TaffyMan

Dear community, I present you a model of wonderful aircraft F-82 G Twin Mustang from Ukrainian manufacturer "MODELSVIT". The building was interesting from the prototype point of view, and the black variant of coloring of model demanded the corresponding approach to this question. But everything turned out as I wanted originally, I tried to bring the model in line with the flying car, which actually was a workhorse in Korea.

Wow Peter - taking this one to the next level - If that is even possible!!!!!
 
Even the Jig looks amazing
 
Keep at it - Taff

All done!
 
I put some gloss Mod Modge on the surface of the water, followed by some Woodland-Scenics water ripples, then water waves. That was followed by some light dry brushing of some gloss white on the wave crests, then an overall MRP gloss clear-coat. After the clear was dry I applied some black velvet to the bottom of the vignette that I snagged from the wife.
 
Thanks for following along!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
Thanks for checking in on me, and thanks to those who followed along, it was a fun project and taught me a lot about resin and resin pouring. 
 
Cheers! 

Hi Peter - amazing work mate...... looks good enough to sit on!!!!
 
As for ball shapes what about the lanyard chains - the ball style ones or the same style used on modern plug chains.
 
Never tried it myself but apparently you can make ball shapes by dripping hot solder into cold water    - remember reading something on the web about this method somewhere!!!
 
But great work mate can't wait to see it in the flesh.  
 
Happy days - Taff

thank you all - very kind
 
so, pressing on, I made the elevators the same way as the rudder and then added all the rib tapes with solid decal - this is about my least favourite job in modelling - it truly sucks...
 
still, got it done and after many washes with micro sol & micro set I was happy the adhesion was as good as I could get it... in some places like where the trim tabs are, there wwas a bit of creasing, and some bubbles, and it took about 3 days to work through all this and get it all fully dry..
 

 

 
..after priming, the rudder was painted with MRP insignia white and progressively masked to match a scaled version of a photo of the original aircraft.. the masking was all fine, just took a lot of care and 'de-tacked' the tamiya tape by sticking it to the palm of my hand first, also all edges were cut with a fresh scalpel blade..
 

 

 
..all the mounts & torque tubes were made, plainted & added..
 

 
..same process for the elevators, but these were just shot with alclad...
 

 

 
..and mocked up on the model..
 

 

 

 
..not sure whats up next, will have to be a surprise
 
TTFN
Peter

Aaaaaand were back!
 
Its been awhile but I have since gotten my long-cure 2:1 clear epoxy resin in, and have poured the base with a few drops of blue color. I did put the overall resin mixture in my vac chamber which degassed it nicely, but after I poured the resin on the dragon base, there were some minor bubbles that formed, 1 along the edge, a few very tiny ones at the front by the shark and 1 larger-ish one near the dragons tail.
 
In the end the resin turned out clear and fairly cool looking:
 

 

 
 
 
 
The two critters, the Cuttlefish and the Blue spotted Ray both turned out decent and the clear stretched sprue I used to hold them in place is nearly invisible once the resin got poured:
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
The strangest thing did happen though......................
 
I thought (and it looked like) the resin was fully clear and turned out great, but when I used some UV resin to fill in a couple of the bubbles I popped in the resin I found something very curious.
I shined the UV light on the sides and got a bit of a shock, apparently the lichen/mossy stuff I purchased from Michel's here in town was either dyed prior to packaging, or the natural color ended up leaching out of them when hit with the liquid resin. However, it really is only visible under blacklight, leaving a "Scooby Doo and the Ghost Island" kind of effect:
 
without UV light:
 

 
 
 
 
With UV light:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Without UV:
 

 
 
 
With UV:
 

 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
The swirling color from the lichen isn't noticeable without a UV light, and looks fairly clear so Im not going to worry about it now. Overall though Im really pleased at how this part came out:
 

 
 
 
 
Now all that is left is to create some waves and splashes, clear coat the whole thing again then add some felt to cover the bottom and it will be finished. 
 
Thanks for looking in on me! 
 

Hello all.
Having been pointed to this forum by @Anthony in NZ, I thought I might share the development of a current project I've been working on for several months now, in the shape of a Westland Wasp at 1/24th scale.
 
