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Ciao to everybody. Following the presentation of Adriatic Models 3D printed parts, following your feedback about lack of instructions, it is time to show what I can do with them and in particular HOW, and I can finally dedicate to my favorite hobby: modelling. Wessex project has started in my mind on October 2020 when I bought two Fly 1/32 Wessex kits with the idea of reproducing as many parts as possible with new 3D printing technology, and here we are now. My project is to reproduce an HSS-1 (H-34G) Marina Militare, Italian Navy and a Wessex HU5 of Royal Navy. When I started I had in mind only the Italian version but I developed a passion for HU5 as it looks so British and so distinctive that I could not resist. They will be both painted in dark gray/dark blue with orange/red bands. Very attractive. For HU5 my plan is to use kit decals, while for Italian one I will see later, even if I hope in a pleasant surprise. Adriatic Models Weltanschauung is to provide parts for experienced modellers to make mainly exciting complicated works. Where you were forced, once, to go with scratch building now you can go with 3D printed parts, that in our case are not “shake and bake” parts, surely more refined and nicer to see, but absolutely all equals one each other. I like to customize my models, I cut them, I open hatches, canopies, inspection panels and doors only to place a piece of resin that thousands in the world have the same? Well, no, if it is possible. Another thought is “how many details can I put onto a 3d part?” You can draw almost everything with software, even the smallest rivet or the smallest pane line, to print them is another job. The precision, the grade of definition and part usability change everything. You can draw a 0.20mm rod, you can even print it, but to use it on a model is another thing and make it survive even more difficult. So, we make our parts best that we can with all details worth to make, aware that photoetched, plastic rods and struts are sometime still the best for our goal, an exact replica in scale of a real object. I apologize for this, maybe, boring introduction but it is the first occasion I have to share our point of view about 3D printing, and every contribution about 3D printing and related topics are very welcome. Let’s go to models now. As I had already said this WIP will deal with two different helicopters, an HSS-1 (H-34G) Italian Navy and a Wessex HU5 Royal Navy. A lot of parts are the same for both kits, a lot have only little cosmetic differences, while others are completely different. All what is reported here is applicable for both versions unless otherwise specified, and when particular indications will be necessary they will be given. As a general rule this thread covers H-34G building and special tips will be given for HU5. 1/32 Fly Wessex has been extensively reviewed on many forums and magazines that I think it is unnecessary to write another one here. I will say the only thing worth to say IMO: this is the only game in town, so if you want a 1/32 Wessex or H-34 as well, this is the game. Having dealt with it for months I have developed a special relation with it, it is not faultless, sometimes it drives you crazy but it is not a completely bad kit at last. It is a short-run model with all limits of this kind of kits, and hereby there are some pictures just to see what you may expect out of the box. Some reviews point the fact that fitting is not good. It is generally true as for almost all short-run kits, but I found that the main problem is a general lack of symmetry between the parts. Many, too many times right and left, ops, port and starboard parts have different thicknesses and shapes, so it is not always a matter of precision but a matter of symmetry and thickness. About thickness right and left fuselages halves are 2 to 2,2 mm thick, in 1:1 scale is 64mm and more, closer to a Panzer armor rather than a helicopter metallic skin. This is to say that, IMO, the biggest job to start with this kit is to thin parts, and when I say thin I mean thin a lot, at least ½ of original thickness, better would be 2/3. Here is what you find into the box You can see the grade of definition of panel lines a and rivets, typicall of a short-run kit. Fitting is not bad at all, and I should have a good result with some work. THE ORIGINAL SIN This is probably the biggest issue of the model, that affects all the others. Fly determined the position of cabin ceiling along the lower horizontal line in the picture above, while it should be 7mm higher, the higher line in the pictures. This mistake affects all the part around this area, so you have some parts that are simply unusable as they are provided. This is the AM proposal with a brand-new pilot bulkhead with the right shape and size. The idea Is to completely replace part. To be honest, you don't need it if you don’t want to show the MGRB area, and can modify the original without any problem, I know it is against my interests but absolutely necessary to say. The ADRIATIC MODELS bulkhead compared with kit part How it comes on your work bench Dry fit If you want to show the upper panels open and show the Main Gear Reduction Box MGRB, exposed with all its magnificence and details, you really need the new bulkhead from ADRIATIC MODELS. As already said the idea is to completely replace the original part with 3D part, so you can cut side doors without any pain, just two straight cuts and an additional care for the rounded cuts. I made mine with a very old Haseqawa Tri-tool photoetched saw and it worked fine. In this case too I left no struts or supports, as I decided to make them new. You will see how thick plastic is in this kit while cutting parts. Suggestion is: thin it before. Just to see if everything sounds good I made a dry test fit