BiggTim

Thanks, Troy! The drawback is that I have a very small case, and it just doesn't fit in it, along with a few others.

By the way, he might appreciate some encouragement, if anyone wanted to send him a PM. He's probably a bit down due to his health issues.

As promised, here's my somewhat crude home-made setup. The paint booth is on the left, and tends to catch a lot of loose crap when I'm not using it. The bench on the right is my printing & casting workbench. I bought some plastic tracks on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ542RLN?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1) and had some 1/4" acrylic panels cut to make a "fume hood" with sliding doors. The left end of the hood is connected to the back of the paint booth, and I can block off whichever side I am not using at the time with a piece of cardboard. The fan is a simple 240 cfm duct booster fan poked through the exterior wall behind the paint booth (with a dryer vent cover on the outside), also from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01C82SZRM?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_24&th=1): The fan is bit on the noisy side, but not bad, and the whole thing is way quieter when the panels are closed. The best part is that it works very well. I can't smell the printer or the casting resin at all when the fan and hood are in use, and the smell used to drive me out of the room. I sit right in front of the paint booth (to the right of my desk), and I can watch videos on my PC or use the phone just fine with it running. I'd like to have a more permanent and fancy workspace, but this gets the job done and didn't cost a lot. I hope that give you some ideas, Thierry!! Tim

Finally heard back from Stuart. He's still kicking, but still having some issues.

Wow! I will waste way too much time looking at all of those. Plus, it makes me want to buy a Spit kit that I don't have time to build, like all my other kits. I only buy kits now so I can use them to develop aftermarket stuff. I like to tell people "I don't build models anymore, I help build other people's models".

Good to hear, I'll try him again!

I believe its stuey57.

I have not.

I know he was having some health issues, and I haven't been able to contact him via email for some time. I'm getting a bit concerned. Tim

Just heard from Ernie that Harvey Boyer died yesterday. He was fixture here for a long time, and I will miss him terribly.

Ahh, don't sweat the "no awards" thing. It's nice to get the approval of others, but awards are so subjective that I find them overrated. It's a good build, IMO!!

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input!!

I am considering (I said CONSIDERING) reproducing Jerry Rutman's P-51B kit, with his blessing, of course. Before I attempt it, I want to gauge interest, since it would require a ton of time and expense to set up. So here's what I'm thinking: It would likely be a limited run of say....25 kits to start with, because that's likely the life span of the first set of molds (and I'm being generous). Due to the time it would take to produce, it would probably cost 100+ USD. It would NOT include the white metal landing gear or the PE parts Jerry originally included, as the cost would be too high to make those for such a limited run. I would likely include a set of resin LG with the kit, but would probably ask Damian to make a set of his exceptional landing gear especially for this kit if the buyer wanted. It would also include the vac-form canopies, both standard and malcolm. Otherwise, it would be a faithful re-pop of Jerry's original kit cast in new gray resin just like my other products. Exactly as he made it, with no re-working or corrections beyond the very basic items necessary to make new masters. I love Jerry's work, and I would love to see this kit come back to life to preserve the awesome art form of scratch building the old fashioned way. If you would buy one, please vote.

Sorry I missed this post. I did start re-working the -5N conversion some time ago, but it has stalled due to other priorities, unfortunately. I hope to pick it up again at some point. I do not have any plans currently to make an other Corsair conversions. Tim

I offer the AMS set with the cuffed props for the N/M, but I don't think that's what your looking for.

I have my printing/casting hood and my spray hood combined, though somewhat crudely. I'll try to take some pics of the setup this weekend and explain what I did.

Wow. That damn near as bad as that resto some Egyptians did to Dennis Copping's P-40. Yikes. https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/899678/WW2-raf-fighter-P40-Kittyhawk-El-Alamein-Museum-restoration-Flight-Sergeant-Dennis-Copping

I really like the use of the brown paper for the background, too. Very good idea! I may have to steal that....

Ho Lee Chit......

This might be a dumb question, but is the ILK M4A1 kit the same one that Trumpeter offers? I see Trumpy also offers an M4A1E8 in 1:16 that I hadn't seen before. That might be pretty cool as well. I always liked the upgunned versions. I must confess I was not even aware of an M4A1E8 variant until now. I assume it was just another name for the later HVSS suspension on the cast hull with the newer turret and gun combo more commonly referred to as the M4A1(76)?

I don't have the fan, but I do have the cockpit set. Shoot me an email! Tim

Yes, that built up quite nicely!!

Yes, it's been a while, and the links are old. Just shoot me an email to bnbresindesign@gmail.com, and I'll get a PDF list with prices sent your way asap.

Good point, Pete. I wonder why they are not covered in the photo Droopy linked in. I see what you mean about the amber color now. Now that I see how much is visible through the lens, my earlier idea may not work. I also noticed that the GBU-12 offerings from Reskit and Eduard did not have clear tips, but the Eduard ones had two types, with covers and without.

I can't get that link to work, but I googled it and the lens appears to be clear in the pics I could find. I know damn near nothing about them, so please correct me if I'm wrong. Whether clear or amber, I would lean toward some UV reactive 3D printing resin of the appropriate color, dropped in a drilled hole, shaped, and polished. Tim