Dpgsbody55

Great work, here. Looking forward to seeing the rest of this build as I have this kit in my stash and haven't built a Luftwaffe plane in ages. Cheers, Michael

Nice progress already. One comment, if I may. You mention how the fuselage halves go together only with some pressure. Watch the fit of the internal bulkheads. Part E28 is a little on the thick side and benefits from some sanding on the front face, which won't be seen. Also give it a light sanding all the rounds the outer edge and you'll find that the fuselage goes together well. Next, check that part E39 doesn't bow when you fit the 2 fuselage halves together. If it does, the cause is the locating tab on the top. Either widen the slot in each fuselage half, or narrow the locating tab. Lastly, check the fuselage fit with each frame individually. This kit builds well, from all reports, but the parts are all a tight fit, made tighter still with paint. Apparently, most parts need cleaning up from things like ejector pin marks and mold-half marks. The Typhoon was like that too, but I had a blast building that kit. I've been following a You Tube build on this kit, and have joined a Facebook group too, which has given me many tips for building this kit. Mine arrived today, but I'm not going to start immediately, mostly due to having no time thanks to family issues. I'm keeping in touch with this forum to help keep me sane!! The upside, if you can call it that, is that it will give me time to see what the aftermarket comes up with. I'm mostly interested to see what markings might become available. Hope you enjoy the build. I'll be watching. Cheers, Michael

I generally detest Bookface, and I'm sure I don't need to elaborate as to why. That said, I do have a Facetube page as my son lives in New Zealand and I need to keep in touch with him. I keep my time on this to a minimum as you can waste many hours, but I have to say it can be very useful. Point in case is the Hellcat page which has a link to Nigel's Modelling Bench on Youtube. I'm posting this link to the 4th video in his Hellcat build which details a trap for young players beginning at 23:30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTD34Foh2Zs Have patience and watch as otherwise you may have troubles fitting your fuselage halves together. Also, I'm enjoying watching these videos as it's giving me some new tips. Cheers, Michael

Great project. Mine is presently on my shelf of doom, but I'm fairly certain I will finish it. Incidentally, I had the same idea as you, to open up the sides to see all the supercharger workings inside. Here's the intercoolers under construction. And the assembled trunking: I'll be following this one. Cheers, Michael

I have only 2 LSP's on my Shelf Of Doom. Both are Trumpeter kits; namely the P-51B and P-47 Razorback. Perhaps there's a 5% chance I'll complete the Mustang, which I didn't bother to take any pictures of, but I hope one day to finish the P-47, as that plane is a favourite. Alas I got totally bamboozled with how I wanted to detail the engine, so I put it away in favour of the Tamiya Spitfire MkXVI I did for the blue theme'd group build. These bits are now back in the box. Since the Spitfire build, I've been dealing with family issues, so that has prevented me going ahead with the plane I was going to build for the Multi Engine group build, and I want to finish that, another Tamiya kit, and the Airfix Hellcat before I get back to this one. That said, here's an idea for a future group build. "Finished Shelf of Doom builds"!! Cheers, Michael

Over hyped and under done. I've always found it difficult to understand the apparent hysteria surrounding TV and movies, although I do enjoy a good series or movie. For the most part, I accept entertainment for what it is, and then move on, as it's far from the most important thing in my life. GoT has only reinforced this. I found to be initially too complex to be entertaining, with too many short scenes, and then the series became overly simple for what it started out as, like the horse drawing above. The books might be more interesting as that format can deal with many concurrent threads far better than TV and more so movies. If GRR Martin ever finishes the books, I might read them, but somehow I doubt he will write the concluding books. If the series had finished with the complexity that it deserved, then I might feel differently. But TV and movie producers have to think along simpler story lines , so hopefully the next big series will maintain a high quality all the way through. The producers didn't do it justice. Perhaps they bit off more than they could chew? Cheers, Michael

This is a tragedy. Notre Dame is one of the most iconic buildings in the world. My condolences to the French people. I hope it is rebuilt as faithfully as is possible, but it will take time. Michael

I have bought the WNW Junkers D1. It's going to be my intro kit into the world of WW1 models. I have 2 other WnW kits in my stash, but the rigging is off-putting. But I didn't buy from the sale sites, as they were more expensive. I looked at buying the D1 and the Fokker DVII as well, but with postage added, the D1 was about AUD$200 at my door, and (get this) the DVII was about AUD$450, thanks to postage from the US being in the order of $200. 'Er Indoors would have gone and I can't say I disagree. So in the end, I bought from BNA Model World instead at AUD$138 at my door. Alas they didn't have the DVII, and I can't build either right now anyway, so that's a purchase I will save for another day. It pays to shop around. Cheers, Michael

This is very subjective, as we all have different preferences, but I'll throw my hat in the ring here. Top 1) Tamiya. Their kits are a joy to build. Detail is superb, as is fit and finish. 2) Wingnut Wings. Really difficult to separate from Tamiya kits as to how good they are. The rigging is daunting, however, and can mess up the results of an otherwise wonderful kit. 3) HKM. Well engineered and a nice build. The range is something a bit different too, if a little limited. Give them time. Worst 1) Kittyhawk. How to ruin an interesting subject. Slap dash engineering of the kits makes for a tear your hair out experience of what should be an interesting subject. 2 Trumpeter. So inconsistent. Some kits are good, but others just awful. Why did they put a 1/32 Merlin inside their 1/24 Hurricane, and do such a bad job on the engine too?? Their P-51B will forever remain on my shelf of doom. Honorable mentions 1) Hasegawa. Nice kits, if a little basic. I like to see an engine provided in "our" scales. That aside, the kits build well with plenty of scope for added detail to make a top model. 2) ZM. Nice kits and interesting subjects. I like to see someone doing different subjects. Wish they'd do an Italian WW2 fighter (Macchi 202/205 in particular). I like their "over-engineering". 3) Airfix. Their 1/24 Typhoon is a great build and I'm looking forward to the release of their F6F. The older 1/24 kits still stack up well too, with the possible exception of the Spitfire, whose molds are clearly past their prime. A new Spitfire to the F6F/Typhoon standard would be very welcome. Exhausts on the 109 being molded into the fuselage are a bi 1960's too. I can't speak to other makes here, as I have no experience of them in the last 20 years. There's enough kits in my top 3 and honourable mentions to keep my busy for a while too, though I'm unable to do any modelling at the moment due to family issues. Next year, perhaps. Life is too short to build a bad kit. Cheers, Michael

Nice one I like your metal finish a lot, too. Cheers, Michael

Wonderful build. I'm looking at your pictures and realising I don't have a decent FW-190 on my shelves. Cheers, Michael

Nice model. I think your weathering i great too - very fitting for this subject. Cheers, Michael

In Sydney, take a flight in a seaplane from Rose Bay to Palm Beach or Cottage Point. The flight up along the northern beaches is spectacular, as Pittwater. I lived there for 5 years as a teenager and it was paradise. https://sydneybyseaplane.com/ https://www.seaplanes.com.au/ Cheers, Michael

Yes, you're quite right, and I forgot to mention that when stating the difference between the Mk V and the Mk I & II. I blame my brain for being 3 steps in front of my keyboard. Those really early marks were very prone to nosing over, so the undercarriage was angled forward from Mk V onwards. I seem to recall that Griffon engine Spitfires had the undercarriage raked forwards some more, for the same reason. Cheers, Michael

Another 109 in foreign service. I like that a lot Cheers, Michael