ProfSparks

Hi All Spot the difference? (No prizes, just taking the easy way out...) Anyhoo, been on a bit of a Rabbit hunt for the Red. Depending on when and how you choose to depict, there are a couple of ways you could go with the scheme. I didn't want the 'cartoon' red, nor did I want too dark and orange/brownish, and it had to come from my limited selection of Vallejo/Tamiya shades. After some mules were sacrificed I decided on a base of Vallejo Game Extra Opaque 72.141 Rojo Denso Heavy Red with a thinned layer of 71.003 Red RLM23. The Rojo Denso (love that name, could be one of my mates from school) is quite pinkish/plumby So the RLM23 helps to yellow it out a bit without being too bright. As usual, the final effect was slightly similar to the test pieces without being exactly what I was after And obviously the pic is not representative. The XF-1 XF-2 and XF-7 are there as colour references should you be so inclined. She's had a coat of Pledge to lessen the impact of my fumbling, hoping the Matt coat will bring her back into line, but if you half close your eyes and squint at her in a dimly lit room, she's actually quite close to the colour you think. Decals next... Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All You wait for ages then two come along at once! I'd never heard of Inch Pincher, but that's right up my Interest Street! Love it when old, small cc 'Davids' go up against Big Block American muscle (Mini vs Mustang/Corvette/whatever...) "Goliath", loads on Y'tube, many a happy session 🥰 There are a load of kit parts here for such a small vehicle, probably due to there being (apart from the body shell and a couple of panels) two complete versions These are the ones earmarked for this build I'll start with the 426 A slight moment when the block sides are joined But then the front plate is offered up it all makes sense A Blu-Tak session later to see how things fit I reckon a tin of G8 and it'll be ready for fitting! Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Spurred on by the progress of @Anders E I attempted the guns. To make a short story shorter, the first PE jacket turned out fine, but the other one didn't. Taking the advice of Kenny Rogers I put the front PE pieces on the solid parts and am at peace with that I thought about drilling out the ends, but even as I thought about it the ends bent themselves and threatened to snap off, so I didn't. The rear fuselage cable exits and forward inspection plates were added with a couple of drops of Pledge (There's an odd smooth patch and hole on the Port Side, is that one of the many Elephants in this Meng room?) I put her wings in with the washing-up and manipulated them straight(ish), and that's nearly about it before paint! Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Lust popping in to update you on the Lab results regarding drilling out the cable pass-throughs on the tailplane. Don't bother, four short lengths of line will be fine and save you reaching for your Profanisaurus. Anyhoo, just to prove that I haven't launched her against the wall (yet), here she is dry fitted Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All The moulded side surrounds match well with the underwing locations However, the upper ones are quite a way rearward (lower pin at trailing edge point, upper pin at leading edge point) This meant drilling quite a steep angle between top and bottom to allow the cable to pas cleanly through You'll notice I knocked off the control horn while drilling, and then there's this... So anyway, I'll put id down for a little while before I redrill the hole somewhere else. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All I generally shy away from cars etc due to the prospect of a shiny finish, however, due to a couple of circumstances I've decided to start this project I built this as the AA/Altered version in a previous childhood, thick glue, thick silver paint, thick red paint, the whole shebang. I've been looking out for it to try to do it justice, and thought I'd found a good'un. Not so, it had been started, thick glue and thick black paint on the chassis, and the moulding wasn't as I thought I'd remembered it So, as a start, those painted parts took a bath in Tescos' finest The rest of the parts also went in to the early bath (chromed in the cleaner, others into warm soapy water) I'm keeping some of the chromed parts chromed as I'd like to try some affects on them. I'm planning on doing a Rat Rod type of finish, lowered, rusty, perhaps the "426 hemi" engine exposed, this sort of stance I'll see how it goes... Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Hi Greg, as there are so many great modellers on here making teeny tiny things look bigger and easier than they actually are, I thought I'd redress the balance by making something of a decent size look smaller and harder than it is Anyhoo, some holes for the control cables to be drilled in the tail end to account for the pre production F1 vs Dr1 The lifting handle (beside the large pin mark) is in a slightly different position for the Dr1, but not enough to worry me. The re-enforcing loops where the cables exit are supplied as PE and will be added when the tail plane is located, just to get the angles right And so the body halves can be joined together. I did the top seam first as I'd read there were some difficulties with getting the oversized underside stitching in place The final finish was pleasingly smooth after some work with various Flory sanding sponges I then attended to the lower seam. This didn't go quite as well. I followed (crashed around) in the footsteps of others, and safe to say the result will probably never be posted publicly. However, here is that pic of the top seam again Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Something like this? I've added cables to the rudder pedals and control column Although, again, probably not much will be seen once the sides are nailed on There are a couple of holes to drill for the rear grab handles, then it'll be closure time. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Harness located and secured Actual seat not fixed yes as there's some lateral leeway. I'll save it for when the sides are set. So far it's all gone together quite well, plenty of sturdy locating lugs. Just dry fitted to assess the dry fit... A couple of narks with parts, but more of that later. Anyhoo, the engine is simple enough Ignition wiring added from a phone charger cable, but probably won't be that obvious eventually. Hey Ho. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All After a couple of hours session of writhing in monocular visioned angst marveling at Albion Alloys 0,3mm ID Brass Tube I had some cross bracing Don't talk to me about taking the line back through for a double run. Just. Don't. Also, the Port sidewall still irked me so I replaced some parts with wire And the "plywood" was started with an unlikely candidate and the worst brush I could find The harness was Tamiya Brown Panel Liner dabbed over. And that's about it so far. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All My favorite place too I've made a start on the internals, just dry fitted at the moment It's a bit slow going as EVERY part has a seam line, and most have to be shaved to fit snugly I've opened up the hole in the backing cloth and drilled 0,3mm holes in the control rods as I fancy doing some internal rigging. As you can see in the above pic there are already locating loops in the corners for cross bracing 👍 More scraping, drilling and dry fitting soon. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All I realize I haven't posted anything for a while, and that's mostly due to not being enthused by anything in my stash. I'd get a box out, bring it into The Lab, look at it gloomily, then put it back. However, while looking at schemes for the Meng Dr1, I stumbled into quite a few 'discussions' about the overall colour scheme (particularly this one from The Aerodrome https://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25896, all 38 pages of it...!) and I was hooked. My take-away is that you can paint it how you want and no-one can prove that it's wrong. So. There are many online reviews and builds so I won't go into specifics, suffice to say that my cockpit coaming was broken My wings were bent with a tricky leading edge seam Some obvious ejector pins And less than stellar moulding The kit is a most odd mix of lovely detail And missed opportunity (sidewall could have had separate parts for controls?) But it could probably be summed up simply with this Has the feel of a Roden kit in need of an Eduard BigEd etch set. Anyhoo, it's not like I'm going to screw up genuine Wingnut Wings offering, so onward. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi Graham Agreed, but the driver was supplied with a significantly different itinerary before we were even picked up. As an update, the original Caledonian tour link is now unbookable, and their coachbooking.com site shows the two potential tour dates cancelled. And ASA has been in touch with me... Watch this space. Cheers Steve

