Sepp

Superb job from end to end. Beautiful.

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I can't believe it's eight weeks since I last updated this build - even by my standards, that's a long time! The weather really hasn't been suitable for painting for much of the time - far too cold and, with the central heating on, by turns too hot and dry, too. However: Custom case arrived from Widdowson's. Great service, especially considering the ongoing lockdown(s). Pilot's badge added. Graphics for the decals done. Squadron badges and serials reference my lad's job. Crew chief will go on left fwd gear door, referencing his training Staff Sgt. It took a while to get the mask for the nose stripe right. Solid line was my first attempt, dotted line is where the kit's decal strip terminateed. This version of the mask will do, I reckon! Having a mule to practice/experiment on has been really useful. The thing that took the longest time, was deciding how to hold the thing while painting it as it's one colour, all over. Eventually, this agricultural object took shape. It ain't pretty, but works a treat. The horns clip inside the engine nacelles. The twisted wire on the hook part of the coat hanger from which it was made (not shown) works nicely to spring the ends free. Now, what colour red for the stripes? After looking at various options, I settled on Vallejo ModelAir Fire Red. Paint on the right of the Y, kit's decal fragment on the left. And so, eventually to painting the thing. Grey primer, so I could see that the white top coat had covered properly and a light gloss coat on top, then the part I'd frankly been finding excuses not to get to... masking the stripes etc. This major feature had to be symmetrical and square, or it would be into the round file with the whole thing. also, the trusters on the no. 2 engine nacelle had to be exactly in the middle of the red stripe... no pressure. Fortunately, it seems I was on my measuring-up game, when I did that part! That red looks very... red, lol. Still, too late to worry now! and when the wraps came off: Some minor touching up to do, but nothing I can't live with. Phew! It's been sitting curing for the last week; next up is painting the fuselage and engine details, wing tip lights, and most importantly NOT forgetting to remove the paint from the thrusters on the red stripe and then another couple of gloss coats, ready for the decals. That's all for now, Sepp

Lovely job!

Beautiful rendition of one of my favourites. Bravo!

That is very impressive, is that! Lovely job.

Well, I think we can safely say that you have the hang of this modelling lark Seriously, though, it's beautiful.

Well - that was a long read, having somehow missed this build.... but totally worth it! Gorgeous, Brian. simply gorgeous. Now following!

Oooooh yes! One of my favourite aircraft - I'll be in for one of these! Yes, a 1/32 Falco would be lovely.... and a real one would be lovely-er

I really don't understand all the defensiveness... for me, the issue is "are the quality, detail and dimensions correct for scale, are they reasonably so, or are they way off?". If the first, I'm in. Second, I might be, depending on the magnitude of the issues. If the latter, I'm out - and that is pretty much where it begins and ends. I strongly suspect that this foray into the forbidden world of 1/35 is not going to make Tamiya, Hase, Trumpy et al throw their hands up and abandon 1/32, so the iron guard need not fret. As for whether it's a commercial success... well, that's a matter for the manufacturer to worry about, not us.

I too have the RP punch (large round and small round) sets. They work well and I'm very pleased with them.

I built one for my mom, and am currently doing one for my lad. Next few are hopefully going to actually make it to my shelves!

That looks superb! Great work overcoming the corrugation challenge.

Gorgeous. You nailed it

Oops, sorry - I'll go stand in the corner for half an hour

@jenshb: Yep, I believe that is the intention - however, in practice I think we'll still see plenty of Royal Fail's letters with menaces. @ Radub: I agree, VAT was such a joy to administer; glad I'm out of it now. I wouldn't join in the new game... other than trading via Fleabay etc., who will have to (and to an extent already do have to) do the work for me.

Apologies to Bob for adding italics in the quoted post... [edit: and the reply is not aimed solely at his post, which is quoted for illustration of the point] Unfortunately, this is no longer the case for UK VAT due on foreign sales. HMRC have, in their infinite wisdom, decided that as from Dec 16th this year UK VAT due on foreign sales with a value not exceeding 135GBP must be collected at point of sale, and that therefore the seller must register with HMRC for VAT. Of course, being HMRC it can't be a simple process, so the rule doesn't apply where the seller is selling to a UK VAT-registered business (where the VAT will be collected via reverse charge) or via an online market place (where there is no limit on value, the OMP operator will be deemed to have made the sale and will therefore be responsible for collecting the VAT.... unless the sale is to a VAT registered business... simple, isn't it? ). What will really hit the 'mom and pop' operators is the abolition of Low Value Consignment Relief (15GBP or less). If I were such an outfit, would I accept ad hoc direct orders from the UK in future? No. The simplest option would be to only operate via an OMP. The rule change applies to all sellers, wherever they are in the world and in the strictest sense is not due to Brexit - although the event has afforded HMRC a convenient opportunity to implement it. Quite why the previous system of assessment and collection at the point of import could not be continued is beyond me - HMRC says it is to 'make collection more efficient'. To the uneducated eye, it seems to do precisely the opposite. Border checks will still have to be done to determine whether the VAT has been paid and if not, a demand will still have to be issued - presumably that demand will now go to the supplier, who will have to contact the purchaser for payment, and the delay in recept of the VAT due will increase. Typical HMRC bollocks, as Bob says. Information from the UK Gov here.

Jan - I just received mine and I, too, am very impressed! A superb set that is definitely going in the next Spit Cheers! John

Nice work, and a very interesting subject

Hi again! Better late than never... Where was I? Oh yes, thrusters. The kit provides only decals (see items 27, 41 etc. in an earlier post) to respresent what is quite a major feature. These are, clearly, not good enough for a 1/32 kit - but still better than the studio full-scale props, that omitted them entirely! There are two types to be represented, first up: lift thrusters. The simplest solution would be to use single lengths of brass tube, but these looked too plain, so by slotting together three of Albion's slide-fit tubes, I obtained what is, to me, a more interesting effect. Three down, four to go. The other type are the smaller RCS (reaction control system) steering thrusters. I was going to use Albion tube for these, too - but Jay came up with a much more elegant solution. He builds his own PCs, and suggested using these: and what do you know? They're perfect - 1.8mm diameter, exactly what I need! Looking good... except for one tiny detail... The lesson I mentioned earlier. "Measure twice, cut once", they say. Yes, quite - the hole for the centre lift thruster should be aft of the outboard ones. Boo. (By the way: the glue in the pic above is UV cured using the supplied UV LED, and is my new best friend. It made mounting the pins and tubes a totally painless task. Don't use it in daylight, though - I found that the ambient UV is enough to start it off). Better: I glued the centre thruster to one half of the fuselage before joining the fuselage halves. Once everthing was assembled, I used a small file to shape the flat thruster faces to conform to the local fuselage shape. If you ever build this kit, and go down this route, measure the tube lengths carefully, it's very tight in there! (In the pic below, the fuselage is only held together; I eventually nipped the thin ends off the RCS pins to allow the nose intake plate to fit nicely - and later still, did the same to those in the tail which interfered with the centre engine insert). With all the thruster tubes/pins in place and clearances to the undercarriage legs, engine inserts etc. checked, I was able to button the fuselage up and mount the engine cowling assemblies and wings. Still have some touching up of the filler to do here and there, but suddenly I'm pretty much at the point of putting a grey primer coat on. More soon(ish). Sepp

Beautiful work. Truly amazing.

Payment made for one set If I can find another kit at a reasonable price, expect another order!

Lovely work! You can put me down for a set, too... and for the 'E' wing... and the Corsair, when they materialize

Beautiful!

I've looked through two dictionaries and a thesaurus, and I've found no words to adequately describe how good this is.