patmaquette

Many thanks, @psdavidson, @Alan P & @stevehnzfor your kind words: it's nice to know the thread is being viewed even though the GB is long finished. Here is my final update, as today the model was installed into its new home, suspended from the ceiling of the Heritage Centre at Dunkeswell Airfield, near Honiton in Devon - I wonder whether anyone will read this post now its even later after the closing date! The model has led lighting inside. The electricity (3V dc) is supplied via the suspension wires from a "ceiling rose". This incorporates a standard socket which takes the lead from the power supply which plugs into a nearby mains socket. The rose was 3d printed and has some extension pieces made from carbon fibre tube that were epoxied to it. This was wired up and the lighting checked out...... I quite like the result, so will think about doing more of this in future builds... Installation went fairly straightforwardly, albeit having to be done carefully.... View from the submarine.... So there we are. Job done and, most importantly, the folks at the museum are pleased with it. Thanks everyone for following the progress and posting messages of encouragement throughout this (way overlong) build! Pat

Although it is way beyond the end date for this group build, work has continued on completing the Catalina so I thought I should post an update nevertheless - even if no one reads it! The model is done now, apart from a "ceiling rose" to support it from the ceiling in the museum where it will be displayed, with an electrical circuit routed throught the supporting wires to power the LEDS inside the model. Fitting out the gun positions... The stinger gun was popped into place where it was retained in place by magnets...... The 0.5" waist guns had shield supports added from plastic rod and some belt ammunition taken from Eduard's US Navy Personnel 1942 set. These were added once the blister windows had been attached. I wanted to have the crew members visible from beneath the model, as if they are observing the sea during a submarine esearch. Everything was glued using AK Ultra Glue. The nose turret was fitted out with a single .3" Browning before attaching to the fuselage. Retro rockets. Dimensioned sketches were made of the backwards firing anti-submarine rockets based on diagrams and photos, and a design made from these for 3d printing. Fins were too fine for filament type printer, so were very kindly made on a resin type printer by Luke at Romsey Modellers - thanks once again Luke The motor was cut to length from thin walled 1//16" brass tubing. Plastic rod slipped through this and glued into holes in the warhead and tail fin parts. Various light & dark tones are seen in photos of the rockets, so I'm not sure a standard colour was used for them and what this may have been. The component parts do seem to be the same, unlike the HVAR types that often have a different tone for the warhead and motor. A film showing retro rockets being loaded onto a Catalina has them brush painted in white on their undersides, the base colour being quite dark. In the end I opted for an overall drab colour used on US Navy bombs. A similar uncertainty existed for the launch rails, and I decided on white for these so they would not stand out against the camouflage. The rails were made from "I" section plastic extrusion placed on its sides. Some plastic was whittled away at the ends so they looked to have the right shape where visible. Plastic strip packing was placed between the launch rails and the wing undersurface to take account of the curvature of the latter. The size and spacing of the rails was also deduced from photos and it can be seen that they are in groups of three, progressively angled outwards to provide the spread pattern for bracketing the submarine target. Propellers. The spinning blades were represented by a clear plastic disc. This was cut slightly oversized from a sheet with a hole in the centre through which a nut and bolt was placed and tightened. The bolt was put into the chuck of an electric drill and a very sharp chisel used to trim the outer edge to a neat circle. My first attempt at painting did not work as the painting mask I made left a lot of glue residue that proved so difficult to remove that I ended up scrubbing everything off the surfaces until I was back to a clear surface. My second attempt was simpler and more successful and started by lightly spraying black and then, on the opposite face, spraying yellow for the tips and white in the area of the engine cowling (called for in the camouflage measures), using simple paper masks for spraying. The blades were snipped off the kit's propeller and the rear of the hub cut to fit the hole in the clear disc. That's about it, except to mention that radio aerials were added from elastic thread. Here are some final photos of the model before it gets suspended from its "ceiling rose"..... Thanks for stopping by to look. Pat

