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Thanks Simon, but I think I've got a long way to go before I reach Tony's level; and he keeps upping the bar! Thanks Giorgio It's nice, when it works! BTW I think the 'old solder' melts at 280º. I've written it on the roll now - the labels fell off in the '70s! Skid shaped: I'm not going to get much closer than that TBH. Tiny. I've also stuck on the filler cap: Fitting the top frame is proving tricky. I had to file down the tops of the inner frame to try to get the ring to lay flat: …and of course I knocked one of them off. I need to leave that until I get more patience: We're away for a few days now so there will be a pause Keep yourself busy and be good!

Thanks Giorgio - good tip During my pre-bed session last night I tried brushing some more Mr Dissolved Putty on the controls - seemed to work OK and let me shape them a bit more. I'll have a look later. This morning I had some soldering mojo so I got my kit out: Tea optional. I've forgotten the melting temp of my old solder so I left the temp as it was: …and waited for the tip temp to match the setting. And waited… And waited… Odd. I decided (early morning fuzz) that the sensor had probably failed and thought 'Oh well, I got it cheap. Press on'. Bad idea. Trying to get the tip tinned I set fire (yes, fire) to the cleaning pad: …and the iron seemed 'quite hot' (Wish I could get that finish on my jet pipes) Now then, 'cos I'm lazy, I just wrap the wires around the box and chuck it back in it's packaging. Bad idea. I took out the plug to the iron, wiggled it and put it back in: Oops. Well, that was a learning experience - more TLC needed on the kit. Anyway, I was able to do the tail skid: (I'll shape the blob later) and test fit: Happy with that. The top frame needs some fiddling, but pleased with that too: It should touch the top of the bulkhead but too late now - you won't see it once it's painted anyway

Nice internals Bill

More lovely, tiny, detailed work Crisp Have a good beery time!

Neat trick Bill - I've given that a go (see below) Can I sand it when it's set? Thanks Dennis - not tube these, it's rod Good idea though - plan B! Thanks Adrian In the cabinet, don't worry. Don't worry about the height either - I haven't cut the bottoms yet. Thanks Terry - yep, have that pic (and some others from HAAF) Mr Dissolved Putty dip: Seemed OK, although getting the required shape was a bit tricky: I've done the collective handles too: Can I sand it tomorrow? Or do I need to be careful to get the shape? I can always rub it off (fnaar!) and start again…

Looks good Heather, thanks for the details

Thanks Ian Jeweller's saw recommended by Tony - blame the Baron! I use it a lot now though, and cheap! How about these? Gold, of course (ahem). Goes with the Lame interior. Still 0.5mm rod but without the thick tube. Looks OK to me? I'll see if I have something to 'sleeve' the handles…

Thanks Giorgio I probably won't bother to improve these bucks unless I mess up the kit canopy - but I'll remember for next time and learn how to pour plaster! Thanks Keith - I've learned my lesson! Thanks Ben Indeed! Gold Lame essential! Thanks Johnny Next time I'll be more careful pouring the plaster to avoid bubbles then (I think) light sanding to get it shiny. Good to hear the boy's good at Chess - so much better than X-Box! Thanks Marklo The PETg I used is recommended here; it's harder to handle but better to mould apparently. Thanks John - I have given up (on the moulding) for now I won't be looking for any Babies' bottoms - I have to be DBS checked you know! The new tools arrived yesterday but I was busy so only time for a little play. They're both as expected and will appear soon! This morning I set up for soldering the top frame and the tail skid: Bottled out of actually getting the iron out. I did stick some tube on some 0.5mm brass and used the new round pliers to make a control column: I'd intended to file the flat end to shape to represent the flat bit on the end of the column but… …I think it's a bit too big. I shall ponder. I've decided to model the blades folded as I'm a masochist. And to save space in the cabinet. That meant I had to chop off two of the blade ends: …and then drill and file the ends to show the open hinges: Still tiny. While I had them out, a pic of my file collection for Heather: Standard set of 'too big' needle files bought before I knew what I needed but handy for roughing (blue handles) Two sets of needle files bought from shows (blue ones first, red ones to add some shapes) Riffler files underneath after Mr Fritag suggested they would help (they do) Hobby Elements micro-files in the tube - I used one of the Sabre files to clean out the hinges after I'd sawed most of the waste out with the jeweller's saw. Thought I'd taken a picture of that. Ho hum. The blue tube (top right) has the broaches in - still not sure what they're for!

