Leaderboard

Howdy all, I've concentrating my recent efforts on the beaching gear for the big Sunderland - I was for a while considering a water diorama but then it occurred to me that I don't have a 5ft by 5ft display area so wheels it is. I love the challenges kits of this nature bring and the research that needs to be done as it always throws up so much information about a particular aircraft. It looks as if there were three distinct types of beaching gear, all with their subtle differences, and that does not include all of the different float, wheel and tyre combinations. The version I photographed at Solent Sky looks to be either very late or post-war, therefore not suitable for an earlier MkII of around 1941 vintage. It seems they were painted differently too - some left in natural metal and others in anti-rust red. Strength is a must on such a large model, and I did consider using a brass core but my soldering skills are not up to the job. Instead, I raised my stash of spare sprue and found some really chunky parts from the HK B-17 kit and used these as a starting point to form the core of the beaching gear. I used a perpendicular junction point as this provided a very strong 90-degree angle for the main strut and axle without having to worry about the joint failing at any time: Over a few sessions I then built up the external structure with plastic card, Evergreen and more sprue and detailed them according to references: The rear beaching gear is a more complex affair and is a sturdy box-like structure with a cradle for the rear of the hull to rest in: Here are the main components ready for a trip to the spray booth: I've decided to go for anti-rust red as it'll add a splash of colour. After the base-coat they have received a light wash and some rust streaks etc - the real things got terribly battered so I may add some more at a later stage: These then slot snugly on to the forward fuselage: And under the rear of the hull: You'll notice a distinct absence of wheels at this stage - a friend is kindly helping me out by designing and printing me a set that will be added in due course. Here's an early screen shot of how they'll look: And now here we are: sitting proudly on it's own three legs and waiting for the next stage of detailing. For some reason, my cat never looks impressed with my models - she must get that from the wife! Until next time, Tom

Well, here we go again! Been planning this one for some time and after the latest hiccup on the Prowler, I pulled the Hobby Boss B-24 out from the closet. The box is huge. The model is massive. This should be fun! Goal is an inflight display, likely with the bomb doors open too. First a bit of background. All my grandparents passed before I was born. But I had a tremendous Great Aunt and Uncle that treated me like their own. Jim Genoff was a Radioman/Waist gunner in the 15th AF. To say I looked up to him was an understatement. He passed away in 1990 and I've always wanted to build his plane. Have built several over the years, but all had little issues that I wasn't happy with. When the Hasegawa kit came out, I built it...but then I discovered photos of his crew's plane that meant that I had to go big! Here's some pics of the 1/72 scale model. Here is the complete display. You can see his wings and Air Medal that his wife gave me when I got commissioned. One Air Medal for completing 35 missions over Europe from July 1944-April 1945. Multiple trips to Ploesti, Vienna and a whole host of the hottest targets in Europe. About 2 years after I built it, I ran across this photo. If you look closely--just fore and aft of the nose gear are little fairings with antennas. It's the APY-2 Carpet Jammer that were used to jam German gun laying radars. So I did a little digging and it turns out that he was actually an EWO. In the 15th AF, Radiomen got extra training on these jammers and that became part of their duties on the crew. Color me floored--he was doing Electronic Warfare a full 50 years before I got my start! So that'll be something that gets added to this model. If you want to know about the 461st Bomb Group, they've got a tremendous website, run by the son of the Group Commander. https://461st.org/ One of the things I love about B-24s from the 15th AF, is the crazy tail markings they carried. The 49th Bomb Wing had the red tails, with either rectangles, circles or a bow--they all flew out of Cerrignolia, i.e. Foggia in Italy. I highly recommend Barrett Tillman's "Forgotten Fifteenth" https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Fifteenth-Crippled-Hitlers-Collection/dp/1621574040/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=forgotten+fifteenth&qid=1638651249&sr=8-1 I know Barrett, and this is one my favorite works of his. It's an incredible book about an important part of the air war over Europe. Did I mention they flew to some nasty targets? How about this pic of a 451st B-24 cleaved in half over the Odertal refinery in Germany. My Uncle came home from the war and was a very successful Attorney, and they traveled everywhere as a family. But they always drove--he never flew again. As I've done research over the years, I kind of understand why now... So on to the build pics. I built the tailfeathers over the last 2 days. Fit is amazing, and the plastic is nice. There's some heft to this assembly. Shot it with Tamiya AS-12. Love everything about it--dries rock hard and is impervious to everything. One of the reasons I love AS-12 is that it looks just about perfect for heavily weathered and dull aluminum. The fields around Foggia were known for their austere nature. The winter of 44-45 was particularly bad with snow. When it melted turned the fields into a muddy mess. Check out these pics of mud covered B-24s. I'll be replicating that too! And some last parting thoughts. How do I know that's his plane? I don't, but am about 99% sure. His crew was #15 in the 464th BS. So when searching through the 461st website, they have the mission flimsies from most of the bombing mission the group flew. When searching through those, I could track what airplanes they were in. This one came up a lot. I also remember my uncle telling me a story about they'd gotten a new bomber which was 'super nice' because it had the enclosed waist windows (which I'll be building). Except that shortly after they got it, flak knocked out the window and he actually completed his missions before it got replaced. It was shot down on the very next mission it flew after the window was replaced--he departed for the states that week. It was the last plane lost by the bomb group in the war, in April 1944. So when I saw those details on the website, coupled with his story, I figured the odds are pretty good that this was 'his' B-24. Have no clue what I'll start next. Probably start converting the waist windows to the enclosed type. Need to figure out how to make the Martin A3 turret for the upper turret. I'll grab some of the Cold War turrets for the nose/tail. Also have to make bulged windows for the navigator as those were a 15th AF special modification. It also looks like I'll have to modify the bombardiers windows. B-24s are confusing BTW! Have no idea if I'll tackle the wings, or leave them as-is. Might tape them together to see how 'bad' is bad. (or maybe not, I don't know if want to know how big she'll be). Also won't be fixing the props as I'll just show the prop hubs to simulate a spinning prop. Will have to buy aftermarket tires too, just so they'll fit in the wheel wells. Also need to figure out 10 bomber crewmen figures... Obviously going to be a slow build, but wanted to share--don't see to many of the Hobby Boss kits being built. And of course the Prowler is still going, I just had to get after this urge! Thanks for following along and listening to my rambling -Peter

