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Hello all, lurked for a little while and joined recently for inspiration and a push to keep my recently refound love for this hobby. It's been quite a few years since I've put paint to plastic so I'm hoping this isn't just another Hobby phase. We shall see... I attended the big model show in Telford and got 'the itch' bought a bunch of different paints to test and play with, as well as some btis and pieces that postage costs had made prohibitive to try... I've always pined over a whole bunch of 1/32nd Jets, in particular F-14s .. most Jets with twin tails seem to just do it for me.. But I've never had the cash or time to really get into it. Queue a nice bonus at work and decided to sploosh a bit on some kits, found a cheap seller in China on eBay and managed to get a nice little haul... However I don't trust myself and wanted to ease into it.. so picked up this thing quite cheap and have been quietly mulling away at it since Christmas. It's a pretty much OOB build, this is all just me getting used to the tools and paints and all the shiny new things that are available that were definitely NOT as easy to get hold of before. I don't think this will be anything like top notch show worthy and I'm not a rivet counter so accuracy on this kit isn't really that much of a thing for me, I just want to be happy with the end result. it's literally just dipping my toes in the water, seeing if I get the bite.. And giving me something to do that doesn't always involved using a computer or screen all the time (even if I am currently limited to my office desk). Anywho enough wafflin' have some photos! Getting down to business with the internals, attemping some basic stuff with weathering (never done that before, especially not with oils) Turned out okay Pit part-painted and test fitting, I used the kit provided decal for the dials, it wasn't super accurate in some places (mostly the dials on the right) but it gave me a chance to try microset and microsol for the first time.. WOW that stuff is magic. Pit now assembled, gloss coated, oil washed, and flat coated Micro Krystal clear added to some dials for depth, I'm aware it's too much now.. but hey ho.. Also realised I had bought the worlds most expensive PVA glue... lesson learned... Marrying up the wings after painting the wheel well and inner surfaces with the green called out in the instructions More parts setting up, also a view of the not-so-great paint on the inner fuselage, post oil-wash and such. FIrst time really having a proper go at deleting a seam and getting a nice finish, was pretty happy with the result. Definitely justifies how much I blew on sanders!! Fuselage setting up, yep, no pit.. I actually found it easier to get a nice bond without the pit fitted, got the plastic properly welded then slotted the pit in from underneath to give the fuselage the proper width to marry up with the wing roots, worked perfectly! A dry-fit of the main fuselage bottom engine cover and wings (glued and seams removed on all) Never done glazing masking before, so this was just after they were Krystal cleared in after cutting the masks and before filling the gaps First layer of paint on the glass frames to match the interior colour, after filling and smoothing out the gap in front of the main screen (seems to be the done thing, might not be the accurate colour though :S ) put FAR too much paint in the airbrush so used it as a way to check my seams.. all seems fine. Tried to rescribe a few lines with my dandy new Tamiya scribing tool... didn't go well... wibbly wobbly lol Realised I'd filled most of the rivet holes in the nose so had a bosh at trying to sand that back a bit and re-drill them (far too big and deep it would seem after later priming) Fuselage and wings now setting up Test fit of the bottom nose cowel.. thing after having sprayed the interior of it black (before realising it has a blanking piece inside that I missed DOH!). Also did a small amount of pre-painting to the inside of the radiators before fitting them. Radiators assembled and fitted required a little persuation on one of them for it to lay 'flat' but looks fine. Front cowel thing is now also attached And you'll have to forgive me, I missed a few steps between, but, this is now after being primed with Mr Surfacer 1500.. which is _amazing_ stuff. I've never used anything that gives such a silky smooth finish (after a super light pass with 600 grit). It did however, probably give me a little cancer as I grossly underestimated how much I would need, how long it would take and how much it would gas me out... Immediately ordered a Respirator and had a good root through for the power supply for my extractor (not been in use since we moved house a few years ago). And this is where I am still, I have since refilled, sanded and reprimed the way-overdone holes and used a Trumpeter rivet tool to re-do the rivets in the top covers but don't have a photo of that yet. I was waiting on the right colour paints, which after seeing someone elses Mosquito build, I picked up some of MRPs colours, but finding the right time to spray lacquer (the Mr Surfacer probably took a few years off my life) I just haven't had the time yet. Thanks if you got this far! (and sorry for the monolithic post) This is my first 'OP' here so if I've screwed up, missed something, or done a massive Faux Pa let me know. Cheers Mark

New project incoming!

