Richard502

Built the Sunderland in 1/700 that comes with Aoshima's Cornwall kit - w/o instructions, unfortunately. The accompanying decal sheet has red-white-blue roundels of about 2mm diameter. At ca. 56 inch that may be about right for the fuselage sides, but what about the wing upper surfaces? Wouldn't these be of red-blue only type and a bit larger? And if so, where on this planet can I find some? TIA, Richard

Silly me thought masking German WWII planes was a PITA! Compared to that it's relaxing. Great work, Sir!

Half way through my fourth* Flyhawk kit I realized something odd: a good number of these parts are tiny, some of them too small for my clumsy hands and deteriorating eyesight. So it's natural a good number (for example 2 out of 8 range finder arms for Scharnhorst, each of them 3 by 1 mm) flew off the pincers towards the carpet monster's gaping jaws. The odd thing: I found all of them, either on the not-so tidy modeling desk, on the equally grubby floor, or on the pristine self. How does Flyhawk do this? Are we seeing artificial intelligence? Are the parts emitting inaudible, but perceptible signals saying "Here I am" as soon as they know they were lost? Or is Flyhawk using a variety of plastic that is indigestible for the carpet monster? Whatever the explanation: what great kits Flyhawk is producing, perfect fit, superb detail, decent instructions. Richard * : Legion, a Kelly dressed up as Jervis (no I did not work up the courage to rebuild the aft torpedo mount), Königsberg and now Scharnhorst)

These pesky I-16s appear to have a life of their own, a life dedicated to annoy us modelers. When building one years ago I did encounter the badly fitting nose/engine panel. After a lot of fiddling and wittling it did fit, sort of. Immediately after the glue had set I realized it was on upside down - machine gun barrels at the bottom! When it came to decaling it turned out some decal softening solution was on order. Sloshed it on, thinking "this stuff is rather syrupy today....on NOOO, that's the glue!" So whatever misfortune you had with this kit, you did a great job sorting the problems out. Richard

WOW! Only a couple thousand years of practice and I'll be there... Why did they tie the logs to the wings of seaplanes stored on deck? Thank you for posting!! Richard

Thank you! So I will settle for Dunkelgrau 2 and Schnellbootweiss and dare my wife to prove me wrong. Richard

in her "overall dark grey, white bow/stern" scheme? Would the steel decks have been painted the same color as the vertical surfaces) TIA, Richard

Hurray for the Ju188!!

IIUC, the funnels were painted in a heat resistant silvery tone. Is this correct, and if so, which paint (or mix) do you suggest? TIA, Richard

No, Sir! All it takes is a little bit of courage: the 40 million need to drive a lot faster and reduce the distance between one car to the other, and presto, no traffic jam. Compared to your courage to tackle this kit that seems a trifle. However, the other 39 999 999 Californians may not be up to it. Richard https://www.alicat.com/fr/vue-densemble-des-techniques-de-mesure-de-debit-massique/ (That is supposed to be the "tongue in cheek" emoji)

Langtree "The Kelly's", p.51: "In the Mediterranean Jervis had a broad red circle painted on her No 3 mount deck..."Anyone know where that circle was painted (underneath the mount, aft or in front of it), and how broad it may have been? Langtee gives Connell, "Mediterranean Maelstrom" as source. TIA, Richard

Superb build and paint job, Sir! Greetings from Austria. Richard

Mikesh, "Japanese Aircraft Interiors 1940 - 1945", p.226 on the Judy: "There are few original source examples from which to make accurate color determination...One might assume that interior colors would follow closely those of other Japanese Naval aircraft of this late-war period, of which color samples have been recorded." He does mention one (1) original Judy component, a throttle: "If one were to assume the green on this sub-component were close to the overall interior, this piece was a close visual match to Munsell 7.5GY 3/4 and A/N32. These are closer to the best Pantone sample which was 5747C, and which is not as yellow as the part examined." Hope this helps, Richard

Great built, Sir! Boy do I hate it when the manufacturers come up with crappy landing gear* on a great kit! I followed Hasegawa's instructions and tried to install the lg after closing the fuselage: had a lot of fun, which serves me right for not thinking ahead. *Trimaster/Dragon FW190 and Me 262 are of that breed. Richard

Looking forward to the new thread, as both your modelling and writing skills are vastly superior to Kate Bush's singing. Richard