IJ001

Thanks, think I've got it sorted now. Ian.

Kit - Revell Paint - All Tamiya acrylics. Decals - Kit & HAD Extras - Yahu pre-painted IP, Eduard pre-painted harness. Various wiring, junction boxes etc from scratch. Been a couple of years since my last 1:32 build (a Trumpeter 109E), no particular reason just other shiny things grabbed my attention. Not going in to any detail at all about the history of this particular machine, it's very well documented, as for the build, well it's a 'curates egg' of a kit - good points: well the undercarriage bays and gear detail are superb enough to keep most folks happy, but I added all sorts of wiring and junction boxes up inside which may never be seen but I know they're there. The cockpit is very good and didn't really need the Yahu IP that I added, purely because sausage fingers and middle-aged eyesight mean I can't get that sharpness that I once did by hand-painting. I expected the fit of the engine nacelles to be utterly horrid but I'm pleased to report that on my kit at least they were pretty close to perfect. KIt decals were put to one side except for all the stencils which worked fine for me. I'm not a fan of RoG Instructions but these were OK with only the one blunder which most builders will have heard about so not going to repeat it here. Bad points:- It may have been just my kit but I spent a shed-load of time, effort and putty blending the various nose sections together, the fit was very '1980's' if you get what I mean, most of the reviews out there don't mention this, but then most are of the earlier two-seater kit so maybe there's a difference in QC. The underside join between the front of the lower wing and forward fuselage still isn't right to my eye, but I was running out of patience at that point - so I admit to getting it to 'that'll do' as opposed to 'yeah that's spot-on'. Paint is all Tamiya acrylics mixed using the Mk.I eyeball method, aircraft specific decals are HAD, first time using this company and the quality, opacity and adhesion is simply astonishing. So that's it, there's a few 'user errors' in the build including having to scratch-build a new slat as the carpet monster got a hold of one, also I thinned the undercarriage pegs a little too much so it's prone to wobbling on it's legs, but I really like it, and it has a shed-load of presence sitting in my cabinet. Please feel free to ask any questions, make any comments or criticism. All the best from NZ. Ian. (edited - hopefully the photos show now)

Thanks all for the comments, as ever always appreciated and never taken for granted. Next is a break for summer hols for a couple of weeks, then back with a grey jet - but it will be in 1:48 !! Best from NZ Ian.

Sort of yes and no, Bevan. I've used almost all of the kit decals, but the 'Wespen' are from a 1:48 Aeromaster sheet for the Bf110 - the kit wasps are far too small. Ian.

Started on the 9th of December... Every year I try to do a 'clear the bench' build over Christmas, this year it was this one: Not sure why folks seem to shy-away from the Trumpy 109E kits almost all the completed ones that I have seen here are from the Eduard and Dragon kits. Ahh well... I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this one. Perfect fit everywhere, lots of detail, excellent etch, decals and phenomenal clear parts. (not so excellent rubber tyres tho'). For a change I broke-out my enamels for the 74/75/76/04 colours, all of which I mixed using my preferred Mk.I eyeball method. Highly recommend this to anyone contemplating a 1:32 build and perhaps a wee bit put-off by the excessive parts-count and cost of some of the 'uber kits' around just now - I got this off a well-known on-line auction site from a Chinese based seller for just £16.50 !!!!! (that's as good as giving it away) even down here to NZ the postage was just ten-quid. So here t'is all done only addition is the kit specific Eduard Zoom set which includes the harness too; And I have to admit that I'm very pleased with it. Please feel free to hurl any criticism, ask any questions or make any comment at all. Thanks for taking the time to look and Happy 2019 to all here. Ian.

I wouldn't be surprised that if it ever gets out here to NZ the retail price will have doubled - a lot of hobby shops charge a premium for new kits !!!! ; Which explains why Jadlam and others are pretty good at selling kits here because even with postage they're still less expensive than buying over the counter. Ian.

Museum quality build & finish. Just fantastic workmanship. Ian.

Good to see you here, John. Looking forward to seeing this come together and probably in person sometime soon. Ian.

Utterly superb. Ian.

Didn't even know this kit existed until now... Something that I'd definitely consider buying/building. Ian.

Museum quality modelling, simple as that. Ian.

Would love another one of these... bl**dy expensive nowadays tho' - Will be following-along with this build. Ian.

Not de-railing at all, Shawn, just continuing the discussion. I use a CRC 'Paint Doctor' which is made here in NZ. It's a basic car-paint scuff/scratch remover NOT a polish but it does have carnauba wax so it works very well but very gently. I'm sure you can find something very similar in St. Louis at any NAPA or AutoZone store. Ian.

Hi Ian, Looking good! I'm curious as to why you brush on the Johnsons Klear? Hi Chris Thanks matey - Experience, I tried airbrushing it when I first started using it years back, but I couldn't see the advantage. It's self-levelling so why bother going to all the trouble of spraying it then even more effort to strip and clean the brush once your done. Good quality size 5 or 8 sable chisel head brushes and a size 6 round brush that are ONLY used for Klear/Future and that's all I need. Even do the same for my car builds and you've seen first hand how they come-out (once polished) !! Stay tuned, folks... whitewashing next !! AFN Ian.

Decals on and sealed under a brushed coat of Johnsons Klear/Future. I'll brush another coat over the major decals before masking and applying the white(s). Ian.