removable cowl panels. So the cowl flaps and panels over the engine will be replaced anyway. The nose cowl must be salvaged (I know not how to make one). The fuselage aft of the cowl flaps is just fine shape-wise. The typical gage of the plastic is .08 inch - robust. After some research it turns out that if the nose cowl could be decreased in diameter by about .08 inch (.04 inch on the radius), and reshaped to blend out the shape, I would still have about .04 inch gage to work with on the nose cowl, and I would get the slight taper I want. Some of you know I own a small desktop lathe (a Unimat). So I decided to try to turn the cowling on the lathe. To do this, I had to lop off the cowling: I was thinking at this point if this blows up in my face, I will just not do this project at all. Here is the cowling on the lathe chuck: Ha! My lathe is intended to work with raw material no larger than about 2 inch diameter. This cowling is a bit over 3 inches diameter! I had to put a large spacer under the head stock mount (see it - its that silver spacer). I had to mount the cowling very carefully - no wobble allowed. Then I rotated the head stock about 2 deg and proceeded to turn material off the nose: Then I removed the nose cowl: Success - that worked way better than I thought. So I am off to the races. I guess the engine is going to be first on the list. The Corsair was powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 double wasp, as was the P-47 Thunderbolt. For the P-47, I dedicated about 6 months of my life scratch building a R-2800. And it didn't include the aft section. This time, I intend to make use of 3D printing in some way. At the very least, the cylinders will be 3D printed. So perhaps it will not take so long and not be as tedious. Hope you can look in from time to time! See ya!

Finally after years of wanting to know information about my friend Joe Pascetti's bird he crewed down in Mogadishu-Super 63, I have been able to befriend many crew chiefs and pilots who were there and was given many pics of OGS and their MH-60L's. Here's what I'm modeling: So tonight I finally started building it. First I had to correct the instrument panel and center console to represent close to what they looked like on the real MH-60L. The caution/advisory panel is located on the bottom left of the console on the real thing. KH's panel, though very nice, represents a later year panel and has the CA on the instrument panel itself. So I took and cut down and sanded the Academy part and shaved off the detail on the console and glued it in place. Next i shaved off the detail on the KH IP and replaced it with some PE detail parts from Airscale.  Next came a little more work on the console. I added the parking brake handle and the chaff dispenser. Just waiting on some Archer rivets to make a circuit breaker panel and I'll be done. That's all for now. Tim

Hello all, Tamiya’s masterpiece Corsair. The best kit I’ve ever gotten my sticky mitts on. Grey Matter engine bay and various additions - see the build log for details. Thanks for looking in Guy

Thank you for the review Kev - and another vote for a Mk I! A proper Mk I with accurate detail - lapped panels, raised rivets where there were raised rivets, recessed where recessed, with options for early through late Mk I. Ahh, sweet dreams.... The eightieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain approaches - one lives in hope. PR

and Barracudacals too: http://barracudacals.com/proddetail.php?prod=BR32123

So a good day at the bench yesteday and have the cockpit components complete now with seats and belts fitted followed by a flat coat before closing things up. All test fitted so far as I need to test fit the owerfloor and spine before the glue goes on to ensure everything is nice and square. Regards. Andy

Hi and check https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION[]=All&q=bf+109+k+1%2F32 there You see another Prop&Spinner AM, my favourite is of course Henri Daehne but be aware that the HAS spinner is not correctl scaled. Means undersized and HD scaled according original Spinner. Another tip: https://stage.revell.de/service/download-center.html search instruction# 04702 .On page 6 section 11, you see the correction for the K version the HAS is not indicating. So that it for the moment and sure soon the experts explain more. Regards/ R