Hi all. Well here we are: time's up! The extension to the deadline was helpful, but I have still not been able to complete my model in time, unfortunately. As mentioned previously, I had decided against following R-M's sensible sequence of assembling the wing owing to the complication of running electrical cabling inside. I had some small amount of misalignment as a consequence, but nothing too serious. A visible area that had to be addressed was the recesses for the landing lights that required neatening and the addition of some detail for the lamp that was simply, but effectively, done with a drill and a burr in a pin-vice to form a hemispherical dimple for the lamp reflector...... I then found that the clear covers were too shallow and sat inside the wing's leading edge. The covers also needed a lot of corrective work and polishing and this further worsened the problem. My solution was to add narrow strips of plasticard to the top and bottom edges so the lamp covers sat slightly proud and could be sanded flush with the leading edge and then polished once everything was glued together. The engines in the kit are quite simple but can be painted up nicely. I painted the reduction housing covers in Engine gray, but I later found they should be in Insignia white, as should the inside of the cowls. I had an unsightly step between the cowls (or rather the cowlings around the rear part to the engines) and wings..... The steps were packed out to the required depths with strips of plasticard. Rivet detail was added to the strips before they were glued into place.... A smear of Milliput was then applied and, once set, all of this feathered in..... The corrected parts then blended to the wing and were glued into place without the need for any further filling & sanding. The aircraft is to be finished in the USN ASW Scheme II comprising Dark Gull Gray over Insignia White. Here is an example (this being a PB4Y) of an aircraft in that scheme from Dunkeswell... (USN photo) Some very helpful information on ASW Schemes I & II was found on ww2aircraft.net Most photos and illustrations of MAD Cats are in ASW Scheme I which is for aircraft operating where prevailing weather conditions are clear, such as off the US SE coast or the Straits of Gibraltar, and comprises Dark Gull Gray over Light Gull Gray over Insignia White. However, aircraft operating out of Dunkeswell in England were in Scheme II that had Insignia White in the Light Gull Gray areas. An example (but of an aircraft based in the North Pacific) was found on inchhighguy As for markings, my model will be based upon this aircraft, but as code R & number 18: Vallejo Insignia White was applied over a couple of coats of white Stynylrez primer. The second coat of primer did not go on smoothly, but I was pleased to find that it came up super smooth after a rub down with an old tee shirt followed by light abrasion with 6000 grit Micromesh. The US marking was applied as a stencil mask to the top of the wing. The other masks will follow later; applied onto the Insignia White once the grey upper surfaces have been painted. The mask was cut from Frisk film using a "Silhouette" cutter. This was my first time using one and I am pleased about how well everything went. The design was produced from a .jpg photo of the kit's decal sheet. The software has a "trace" function that picks up the edges of the colours. "Grab" points on the trace lines allow the lines to be tweaked where improvements are needed (such as getting nice points on the stars). The design of the lettering and numbers used a font set uploaded from the internet: volareproducts Three coats of Vallejo Dark Gull Gray were applied, but I couldn't get the tone dark enough. I therefore resorted to applying a darker tone - Dark Sea Grey 71.048 - and this resolved the problem. The masking was teased back and the graduated boundary added. This was difficult to do in places, particularly fore and aft of the pylon. Highlights were made with Dark Gull Grey. Work on applying the stencils and painting the various markings is now under way and should be done in the next day or so. But I can confirm already that the Silhouette stencils have worked really well. Modelling of the retro-rockets and their launch rails deserve a posting of their own, so I'll do that shortly. That's it for now. Thanks for looking and, once more, well done to all those taking part in this GB and special thanks to all who ran it. Pat

