Jon Kunac-Tabinor

HI all, Off the back of a few other things, I bought this and started it. Please don't expect a normal WIP as its more thoughts and caveats with the odd vainglorious pic! Here's my first tip/ note /thought or TNT#1 as you might say: There are a lot of parts and a lot of the smaller ones have mould seams that need removing. BUT it does look very nice. TNT#2 The 5 part cowlings are a PITA but do fit well - I cemented the 3 cowl radii pieces together then added the cowling lip. The cooling gills will need to be added after the engine ( which is very nice) is added. The shafts for the props are a tight fit into the prop bosses, so sand them down a little first - that way the props are an easy push fit. TNT#3 The undercarriage - build this and test fit into the undercart bays before you do anything else!!! Its fiddly, has moulding lines to remove and you need to be ULTRA careful aligning the undercart bay walls. Even then the part F97 sub assembly won't fit as it's too wide for to fit into the recess ( well it is on my kit anyway) so it needs careful sanding down to reduce its width and the retraction jack looks like its shown in the instructions as being attached to the wrong side, but it may not be- the instructions are just very bad here. The UC legs where they fit to the section of spar that slips into the UC bay- needed sanding down to make it slide into the bay properly so its width was reduced a tad It all looks brill though once done! TNT#4 if you are building with the nav/gunner's B20 cupola open then the gun stays with the cupola not on the fuselage. This will help... TNT#5 The under-fuselage wing section will fit much better if you take a coarse sander to the fuselage beneath it first. CAVEAT: I'venot read many review of this kit, and the ones I have make no mention of these fit issues - so it may all just be me! TNT#6 Cockpit detail is good but the observer's station is a bit sparce if you are opening the goldfish bowl. [EDIT - the map table has been modified since - it should slide on rails form what I can see.] More to come.... Cheers Jonners I've added gubbins which make it look full - but it snot totally accurate as there should be even more stuff!

Lovely! Very nice finish, it looks the business. Amending the prop hole chasms really does enhance the look. Cheers! Jonners

That's really, really nice. I think that's one of the best -37s I've seen. Top effort and that hard slog has been more than amply rewarded. hats & hussars!! Jonners

Thanks all - glad you like her. It was an enjoyably satisfying build - and I've long wanted a French Kingcobra in the collection. Cheers! Jonners

A belated Happy Easter all! This was finished the other day. AMG's Kingcobra finished with Begemot's decals to represent an French Cobra of GC 1/5 "Vendee" based in Indochina around 1949. AMG's kit is very nice but needs some care in construction to ensure assembly is neat. The clear parts fit well with a little sanding around the door rims ( always an issue for the car door Cobra family) but their clarity is a little bottle glass! The model NEEDS nose weight - I had to add more into the nose gear bay and the underbelly tank as the lead in the nose wasn't enough. This is especially true if you extend the nose oleo to give a typical sit for the P-63. If I was to build another I'd use one of those "liquid gravity" type systems to fill every crevice in the nose and probably the wing leading edges too!! Most French Kingcobras show the nose wheel hub uncovered - so this was scratch built from plasticard and added to the separate plastic kit tyres. Gun barrels were replaced with Albion Alloys' tubing, and extra plumbing added to the wing tanks. Finish is decanted Tamiya silver acrylics, with panels picked out in tinted Tamiya silvers and Vallejo metal colours, the whole patchwork was then heavily post shaded and then blended using a mix of the base colour and Tamiya gloss. The Begemot decals were thin and unresponsive to my usual Mr Mark Setter but eventually settled using good old Micro Sol. They stick like limpets but if you use a little spit ( yep spit - an old Propagteam decal trick I remembered) as well as setting solution, then they slide around like an Ice lolly on a Morris Marina roof in August 1976 Final weathering with MIG Starship Filth oil brusher, and some airbrushed exhaust over the Galleria matt varnish. You'll note that the scale "Mecos" cleaned the engine access panel on one side while servicing the engine, rather than the the exhaust staining going "a la forme du poire" The P-63 was by all accounts a decent fighter that suffered from being 'last amongst equals'. It looks like it means business though, and French roundels always enhance any subject in my opinion. Hope you like her! All comments welcome as ever. On les aura! Jonners

soft furniture: settee K words: Koo-pon, and que-pola Jonners Born in Stoke on Trent, but 30 years living in Oxford.

Hi Eivinde - looking good - I'm watching this with interest as I'm building one too. This might help if you haven't seen it already. I'd go with overall RLM 63 too - although which variation of 63 you choose is another matter! Cheers Jonners

Nice one Ian - that scheme comes out looking really cool! Cheers Jonners

There's not much out there for the A model. I bought a C set of etch which will be close enough for me. If you want to build a really early A you need an Escapac seat and an airbrake external stiffener too. Cheers jonners

Magnifique Ian - so nice to see the decals in use Cheers Jonners, Proud chief monkey of Marmaduke Press

Well said. Jonners

Hi - sorry you are having trouble. I use it with Tamiya all the time with no problems - although I would say that the thinning ratio can vary a little between colours. 20 PSI sounds a bit high though - have you tried dialling the pressure down? just to confirm , its this one- yes? https://www.emodels.co.uk/mr-hobby-400ml-mr-color-levelling-thinner-108.html Cheers Jonners

Afternoon all - well, it's finally finished. Here's the new Eduard kit, converted to a MK II using the old MDC set - which needed a wee bit of love and the odd stiff talking to, to work Finished as the MV416 XC-D, the CO's aircraft from 26 squadron, Zwelteg 1947. Paint is Tamiya with oil wash and weathering, finale finish W&N Galleria matt. Decals from a selection of codes and kit. Alas the squadron crests on the fin are spurious- Mr Chris Thomas confirmed this with photos he sent - and I suspect the drop tanks should also be silver - but MSG was too good to resist for contrast. Tank & RP load is accurate - although the RPs do locate very close to the drop tanks - which shows in photos but is still a bit tight ( if I did one again I'd nudge the RPs out just a tad) I was always a bit "meh" about the MkII thinking it aesthetically the poor relation to the Sea Fury with it's flatter fuselage lines. But it's grown on me and I now think it rather sleek in a greyhound sort of way. Hope you like her - please comment as you see fit. Jonners

As an interesting aside - I've always wondered which was better logistically and serviceability wise. Coloured bulbs with clear covers or vice versa? It's one of those questions that lolls around at the back of the brain. cheers Jonners

That's interesting - as the Mk V at IWM, and the Mk II both have clear covers. As does the Typhoon, and the Sea Fury. Id thought they were tinted too - so whats going in? cheers Jonners