Up until recently I've not done anything siginificant modelling-wise above 1/72nd scale, so astonished at the quality of work in larger scales which you're all creating on this forum, and which I hope to catch up with in due course.
 
As you'll see from the images below I'm using CAD to create the initial designs from a combination of maintenance manuals and photography, with the bulk of the helicopter being 3D printed. No one medium is entirely capable of reproducing everything however, so glazing will be produced from vacforms and smaller/thinner elements (where strength is at a premium) will be from brass PE and tubing.
 
These have proven the most useful items of historical, operational  and technical documentatioto rely upon for background information on the subject:
 
AP-101C-0601-3A Wasp HAS 1 Illustrated parts manual
 
T. L. Ciastula: The Development of the P.531, The Aeronautical Journal / Volume 68 / Issue 642 / June 1964
 
D. B. Bathurst: Maritime VSTOL — The Development of Small Ship Helicopter Operations in the Royal Navy,
SAE Transactions Vol. 83, Section 3: 740525–740863 (1974)
 
L. B. Bryson, F. E. Heenan, C. A. Johnson: Helicopters in the Royal Navy, The Aeronautical Journal / Volume 76 / Issue 740 / August 1972
 
J. H. Stevens: Scout and Wasp - Westland's All-British Helicopters,  Flight International June 1964
 
Adrian Balch: Westland Scout & Wasp, Warpaint Series No.110, Guideline Publications. 2017
 
Larry Jeram-Croft, Terry Martin: The Royal Navy Wasp: An Operational & Retirement History, Pen & Sword Aviation 2018.
 
I'm currently at the point of having just produced the first batch of test prints which have - inevitably - sent me back into the software to make design revisions to problem areas.
 
For now I'll just put up a representative selection of images showing progress up to the present, and will update with significant developments in due course.
 
Designs to date:

 

 

 

 

 

 
Test prints/fits:

 

 

 

 
So far the fit of parts has been pretty pleasing, although with items like working tail and main rotor folds I'm (unsurprisingly) having to navigate that difficult overlap between visual accuracy and structural strength.
 
Thanks for reading this and I look forwards to talking with you all over the coming weeks!
Kind regards,
Tony
 
 
 
 
 
 

So not a lot to report except hours of refining the shapes and starting to reinstate panel lines and fasteners.  All a bit tedious and not a lot to show I am afraid, but you might be interested

 

 
There are some tricky shapes around here I still need to sort

 
 
Whaddya reckon?  Starting to look like a Brit Spey engined Phantom now??

 
 
Cheers Anthony....heading back to the tediousness of the surface (but I am enjoying it!)

Well who’d’ve believed it, my annual production figures have just risen by 100% 
 

 
Rotten conditions for photography so I’ll get some better ones later, but for now this gives some idea of the final result. 

I can't think of a kit that has given me more satisfaction than Silver Wings Gauntlet:
 















 
Build thread and lots of lovely period photos:
 
My thanks to all those who helped me along the way, it certainly wasn't a straightforward build and it had its "moments" but the end result is satisfying.

Just completed a review of the pre-production sample for Alan Wilson's (Islandic Fine Art) upcoming release of the Sea Harrier FA.2. He's also working on an FRS.1 as well as a GR.3, all in 1/32 scale. Make sure to check out the video and contact Alan Wilson via email (alanwilson1959@mail.uk) or through the message board over on Britmodeller to get more information on these great kits and to reserve yours today. Production will be very limited. Chad

My father chose to pass away three days before my birthday in March. A fall, he never woke up again, and although I miss him; I felt at 94, still active, still living unaided in the same home he and my mother bought in 1964, he had, as we English like to put it, a “fair innings”.
 
40 years in the Royal Navy, thirty years on a comfortable pension, a good life.  My mother, now failing and in a hospice, will follow him in a few weeks, and as the only child, mine will be the task of winding up their affairs and selling the family home in which I grew up during the 1970’s and 80’s. 
 
It’s a rite of passage, the losing of old familiar places, and of people who shared those old common memories. The young boy who devoured Commando comics and Airfix kits at a vast rate, graduating to Tamiya armour & thick tomes of history, before finally, the flight to university, pub, girls, kids and career, home town left behind -never to return. 
 
