Nikola Topalov

Hi Hairystick, Thanks for your reply! I looked for an aftermarket canopy but with no luck. Apparently they don't make them any more, so it is what it is unfortunately. As I said in one of the previous replies, since all clear pieces had problems, I just couldn't bother fixing them and decided to cheat by covering problematic areas with tarps. We'll see how it turns out. Could you share the link to your build? I would like to see it for inspiration. Cheers, Nikola

Hi guys, Step 1 and 2 (priming and complementary pre-shading) finished: - Primer - Vallejo German Dark Yellow Surface Primer 73.604 - Complementary pre-shading - Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red (and darker shade of it made by mixing with XF-1 Flat Black) and X-16 Purple. - Highlights - Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan Next step: Base colors - Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab and XF-53 Neutral Gray. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Nikola

Hi guys, Priming and complementary pre-shading finished: 1. Primer - Vallejo German Dark Yellow Surface Primer 73.604 2. Complementary pre-shading - Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red (and darker shade of it made by mixing with XF-1 Flat Black) and X-16 Purple. 3. Highlights - Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan Next step: Base colors - Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab and XF-53 Neutral Gray. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Nikola

Lost for words!!! This might be the best model I have seen in my life!!! Congratulations my friend, you've completed the game. There is no further. Cheers, Nikola

Hi Mathy, WOW!!! Excellent work man! Well done! I love the finish. One comment if I may from my very limited experience - IMHO the marbling effect is maybe too uniform and strong, so the color modulation could be a bit more random and subtler. It might be the lighting in the photos though, so I might be completely wrong. Again, superb model! Best, Nikola

Hi guys, Just wanted to share with you, in this topic section as well, my rough "virtual test" for the complementary pre-shading method for my current build - P61 Widow. The colors are approximate. Here it goes: Step 1 - Dark yellow primer: Step 2 - Complementary pre-shading: Step 3 - Base color: Bellow - Regular pre-shading for comparison: Thanks for looking! Best, Nikola

Hi guys, For those interested, below is the link to the finished model: Thanks for looking guys! Cheers, Nikola

Thank you very much Dunny. Appreciated! Cheers, Nikola

Hi Erwin, Thank you very much! Will try not to mess it up any more than necessary. Best, Nikola

Maybe if it was the only problem with the canopies I would have put some effort, but since every piece had at least one problem, I just decided not to bother with them much.

Hi Woody, Your suggestions are good, but too late for that now. I can't lift the canopy any more and sanding the fuselage to meet the canopy would leave no canopy at all, as the step is as deep as the fuselage ceiling. I thought about building up the cockpit sides to raise the canopy as some of the guys have done and suggested, but I have to admit that I was lazy to do it since I have very little free time and that would prolong the whole process, so I was impatient and decided to go the route of less resistance, or to call it the "cheat route" Cheers, Nikola

Hi guys, An update on the widow after an almost three week break. I did my best on fitting the canopies (even using white glue as a filler) and as you can see, the results are not great. As everyone has said before, they have a terrible, terrible fit (some of the clear parts are even missing "mullions" (don't know the right word )), but I decided not to worry about it and waste too much time on correcting that. Instead, I will make tarps from a Kleenex and water/white glue mixture, cover the problematic parts, paint the tarps and "das is it" I will also leave all the openable parts of the canopies open of course, since the dry fit showed an impossible task to make it look OK. This will also show some of the interior which I put effort in. Cleaning up and fitting the rest of the parts was a time consuming task, but not as bad as the canopies. Still got a little sanding and filling to do, and then on to masking and priming. Thanks for looking guys! Cheers, Nikola

Hi Dunny, Great Mitchell! Well done! Inspiring, as I have one on the shelf with the US decals waiting. What is differential shading btw? Also, what was your ratio of OD to gray? I like the outcome and I am to start painting my P61 with OD scheme. Thanks in advance! Best, Nikola

Just brilliant! Fantastic work! Well done! Best, Nikola

Hi guys, She's all closed up and waiting for me to come back from snowboarding holiday From the dry fit test, I saw that there is going to be a serious war between me and the canopies. Thanks for looking! Happy 2020 to all! Best wishes, Nikola