of pe rotor grill and AM bulkhead, and it works. Well, we can go on with the preparation of fuselages, cabin floor, ceiling, walls and the most important decision: will I leave everything as Fly made, or will I change everything? With this in mind I will not use the plastic parts Fly provides for cabin, they are at least 7mm shorter and as they are not irresistible, so I will change them. Even in this case I must say that you can do everything with 1mm plastic struts but I used AM set instead, 32011 for H-34 and 32027 for HU. These parts come ready to use, better to say “almost ready to use” as they are supplied without any casting block but have a little border at the bottom. It can be easily fixed by “shaving” parts with a sharp blade. Please notice that the resin is lightly flexible but not elastic, so be always careful when handling them. Shaving is the best way to treat borders, and you will be surprised of how easy is dealing with them. If sharp corners are desired use the point of a blade. Files should not be necessary and used only if really needed. Take your time and you will have a very good result. some parts from 32011 and from 32027 and some dy fit on non-thinned fuselage WESSEX: Please notice that Fly fuselages have Wessex HC narrow windows, that are good for H-34 too, but HU had larger windows and of different sizes too. I preferred to open larger window before gluing struts using Adriatic Models parts as a template. Doing this I found a strange situation, the corner number 1 in picture should be aligned with line 2, I used 4+ Publications drawings as reference. If you check the other fuselage will see that the same corner is in the right position number 2. I don’t think that Westland engineers were joking so I think Fly got it wrong, just a matter of symmetry. So, I removed both carefully shaving surfaces with sharp knife and the aim of reproduce them symmetrically later. To assembly them I started from the windowed parts, both LH and RH, being careful to align them with kit windows. To glue them I used 2 parts epoxy glue, first because its slower curing time is welcome if you need to make some adjustments, second reason is that epoxy glue is more elastic than ca and more reliable for this kind of parts. Even if some glue goes outside borders it is not a problem. After 30 minutes you can easily remove any excess with a sharp blade and easily peel it off. It is advisable to have the clear windows of the kit at hand, first reason is that HU had several configurations so you have to choice yours, second reason is that if you want a sharp fitting you cannot prescind from them. something to refine, but quite good. Notice the thinned fuselages. Included in the ADRIATIC MODELS set are fuel caps filler and H-34 steps asd Wesse as well. They are a nice addition, IMO, because you can easily reproduce evident details. To fit them just cut a square hole, 6x6mm and glue them, flush to the surface. Putting and sanding as required and this is all. H-34 steps are provided with two style, rectangular and oval shape. First one is for Wessex. You can see how parts may come with printing lines that can be easily removed with a very light sanding, picture below Italian Navy h-34 had louvres on port fuselage very evident in pictures that have to be done, so I draw with a pencil the position checking alignments and proportions, this is the final result. I draw the position of fuel cap fillers too,the low squares on the left and the right of the window. Fuel fillers introduce another question. Watching pictures, I noted how some H-34 had two ot three fuel fillers, all aligned on the lower fuselage while some had another filler, placed higher than the others and I was asking my self why? The mystery has been solved soon, it is due to the sonar. The installation of sonar in the cargo cabin of ASW H-34 obliged to remove a fuel tank from the floor and place it into the cabin just close the front wall. Well this tank had to be filled too, so a new filler cap, the third one, was installed in a higher position than the other two. I spotted this on some beautiful pictures sent by Walter De Paoli, owner of Pronto Models from Torino who kindly permitted me to publish them. I am almost sure that the presence of the “higher” fuel cap spots the presence of sonar equipment on the bird. picture by Valter De Paoli - Pronto Model Italy HSS-1N code 4-14 before restoration picture by Valter De Paoli - Pronto Model Italy internal fuel tank with feeding line from the "third" fuel filler picture by Valter De Paoli - Pronto Model Italy HSS-1N code 4-14 after restoration, noticed different style steps, "third upper" fuel fille, and restored stencils. As I spoiled the use of a sonar in this WIP, here are some picture of cabin floor ready for it. I made two cuts, the lower one is narrower than the upper so that the inner walls of sonar “hole” just seat flush with the lower cut while the outer walls of “hole” fit inside the higher cut, I guess pictures are better than words. Then I filled the recessed area in the undersurfaces because all the bumps reproduced are typical for Wessex and not for H-34. I was worried about this thing and I filled the recessed areas with ca glue and a special filler product to use with ca glue. Three applications were made to obtain a rock-solid surface and I started sanding. It was a great surprise for me to spot that al bumps were flattened and the rock-solid ca didn’t appear yet. Trust me when I say that plastic is thick. That’s all for now. Thank you for watching and useless to say we are available for any questions, any further clarifications, criticism and even compliments as well. Next thread will cover one of our most extensive set, the Main Gear Reduction Box, that has a parental warning for Advanced Modellers , and a lot of parts, a lot of fun. Stay tuned. Maw1963