And so, in this long hot summer of 2022, I’m reminded of summers of my childhood, equally hot and long, and of the models I made, the chronology of which has mostly been lost over the intervening decades. It occurs to me that in a few short months, the opportunity to build another model here will be lost, and so I decided to make one last model in my parent’s house. Some, old school, old tool kit, using the same methods and tools as of 40 years ago. 
 
Choice was a little random, I recalled making this old 1/72 Typhoon around 1977, then lazing around on the flat garage roof sunbathing. Tooling was originally 1959 so nearly 20 years old when I made it back then….. Airfix continued releasing the same kit up to 2009 …way beyond its expiry date - in my mind they have no shame for peddling such old tat. 
 
So, methods - all brush painting, tube glue, tweezers and kraft knife …no superglues or extra thin cement, airbrushes etc, masks, proper thinners or decal fixers. All the methods of the 1970’s not the 2020’s. 
 
This is the model I bought, c/w 12 year old mini acrylic paints (sadly not enamels) ….and the original release I bought back in the model shop in ’77.
 

 

 
 

 
 
Fit is not bad in all honesty, raised details are ok for the scale, all the parts are way too thick, but it sort of hangs together. Wings were slightly warped but good old clothes pegs pulled them together ….fit with the wings could do with some filler but that was not my methodology back then .
 

 

 
 
Paint brushed straight to plastic, no primers or masking tape here. Kit decals are 40 years ahead of the old ones, but with no varnish coat I’m sucking up a bit of silvering. Tube glue is ropey too, even using it with a toothpick.
 
And so, after a few days of nostalgia, this the last model I’ll make at this house, from a Frog Bf110G in 1973/4 to this Typhoon nearly 50 years later. End of an era, we move on. 
 
QRT. 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

One of the first issues I found was the cockpit design. The way the kit has been made results in a major assembly problem: the fuselage seam and the air intake side are visible close to the middle of each cockpit side wall! Ouch! Not the best idea and how to paint that?
 

I pulled my hairs a lot to find a solution and considered various options. I think the one I found is probably the most appropriate one. To avoid the seam issue and fill that rear void, extending the upper fuselage looked to be the best approach. But there were two issues to consider. First, this had to be done in a way still allowing the easy assembly of fuselage halves. Second, everything has a double curve (that egg-shape!). Finally, after many dry assemblies, I decided I would work with half-a-millimeter plastic card. This would be rigid enough to avoid issues with the glue and withstand handling while being souple enough to be shaped to reproduce the curves! At least I had a plan!
 

 
I started with two strips on each side. An horizontal one (45*5mm) was glued on the internal edge of the upper fuselage. Then a smaller one (+/- 27*2.5mm) was added to join the rear of the horizontal one with the rear of the fuselage side. They were crushed a little bit before glueing to reproduce the relevant curvature. Then,I let that assembly dry with clamps for two hours. Finally I simply cut smaller pieces of the same sheet to fill the remaining void. When dry I added some putty. This is not yet fully ended but you get the idea!

 

 
Problem solved!
 

 

 
No problem to close the fuselage!
 

 
Issue 1 solved!

afternoon all
 
 
Hi OBG, thanks for dropping by - the tape is just decorators masking tape and the litho is 0.2mm so i guess there is a tenth of a mm in it - it is pretty close largely because it's slightly textured.. The litho is sheet aluminium used in the litho printing process - it's called Jade Long Runs and I got 100 sheets from Printing Supplies Direct I have no idea how to navigate their website or what their minimum order is, but Geoff (Ironwing here) put me onto them years ago and I just emailed a chap called Brian
 
You can probably get it elsewhere & I have got it on ebay before, but that is after it has been used and I found when I abraded it with wire wool I was getting coloured hues in the metal (reds, greens, blues etc) so went straight to source
 
recent work on the P40 has focussed on getting the cockpit 'pod' completed and onto the fuselage as this was holding up many other things. I got as far as skinning the tail feathers before I had to move on..
 

