Dandie Dinmont

For some reason, I thought this was 1/32nd. Realising its true scale makes the rigging challenge ahead of you seem even more formidable. Better crank the Opivisor up to 11 for this one. I'm sure you will cope admirably though. Craig.

Top class mottling that man. Do you do it freehand or use a mask? Craig.

Hi Mark, Might Mr. Surfacer be a better bet than paint for building the ribs back up? Just a thought. Craig.

It's a wise man who knows when to call a halt to a build. Hurrah! Popcorn at the ready! Craig.

Another little cracker Alistair. It really is a beauty. Craig.

Beautiful work Alistair. Craig.

Cracking start Mark. If it helps make your mind up, the big H appears to be out of stock of the Kora interior set Craig.

I’ve seem promos for this but it never really caught my interest, possibly because of memories of rent-a-ghost as a child. Is it any good? Hey look at that! It’s never too late to send a thread screeching off down a totally random path! Craig.

Very very nice work Mark. Enjoy that wine, you deserve it! Craig.

No need to fear, you’ve already had your mandatory shot in the foot moment on this build! Nothing else can possibly go wrong. I’ll get my coat… Craig.

Would that be a return visit to the Dora Wings Lizzie? You weren’t put off by last time? Here’s another thought, you could build that new Airfix Mosquito you mentioned was lurking in the stash as a TT35. Yellow and black on the bottom and silver on top. Glorious! Craig.

See? Sorted out in no time. Now don’t go dropping it again and make the appropriate sacrifices to the gods of modelling to assuage their wrath. Very nice recovery Alistair. Craig.

Well if you will tempt the modelling god… I’m sure you’ll have this sorted out in no time. Craig.

This looks like it will be a really interesting build, and it's another chance to deploy your world class Franglais! A double win! How could I not follow along? Craig.

A touch of yellow should really get this looking swish. Inspired by your excursion into late war, last gasp of the Luftwaffe, wonder weaponary, I picked up the Dragon 1/48 He 162 while visiting my LMS earlier this week. But I believe that, unlike this little gem, it’s a bit of a bear to build so I put it back down and bought the new Airfix Mosquito instead. Craig.

There you go Mark! We all knew you could actually finish something and make a dashed fine job of it as well. Glad to hear that Daisy’s none the worse for her botanical experiments. Craig.

Nice turn of speed on this one Alistair, just like the original subject I suppose, and I look forward to the finished result. Having nearly missed this one, I’d like to register a vote for the Night Witches (not least to see how you cope with the rigging). Craig.

Mark, I fear you are taking on a task which would reduce most men, even a mere stripling such as yourself, to a state of gibbering incoherence, left cowering in the corner of your modelling room trying to stick a couple of Lego blocks together and muttering something about raised panel lines and mismatched wing halves. Being partial to a bit of the old schadenfreude myself, I shall of course be following along. Might I suggest that you start a couple of Tamiya kits at the same time as a buffer for your sanity? Incidentally, am I to take it from your participation in the last thread you linked to that you’re fluent in French? This may well prove handy since the instructions appear to be written in that language. I was going to suggest that you should use Google translate to convert all your entries from English to French and back again to add a little ‘Ello ‘ello style Gallic atmosphere to the build but if you can actually write in French, you could miss out the first step. Anyway, I am looking forward to this very much and await reports of progress with anticipation. Craig.

Or from here either. Mind you, my eyesight’s not what it used to be… I jest of course, this looks great and seems to be coming together very nicely. Craig.

I’m sure the Wildcat will end up looking great Mark whatever happens and I wouldn’t stress about deadlines. Hope Daisy is ok. Craig.

If all else fails, could you build one with the wheels up and do as Dennis suggests? Craig.

Top notch work as ever Alistair. A real beauty! Craig.

And it turned out just as great as we knew it would. I’m still disappointed about the matchstick tower bridge though... Craig.

Excellent! I started work on a similar kit (though from a different manufacturer) here but I haven’t done much with it for a while because sticking splintered cocktail sticks into the ball of my thumb stopped being fun after a while. I’m a crack-handed fool though and I’m sure you’ll have fun making this and it’ll turn out great. Looking forward to seeing the finished result! Craig.

Can’t believe I’ve just come across this build. It’s of particular interest because I have this very kit glowering at me from the bottom of the stash (and having read this thread and the others linked from it, it’s likely to stay there until I really feel like a challenge). Still, you’re beating it into shape Owen and I look forward to the finished article! Craig.