Hi All, a quick vent... We booked a Caledonian Travel coach holiday to Loch Lomond & The Isle of Arran https://www.caledonian.com/itineraries/18645-loch-lomond-and-the-isle-of-arran?firstTour=350636 but were only allowed 90 minutes at the Loch Lomond Visitor Centre (shopping mall) before being taken to Glasgow and left for over three hours (that wasn't anywhere on their advertised itinerary). Their advertised route round the south of Arran to take in "the quaint villages of Kilmory, Kildonan and Whiting Bay to Lamlash" was replaced with a drive round the North of the isle with one stop at Lochranza (it was closed). I emailed them our complaint the day after we got back and received a dismissive excuse about drivers hours and a money off code to use on another of their other holidays (yeah, like we'll be going with them again). They're not responding to emails, they're not ABTA member, what do people do when goods or services supplied are not as advertised? (I've contacted Advertising Standards Authority, again with no response). Anyhoo 0/10 would NOT recommend. Cheers Steve ps. If anyone wants that code for £80 let me know

Hi Phil I would say that it's probably down to my dodgy placement more than Airfix size... You can see here that the DW tucks right up under, and remains parallel to, the canopy lower edge Whereas I've slapped them on at a jaunty angle They may be slightly oversize, but not by much. If anything, their layout may have to be tweaked to get a slightly smaller roundel and the K separated and into the correct orientation higher up, but as a whole they're not too bad, it's just my application. I'd do that on my next one Cheers Steve

Hi All Several further steps have been taken, not all of them forward. Take, for example, Exhibit A:- The tail was done in Vallejo 71.022 Light Green, the moving surfaces in 71.012 Dark Green, and the de-icing boots in generic black. The keen eyed amongst you will notice the underside of the rear stab is quite a bit lighter than the underside of the wing, something I didn't pick up on, but it basically means I've sprayed the Olive Drab on the wrong surfaces, the ones that I had preciously done in underside Neutral Grey. Several oaths later, I'd got them to fit in their opposite sides, but looking back I should have just resprayed them. Regardless, the decals were no bother, even the swathes of carrier film between the letters disappeared. Some Flory Grime was washed over and wiped off, taking with it a section of the underwing Star roundel. Everything got a coat of W&N Matt, and the window masking was removed. This showed some light primer misting on the inside of the top rear windows, and I couldn't get a cotton swab in to clean it. On the positive side, the side windows were fitted by poking them through from the inside on a blob of Blu-Tack on the end of a cocktail stick and TET dropped round The nose glazing just went through the nose, and would have been easier if the bomb aiming gubbins had been left off from Stage 1. Fortunately I'd snapped the seat off ages ago, so that didn't get in the way. The cheek guns and nose bubble made it quite crowded in there And once the waist guns and tail guns were fitted, that was her done All that was left was to find somewhere big enough to fit the wings and take a couple of pics There are slight join lines at the wing roots, but they're not too obvious considering the wings slot on/off. Anyhoo, moving on, perhaps something not so "1/48 Four Engined Bomber" is next. Thanks to all who joined along, see you on the next one Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All A bit of a slow masking mojo event, but finally got round to doing something about it. Vallejo 71.016 USAF Olive Drab, 0,4mm @25psi, then a coat of Pledge similarly Hasn't turned out too bad, and those gaping wing root gaps are the slightly sloppy fit betwixt wing and body. Might have to do something about those too. Anyhoo, some other Olive Drabs and or greens going on next. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve 🍷

