RupertTheBear

That looks the business! Really impressive finish! 😍

Good day everyone, I needed a little break from a certain "out of my comfort zone" project I'm stuck in and also needed something more colorful than my usual 50 shades of grey aircraft and so I went for my absolute dream car and probably the only Pagani Zonda I'll ever be able to afford As this is my first car build in like 20 years and my first Aoshima kit ever, it kinda stayed in the "out of comfort" zone but it was an absolute pleasure building this kit. The precision with which this kit was engineered totally baffled me and that the build replicates the making of the actual car is a neat little feature for fans, who really are deep into the building process of Pagani and the mechanics of the Zonda. Needless to say, the build was a massive joy. The car goes together very well, even the rear frame with the engine, which seemed a bit fragile at first but it all got sorted out once it was bolted to the floor and the bulkhead of the cockpit. The only fitment issues I had is the rear clamshell, which seems to be warped a bit so it leaves a little gap on one side while closed. Of course that could be rectified by gluing it in place but hiding all the details of the engine wouldn't do it any justice, so I rather park it on my shelf with the gap facing the wall so nobody needs to know it's there And from time to time just prep it open with the metal shafts provided by the kit. It mostly was painted with brush and different Vallejo and Revell paints, for the body Tamiya's Chrome Yellow from a can was used, for the carbon fiber bits Tamiya's semi gloss black. So now I have my favorite supercar in my dream spec on my shelf, I call that a win I also need to get the Huayra at some point, the successor for the Zonda. I love both cars, so it's a given the Huayra will join my collection but the Zonda will always have a special place in my heart. And that's about it. Thanks for watching, hope you like it and have a nice day

Beautiful little birds, especially the winter-duty one on skis looks just so...soviet! The weathering on that one is fantastic!

Fantastic finish!

Yeah, I have to agree on that. Built their Su-34 and it wasn't a very pleasant or enjoyable build, sometimes even dipping into "chores" territory, but I'm fine with the end result. I honestly wouldn't recommend their kits to a friend but I'd certainly grab some for myself if the possibility arises and then also head straight for some aspirin just in case but their subjects are definitely tempting, like the MH-6, the AH-1Z and the Ka-52. So if KH comes back under what-ever label, that's just fine by me. Also very interesting that they seemingly have the WZ-10 in the works. The Trumpeter kit piqued my interest already but I'll keep an eye on this one, too.

Nice! That's absolutely in my ballpark. So far Zvezda is keeping it as apolitical as possible so I've got no problem getting their kits and I hope the helicopter trend will go strong. Would be nice to have modern 1/48th kits of the Ka-50, Mi-28, Ka-29 and with rumors of a Meng 1/35th scale Mi-28 floating around...fingers crossed

Reasonable approach, nothing wrong with baby steps 🙂 Wish you success and a bit of luck is never wrong, too!

Got the Su-30SM in my stash and every time I'd like to begin construction, the instruction kinda intimidates me 😅 Will be watching your progress as reference and inspiration!

Awesome looking Harrier! Love the artwork on the tail!

What a beast! Lovely what-if and had it gone into production, the idea isn't that far fetched

Keep em' coming! Viggens are great and yours turned out fantastic!

Splendid!

I'm amazed about the surface detail, didn't expect that to see on a kit from the 70's and in 1/72nd scale, too. It's also quite fine. There are a lot of newer kits which are way more crude than this. Also, very nice choice of subject! Therefore... ...don't mind if I do

Good lord almighty!!! To say that's impressive would be a monumental understatement!

An oddly beautiful aircraft IMO, I like it a lot although I couldn't say why Great looking kit as well, especially the metal finish looks spot on!

Looks awesome! How was the build in general?

I'm amazed it still looks futuristic even by todays standards. Ettore Bugatti really was, positively spoken, a mad man! It reminded me immediately of the old covers of magazines like Popular Mechanics. It really is something else! Thank you!

I really like the Ka-60 Kasatka, unfortunately (or looking since 2022 - may I rather say thank god?) like most Russian aviation projects it kinda went nowhere, except a few displays at the MAKS show. Your kit looks very good, though. The hardship payed off!

