BloorwestSiR

I've tried a bunch of different sprue cutters. My first ones were the basic one made by Tamiya. I still use these for cutting bigger sprues apart. They are beat but still work. Then Tamiya came out with a thinner bladed version that I found to be easier to handle. I got a pair from Wave that are angled so even easier to get into tight spots. They're single edged as well. Mr Hobby was next up with a smaller single edged cutter. Finally I heard about the Dspaie and Meng cutters so bought a pair of those. My first pair worked great until I dropped them and broke one of the blades. So I bought a pair of the Trumpeter ones. I found them to be even better until I dropped those So I picked up replacements for both plus an extra Trumpy one. Dspaie is on the third version of their side cutter now I believe. They keep making changes to them and for a while, you could get the older ones along with the latest version. Left to right, top row: Dspaie, Meng, Trumpeter X2, small Tamiya, big Tamiya Bottom row: Mineshima, Wave X2, Mr Tool Close up of the three I use the most. One thing I've noticed that the cutters where I can get the flat side just under the edge of the part so the cutting blade is flush with the part cut the cleanest. Often, you can't tell if there's a stub left or not. The Trumpy ones for some reason made that much easier to do. For me anyways. Here's a part showing the sprue attachment point. After trimming it off with the Trumpeter side cutter making a single cut. You can see where the attachment point was but it's completely flush with the surrounding plastic. Carl

When I made my reservation request, I asked about a CF-100. In their confirmation email to me, they said they'd love to do the Clunk but it would be at least a few years if/when they got to it. Carl

This has been my quandary as well. If I didn't have the kits already I would go with the new 1/48 ones as well.

I really wanted to build the Trumpeter Tomcat and picked up a lot of the same AM you have but ultimately decided it was a bit too much. Picking up a couple Tamiya Tomcats with Teknic resin cockpit sets and some other AM for around $100 CAD each sealed the deal for me. For replacement gear legs, I found these: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/224990233448?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=p982B1B-Sqq&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=J7xpuL_STvq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY The MLG legs should be ok, but the nose one is in the launch position. Odd that their version for the Tamiya kit is in the standard raised position. Carl

It's not in stock yet but Great Hobbies have it listed at least. https://www.greathobbies.com/productinfo/?prod_id=BDRBF010 $999 for the kit with free shipping. Great Hobbies often have sales where they'll do 10% off your order too.

In Canada, the manufacturers have a bit more control over the pricing. They don't allow dealers to sell over the MSRP on new cars. My sister just bought a brand new 2022 Pathfinder last month. She actually got it for $1k under list price. The used car market is crazy though. We had an 2009 Honda Fit that we bought three years ago for $4k. Drive it for 2 years and sold it last year for $6500 and we were the cheapest one around based on mileage.

I've sent an email in for a reservation. Anyone get a reply yet? Carl

The first car repair I did was changing the timing belt and water pump on my 1991 Honda Beat. Couldn't find a shop that would do it for under $3,000. Talk about jumping into the deep end. The engine cover after you remove the convertible top: Then the rear wheel on the passenger side comes off. The easiest part of the job. The timing belt itself after dropping the engine on one side, removing the valve cover and I can't recall what else. It ended up taking me 30 hours to do it with some help from friends more knowledgeable than me. At least I won't have to do it again for another 17 years. Carl

I'm currently working on fixing our 2007 Hondaa Element. She's got a coolant leak. The dealer wants $1200 plus parts to fix it as to get to the leaky bit, the intake manifold has to come off. I'm leaning how to do it myself and I'm almost to the reassembly stage. As for Subarus, the only real criticisms I hear are about changing the spark plugs but that might be only the older ones. My sister and parents both had them and never had any issues. Carl

Thanks Richard! I knew it was their 50th but didn't know about the book. I'll have to grab a copy. Carl

I masked off the underside to prevent overspray and started on the upper surface camo. First I installed the cowl flaps after thinning their trailing edge a bit. Before: After: Again I stared with the Extra Dark Sea Grey. To match up the camo between the fuselage and wings, I masked off the fuselage around the wing root and sprayed a thin line of Slate Grey to mark the camo The I removed the wings and sprayed the camo. I repeated this with the other wing. When dry I then masked off for the leading edge de-icing boots. This is where I am at the moment. Here's the wing root fit just slid into place. Being able to remove the wings gives me some options now for when it's complete, especially with that wingspan.

@monthebiff talked about sliding the wings on after assembly which got me thinking. Bad thing I know but anyways, I did some trial fitting and realized if I cut a couple pins off the wings could be glued together and then slid onto the fuselage. The four mounting pins you see in the middle of the wing normally go into holes in the spar and lock it in place. Cutting them off, you can slide the wings on after assembly. With that quick mod, I glued the halves together. And once dry, I got confirmation I hadn't messed up. The Tamiya F4U is for size comparison.

Thank everyone for the comments and checking it out. With the fuselage mostly done, I turned my attention to the flying surfaces. Everything was primed in white. I then started on the camo. I then did a quick test fit of the tailplanes. Nothing is glued together, just press fit. I painted the lower wings white and then installed the MLG bays. If you're wondering about the two unpainted areas on each wing, that's where the nacelles go. They cover those areas so it gave me a place to hold them while I was painting.

Mark, the turrets I'm using are from Cold War Studios. They're one piece resin so no seam to worry about.

Your assembly ship looks fantastic. Lots of masking on that one.