we have some rigging... we have leather patches... we have wing struts... we have WINGS!! home flippin straight now boys TTFN Peter

I konked out on a 1/24 SAS Jeep so I turned my sights to an Israeli Defense Forces' M38A1, called a Siyur in Hebrew. This is the base kit. It is a dog. Some parts will be taken from this. One reference. The other is the M38A1 Tech Manual. What I hope it will look similar to when finished. Also used this kit as as a reference, taking measurements and scaling up. I will also use its' painting guide. Channel bumper, scratched shackle bases, Blue Jacket shackles. Another view. Down below: spring suspension U-channel with flattened solder ball fasteners, resin shock absorber bolt fastener. Axle U-Bolts, fastener plate and nuts. More of the same. Cut exhaust pipe and inserted connecting flange, shackle base and shackle. Bumper cut from Hasegawa kit. Top view. Tires and rims from Hasegawa kit. Fuel tank details. Located under drivers' seat. Stowage compartment. Located under passenger seat. Removed turn signals and installed home-cast black-out lights. I've been told this is a fire extinguisher. I haven't been able to confirm that. Scratched, then cast, with frame detail. Other cast items. Fuel can is scratched then cast, other items cast from Italeri 1/24 Land Rover 109 Paratrooper. Structural support of front fender. 2 panel lines, mattock base, retainer, handle mounts, and handle. Mattock head cast from Tamiya 1/25 Centurion. Hand hold and shovel from Hasegawa kit. Scratched fuel cap. Another fire extinguisher, I guess. Antenna and mount, another fuel can; hand hold, tail-light cast from Hasegawa kit, tire and wheel from Hasegawa kit. Blocked off folding roof frame hinge point with strip. Opened 24 volt plug location, framed it, blocked it off from the back, and blocked receptacle off with panel. 2 panel lines. Passenger seat stowage in situ. Top left is 24 volt opening backing. To the right against the side panel is passenger seat stand-off and structure support. Hasegawa brake and clutch pedals. Hinge points. In place. New dashboard. Turn signal on steering wheel shaft. Solder is turn signal wiring. Instrument panel from Hasegawa. Other side. A little Walk-Around. Same to follow. Well that's all she wrote for now. Thank you for looking. Sincerely, Mark

"In the midst of the shells S-Sugar’s past run of luck had seemed a flimsy guarantee. But as I flew westward a few feet above the white caps and the boys belted out some dirty ditty with unfettered joy and vigour, a more positive interpretation recommended itself. She had pulled it off again. The sixteenth motif would be added below my port window. And still she was invulnerable." Yates, Harry. Luck and a Lancaster (Airlife Classics) . Crowood. Kindle Edition. Yes it has been a long time since my last update, longer than I would like. There's a certain momentum each of us has with our builds, and mine has diminished considerably with the heat of summer. Currently it is too hot to airbrush a smooth finish, as the paint dries partially before it contacts the surface even with low pressure and holding the airbrush close. However, work continues! I've managed to remove the interior and exterior masks from the canopy (another necessity with the heat for vinyl masks; otherwise they can partially melt to the surface and be very difficult to remove). Anyway, I'm very pleased with the result, as the interior frames look the part to me! I still have to accentuate the rivet detail, but HK thoughtfully provided them, another nice surprise with this kit. After that, curtains for sure! Cheers, Tom

some primer on, the side panel doesnt have the right shape yet, but you get the idea

Hello all lovers of large models, I'm pretty new here on the forum. I don't want be only passive member. Not only for that reason I would like to present my firs post supplemented by several pics. of my recent project.

