Dr Jimbo

That's a bit tasty! Love the scheme. James

Fabulous paintwork and weathering. Good job! James.

That is a very well made Hellcat and I love the weathering and paintwork. Good job! James.

Nice Tomcat. Lovely painting. Top job. James

That is one mean looking plane. I've never studied one before but the wings look so small in comparison to the fuselage, I amazed it ever stayed in the air! Beautifully painted. James

What a beautiful beast. I like your weathering. Top job. James

For a first completed build, that looks tip top. Good skills. I'm on my fifth build and yours looks better! James

Panos, I love the plane and you've made an excellent start. Your cockpit is exceptional and I'm sure your riveting work will look very realistic. I'm learning from your tips. Thanks for sharing it with us. I feel a bit dense asking this, but what is the 'Spanish style'? James

That is truly brilliant. I've followed your build thread with much pleasure and the end product is awesome. I hope you are chuffed. James

I like your tips on weathering the bombs and spinner/blades. Noted for future reference. Thanks. I am thinking of doing a Mossie next, something to do with Amiens maybe. They are beautiful planes and quite unique. I'm watching with interest and taking notes. James

Thanks for all your condolences! Oddly, being the perfectionist I think so many of us are, I wasn't too disappointed. I had made so many mistakes that I see this as an excuse to start from scratch again with all the knowledge I've now got from the thread. I made a meal of the scribing, got some of the cockpit scheme wrong, made a mess of the wing lights, warped the prop blades by leaving them leaning against something for 2 weeks without realising, struggled fitting the canopy etc etc. School boy errors not to be repeated on the next build. I'm going to keep the wreckage as a reference and may salvage some bits if necessary, like the spinner. I've already started the second attempt and will start the thread when I've got something to show for it. Thanks for following, James.

I agree totally. You say there is no rocket science involved, but the skill is knowing how much weathering to apply and how to balance it and pull it all together. You have done this very well indeed. It is something I am still learning. Excellent. James.

Very tasty. Top job. James.

Excellent work. Your paintwork is very tidy. The scheme would definitely put me off building one for now... James

I've got this in my stash and was going to start it soon. I havent read any reviews or WIP, but it sounds a bit disappointing if the resin cockpit doesn't fit. Does anyone have any tips on how best to approach it? James

Looks stunning. I like the way you have varied the panel shades and weathered it. Very tidy. James

I love your weathering. It's a beautiful plane, beautifully finished. Top job. James

Great finish to what sounds like a tricky build. Looks fabulous. James

I love it. What an original idea. Quite dark, but with the odd, slightly comical flock of sheep. Quite thought provoking in a weird way... James

That looks awesome. Like the weathering... James

Nice build so far. I like it when builds are of particular planes and there is a bit of history to it. Very interesting. Your office looks great. As you say, the tamiya internal green does look a bit dark, but its nearly impossible to get it right as there is no exact match. When did your 5 week deadline start? Thanks for sharing with us, James

Good recovery post accident. Looks great. Watching with interest. James PS I like the way you have protected your gun barrels - noted for future use.

Looks amazing and fab pics too. I love your level of weathering. You certainly had to be brave to fly one of those. I can only imagine the feeling of flying one of these, coming in on a torpedo run, attracting massive gunfire, a sitting duck flying not much faster than a seagull, knowing that your chances of survival were so small... What a cheerful thought! Anyway, great build! James

This looks wonderful. I've just looked at the build thread. The pics are great and you have obviously put in a lot of work and have much skill. I wish I could understand the words, as I'm sure we would all learn lots. Your riveting work must have taken ages. Is that a specific riveting tool you have shown half way down page 2? If yes, do you know if you can get them online, because it looks easy to use and I like the look of it. Also I love the effect you've done on the bombs. They look the part, slightly yellowed and coroded. Please can you tell me how you did it. Top job. Thanks for sharing, James

For those of you who like to see these things, here are a couple of pics of the trashed hurricane. Enjoy! I have bought the same kit again and will start it in the next few days. I'll start a new thread when I do. I have bought the same kit again and will start it in the next few days. I'll start a new thread when I do. Thank you to everyone for their advice and help throughout the build. James