 

 
..the filler fairings were slightly cut into so the skin will sit under the litho fairings that cover this union - I need to refill over the join or it will show through when burnishing down the fillets..
 

 
..To get the cockpit pod oriented, I mocked up where it sat and added braces so I could assemble the instrument panel mounts and all the final components..
 

 
..once that was fixed, I built out the IP mount and installed it..
 

 
..now I knew the area I had to fit the guns into so made up the mounts and ammo bins into one assembly. The guns were little PE kits and the cocking levers (I assume) were ground with my dremel from sheet aluminium - at 6mm tall this was pretty hard
 

 

 
..the guns were then added to the assembly as were the throttle control rods and any final bobbins before the whole thing would be fixed in place on the fuselage..
 

 

 
..the floor and control column also added - I can add the seat later..
 
..I also removed the panels under the rear canopy glass as these are different for the early version I am doing and I had incorrectly added fuel & oil fillers...
 

 
..I actually installed the cockpit pod and filled it to blend it in before I realised I had it slightly out of position - very frustrating as I had to carefully remove it without damaging anything which took hours of concentration..
 
..with it safely removed I also realised I should have got the windscreen area right before I mounted the pod, so it was a useful quirk of fate I got it wrong. I got the few drawings there are of the early windscreen and built up a 3D structure of templates - filled the bulk with balsa and then P38 filler...
 

 
..this was refined and a plastic card blank pulled to help set out the area where the windshield meets the fuselage skin. I will cast the blank in resin so I can polish it to a smooth finish before vacforming the windshield..
 

 
..the card blank was used to add two structural 'ears' that appear on the forward cowling where there are two hatches on the upper surface..  by carefully positioning the blank I could CA where the contact was needed for the ears and know the windshield part will match with these..
 
..the cotton is used to assure a true centreline through all components.. you can also see the damage on the forward fuselage where I had to chop out the poorly positioned cockpit pod..
 

 

 
 
..the cockpit pod was finally fitted and faired in with the surrounding fuselage structure..
 

 

 
..starting to look like a P40 now..
 

 
TTFN
 
Peter
 

It's a wrap!
 
So after almost half a year on hold I have finaqlly finnished the last bits.
I had waited for either Master or Maestro to make a metal pitot tube for Viggen in 1/32nd scale but unfortunately that did not come to fruit.
In stead I started looking for tubes to adapt. I ordered a Hawker Hunter tube in 1/32 and a F-100 ditto...and oddly I found that Master had pitot tubes for JAS39 Gripen in 1/32.
Upon recieveing the tubes I dsimissed the F-100 tube out of hand, the Hunter tube could be adapted BUT the Gripen tubes were really interesting.
At first I thought the Gripen tubes were in the wrong scale but when I compared to 1/48 I saw that they indeed were larger.
 

 
 
 
As a matter of fact they are exactly the same length as the Viggen pitot tube!
 

 
 
 
 
 
I still had to adapt it a bit since there is a thicker section at the base of the Gripen tube with a cone at the end. 
I sanded the cone to the thickness of the base section and drilled a 1.2mm hole in the nose of the Viggen.
 

 
 
 
 
It still differs a bit from the Viggen tube, there should be a slight bulge at the end of the Viggen tube and the shaft should be the same width instead of progressingly thinner as the Gripen tube. But in the end it looks the best!
So my big tip is that you should get Master's Gripen pitottube set in 1/32nd scale!
 

 
 
 
 
Also the fin pitot tube is usable from that set. Again not 100% correct as the it should be constant width instead of thinning towards the end...but it looks good! And it's metal!
 

 
 
 
 
I drilled a 0.8mm hole in the Jetmads part (after breaking off the resin tube) and glued the secondary pitottube in place. It cracked a bit so I had to fix with CA glue and then sand it before painting and installing it on the kit.
 

 


 
 
 

I had other stuff to do as well...
I had glued the saftey handle wrong so I had to remove it and reattach it.


 
 
 
 

And lastly There should be protruding a couple of tubes from the tailcone. Probably cooling inlets for the stuff in the tail cone.
Jetmads had the tubes molded in place but I removed them to be able to clean the surface.
I made them from warm drawn sprue, glued them in place and painted them black. They should really be separate parts, Jetmads!