Decided to turn my attention back to Victorious Virgin and try and get her finished. With the primer on since March I started pre shading and slowly building it up in the areas that would be black with various blacks,browns and blues to try and add some tonal variation to the finished model rather than looking like a black hole. Pretty happy with progress so far, next up detail painting followed by a gloss coat for decals. Regards. Andy

1/32 Hasegawa model, Real Model Conversion set, Eagle cals, HGW rivet se & wet transfers, Barracuda wheels, painting mask home made, All colours MRP.

1/32 Revell model, Yahu instrument panel, Barracuda wheels, Eagle cals, painting mask home made, riveting home made All colours MRP

So, where are we now....... Finished up filling the holes for the outer pylons to reposition them into their correct position. Lower intakes needed some work moving panel lines, changing shapes, removing access doors and moving fastener positions around to match the Spey differences. The recess inserts for the catapult hooks were glued in, note they are a different 'corrected' shape now (not the recess, itself but the panel around it). Here you can (hopefully) see the completely different lower profile of the Spey belly. The WH part was unfortunately different shapes L & R and the Sparrow/Skyflash recesses were misshapen and wrong. I really would have been better off modifying the kit again. Never mind, I have done it now.... I am probably not going to add detail into the missile recesses as I will have 'Drill Rounds' fitted and wont be seen. Here you can see where a lot of the time has gone in reworking the belly and the surface details added. Close up This is just my first coat of Mr Surfacer to see where I am at. Pretty happy with the results. I am really wanting to add all these details to the belly as it will really make a difference for weathering. Right-O back to more surface details, wont be long before I get the big reinforcing 'straps/ Doublers on the lower spar cap etc. Massive thanks to @Gene K for doing such an awesome job studying all of these variations and getting them as accurate as possible and making them available as a downloadable file to cut on your Silhouette cutter, hopefully soon. Anyhoo...back to it Thanks for stopping by Cheers Anthony

Trumpeter A-10 tub an Eduard color etch set.

