clive_t

That paper template sounds like something I should have done!

Bill, unfortunately not. However if I recall correctly I started with a semicircle of thin styrene sheet (about 1cm radius) and then shaded the bits that needed to be cut out (the sides and the slots in the back) with a sharp pencil. Once I'd removed the unwanted bits, I wrapped the piece around a paint brush handle to form the required curvature to fit the seat. A bit 'trial and error' but once I'd done one, the second was copied from the outline of the first. Hope this helps!

Bill, notwithstanding the proposed straitening, one other solution might be to consider that the wings were sectional, and with that in mind it may be possible to cut them through at the appropriate points, and reintroduce them (with supporting rods) at the desired angle?

That's a great result, on an aircraft I didn't know existed until I saw your post!

Looking good so far! I assume the M*cb*th witches reference in the title indicates your intention to finish this as a 'Night Witch' bomber? I was going to do something similar with mine, until I learned that these aircraft were used in a similar role by the North Koreans during the Korean War.

Utterly stunning... Anyone looking for a visual definition of 'labour of love' need only cast their eyes over this epic thread. This would sit well in any museum, be it a military, WW2, modelling, or aviation theme. Congratulations Mr Fozzy, and I hope you get the recognition you deserve from those who get to host this absolute gem of an exhibit.

Wow, I am truly honoured, thanks for your kind words Bill! Don't follow mine too closely, though, as I turned mine into a Canuck (Jenny's Canadian sister ) *Edit* but then you already knew that Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out.

Yes, I'm in. I have this kit, or at least an earlier boxing of it, so looking forward to seeing how you get on with it.

Masterful weathering

Great work!

Excellent result, even more so for someone who's been out of the game for 20+ years! Also, nice to see a lot of constructive comments from others

Looks pretty good to me - if you're going to be doing any weathering underneath, that would likely dull it down a little anyway, but even if you didn't it's all good

Superb modelling, and stupendous photography - well done sir!

Just stumbled across this, and for a change I'm not that late! For what it's worth, I think you're still within the spirit of scratch building - the bits you were given aren't a significant proportion of the end product, and in any case who cares this is good work! Following with interest!

Great modelling, and a fine tribute to your dad.

Very interesting, can I ask what was the material used for the vacforming of the clear part, please?

Nice work, some incredible detail on that wing-mounted gun. Thanks for the back story too.

Great job, very well painted too. I did the same kit a couple of years ago as my first foray into foiling.

Good work, well done! It's underneath, so doubtful if anyone would see it in enough detail to comment.

Even allowing for the fact it's a WNW kit that's an amazing result. The engine needs an RFI all to itself.

So last Friday was a good day all round: I was able to attend my first IPMS Portsmouth club meeting for 17 very long months, which was a joy in itself; secondly, I was given a couple of blocks of material by a fellow member who, for his living, gets to make industrial sized vac-form masters! It looks like some kind of composite plastic material, and is fairly hard but otherwise straightforward to cut with a saw or craft knife. Over the weekend, I have managed to fashion something looking quite close to the desired shape, i.e. the canopy nose: My hands now have an impressive array of blisters, but other than that I was happy with how it turned out. The question, though, was, how would it fare in the vac-former: Answer: not too badly! This was never intended to be my finished article, it was more about learning what I might need to do in order to improve the end result. In this case, there was a minor crease in the acetate, but it was in the section that would be cut out anyway so I didn't worry about that. I applied masking tape to it in order to delineate where I needed to cut out the section I didn't need: Finally, for now, here's how my vac-form piece stacks up against the kit part: I think I need to seal the master somehow as the vac-former has faithfully reproduced the very faint grain in the master material. I also need to mark on the master where the cut is meant to be made, so I don't have to go through the nause of masking the next one(s). Still, it's looking promising!

Nice work Ozzy

Welcome to the mad house Mike, and welcome back to the hobby also!

Thanks Mr Kenny, I've not had much chance to progress the Los, apart from a test fit of the vac-form canopy: It looks quite reasonable, even though it was a bit fiddly to cut to shape - I messed up my first test piece by cutting too much off the bottom of one side, leaving a huge gap! Still, no real harm done, I still have the master so I can easily make another. I will probably do that anyway so that I can cut the hinged portion from one, and the fixed wind-shield part from another. Having looked at the many raised panel lines adorning it, I am inclined to leave those as they are. I will however attempt to apply some nominal rivet detail as I did with the Karas. I am not gonna lie, though, the PE is starting to terrify me!

Excellent rendition of an unusual subject. Having experienced the 'joy' of Amodel myself, I can appreciate the trouble you must have gone to in order to achieve such a high quality result.