Bill_S

Fuselage mods. When I bought the kit, I got the Cutting Edge set which includes a new nose and corrected ventral fin. Here I've cut off the kit's ventral fin: I still have some finish sanding to do here, but I tried to fit the replacement fin. All in all, a good fit. Minimal filling will be required. I'm pleased. For a single seater, this kit is huge!

Jack, I'd like to scratch the intakes. I know you did it on yours - can you recommend any good references?

Waldron is my go to punch set. I'm pretty sure Roll Models is the only place to get them. I bought replacement punches not long ago.

Removal of interior detail for AM pit and wheel bays... I got the wheel bays thinned out. LOTS of sanding. Engine work has begun, too. I'm not going to pay a lot of attention here, as most of it will be buried.

I'm with Martin on the Corsair! That kit practically builds itself - and without those fiddly magnets. If you decide on the Mustang or Spitfire, be wary of the supercharger area - IIRC, the kits have multiples on the engine sprue and it's easy to get them switched if you're not paying attention.

That's where my sanding sticks go!

I'm in with Trumpeter's F-105D. I really wish there was more to convert it to an F-105B as I'd really like to do a Thunderbirds scheme. Right now, I'm not sure of markings... My intent was to build this bird as a long-term project, working on it mainly during my local club's weekly build nights. We'll see how it goes. The obligatory first pics of what I have so far:

Annealing the jackets is the key, Brian. That said, I bought the Gaspatch Vickers ballon guns and they too are little gems!

Personally, I'd opt for Brasso over toothpaste.

Jerry, I've never seen PE belts that come close to looking like the fabric ones. Annealing them is sure to burn off the paint, as well.

JB Weld, Dale. Great stuff!

It's the participation trophy mentality...

You can rest assured that Z-M's gear bay is pretty accurate; it's how they roll. Almost too much detail at times. I bought the Tamiya Mustang, and haven't regretted my decision. I choose Z-M for their more esoteric subjects: the Ho229, Shinden and Do-335. If you really want a foolproof kit, pick up one of Tamiya's Corsairs. No magnets, and the only screw is if you want to mount it on the display stand. Attachments on nearly identical parts (L/R) are even keyed differently. It's nearly impossible to put it together incorrectly.

I agree with all the others. UMM-USA is great to deal with!

Wow!

Give me an IM B-58, and I'll go away quietly.

I bought one of these, and I use it often. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WH100VO?ref_=pe_527950_33920250

The scale is too small, but this might give you some ideas... http://www.coastalkits.co.uk/newstore/1-48-scale-floatplane-ramp-display-base.html

Well done, Adam! It's interesting to see how small the 109 looks compared to the others.

One of my favorites when I was a kid... http://www.scalemodelnews.com/2012/05/gemini-124-scale-spacecraft-returns.html If you want something big, there's the 1/72 Saturn V from Dragon. It's impressive. http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/prodd.asp?pid=DRA11017

The active ingredient in Ambroid Pro-Weld is methylene chloride - nasty stuff. It may be possible to find it somewhere that sells paint.

I just heard from Satan's advocate... That Z-M kit cost quite a bit of cash to be sitting idle...

Kevin, Could you please move this build thread to the SOD GB? http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=53404&hl=

Go for whichever will be the hardest to finish. After that, the others will be a breeze!

That cockpit looks great, Dale! Should be an easy one to finish...