When I joined my first airline many years ago, the old captains loved to say that the reading of Ernest K. Gann's "Fate is the Hunter" should be compulsory for new crew, so they could understand how airlines work. It struck me that maybe the same could be said if you want to build a model of a Zero, that this book should be compulsory... I have only just completed reading it, and it is a real eye opener. I knew about the Saburo Sakai story for many years though, because when I was growing up, Keith Ferris' book was one of my greatest sources of inspiration (I have owned this copy for a very long time). Keith did the cover painting for "Samurai!" and on reading his notes for the painting, I realised how important the underlying structure is in determining the way an aircraft looks. https://keithferrisart.com/product/wounded-samurai-original-painting-by-keith-ferris/ I hope to be able to show some of the unique surface detail of the Zero's aluminium skin on this model. It is interesting to note that Keith painted the aircraft in a very pale grey, as was the norm at the time. I get the impression that an awful lot of research has gone into understanding the grey paint of the early Zero's, and why it has come to be interpreted in so many different ways. There is a wealth of information on the internet and in some new publications that I would like to explore during this build. Here are some lovely books that I found by pure chance at a hobby shop in Johannesburg recently - heaven knows how they ended up in South Africa! This blurry photograph is what I have decided to be first prize for my theme: a grey land based A6M2, Nakajima built, with the white surround to the fuselage Hinomaru, and a Houkoku Gou. Tall order it would seem so far, but maybe? I made a start on the engine since it looked so tempting... only to discover however, that this is going to be a little more complicated than I imagined. Ryan Toews recently completed a tweak list for this kit https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=3339 , and I have printed it out to keep as a handy reference. It is lengthy - so there is clearly quite a lot to learn. Ryan points out the colours on the engine from a captured Sakae 12 metallurgical report. Maybe it was this engine? This should be fun. Sean

Hey all. First work in progress on this site and first 1/32 aircraft. I've been wanting to build a Corsair for a long while, but 1/48 (my usual for aircraft) just wasn't big enough for the detail I'd like to add, and hopefully not screw up. I've been reading all the builds and RFI's on here that I can find and there are is some beautiful work here to compete against (). Hopefully I won't come off as a complete newb, but this will be my first WW2 aircraft, so hopefully you'll work with me. This won't be quick, since I have a day job ha! Link to some of my work for those of you that might not venture to non aircraft stuff..... So, Tamiya's kit to start, beautiful as usual from them. Vector Resin's intake flaps and engine upgrade parts. Barracuda cockpit stencils (I need better eyes for these!). Dana Bell's Birdcage Corsair book (and I've noticed Dana posts here, that's got to be helpful!. I'm hunting for HGW seatbelt's but so far, no luck on the suppliers I usually turn to. If anyone has a lead on where I can pick those up, I'd appreciate it. I'm also leaning towards using MRP paints for the first time, but I'm not really positive which colors I'll need. I'm going to plan on a two color bird, blue grey upper and light grey lower. Might go with Montex masks, or possible the HGW wet transfers...decisions to be made. Here are my selections for the main colors that I'll need to order. Please let me know if I'm totally wrong! Interior MRP 131 US Interior Green MRP 229 Dark Dull Green For the rest of the interior, I'll be using my existing supplies. Exterior MRP 130 Salmon Pink Primer for the cowling (sorta interior?) MRP 133 Blue Grey MRP 134 Light Grey And of course, mandatory pictures so I'm not boring everyone! The supplies, for now The work shop (everything else in cabinets) The overview And the other kits my wife said I should have built before buying the Corsair last week Hopefully I'll actually get some bench time tomorrow. Today has been "drill a 4 inch hole in your houses foundation day." Super not exciting. Thanks for looking, chime in and tell me where I'm off, nuts, or should go back to scifi lol Brett

