Skyhawk174

Yeah the decals are amazing and I am sorry he is gone now. Thank goodness I got most of his sheets for the models I am interested in. Still a toss up on what scheme I am looking to do on my CF-104, natural metal or camo. I always wanted to do the one with the replacements horizontal tail with the camoflauge on the overall green aircraft. I think I will do that in 1/48th though. I am not afraid of NM anymore so maybe that is the way I should do it. Maybe a bit of resin enhancement too.

HI Chuck finally found you and it looks like I missed a lot. I cannot comment on this latest build as I have not read any of it as yet. I will spend some tim eover the next few days having a read. Interestingly enough I recently got this kit, well recently like at the start of 2020. The only reason was that the guy who sold it was local (in Alberta) and it came with 2 Canuck Models decal sheets for RCAF. As you know I do not build 1/32nd too much but the F-104 is so cool. Will be following this build of course and I was planning on starting my kit next winter but now it looks like I have to move that time table up.

Really superlative work Chuck. Your skills still continue to amaze me but there is a saying I always remember. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So I guess it is a simple matter to work on small bites of the engine to get the finished product I see. Cheers chris

Hey Chuck that looks great and just amazing detail. I really have to borrow your shrinking ray gun one of these days :thumbsup: Also, I think what makes all your posts amazing other than the model work itself of course, is that the photography is also first rate. It is set up with nothing distracting you in the background and well lit. The best of course is that the images are SHARP with great depth of field. It is always a pleasure to watch how your model transitions from a box of parts to a work of art. Thanks so much for posting your journey. Cheers Chris

Great work so far Chuck. I like your idea of not putting in detail you would not see. Sure would be a time saver in your case and sure makes perfect sense. I am following your build even tough I would never build this spitfire in 1/32nd but a lot of what you do is transferable to the 1/48th version. Have about 6 Spitfires in 1/48 and one of them will be detailled. Cheers Chris

Hey Chuck nice pick. I am surprised you are starting this so quickly after the last looooong project But I thought about it some more and figured that is probably the way to go. Strike while the iron is hot so to speak. This can be yet another book to be published some day right? I am sure going to follow as I can probably pick up some tips for when I start my Spitfire in 1/48. I don't think Tamiya has a Mk.XIX in 1/48 but I live in hope. I do have Eduard's version and that should be okay for now.

Wow this is such a great build thread. I have this kit in my stash ever since it came out. Have only ever seen it built a couple of times and it looked good then. Your thread is sure a keeper and makes me want to take it out and follow along. I have a couple of the books you mention as reference including the Verlinden one which at the time was great until Jake's guide of course. Your fixes look pretty straight forward and I should be able to follow your lead. My biggest concern will be when I get to the seat cover. At the time I believe the F-16As had some sort of lamb's wool covering. How to replicate that in scale will be interesting. Maybe some actual fabric? Keep up the good work. Cheers Chris

Hey Chuck thanks so much for posting the decal tutorial. Very informative and as they say you are never too old to learn some things. I have saved it to reread and digest your words. It was interesting reading about the trouble with the layered decal. Only had to do that a couple of times and they worked out pretty good. One was a CE sheet for a Mosquito from 418 Sqn and I forget the other one. Probably went ok since it was 1/48 and not that large tail marking you were working with. Let me be honest here. In my modelling I can hardly wait to get to the painting and decalling. it is that darn building and filling and sanding that gets in the way I love the decalling part of building as I think this tells me I am near completion. Of course like you I do fret when the decals do not behave how you would like but you have to adapt and try and fix the problem right? I have had trouble with many decals but they were mostly the ones that came in the kit. My worst experience was using the ESCI decals in a 1/48 F-4 Phantom. The set I was using actually exploded when I put them in the water. No salvaging that. I had to get a replacement set and that too blew up when I tried a small one on the new sheet. This was when I found out how valuable MS decal film was. What a life saver!! Or is that model saver? No matter but it did teach me not to put on the biggest decal first and start with a small one. I am also scared of decals silvering as that is one of my pet peeves. I hate silvering with a passion. I used to use Tamiya X-22 but I think I was not using the right mix as I did not have a great deal of success with it. Now I think I will revisit it as I am using Future now but your results speak for themselves. Also, what bugs me is the accuracy of the decals. In a lot of cases the markings are just wrong both in shape and colours. I remember a Superscale sheet of a CF-18A Hornet in 1/48th. The markings were grey but the wrong shade. The font for the numbers and Canada titles were wrong and the maple leaf was the 1965 style with the stylized maple leaf. Needless to say I never picked up that sheet. Thank goodness that now we have some decal producers with some quality products out there who actually care about their product. It is a good time to be an aircraft modeller these days. Thanks too for giving me some credit for sending you the decals but it is my pleasure to help you out as we are all in this hobby together and if I can help I will certainly do so.

Well everything is a learning experience right Chuck? I am sure you won't do that again. One of the reasons I have my decals away from where I am decalling and I also have my solutions a little away from my model. Yup split my Micro Sol years ago too. Thankfully no decals were harmed. The decals so far look great too. Sure settled down nicely. Good job.

Chuck I really appreciate you taking the time to post your progress on this build. I know many have said it but it sure is helpful and wonderfully illustrated. I almost regret I don't build in 1/32nd a lot especially something this big but modelling is modelling and I can appreciate great work when I see it. I like you recent tip on filling the gap and I will try it on my next build. Sure do love that Tamiya cement. Cheers Chris

Yes sirree Chuck most exceptional work on those exhaust assemblies. They look HOT both to touch and in the photos. I think I can surely use your tips in 1/48 but since it is a smaller scale it might prove to be a touch difficult. Very steady progress there to get to a final beautiful result.

Great stuff again Chuck. I really enjoy your updates. Interesting that you even added SOME of those repair patches. You could have probably not bothered with the riveted ones on the tail and called it a day but it does look like an interesting feature. I say this as I think I will not even bother on my 1/48 F-15E build since it will be so small. I guess that is yet another benefit to building in the larger scale. Looking forward to seeing more updates in the future.

Neo I live in Canada and have never seen this mag on the shelves anywhere. I have all the issue of Aces High and actually buy mine from Poland. I wait until there are about 3 or 4 out to save on shipping. I also build armour so pick up Abrams Squad from the same store. Check www.quickwheelstore.com Cheers Chris

Hi Chuck Great start on this beauty of a kit. As per norm, your photography and explanations are a real help in your builds. Looks like it trouble free so far or at least nothing that you cannot handle. Glad I found this in progress build. I was expecting to see it on ARC but I read what you said in one of the posts here and I agree. Although I think the guys over there will miss you and your talents for this build . That is why I register in many places to see great modelling. Although I don't build this scale for my jets I normally get a lot of tips and ideas from reading yours. It almost tempts me to change scale but I am already struggling for space. I do have my Hasegawa 1/32nd Skyhawks to do one of these days but they are small even in 1/32nd. Now I will get the notifications when you add to the thread. Cheers Chris

Ron, looks like that will be a nice project. Did not know that LE made those decals in 1/32nd so that was a surprise. I will keep an eye on this thread as my one and only 1/32nd F-18 will aslo be a CAF aircraft. Not sure which one as yet but since my favourite squadron is 416 Lynx I am leaning towards that. Not to be an a** but you know you will have to adjust the shock absorber on the landing gear to suit the CAF CF-18s right? Pity you will have to cut such a nice set of brass castings or not. Cheers Chris