 

 
 
 
 

With that the build is a wrap.....finally and I will take neato pics of the finished model during the week!


 
 
 
 

Cheers and thanks for all the support during the build!

Evening all,
 
I took advantage of my time away from the classroom last week and finally finished this two-and-a-bit year project: Tigger Models' (the old ID Models' vac kit) of the Short Sunderland in 1/32nd scale. This has been a really rewarding project, and despite a setback when I knocked the completed fuselage with its interior off the table, making a rather messy contact with the kitchen floor, it's been great fun and relatively straightforward - despite its size. 
 

 
Kits like this come as a blank canvass for the builder to work his/her magic - 'bumps in plastic' is quite apt, but the shapes are reasonably accurate if not a bit primitive (picture borrowed from Tigger's webpage):
 

 
The kit provides a the correct hull shape for a MkI or MkII, but with some mods the more adventurous builder could easily convert it to a MkIII/V, etc. All panel lines and surface details need to be added and the parts are devoid of any real detail, but the plastic is lovely to work with and scribes/sands beautifully. Due to the size of the parts, home-made interior bulkheads are needed, and any visible parts of the interior need to be made from scratch:
 

 
Strong wing spars are also essential to keep the structure of the model sound - thick plastic card spars were made and added:
 

 
The flightdeck interior, bomb room and nose section were all made from scratch and detailed with some aftermarket seatbelts:
 

 
All the aerials were made from sprue and thin wire - markings were mix of home-made masks and decals:
 

 
The engines were made from spare HK Models' B-17 cylinders coupled with Revell Beaufighter parts to make a reasonable representation of the Bristol Pegasus. The early-style exhausts were made from Evergreen tube bent slowly over the toaster!
 

 
Landing lights were home made from some of my daughter's diamante play/craft jewellery (for the lights) and the covers were clear acetate once again heated over the toaster. Rigging for the floats came for EasyLine and reminded me why I'll never build a biplane!
 

 
The kit's transparencies were used  throughout - all turret interiors were scratch built. Beaching gear was also made from scratch with a friend helping out with some 3D printed wheels:
 

 

 
Bomb racks were again made from scratch with some rather lovely depth charges coming from Tim Perry - thanks, Tim!
 

 

 
I used Xtracolor enamels throughout the build - 6 tins were used in total!
 

 
I don't like to go too mad with weathering on my models so kept it relatively clean - however you can't build a Sunderland without the distinctive water marks on the hull:
 

 
A bit of exhaust staining and some fading with post-shading completed the upper surfaces:
 

 
And for some generic pictures:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I'm often asked how big a 1/32nd Sunderland is. I'm sorry to inflict my ugly mug on you but you can see that it is a massive model with yours truly holding it!
 

 
My model represents a Sunderland MkII of 201 Squadron during 1942 in the lovely temperate sea scheme. Painting white gives me nightmares (especially something of this size) so I took the easier option. W4001 (ZM-V) was only on strength between February to October 1942, before hitting an underwater rock and being written off, thankfully with no loss of life. 
 
Thanks for those who took an interest along the way - I'm off for a long lay down in a darkened room to contemplate the next project!
 
Best wishes to all,
Tom

Wondered how to imitate rivets on the stiffeners: Found leaded solder-balls on e-Bay. (Available 0.2-0.75mm dia)

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

Hi all. This is my first display on this site, and my first big plane. I've been back into modelling for about 2 years after doing as a young lad. 
 
No aftermarket bits except for a few pe bolts from a 1/12 moto gp set, but I did extensively use brass rod and wire of various thickness for engine and cockpit side detail, and the cannon shells - I replaced most of the engine plastic tubing with aluminium wire and some braided wire.
 
Also went for the heavy weather look as I've never done anything even remotely as detailed as this before and wanted to test myself out. Overall I'm really happy with how it came out, and it was an enjoyable 4 months of building a fabulous kit.
 
I was inspired by other examples of this model I've seen on this site and others, and wanted to see if I could live up to the same quality of build you guys are pumping out.
 
Hope you guys like the pics.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

On the home stretch...(Parachute withdrawal cord/strop).

