amblypygid

Love 'em, beautiful collection.

Damn, thought I could sneak that one past you!

I went and read the first page. Oh, dear. One modeller whose work I enjoyed said some surprisingly ignorant things. When will I learn? All the modelling subjects sound interesting, PC. I always learn something from each of your works in progress, so go for any of them. But maybe the Ventura?

Absolutely true, Christer, sorry. Wikipedia informs me that no turbocharged version of this engine ever made it past the prototype stage, to boot!

The engine is done; only issue really was the build sequence as a couple of pipes needed removing in order to get the frame in place. The attachment points are small so really no problem to take them off and reattach them later. Before framework added. The two pipes that were in the way are those running down to the turbocharger (I think that's what it is, anyway) Framed: Construction moves onto the wings now. Here's one of the parts, hopefully you can see the restrained and extensive rivetting that Zvezda have moulded: Thanks for looking in.

Nice choice!

Very nice, Stix. Those bombs look proper business-like.

Thanks, Valkyrie. Yep, no problems with them. The only criticism I'd proffer is that not a lot of space is left on the sheet and so it can be tricky to cut them out if your hand is less than steady. That's good to know as that's what I'm aiming for. Having gone back and reviewed some photos of 348FG aircraft, they do actually look to have been kept surprisingly clean, so I might go over it with some more white to mute the effect a little. I need some time on the airbrush as I also have to paint the u/c doors with the belly colour, but I forget now which shade of grey I used! Hopefully this weekend.

It is, as it has been throughout, marvellous, Johnny.

Things are moving on, and the engine is pretty much done, with just some pipework and the framing to be added, I think. I've chosen a darker grey than the casing in the photo above (VMC basalt grey), with the other parts variously in VMC Black or German Grey, and Gunmetal or Oily Steel for the bare metal parts. Looks like I could do a better job on cleaning up the seams, but quite honestly I hadn't even seen them until posting these photos.

It's not you that needs to change. It's those that exploit your good nature, so the only change you should make is to make it clear to them that enough is enough.

Wikipedia has a rather nice photo of the real thing:

I realise I've not posted a picture of the all-action box art: And progress on the engine. This is the sum total of nine parts:

I am a thoroughly irrational modeller at times. In particular, I'll buy kits, then buy some more kits to practice on before I build the kit that I bought in the first place. For example, I bought the Eduard Rockin' Rhino boxing of the Academy 1/48 Phantom, something of a dream kit for me. Then I bought a 1/48 A-7 and a 1/48 A-6 because I felt I needed the practice on external stores. And an Academy Phantom to make sure that I have a dry run. This kit is not quite on that scale, but I pulled it out of the stash because I was thinking about buying a resin engine for another kit, and this has a well detailed styrene engine for me to practice on. I've been trying hard in the last few weeks to resist the pull of the novel, but I'm weak! (But I know I'm not alone...) So, this kit comes with a good rep, and a heck of a lot of parts. I like the looks of the Pe-2, it's a very graceful airframe: Zvezda give three marking options, though as often seems to be the case with VVS subjects, there's only one basic scheme. I'm leaning towards the first, from the 12th Guards Dive Bomber Regiment, but no decision needs to be taken just yet as there seems to be no difference in the build process or the basic colours between the options. In any case, the build starts, appropriately enough, with the detailed Klimov M105 engine. The M105 is similar to the Merlin: a V-12 liquid cooled engine rated at around 1,000 HP, like the early Merlins. This is one of those "kits within a kit", and must have 30+ components, most of them on this sprue: Plenty of very fragile looking parts that I can have fun trying to remove cleanly. But the interior parts make this look simple; there are over one hundred parts to put in. This is going to take me some time... I must finish by apologising for the awful pun in the thread title

Splendid choice, Christer, looking forward to seeing this build up.

Umm. Yikes?

I did this Tbolt using Vallejo's duraluminium Metal Color over Vallejo gloss black primer. The picture shows up a little graininess that is less evident without a camera and July sunshine. (This is the Academy razorback, which in part accounts for the decal issue, subsequently corrected). Two light, unthinned coats sprayed at low pressure. Same technique for this Airfix F-51: Neither are going to win any competitions, but I feel they're not too shabby for my first efforts at an airbrushed NMF (I have a NMF B-17 planned for later this year for which these were the test runs). The Vallejo paint is also very robust; no problems with masking over it or damaging it with handling.

A like for the Hurris, PC, along with best wishes for your mother's health and a hope that the childcare situation will work out for you both. It's taken me twenty minutes to write that one sentence as I'm just not able to set out my thoughts in an adequate form this morning. Just know that I'm hoping for good things to happen to you very soon.

That sucks blows, Jon. Frustrating though it is, not much of that interior will be visible once it's closed up. Time for a dram, I think.

You're very kind,thanks. I don't think it's a patch on the 'bolt on your blog, that's a very nice model indeed.

Ooh, well... Derived from pissala, the local word for anchovy paste, which means salted fish. Lovely stuff if you like anchovies and olives, I'm now tempted to try and make one myself. Fascinated to see what you'll make of this, Mr Heath.

I find the MT washi tape both harder to burnish down and easier to tear (it almost always tears when I cut it under tension), but since Ced and The Baron are far better modellers than me, I'm going to put that down to skill and familiarity, rather than the product itself. It does come in lots of nice colours and fancy patterns, which is a plus (not so great for making tape harnesses, perhaps). The finish on those Hurris looks marvellous, PC. Very smooth finish.

More progress shots from yesterday: decalling now done and progressing with the u/c and more vulnerable attachments. The matte coat that I brushed on the wings is streaky (and really not very matte!), but I fear putting varnish in my airbrushes, so I'm torn. The Kitsworld decals behaved impeccably, but I'm not thrilled with the contrast on the nose art despite the opacity on those pale colours. The registration on the victory markings may also be slightly out, but I've only noticed that just now from the photos, so not too obvious unless you get real close to the model.

It might very well be the way that the photos have come out, but the prop looks less grainy than the large flatter areas (which only look slightly grainy). I think some buffing would help, for sure, though I'm also not an Alclad user and I find it hard to judge from photos.

The time taken paid off, Mark, that's a lovely checkered cowl.