Starfighter

Thank you! There aren't many modifications to do if you're building an early lot Super Hornet: I have replaced the Legacy fuel gauge on the front IP with the new digital one from the Trumpeter cockpit and slightly modified the side consoles. The turtle deck behind the seat is different of course; you can either use the Trumpeter part or use the (very nice!) replacement from Eduard.

Absolutely stunning as usual, Olivier!

I also disagree on this point. The Trumpeter canopy is much worse with the windscreen being too flat, impossible to correct. The Tamiya one is slightly too steep but it's easily corrected by removing a bit of material from the rear lower edge. Trumpeter nose cross sections are completely off whilst Tamiya is very close to the real thing. All the open panels on the Trumpeter front fuselage are completely wrong and so on. We don't have to agree on everything, have we? This thread my not be the correct place to discuss this anyway - let's enjoy Mark's progress which will certainly lead to an impressive model. There are several threads discussing the "best" 1/32 Tomcat options - these would be more suited than this one here.

+1 - great to see you back in action again!

I agree that there is no "good" 32nd scale Tomcat on the market - but I certainly disagree with your conclusion, Thierry. The Trumpeter kit has massive shape issues which are very difficult to correct (and none of them except the intakes are addressed by aftermarket sets!) whilst Tamiya is very close to the real thing in terms of proportions. Not talking about details of course, Tamiya is an utter joke detail wise - especially taking into account the price of the kit. Revell is a good base for a low price - it is just asking for a massive (but doable) nose job using Tamiya parts. The groove lines do not look bad at all under a coat of primer.

Thanks Anthony, it's always great to hear there are other 53-lovers around! I am actually looking for the same information as you - I am trying to decode the photos of the real a/c I have but it's a lot of work. Should I find something, I will of course share the information with you!

Any further progress on this project? Would be a shame not to finish it!

Scratchbuilding at its best, absolutely gorgeous! Glad to see you back with a new project.

Words fail me to describe how much it annoys me that I have missed the conversion set - should have bought one back in the day. But I am still hoping Paul will get back to business in the not too far future...

I would literally kill to experience this, Dan... thanks for sharing this story!

Absolute perfection als usual, Christian! I hope we'll meet again this year - maybe in Putte in December? Cheers, Ben

My thoughts exactly! Now imagine occupying this seat in one of the carrier based versions and experiencing a cat shot or trap facing backwards... But then, passengers in a C-2 are facing backwards as well.

Absolutely stunning to say the least. This is a very, very high level build and the result is just excellent. Hats off - magnifique!

Sounds great, I am looking forward to seeing your progress! Mine is non-existent - but little friends like Deepl help a lot to translate Hercules' posts!

I'd love to follow your build but my antivirus program is getting crazy when it comes to your linked photos and won't let me see them...