desmojen

Bit of a jump forward on this. I finished all the decalling some time ago but I've been tremendously busy with other things Today I got off my ample behind and got on with it a bit. I finished the topside panel line wash, and left that to dry. In the meantime I spent some very enjoyable time sanding the filler that I had thoughtfully put in all the ejector pin marks on the inside of the landing gear doors. (note sarcasm) I then preshaded the doors and painted all the white bits with tamiya flat white. This actually represents all the bits that are left to go on. I then flat coated the rest of the model. I started using Tamiya flat base mixed with Klear for this job a couple of models back. It's a bit fiddly getting the ratios right, but you can go as flat or as satin as you like, and anywhere in between. It's quite handy for weathering because you can make it flatter on top and more shiny down the sides and underneath. The thing you need to look out for though is that too much flat base in the mix will make it leave pale patches. That's the meat of it finished now. I have to do the framing around the canopies, and finish weathering the wheel bays, and then it's done bar the small bits. Jen.

Ooh, me likey And that kit is supposed to a complete beatch isn't it? Jen.

I agree with Bilkeaus diagnosis, sounds like a partial blockage to me. Soaking the tip in hard core thinners and then blowing through ought to sort it. Jen.

For the Halford touch ups you would indeed use cellulose thinners which Halfords sell in 500ml and 1l tins (I think). It's reasonably pricey but it is good quality thinners. Automotive acrylic paint is essentially the same thing as cellulose and the thinners would be available at most decent paint factors. Word of warning though, these types of paint are in the process of being phased out by the industry so it may well become difficult if not impossible to get them soon. Jen.

Unfinished and started.... now let me see............ Eleven I think, roughly. :whistling: Jen.

I just had a count up specially for you, I have 46 absolutely finished models. More than I thought! Jen.

Here's a wee refugee from Doc Festers Splash GB over on *** I'm afraid I failed miserably to finish it on time, but I've managed it now. It isn't what you'd call truly finished as it needs some rigging on the floats and tailplane, plus maybe some subtle weathering to reduce the Corgi factor a bit! I am absolutely flat out with other stuff though so I'm happy to call that it for now. In complete contrast to every other Matchbox kit I've built lately this one was a bit of a poo-poo to be honest and wasn't a pleasure Oh well, chalk it up to experience! Thanks again to the Doc for a good GB, and thanks to mr miduppergunner for the nice raffle prize! Jen.

Came out well in the end didn't it! If you look on e bay for Gundam marker you'll find Hong Kong vendors who sell them for aroun £1-2 each. Apart from the colours for the armour, they do fine line black markers for the panel lines. I use them for cockpit painting and find them very good indeed. Jen.

Mine's on the way, should be here tomorrow. It was a pre order from Wonderland Models but was delayed by a price rise (predictable eh) and then a fubar with card details. Looking forward to frottering but I can't see me starting it any time soon Jen.

Nice work so far Cop, that resin cockpit is a cracking bit of moulding! And the painting is alright as well The fit of the fuselage is actually very good if you do it right. The last one I did I used super glue and accelerator and just gradually worked my way from front to rear pushing and shoving as I went. Ended up needing next no filler. Intakes and exhausts are another matter....................... Jen.

what they said, beautiful work! Jen.

I mostly use my hands. Even on something like a Gannet, if you start by holding a wingtip, you can do the fuselage and tail, then the other wing, and the fuselage will be dryish by then to do the last wing. Or you can hold it in the canopy area. I don't like using sticks etc with larger models because I always seem to drop them! I use cocktail sticks stuck in the nose on 1/144's though. Jen.

I think the correct spelling is dearth, and it means scarcity. And that is a very nice Viggen. Jen.

Very cool, like the colours Jen.

Seems a terrible waste doesn't it! Looks like there are a few other interesting snippets in there as well. Jen.

An extra propeller! Jen.

Thanks all, even Neil! Metalguru, it's the acrylic, can't remember the number off the top of my head but I'll have a check over the weekend and put it in the next build post. I was going to go for the three tone scheme but the stripey rudder on the earlier two tone has won me over, so light blue grey over light grey it is! Jen.

I still see the Boscombe one fairly regularly, maybe that was the one you saw going past Glastonbury. Jen.

But what a photo! Jen.

Today I have mainly been working on Tamiyas delightful 1/48 scale Wildcat. I bought the kit in Hong Kong for the princely sum of £7! I've wanted the kit for a while now, I like the lines of the Wildcat and the kit has always attracted positive comment by builders. Well it's now going to get some from me as well! At first glance there are fairly few parts and you find yourself thinking it might be a bit sparse, then you look closer. The cockpit when assembled is pretty damn good, and needs nothing more than a set of seatbelts to finish it off, yet is made up of less than ten parts! I added some PE belts that I had kicking around, actually British ones but I'm not fussed, better than none at all, that aside the cockpit is totally OOB. The paint is Gunze US Navy interior green, washed and dirtied with pastels from Tamiyas brilliant weathering sets. I now have the airframe pretty much complete and expect I'll start painting it over the weekend. The fit is exemplary throughout, and it needs to be since the rivet detail is mostly raised and will be very hard to replace if lost through sanding seams! I'm particularly impressed with the one piece tailplane and cowling. Both fit well enough that I can leave them off for painting without fear. More soon. Jen.

Mike eh? As soon as I saw that model I thought 'that has the mark of the migrant on it!' A beautiful build as ever Jen.

Apparently Mr Softer is the hot ticket for Tamiya decals, I can certainly vouch for it on Hasegawa ones anyway! Jen.

Martlett was the name for the Wildcat in FAA service - Ha! Double numpties! Jen. Bum! John beat me to it! Jen.

I have a pre order in too, I can't remember who with though! It was either Wonderland models or Models 2U though. Jen.

Ok, I'm in with somewhere between one and three Wessexeseseses Jen.