This is the ICM kit of the Cessna O2 A nicely detailed kit moulded in soft plastic. You get a nicely detailed cockpit, I added some after market seat belts & decals for the instrument panel. Also a couple of M-16 rifles. The kit has you fit four seats in the cockpit, but in this role only the two front ones are needed. There are a few fit issues, nothing major. The biggest let down is the decals. Poorly printed, pixilated, incorrect spellings, such as "RESQUE". I used the AOA set which is superb. You get sufficient decals to mark up two models. No stencil data for the weapons though. Painted with Tamiya acrylics & Xtracolor enamels. Thanks for looking Angelo

couldn't resist to weather that OD

As some of you are aware we now have a new member , XVTonker15, who does a beautiful line of 3d printed Access ladders for UK aircraft , 72/48 and 32nd, after buying and being impressed with one of his 32nd Lightning ladders , I asked him if he'd be interested in scaling up his 48th Buccaneer ladder set to 32nd , and being a true gent he said yes, so after a few hours work yesterday , I added a ladder to by Buc, Like the ral thing there are two mounting pins that fit into holes that have to be drilled into the fuselage, From all my refences , the ladders look perfect as regards size and design , For those not familiar with this build, it's the Icelandic Fine Arts model built over the course of 18 or so months from 2019-2020 , complete with Flightpath Sea Eagle missiles, and custom designed and cast RAF pylons - there is a build thread in work in progress , WIP Thread and for those interested in these ladders , and why wouldn't you be they're great , here's his E-bay shop link https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/jscotterill?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

I just received my set of 1/32 turrets for the 1/32 Hobbycraft B-24. They are excellent. Vast improvements over kit parts. Perfectly clear, no seams. And contain all the original details. Thanks Coldwar Studios. Paul

Thanks Kev, it's paint time, finally my first insignia paint with a mask, my fault didn't aligned it perfectly but it's ok lol, after you try there's no point back to decals ever.... Cheers

With the engine done, with the exception of the manufacturer’s logo decal applied, I managed to get on with the cockpit. I made a few enhancements as shown in the photos below. Nothing too drastic but just enough to add a bit more detail than what’s provided in the kit. Overall though the detail provided is beautifully presented. An example is the leather strips and rivet fasteners along the bottom edge of the ammunition container. No bashing your legs against the sharp edges of the container. I haven’t seen that kind of detail provided in any other Dr. 1 kit. Two thumbs up WnWs! The tachometer face at the bottom of the ammunition container is a kit supplied decal. Hopefully my scribbles on the photos will be self explanatory. Cheers, Wolf

Hello! Here's the new 1/32 scale releases: FW 190D-9 3D-Printed & coloured Interior on decal paper (for Hasegawa kit) Article: QD32061 Price: 16€ Available to buy on our website: https://quinta-studio.com/en/product/323/ https://www.ebay.com/itm/164924021112 https://www.etsy.com/listing/1025871224

If missing avatars is the worst we have to worry about after a complete server migration, I think the operation can be considered a success.

I’m calling engine 1 done. I can almost smell the Avtur burning.

https://www.zoukeimura.co.jp/sws10th/en/

Once again modelling time has been very scarce but managed a good few hours today, finally! I started by adding all of the internal detail parts to each fuselage half and then worked on getting the replacement plastic card internal tail fillet in place. I replaced the awfully moulded plastic rods on the rack with Albion Alloy tube of a suitable diameter. Far quicker, easier better looking than trying to clean the plastic up! I have some decent reference pictures now so will start to try and improve a few areas on the fuselage internals. Regards. Andy

Thanks Troy! The vast majority of the bass we catch are on soft plastic baits worked at or near the bottom. That is the most consistent way to catch them. Every once in a while, a window of opportunity will open to catch fish on the hard baits and that's where the painted lures come into play. For example, at grey light, we always try for a topwater bite because it is so fun to see the fish explode on the lure. When the bass start actively feeding on the large schools of threadfin shad, another opportunity to throw a custom-painted lure arises. Hard painted lures = reaction bite and many times we just don't run into that type of bite. I ran through most of my personal painted lures just to make sure they run straight and true. I also delivered some painted lures to friends on the lake, including the P-40. I managed to get a bass on one of the new painted lures but I'm waiting for those opportunities to catch more on them. The bullfrogs can be very aggressive especially lures that flop around on the surface. It is either a predatory or territorial thing and my friend accidentally hooked on after it attacked his lure. Back to the Tomcat build... The nose landing gear has been painted and weathered. The nose gear doors have been painted but not finished with weathering yet. I wanted to figure out how I was going to paint the red edges. I ended up doing one side at a time and working my way around each door. Sounds like a lot of work but doing one side at a time reduces the need to mask the corners, which in turn, helps to save some time. There are some lower fuselage alterations called out in the instructions that I have attended to. Two small ports and a riveted access panel were filled in with black CA glue. The lower fuselage also has some subtle but noticeable molding marks running along its length that needs to be removed. I used a round edged knife to lightly scrape it off and varying grades of sandpaper to finish it off.

