D Bellis

https://www.ebay.com/itm/363342801546 Tiny bits tend to break often, so buying multiple sets is usually a good idea. It's possible to buy 4 sets of 20 bits for less than $11 from that seller... HTH, D

Miss Clawd IV was serial 17340 (not 17173 which is the airframe shown in the pic). 17173 was reportedly Darkhorse 19's machine (his name escapes me at the moment, but should be Googleable). C/16 Cav's Loaches were all similarly marked, but not identical. HTH, D

Only one quarter Irish. Never did celebrate it myself - maybe because I find the traditional foods served to be disgusting, and I don't drink alcohol, so... But, to those that are into it: Happy Pattie's Day. D

The latest J7W1 manual can be downloaded in pdf format here: https://www.zoukeimura.co.jp/en/download.html#dl_sws01 HTH, D

The ZM manual lists and shows the cockpit colors as "7094 Green Sky" which corresponds to Nakajima Cockpit Green. HTH, D

Oh geeze! How could I have forgotten to mention that in my previous post? D.B. Andrus and his SOW gear are superb. His Shinden sets are indeed very much needed for the spindly gear of the ZM kit. D

K1 used SAC gear on his Fw 190D build, and it sagged over time. The one set I bought could be easily bent with my fingers, so I never used them. Brass legs from G Factor, Aerocraft and possibly others are the way to go. The metal gear that comes with the Trumpeter Me 262 kits are quite nice and also very solid. Unfortunately, the mains are about 1/8" - 3/16" too long (both plastic and metal parts), so I only used the metal nose leg and shortened the kit's plastic main legs when I built mine. D

Exactly. Their methodology cannot be discerned from a single image. The fact that Space-X is far more innovative and financially successful than any other space program to date speaks for itself. D

Great! Now go look for something with MEK on the label that ISN'T Methyl Ethyl Ketone, and you will have found the spirit of his question and my response. D

As Thierry stated, MEK is Methyl Ethyl Ketone no matter where you are. It is perfectly safe for modeling purposes as long as one doesn't snort it, light it on fire or bathe in it. I probably should have mentioned that I buy it by the gallon (around $20 and lasts me for nearly a decade). I bought a bottle of Testors liquid cement, dumped that in the trash, and then refilled the bottle with MEK so I could have a conveniently-sized MEK container for the workbench that has an application brush in the cap. MEK is all I use for plastic/plastic joints. Elmer's C

MEK it is. MEK is a common "active ingredient" in name-brand liquid cements, but better if if used straight. It is also FAR cheaper than name brand liquid cements, and is not diluted with garbage perfumes and fillers that do nothing productive. Want to pay extra for an inferior product? Tamiya Extra Thin is the way to go. Want a liquid cement that is just that and nothing else for pennies on the dollar? Get MEK. HTH, D

Yeah, for February in New England, we don't call this weather "white death" or any of that silliness. We just call it "Thursday"... D

Brilliant. D

I used MEK to assemble the 21st Century kits that I've built. But then, I have used MEK on every plastic model I've built for the last 30 years or so... D

The Shinden is not a weekend slap-together kind of kit, but I really enjoyed building mine with the ZM J7W2 conversion: The biggest issue is that the entire inner structure is ever so slightly too big, resulting in serious fit issues with the outer panels if not addressed before assembly. It's easy to work around, though, just sand down the outer surfaces of everything and test fit several steps ahead during assembly. The engine doesn't need to be super detailed, but the basic structure will need to be there in order to mount the exhaust pipes. The cowling parts do