Thanks Adam, yes it is a challenging project for me but I'm having fun in this project, thanks for following mate! cheers Some progress from the last days, still figuring out many things as there is no instructions to follow, the most noticeable are the main spars and some more cockpit elements, also using original blueprints printed in scale, hope you like it, cheers

Thanks Nigel for your kind offer. Yes the central core is way oversized and a bit oval, but with lots of sanding I was able to make it workable as shown below. December 4/21 With the landing gear mostly sorted out, I decided to get to the highlight of this kit, which is a very detailed Pratt and Whitney R2800 Double Wasp Engine, which was used in many other aircraft including the Corsair. Like all aircraft engines there are several variants, so exact details can change slightly from engine to engine, so I’m going to pick and choose how I detail this engine with what I like, rather than worry too much about accuracy. Almost all of the engine parts are on Sprue J and fortunately, none of them are short shot like the Sprue F in my kit! I finally got my replacement parts from Airfix in the mail after waiting for 3 weeks, which is sort of normal these days for deliveries from Europe. All of these engine parts have a noticeable seam lines on them that needs to be removed, which takes a lot of work and patience, but the quality and detail of the parts is really well done. Here’s a pic of the parts needed for Steps 150-158. The assembly of the main engine parts is an engineering marvel, but like most of this build, the fit of all of them is way too tight. This is especially true of the ring on the right, Part J6, which needs a lot of sanding in the interior before you can even begin to fit it over the tubular assembly of Parts J3 and J4 on the left, which also needs to be sanded down quite a bit to allow clearance for all of the other parts, like the push-rods on the top. Note the notch in all of the parts that fit into the groove of the central tube, which ensure proper alignment of this complex assembly. As shown at the beginning of this build, I’m going to be using ANYZ upgrade parts and braided line, but there are no specific instructions on how all this should be used, so I’m just going to wing it. The ANYZ spark plugs come in a straight version and also one with a curved lead, which is perfect for the front cylinders as you will see below. To get them to fit, the small holes in the cylinders were drilled out to size. A close-up pic, showing the kit and ANYZ detail. Only the front cylinders should have the curved spark plug leads, since most of the rest of the plug wires need to be placed through shrouds that protect and hold the wires. The cylinders on the left are the front of the rear bank, showing the straight plugs. The rear view of both banks with all straight plugs, which show the holes for exhaust manifolds that will be added later. Here are the main engine parts dry fit together. The fit is tight enough that no glue will be required for anything other than the front cone and electrical conduit horseshoe. While the push-rods generally touch the cylinder heads where they should, some have a bit of a gap. The solution is to paint everything first, assemble, then close the gaps with CA glue and touch-up the paint with a brush. While the cylinder heads should have a distinct seam line in the middle, the oval assembly on either side of the cylinder (valve covers?) do not. The fit of these parts is a bit crude, so they should be sanded down smooth and the seam line filled, which I’ve done with clear CA glue, which still shows the gap. Although hard to see, I also punched three fasteners into the top of each cover. The spark plug wire shrouds need to be opened up a bit to allow the ANYZ braided line to thread through. The kit instructions in Step 159 and 160 show the location of where the plug wires and other wiring should be located, which at first looks very complicated and intimidating. Once you realize that every cylinder has two spark plugs with wiring that goes into the wiring harness side by side, the light bulb turns on in your head and everything is really quite simple. Using the same color scheme as the instructions, this is generally how the wiring should be located, with the Purple/Red pairs for the front cylinder and the Green/Yellow pairs for the rear. Note the size differences of each wire, to accommodate short or longer routing of each wire. There are a few more wires underneath, but they are quite simple to locate as well. Looking at the ANYZ assembled engine pics, the wiring harness connectors have been cut off and replaced with ANYZ resin replacements. While this looks attractive, this wiring is going to be fragile enough, so I’m going to stick with the hollowed-out kit wiring connectors that will provide a solid base to glue the wires within. Sometimes function trumps form.... The next step is to paint all of the engine parts and then re-assemble the engine, but before I do that, I will add the plug wires to the front of the rear cylinder bank (yellow wires) for ease of access, while the remaining wiring should be easy enough to do with all the parts in place. Closing thoughts and advice: - The biggest challenge of this engine isn’t the complexity, but all the seam lines and flash that needs to be removed from every single part - The fit of most of the parts on the central cylinder (J3/J4) is ridiculously tight or impossible as noted by Nigel above, so you need to do a lot of sanding to get the parts to fit properly - The quality of the parts and detail is terrific, and - The engineering of the engine is really well done, other than tight fit - Finishing this engine is going to be a lot of fun. That’s it for now everyone. Thanks for your continued interest in this build. Cheers, Chuck