... Specifically acrylic paint. I've loved using Tamiya acrylic's ever since I first used them ... They apply well and are time efficient on preparation ... and especially clean up!! However ... They have no "specific" RLM colours ... and this vexes me. Well, not really - but I've always gone picking out the colour of "best fit". Quite by accident (while online browsing today) I discovered that Mr.Hobby do an acrylic paint WITH specific RLM colours. Has anyone used both? ... the price looks comparable ... Are the RLM colours more or less accurate? How do they compare in use and finish? Rog

Greetings everyone! I have been around the site for quite some time following posts and WIPs so I thought it was about time for my first large project. The following WIP will be my first in the 32nd scale and the first one in Large Scale Planes! As the title shows I will be trying my luck on an F-14B, based on the Tamiya 1:32 kit. Initially I was thinking of representing aircraft 105 from VF-41 with full low visibility colors however I changed my mind during the summer after seeing some wonderful shots of an F-14B 1:32 scale with the VF-102 Diamondbacks decals form Fightertown Decals. The decal set was particularly difficult to track, as it is out of print, however I managed to find a copy in a Japanese online store and in perfect condition no less. The aircraft that will be represented, flew with Diamondbacks during the OEF campaign in Afganistan in 2002. I will be using the 2003 version of the Tamiya kit which includes some updates in comparison to the 1994 and the 1980 versions. Also the following after market sets will be used accordingly: -Teknics ΤΚ32012 F-14B Tomcat/Bombcat Cockpit Superset -Teknics TK32013 F-14B Airframe conversion set -GRU-7(A) ejection seats from Avionix cockpit set BLC32039 -Aires 2099 F-14B/D Tomcat exhaust nozzles -If it is possible to get my hands on the exhaust nozzles form the 1:32 Tamiya F-16 they will be used instead -Hadmodels 432003 F-14B/D Upgrade photoetched part set -Crossdelta CD32002 F-14 Step area & Stiffeners -Master Model AM-32-031 F-14 Alfa Probe & Angle Of Attack probe -True Details TDP32202 1/32 F-14D Tomcat Resin Wheel Set (Late) -Eduard 32144 F-14A Tomcat exterior photoetched part set -Fightertown Decals 32009 VF-102 F-14B "Diamondbacks" OEF -Armament from the kit or Tamiya's F-16 The construction began with some modifications to the airframe around the cockpit area and the nose. Tamiya's mold in general includes not only raised lines but some panels as well. Initially I thought it was a mistake however it seems that very early Tomcats did have those. I could not find photos form both sides however at least on the right it seems that the panel was raised for some reason. In later photos these areas are not raised, so they were sanded down. One thing that is weird is how Tamiya chose to represent the refueling panel. In the kit it is neither closed nor open so since I would not doing it open it was covered with epoxy putty and sanded down while afterwards the panel lines were rescribed. Next, a characteristic electronics panel behind the cockpit was rescribed adding a bit of detail. An area on the Tamiya kit that can be improved are the NACA vents. The kit provides the correct gun vents for a late Tomcat however they are provided as one piece with the airframe. Using a rotary tool the plastic behind each vent was removed, the thickness of the leading edges was reduced and Evergreen plasticard was used to restore them. Eduard's PE was used for the gun muzzle blast fairing. HAD models PE set provides a replacement for the grills beneath the aircraft's ladder so the kit's detail was removed using a rotary tool. After the PE was in place, the area was rescribed and epoxy putty was used to restore the raised detail. The gun gas exhausts are provided in a slightly wrong position by Tamiya and because HAD models provided PE parts for the re-enforcement plates around them I decided to change their position. The old exhausts were filled with CA and sanded down while on the new positions the kit's plastic was thinned from the inside and new ones were opened accordingly. Initially the PE parts for the re-enforcements were used however I could not get them to glue properly in place so off they went! Two new pieces were created by using Evergreen plasticard and glued in place. Also HAD provides two pieces for the grills that are found inside them which were used. Eduard's set provides some nice details for the ladder in order to be represented in open position so it was the next area I started working on. Unfortunately Eduard provides a simple improvement to the kit's piece so a few additions were deemed necessary to be included. I worked based on photos of the real aircraft while Kai Wolter's exceptional F-14 build has been of great assistance and inspiration as well. Eduard's guide was not followed. Instead the two main ladder parts (1 and 2 ) were used to sandwich a piece of Evergreen in order to increase the thickness of the ladder while the PE steps (parts 73) were not used. Evergreen was used to create the two steps and to add the various small details. Parts 12 and 13 were used to create the handle mechanism. So ... that's about it for this time. Thanks for your interest! Andreas