That is great news, @Col. - the extra time will help a lot! Cheers, Pat

Dear reader 🙂. Some progress has been made on the Catalina and the point is now in sight for slapping some paint onto the model, but no way will it be completed by the deadline, unfortunately 😒. Although I have the Belcher Bits tail correction set for the Catalina, I have decided to save it for another build. The set includes an MAD boom, but it will not integrate easily into the much wider kit fuselage... However, it was relatively easy to make an alternative from 1/4" Perspex rod, using the Belcher Bits item and photographs of the actual aircraft for sizing.... The photo above shows a strip of label backing paper to stop glue (and later Milliput) from going into the gap at the foot of the rudder. The paper was slid out afrer the job was done). Some MAD booms had strakes on the underside and some did not, so it is worth checking for this on your selected subject. Mine was made from plasticard and fitted after the boom had been faired into the fuselage with Milliput. Attention now turned to the wing. This comes in five pieces: two lower halves and, on top, a central section and two outers. The instructions give a sensible sequence for assembling these, which I did not follow as it would not permit me to route the wiring for the lighting to the brass suspension points that are fitted into the wing outers..... I also decided to add some structural support into the wings to keep everything aligned even after prolonged periods of the model hanging from the museum's ceiling. A pair of 6mm diameter carbon fibre tubes were used for this and fed through holes drilled into the ends of the upper pieces and epoxied to the underside of the centre section..... After much dry fitting and trimming (plus the addition of some shims)..... , the lower halves were glued to the fuselage pylon, applying pressure across the joint to achieve a strong bond. I did one side first and let that set before doing the other side, checking everything was aligned by means of the upper centre section....... The centre section was then added and I glued the leading edge first and then the trailing edge once this had set. A rigid rule was also clamped in to keep the trailing edge nice and straight. The brass suspension plates were slotted into position and soldered to the wires, heat sinks being clamped on to avoid the heat from conducting down the brass and melting the plastic. The outer pieces were slid into position over the ends of the carbon fibre rods. Dollops of Milliput were placed under the ends of the rods and then the outer pieces were glued and clamped into place. This provided support out towards the wing floats once the Milliput had hardened off. (The wooden pegs are not clothes pegs! - they are little ones for hanging christmas cards 😀 and are really useful for modelling) With thoughts now turning to painting the model, I designed and 3d printed a couple of supports to slot into my Tamiya paint turntable to hold the model. Well done to anyone reading through all this! And also well done to those who have actually completed their builds within the deadline! Pat

That is a lovely result!

Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I last posted an update as my progress has been slow. But I have at long last got to the point of putting the two fuselage halves together so here are a few photos of the interior before it gets largely lost to view...... I have included a gunner in the stinger position. The gun itself is held in place with magnets so can be removed whilst the model is being handled.... The 3d printed cubicles and tables painted up okay and I added some detail using punched discs of plasticard. Here are the radar and radio operators.... Here is the cockpit and forward compartment ..... The LED lighting has been wired up..... and were given a test before gluing the fuselage halves together..... I'm still aiming to get this build completed in time, but it will be a challenge at my rate of progress! The wings are to have some strengthening added as well as wiring routed to the suspension points for hanging from the ceiling. That is my next step, along with adding the MAD sensor to the tail. Thanks for looking! Cheers, Pat

Hi everyone and thank you for your kind comments and likes. The model is finished at last. I had a lot of niggles on this final stretch which delayed things, but at least it is done. Thank you everyone for your interest and input during this build and, of course, to Freightdog & K-P for the enjoyment I had constructing their kit & conversion. Cheers, Pat

Thank you, Col. Hopefully the figures will bring the model to life as we go on. Today was spent cleaning up the transparencies and applying masks. The clear parts are not as clear as they could be and have some flash to remove. The fuselage windows were distorted by a shrinkage dimple in their middles, so these were sanded out with progressively finer grades of abrasive before polishing. The polished one is the nearest in this photo, the raw kit one is behind.... The Montex mask set is really good, fits well in general, covers both inside and out and well worth having. I bought some miniature LEDs for lighting the inside of the model. These illuminate to one side and look perfect for attaching to a surface. I'm now pondering about how best to route the wiring (it needs to be kept twisted as there is a resistor beneath the sleeving). As the model is to be displayed suspended from the ceiling, I have decided to route the supply (3000 mV - so not too lethal!) through the suspension wires. This means the lights can be switched on and off from floor level and so no provision is needed in the model itself for a switch (or for batteries and having to change them). So I'll marshal the LED wires together mid way along the fuselage and take the supply wires up through the pylon to the wing. That's all for now, Thanks for reading 🙂 Pat

