Dandie Dinmont

The impression I get is that you’re a damn fine wielder of the old hairy stick. Much appreciated. Craig.

All my own stash reduction attempts, feeble though they are in comparison to your heroic efforts have, I fear, been scuppered by the recent Black Friday purchase of a decently specced gaming laptop and the subsequent discovery of the delights on offer from IL-2: Battle of Stalingrad. I fear that completing that Corsair may be some way off. Craig.

Sounds good. Without wishing to derail (ha!) your thread or reveal your dirty secrets, what do you do on shifts with, shall we say, a less than onerous workload? Do you spend your time rereading the regulations and polishing the box brasswork, or do you take in a good book? Just interested, Craig.

There's no stopping you is there? Looking forward to seeing the no-doubt splendid job you will do of this. Craig.

A really entertaining and informative WIP and a fantastic result! Craig.

Reminds me of the time my dear old dad tried to make a delicate adjustment to the fit of his false teeth by popping them into the oven for a couple of minutes to soften them. Needless to say, he forgot they were in there until they had melted beyond all possible hope of repair. Since he did this the week before Christmas, it was turkey soup and puréed sprouts for him that year. So you see Mark, things could be worse and I’m sure you’ll have fixed everything up admirably by the end of the build! Craig.

I imagine it looks superb in the cabinet! I assume it’s next to your Komet but a bit further back because of the whole scale mismatch thing? Great job! Craig.

That Mustang is simply stunning Alistair. The 262’s looking pretty good too. Craig.

And if you need a local guide, or somewhere to fall back on to recuperate after your visit (I live less than 5 minutes drive from East Fortune), then please bear me in mind. Craig.

So just to be clear, you’re putting the yellow bits down on top of the rest of the camouflage? That colourcoats really is good stuff! The Spitfire may be a bit less exotic than some of your other recent subjects Alistair but it’s a fine looking piece of work none the less. Craig.

You’re going to need a bigger workbench. Or a smaller cat. Chris, Alistair, you must reveal to me the secret of avoiding having your cats climb onto the workbench. Mine do little else, and insist on leaving great mounds of hair, and occasionally more noxious substances when they do so. Shame about the Mustang Mark but given the excellence of your other projects, if something has to go, this is probably a good choice. Craig.

I've been to Livingstone, Watch your back. Craig.

Have you been getting in some gaming while you’re waiting for the decals to soften? That’s a very nice looking pony Alistair, and the 262 is none too shabby either. Craig.

Are you sure? You don’t want to rush these things and spoil them! Craig.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that a common failure mode of these engines was for the moveable cone in the exhaust to get stuck. If I’m right, then you could just leave well alone and claim you’re modelling an aircraft with a bust engine. Either way, it’s all looking good. Craig.

Good work with the 262 engines Alistair, I’ve read they’re a problem area with the kit but they don’t seem to have presented any problems for you. Looking forward to further progress once the work thing is out of the way. Craig.

This is turning out to be a thing of beauty Mark. The wait for the wire was well worth it! Looking forward to more progress. Craig.

You’re a Frood who really knows where his towel is when it comes to modelling Alistair. Craig.

Try smearing some vaseline on your optivisor lens. I think you'll be impressed by the improvement to your skills. Craig.

Fine looking fuselage Alistair. I forget (not an uncommon occurrence these days unfortunately), have you revealed the approach you're going to take to the dread rigging yet? Craig.

Good to see you back Alistair. And by the way, one man's shoddy is another's exquisite. Craig.

That cat contains far too much cuteness for any single creature. From the picture, I assume he's about the size of a badger by now? Impressive hole making Mark, though I must confess that I'm not entirely clear on how they are to be deployed. No doubt all will be revealed shortly. I can also attest to the viciousness of the No. 12 blade having once casually wiped an errant scrap of plastic from one and split my thumb wide open doing so. I now regard them with fear and apprehension. Keep up the good work, Craig.

I'm with @opus999 on this. The first version looked pretty good but this is something else. I think you're gone so far overboard that the boat has vanished over the horizon! Good work, keep it up! Craig.

What a shame about the decal Alistair, they really can be a pain. The last couple of ICM kits I’ve bought have contained a leaflet saying they’ll replace any parts eaten by the dog (something highly pertinent in my situation) so they should be happy to send you out another decal sheet. Craig.

Nicely done! It gave you a bit of a fight but you overcame it with style in the end. I think my example will remain at the bottom of the stash for now. Craig.