Lothar was a long time friend, and was always positive. He could see the good in everything. He was incredibly generous, and very humble. I lost touch with him about 11 years ago after I went through a very bad divorce, after a 5-6 year hiatus I saw Lothar across the hall at Telford...he had obviously seen me first and he marched up to me a gave me a touching hug, it was if our friendship was only on pause. I am so sad that he has gone, and he leaves behind a wonderful lady Silvia. I will miss you, our chats, drinks and banter. God bless Mr Polybebber

I hope to get the Starfighter kit from the family so that I can finish it for him, will post here if I do.

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And so it begins. I bought this kit shortly after it was released through Lucky Models and got the version with the Von Richthofen bust. The price of the kit was a bargain but it took almost six months to arrive. It’s a fantastic kit, and as Brian stated in his build, it definitely has Wingnut Wings written all over it. With that in mind I want to dedicate this build to all the men and women who found themselves without gainful employment at WnWs after they ceased operations! Richard Alexander comes to mind in particular as he joined a group of us LSPers for dinner one evening during the IPMS Nationals in Phoenix in 2018. We had a great conversation as to why WnWs should do a Dr.1 when, as Richard pointed out, Roden already had a very nice kit available of the subject. I was absolutely thrilled when I heard WnWs was going to release the Dr. 1 and so disappointed when they closed their doors before it could be released under their banner. To say nothing of the ultimate demise of the Lancaster but that’s another story.............. Thanks then to Meng for bringing this kit to market! I started this build with the engine but didn’t take any photos showing the actual assembly. I replaced the spark plugs with ones from Taurus Models, added some detail to the rocker arms, and replaced the pushrods with copper wire to give them a much more scale appearance. The spark plug wires were added using EZ Line. The engine was painted with Alclad Steel and then given a wash of a highly diluted mix of Tamiya Flat Black mixed with Future. The induction pipes were painted with Alclad Copper. Cheers, Wolf (who’s finally back on the bench)

The build has been in a holding pattern for several days as I waited for the RESIN2detail seat to arrive; which it did today. I have been told that the seat is under scaled, being closer to 1/48 than 1/32 scale and was a bit worried. Well the resin seat turns out to be a bit of a mixed bag, and while I don't have reviewer skills, I thought I would post some comparison shots using the kit seat, yoke, etc., as I thought some of you might be interested in the information. Lets go! Getting right to the point, here is the resin seat next to the built up kit seat; well mostly built, I just stuck the arms on without gluing, (don't ask why I painted the kit part, I am wondering myself!). As you can see the resin seat is pretty close in size to the kit seat, being slightly taller and wider. I still have to clean up the many attachment points, but I have to say the detail is exquisite and the seat looks very good. The seat pan looks to be the right dimensions making it look much more accurate than the kit seat. I think it is close enough in size to use it. You can see the resin seat is just a bit wider then the kit one. The gear that goes to the right of the seat. The resin part is taller, the base wider in circumference and the wheel is a bit smaller in circumference. The detail of the resin piece is a lot better than the kit part. I mocked up both parts next to the resin seat and, unsurprisingly perhaps, the resin part looks more "in scale" next to the seat. Here the two parts that go to the right rear portion of the seat are compared. The kit part is much larger, but the resin part is very well detailed. Again, the resin part looks more scale correct next to the resin seat. The head armor compared (One of the mounting braces arrived broken). The size difference is pretty extreme, and I have to say that I am not sure "what right looks like" here. The resin detail is great, but dang, the armor plate sure looks tall to me. It is wider as well, but that is to be expected as it lines up with the resin seat. The control yoke is definitely under scaled. Though the detail looks great, I'm going to use the kit part. I test fit the parts to see how they meshed; and it looks like they harmonize well. The fit will be tight though, and I am already bracing myself for a "fiddlefest" getting everything lined up correctly. I will also have to fill most of the holes in the floor as nothing really lines up with them. Another shot from the side. Well, as I said, a bit of a mixed bag here. I think I can make the above look the part, but it definitely won't be a Barracuda or Quickboost (mostly) "drop in fit" experience. I am interested to get your opinions about both the AM set and my planned route for the seat. Thanks for looking! Ernest