Hello again, all. After a couple of non LSP kits, I decided I'd get back to the Master Scale. My lovely wife bought me the MkVIII Spit for Father's Day, so I thought I'd get right to it. I just have to say, this is, as we all expect from Tamiya LSPs, a beautiful kit. It could be built straight out of the box and look fantastic. So, naturally, I bought a bunch of after market . Actually, as I'll discuss later, I think I may have actually bought too much aftermarket (is such a thing even possible?) I went with HGW seat belts, Barracuda decals and cockpit upgrades, the Eduard exterior photoetch set, and a Yahu IP. My first attempt at HGW belts had been frustrating, so I have left that part for now. I do, however, want to talk about the interior resin upgrade set. It is of course, beautiful work from Roy as always. However, more to the praise of Tamiya than to the detriment of Barracuda, I'm not sure that it is that much better than the kit parts. I've posted below some comparison photos of the relevant parts. The seat is the one clear winner for me. Fortunately it's sold as a separate piece. Tamiya elected not to mold the very prominent backrest cushion, which Barracuda has corrected. The other thing I do love about these particular parts is that they're made to be drop in replacements to the kit parts, complete with attachement points of the correct shape to fit to the sidewall. (I have since removed the flare rack from the front of the seat, which to my understanding is not correct for this mark. The compass is nearly identical. I honestly can't even tell you which is which in this photo The throttle quadrant does show a couple of nice additional details, but the kit part is very good on its own. As you can see, I still struggle with cleanly separating parts from the casting block. That handle is askance because I had to glue it back on after breaking it during sawing. Undercarriage controls. Again, a few nice details, but not a stark contrast as there is with some kits. The control column. The barracuda part comes with wire and asks you to drill three tiny holes to accommodate them. I used a #80 drill bit but still managed to break the part. I ended up using the kit part, with the resin handpiece, which does add some nice detail where the lines attach. Sidewall painted up with paint scraped away for the bulkhead attachments. Rather than try to drill again and ruin my only remaining control stick, I used lead wire and just cut it where it's meant to be going through, picking it back up on the other side. Some solder added for the hydraulic lines from the undercarriage lever. For some unknown reason, Tamiya have chosen to leave very prominent defects in this door. After trying unsucessfully to fill and sand them, I scraped away the detail, smoothed it over with some Bondo, and re-added the detail by scratch. The open door below shows that in progress. I deviated from the instructions and added the sidewalls to the fuselage halves so that I could add some wiring. I just noticed on the second picture that I'm missing a couple of bits that still need to be glued down on the starboard side. These upclose photos also unfortunately are demonstrating my sloppy painting. I usually brush paint Model Master Acryl semi gloss black for these parts, but have been unable to get it appropriately thinned - it either runs everywhere or goes on too thick, as below. I'm expecting a bottle of UMP universal thinner, which I'm going to try on it before switching brands entirely, but does anyone else have a favored paint for this? I prefer not to try to mask and spray all these little parts, so brush painting is a must. Control column and rudder pedals. There is a trick of the light, here, the starboard pedal has not suffered from green overspray. I added straps to the rudder pedals from Tamiya tape. Here's my door. Need to clean it up a little still. Waiting on a new bottle of MRP RAF interior green. The crowbar has yet to be built, but I am thinking that I'll whittle it out of styrene strip. While waiting for my Yahu panel to arrive, I decided to paint up the kit part. It has the usual coke bottle effect on the instrument glass, due to the way Tamiya engineers them, but looks pretty good. The Barracuda set also comes with placard decals. I will add those as well, and may save this pre-made panel for the next 1/32 spit I do (there will definitely be another, as I love Spits and this kit - probably Skalski's MkIX). I just realized looking at this that I somehow lost the bottom three instrument decals! D'oh! And the Barracuda resin seat. First with a base coat of MRP ochre wood, then dabbed and swirled with some burnt siena and burnt umber oils for the Bakelite effect. I was going to give this a top coat with MRP clear red brown, but I think it looks pretty good as is. Thoughts? Anyway, I'm about to go away for the holiday weekend, so I'll leave these oils to dry for a few days and hopefully my IP will be in the mail when I return! Gloss, decals, washes, and seatbelts still to go before I can close up the fuselage halves. Thanks for looking - as always comments criticisms are welcome!