Thanks K2 for running this again and to all LSP members for making this place the best place to be As every year, I would like to donate one of every product we make in the winners chosen scale - with 60 odd products, that can be a huge haul Don't enter me though please Kev, I am happiest giving back Peter & Lorraine airscale

Project 26. 1/32 Hasegawa kit, Eduard cockpit & Look, Barracuda wheels, painting mask homemade, all colours MRP, HGW rivet set

Ho-229 Horten This is my first Zoukei-Mura model that I built. I admit that I do not understand the very good opinions about this set. In short, the set fits very badly. I made wood panels partly using decals and painting them.

I built one a couple years ago. Didn't come across any build issues with the kit. The open panels can be closed up reasonably easy enough without too much work. The canopy on mine had a slight warp hut I glued it in sections and it was fine then. I did get the Master barrel set for the kit which is actually resin and not their usual brass. The Eduard PE set colour seemed off but I still used it. DN does a full mask set for the boxtop Tiger Meet scheme which is what I did. Carl

This is why it will have FOD covers, the incredible wing sag called for drastic measures.

I think this kit dates from a time when Z-M molded all exterior pieces in clear so that you could show off the insides to full effect, or paint one side and leave the other clear, or just paint the lot. If I recall correctly, their TA-152's were the same. Someone please let me know if I'm wrong on this. Either way, it's part of the Z-M philosophy of modelling the entire plane and not just the obvious bits, as they like to show the workings. Personally, I like this way of doing things. This authentic look was also a feature of the Z-M Henschel HS-129 I built a while back. Same style of instructions, which are as detailed as the model itself. They also give the modeller pictures of how each stage should look after you complete those stages, which is a great help and another nice feature of these kits. Thanks for joining me on this journey. It's all just a part of how Z-M do things, but it does have a purpose in holding the heads onto the block and aligning them properly. Glue is only applied to the outer edge of each head, and the con rods interconnect so you glue that connection too which gives the assembly a better bond. Tamiya do it a little differently, but both give you a better result than most others who offer an engine in their kit as the parts have a more detailed look. Yes, I like HKM's offering a weight in their kits. Their Gloster Meteor has the same feature and I do wish Z-M had thought of a way to install a weight. I'll be using Liquid Gravity on mine, but it would be nice not to have to spend more money mail ordering stuff..... Which the postal pixies STILL have in their clutches... They're late on their promised delivery date too... But perhaps the way Z-M have done it here, I'll end up with a better model anyway with Z-M detail and a nose sitter. Time, and whatever skills I can bring to bear, will tell on that, though. However, it must be said that many other kit manufacturers also don't provide a nose weight for their tricycle undercarriage'd models either. I'd agree that more should. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ So after the last installment I'd started work on the rear engine. The next stage was to add the kit's spark plug wires and some of the plumbing. Here's the outer ignition harness, magneto and supercharger in place. All this was sprayed with Tamiya rattle can AS12, then some details picked out, and the flexible plug leads were painted a slightly darker metallic gray. The flash on my camera has caused a blurring of the silver colours against the black engine. It's not actually like that "in the plastic". Here's the other twelve plug leads. As I mentioned in my earlier update, I'd already put the fuel injection distributor and inlet manifold on before I gave any thought to the lower ignition harness, which meant I couldn't clean out the plug holes to firmly glue the parts in place. So I cleaned out what I could then glued what I could. The remaining unattached leads were glued in place with some Tamiya super thin glue. This seems to have worked as after all the handing during building this motor, they're still in place. If I get really ambitious with the front motor, I might make the fuel lines. Or not, if I regain my sanity.... In the next pictures, the exhausts have been added, along with some of the engines cooling system. The header tanks are interconnected and the pipe leading out of the bottom of the tank connects with the same tank on the other side, and also with a pipe yet to the added to the underside of the engine. The exhausts, however, go on first and the header tanks glue to the exhaust shields. As the plane I'm building was very new when the war ended, I'm building it with little wear, so the exhausts themselves were painted steel, then aged slightly with a dry brush of rust. Also, note the orientation of the exhausts - they're facing towards the front of the engine. Here we have the engine finished. First, the front engine mount goes on around the reduction gear housing, then the mounts to the mounting frame. Then the rear engine mounts go on and the whole lot is placed in that frame. The last bits to go on are the pumps in front of the header tanks on each side, which connect to one pipe underneath the engine. Then a third pipe is attached underneath the engine. I assume that these will connect with the radiator at a later stage. Here's some shots from each angle. Right side. Left side. Rear. Front. Underneath. Lastly, placed into the front bulkhead and into the fuselage, so that I can work out what part of the fuselage will need painting RLM02. Did I mention that the postal pixies still have my two week old order of Liquid Gravity????? I know I ordered from Melbourne, 3,420km away from my home on the other side of the country, so I'm guessing said pixies have placed it in a little red wagon and are walking it across the country. . This means I can't finish the front cockpit area. So I think I'll do a bit more on the middle cockpit and maybe the bits behind the rear engine. I guess all these sub assemblies have got to be done anyway, before I can glue the fuselage halves together. On the bright side, it may help me get a better handle on just how much weight I need to add to the nose when I finally get my parcel. You may have noticed in earlier pictures how I've crossed out those instructions that I have completed, which may help me figure out this enforced haphazard construction plan of mine. Until next time. Cheers, Michael