Back in TX to fly the Firecat. Time to deliver it for its annual inspection.. cheers P

Very generous of you but I'm going to test a few options prior to resorting to the HAD BuNos. First, I'll see if the Tamiya decals are usable and if not, take a stab at constructing the BuNos from the Furball individual numerals. The two hex-shapes on the rudder beneath the 00 are on the kit so I'm assuming I'm good to go. Yup, it's me. Thunnus here and JKim pretty much everywhere else. Keeping an eye on your 262! Trying something new with this one. From a size perspective, I think it exceeds most of my 1/32 scale subjects. Fishing this Saturday was a lot of fun. Tiring but fun. The three of us managed to catch and release 139 largemouth bass, two bullheads and one bullfrog. Quality was very good and I managed to catch five between 4-5 pounds.

Hi Brian, Thank you very much! Good news, yes the Observer's Station floor and seat are in design now. I was very fortunate to receive enough information very recently to complete the design. Ammunition bins for late Beau 20mm cannons will be available, too (early Beau's cannons were drum-fed). Research for an 18" torpedo is complete. Recently released are 3 different configurations of Bf 109-F, G and K spinners with propeller hub. They include a slot for blades and propeller shaft matching new-tool Revell kits but can be adapted for Hasegawa. The spinners and hubs were designed from Messerschmitt factory drawings. Other products in design this summer (research is complete): 1/24 scale N1K2-J Shiden cockpit for Bandai 1/28 scale Vickers machineguns for the classic Revell Sopwith Camel For model ship fans, we've added an RMS Titanic forecastle watertight hatch in 1/200 scale (for Trumpeter, etc.) and 1/350 scale (for Academy, etc.) to the catalog. The model was designed from scans of Harland & Wolff builder's drawings. The hatch was conspicuously located just aft of the anchor capstans. A few months ago, I released accurate Titanic funnels in 1/200 scale and 1/350 scale, too. They were also designed from scans of Harland & Wolff shipyard drawings. The funnels include accurate exterior steam and water pipes and are fully, accurately riveted, unlike the injection plastic kits' funnels. I've updated the design for our USS Arizona BB-39 superstructure in 1/350 scale (for Banner, Hobby Boss, etc.) and 1/426 scale (for Revell) to include the entire forward tripod and to capture far more detail. The tripod is integrated with the top level for proper alignment and height. Below are photos of the improved design. The first photo shows the 3D-printed model alongside a popular injection-molded plastic kit's superstructure for comparison. The Model Monkey superstructure was designed from scans of shipyard blueprints. Model Monkey 1/350 USS Arizona BB-39 Superstructure on the left. Parts dry-fitted. Popular plastic kit's superstructure on the right. And we've added two sets of Zara class Italian heavy cruiser 8"/53 cal. turrets in 1/350 scale to the catalog. One set is for RN Zara and the other for sistership RN Pola. Photos of one of our turrets with a popular plastic kit's turret are shown below for comparison. The ships' mottos are emblazoned in readable raised letters on the appropriate turret's sides just like the real turrets, in this case Pola's motto "ARDISCO AD OGNI IMPRESA" ("I dare to every undertaking", or "Courage in every undertaking").

after a break, I put a XF62 base color next some Neutral grey, cheers

The last work for tonight was the seat back area. I started the seat back by using 2 part Apoxie sculpt and then sculpted the shape of the back. I just need to let it dry, so I can sand the fingerprints out of the clay. I made the back cover the same way and punched out .8 mm discs from styrene to represent the snaps on the back and threw in some wrinkles using a needle chucked in a pin vise. Front Back That's it till next weekend. Tim

