ClumsyDude

Hey Ben, congratulations!!!! That's awesome news. You will be struggling for a bit to squeeze in modelling time for a bit, but it's a pretty amazing thing. Cheers Jim

Inspirational stuff ... those wing sweep bags are the best I've seen, ever. Bravo! Jim

Terrific work as always Chavdar ... well done. Jim

Wow, that looks really terrific! Jim

This'll be super ... I did some armature work on my tomcat diorama but nothing as ambitious as this. Reckon you'll really enjoy it, it's an wesome challenge but tractable with some elbow grease (which you clearly have in spades). Cheers Jim

Bloody phenomenal work Vaughn ... I'm amazed! Well done. Jim

Super crisp, I really like it! Jim

Chuck, awesome work as always ... I have several of your builds bookmarked and to me, each is the definitive resource on that kit. This one will be as well (probably co-bookmarked with Wolf though I must say). Jim

So now that Maru has won a kit, are we going to see a WIP?? Jim

Awesome Milan ... even here on LSP it's rare to see a build that looks so much like the real thing. Jim

No F until September?? Guess I'll just have to wait ... not that I'm likely to finish my current build before then at the rate I'm going I suppose ... Jim

Thanks Meindert! Those are great shots. Jim

For my tomcat launch diorama I just did a lot of google image work. You will find a lot of different vibes for the deck ... some look more of a light grey, others much darker. Some have prominent tyre marks, others they're scarcely visible. Staining and bleaching seem to be common. My advice would be, look at a heap of photos on line, and pick some characteristics you want to replicate. Then (IMHO) you need at least six layers of weathering to make it come to life. Good luck - you're a great modeller and you'll definitely make it sing. Jim

I know there are only a few of us ... and I know it'll never be as popular as the new P-51 - but I have to say, I'm dead keen to see more of the new Revell super hornet - sprue shots, previews - but I've found almost nothing on line. Isn't it supposed to be out about now? Jim

Ohhhh Dan ... that is properly super awesome. What a cool project! This is why we visit LSP ... Jim

Seat looks great ... how did you do the cushions? Jim

Gaz, Peter and Sandokan - thanks, and merry Christmas! Jim

Thanks all ... @Neo - 4-6 thick wet coats of Mr Super Clear gloss on top of mist coats - there's a full step by step a few pages back. Cheers Jim

All RIGHT y'all, time for one last update before Christmas - I'm on holiday until the new year so no more modelling for a while. So here's the progress - what you see here took pretty close to a full day's work. Here are the polished inner flaps: I'm pretty happy with the shine, but then take a look at this - not too happy with the receding blue paint around the panel line: I don't know how I'll fix that - a wash might work, or I might need to spray some blue and re-polish. I also managed to get one of the slats done ... Again, pretty happy with the shine - but my screw up on this one was polishing through the paint on the bottom side (you can see the white primer showing through at the top of the slat in this shot): Here's the polished slat next to its mate, which still has the nasty orange peel: At this rate I'll just about have it done by Christmas (Christmas 2018 that is!). Thanks all for following along, I really appreciate the comments. Hope you all have a terrific holiday season & new year! Cheers Jim

Thanks Mike! It's funny what you say about "spit shine", I do use spit with my sanding (I find it works better than water, just like it did on parade shoes back in the day). Appreciate the encouragement, it's a big help keeping the mojo up. Got one more update to post before Christmas ... will hopefully get to it this afternoon. Jim

Thanks Chris. I have sprayed the lacquer straight over the decals - this is what I usually do, and don't usually have issues. Of course, this time wasn't usual, and I was very lucky to be able recover after the wrinkling on the nose roundel. It has spooked me about this strategy in future ... Chavdar, good to see you again! I do have to ask myself why I make it so hard, and I don't have a good answer for you, other than it's the only way I know to get the finish I want. And it is kind of rewarding after all that work to see such a nice gloss ... pretty much makes it worth it! Cheers Jim

Thanks Squizzy! More of an update tomorrow or Saturday I hope. Jim

Great job on getting to the finish line, Kev - well done, your perseverance and commitment have been inspirational. What's next? Jim

Looks terrific as always Chavdar. Keep it up! Jim

Bloody amazing work Craig ... hats off. Jim