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Hi John, I have already told you a while back these minute Tornado were fantastic, and looking at them again, I am still amazed that you pulled such a beautiful feat! Congrats!!! JR

Bonsoir Polo, nice-looking Kubel! It really looks the part! Well done! You should have entered your Focke Wulf, and mentioned the KW in passing!!! Have fun! JR

Smashing build and paint job Polo! This kit is still worth building, and the pre-war colours are all as tasty as each other. I am a fan, so this is great to look at! Congrats JR

Salut Patrice, impressive build so far! So the Tamiya kit comes with the whole fuselage spine missing? That is handy, although it looks rather complicated. We shall wait for the next installment. JR

Far too much choice!!!! My brain would start melting down! JR

PBS, run as far as you can from those Revell colours!!! I am a fan of Humbrol and have never been disappointed, especially if you are brush painting! Acrylics are harder to get a good finish with, while a Humbrol enamel diluted with 20% turpentine will give you fantastic results after two thin coats... Just sharing my experience! Have fun! JR

Mitch, looking at the gap on the underside of the port wing, it would appear that the wing root is pretty much where it should be... or am I reaching? Bottom line, the damage and painful repairs should not affect the top of the wing root, hence the geometry. You can PM me your choice insults if I were to be wrong! Re the radiator's sides, I am so happy I was not the only one!!! Have fun JR

Hi Mitch, I can see that you are not having an easy time... My Mk IIc kit has quite a lot of flash too, but so far I haven't found any grossly deformed areas, although I am a bit disappointed with the overall look of the plastic. The worst area was on the radiator, where a lot of plastic was missing on the sides. Bottom line, I used quite a lot of CA glue and elbow grease to get it back into shape. No free ride I'm afraid. To make matters worse, the radiator flap has a nasty ejector mark on the inside and the edge is missing a lot of plastic. But in order to remove it and replace it with a home made flap to leave open, I have to cut out the rear face of the radiator unit, as it is located too far back.... and so it carries on!!!! So not the easy kit I thought it would be, and I can see I am not the only sod who has problems! Re your wing and the beautiful chasms it displays, I would go for some slivers of plastic and CA glue, sanded after 5 to 10 minutes. Far better than straight putty, as you can re-scribe it more easily. Just protect the surrounding details with tape before you start!!! But it will get just right in the end. On my build I am busy rebuilding the dog house and I will post some photos before the week end. I may use the tip I read above about toning down the fuselage structure, with which I am not happy either... But it is a beautiful plane and well worth the sweat and tears (of frustration!). Keep strong! JR

Great choice! Will you have to rummage in the spare decals folder to put the paint scheme together? JR

Hi Steve, good show and I assume this is the 1/48 Tamiya kit? It will sure be interesting to follow your WIP, that you should finish in a couple of days!!! Have fun JR

Hi Andy, another masterpiece. The plane looks real, and the figures are beautifully sculpted and it must be a real pleasure to spend time painting them! They definitely bring your 109 to life, as you turned them into small jewels. Congrats! JR

Hi John, your F-5 does really look smashing with such an intricate paint scheme. Congrats on your technique! The doors of Hell must have cracked open in front of your eyes when you saw what the frisket did to your exacting paint job!!!! A relief that is was salvageable!!! Almost finished then. JR

Great paint work! Impressive results for a first time freehand painting! I may just try freehand brush painting if I gather the courage! Superb job so far! JR

Hi, you are a sucker for punishment, wanting to deal with two sets of hellish wings to fit together!!!! But it's going to look good! Just a small detail: there should not be a headrest on the Mk IIc, and the one in the kit should be removed. Beside this pathetic nitpicking of mine, I think you are doing very well. Cheers JR PS: I love your socks. A crying shame I haven't worn any in over 25 years!!! But I have a terribly anarchic past wearing outrageous socks! The last comment is made purely to stress and highlight my credentials with the anti-establishment modellers!

Bonsoir Patrice, That's a truly fantastic paint scheme you have chosen. Well done! It's going to look real nice. Re the Yahu IP, I doubt anybody would notice if you used the old type! Affaire a suivre! JR

Outstanding model, especially considering the pedigree of the decals. I am surprised by the airframe color call out; it is the first time I hear of British colours being used for this P-47, but why not? It sure does look nice! Great job! JR

Hi Tony, a brilliant and fast build! I am struggling with the green grey of the interiors and yours appears spot on as far as I am concerned. May I ask what colour you are using? Thanks and congrats on a highly professional build. JR

Now the IId is a different type of animal, Oh so impressive! I have never seen the Airfix kit, but it should be just great, like the other ones. Have a lot of fun! JR

Hi Rio, has the slip wing Hurri only been painted yellow on the underside? This is pretty catching in any case! Excellent work so far! JR

OK VP, then we are singing from the same hymn sheet! I have started by scribing the inside of the 'door' in the starboard cockpit and use it as a datum plane. Then the fun you are talking about will start. I am not sure I can keep the seat though, or maybe just keep the backrest? This is going out of hand... Cheers JR

Hi, the surface details seem tasty enough, so the end result should be accordingly nice. I believe that any problem in 1/48 are easier to tackle than in the smaller scales. So it should be a fun build to watch! Have fun JR

Hi Dazz, the progress is indeed swift! But I must say a see through model is somewhat unsettling. Are you going to paint it or leave it like that? JR

Hi V-P, In a subliminal way I think I do understand what you say. Although I haven't yet dry fitted the canopy, I believe its thickness may preclude keeping the top of the fuselage at the same level, and for some reason I see myself having to lower the section under the canopy. I may be wrong. That's what I am going to try and find out in the next couple of days. Have fun with your Hurri duo! JR Hi Dazz, for a second you scared me, and there I was wondering how I managed to make this hole I could not remember having noticed..... Is it how it starts when one starts taking leave of his/her mind? After countless plugging of holes I should have left well alone, now I do not touch anything until I am really, really sure... Thanks anyway for the heads up! Re the cockpit, if you look at a side view of a Hurricane, you will notice that the back of the canopy overlaps a section of the fuselage. On the Revell kit, the back of the canopy is flush with the front of the rear fuselage. No overlap. So that's what I am thinking of correcting by lengthening the front of the fuselage at the back of the canopy . I know I shouldn't let small things bug me, but sometimes they do! On the IIc the head rest doesn't exist on most aircraft, so that is going as well. I am sure this is the most muddled explanation you can ever read, but there you are! Cheers JR Thanks Steve, well it's about time, and who knows, I may finish this one in time? It's a beautiful plane and a rather good model. So who's complaining? JR JR

It looks great and it is pretty snappy work! I am impressed! Are you adding the one shoulder strap on the seat later? I was somewhat worried about the IP decal at first, but it does look rather good in the end, even without any canopy. These Airfix kits are really splendid! Brilliant work so far. JR

I could not agree more with you about the Humbrol acrylics paints. A waste of time as far as I am concerned and I shall have a drink tonight in memory of your Albatros (fantastic excuse!). The Fokker does look nice, though! Keep on having fun! JR