 
And ejection seat handles and headrest/parachute pack restraint straps.

 

 

 

 
Face blind firing handle restraint strap tunnels.

 
Harness 'Go-forward' lever.

 
Ejection seat detailing complete.

 

 
And after a coat of primer.

 

 
Definitely an improvement over the supplied kit detail.

 

 

 
Derek

In further adventures of Poseidon: after lots of sanding, first primer coats on wings and tailplane.
 
Starting to look a little more like a 'proper' model now, and not a Fisher Price reject! 
 

 

 

 
A lot of work to do now on thinning the trailing edges - waaay too thick as they are - but the wings are stable/solid and I'm reasonably happy it'll all work.
 
More when there's more...
 
Iain

Thank you Gents!
 
Well, I'm finally done!  I need to take a bunch of RFI pics in a much larger photo-booth, which I hope to do real soon- maybe even tomorrow or the next day at the latest.  I think this model turned out better than I had hoped for and although not perfect, the flaws are minimal.  Until then, here's a teaser, just 'cause.....
 

 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

hi, thanks for moving here this wip, Kevin. I'm sorry I didn't complete it on the set date, I came so close!
thank you too, Shark! actually I think it's one of the most unfairly treated aircraft by model manufacturers.
 
so, tonight a rich update, with a lot of cute little things, I would say. ready?
in the euphoria of the wing in its place and of the color retouches (not documented in detail, sorry) that were successful without damage, I launched into the last thing that gave me a little to think about, the transparencies.
before these, however, I needed to place the last details below, the flaps interconnecting cables and instrument panel's spotlights.

 
then a slight weathering with oils, and while these it were drying, one of the most rewarding phases for me: off the mask! it took me a lifetime this time...

 
et voilà the only kit's original clear part in position, coupled with the redesigned side panels and the wing modified to the sound of steel and aluminum. all almost well, except that in a retouch I stripped -again- one of the damned aluminum strips. phew.

 
I've already retouched it a million times, I'll do it again, patience.
however, I still have to touch up all the lower surfaces. here the mooring eyelet on the wing pillar, and you can guess the shiny halo of the two-component that holds it in place (aided by a sturdy brass pin).

 

once the lateral transparencies were placed, I was able to definitively glue the flaps, and then the slats. in the enthusiasm of the moment I also positioned the upper sliding transparent, forgetting the two side ones... bravo, now it will be less simple, with the slats in the middle.

 
and oh well. if I didn't do nonsense it wouldn't be me, of course. also glued the exhaust and retouched the manifold.

 
and a couple of shots together to see if there is something to correct. ah, I have recovered some HGW decals for the "W / T" stencils, here waiting to be peeled, but we will talk about it tomorrow.
then another goofy, I waited to have the wing mounted to paint the indexes near the stabilizer. a real convenience... here also a test for the wheels, I was undecided whether to leave the rims clear or get them black. I opted for the latter hypothesis: semi-gloss black rims and matte tires.

 
and zenith view. here there are no flaps and slats actuators yet, position lights, and... the ladder! damn me, I should have done it without the wing glued, ofjzdfnif, now will be a calvary.
and I also see a section of slat, the central left, which has disheveled... let's see if I can correct it, but I already know it's too late.

 
well. net of the various messes that I combine, I must say that I am quite satisfied with how it is turning out in the end.
or maybe I'm not very objective?
 
cheers, Paolo.
 

Greetings all,
 
I have been confined to the house over the last week and bit due to Covid, but being in isolation does have its perks. After a pretty grim 48hrs I was back to feeling fine so got the airbrush out and started painting this beast. 
 
Total painting time was more or less 10 hours and I used three tins of Xtracolor paint for each of the Extra Dark Sea Grey, Slate Grey and Sky - the surface area is HUGE. I still need to do the upper wing insignias but this will have to wait until the weekend as I'm now back to work. 
 
You'll have to forgive the horrible phone pictures - these were snapped in the living room under artificial light - but when she's flat-coated I'll get the decent camera out and shoot some pics in natural light. 
 
 
 
Things are progressing nicely, and the end is appearing on the horizon!
 
All the best,
Tom