Sorry to hear this, Tony. Thanks for everything that you've done. Pat

Hi everyone. The Catalina aircrew has been painted (all by brush). Flesh areas were given a couple of coats of Vallejo 70.955 Flat Flesh with Thinner Medium, followed by 2 coats of Citadel Reikland Fleshshade with Lahmian Medium. This was allowed to gather in the nooks and crannies to bring out the detail, but was wiped from highlights using a clean brush. Deep shadow was painted in with oil paint (Abteilung 502 ABT215 Flesh Shadow). The exhibits at the Dunkeswell museum were used as references for the clothing. The green coveralls were blocked in with olive drab (I used a couple of coats of Mission Models MMP-020 US Olive Drab Faded) followed by 2 coats of Vallejo 76.519 Verde Olive Wash mixed with Vallejo Glaze Medium. Deep shadows were a dark green oil paint mix. The pilot's "Shearling" flight jackets were painted with Citadel "Snakebite Leather" contrast paint over Vallejo 70.880 Khaki Grey. My next task is to add some further detail to the fuselage and install some small LEDs for lighting. Thanks for reading, Pat

I'd be worried about the outside pressure. 680 atmospheres (or thereabouts). That is incredible engineering, isn't it!

Hi Louise, Gloss coating is my least favorite part of modelling as well, and my experience has been much as yours. FWIW (as others are more expert than me), I've found more opportunities for things to go wrong if you airbrush the gloss coat, so I brush the stuff on now using a flat brush as Troy mentioned. I've just done a 1/72 Tempest using Klear. I rarely get much of a shine with it, but the thing to remember is that the gloss is only there to reduce decal silvering and to help with panel line washes. If you need a shiny finish then that is a different matter. This time I added a little Winsor & Newton Flow Improver, thinking it would make the Klear more fluid and maybe increase the working time. I did the yellow underside first and left it to dry for 2-3 hours. I then turned it over and did the topsides. I worked wet and did not go into areas that were drying or the underside area done previously. If you miss a bit then don't touch it in - wait for the next coat. Two coats were sufficient for the job - I waited a day before applying the second coat. HTH & I hope you find a reliable solution soon, Pat

Thanks for your interest & comments, folks. I completed assembling the crew... Those on the left came with the kit and, as you can see, I have already started painting them. The others have been primed with Grey "Ultimate" Primer and given a highlight by airbrushing in white from the direction of light.... The same thing was done with those assemblies that are ready for paint.... Thanks for looking, everyone, Pat

Thank you, Charlie. You are absolutely right, but the chances are I'd probably end up with banana shaped blades if I tried it! As it was, the propellers came out fine - the jig helped a lot. The decals did not respond to Microsol very much and I had quite a bit of silvering. I sliced through them over air pockets and panel lines before giving them another liberal coat of Microsol. This helped a lot, but I'll have to touch-in decal damage here and there. I've now given the model coat of.Xtracolor matt varnish (airbrushed with self-levelling thinner) and I'll post a photo or two of it once it has dried well enough for handling. Thank you for reading and your interest Pat

Hi Bertie, I think very little will be visible. I was surprised by just how many "wizard" black boxes there were in the aircraft, so I hope the viewer will at least be able to see that, even if not in detail. Also I'll have three crew members in the radio compartment as well, adding to the busyness of it all. The model is also going to be displayed suspended from the ceiling, so detail is only of interest when it is being looked at in your hands. It will be useful in chatting to the museum volunteers about the subject, crew and anti-submarine operations. I am toying with the idea of adding some lighting so that the crew figures are more visible to the viewer. Pat

Hi everyone. I've recruited further crew members for the aeroplane - a bomb aimer / nose gunner, radio & radar operators, navigator and another to man the stinger gun position. They were either re-deployed pilots (including two Japanese and one German!) or came from an Eduard set of US Navy personnel. A couple underwent surgery or had their limbs swapped around to get them looking natural in their cramped compartments... Further detailing continues on the interior. The most useful reference source was from a YouTube video PBY Catalina for sale . This seems to be of a largely unrestored aircraft and is an interesting watch. Armed with notes from the video plus photos I have collected, I decided to 3d print the various tables & instruments in the radio compartment. These are fairly crude but should be sufficient for the limited viewing they will get. I luckily found some images of the MAD gear (Fluxgate Airborne Magnetometer) and added this into the design where I could see space for it. I printed off a set for this build plus another (without the MAD) to put in the box of the second kit I have in the stash. Here is the radio & radar stuff on the starboard side being tried in place..... For having the main undercarriage raised, R-M provide mouldings that you attach from the inside. That makes painting a bit tricky, so I modified the parts so I could add them once painting was completed. This was done by adding a couple of rails from plastic rod to the wheel wells and gluing to the inside of the fuselage. The wheels were then trimmed so they would fit correctly and then set aside for painting later on. That's where we stand at present. Hopefully I'll get some primer/undercoat on the figures and 3d pieces shortly. The fuselage needs a little more work before its ready for paint. Thanks for reading! Pat

The model has had a couple of coats of Johnson's Klear applied by brush. I've not had great results with gloss coating in the past. This time I added a little Winsor & Newton Flow Improver to the Klear to see if it would make it more fluid and retard the drying time a bit. I think it did so, but I did not do a side-by-side comparison so can't be more certain than that. The second coat was applied a day after the first. The green became quite bright after the gloss was put on. I hope the matt coat (I'll use Xtracolour matt which has a brown tint to it) will knock it back a bit. The decals have been applied. I'm waiting for them to dry as I write this, so let me get my excuses in before I post the photos later on! I had some problems with the "prototype (P)" decals which came from an ancient sheet. Some of the backing paper came off with the decals and I probably lost some of the adhesive as I tried to tease away the paper fibres. Hopefully the Microset will be up to the job until I get another coat of Klear over the top to hold it firmly in place. I don't know what a likely serial number would be, so I used P1027 to remind me should I forget Hawker's project number. Oh, and the serial decals have a bit of silvering, so I'll have to work on that tomorrow. The details are about ready to go on, apart from the propellers and canopy. I suspect Freightdog got into a muddle with the prop blades: those marked "F"on the pouring block go on the rear spinner of the contra-rotating prop, whilst those marked "R" go on the front. (This is mentioned in the instructions). The blades are keyed to fit their particular spinner. The suspected muddle may explain why the blades on the front lean forward a bit..... I took a few measurements and then 3d printed an assembly jig to hold the blades level for gluing. This worked well (or at least I think it has - I have left it in place in the jig until the glue has set). If you would like a jig - or the print file for it - then pop me a PM. Thanks for looking! Pat

Thanks for your comments, everyone. The yellow areas were masked off and some areas of yellow overspray were removed from the grey with a cotton bud wetted with white spirit. Some further touching-in was done and I reinforced some areas of shade (beneath tail, wing root, lower edge of cowling and fuselage) by brush painting a mix of Vallejo London Grey & Black-Grey....... This was then given a light airbrush of AK 11842 Ocean Grey thinned with Vallejo Airbrush Thinner with a drop of Vallejo Flow Improver added. I waited a day for this to dry and then marked out the green areas with a dark green watercolour pencil.... I brush painted a couple of coats of Vallejo 348 Splinter Green + 70.524 Thinner Medium, leaving a day between coats. This provided the highlight tone for the dark green. I used Thinner Medium as it made it less likely for the paint to bead-up than if water (even with flow improver) is used. The watercolour pencil guidelines worked well, but could still be made out at the end. Next time I'll try "feathering" it (on the side of the green area only) using a moist paint brush so it is not so stark. AK RAF Dark Green + Vallejo Thinner Medium was lightly brush painted and blended into the base layer to create shadows and variations to add interest. The same was done to the Ocean Grey using AK Ocean Grey + Vallejo London Grey + Vallejo Thinner Medium. I'm happy enough with the result so far. I think the area beneath the cockpit hood needs to be painted black, but will check. Once that is done, I'll put on a gloss coat for the next stage. Thanks once more for looking. Pat

