AlbertD

I really like your Hellcat. You chose a great subject too.

Jari is a wealth of information and always willing to lend a hand. There are points in my Phantom build where I would have been guessing until he came through with amazing details that I would never have seen.

The Eduard cockpit is going together really well. The detail is beautiful and the fit is pretty amazing. I'm close to putting some of the tiny decals on some of the parts. I have the Barracuda Cals set and the HGW set. They both have pretty much the same placards and stencils but the Barracuda Cals set is definitely better. They are much clearer and more readable. The HGW set also has some spelling errors. It probably wouldn't make a difference at Scale but since I have both I'll stick with the Barracuda set and use the HGW set as a backup. I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow. I should have most of the day to work on it. I'm also a suckered for punishment I guess because the Eduard Brassin engine set is on the way. I don't know why but it was there and they took paypal. Just too easy.

I have used this set in 1/48 and the decals went down great. Let the under decal dry and that will be fine. As far as the checkered cowling goes it went down fine with a lot of patience and some setting solution. If I ever do a checkered cowl again especially in 1/32 I'll mask and paint it. I would definitely give the decals a try knowing that if you have to you can paint the checkers.

Thanks. I don't have the HGW set in hand yet but once I do I'll research all the planes in the set and see which one looks most interesting. Thanks Anthony, I hope I can do this great kit justice. I was worried you guys have seen enough Tamiya Corsairs built. Since you are interested in seeing both cockpits I will probably build both. This resin cockpit looks amazing but the kit parts look great too.

I do wish they would make fin top antenna as separate pieces. They always seem to get bent up or broken off.

It's hard to get good photos on the phone sometimes but your work sure looks good.

Just a quick update to show you guys I'm actually working on the Corsair. This is the Eduard cockpit so far. It's been going together well and the detail and fit is pretty amazing. I have yet to touch a kit part. I'm thinking of building the kit cockpit too for a comparison. We'll see how this one goes first though.

I resent being called a grown adult. Just because I'm 59 years old and play with toys doesn't give you the right to insult me like that.

This is 100% correct. You will be clean though.

HI Jan, Payment sent for one set. They look amazing and I'm looking forward to getting the set. Thank you, Al

There's nothing wrong with stepping away for a bit if you need to. When your doing so much exacting work for so long things start to look the same. On the other hand you have all of us behind you and learning so much along the way. Maybe work on some of the easy stuff for a bit or something.

He was one of the great ones. May he rest in peace.

That little paint lift will cover just fine. It looks great otherwise. I like the different blues in the bars and roundel's. It really helps tell the story of the plane.

Great looking airplane. Your wear and weathering is beautifully done.

It's definitely a challange to pull off perfectly. To me the most subtle way is best. Just enough to show they are there without looking like freckles.

But the rivets are not a different color. They are made from aluminum just like the skin. All you really see is a small ring on the surface.

Brett, I have your build bookmarked and it was one of the inspirations for getting this kit. Thanks for all the time you took in putting your build on the forum.

I'm far from an expert or a very experienced modeler but the rivets are definitely not recessed. They are not raised either but are definitely visible. To me the closest you can get are the HGW transfers. I think that gets you there.

So, those rivets work just like the regular HGW wet transfers? Those and you scuffing look very convincing to me.

I think it settles out over time in storage and the heavy stuff settles. Maybe put the bottle top up one use and top down next time when you store it.

I think you need to be a bit off kilter to take on a project of this scope in the first place. You will no doubt figure it out and do a magnificent job.

Chuck, this is not an F-104 or rivets but it is from a US fighter of the same era. This is from the Phantom canopy that's sitting in my garage. They are Phillips head screws but they are flush. The metal is 1.5mm thick. Basically all you have is a dark circle especially at model scale.

That's a beautiful collection of P-40's. I take you like Hasagawa P-40's? Nothing cooler than a shark mouth Warhawk.

I hope you guys can put up with me for another build and another Corsair. After the Tamiya Phantom this kit looks amazing. I only hope I can do it justice. It's going to be a long and challenging build for me. Sprue Bro's had a Cyber Monday 25% off sale on resin interiors so I picked up the Brassin cockpit for the heck of it. It does look better than the kit pit but whether it's worth it or not remains to be seen. There is always the kit parts as a backup. This one will also be straight HGW Wet Transfers. Haven't started it yet because I want to study the instructions a bit and look the kit over. I have a bunch of references to use so that should not be a problem. There are also some fantastic builds here on the forum to reference. They are all bookmarked. Here are a few pictures to get started.