Here, I think this is kind of cool. The F4U-1 and 1A had the pilot oxygen system situated right beside the pilot to his right, up against the rearmost bulkhead in the cockpit. The O2 bottle, the regulator unit, the pressure line, the pressure gage, and the blinker gage - all right on top of one another. Other cockpits I have done had these items up near the instrument panel, with the gages actually in the instrument panel itself. Here is a shot from Dana Bell volume 8: The regulator sits on a dedicated "shelf" that I showed in the last post. My shelf doesn't have that perforated semi-circular tube on it. I couldn't find it on any Corsair drawing, so I left it out. Perhaps it was a mod that showed up later in the field.... Here is the Vought drawing for the Corsair O2 regulator: So I tried my best to duplicate it: Some 20 - 30 odd parts in that little bugger! All bits of common tube and strip and rod, mostly plastic but a little aluminum too. The decals for the O2 pressure gage and the blinker are complements of Peter (Airscale), from his Lope's Hope decal set, a couple of which he sent to me some time ago for my Corsair effort. And installed: Note also the O2 bottle has a tag. Yay!! It's just a decal I made with the backing still on it. Man I like that installation! Very gratifying for it to come together. Next is going to be radio equipment brackets I think. And also, I think my 3D print parts are going to arrive in a day or too. Exciting times. Watch this spot!

Hey everyone I have been taking a break from the SD to do something different. In this case it's the all resin 1/24 Ferrari 812 Superfast kit from Alpha Model (AKA Hobby Design) Good kit, a bit pricey for the lack of parts, but lots of PE and really nice detailing - especially on the interior. Of course, I didn't take any photos of that before I sealed it up but I was really happy with how it came out. I'm not so happy with the overall finish though but it'll do. It was originally this beautiful almost Mazda Soul Red before it was black but I screwed up the paint work twice and this is the fourth and final iteration. Black was my second choice at the start Scale Solutions CF decals used The 20" BBS rims are from Aoshima which took quite a lot of fettling to get on but I really love how they look I am waiting on the Alpha Model McLaren P1 GTR to arrive in the mail any day now and will be starting it once it's here. Given how shoddy I am with car modelling, no WIP. I have to keep some integrity you know Excuse the dust particles that decided to join in the photo shoot Anyways, it was a nice break from Sci-Fi Thanks for looking

I've just had the following very sad news about a member of our LSP community: "Hi mozart! My name I Joerg and I am a friend of Lothar. He always told me about you and your conversations on LSP and I think he liked you a lot. Around noontime today Lothar‘s wife Silvia rang me up notifying me that Lothar sadly passed away last night. He had been in hospital for the last few weeks and while his illness was quite severe, he still was confident. When I visited him a good week ago, we made plans to travel to Telford again in November. Sadly his condition deteriorated last weekend and he didn’t make it through. I thought I should let you know. Sorry about informing you via the forum, but I didn’t know of any other way to contact you. Best Regards, Joerg" Lothar was a very special person, and it's true that he and I seemed to get on particularly well across the "airwaves", he epitomised the kind of person that makes this community such a warm, friendly and supportive place to be. Lothar's generosity was like no other; it was he who gave me the Echelon Lightning and the Fisher Hunter T7 conversion with the Revell F6 kit, but would take no payment whatsoever in return. I was hoping to meet him at Telford this year, to shake his hand and buy him a few beers but sadly not now. Our community is a poorer place with Lothar's passing......blue skies my friend.

Thank you, Gentlemen. Most Excellent photo, Martin. Thank you. I'm wild over your Avatar. Sincerely, Mark

Can we still name such machines 'boats' when the hull does not even touch water anymore...? Ships for sure but boats I'm not that sure. Incredible technologies...!

Very impressive Tom, your hard work has really paid off and the internal framing looks excellent. Regards. Andy

I've been trying to find cross sections of the new boats for a build with no luck, some real low rez ones is it. I love the 'Cup boats and have loads of paintings of them in my house

Thanks, everyone! Hi Damian, Bf 109 spinner and hub costs $8 USD. I'm a big fan of your landing gear. Your P-51 set is sublime. Click here for Bf 109 spinners and other Model Monkey 1/32 scale products. We ship world-wide. The catalog supports pricing in most currencies. Catalog subscribers can set up a wishlist.

i had cut some vinyl earlier for the frame and that came in handy now. after paint the inside can be pulled off and voilá, a flush winshield

next i made a template to cut some thin transparent sheet and wrapped it around the complete pylon, getting rid of all the layer marks on the way

I will get some shots on Flickr tomorrow. Paul

An oldie moldy, purchased mainly for the box itself, though the kit is 100% complete.

