jackroadkill

More progress to report! This is beginning to look like a goer, at last. Tonight I played the RLM83 guessing game with the Dora, and eventually used RLM71 instead, as blue seemed..... wrong?. So far so good, although the RLM82 might need another coat dusting onto it to add to the opacity a little, possibly with a drop or two of very light grey. The paint I got down tonight will need a couple of days to dry out before I mask for the RLM81, I reckon, and hopefully that will give me time to finally finish the Bf110 that's taken me well over a year so far. Anyway, I digress: As you can see, the RLM82 has had to go on quite heavily; I'm hoping this will be moderated by the subsequent processes of gloss/matt coating, weathering etc. We'll see. I think the RLM71 was a good call.... Cheers, JRK

This is a very interesting project, Heather. Your timing is impeccable - I'm reading Max Hastings' Bomber Command and the account of the bomber ops during the early part of the war is as sobering as those of the massed raids later in the campaign. It's not an area of history about which I know much but I'm finding myself absorbed in learning about it now. I'll follow your thread with great interest.

Hello and welcome to BM. It sounds like the bug has bitten you comprehensively!

Why have I never thought of that?! That's a great idea, and all the better for being simple.

I'm just pleased that there are no invasion stripes to be done. I did a Beaufighter in 1/48 a while ago and it needed three trees' worth of masking and took ages to get right. I managed to get the 190 masked last night, so both are ready for the main camo colours now. The only problem I have is that I discovered I need RLM83, which I don't have, for the Ta152. I decided to be a brave boy and mix myself some up. Watch this space...

I hope so; I did the masking on the Ta152's upper sides last night and it felt like it took days!

Thanks very much, Troy. I'll have a look at Ray's thread and see what he did to conquer the beast.

Welcome to BM, BertieBox. The inmates are mental but friendly.

Oh, stop showing off!

Yeah, but the Great Pyramid got built faster than some of my kits.

This little sod had fought me all the way; I've spent the last few weeks trying to get the undercarriage to stop collapsing. I think I'm there now, but we shall see. I'm at the point where I'm going to get the masks off and an aerial on and I think I'll leave it there. Anyway, here it is, in all its knock-kneed, swollen-ankled, gammy-legged "glory", having the U/C doors attached yet again: Hopefully it won't be another three months until I post again. Cheers, JRK

In between resisting throwing the perennial Bf110 build across the workshop and weeping with unmitigated frustration I have managed to get some spraying done. This time it was with the lovely HR Hobbies (nee Alclad) lacquers, which I've not really used in anger before. They sprayed really well (even though my airbrush was so manky I had to dig what looked like miniature hairballs out of it afterwards) and gave exactly the effect I wanted on the "unpainted" undersides of the wings. In this picture the effect is a little overstated, but you get the idea. Next stop, the upper surfaces. I'm conscious that time is running short, so I'll get cracking ASAP. Cheers, JRK

Skates well and truly on, then!

That's a cracker, sir. I really like it.

What a superb subject, and a lovely way to display it. Cracking job, TT.

I'm not sure how I didn't sign up for this, and as @TimJ seems to be number 29, I reckon I must be number 30, right? Go on then, James, put me down for it. Not sure what I'd build, but I have a few kits that might fit the bill, like Blenheims, a Catalina, some Meteors... I can surely find something.

Hi John, and welcome to Britmodeller. Sorry to hear of your travails - maybe posting a WIP thread could help get you going again. There are hundreds of regular forum users who can offer help and advice if you're stuck. My area of particular interest is WW2 aircraft, and when I started out again the mottled camo schemes of Luftwaffe aircraft were a major headache, but there are techniques I was shown that allowed me to achieve a reasonable result with a brush, so fear not - it can be done!

Ideal!

Aye, that all looks familiar! Nice to see her coming together, though.

In October I bought myself this: I liked it so much that I did a Duff McKagan this week, and this arrived:

You're really making progress now, James. It's all looking very good indeed.

Agreed; some haunting lyrics.

Excellent! It's good to see you getting stuck in, James.

Excellent work! Nice to see a G-14 instead of the perennial G-6s that proliferate.

Excellent work - unfortunately you've reminded me that I need to get mine off the SOD, get another set of canopies for it and get it finished. Whether I can do this to these standards, I don't like to think!