Alan P

Just to update my earlier comments... here's the completed build. I 'borrowed' @hugogo's display idea, thanks for the inspiration With more respect for what @sroubos and @hopkp mentioned: I wouldn't recommend this kit unless you really, REALLY want to build it. It's flippin hard work to get right. Not Revell's best (by a loooong way) - seems to be more of a challenge to a fight rather than a relaxing hobby build Still, it's worth the struggle if nothing else for the sense of achievement at the end!

Looks brilliant, although the photos aren't showing up for me (I can see them by clicking the links a couple of times though )

Fine attention to detail here. The prep you put into the parts has paid off, with much better fitting. Definitely the way to go!

Lovely job Steve it's a shame the major issues all seem to come say the end of a build, but glad you overcame the lurgy and the traditional 'knocking off of all the bits' ceremony in such style

This 1/48 Liberator was a Print-Scale set. It was pretty old when I used it but it worked perfectly. I think they're very similar to SuperScale/Microscale in quality and respond very well to MicroSet and Sol.

Fingers crossed for Hannants still being able to stock them eventually...

There might be a short break from this as I'm waiting on some brass barrels for the M197 20mm cannon - not only are the kit barrels a bit soft, one is broken in half which kind of rules that out. While the Master set seems pretty scarce, DEFModel has released an excellent version for the Zulu which should do the job. I'll try to keep the build going (as well as the Vietnam G) even though there isn't a hope it'll be finished by the GB deadline.

Finally got to the paint stage... Seats and belts complete! Obviously a major improvement on the moulded on belts. Front seater's panel with the TOW optical guidance sight. It's cunningly positioned in the vertical position to facilitate the crewman getting in and out of the cockpit. Once he's sitting comfortably, he can rotate the optics to the horizontal (binocular) position. I also adapted the blobby kit part to add the trigger grip on the left side. I used little-cars lenses from modellingtools.co.uk to make the binocular lenses. The kit part was a bit of a joke in this respect. Cockpit completed in different shades of black! Extra wiring is made from EZ-Line. And finally with added seats: Can't really praise the Eduard set more highly in this case. Some of these sets a re a bit hit'n'miss with the type and quality of added detail. but this one is really good. The dramatic improvement over the bland kit interior is substantial! One big omission in the details of both kit and PE is the thick aircon hoses that fit down the back of the seats. I'll have to come up with something for those Next step - getting the fuselage together! Cheers, Alan

Thanks James. No, it's really real. It seems to be a tradition among manufacturers to put the OEM name/logo on the pedals. Specially for @Col. , here's the PE belts: I always say 'never again!' after struggling with the metal origami frustration of putting these things together, but they do look very nice in the end! There's a LOT of PE in this cockpit! The front instrument panel has unfortunately fallen forward into the footwell, but you get the idea Painting next...

Yes...'thirty years on an O-4/O-5 government salary and owns his own P-51' is one massive plothole to fill...

Very much looking forward to this one, Top Gun was THE film of my mid-teens, and only poured fuel on the fire of my flying ambitions Hoping to save this to watch on IMAX, but as I saw the original three times at the cinema, this will probably go the same way Here's Pop Gun for the Googly challenged: It's genuinely funny and self-deprecating, loads of decent in-jokes but not impenetrable for non-aviation people.

Quality kit in good hands, I think! I agree with you about the bow doors, closed gives a meaner look

Superb work! The parts look like an excellent fit.

I agree thanks a lot Col

Well, I haven't a hope of getting this in for the deadline, but it's worth keeping the thread going! The Eduard set for this kit is particularly good. Really enhances the detail without needing a massive overhaul of the kit parts. If you look really closely, you can see the pedals even have BELL and COBRA etched on the footrests! Cockpit detail enhancement is good in the tub and seats. To be honest, I'm not going to bother with the seatbelts, too fiddly. I might change my mind though! The pilot's panel and coaming is unrecognisable from the bland kit original. I applied glue to the wrong bit of the instrument coaming, so the sides will need some attention. Wait till it dries fully then just scrape it off. It's a lot of PE, but the results are indisputable. Particularly as the whole thing will just be shades of black, the added details are well worth the effort. Alan