Hi everyone, I'm now sure there is an error in my first posting regarding the photo captioned "Photo of MAD boom and float". Charles Stafrace in his book on the Catalina (Warpaint Series No.79) mentions the development of a "MAD bird" that was hung from the tunnel gun position and lowered into the sea to search for mines, and that I think is what is shown in the photo. I haven't seen any photos of Catalina's in active service having it, so I guess it was not used much or didn't make it past the experimental stage. I also read the Pilot & Flight Engineer's Notes where it mentions that sea-marking equipment (flame floats and smoke markers) are launched through the blisters. They are stowed on the other side of the aft bulkhead which is also where there are a pair of flare launchers (so why not use them?) and also the stinger gun position. As the attack procedure calls for numerous markers to be thrown out, could/would they have lobbed them out through the stinger position? I like the idea of showing a crewman throwing out a sea marker, so I wonder if it would be correct to open the stinger position and pose him there? Mr Stafrace also mentions that sonobuoys and "retro-smoke marker" canisters were also being experimented on. I've not seen photos of the latter in any operational aircraft. As to the former, I didn't realise sonobuoys were in use as early as WW2, but I've just learnt there was the ANCRT-1 passive omnidirectional broadband sonobuoy. If nothing else, at least they would tell you whether your MAD response was from a wreck or powered submarine. I would be interested to see pictures of the MAD equipment installed in the aircraft and to include it in my model, even though I shall not be going to town on detailing the insides as the viewer will not be able to see any of it. Regarding the bombardier's position in the nose of the aircraft. I've not seen a single photo showing the bomb aimer's window visible. It is covered by a roller shutter type cover on the outside and a removable pressed metal bulkhead panel on the inside. I'd like to have the bombardier visible behind the window on the model - but was it actually used? In case you think I'm spending my time day-dreaming rather than actually building something, I have actually made a start. The Monogram kit seems to have captured the detail nicely (so long as you can put that awful tail fin out of your mind (I have a Belcher Bits correction set for that, which includes a MAD boom)). I have assembled some of the crew. I really like the blister gunners - they look square-jawed action-hero types. However, they are in shirts with rolled up sleeves, which I doubt would have been appropriate attire for the Bay of Biscay in April, even for superheroes. So I'll add something over their arms. Also, I shall need to change their posture if I am having them lob sea markers or sonobuoys out of the aircraft. Here are one or two photos of the current state. I started with the cockpit. Dry fitting to check the fit against the fuselage sides wasn't easy. Also, the fit between the floor and rear bulkhead looked a bit strange so I was reluctant to commit to joining these two pieces at this early stage.... Monogram provides a moulded insert for the closed undercarriage doors that slots into the well beneath the floor. I decided to glue this directly to one fuselage half to make sure it looked neat from the underside. That means the floor will be glued in next (when it is ready) and the forward & aft bulkheads following that. I can build the floor as a sub-assembly to include the control column, pilots and seatbelts and then pop this onto the insert. Looking at photos, the floor moulding lacks a couple of riveted strips. I used a Rosie-the-riveter tool on aluminium ventilation tape before trimming to size, removing the peel-off backing and sticking in place. The riveter was also used to add detail to the raised box at the front, using Dymo tape as a guide. These should show after a dark wash is applied. Seat belt detail was removed from the seats and these and the pilots were fettled to get a good fit. The rudder pedals prevented the pilots from sitting in place..... .... so the rudder bars were snipped off and the openings carefully trimmed until the pilot's boots would fit in. The pilots then fitted nicely but will not be glued into place until they are painted. The next step is to work on the control column, instrument panel and forward + rear cockpit bulkheads. If you have any thoughts on the bomb aimer's window, stinger position or anything else - then please let me know, Pat

I hope you enjoy building it, Mark. 🤞 Did you buy it included with the K-P Tempest, or on its own? Thank you for your comments, Charlie. The oil paint is used like "engineer's blue" for getting close fitting parts. I apply a thin smear of oil paint to one side of the joint and then carefully bring the second part into position. You get a witness mark of oil paint on the high points of the second part where it touches the first. You trim back the high points and then repeat the fitting process until you get close contact between the parts (oil paint witness along the whole of the join). The oil paint stays wet throughout the time and is easy enough to re-apply where it gets rubbed away, and also to remove with white spirit once you are done. In the case of the Tempest, I put oil paint on the underside of the nose and brought the chin radiator into position. I then scraped away the high spots until I achieved a good fit. Pat

Yes. I read in some background reading that the aircraft was longer than the MkV, but the lengthening was in the engine nacelle rather than the fuselage. I also saw other design ideas for Tempests that did have enlarged aft ends, presumably to balance things up as you say. The Napier Sabre engine it replaced was a heavy lump and perhaps putting the radiator further aft was all that was needed? The radiator (or rather the inlet for it) does look smaller than I would expect. Any wider then it would clash with the flaps, but I guess this could have been overcome. Pat