This is my first ever armor build. I have done only WWII era planes up to now (and one WWI biplane that I botched beyond mentioning). I got this kit just to see how I liked it and I must say I enjoyed it quite a bit! It was a tremendously straight forward kit - not a single build problem at all. Painted in Mission Models olive drab FS34088 (they make about 6 shades of US olive drab). Aside from a little postshading, weathering is all with oils. As this is my first attempt at this type of kit, I would very much like to hear some constructive criticism. I feel that I have over weathered a bit, but that's a constant concern coming from aircraft. I did plan on doing the tank commander figure that comes with the kit, but he had a little misadventure, and I'm waiting for a replacement part to come from Tamiya in order to finish that portion. Thanks for looking!

Hi guys, I could've sworn there was a Tweak List for Tamiya's 1/32 Zero somewhere, at least for the A6M5. I can't seem to find it anywhere, though. Someone an idea where I might look? Thanks! Erik B.

Hi gents, I would like to share the progres on this great kit, I hope to finish it very soon and do a decent photo session, cheers! Antonio

I know, I know! ANOTHER Tamy Corsair build! Forgive me for choosing a kit that is more than well represented on these boards but it is next on my list and I wanted to share my work here. I'm primarily a modeler of Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs so this is going to be new territory for me. Hopefully, I'll receive some help along the way and hopefully, the build journey will be of interest to at least some of you. Many of us grew up watching Baa Baa Black Sheep on TV and I was one of those kids. So I'm going to do one of Greg "Pappy" Boyington's many reputed mounts: Bu No. 17740 of VMF-214 based on Vella La Vella in 1943. The kit will be, of course, the magnificent Tamiya 1/32 F4U-1a kit. I've heard so many glowing reports of this masterpiece that I half expect the kit to magically build itself! I'll be adding some customary bits and pieces including the Barracuda cockpit stencils, Barracuda resin wheels to replace the kit's vinyl tires, HGW belts and the Vector resin cowling flaps. Markings will be masked using Montex masks. Fundekals produces a nice set of dekals for some of Boyington's Marine Corsairs and the informative PDF instructions will be used as a painting guide. Does anyone have an interest at looking at the sprues of this kit? I don't want to bore anyone but it is actually beneficial for me to present the sprues as a way to familiarize myself with the kit contents before I start. I'm not as familiar with the Corsair as I am with Luftwaffe fighters and I will be using past builds here as references, of which there should be many. I thought I was being cute when I picked up a True Details parachute to serve as a visual interest prop but there are at least 3 Corsair builds that have had the same bright idea as me. Takeaway?.. there will be nothing new here. Except what I bring to this build. And at this moment... it ain't much.

Hi everyone, It's been a while since I did a quick and easy built.... had that one on the back burner, like many other models I have somewhere in my dark cave ... .. Always liked those colors on a Phantom, very different, the third one in particular... And going to use Techmod decal for it. My load should be some Cutting Edge CBU-10.... I'll put some up to date picture this week-end. Thanks for watching, Dan.

It has begun. Took me about a year, but finally got started. This will be Duchess Arlene and the intent is to bring it to Nationals in Chattanooga. We'll see if it goes on the contest table or the club table, or the Display table. We all know the box: And here is the aftermarket of which I'll be using bits and pieces - mostly for the cockpit. I have some duplicates (Brassin and Barracuda and tires for one) so am looking to mix and match. Mustangs were supposedly known for having mismatched tires (although I've seen very few pictures of that). I've already sorted through most of that Big Ed batch and won't be using any of the Engine bits (more on that in a minute) or the machine gun bays. I have 3 options for the IP actually. Bases by Bill did a custom base for me and it is amazing. The name tag actually has its own little stand as well and I purchased the appropriate medal for Lt. Williams. I mentioned I have three options for the IP: the Kit, Eduard and Barracuda. I'm going to see if I can build all 3 as kind of a comparison and will post that separately but will show some of it here as well. The Barracuda IP intrigues me the most, but also looks like an amazing amount of work. Hmmm... Not as big a fan of the self-adhesive Eduard but the detail is nice. I have the Barracuda cockpit placards as well. MIGHT look at a combo of Eduard and Barracuda. We'll see. Oh, I have a piece of Tamiya tape on the Barracuda IP as I get it ready for primer. I have already removed the outer pouring casings but not the base yet. I'm not going with the removable engine panels so the engine is only what is needed to secure the prop and exhausts (which don't actually attach to the engine on this kit): Hopefully more tomorrow. Ciao! Chris

