TorbenD

Thx all for your kind words Thx Andy, I'm very new to photo-etch - there's nothing in the SH instructions but what you suggest sounds totally logical and I'll give that a go Cheers, Torben

Inspirational work - looking forward to number 3! Torben

Lovely stuff Hubert - In this case the camera lies - that ain't no black hole! Torben

Good evening/morning Still in the pit - moving on inch by inch. I really must invest in better lighting set up sometime as these images have come out quite harsh (a lot of subtlety is lost when shot close under my desk spotlight) so please put your rose tinted spectacles on . Some paint finally on - I tried using AK's chipping fluid over a base of silver and was pleased with the final finish - it took a couple of goes as the chipping fluid tended to form fine droplets over the silver - the second time I used much less and air-dried with my airbrush before adding the green. I've read loads of ref on what green Bell Green should be and after a bit of trial and error stumped for Vellejo's Uniform Green which seemed to be a good start point for both hue and tone given the weathering and filters that I'm planning on using. The firewall obligingly broke of in my clumsy fingers so I kept it off to aid painting access. I made an initial wash of brown and black very diluted in Quick Shine (a Lakeland product similar to Klear) which performed well to add depth and flowed nicely around the recesses etc. I couldn't resist adding an indication of a zipper in the joystick shroud. Then I started a bit of extra pluming as I had some very good reference... A mix of wire and stretched sprue in various shades of grey so little or no painting required. Let the madness begin! Talking about madness, I also spent the best part of a day making up one of RB Productions stunning Sutton Harnesses (my only aftermarket so far) - about 2hrs with fine tweezers modelling interspersed with 4hrs looking for various buckles/rivets which kept on pinging off! Eventually totally lost two buckles to oblivion and/or the carpet monster but managed to adapt some of the spare SH etch as substitutes. They still need final draping/finishing (tint wash?) but they soooooo look the part! I reckon after those two jobs I could probably have a darn good go at open heart surgery on a flea Loads of time later and after even more scratch building as the sidewalls are very sparse I've hopefully broken the back of the RHS of the pit. Still need to add some switches handles etc. and maybe a localised matt varnish to knock back the wiring loom. Cheers for looking Torben PS I'm still after advice on how to tackle the strengthening grooves in the PE on the doors - any and all advice welcomed...

Hi Tolga, I love the subtle tweaks you're making to this kit and all with great finesse - that is one of the nicest finishes I've seen in a while on that particular early war scheme, did you pre or post shade to get that wonderfully subtle mottling? I do have one point of note which you may or may not want to address - for all early Spitfire Mks I believe the right wing walkway line is straight all the way to the fuselage - it only kinks back on the left wing where the side door is - apologies my inner Spitfire nut is made me write this... Cheers, Torben

Ruined? Don't let those doubt gremlins get it your head. Loving it! If you feel too much you could always mist over a very diluted base olive drab again. Good luck and courage mon brave! Torben

Thanks Hubert

Cracking build Wouter, loving the scale thickness touches being taken care of so well Torben

Congrats Håkan, both on finish and finishing! Looks really great in the night scheme, I love the way the interior green ‘pops' against this. Torben

Inspirational stuff Hubert - Hats off to you! I think your tenaciousness has definitely paid off with No. 3 - better shape and tighter wood grain than No. 2. Are you eyeballing this to get each blade to match the opposite one so exactly or have you some sort of jig/template you use? Torben

Good fix on that pesky nose! Regarding those wing root radiator openings - as relatively quick fix I'd be tempted with a bit of ‘trompe l'oeil'. Cut the back off with the ejection pins completely then fix the remaining frame in place on the bottom half of the wing. Then plug the back with a generous block of Milliput - once that's in place use a round ended tool (paint brush?) and pushing through the intake opening create a deeper curve backed cavity blended into the back of the remaining frame. You might be able to hint at a lateral curve too. Just make sure you can still fit the upper wing! Once set, if you spray the depth with a dark colour to hide the still too shallow depth from a casual glance... Torben

Tasty! Very, very tasty!

I couldn't agree more - we come in all shapes and sizes and I think it will add to the overall interest (and depiction of reality). Beautiful build so far Brian, learning loads and looking forward to the next instalment Torben

Thanks Hubert, some lovely stuff here, thanks for the heads up! Cheers, Torben

Interesting info - I have to admit, reading through some of the KH builds in these forums it does seem their Airacobra has far more potential fit issues than others in their range - (thank goodness as they have some tasty kits). KH does allow for lots of interior showing off and if I was ever tempted to build another 1/32 AIrabrobra I'd deffo use the KH to have a pop at this scene... or if if I didn't fancy sorting those pesky wing root radiators then there's always this one I'd better stop and get Winkle's bird sorted before I get any more distracted... Cheers, Torben

Good luck with that Kev. How goes the rest of it, have you managed to sort that nose yet? If its any consolation I'm finding it loads of ‘fun' blending in all the internal tunnel edges at the wing root edge. I have to admit in all my gathered reference I've seen quite a wide variety of intake size/position/shape so details of these tunnels could well vary - I wonder what aircraft KH used as reference? Torben

Wonderfully subtle finish - proper eye candy! Torben

Gorgeous finish, she's really coming alive now! Torben

Very smart Shaka! Loving the chosen scheme. I wonder if a final matt coat will visually lighten the olive drab back nearer your original? Looking forward to seeing... Torben

Hi Kev - thx for the feedback The below any use? Looks like just a smooth edged curved tunnel to me Cheers, Torben

Thanks all - had pretty limited time recently so not too much to see but hopefully at point soon where I can start painting the pit. I also got side tracked for a session or two with various experiments on trying to scratch the 8-pointed trim wheels which didn't work out for this build - it was all but pointless (literally :hmmm:at 1.6 diameter!) Boy AMS bites bad every now and then... I've also done loads of test dry fitting of the whole plane to check everything which I won't show here suffice to say despite the poor fit of the wing radiators I've seen it a lot worse on other forum builds where the wings join the fuselage. I hope I don't eat my words when I get to that bit for real. Some pics: The initial fill and sanding of Milliput around the rads - round two will happen when I join to the fuselage I thinned the seat with files to the point that they're translucent in places, added the hole for the seatbelt then added back a fine lip at the seat edge. This was defined by Tamiya's flexible tape and smeared with a touch of Ultimate Plastic filler which was filed back to the tape height when dry. Once the tape was removed I was pretty happy with this little experiment. Few more shots of the pit moved on a gnats... The joystick much more in scale and I replaced the manual landing gear housing with a hollow one made of 20thou with lightening holes. I also detailed up the lever to the left of the joystick - not sure what that is as it's only on some of the ref shots I have. I still haven't found any evidence that the large trim wheel was omitted from UK Airacobras so will add that after painting the rest. Thanks Ian, I was leaning that way too. Finally - I could do with some help on those pesky etched brass door panels . Please can anyone advise me on how best to replicate the strengthening rib impressions on the panels. Basically the correct shapes have been etched into the back making it thinner - I assume one has to push it through by running suitably a hard round tool (ballpoint?) at these thinner sections? If so, do I need to anneal first? Any and all advice most welcome. Reverse: Front side (minus map bag front) Cheers for looking Torben

Worth every minute/hour spent on this so far Håkan - shaping up nicely - loving the ‘Night' finish Torben

Lovely lovely build. Congrats on your perseverance too - worth it too see such a genuinely cracking result. Cheers, Torben

Lovely stuff HÃ¥kan Torben