R Palimaka

This is one gutsy project! Love seeing how you come up with solutions to build something that doesn't exist, and in 1/24 scale to boot. Excellent work so far. Richard

What a frustrating time! Good on you for planning a way forward though. Sometimes you just need to take a short break away. Looking forward to the detoured build... Richard

You've clearly put a lot of effort into bringing that kit up to a more modern standard and it shows. Huge improvement over what's in the box. Excellent work! Richard

Thank you Andreas! You're definitely not too late, this is going to be a long fight I think. I am so grateful that Azur and Special Hobby have released these kits of French aircraft. They look wonderful and detailed in the box but once you start building you quickly realize they need some refining. I have to thank Alain again for letting me know about the Renaissance products. I was totally surprised to find out anyone had even done aftermarket for this kit, let alone a new seat! Be careful though, it is extremely delicate and you need to be careful separating it from all the supports. It felt like handling a butterfly, trying not to break anything. I broke one of the thin tube frames on the front of the seat trying to clean it up and spent an hour replacing that section of the tubing with wire. It made me laugh after because in the end it was under the front of the seat and no one would see it anyway. Richard

Another aircraft that had widespread military and civilian use and no kit in large scale. So many attractive markings schemes. Many of us have flown in one for various reasons, I had several flights while fighting forest fires in Northern Ontario many decades ago. Another one to add to the, "Why isn't there a 1/32 kit of..." list. Richard

The next little challenge was finding out that the top part of the gear leg was square in section, not round as molded by Azur. I trapped the leg between two sections of Evergreen C-channel strip of the right size, and glued them into submission. Mine is now slightly more rectangular in section than square, but I'm not going to fight with it. There is more work to be done on the gear, but at least that correction is mostly done, just needs a bit more shaping.

And once again I'm faced with an empty wheel well in a kit. But, after the 1/24 Airfix Mustang, that doesn't scare me anymore. Some quick shots before spraying the primer just to show the work. I based the detailing on the drawings by the French master modeller "Waroff". The information and advice he provided to Gilles throughout his build saved me hours of Google searches and digging in my books. His in-progress build is one that anyone planning to build this kit needs to see. Most of the work was done with scraps of plastic card and strips, plus Archer decals for the panels and hatches. Once it's primed there will be some wiring and plumbing added, though it's a relatively clean and tidy area compared to a Mustang...thank goodness.

Thank you gentlemen, I very much appreciate the encouragement. The deeper I get into this kit, the more challenges I run into. But I'm still having fun. So, with all the last minor details added and a coat of primer on, the cockpit is looking better. Just have to wait for this coat to cure hard and I'll start applying some colour tomorrow. The big question is the correct shade of "Midnight Blue" for the interior. I'm looking at USN Sea Blue from Vallejo, or Tamiya XF-17 Sea Blue. Both tend toward being more black than blue, but maybe I could tone it down by mixing with a few drops of lighter blue or grey. Or maybe drybrushing with a lighter blue after might work. I'll have to experiment. I don't want all this detailing to disappear into a dark hole.

Nice! Very curious to see what else they might announce. It will be interesting to see how that LWS 6 kit is designed and engineered, especially that glass nose. It will be a good size. Have to say though, it's not one of the most attractive aircraft ever to see the light of day. Kinda makes it more interesting. Richard

Bumping this one up again after having seen Michał's (Shadowmare) superb completion of their PZL P.7a in Ready for Inspection. There are some very interesting printed kits already available, and more to come...including the Wilga. I'm going to contact them to order a P.7a kit and see how it goes. Richard

Fine work so far, very convincing! I especially like the worn effect on the floor...so realistic. Richard

The machine guns are buried in the sides of the fuselage. You can see the rectangular trough in the fuselage sides between the wings struts. I believe they fired through a tube through the cowling and were synchronized with the prop rotation.

The model kit itself is beautiful with very impressive detail! But...you've taken it and turned it into a masterpiece, the build and paint finish is perfect! Thank you for sharing this, and yes...definitely have to order one for myself. Richard

Apologies for the rough photos, just wanted to post some progress. Close-ups are not very flattering!! All the bits have been cleaned up and corrected, and will be given a warm soapy bath to prepare for painting. Once I get some paint on I'll post some more. In the meantime I've started on the wheel well and landing gear...which have all kinds of engineering problems created by Azur. For a start, the ribs need to be installed in reverse to what is shown in the instructions! Also, there is no cut-out or room in the wheel wells for the hydraulic arms for the gear legs. Thank goodness for the link to the in-progress build by Gilles Peysson that Alain shared. Monsieur Peysson is a master and solved all kinds of problems ahead of time for me! Richard

The headrest armour had the roll bar and framing added to the rear. The fairing under the rear quarter light windows had some riveting added as well as the filler neck and cap for an oil tank that is underneath (in theory anyway) Sorry for all the sanding dust! I should have cleaned things up before taking photos! And finally for now, the portside control pedestal with throttle and mixture controls. As well, the long rectangular tank/battery ( perfectly sized resin left-over from the Rutman P-51B) with its scratch built tray that sits on the floor behind the seat. The throttle handle needed some correcting and refining after seeing this photo...

Here are some pretty raw photos of the initial steps in the cockpit. I forgot how rough things look in close-up shots, but it helped me to see what needed refining before I primed them for final painting. Anyway, most of the cockpit parts in one shot: The 3D printed seat from Renaissance in France. It is an exquisite and detailed piece that I could never have reproduced from scratch. It took a while to separate from all the tiny supports, it still needed some cleaning. The instrument panel with some bezels added to increase the depth of the relief, and some added details. Toggle switches will be added after painting. Afterwards I moved the large dial in the middle I accidentally glued off-centre, it wasn't that bad but I couldn't leave it. Superglue sometimes has a mind of its own. A couple more bezels were added after this photo. The control column with added wiring and plumbing and the forward handle. Still needed some refining.

Done...hope the appeal gets the number of subscribers they need. Richard

Just to be clear, that soldered wire seat is not mine. It was crafted by the amazing modeller in the link provided by Alain. I'm waiting for the 3D printed seat by Renaissance in France. It's in the mail and on its way to me in Canada, along with the pilot figure. Not much to show so far, although I've spent a few hours on the cockpit area. I've moved and detailed some panels, riveted the floor, added some handles, and drilled holes for toggle switches. Also spent some time detailing the joystick. I plan to add some photo-etch instrument dials to enhance the relief on the instrument panel and make them stand out a bit more. I'll also be adding some wiring and tubing, and some grab handles. Not much to look at yet, but once I've primed it all I'll post some photos. Richard

Completely understood, an honest and fair answer. Sounds like you have a lot on the books already. Richard

I understand you receive dozens of suggestions for projects, but I thought I might throw another on the list. There are now a number of excellent resin and PE correction and update sets for this kit, but what it also needs badly is a windscreen and canopy. They are a little short in height and look a little flat when assembled. The way the canopy is engineered creates a distortion at the join of the clear part and the lower fairing...which is also is difficult to glue together. There must be hundreds of these kits out there but I don't know if people are still willing to tackle the beast. Not sure if there would be a market which would make the effort worthwhile for you. Anyway, just a thought...and I suppose too there is the question of which canopy profile to use. Richard

I have to say, when I see a new post from "Dandiego" I always look because I know it will be something very different and unique. Half the time I have to look the aircraft up to find out what it was. You are a brave and talented guy! This one is beautiful (and I had heard of it!) Richard

Just wondering if any of the Canadian members out there know if Hataka paints are available anywhere here. I've tried the websites of the usual suspects in Ontario but don't see a listing. I understand there may be an issue with restrictions on shipping lacquers by mail. Thanks, Richard

Love the Tempest. Excellent job on that beautiful beast, great finish...and so quick! Richard

Great work on that seat! It looks far more in scale. And the cockpit walls will look convincingly busy and authentic when it's all painted. Excellent progress! Richard

Well that worked out extremely well! Looks great and your experiment achieved exactly the right effect. Richard