Cris Garcia

Absolutely gorgeous TOMAHAWK! Paint and weathering is beyond top and... THE PILOT! Oh boy, I love to add figures to my kits too... that Tamiya pilot enhance so much the final model! Congratulations. Cris.

WOW! Stunning P-51D! One of the best works on this model kit I've ever seen... Loved it, congratulations!! Cris

Oh boy! That is one spectacular and exclusive "Jake"... what a beauty! Agree with Zigomar as we DEMAND a 2024-standard-new-kit for this legendary floatplane. Hasegawa, Tamiya, Eduard? Hello?

Wow! What an absolutely stunning entry to the forum! Love the build and love the figures and diorama too. So well painted. Bravo! From a fellow modeler from the other side of the world, Cris from Chile. PS: there's something about the chubby Wildcat... definitely!

What a stunning Hurri! Love it... and the figures are also so well painted. A work of art! Congratulations Andy, really like you style here! Prosit for you, 🍻 Cris.

Lovely FM-1! Superb paint job and really like the weathering. Congratulations Bruno. Tres bien! Cris.

First time mottling a german kite? OMG! Kudos for your skills and good taste, that Me-109 Emil looks amazing! Bellísimo. Cris

Lovely Pantera Adrian! Superb rendition of this unique and remembered Chilean 'beast'... keep rocking! Cris.

Agreed. Just an observation, the torpedo squadrons that fought at Midway were other than the ones that fought at Coral Sea (VT-2 and VT-5). VT-8 and VT-6 were completely slaughtered by the Japanese CAP and AAA. VT-3 was also badly hit, but Jimmy Thatch and his fighters fought valiantly against the Zeros preventing further shoot-downs.

Thanks Master, Obi Wan taught me well!

Such a beautiful P-400! Love it! But tell me Russ, how do you manage to close those Eduard's doors? I built one of these not far ago and the transparent doors simply don't fit! I should had dry fit them before the assembly but I was a little anxious to finish it, so I keep them open. But you managed to close them flawlessly! Let me guess... lot of sanding and dry fitting. Congratulations again! Really inspiring build. Cris.

Stunning Devastator Rod! I really enjoyed your amazing previous post with the model outdoors and this one just confirmed it. Paint job was an absolute killer! Nonetheless, as I just finished my own TBD-1 but in 1/48 scale, I found an Achilles' heel on your beautiful build (it starts with 'c' and ends with 'y'). But I'll keep that little secret between us, as only few modelers adventure in the reigns of the infamous Douglas Devastator and yours is a superb rendition. Cris.

Hi Folks, After the build of the Japanese Nakajima B5N2 'Kate', next in line was her Nemesis, the infamous American torpedo bomber carrier aircraft Douglas TBD-1 'Devastator'. The kit is from the Chinese brand GWH (or Great Wall Hobby) from 2012. I was pleasantly surprised by the nearly perfect fit of the fuselage and wings. But things started to get complicated once I dry fit the canopy, not the closed one provided, but the seven-piece open canopy alternative. Lot of sanding and testing of the last 3 parts of the canopy was needed as for the radioman/gunner can show his 0.30 Browning M2 displayed. Except for that, the rest of the build went straight on. Black basing and pre-shading technique was used to 'break' monotony on the one colour top fuselage. Colors came mostly from Mr. Color 367 (Blue Gray) and AK RC 220 (Light Gull Grey). Figures came from spares, Tamiya for the pilot and an old Monogram for the radioman/gunner. I also used Eduard decals from they newer Wildcat kit to represent this aircraft used by VT-5 during the Battle of The Coral Sea, and I can tell you it was quite an adventure to peel the carrier film off! Nonetheless, the tail was masked and painted. A really nice kit, but it put to test all my skills developed in the last 3 years since I return to the hobby. Very glad on how it came to life. You can see all the building process at my instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/cris.oveja.negra/ All the best from Santiago, keep modelling, Cris.

Absolutely phenomenal! Over the top! I'm currently building the GWH TBD-1 in 1/48 scale. This will be a nice walkaround to finish my kite. I'm leaning to represent a Devastator of VT-5 during the Battle of The Coral Sea with the early war paint... Quite inspirational! Congratulations Rod. Cris.

Lovely looking Zero! Can I ask you if you used the Eduard's decals and if you stripped the carrier film? Thanks and congratulations again! Cris

Thanks George! You always left a kind and positive comment. Very honoured! Cris Oh thanks! Thank you Andy! Thanks Toryu! Coming from you I feel very very flattered!

Greetings from Santiago, Just finished ´BI-310´, the plane flew by Lt Joichi Tomonaga during the first day of the battle of Midway. He led two strikes on June 4th, 1942 - the first against the atoll's two islands in the morning and then an ill-fated attack on USS Yorktown in the afternoon. Bearing command stripes on the tail, ´Bi-310´ had its right main wing tank punctured when Tomonaga's force was bounced by US Marine Corps F2A-3s from VMF-221 during the strike on Midway. Upon his return to Hiryu, Tomonaga refused to switch aircraft for the attack on Yorktown despite knowing he had insufficient fuel in ´BI-310´ to make it back to the carrier after he had dropped his Type 91 torpedo. The aeroplane was subsequently shot down by ace Lt Cdr ´Jimmy´ Thach, commanding officer of F4F-equipped VF-3, as Tomonaga made his run in on Yorktown. Although the latter got his torpedo away before crashing to his death, the weapon missed its intended target (excerpt from Osprey's Combat Aircraft 119, 2017). The kit is fantastic. Excellent fit and lot of details, specially in the cockpit. I always try to add figures to my builds, and this ocassion was not the exception. I really love how figures add some emotion and realism to the kit. After some iteration and thanks to Nick Millman' studies about IJN Dark Green I chose the Tamiya XF-11, and it really match the few color photos I have found about IJN carrier planes. I used Chipping Medium fluid from Vallejo after the black primer and silver, to obtain that battered look on the fuselage and wings. National Japanese insignias ('Hinomarus') were painted on. Rivets added with special tool. The underside received a mix of excellent AK Real Colors 302 and 303 to obtain that elusive IJN Grey Green, Aotake (Mr. Color 57) was used for the landing gear parts and interior. Really enjoyed this one! Cris.

Voted yesterday 👍

Beautiful build and paint job on this "Wilder" & chubby little cat. Really like the weathering, elegant and splendid work! Thanks for sharing. Cris.

Oh yes, she is an absolutely beauty! Excellent job on the paint and weathering! Congrats, bravo!

Hahaha, I have not yet had the good fortune to meet him, but surely I will!

I will be delighted to join the GB. What a fantastic idea Martin! Of course, it will be a Chilean kite... not sure... if a DH Vampire with desert cammo during the 70's, or a 2010 Super Tucano, or an A-37B Dragonfly of the 80's... plenty of choices to wear the Chilean National Insignia. Abrazo grande (big hug!), Cris

What a fantastic team of Vought kites. Really admire your exquisite technique building, painting and weathering the kits. Always inspiring! Keep rockin'! Cris

Thanks Ron! Totally agree with your comment. Actually, after I post the photos I gave her some coats of matt varnish. Here I attached some photos of the new looks. Cheers, Cris.

Thank you Toryu for illuminating us with the rest of TONDELAYO's history. Certainly she served well to its succesive squadrons.