tucohoward

Lynn is noted authority on 109’s. He has published books on them and the 109 Lair is his website and is a friend of mine, so I respect his opinion. Personally I am not as concerned as a lot of people are about accuracy as long as it looks good to me. We all want different things from a kit. You like detailed wheel wells and for me that’s the one area on this kit I have never used any AM. Nobody ever looks at them. Jay

Almost forgot about accuracy. It’s not too bad. Per Lynn Ritter the only accurate 109 in 1/32 is the Dragon E-4. Jay

Hi Gaz, being a 109 guy I have built all of them and for the F/G/K models I much prefer Hasegawa. Probably more AM available for this kit than any other ever made. Still looks like a 109 without any of it though. Very simple build.. Jay

Beautiful work, Matt. I love it! Jay

Really nice painting and weathering. Looks great! Jay

Hi guys. It's been a while since I have been posting here but I have been building and trying to keep current on the forum. This is my most recent build which I just finished Saturday morning along with 12 hours on Friday to get it ready for the NoVa IPMS show on Saturday. Didn't really have time to look it over too closely yet but am happy with the result. Had a few issues with decals as I almost always do and ended up having to mask and paint the rudder and the upper wing roundels. I was most happy with the wing roundels as I used a circle cutter for the smaller rings but the cutter would only do 50mm max and I needed 52mm for the outermost 1mm white ring. I ended up clamping a #11 blade to a compass to cut it. Still surprised it worked that well. Fair amount of rigging on this one. I decided to go with fishing line and not EZ Line because I wanted it to be silver. Briefly thought about PE rigging for the RAF flat wire but decided that would be nuts. Anchored with Gaspatch turnbuckles and Bob's Buckles. I tried painting the fishing line first but even that thin layer of paint made it very difficult to thread through the tubing so had to paint them in place. Anyway, glad to post something again. Cheers, Jay

I use Tamiya paint a fair amount and never have any issues with it. I thin it with Mr. Leveling Thinner, X20A, or IPA, whatever is closest at hand. All work well with no tip dry at just about any pressure. Rarely clean my airbrush other than flushing lacquer thinner through it. Many different airbrushes. I add thinner to the airbrush cup first and then add paint with a Tamiya paint stirrer, checking as I go, until it sprays how I want it to. Works every time for me. That said, I use MRP a lot now because it is just pour and spray. Jay

Just started on mine as well. Jay

Hi Vlad. The Aires cockpit seems fine to me. I have used them as well as the MDC which is also very good. Personally I never do anything with the wheel wells as I don’t think anyone really looks at them. One of the most common upgrades people do is the spinner. Since you are in Russia I would check out A.M.U.R. Reaver. BarracudaCast also makes a really nice one. One of things I always use is RB Production seatbelts. I think they make a huge difference. There is a ton of good AM for that kit. Good luck, Jay

That’s a while ago but I can’t imagine it would have been anything but Mr. Color. Jay

I freehand them as I do all the rivet spacing. After doing thousands you get the amount you need to move programmed into your wrist. If you are off slightly no one will notice anyway. Jay

Fantastic result, Peter! Really well done all around. You definitely have the Mr. Color mastered. Jay

Thanks, Peter. I am glad Mr. Color is working so well for you. Really great paint. Jay

I thought I would try one of these before I get back to repairs on the Mosquito. I followed Gaz's build so I knew what to look for and pay attention going in. Very enjoyable build overall. Lots to like but for me the real highlights were the radiator flap mounting and the main landing gear and wheels/tires. Both for their very secure mounting methods and assured perfect alignment. The decals are much thinner than previous Tamiya issue and were used throughout. The only thing I really didn't like was the decal seatbelt harness. I used it because I went into this planning to build it with whatever came in the box, but would definitely use AM if I build another one. Jay

Hi Martin, I use MM Acryl clears over Mr. Color all the time. Not sure if that's what you are speaking of. Mr. Color is fantastic paint. Jay