BloorwestSiR

Keith's was a great shop too. I still have stuff in my stash with price stickers from their store.

The afternoon of the 23rd could work for me. I'm home for the summer with my boys most days so just PM me when you know

Thanks Ron! Forgot to mention that it's also readily accessible by public transit. It's a 5-10 minute walk from Woodbine subway station.

For Toronto, there's Wheels and Wings Hobbies. They're pretty much a full service hobby shop with a great selection of kits, aftermarket, supplies and reference materials. http://www.wheelswingshobbies.com/ They've got a basement area with older kits. I'm still waiting for their new website which will allow them to finally list a 10,000 kit collection they bought last year. Thomas, let me know when you're around and I can possibly meet you there. Carl

The decals are from Belcher's Bits. There is talk that Mike Belcher is working on bulged bomb bays for the HK Lanc which would allow one to build the wartime version of VR-A amongst others.

Jennings, my condolences on your mom's passing. Carl

It says the kit will be out in the 4th quarter of this year so not too far away. Whether it's an all new kit or a variation on an existing one, I have no idea. Just a couple more days until we find out. Carl

I know where there's a couple of them and am just waiting for them to come up for sale. Hopefully it will sometime soon.

I went today and attended a couple speaking sessions. One was with Dick Rutan talking about his round the world flight in Voyager. The other was with a gent from Avspecs talking about the Mossie and her restoration. I managed to get a couple more pics as well. The aforementioned Mossie: Dick Rutan is in the left folding chair in front of the Mosquito. A C-5 replaced the UPS 747 from Wednesday. Wishful thinking for this to be my next Honda

Thanks Michael! It ended up coinciding with my visit to my sister. Otherwise I never thought I'd have made it.

Anthony, I initially saw only one. There was an FB VI on display that had flown in and I subsequently saw a two stage Mossie that definitely wasn't airworthy.

You're welcome! I've got a Pixel 3 phone. If you click the last Mustang photo it should take you to a video of the plane taxiing in next to me while I was looking at another Mustang.

Here's a couple pics I took walking around. I didn't have a camera with me just my phone.

Well we fared much better today. We got there a bit after 8 and from exiting the highway to parking it was about 15 minutes. Of course we were in the lot opposite the museum instead of further in but it did make finding our car much easier when we left. The lines into the other lots weren't much longer but we didn't know the difference. Thankfully my boys didn't mind the extra bit of walking. Saw a bunch of planes as Richard mentioned. My wife went off with our boys so I managed to meet up with Richard as well. It was great chatting and walking around all the planes. Every moment we looked up, something different seemed to be flying by. I may even try going back tomorrow on my own. Definitely worth the trip and I'm glad it synchronized so nicely with visiting my sister.

My sis checked the news and the police were telling locals to avoid the area around the show. The parking delays are being caused by the grounds being too waterlogged for cars to park on from some recent rainstorms. So they're having a hard time finding suitable parking spots. Hopefully they'll be a bit drier tomorrow.

Well I failed at getting to the show today. Got off the highway and spent 45 minutes to get 3 blocks so gave up and went back to my sister's house. The line up was completely insane and this was at 845 in the morning. I'll try again tomorrow but earlier and hopefully have better luck. Carl

Richard, we'll be arriving Sunday at my sister's place. Discussing things with my wife, she's suggesting that I go on Monday and then we'll go as a family Thursday. Let's message here for the moment and figure a plan out I guess Carl

I would up for a get together Richard. I have passes to go for two days. I'll be with my family on one visit but I'm all myself on the second. Both days are pretty fluid as to what day we go so let me know what works best for you. As far as travel, we've made to Windsor and are meeting my wife's brother for a couple days. So will be getting to Wisconsin on Sunday.

We're an hour into the drive but have only gone 95 km (60 miles -ish). The AC is having a hard time with the extreme heat up here. Definitely pain before pleasure.

Jennings, I'm using a no name roll I got from Amazon at the moment. It's a bit stiff but usable. I can't find it in my purchase history but I see that Oracal makes one. https://www.amazon.ca/Oracal-Transfer-Adhesive-Application-Cricut/dp/B07HNPFBSH/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=transfer+tape+for+vinyl&qid=1563510752&s=gateway&sprefix=transfer&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1 This should be what you need. The best transfer tape I used came from a Canadian company called XXXMain. They did some awesome masks for RC car bodies which is where I learned how to use masks but I don't think they're around anymore. I have also used squares of the actual masking material in a pinch. It works but may not be cost effective.

Got the rotor head all masked and painted up. Followed by the blades themselves. I painted the underside in black and the upper sides in green. Then everything was put together. At the moment the gun barrel and pitot are all that's left. I broke the Master pitot. It bent so nicely into a Z pattern so I will need to order a replacement. In the meantime, we leave for vacation tomorrow so it'll be a while before I finish. Carl

Thanks Dave! Thanks Rick! If you do get another, I have an extra set of the canopy masks for it that I won't need.

Same here! I wanted to see the Air Group bomb the Japanese task force and the Nimitz sail into Pearl past Battleship Row. I saw a pic years ago of the VF-84 Tomcat from the film with a Zero kill marking on it. Can't recall where though.

Frisket film is too tacky. There's something called transfer film which is what you need. It can be slightly frosty (my roll is) but has a much lower tack than frisket. For me, what I generally do when using masks is: 1- Remove any excess material around the mask. This way you can isolate each element on the sheet. 2- Apply a similarly sized piece of transfer film to the mask. I applied it on an angle so that the corners of the mask are still accessible. When you start to peel the mask off the backing paper, gently bend or roll the backing paper away from the mask. It may not initially stick to the transfer film but go slowly. Press the transfer film back on as needed. Once the initial "bond" between the mask and backing paper is broken, the mask should stick better to the transfer film. The transfer film will then hold everything in place and keep it aligned. Then it's time for placement on the model. I generally start with one corner, lightly press it down and check the alignment. Do not remove the transfer film until you're 100% certain on the position. Once you are, press both down and then peel off the transfer film. Theo mentioned using a mild soap or water solution to float the mask into place. This can be done but it means you'll have to wait for the water to dry before you can paint. I think there's a place for both decals and masks. Certainly larger elements are better served by using masks. Or if they have to go onto compound curves. Here's a recent F-16 tail I did with masks One thing I missed were some of the spots on the muzzle of the tiger. I was able to reapply the mask and touch it up. Hope this helps. Carl

Here's the movie that got me hooked on the Tomcat: