airscale

looking fabulous and that is some really helpful tips on staining - I have always struggled with it so will try this next time Peter

Jeez - if it wasn't for the desk clutter, this could 100% be an F4U in the shop getting some wrenchtime.. ..looks real Jay, and that is that... incredible work and attention to detail and awe inspiring to watch develop Peter

evening ladies a little more done... I had already asked Tim to print the gun cover parts before I thought there were no guns on my subject, so now i know there are, these were up next.. I had only 3D modelled the basic shape and knew they would need a lot of work to get in the right place and faired in on the model.. ..first, a lot of careful measurement & marking out.. ..then chopped out the upper cowl so the parts fitted and made up a jig with carbon rods to hold them at least parallel in one dimension - in the end the whole model was laid out over datum lines to make sure the covers were level in all 3 axis... ..CA'd in place and filler added... ..more fettling.. ..and done... fortunately these are painted black as they are in the anti glare panel, but I haven't figured out how all this area will be skinned with all the many panels, fasteners & rivets (some raised) in this area... ..with that done, it was time to get back in the cockpit - starting with adding some components to this sidewall... I hope to get both sidewalls finished and I might join them where they meet above the instrument panel (all done in a jig) so I can add the panel and cross bracing and then drop all that onto the fuselage floor / seat bulkhead.. ..with some components added, including the canopy winder and other bobbins.. ..then the seat frame which is quite recognisable.. ..started by drilling and filing some ali tubes to get the mount points that meet the bulkhead, and adding some micro rivets as seen in the photo.. ..the bend was added by ensuring the rods were parallel, taping together and clamping against a rounded block of card - I also fed fuse wire into the tubes so they didn't kink when bent.. ..then they were made to fit the mounts on Sta #5 and the floor.. ..to make sure I could add the rest of the structure, but at the same time ensure it still fitted where it should, I CA'd a block of card jig to hold everything exacty where it was while I added the remaining frames.. ..then the remaining framework was bent up and added and the jig carefully removed.. ..and a test fit of the seat to see how it all looks.. ..still a ton to do, but getting there slowly TTFN Peter

Now then OBG, clearly Nowhere, Ga is the home of the galaxys best observers as I think you are right.. Having convinced myself of what I wanted to see, on closer inspection there is clearly another reflective line.. thanks for the corection - thats what I love about LSP Peter

WOW! the bar just went up... A LOT.. that is some incredible work - flawless scratchbuilding & detailing and the paintwork is beyond exceptional.. quite breathtaking, thank you for sharing Peter

Looks incredible Patrick - i know all those parts intimately and you are capturing them perfectly the seat cushion looks excellent - I wish I had added the text, but forgot to add it to the decal sheet I had made.. I need to look into printing my own too Peter

this looks incredible, definately worth the effort in adding and I know one thing - when I grow up I want to be able to paint like you Peter

evening folks & thank you got a bit more done, like finishing off the carb intake... ..this needs to be ever so slightly proud so that metal skins around it will sit flush with it - it will ultimately be painted as i can't really make it from metal and polish it (I did try..) ..this is done by marking the boundary with dyno tape and adding a very thin skim of P38 filler which is sanded down to the tape - hey presto, a great, proud edge to skin to.. ..the gun covers either side of this intake are being 3D printed, so in an idle moment I started on the gun breeches... ..these are PE and stock and are the Browning M2.. ..thankfully, very early in the build of the guns, I looked at my subject... ..now I did a couple of double takes, but there are no gun covers on that aircraft - just the central carb intake right? this is with the covers.. ..so that was news, and good news as skinning around all the humps & bumps would have been tricky.. it also meant I didn't need to make guns... ..as I wanted to get all the big ugly building on the fuselage done before I can start on the cockpit, I wanted to start the stabiliser.. ..I used plans to make my own drawing which was stuck to 2mm plastic card.. ..hopefully you can see the slots I need to cut in the leading edge to slide ribs onto.. ..the ribs were cut from thinner card and slotted into place and all the borders done in black sharpie so I can see where to sand to.. ..first gob of P38 filler.. ..after the first rough sand down to the rib outlines.. they are really only a guide.. ..final sand before final prime.. ..and the finished stabiliser - the intention being to cut away the front and some of the fuselage so they slot together.. ..working out the alignment... ..after dremelling away most of the 5 min epoxy in the joints.. ..and just in case you sit there thinking I don't regularly screw things up, this is the second time I had to chop it all apart, this time after filling & blending it, I noticed I just had it in entirely the wrong place - as you can see above, the elevator hingline should be a couple of mm behind the rudder hingeline - I had it waaay behind.. ..also notice the damaged tailwheel well walls where the CA impregnated foam is just too weak for handling.. ..finally in place and blended in - the filler acts as a base for the complicated one-piece metal fairing that goes around the joint.. ..also chopped away all the lower rear and rebuilt the tailwheel aperture with a sheet of formed plastic card.. ..the next thing to do before starting getting the cockpit together is the scalloped panels behind the rear cockpit glass... these were made from drawings interpreted from photo's and tape templates from the model itself.. ..I had read that these panels are NOT cockpit green, but olive drab (or camoflage colour if camo is used), so I painted them OD and added the pipe bases... ..and in place.. ..a dry fit of some components, the next stage of the build is figuring out how to detail the cockpit in a sequence that will work - a particular problem being the instrument panel, rudder pedals etc will need to be a free standing assembly coming off the floor I think as it's gonna be tricky to mount a crossmember to the sidewall carrying it all.. ..until next time.. TTFN Peter

Thank you all Very kind words and I appreciate all of them Hey Mike - I hadn't noticed that - good spot! I prefer the look with the dorsal fin so glad I included it Thanks Ester - you guys are 100% behind anything to do with this model - grateful for all the help you all gave and one day would love to pay the shop a visit Hi Jay - no, not yet, but I do plan on entering it in this years IPMS Comp at Telford - now covid bought us a year I have this one 'in the bank' as it were Thanks Matt & Richard - not this time, Kev is working on so many books and the poor guy already has one of mine on the backlog so this one can only be seen in the home of Large Scale Planes @ LSP All the best everyone & thanks agin Peter

well I can't believe I haven't updated this since February been so busy - I did finish the P51C Lopes Hope and have launched 18 new airscale products in the last few months so have not had much time at the bench at all.. ..that being said, I have done a few bits.. ..sorted out the fin from being a big slap of perspex, but only took one pic.. ..opened out the tailwheel well from the slot with a mounting tube in it that it was.. ..to the correctly shaped aperture by using a template, but didn't take a pic of that either.. so on to the nose - I had let in a bit of ali tube to provide the foundation of the carburettor intake atop the cowling.. ..turned out this was waaay to small in diameter, plus having found the drawing of the casting, it is also a complicated shape and very definately not round.. ..it has fluted fairings at the front, tucks up under itself and becomes squareish at the upper rear so is a bit of a handful to reproduce.. ..in the end I made a 3D one, but I don't know enough to do all the fairings so just took the basic shape as defined in a few axes by the drawing and will let filler do the rest.. ..chopped out the old one and after having airbrushed the insides interior green (should prolly be ZC but too late now) I masked the insides and let it into the fuselage.. ..bit more fettling... ..and with the fairing built up, the basic shape is there - I still need to make the whole casting area stand proud so I can skin up to it so will do that with more filler up to a dyno tape seam.. ..the next schoolboy error I needed to correct was the seat bulkhead... I had intended to just sheet over the hole in the bulkhead as I had seen this in some cockpit pics, but it turns out it should be open with the fuselage fuel tank behind it.. ..like this.. ..you can just see the tank, much like the P51 one I did, it's covered in some rough material, perhaps the rubber self sealing stuff.. ..so butchery ensued while I chopped out the hole and made up the tank blank from plan templates & hard foam.. ..also refined the top of the spine a bit by adding a bent litho angle part each side to accept skinning & glass much later.. ..bulkhead #5 prepared - the hole is painted green under the masking and with the tank in place you can't see anything about how rough it is inside.. ..and the finished tank, made by covering the blank with tissue & diluted PVA glue.. ..so a bit of a disordered update, but I should have a bit more time now so hope to be back soon TTFN Peter

Hello again everyone Pleased to announce the launch of another new range of products which are availabe now Seatbelts for RAF, USAAF and Luftwaffe aircraft in both 1/32 and 1/24 priced at £6.95 and £7.25 RAF here USAAF here Luftwaffe here Simulated fabric & twill seat harnesses. Laser cut paper representing the straps & harnesses. Laser cut card representing the leather protective padding. Etched nickel silver and brass parts representing the buckles & hardware Assembly required ..here are details on the 1/24 sets for example.. Luftwaffe 1/24 RAF 1/24 and USAAF 1/24 I hope you like them Peter

evening folks This set is now available Hope you like it Peter

Well Jay, I feel your pain - I have been there many times when I made something from drawings and then found my subject was different - it is a disheartening feeling, but never irretrievable.. We all know your compromise-o-meter is set at a flat zero - anyone who builds an 18 cylinder radial, cylinder fin by cylinder fin and then adds all the anciliaries for 'fun' approaches their subject with the discipline of a nuclear scientist, so there is no situation where you can 'live with' something you know is not right, I 100% understand that However, in this case, I think there is a bright side. If I read you right, the only actual rework is the cooling flaps atop the cowl and much as it is painful to write off work, really this is the only casualty. The reason I think it's a good thing is that the rest is fixed by choosing another subject & here I have never favoured doing super well known subjects, they are a bit 'Disney' for me. While they obviously have a place in the model world, I think in our efforts to recreate the machines from our past, I would far rather look at a more esoteric, less well known, if not unknown subject. Hopefully you can refocus, and to be honest when my mojo gives, I just move onto another part of the airfame and come back to what was getting me down later. Ultimately everything needs building so the order can be played with a bit It doesn't help you, that I see it as a hidden bonus, but at least you know there are other perspectives on the problem All the best Peter

funny when I look at this hopeful post from 2014 how many on the wishlist came to be, in fact lots in this thread came to be so maybe it is just a matter of time before we all get what we want Still missing a P51B/C which is probably the biggest modelling enigma of modern times.. Peter

Good morning & Happy Easter Please to say the upgrade set for the Hobbyboss 1/18 Fw190-A8 is now available 1/18 Fw190-A8 @ £21.95 I hope it is a welcome addition Thanks Peter