Thanks, Kev! I started decalling. Maybe you remembered that I bought the HGW wet transfer set. It is basically a decal set with the carrier film on top instead of at the bottom. The carrier film is also thicker than usual, because you remove it after the decal has been placed and dried. HGW recommends to use gunze decal fluids with them. I don't have it, so I used Micro Set and Sot instead. I started with the decals below the wing and brushed Set and Sol liberally on the intended location and placed the decals. Excess fluids were removed by rubbing the decal carefully with a cotton bud. After a night drying I removed the carrier film carefully: The carrier film stuck to the white ink and took away small particles. Wetting the film did not help. Removing it from the blue portions was very easy and trouble free. The decal on the other wing had the same issue: That means touching up will be required. Whether it is caused by using Micro decal fluids instead of Gunze or whether I didn't gloss enough, I don't know. I'm not totally convinced by these decals and I was too lazy to make some paint masks with my Silhouette cutter. What I do know is that I need to touch-up. Well, onwards and upwards, so they say. To be continued... Cheers, Peter

Holy $#*@!

At last a chance to do a bit of modelling.....so the lovely little Fury is up on her wheels at last! The top wing is just resting on the struts because the next stage is painting after adding the struts below the tailplane. Fitting the wheels and undercarriage was a bit of a "pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time" experience.....not enough hands or eyes to make sure everything was lined up fore and aft, athwartships and correctly spaced, but after a bit of fumbling it's looking OK I think. The tail skid is very fragile so I need to bear that in mind for the rest of the build.

Hi Craig, You don’t know me. My post count here is in single digits. I’d say I’m a novice in this hobby except that would insult novices the world over. I just discovered this build today and have most of the day trying to Evelyn Wood speed read through all of it. Turns out speed reading doesn’t help with gawking at photos and it certainly doesn’t help with repeatedly having to clean drool from the screen of my phone. As I said, I’m a novice, but I’d like to see if I have the gist of how you got here over the years. 1: Buy what most consider a pretty expensive kit. 2: Obtain advanced degrees in mechanical, structural and electrical engineering. 3: Open the box of previously mentioned kit. Fondle the styrene for a while. 4: Throw roughly 85% of the kit in the bin. 5: Teach yourself how to use 3D software (advanced degree #4) 6: Begin designing and printing custom parts to replace parts already in the bin. 7: Buy new 3D printer which is the size of a recliner. 8: Begin replacing previously printed parts with better versions from new printer. 9: Buy a laser cutter, learn Chinese, reprogram laser cutter in English. 10: Teach yourself how to tig weld, because why not? 11: Having completed a really nice cockpit, throw it away and start over. 12: Throw away custom nose area and start over. 13: I think you took shortcuts on the engines. I fully expected them to actually start and run. But hey… I could go on forever. Suffice it to say that this project takes modeling to a level I never imagined possible! I can’t wait to see it finished. Thanks for taking us all on one heck of a ride!

I asked them for a change of address and they replied that they were back to work at least half time, expanding their production and will give an update at the end of June. Patience is a hard thing, but they seem to be moving ahead. As I am preparing a move, I am downsizing (say it ain't so), but this is a grail kit for me, so I wait with great anticipation. My friend Dale suggested that I stop worrying about the difference between the number of kits in the stash and the number of kits that I actually start working on (forget the rate of finishing anything). "Just enjoy taking them out and drooling over them", was his exact quote. Tnarg

this is now the first try on the windshield frame. its cut vinyl from the plotter. i will have to take it off again and smooth the fuselage to windscreen transmission a little bit more stay tuned

The Rumpler 6B.1 conversion has crossed the line... first build in 2021 New diorama pic... I must admit the conversion turned out to be a lot harder than I initially imagined, with many alterations and corrections along the way... But it was worth it, I just love this 'seabird' Cheers: Kent

After a few months all three of my original landing gear cracked. The cracking is not preceded by any bending - the breakage is sudden after a few months of holding up the airplane. I've since printed up a new set, this time with wall thickness set to 4 and infill percentage of 40. Here's a cross section of the nose gear showing the thicker construction: If this doesn't solve the problem I'll have to switch to a different material, maybe PETG. The stress test has begun, and I'll know in a few months if the gear will hold. NOTE: Images are delivered using the HTTP protocol. If your browser blocks this protocol you might consider using a different browser. The Dissenter and Firefox browsers still accept HTTP protocol.

great work!

This one arrived yesterday