David H

i see what you did there.

Wonderful News! Eat Drink and be Merry; for tomorrow, we build Electra.

Just a suggestion, but if you haven't bought one yet, grab the F4U-1A instead of the -1D. It includes both types of propeller, Both types of drop tank, as well as both the Brewster centerline bomb rack and the later -1D inboard wing pylons. I think you still get both styles of canopy and the rockets too. Just my thoughts.

"You see Joey.... When an F-4 Phantom and a Supermarine Swift love each other, very very much...." All kidding aside, a very nice model. And as a reward for your hard work, Airfix or Clear Prop will announce one in their 2022 lineup. Passing this thread onto John Flexman, who flew Scimitars back in the day. david

Test. Fit. EVERYTHING in that kit carefully before you apply glue. david

Update from the Admiralty... The main landing gear struts have been installed and are setting up. Tyre-brake assemblies not installed yet. After a few harrowing moments, i managed to snap the nose wheel into place onto the fork axles. I trimmed down the axle ends that come out of the fork a bit, and fortunately the Airfix plastic had enough spring in it to bend, and not snap. Scratched some paint off the sidewalls of the tyre, so there's a bit of repair work in progress. I will post some pics, once i get her properly on her feet. -d-

The answer is it does, but not enough to be significant. If you mask off right along the edge of the clear part, the toothpaste cant do its thing along the edges so you're left with a clear middle and somewhat frosty edges. Keep in mind that the surface area we're talking about is very small, but i do find that offsetting the masking tape from the edge a little bit makes a difference.

Speaking of the Cousteau PBYs, have you ever compared the centre wings and nacelles of the Revell PBY to the Academy one? its said the Academy engines are too small and too close together...wonder if there's a visible difference when compared to the Revell.... I ask because its one of those things i won't be able to un-see if its true. -d-

I really like the colours on the new one. Remember, you could always build the later, taller-tailed PB2B-2 just to mess with people's heads even more. Jus' sayin.... -d-

Typically, my MO is to glue the lights in place, sand and blend them into the surrounding structure and get them sanded down to about 2000 grit, then i mask em off for painting and decaling. After the weathering and flat coat is on, i remove the masking that covered the clear area, then i mask around the periphery with a slight offset away from the clear part, and i polish them to final optical clarity with toothpaste and a 100% cotton t-shirt. Leaves my lenses sparkling and minty fresh! But that's just me.... -d-

Bill Matthews article is a very good one; the place where things diverge is in using a KC-135 versus a Heller 707 (E-3) as a starting point, mainly because the Heller kit incorporates the so called "Crease Beam" that the 707 series had. One thing that is holding up my KC-135 project is re-setting the wing dihedral. Once you see it on the model it becomes impossible to overlook and i just cannot un-see it. You probably knew this already, but back in the day DB Conversions had detailed plans on how to convert the Heller 707 to a -135. The most significant detail here is,

Looks great Brian!!

Wow! Mee likee. I used to see Northwest 727s fly over my house all the time on final to runways 11L/R at MSP. Have plans to (eventually) do a Northwest 720B, but i have to get my Super VC10 off the books first. I just love the paint jobs, especially the early -100. -d-

I look forward to seeing your progress! -d-

There's just something about that big rudder on the 18 that appeals to me.....