jackroadkill

I've never had any trouble with it, and have done weathering, decalling etc over the top without any drama.

You're cracking on nicely with this one, Luke; much more progress than mine is making!

Hi and welcome to Britmodeller!

That, or airbrushed when thinned with IPA.

I can second @Graham Boak's suggestion of W+N's Galleria varnish.

I can send you some lead shot, if that's any use.

Superb, Tim - you didn't hang about with this one, did you?!

Thanks Craig. Hopefully I will.

I'd be happy enough if they got around to releasing the kits they announced for this year. I pre-ordered three, only one of which was a new tool, and haven't seen any of them yet.

I've got several large hammers.

Right, we're into the meat of the build now. After it taking many hours, many applications of filler and then many sandings and dissolvings of said filler, the fuselage joint is about as smart as it's ever going to be. Unless, of course, when I black-base it it looks horrific, in which case it will get a bit more work, however grudgingly that may be. I could only do a bit at a time, so the majority of today's building has been waiting for filler to dry, so I used the opportunity to dip the canopy of another kit I'm building in Looks Like Glass. This was, in part, a test run for the F-5's canopy. Anyway, what does it look like, I her you cry: Some pretty minor pits, but pits nonetheless, so I think all of that farting about will be worth it in the long run. At least, it better had be, or this build will go the same way all of those kits went when I was a kid with a gleam in his eye and a Baikal IZH38... Then I moved onto the intakes. Oh, God, the intakes. They were different lengths, widths, profiles and thicknesses, but eventually and with much sanding I got them in and in something like symmetrical shapes: The keen-eyed amongst you will have already noted that there's some filling to be done. One day, I swear, I'm going to build a nice kit (my jeffing stash is full of nice kits, why don't I ever build them any more?!), but until then I'm leaving this little lot to dry before getting stuck into my *ahem* favourite part of kit-bullying. Those dear keen-eyed souls mentioned above will by now be wondering what was being smoked in the design office at Monogram (hey, it was the 1970's) when they came up with these intakes, as their profile bears absolutely no resemblance to the profile of the ducts they mount onto. Never mind, I'll get the angle grinder out and gouge away merrily once the trowelful of filler that each side will need is dry. You never know, one day I might actually have something that could be viewed in a dim light as progress to report. And, if you're wondering, yes, I did get carried away with the file. Cheers, JRK

She's coming on really well, Craig, and is going to look fantastic.

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Cheers Sam - I hope you get some enjoyment from watching the build progress.

It's the best filler I've used, but I won't be buying any more (I'm an AK conchie), unfortunately.

Excellent - I'm looking forward to seeing these three progress.

Some more progress today: I made it through the GGU, almost without resorting to silliness. As you can see, some silliness was required, but the end justifies the means, really. Once the cement had gone off I did a small amount of sanding and then sorted out the leading and trailing edges of the wings, stabs and fin. And then I got busy with the filler. Oh, joy, of joys, filler! Surely everyone's favourite part of the process?: This might look like overkill but it's AK's water-soluble filler, and most of what is there will be washed off, certainly at the front end. The rear is a different story, where there was no getting away from the upper half overhanging the lower by about 0.15 - 0.2mm, so there will be a bit of careful blending taking place there. Otherwise, that's it so far today. I might have a crack at the Shonkiest Intakes In The World..... Ever (TM) if time allows.

She's looking great, Luke. You're doing a grand job of her.

That's very sexy indeed, that camo.

That's superb - "kind of a beginner"?!!

Having Covid has been a blessing and a curse; it's given me time to work on the kit but the brain fog has led to mistakes. Anyway, I've just tested negative, so I'll be back to work on Wednesday, so progress will slow a bit then.

Some superb pictures there - fantastic aircraft. I like the mucky F-16.

The Great Glue-Up commences: I started at the sharp end and am moving slowly rearwards: So far, so good. I've stopped where I am, lest my confidence should be my downfall. The port wing underside has been cemented in but the same can't be said of the starboard; I'll get to that in the morning, and continue working my way back once tonight's efforts are fully cured. One boo-boo, though - I forgot to put the cannon barrel mount in before I closed the fuselage up, so will have to figure something out for those. Next steps (once the GGU is done) will be to repair any seam issues and then fit the tailpipes and intakes. The intakes particularly are going to take some sorting; they're badly moulded and looking at the mountings they're going to either need grinding to fit or will need substantial filling to make them locate properly. All good fun....

Blimey, not hanging about, are you?!

For a tenner I don't mind a bit of work. The Revell job was twice that and that's going to take a bit of mangling itself. I have to say though, the AFV F-5F kit is batting its eyelashes at me, too... Jets aren't even my thing, damn it!