Here is my recently completed Tamiya F4U-1 Birdcage Corsair in the markings of the 2nd Daphne C flown by Capt. James Cupp, BuNo 03829, White 15. Excellent kit, everything just 'clicks' together & the detail is amazing. Aftermarket used; Barracuda cockpit placards, main wheels, early engine upgrade & 'Daphne C' decal. Eduard Cowling & fabric seat belts. HGW wet transfer placard decals. Maketar masks for the national insignia & white 15. Yahu instrument panel. True Details US parachute. Changes/additions made; eliminated the balance tabs on the ailerons, they were not installed on the Birdcage Corsairs. Added extra wiring, ducts, oxygen hose, added detail to the seat mount in the cockpit and added canopy lock handles. Added spark plugs, wiring & oil lines to the engine. Added cowl flaps cable to the Eduard cowling flaps. Added plumbing to the landing gear wells. Added machine gun barrels to the wings, odd that Tamiya doesn't include those. Added antenna, spring & insulators. Painted using MRP for the lower & Xtracolor for the upper color. Preshaded slightly, used panel line wash & pastels for weathering/post shading. I don't own a camera, so just have cell phone photos, some with flash & some without. Flash tends to wash out the colors. Haven't seen the sun here in days, so outside photos are not an option. Thanks for looking & all comments welcome. Larry http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http:// http://

I am throwing my hat in the ring for this fantastic group build. There has been some amazing work done so far and I am hoping that this endeavour will be at least half as good as what I have seen. There have been some awesome Phantom builds online and I have always been fan. Even when I was a kid and started modelling, this kit and jet held my fascination but was always out of reach from a skill set and financial standpoint. Now that I am older and back in the hobby, I could finally get my hands on this beast. I picked this kit up a few years ago and now that I am getting more proficient its about time to tackle this kit. This group build has been the impetus for seeing if I can do justice for the kit. So I have the kit and will be getting the Eduard PE as well as the Hobby Decal markings for the VF-84 Jolly Rogers. Thats about all I will added to the build as i am hoping to scratch and modify anything that needs to be added. I am also looking at setting her up on a diorama ready to be launched from a carrier catapult. I also know there are some challenges with the kit and so I am using the tweak list from Thierry Laurent as well as several other build logs such as this one on ARC as part of my references. As usual please comment. If its wrong or you have suggestions please let me know. I can improve through hard work and guidance from this great community. Thanks for Reading Gord

After the disaster of the Trumpter F4u-1D build and the ridiculous wing arrangement, I've decided to jump straight back on the horse and build another Corsair... this time Tamiya's offering. First impressions were that it's not much different to the Trumpter offering... Right up to the point where I found the decals and instruction manual AND full colour reference photo book. I was sceptical before buying the Tamiya, due to the fairly substantial hike in price, but I think that Tamiya can utterly justify their price. The quality of moldings and lack of flashing and release pin marks is unbelievable. The level of detail of the cockpit alone is the best I've ever seen. I apologise in advance to using John1's build as inspiration, If mine ends up 1/10 as well as his did, I will be a very happy man! I have purchased the cockpit decal set and resin wheels from Baracudu and the cowl kit from Vector to enhance this build, but other than that I will be doing no scratch building, just enjoying the build. I will post pictures of progress to follow. Thanks for looking and I welcome any tips or critism, good or bad.

It's Tamiya kit I've built on Nov 2018.

