Phil Smith

Will be watching with great interest as this is my next build!

Excellent work!

Thank you - though I’m already inspired to press on, posting here keeps me focused!

Moving on from the engine and its firewall mount, I’ve started work on the cockpit. Thus far, I’ve worked the floor, auxiliary fuel tank behind the pilot’s seat, and the seat itself. The tank is interesting as the real thing, made of layers of vulcanized rubber, featured a textured surface. I recreated this effect using strips of Tamiya tape. Much of the rest of the assembly is straight out of the box, though I did use aftermarket seat belts and buckles from HGW. As for instrument panels and the like, I prefer to do my own scratch building when possible. But I was so impressed with the work produced by Quinta Studio - an outfit in Russia that manufactures superb cockpit decals using additive manufacturing - that I decided to give that a try. It's a little less fun than working the details on my own, but the result is too good to ignore. There is just no way I will be able to produce the same level of detail without printing my own decals, and what's the point of that? A few more details on the dash remain, like knob and handles, which I will add after that piece is more fully integrated with the cockpit tub.

One for the most beautiful airplanes ever built. But Louisiana? May I suggest a 5th Bomb Wing bird from Minot?

Fascinating subject - nicely done!

Fascinating build!

Thank you very much, everyone!

Nicely done! I’m inspired to consider WWI subjects.

Many thanks for the warm welcome. I'm glad I found this place

Impressive build!

Superb work here - fascinating subject!

Nicely done and neat, under-represented subject matter.

Nicely done and a subject dear to my heart.

Goodness me. This is exceptional and inspiring. I look forward to this build and learning a ton of new stuff.

Here is a project designed to scratch an itch composed of a few parts: 1) my fascination with spaceflight, 2) a box of random parts seeking a home, and 3) fun with miniature lighting effects. The result is the Deep Space Ship Chesley Bonestell, an interplanetary spacecraft one could imagine being built and operated many centuries from now. I'm not an engineer, but I've worked in the industry for many years and can play among engineers for a few hours before it becomes clear I am an imposter. This thing would carry a few hundred people to destinations within the solar system. It is powered by a nuclear engine, perhaps an inertial confinement fusion drive system. Tanks and so forth are located in the propulsion module, which is shielded from the forward and middle sections. The middle stretch is composed of microgravity labs and storage, possibly probes. The habitation module spins, something on the order of 1 RPM to generate just under 1g along the circumference. A dome of thick material shields the section from oncoming debris and radiation. I imagine the forward section having the capability to separate and move on its own in an emergency, so there are tanks and engines inside there, despite being difficult to see. The model is composed of an old gundam kit I picked up for parts, an aspirin bottle, wheels from the crewed rover seen in the movie "Moon", parts of the 1/72 Saturn V kit, a nifty kit from China of the space station in "Wandering Earth," some antenna bits from Tamiya's 1/350 CVN-65 Enterprise, ping pong balls, and parts from a 1/72 Discovery kit (as in 2001: A Space Odyssey). The lights are from Evan Designs - excellent products and service, and I highly recommend that business for your lighting needs.

Superb treatment. I am now inspired to consider a WWI-era subject for a future build. Well done.

Impressive. Beautifully done.

Yes. Another bloody Mustang. I purchased the Tamiya kit many moons ago after reading glowing reviews. I was impressed with what I discovered in the box, looking forward to the build. However, I had other projects to complete, including a scratchbuild subject that wrapped up in November. I broke out the Tamiya kit in December after securing a handful of aftermarket bits, and I must say the journey has been an absolute pleasure. In accordance with the instructions, which one clearly should follow in this particular case, I began with the Packard V-1650 Merlin engine. The detail is magnificent, but I just can't leave well enough alone so I added a bunch of additional detail using plastic and wire. Here are a few pictures to get the ball rolling. I probably went overboard on the weathering, and will make sure to temper the impulse to over do it when it comes to the rest of the aircraft.