I uploaded the following paint charts in 1/48 (@150 dpi): Links to the drawings are here: https://zactomodels.com/html/Su-33/Su-33_deal.htm (also note that I've reduced the price to $47 on the Kinetic Su-33 kits I'm selling! Best price you'll find anywhere!) I spent a lot of time researching the camo schemes and documented them to the best of my ability. It frustrates me when I see kits that include multiple decal options but only show one camo scheme, especially on a plane where there is so much variation. There are also a bunch of small details that differ from one plane to another. Little details like the thin gray edge stripe under the cockpit is different on each of these schemes. Details like the gray forward section on the Bort 80 IRST. The bare metal tips on Bort 68s wingtip pylons. Etc. Also note the bare metal panel on the lower left fuselage just below the wing flap. I think I've only seen one build that included this. Note that I don't call out color recommendations on the charts or my web page. I've seen a lot of discussion and debate about which paint brands are most accurate and haven't seen a definitive answer. If I were building one I'd grab something close and make my own color adjustments. The main marking locations should be close. The markings were based on the decals that were being developed for the 1/48 kit before Kinetic took over and finished the project. The markings on the drawings are not necessarily accurate (especially the colors). Cross Delta ended up doing the decals for the Kinetic kit and I don't know how accurate they are either. I recommend Begemot Decals. They offer a sheet with early schemes (48-007 which includes Bort 80 above) as well as one for current schemes (48-051 Su-33 in Syria) which could be used to do the other schemes above. The stencils and stencil location on these drawings is questionable (wasn't carefully researched), so check your references. Again, I'd recommend Begemot. They have an Su-27 stencil package (48-009) that includes decals and instructions for the Su-33. It includes 3 pages of stencils for airframes, pylons and weapons. Hope that you like the drawings and find them helpful on your builds. If you don't have the kit yet, grab one at this price while they last (prices will likely be going up a lot in the near future...).

Huge thanks for all the encouragement! I did take a few more pics today, here they are: Brothers in arms: Some better pics of the "A": Cheers, Marcel

Hi everyone, Thanks to all of you for your supportive comments. I made today the rest of the main structure of camera bays. I will have another break next week before I come back for detailing work.

And suddenly it looks like a biplane! I didn't quite get the control cables rigged, but the last couple of days have been spent checking the fit of the struts both ends before cementing them. I'm now going to let it cure for a long while, so this thread may go quiet again for a bit. WNW advise you to use the box to let it dry - it seems to work.

Hi Kev, nice review on the kit. The tube of grease is for the sliding canopy. One other sprue that's different and that's the one with the MLG legs and the blisters related to the E wing versus the earlier C wings on the VIII and IX kits. Carl

Thanks for looking and commenting! I've finally got the model up on its peg legs, masking begins now for the black trimming...

small update cleand up more body parts dry fit front wing thats it for now Mark

More movement on the Ghost. First, I've gotten the sighting blister more or less squared away. I carefully cut and sanded a ring from cardstock and then, holding a piece of sandpaper (grit side up) against the belly of the fortress, sanded the ring. The idea was that doing so would shape the base of the ring to match the curvature of the aircraft's belly. This allows the ring to sit flush with both the curve of the aircraft's belly and the flat of the base of the blister. I think it turned out pretty well. The plan is to dip the blister in future, paint the ring, superglue the two together, then add them after I've done all the belly seamwork. I also spent a considerable amount of time sanding and shaping clear pieces to fit the cutouts for the gunner's windows. I ended up cutting the needed pieces from cheek windows that would only be used on the -17F version of this kit and are thus unneeded on the E version. As a bonus, they already had a slight curve that matched the curve of the belly. I filled any gaps around the windows with apoxiesculpt and they all turned out pretty well. They're not absolutely razor-straight, but they're as good as I'll ever get them. An application or two of Future will clear up those scratches just fine. I also sanded and re-riveted the staggered waist window. Nevermind that bowed rivet line at the top... the fuselage slipped while I was running the riveter, so I had to fill it. <facepalm> I'll hit it with some primer later to see how it looks. The majority of my time the last few nights has been working on the turret. I'm making good progress, though I feel like some of the general geometry is different from what I have found in pictures. So, I'm sort of winging it a bit with panel lines, etc. I started here by installing all the glass, filling the gaps with dissolved sprue, filling the gun openings with cardstock, and adding barrel collars cut from the kit's .50s that were allocated for the ball turret. I then sanded everything smooth. After cutting out the holes for the case and belt link ejection chutes, I couldn't resist mocking everything up. Externally, she's nearing completion. I need to redo the fairing collar around the turret as it didn't cut evenly, but that's fairly easy. There's still more to be done on the turret in terms of putty cleanup, panel scribing and riveting, but she's getting closer. Someday I'll even paint parts of it!