Right then, I've had this kit for a few years - probably 20 - and was purchased second hand. I bought my first Tamiya Tomcat when it was released back in 1981, and it cost the not insignificant sum of 460 Norwegian Kroner. That is the equivalent of around 1500 NOK today, or around £135 which is the retail price for the updated issue in the UK today. Back then, I started the kit on Christmas eve and finished it in March, in VF-84 markings that came with the kit. When I bought this kit second hand, I did it with the intention of seeing what a few decades of experience and the help of aftermarket that was not available back in 1981 would do. I have started gluing some parts together and rescribing, so it should be below the 25% ceiling...? Decals wise, I have the Zotz decals that include VF-21 and VF-111, and while I love both options, I think VF-21 gets the nod simply because I love the yellow and black colour combination and the black trim on the nose of the early VF-21 scheme. One of the issues with the kit is the way the exhaust fairings are done. They should be circular in crossection, but Tamiya simplified the shape into more of a U-shape. To correct this I sawed off sections off a cheap and started second kit I had bought from under the tables at the Milton Keynes model show a few years ago. Sections were then cut off the exhaust fairings from the lower and some part of the upper as well as creating the gaps between exhaust fairings and beaver tail as featured in Tamiya's superlative 1:48th scale kit. The other reason for buying that started kit was to use the afterburners to extend the too short kit ones, but then Aires released their superb resin ones. Still, that gave me the opportunity to play with another forward fuselage to try and make a reasonable representation with the 7-vent mid-breech panel. That will not be required for this build however. The forward fuselage has had the "armour plating" sanded off and panel lines restored. The cockpit tubs have their pouring stubs cut off and can fit to the top of the nose gear well. And that's where it's at. Hoping to be able to finish this one as an in flight model as I can't face detailing those wheel wells. At some point I will need to make the additional ECM antennas under the gloves and the beaver tail Jens

I really enjoyed this kit, it goes together extremely well considering it's size, I just wish Tamiya did the later version also! It's pretty much OOB with the exception of some seat belts and all insignia but the tail number was masked and painted. This aircraft was based out of Malaya in December 1941.

After weeks of work, here is my finally completed Tamiya A6M2 Zero. It was a fun build. Not too difficult, mostly because of the high quality of the kit, however, attaching the wire they supplied for the antenna was the hardest part of build. Of course, the painting and weathering portion was challenging. Enjoy!

Hi, I renewed my old Corsair model. New colors, markings from masks. This plane was originally a "white 13" and it was a Ken Welsh plane, then number was changed to 7 and it was assigned to James Cupp. Unfortunately, on my photos most of scratches to silver/zinc chromate which i done dissapeared. On bottom there is a photo of model before repaint and photo with buddy Hellcat from Pacific with same number

Hi guys, do these birds get really filthy? I'm doing a USAF bird and need good ref pics if anybody has got some, particularly the underside. Cheers Bevan

Bumped onto this in YouTube: https://youtu.be/HZ6mr8wAW5E This guy did a great job with DN Models' masks. Glad to have videos like that viral. Shows how things can be done the easy way.

here my entry for this groupbuild What im going to use the old tamiya F-14A i know lot off work ahaed but im looking forward to do this I love the F-14 and also the camo so what can go wrong A lot off scribbing ahaed The kit and aftermarket Mark

Hello- These are pics of my Tamiya A6M2 1/32nd scale Type 21. My model depicts the aircraft of NAP1/C Tsuguo Matsuyama during the 2nd strike of the Pearl Harbor attack. The kit took me a long time to build, mainly due to life's interruptions, such as going back to college for a master's degree, and other situations. Anyway, it's an excellent kit, the fit is great unless you add too many details (I found that out during the build and it slowed me down) but, in the end, the kit fits together easily (typical of Tamiya), and it was a lot of fun. I used mostly GSI Mr. Hobby Colors for the build, along with Taiya paints, Alclad II lacquer, Vallejo acrylics, lots of Future, and even some blue food coloring . The tires and drop flaps were aftermarket resin, I added wiring in the cockpit and on the engine, and the seatbelts are the ones included in the kit, which are probably the weakest part of the model. Overall though, I'm very happy with the way it turned out. Thanks for looking! Link to the build log: https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/56908-finished-mojo-rei-sen-tamiya-mitsubishi-a6m2/