Hi All I've had my OnePlus-X since they came out in 2015, and it's been all I've needed, but now it seems to be getting too long in the tooth to supports some of my apps. Apparently I need at least Android 11. This is it https://www.gsmarena.com/oneplus_x-7630.php It's (140 x 69 x 6.9 mm (5.51 x 2.72 x 0.27 in), and ideally I'd like the same again, but technology has other ideas. I've only a couple of criteria, size being one (nothing bigger if at all possible), but most importantly any new phone must have a "status LED" This flashes different rates and colours depending on whether it has signal, low battery, received a text or email, missed a call, etc. I can see it at a glance from a distance in the dark, very useful and something I don't want to give up. That's a deal breaker. I don't listen to music from it, don't take 100's of pics a day, don't game on it, shudder at the thought of watching anything video more than a YouTube clip, and generally avoid any sites that have connections to "social" or "media". Would any of the hive be using or recommend a handset that fit's the bill? I'd be looking at a budget of £200 - £400 for the right one, hopefully last me another 7 years. Cheers Steve

Hi All The transparencies are a mix of frame on and frame off And the tops of the seats had to be shaved down to get the hood to sit snug But after some experiments Hope it holds up The fit isn't too bad, a thin line of PPP And off to the spray box An overall coat of Vallejo Ghost Grey primer (0,4mm 30psi) with some Tamiya XF-53 Neutral Grey on the undersides And yes, while packing the stbd wheel well with paper towel, I popped the undercarriage plate off Anyhoo, masking next. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve 🍷

Mules Rule. Where would we be without them? I'd still be using a tube glue and a paint roller. Oh, hang on... Excellent to see someone sacrificing accuracy for curiosity. Cheers Steve

Hi If, for example, I had a kit that had been out of production for about thirty years, and the decals with it were cracked and unusable, would it be easy enough to scan them (dpi?), manipulate the image to get the cracks out, then print them (laser?) onto (white?) decal paper? Cheers Steve

Hi All Took some time over the tracks, single links and all that, but once I got into "the zone" it turned out quite therapeutic I gave them a coat of Tamiya XF-84 Dark Iron, a dilute wash of Flory Sand, and a quick hilight drybrush of Vallejo Air 71.024 Khaki Brown to bring the edges out (not that you can tell here) The viewing blocks slipped easily into the cupola with a dab of TET, and she was done An odd build, easy enough, but somehow not quite satisfying. Dunno. Anyhoo, time to pick something with a little more personal connection. Thanks to all who joined along, see you on the next one! Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Before the halves are joined, there's the tail wheel strut and the ball turret to get in In an attempt to avoid window masking, I plan to insert what I can from through the gunners openings. If that doesn't work, then it's out with the Kristal Klear. As a size reference, here's a tailplane with a 1/72 Spitfire And a wing with a 1/72 Lancaster wing It may be comparing Apples with Melons, but you get the idea. Overall, the parts count and detail reminds me very much of a Matchbox kit, well meaning, slightly soft and generally heading towards accurate. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve 🍷

Hi All I went round the cut plate edges with some MRP-F088 Steel Metallic, then a pin wash of that A.MIG1005 Dark Brown Wash For Green Vehicles to bring the texture out I also tried a dry brush of that Steel over the flat plate surfaces to add a little variation, but it somehow ended up like it had sparkly dandruff, so lesson learned. Time to get a flat coat on it and crack on with the tracks. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Cockpit and forward station together IP The ejector pin marks and the splodges on the centre console will hopefully be less fried-egg-like through the canopy glazing 🤞 There's little that can be sen of anything once the lid's on And yes She is The UC legs can be fitted once the wheel well roof is in place, so that should save on some masking. The roof is glued from above before the wing halves are joined They're keyed so you can't get them in the wrong side without trying very very hard. Care should be taken to ensure they're solid in there as the full weight is pressing them away from the joining surface, and if they pop loose once she's built there'll be tears trying to get them back... Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve 🍷