Kendzior

Captured "Racoon Special" probably, but have not finally decided yet.

Added a small air intake on top of the engine cover. This is slightly reworked part from the box. Most of the engine cover fasteners have been already trimmed. Best regards Hubert

At last, I found some time for the smaller Oscar. Before I assemble and paint the interior, it was necessary to cut off the part of the fuselage behind the pilot's seat, - I'm going to put a much better resin element from SBS into this place. Best regards Hubert

Hi, All Some more work in the cockpit still to be done, but I think it is going to be acceptable, taking into account that not much of it will be visible after the fuselage is closed. Best regards Hubert

Actually, metal alloy used by SAC in this set isn't so soft. Even drilling holes for the rod reinforcing the joints wasn't easy. Will see, if i doesn't work, I will scratch-build new gear legs. Thanks for all the nice comments, Mates Best regards Hubert

Slowly going forward with the fasteners of engine covers. Pieces of plastic 0,8 mm rod have been inserted into the holes drilled in the covers, now all will be cut to get the hopefully similar size of each fastener. Best regards Hubert

Whoooo​ooooooooooooooooooo! That's a wonderful Jug, fantastic paintjob and weathering, not overdone, just perfect. Best regards Hubert

The landing gear... Probably will not use even a single bit of the plastic from the box. SAC's Mk. VIII legs had to be slightly reworked. According to my calculations, the difference between 1:32 Mk. VIII leg from SAC and scaled down F. Mk.22 leg is equal to only 6,6 mm. Therefore had to prepare an insert 9,6 mm long, and remove 3 mm of the metal leg. I am aware, that the actual difference was 4,5", which in scale is not exactly equal to 6,6 mm, but about 3 mm less... but that's the actual difference between the SAC legs and the 1:32nd scale legs, at least I think so , and what's more important, it matches the size of the gear covers, according to the plans I have. That's how it looks like, together with new landing gear covers. This small black item is the CMK's Mk. II gyro gunsight. Beautiful. Best regards Hubert

Very nice indeed. These early Stukas really stand out in the crowd and the colours you have chosen add even something more. Good job Best regards Hubert

Fantastic, very well done! Best regards Hubert

The same plans I'm using, but I think it is worth to copy them at 225% magnification, you will receive 1:32nd scale. And maybe look also at the plans that can be found here - an absolutely amazing FR.47 build and reference. Keep it up, good luck! Best regards Hubert

Hi, Mates, Took some time to begin, well - just Revell's old Spitfire Mk.24 has taken most of my attention during past few weeks... hope you understand and forgive me Started with the cockpit - these few pieces from the old Eduard's photo etched set are a nice addition. Decided not to use the photo etched pilot's seat, OOB with some enhancements will work well enough for me. That's how it looks like now, sprayed with Tamiya's primer. More details to be added, of course. Best regards Hubert

Thanks, Mates. Yes, I'm aware of this and going to adjust the gear legs by lengthening them. Piece of the sprue and metal rod should do the job. Thanks for your comment and proposition, highly appreciated The kit itself isn't that bad, but I can fully understand you - had very similar feelings at first approach and left started kit for a year or so. During that year I have practiced on short run kits (like Arsenal VG.36 from Azur) and learned to be more patient. As for the improvements - in fact all the things applied here are quite simple and don't look that good on close-ups, but good enough to say: yes, it's better than out of box . Speaking about improvements, maybe you would like to see the gunsight as proposed by Matchbox/Revell? But there's no gunsight in the box... Therefore I will install this beautiful CMK resin Mk. II gyro gunsight miniature: Which means that I will be able to close the cockpit and start painting soon. Stay tuned Best regards Hubert

Thanks, Mark A quick update. Formation lights installed (used a part of the clear sprue out of the kit's box, had to reduce its diameter slightly), started to add the engine covers' fasteners, and the gaps in the leading edge of wings after installation of the guns filled and filed smooth. Best regards Hubert

Me too. And Seafire 47, and F Mk.21... Even with errors by Trumpeter or fitting problems by Kittyhawk Best Hubert