Hello I am a long time lurker and now I have decided to take the plunge and do my first large scale forums work in progress post. This is my first and probably biggest project planned for 2022, the Echelon 1/32 F2A/F6 EE Lightning. I bought the kit many years ago as a started and incomplete box of bits missing it's decals and instructions with the intention of combining it with the 'new' Trumpeter kit at the time (oh how stupid was I). Having decided not to proceed with that project it has been sat in my loft and ignored awaiting a time that I have the skills and drive to build it...... So gave up waiting to get the skills but I have now the drive to build it. I do intend to scratch build or 3D print the missing parts and use a vinyl cutter to make masks for the marking (stencils are going to be a problem as Xtradecal stop producing their decal sheet). I am going to use this thread to assist my efforts Mozart's build. Wish me luck

Overall good kit, but not from "finest" Tamiya models shelf. Intakes are unfortunately totally wrong. Used addons: - resin exhausts - Aires intake plugs - Eduard photoetch inside cockpit / plackards

Another 1/32 release I've been waiting eagerly: 1/32 X-3...

Hi all, my first entry here is an ICM I-16 type 24 with eduard PE parts. It was my first step into large scale WW2 modelling, so I thought this would fit as a first entry. Those corn plants took me longer than the whole plane. Meanwhile I know that this very plane never was flown by a female pilot, but back then I didn‘t care. It just looked cool… . I hope you like it. best regards, Andreas (Borsos)

The Trumpeter MiG 15 offered by DannyBoy could use a bit more Christmas cheer IMHO. I will add on some aftermarket for the winner of his kit: A vac canopy, Squadron Resin wheels, Cutting Edge Resin Cockpit, Lone Star Models The cockpit is my favorite for the MiG 15

aww thats a shame Nige, would have been wonderful to have caught up I have made up a test shot for the kit - it's not the coaming thats at fault (I mean it's biblically thick, but it's not wrong), it's the internal parts that are a complete mess the test shot should be here in a week or so, so when it is I will test assemble it & put it here i have a bunch of new stuff in development - more news when they are ready Peter

Hello, Stefan from Switzerland here, my very 1st message on this fine forum. I am mainly a commercial aviation enthusiast (which means I will never be able to present my current projects on the main forums, except on the non LSP subjects) but will never turn down large scale military planes (KH 1/32 OV-10A/C Bronco & SH 1/32 Tempest Mk.VI being my latest purchases). My bought/completed ratio is quite miserably infinitesimal, 100/2, but as years are passing, I am discovering another pleasure, reviewing kits for myself... basically masking the fact that the painting stage frightens me (so many variables, unlike IMHO glueing, puttying, sanding, polishing). That makes for a big stash of about 700 model kits in scales ranging from 1/24 to 1/200. I am fortunate to own a big 16m² x 3.5m high basement. Looking forward to future interactions with you! Cheers, Stefan PS: photo will come later, as I discover the forum's functions.

1/32 FH-1 Phantom from JetMads !!!

