Greif8

Thank you Gary! Ernest

Looks really nice work Mike. Ernest

Looking good man! Ernest

Very beautiful build man! Ernest

Excellent modifications Chuck. Aires sure has some hit and miss products don't they?! Ernest

Sounds like you had a great museum trip Jim. Those are some great photos. Ernest

It isi ndeed looking like a 109, nice work! Ernest

Nice progress Andy! I hope your father-in-law get better soon. Ernest

Thank you guys! The paint is drying well (a relief that!) and I should be able to correct a couple of spots that either need I bit of smoothing or a blemish removed and smoothed out. I can never seem to get a 100% error free primer coat, though this one was close. Ernest

After spending a significant amount of time buffing plastic I was ready to prime the model. I am planning to try to airbrush an NMF for the first time and did quite a bit of learning how best to bring that off. Step one was doing my best to buff the plastic to a smooth finish, hopefully removing any sanding or other marks. Step two was priming the model with a very high gloss primer. I chose MRP's 2K Black High Gloss primer. This is a two part paint, one part being the gloss black and the other being the hardner. MRP instructions say to mix the parts at a 1:1 ratio which I did with two seperate droppers. I then sprayed the primer on in three thin coats; coverage was quite good. I managed to get the entire airframe sprayed with no runs and I think I managed to mostly get even coverage, though I couple of spots are a bit thin. This stuff really reflects! As you can see in the photos the finish is very glossy. THe good news is that it looks like I managed to buff the plastic well enough that there are no imperfections when viewed with the eyes - my eyes at least. Under the extreme macro there are a couple of locations that look like they still have micro scratching, but the surface looks very smooth to the eye. I also managed to get a good clean spray for the most part; only a few spots will need to be cleaned up by either removing a dust particle or tiny thread; a surprise that to be honest. The potential bad news is that after 30 minutes the surface is still quite tacky. I have covered the model to protect it while it drys. This particular MRP paint is enamel and I am guessing (hoping really) that is will dry slowly like enamel paints tend to do and harden up after a few days. We shall see! Thankfully it looks like I was able to get a very clean join of the upper engine/weapons cover, something I was worried about. The photo focuses on what was the most problematic area, and it looks pretty decent. The wing/fuselage joints were another area of concern. Again, the macro photo shows one of the two spots that took the most work to get fitted and smooth. I was again happy that it appears to have turned out ok. The second area I was worried about was the port wing/fuselage leading edge. It looks ok under the extreme macro shot so I think I'll be ok. You also see one of the areas I was a bit too light with the primer.

Thank for the answer Miloslav it looks very good. Ernest

Blast from the past and a pleasent surprise! Outstanding work as always Tom, a simply master class build. I don't know what the original photos looked like, but your remastered ones are very good. Ernest

Missed this when you first posted it Miloslav, beautiful work as always! The diorama is very well executed and highlights the aircraft quite well. Did you use the salt technique as part of your weathering? Ernest

Both MG's look great Mike. I am using GP machineguns on my SE5a build and think they are excellent little kits. I did a bit of modifiaction work on the Lewis gun to get it to mate up with the Foster Mount. It took some work but I think it was worth the effort. Your builds are a priceless reference for guys like me. Thank you! Ernest

Very nice recovery Tim, (got your name right this time!). I am planning to try my hand at a NMF on the build I'm working on in the "Turning Japanese" GB, so I am following your build pretty closely to see how a really skilled modeller does it. Taking a lot of notes. Ernest

Very cool experience Jim! I have only been able to touch the outsides of most museum exhibits with the exception of U-505 which I have been able to visit many times over the years. Ernest

Exceptional work Jay, the radios are beautifully done! Ernest

Nice solution man! I have just done something similiar to replace the scissors links on the undercarriage of my build. Ernest

Nice progress Chuck! The model looks like it is very nice. Ernest

Outstanding work Bernd! Ernest

Know what you mean about the minister of finance, been there more than once myself Pete! Your build should be fun to watch. Ernest

The whole Hoth battle was some great cinemtography. The John Williams music score for the battle was perfect. Ernest

Very nice display of Russian aircraft Michael. I have both the MiG-3 and the Yak-3 wainting to be built. Ernest

Brilliant scratchbuilding and construction work John. It is all very well executed! Ernest

I use the Novus products as well and I'm very satisfied with them. However, Woody's advice is also very good and well work quite well. Ernest