Derek B

Good decision Kev. Perhaps you have time to make another one for the June show and complete this one in slower time with no pressures? (The important thing is that you are going to try and recover it). Derek

Yes. Such a lovely colour scheme, so it would be a shame to give up on it now (the worst is over - you have learned things so are now better armed!). Derek

Hi Matt, Thank you. I simply could not find any paint shiny or preventative for the highly polished stainless steel intake ring, so in the end I settled on using thin self adhesive air conditioning plumbers aluminium duct sealing tape as a last resort! (far from perfect, but it did achieve the correct degree of reflectivity). Derek

More detail painting. The intake nose ring is now shiny inside and out. Lots of undercarriage painting going on - the undercarriage bays look very brown and un-Lightning like at the moment. This is because this aircraft (XS904, as well as XR728) have their undercarriage bays coated in a heavy layer of waxoyl (PX-32). Derek

Nice work Kev - I am enjoying this build as much as you are! Some humble thoughts for you if I may? a) For nose weights, I use Milliput to secure them (then they definitely stay put with no adverse effects to the plastic - see my MD 11 build here). b) For internal fuselage support strips, I find that although short strips are quick and easy to place, their positions need to be controlled in order to avoid the problem you discovered regarding potential unevenness. For this reason (and speed/consistency) I cut and use long thin strips, which I sand the edges of to remove cutting ridges and help in obtaining a good contact area. Whichever method you use (short strips Vs. long strips), it is important NOT to glue them directly to the inside of the fuselage shell directly, as this will follow the internal fuselage wall shape and provide a protruding edge, which will require the free edge to be filed and sanded down to allow the other fuselage side to fit flush. It would be better to set the strips at a right angle to the internal curvature of the fuselage wall (i.e. Flat, like a shelf), leaving a slight gap between the internal edge and top of the support strip - this will allow accurate alignment of the fuselage halves (I also use normal polystyrene tube cement for this purpose, as it allows both time for adjustment and strength without eating into the plastic to any extent). c) It is odd how those vacform engine nacelles can vary in diameter, but it looks like you have it covered. As for the front of the hot end section plugs, they are generally intended to be removed - I also face the same issue with my MD-11 build. I decided to remove them for two reasons. The first is to allow me to properly sand and file the internal joint seams of the hot sections, and the second, to scratch build an internal disk shaped former to both centralise and support the hot end sections within the engine nacelles and also to prevent further 'see through' from behind. Hopefully, that all makes sense. I like the B777 because it is another one of those wide-bodied airliners which has 'presence'! Good luck with the continued build Kev. Derek

In between working towards finishing my Trumpeter 1/32 EE Lightning F.6 model, I have started on this 1/48 Special Hobby Airspeed Oxford kit. It will be a companion to a 1/48 Rolls Royce Armoured Car (both are being made for a friend) that I have completed, but not yet painted. This aircraft will represent an aircraft used at RAF Habbaniya in 1941 and was used as a bomber in a local conflict, so the first job is to cut out the bomb bay doors (I will have to scratch build the bomb bay and bombs/bomb carriers) - other than that (and markings), the rest of this kit will be built OOB. Derek

Nice Kev, I like it! (absolutely no surprise to me that the Minicraft fuselage matches the Welsh Models one! ). For various reasons, if you intend to go with the United scheme, I would consider cutting out the united fin logo and painting the stripes (and fuselage ones) directly onto the model, applying the fin logo as a seperate part - much more difficult and a pain, I know, but you may end up with less grief in the long run. Derek

Spot on Anthony (they look great). My Lightning is approaching a similar stage in some respects (OK, the main colours are on mine, but painting detail parts and areas are a never ending job!). I can't wait to see the paint go on to your model - it will really come to life with undoubtedly a level of awesomeness that is yet to be appreciated! Cheers Derek

Thanks Kev, this is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for. I have used Tamiya X-22 (thinned with MLT) on my Lightning, which has been sprayed with both lacquer paint (silver undersides) and Humbrol enamels (top camouflage colours). I find that it is not durable when cleaned with white spirit, which softens/removes it, hence my question. Derek

That looks fantastic Kev - I like it very much! (Well done!). I there a consensus as to a bullet proof gloss varnish which will handle all chemicals and solvents when cured for use on airliners and all 1/32 kits? Derek

Thanks Jens, I haven't considered or even looked at that aspect yet, so that is a useful observation! The Lima November SAS decals provide markings for both -200 and -300 versions of the aircraft. The kit is a -300 version, so I would need to see if both variants have the same engine types? (my intention is to make the B767-300 version). I am not ready to start making it yet, so there is time for me to check this out - thank you. Derek

Had a quick 'in the box' visual of it last evening. Generally, a very nice looking kit with extremely fine engraving detail. It has good old fashioned moulded window apertures and windscreen transparencies, but no internal bulkheads or cockpit detail! My example does exhibit some fairly severe warpage on the right wing and a more minor one on the right upper fuselage half, but otherwise, is good (my understanding is that most of these kits are OK, but that some do occasionally suffer from this problem). Derek

That should be nice - Good luck Kev. I think that I may still have an old Welsh Models vacform SAS MD-80 or 90 somewhere, but I suspect that the decals will all be cracked due to aging! Derek

Must be something in the air (or to do with people named Kevin!) These came through the post today, so this is a placeholder for now. Derek

Great work Kev. Derek