Hello all, This is my attempt at the Revell kit with Quickboost exhaust, Eduard set and HGH Seat belts Paints: model master and AK real colors. This was the first-time using AK paints since I cannot get the model master any longer. With that said, I really enjoyed using the AK and have started to buy more. The decals came from one of the Kagero books. I also riveted the skin. Thanks for looking. Rod

Thanks Still kind of tinkering on the 8 I finally came up with (what I'm calling) a windshield, I've made it slightly oversize so I can add the bare metal trim later. This is just clear plastic from a blister pack cut and bent to shape, super glue (CA'd) in place and given a coat of future. I'm now making side windows for the cabin from scotch tape. Also visible are the panels on the nose for O2 and hydraulics access, (these are .005" sheet) I goofed and have them slightly too far aft. Thanks for looking

Yet again, thanks for running this. Throw me in as a donor only with a Kitty Hawk T28C Trojan. Good luck everyone.

1950's jets, now we're talking. I will be very interested in both of these. Their Viggen seems to be a big success. I will be quite interested in how well these two projects sell, the FH-1 especially. Early jets with very short service lives and few marking options goes against the grain. Is there enough of a market for these kinds of kits? Perhaps they are betting on well researched, superior kits creating their own niche market. I wish them success. Dan

Kitties are always good for snuggles! Can be good modeling buddies, but the tendency to jump on the bench limits that a bit.

You may want to check out Procon Boy airbrushes. They're Gunze's line of airbrushes but I recall reading somewhere that they're made for them by Iwata. I've got a couple including the PS 770 which is very similar to the Custom Micron but I got for around $200 US. The most recent one I got is a trigger style that looks identical to the one posted earlier in this thread. That thing puts out a nice volume of paint and I've found prefect for clears and large areas. Carl

This is awesome. keep going- love everything about this. My Dad had a cousin who was a JU-88 and Bf-110 night fighter pilot with 2 kills. Your build got me thinkin’ about a someday build- cheers Pigfighter

Some pics for context- https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/6157/Y2RrlK.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/8083/Ava4Tm.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/9052/OVy2Os.jpg https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/357/2bCUmb.jpg

Thanks. I've re-painted the props and noticed something else whilst doing some panel scribing. I sawed a slot in each wing tip and added the fences, they're small but a nice detail. Thanks for looking

Hi guys been busy with this one (https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=3569). Many aftermarket parts but really only the undercarriage and cockpit was necessary. The rest was scratchbuilt. Really enjoyed this build. Let me know what you think. Suresh.

I used aircrew from PJ Productions for my Tornado GR1 build a couple of years back. They were pretty good apart from the need to tweak the leg and arm poses. To get them to fit.

OK, steadily working toward finishing up the center wings. Next are the flap installations (inboard and mid flaps). Flaps are going to be up on this beast, as that is the way they almost always are with the aircraft parked on the tarmac. Nothing special here, top side: The rivet dimples were missing from the larger inboard flap, yet are already there on the mid flap. So I drilled the hundred or so drill starts per flap. It is the bottom side that was more interesting. I don't know about the Tamiya kit, but other F4U kits that offer flaps up or down as an option mess up on the "flap gap covers". Flap gap covers you ask? The Corsair has "drop hinge" flaps. That is to say the hinge line is below the lower contour of the wing. Mustangs, BTW, also have simple hinge flaps, but Mustang flap hinges are inside the wing contour. So drop hinge flaps, when deployed, not only rotate (50 deg at full down for the Corsair), but translate aft relative to the fixed wing. This creates a gap between the nose of the flap and the aft edge of the fixed wing, a gap in which air flows through, making the flap a more effective slow speed devise. To "clean up" the gap, hinged doors are provided that rotate inside the wing as the flap deploys, by way of slaved mechanisms. Here: That picture compliments of Dana Bell volume 7. Note how the flap gap covers are right on the lower wing contour with flaps up, providing a smooth uninterrupted surface. Without those covers, the gap is rather messy and not conducive to good air flow, as this picture of a Corsair fixed trailing edge shows: All those blue ribs need to be covered with flaps deployed. Picture compliments of Vultures Row Aviation. So what of the mess-up? This toy, and also the 1/32 Trumpeter Corsair I built a while back, provide for flaps deployed or flaps up, but the flap gap covers are always in the flaps deployed position. So if the modeler chooses flaps up, he/she is left with a big gap in front of the flaps on the lower wing surface, which isn't supposed to be there. 21CT: Trumpeter 1/32: That isn't right. So I set out modeling flap gap covers that are in the proper position. And at the same time, I created hinge fairings that the toy is missing entirely (but Trumpeter, as you can see provided after a fashion). Here: Just stiffened plastic sheet stock for the covers, and whittled down plastic block for the hinge fairings. If it looks like the edges overlap, that is because they do. I don't know why, but that's the way it is supposed to be. Now for the other side. And then it is on to the landing gear lower struts, the brake lines, and the shrink mechanisms. That will be rather involved, but a big milestone. And then, the wings get buttoned up - a huge milestone. Stay tuned!

