giemme

Stunning paint job and build! I too had the privilege to see it in the flesh, and I can confirm it's that good, and even more! Ciao

I have to agree with James @81-er here, and that filler cap scratch building is sheer genius! Watching that saw cutting across the fuselage was a bit scary, though... It worked in the end, so Ciao

Speaking from personal experience, I think that seam will show up quite neatly in your paint job, especially if you add a panel line. I would run some PPP into it, only one go: it will shrink a bit and (hopefully) leave just the right amount of line. Looking definitely like a chopper, now! I love the paint job in the undercarriage bays, and the smart fixes of the fitting problems! Ciao

You bet! Well, next time Excellent job on the engine and the metallics! Looking forward to the wood effect on the fuselage! Ciao

Great pics of the usual suspects! Glad you had fun, Johnny! And came out with bags... Also, the linen effect is subtle but effective Ciao

No, you're not... Ciao

That's a bit impressive, Mike! I can certainly see that: even without your extra detailing, this looks like a real challenge to build Ciao

Cheers Bill. much appreciated! And don't worry for being late, there's always room for more - and I'm sloooow.. Decals? I can't compute that... Not quite, but see below for some stencils action And thanks! Thank you Ced, dedication is just one step away from insanity... You're both suggesting me to cheat. Shame on you. Thanks John - and Terry, you brought up remote memories, mentioning the Letraset stuff! Well, thank you mate! I'm sure glad I got another approval from down under And thanks for the pointer about the book, I'll look into that! Alright, back to the model. I did wonder: what could I do to put off posing decals a bit more? There were a few things, actually: first off, paint the propeller tips They were airbrushed with Tamiya Flat Yellow Then I airbrushed the spinner and spinner plate with Tamiya Red And put the whole thing together While the glue was out, I thought: why not gluing the main struts to their covers? And weather the exhaus stacks? Then I gave in and started with decals; propeller first: Main decals all posed now: Look, a shark mouth! Now, the left part of the serials gave me a proper headache: it curled up in a three-fold fashion as I tried to move it around, and it took me a good five minutes of fettling to fix it! There was sweat and anglo-saxon, even if in Italian! I then started laying down the myriad of stencils Eduard supplies with this kit - I mean, I built a few Phantoms in my modelling life, and those aren't shy of stencils, but for this kit there are so many that it's almost ridiculous! Anyway, I did one wing (and only underneath), then my mojo took a steep dive and I called it a day. I'll complete the task in the next few nights, for my sanity sake. Meanwhile, all comments welcome. Ciao

Welcome back, Simon! Glad to hear life is good for you! Ciao

Well, that was some update! The seat belts look spot on and they add a great deal of interest to the interiors! And the overall definitely looks choppery, now Ciao

A bit of good ol' scratch building - I love that! I concur with James @81-er re the weathering Ciao

They look very good already ,the black base is really giving great depth to the colors Ciao

Boys nowadays - they never listen! Seriously though @CedB, I'd try with piercing the silvered decals with a needle and flooding them with decals solutions, before any flat coating Ciao

Gearbox and IP are very detailed - looking the part to me! Yeah, I feel like I need a laydown! Ciao

Well, it looks like a success to me, Johnny - albeit painful Have fun in Telford! Ciao