Sorry to hear you've been ill PC but good to see you back Nice house - I look forward to seeing it 'in the flesh'! By the way, did you know one of the bins (the blue one) seems to be dead?

For my new brass work, Prestige small (6") straight snips and a pair of forming round and concave nose pliers: Now, with a bit more practice, I can make nice wire circles, like loop aerials: …but I must stop buying plierey things now - no more room: Yes, I'm a tool tart. In case you're wondering, from left to right: PE shears nice Xuron sprue cutters not so nice Xuron sprue cutters Plato wire cutters cheapo wire cutters Dad's old flat nosed pliers cheapo round nosed pliers (for rough work) PE bender pliers and the new pair It's an illness

They look pretty good to me Bill - if you want to bend them more perhaps you could warm the Pozidriver a little bit? Or the plastic? Nice though

Thanks Crisp Not as tiny as your Ark Aircraft but still bad for the eyes! Nothing but the best for our lads I must learn about camera settings… Thanks Johnny Do the Whirlybird - I think you'll enjoy it! This afternoon Matthew I'm going to be Vacforming. 0.5mm PETg in the frame after chopping a 5" square off the sheet. Nice and clear eh? Following Tony's advice I kept the sheet away from the heater - no more than half way up - and was fascinated to see 'ripples', albeit tiny ones, moving around the sheet. This is probably the pre-heat people talk about? Patience Ced, patience. Then it did droop and BAM! Down with the frame and on with the suck. I let it cool for a bit (do I need to do that?) and then lifted the frame: It does get hot this machine - even the warning sticker is peeling off: Anyway, here they are: I'd stuck the bucks down with Tak but this allowed the sheet to be sucked underneath: I don't think you can use this for 'shell moulds' because, of course, you have to cut the buck out. Here they are with the kit version: They don't look too bad there but on closer inspection: Proving Bill's reiteration of Steve's warning that you need a perfectly smooth buck. Another lesson learned

Excuse the thread drift Johnny Dave kindly sent me one of his strips but, sadly, it's 12v and my booth doesn't have a transformer. Thanks though Dave, very kind. It's just over 30cm long (without the wire). If anyone has a booth with a 12v internal supply and they'd like to fit a LED strip light PM me and I'll pass it on

The garage have refunded their charge - result! Although, as they didn't do anything, I think that's only fair. Oh wait, I did get a wash and Vac I suppose - winner! Last thing this morning. Seat backs had some detail scribed and seats glued in after chopping off the collective handles: Good start I think. Still have the tiny i/p to think about - scary!

Thanks Tony Car fixed! I just put the fuse back in the right place Thanks Bill, appreciated I'm not sure about the 'master' though… just lucky at the moment. Wait until I start the cockpit internals and then we can decide eh? Thanks Roger, very kind Cheers Terry The mitre is really useful, but they're not cheap, sadly. I got mine here. Note that they only work with JLC (or similar) thin blades. Ooh look, they do one for circular sections I've ordered one, of course. Thanks Giorgio, kind of you. I won't keep it up… Thanks Keith I think things are changing eh? In the old days dealers got a commission on each car. For a long while they've stopped that and been rewarded on numbers, hence the chance of a great deal if they're close to their target. If only we know when that was… Frame finished and now painted glossy black in the hope that'll it'll show up. Some hope: Had to take those with ProCamera to get even those shots. I've not given up on soldering; I have the tail skid, the top frame and ring (once the new pliers arrive) and the u/c supports to do. Sometime