Good evening gals and gents, today I'd like to present to you a gift for a good friend of mine. As he is a huge fan of Bugatti, mostly of the Veyron, I decided to get him a Bugatti he hasn't in his collection yet. Small wonder. Most people associate the name Ettore Bugatti with racing cars and luxury automobiles but only a few probably know the story of the Bugatti Model 100, sometimes called the Bugatti-De Monge 100P. In 1937 Bugatti decided to get back at the Germans and to win the prestigious Deutsch de la Meurthe Cup Race. He teamed up with Belgian engineer Louis de Monge and they were on course to enter the 1939 race, but to do so they needed to get their aircraft completed by September and we all know what happened in September of 1939. They missed the deadline and so the Model 100 never took to the skies and when in 1940 the Germans were approaching Paris, the still incomplete plane was moved to the French countryside where it was hidden in a barn for the next almost 30 years. It was sold a couple of times, among other to an American automotive aficionado who bought the Model 100 for its two Bugatti Type 50P Straight 8 4.9L engines, which were used for restoration works of Bugatti cars. In 1996 the airframe was donated to the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh where it was restored and is now on display. But the story doesn't end there. While Ettore Bugatti never saw the plane fly, it finally did in 2015 - at least a replica did. It was built by a group of enthusiasts using the original plans. Some materials originally used by Bugatti and de Monge were changed for safety reasons and the plane was powered by two Suzuki Hayabusa engines. Nicknamed Blue Dream, the plane was slightly damaged during an landing incident on the first flight, but was repaired and did another successful flight. Almost exactly one year after its inaugural flight, Blue Dream took to the skies for a third and last time. Unfortunately it crashed right after take-off, tragically killing the pilot and initiator of the re-creation of the Model 100, Scotty Wilson. Even more tragic - this was to be the aircrafts final flight anyway as the team behind the project planned to donate it to a museum afterwards. So while these enthusiasts proved the Bugatti Model 100 could fly, neither them, nor Ettore Bugatti and Louis de Monge themselves could prove that this might have been the fastest, most advanced racer in its time. At least it looks absolutely stunning! So...after a long brainstorm what to get that guy for his birthday ("I don't want anything!") I got back to the most obvious but I didn't want to get him another 1/18 scale Bugatti Veyron, even when I entertained the idea of getting one, remove the paint and spec it individually, I finally settled on the Special Hobby 1/48th scale kit of the Model 100. It's compact enough so he can add it to his collection without any problems, which was the main reason I didn't go for another Veyron or the 1/32nd variant of this kit. The build was quite enjoyable. The bulk of the parts is used in the cockpit and the fitment of the small parts amazingly is not bad at all. The airframe on the other hand didn't go together so easily, there was quite a gap in the front of the fuselage, but with the help of putty it wasn't that big of a deal. What I couldn't get rid of is the visible step between the fuselage and the wings at the rear. The fuselage seems to sit way lower than it should or the wings are to thick, don't really know where the mistake was made and unfortunately I'm not that skilled with sculpturing and rescribing to get it done with putty. But it bugs me so much, I even consider to keep that one for myself and build another one and approach the attachment of the wings differently and hoping it will look better. Anyway, the rest was easy going, except I had to write to Special Hobby because one of the resin parts was missing from my kit. But one mail and two days later I got the part in my mailbox, free of charge. Kudos for that service, thank you Special Hobby team! With everything in place the kit was primed with Tamiya white primer from a spray can and sprayed with Tamiya French Blue. For the cockpit, canopy, landing gear and propellers Vallejo and Revell acrylics were used, I kept the weathering to a minimum, just suggesting a bit the plane might have been raced once or twice and yeah, Bob's your uncle. Except for the problem with the wings, I'm quite pleased with the result and it certainly looks sexy in blue next to all the mostly grey and huge military jets on my shelf, as I still haven't decided if I should give it another go or if this actually is worthy as a gift. Either way sooner or later I will add this little beauty to my collection. That at least is decided Thanks for reading and watching!

Neat! Diggin' that digital camo!

Splendid result! Love the wear and tear!

That's one fantastic looking Lightning!

Lovely build and getting the kit done really is an achievement in itself it seems! Love the Bounder and the story behind it, it's just quintessentially "Cold War"

Awesome result! You somehow managed to make an ugly bird look nice!

Lovely duo! No need to sell yourself short, the result is fantastic!