I agree with you there, Adrian. I think it will look quite eye-catching on the display table, so long as I don't muck it up! Although I had not decided on which scheme to finish the model in, I (mistakingly) thought it a safe bet to go ahead with priming it. It was given a coat of grey primer and left for 24 hours. Surfaces facing the light were airbrushed with Vallejo light grey. Although the painted surfaces appeared smooth at first, I did discover some paint spatter & blemishes later on, so gave it a light abrading followed by touching-in where necessary. I then decided that I should finish the model as a prototype. The old Ducimus "Camouflage & Markings" has photos of various Typhoon and Tempest prototypes. I expected them to be in temperate land scheme with MSG undersurfaces, but all had yellow under surfaces. My choice of darkish grey primer was not at all helpful. The model was masked up and given a couple of coats of Vallejo Salmon Pink and left to dry thoroughly before applying yellow over the top..... Top coat was Humbrol 188 Chrome Yellow enamel as this was a closer match to the yellow of my decals than Trainer Yellow. The next step is to mask off the yellow and apply the Ocean Grey & Dark Green. Many thanks for looking! Pat

Thank you both for your comments and questions. I share your view of photoetched seat belts and have used Tamiya tape for belts as well (especially for 1/72 scale), but decided to try out this paper that I've had for some time and it worked really well. About the paper. The packet mentions (in French!) that the paper is heat resistant and non-stick, I use it on my wet palette for acrylic paints...... ....and I've about run out and need to get some more. From a quick look on the web, many greaseproof papers are silicone coated, but that is not mentioned on this French one and may be an important factor for using it in a wet palette of painted seat belts. Although an excuse to visit France 🍷 is a welcome one, going there just for this budget paper is maybe pushing it. However, this one looks a good prospect as it doesn't mention there being any silicone coating.... ************************* The fuselage halves went together without too much fuss, however I had a large gap at the base of the fin that needed filling.... The kit has a wheel well surround you attach to the wing upper halves, but there is no positive location for it. However, by sandwiching it between the upper and lower wing parts it can be prodded into position and secured with glue. I painted it in a pale grey-green as seen on the RAF Cosford Museum Tempest. The identification lights were picked out as well before the lenses were attached. These were a tight fit into the openings. I lightly pressed them in and then brushed some MEK around the edge. After waiting a moment for it to soften the plastic, I then pressed them in further (using the face of a steel rule to stop them going in too far. A piece of backing paper from a sticky label was put over the face of the ruler to stop soft plastic adhering to it.) The lens was then abraded and polished flush with the wing surface. The Freightdog instructions direct you to glue the wings together trapping the engine cowling in place. I took a lot of time to repeatedly trim and check the fit before committing to glue. I used oil paint to indicate high spots,removing material until the oil paint witness went the length of the joint. This was washed off with white spirit when done. When I was confident enough that all was okay, I glued the port upper and lower wings together and left them to set. The resin casting could then be slotted into place and work continued with refining the join on the starboard wing and the fit to the fuselage. Quite a lot of material needed to be removed and I found a drum sander in my mini-drill to be the best way to do this (used damp to reduce airborne dust) along with a scalpel for cutting and scraping. Large gaps were present along the wing roots.... These were packed out with plastic strips glued to the wing side of the join. These went in oversized and then trimmed and sanded down to the wing profile once the join was solid. The starboard wing was then glued into place, trapping the resin nose in place, but unglued. Final trimming of the fuselage was then done and then superglue applied to the back end of the nose, plastic glue along the wing roots and then everything assembled together and left to set. Gaps at the aft end of the wing join were then dealt with. Some plastic strip was glued at the back end of the root and a packing piece in the fuselage underside. These were trimmed and sanded to shape once the glue had set. Quite a lot of work was needed to get the under-nose cowl to fit. The trick with oil paint helped greatly.... The tailplanes were put on and tidying up was done with plastic putty, including numerous air bubbles in edges of the castings. You have to squint quite hard to see anything in the cockpit!... The fuselage beneath the windscreen was painted dark grey before the windscreen was glued in place using Ultra-bond. The next step was to mask up and apply primer and do some under-painting. Things did not go so smoothly with that, but it came out okay in the end. I'll post about that soon..... Thank you for looking and for your questions and kind comments, Pat