some progress update, the nose ribs were glued, also I am thinking about doing 2 interchangeable noses using some aluminum tubing system and some magnets, one closed and a second with open cowling covers and displaying the engine, right now playing around the cockpit dimensions and elements, thanks for watching, cheers Tony

Hey all, This is something right out of left field for me, my first ever motorbike model, ..I have always liked the look of Tamiya's Motorbike kits when done well, even though I have absolutely no interest in motorbikes at all, so when I needed a bit of a break from my P-47 build that I was doing, I grabbed two kits for a change of subject, a Takom 1/35 Stug lll Ausf G, and this one from Tamiya, ...what a breath of fresh air doing them was! .....and got me out of a bit of a rut I was in. These Tamiya bike kits are brilliant, but I had a couple of issues due to operator error I would say, one of them was attaching the rear view mirrors, ...what an absolute PIA they were, I must have had twenty go's at them before I got them to stick! I also used the Tamiya Fork upgrade set, these are just gorgeous! Anyway, I enjoyed this build, and have learnt some things for my next one... The Panigale decal is missing from this side because I had an accident with the fairing after it was finished, and had to repaint it, and I didnt have another decal to replace it. Thanks for looking, Jeff.

Howdy folks, Kevin Williams takes a look at the new Flanker book from HMH Publications: HMH Publications Aircraft in Detail 020: Sukhoi Su-35S, Flanker E Thanks, Kevin! And thanks also to Casemate Publishers for the review copy. Kev

Howdy folks, Kevin is back with another book review for us: Avonmore Books Pacific Adversaries, Volume Four Thanks, Kevin! And thanks also to Casemate Publishers for the review copy. Kev

Hello , I finally took time to take pictures of the kit now that it is complete. It was also the oppportunity to test my new light box. (yes I built it wuick and dirty. I need to arrange that. It is a bit small for LSPs... The wip is here =>WIP So to summarize : Olivier Pinsolle's conversion kit (it is almost impossible to find now... and definitely not for a decent price), trumpeter F4U-4 plastic parts, Berna decals, Reskit wheels and some stuff from the leftover box (propeller and engine case from the Trumpy P-47) Painted with Humbrol 181 (another rare stuff to find, not produced anymore since years). Handbrush as usual. I did not wanted to make it too dirty so I used a light panel liner (white AK 2075 with a pinch of dark earth pigments) and some dry brush of Hu 181 lighten with Hu 81 (chromat) on some panels. Wire antennas are made with fishing wire and the underside antenna is made with a hair from a scrub brush...

Quinta does a 3-d printed cockpit for it as well. Looks pretty sweet.

Howdy folks, I've just published the latest What's New update. Enjoy! Kev

I agree Chuck! I'd be busy looking at what was sitting around the pool if you know what I mean.... Cheers....Ron

Since joining LSP and following your builds, I often catch myself wondering if you are even from this planet. It ain’t natural how you are able to do these things. I’m not above using sprue and scrap to build things but my finished product always looks like sprue and scrap. Yours look like little ZM kits or something.

I'll be donating two groups of items for the raffle. The first will be a trio of CMK aftermarket sets for the Tamiya Zero: The second will be a couple of decal sheets from TwoBobs decals for the F/A-18C and B:

Well butter my parsnips! its arrived! damn my impatience!

hi, I'm still exploring the site, and I discovered this nice initiative. one thing I don't like about social media is writing hidden behind a keyboard, so it seems to me a nice thing to do, introduce myself by putting my face on it! ladies and gentlemen, a slightly younger myself just few years ago, when I still flew my beloved and never forgotten MD82. you can pick up the blue or the red pill.. nothing changes, just the red one it's at cherry taste. and nowadays, while trying to have some reading when one of my seven cats has decided it's snuggles time. cheers, Paolo

And in Technicolor TM