Dale, I can't take my eyes off it, great job! Keep it up Best regards Hubert

Great work! Watching with interest. Splendid idea to use Aires resin in the cockpit, especially if you are going to leave it open. In my Mk.22 I decided to use only some bits borrowed from Eduard's late Mk. XVI interior set that I have found in my stash and Revell's Mk. II (floor, rudder - going to use there the Eduard's resin cockpit), but there's no comparison. With little effort this kit can look surprisingly well, keep it up Best regards Hubert

Many thanks for your nice comments, Mates Actually, I don't think I have done anything special here, that's just filing, sanding, scribing and riveting, few pieces of brass or plastic here and there - these simple things applied to this kit can indeed make it appear to look a lot better (from some distance). And what's the most important is an inspiration. This inspiration came from outstanding builds I have found here, on LSP forum The next poor thing in this kit is the landing gear. Couldn't find anything designed for Mk. 22/24, but... last Friday the postman delivered this small item: I think it will do the job. By the way, delivery from US to Poland took only 4 days from the date of order! Thank you SAC I have also ordered resin 3 spoke wheels for Tamiya from MasterCasters, hope they will fit together, should arive next week. Stay tuned Best regards Hubert

The works continue. Added the guns, some more work will be necessary, as the fit is poor - the wing mounts for the guns are a little bit flat, so the guns, which are circular in cross-section are just pushing the wings' halves apart - despite my efforts to make the holes wider. Have also drilled the 1 mm wide holes in the engine covers, which will be used to make the "fasteners" of the sliced plastic 0,8 mm rod. As for the camouflage, using two articles found in Model Airplane International as "references" I decided to paint the airframe in RAF medium sea grey. Looks blue enough to call it High Altitude Blue. Best regards Hubert

Beautiful colors, looks fantastic. Best regards Hubert

Hi All Some more work in the wheel wells. I think now they look busy enough, maybe will add some pipes and wires. In search of references I decided to buy a book about Rhodesian late mark Spitfires (Malloch's Spitfire: The Story and Restoration of PK350, by Nick Meikle), describing the restoration of Malloch's Spitfire F Mk.22. What a wonderful book, I tell you. There are several photos and drawings showing the camouflage of Rhodesian Spitfires after the delivery in 1951. They have been repainted from High Speed Silver to something, what is called here as High Altitude Blue. What do you think, Mates - will glossy light ghost grey be a good match? Best regards Hubert

Thanks, Kev. Well, there's a conversion set in 1:32nd scale, not very challenging. I'm afraid that this type is not popular enough to be made by any mainstream producer, maybe someone like Silver Wings would. Anyway, I'd like to have one in a large scale too. Best regards Hubert

This Tamiya's new kit looks just fantastic, level of detail in the cockpit really close to resin. Having made four Ki-61/Ki-100 kits within last year it seems to me, that I will not be able to resist. The paintwork in the cockpit looks great, personally don't think it is too dark, as it corresponds well with the scale effect. Keep it up, watching with great interest. Best regards Hubert

Hi All, My first completed kit in 2017: Kawasaki Ki-100-I Koh Type 5 Fighter from Hasegawa, 1:48th scale - white “177†of the 2nd Chutai, 59 Sentai, Ashiya, Kiusiu near Fukuoka, 1945. I used Eduard's photoetched parts dedicated to this kit, in its interior as well as for the exterior of the model. Next are the wheel well covers, where I used a mix of photoetched and resin parts form QB. QB also produced the horizontal tail planes and exhaust stacks (not visible on the photos). Paints used here are Vallejo's White Aluminium, Tamiya's IJA Green, Gunze's H79 and IJA Green inside the cockpit. Markings have been sprayed with use of Montex and DIY masks. Not fully happy with the result, especially the weathering - most of my efforts simply vanished after a flat clear spray cote. Feel free to comment, hope you like it. Best regards Hubert

Hi, All Thanks for your nice comments Having came back from my short winter holidays, yesterday I begun to add details in the wheel wells - just to avoid empty holes effect. Of course, this is not the end. I'm fully aware, that this will never look perfect (I glued the wings' halves together too early), but hope it will anyway be better, than out of box. Best regards Hubert