Here is one in action giving a look at the inside: Jari

Thank you for the kind comments, fellas! I hemmed as hawed about how I would treat the mid-lower wing area of the fuselage. Eventually decided that it would be better to treat the fuselage as a separate entity. The wraparound corners and wing roots took a bit of time. I'm hoping it looks better after weathering and a matte coat. The upper and lower stabilizer and elevator. Smaller pieces: Since this is all fictional, I've been a bit liberal in the use of decals. Had I followed the most common patterns, the wheel covers would have been black like the struts and nose. I borrowed from another kit to give the pilot a simple personal device. To break up all of that lozenge... Love the Pfalz's flamboyant rudder! I was afraid that the pink rib tapes I had chosen might dominate the wings too much. I was relieved to find that they didn't put them on the ailerons. Trying to get tbhem perfectly straight... haven't figured that out yet. As soon as you touch them they wiggle away from where you want em. It's easy to touch one while working on the other. The jig helps. Patience helps more...lol Thanks for looking! Gaz

The Whiskey is finished. Super happy how the transparencies turned out, more pictures along the Zulu when it is done. Cheers, David

Now available! https://zactomodels.com/ First, a big thanks to Jim Rotramel for helping with references! Two versions are available, the early AIM-120A/B versions and the newer clipped wing AIM-120C. Both versions include separate nosecones and exhaust section to convert your missiles to CATM versions (Captive Air Training Missile). The main body as supplied has the live version of the nosecone molded-in and just the exhaust cone as a separate part. The CATM versions do require cutting and replacing the front and rear sections. The CATM type nosecone is occasionally seen on live missiles so check your references. Note the left wing AIM-120C in this pic has the CATM type nose while the right AIM-120A/B is the standard live nose: https://www.airfighters.com/photo/99576/M/USA-Air-Force/General-Dynamics-F-16C-Fighting-Falcon/89-2029/ I still don't know the explanation for that so if any of you know please chime in.

Hi all, my another Mustang 1/32 Revell (new) Lifelike decals set HGW wet transfers Barracuda battery, wheels, cockpit decals. Eduard LooK instrument panel Colours MRP, Gunze, Alclad II

HI everyone! I started my WnW sojourn a last year. This is my second WnW kit to start, and none of the schemes are really appealing. So, I decided to do the best looking "Pfalz" I've ever seen. I haven't worked out all of the particulars, yet... I just wanna have fun and build a cool looking model. I've got lots of WnW lozenge, so working it around the fuselage could get wasteful. I'm not even sure I can do it cleanly. Hopefully I won't have to resort to painting. I started a couple weeks ago, and here I am today: I decided to only detail as much of the engine as necessary. So, after lagging the carburetor inlets and adding some plug wires, I weathered it with washes and dry brushing. I also gave the exhaust a "heat treatment" And the office. I replace the PE belts with HGW belts. Those things are awesome. I also got the fuselage closed up later...but I'll save those pics for the next update. Thanks for looking! Gaz

Well, I'll have you know 1/72 is my preferred scale.........in U-boats.

Eagle Editions sells lots of stuff for the 109, including a resin spinner. Mark Proulx

In my case a Mk XIV, XIX, or indeed any PR variant (the latter have been sadly neglected in all scales imho).

They look awesome!!

Lovely stuff Chris!! I so SO wish we had a 32nd SU-33.

Excellent review, Kev. Thanks for taking the time. If Tamiya were ever to release a Mk I/II, I'd be all over that like a dog on a pork chop.

Thanks guys Some inspiration...

I think it looks great.

Latest update - seems like it is taking forever but those Barracudacal cockpit placards are tiny and many of them are two parts so have to let the first layer dry (and overcoat some of them). Started some of the detail painting of the wiring as well. SOMEHOW between the water and sitting on the tweezer I lost the big decal on the far left. No clue how that happened but now have to figure out how to replace that one. Next step is separating the sidewalls from the pour stubs and attaching to the fuselage sides. Still have some detail painting here as well. Believe it or not, there are 25 decals on these parts below! And the floor gauges as well. Not doing a worn floor, in favor of a cleaner/newer aircraft. More to come! Chris

They will be unless plans changed, they noted that at Telford last year - will be a year or two after the full kits come out

I'm strapped in and along for the ride.

Thanks for the additional info, Carl. I do have the Mk IX kit, but a close comparison between the two was really beyond the scope of the review, so I missed those additional changes. Kev

hi Impressive work! Lead can be toxic if particles or contaminated water are swallowed. Pay attention when heating, burning paints with lead. But simple handling seems not that dangerous, if you dont lick your fingers just after

Very intricate and detailed work and with that huge glass house canopy you’ll see it all!...orrrr most of it anyway. Great work!