Icarus

OK - decaling finished. Now just a further coat of Johnson's Klear, then unmasking and adding all the dangly/breakable bits. Little weathering needed - Dad seems to think these were kept pretty spotless... Icarus

OK - slight update. There are a lot of decals for such as small kit! Half way there... Hopefully I'll finish decalling today, although both my youngsters are seeing their first snow ever, so I may get a bit distracted with snowman making.... Icarus

OK - I think this is now done. Decided that the stencil data would not be on the Russian a/c, and anyway I couldn't find any references that showed any, so stuck to the decals supplied in the AML sheet... Thank you for all of your support and encouragement. Now to finishing Dad's old Vampire... Icarus

Morning. Have added the tail and the prop now, so will spray on Johnson's Klear ready for decalling later. I have been trying to work out if the the Russian Spitfires had all the stencil data that the RAF machines had. Logically this seems unlikely, and the decal set from AML doesn't include any, but happy to receive guidance from the Britmodeller massive... Icarus

Thank you everyone. The more I look at the colours, the happier I am. Finished adding bits now - will spray on some Johnson's Klear, then decal later today. Icarus

Thank you Davek72. Luckily, my previous career (surgeon) mean I'm very used to being up at all sorts of weird hours! Initial camouflage finished - now to spray on the white on the tail and fin, before glossing ready for the decals, And yes, it was a mistake to fit the aerial mast so early - the second piece of this kit that appears to have disappeared into #2 son's toy collection... Icarus

Ok - a bit of touching up, and reparative work on the tail. Will need to do some more touching up of the gloss aluminium, then glue the rest of the tail on before glossing this today ready for decaling... Icarus

Hurrah - the missing spinner has been discovered in #2 son's "Thomas the Tank Engine" toy collection (heaven only knows how it got there, but I will need to keep a closer eye on my little 2-year old kleptomanic...)! #1 daughter was born last night, so a little modelling hiatus likely - although given the challenges to my circadian rhythms that the little madam will be causing, I will probably get some time in the middle of each night.... Icarus

Actually, I will complete the model apart from the spinner, then add this when the Revell Elves send me the missing spare part. So, here we go. I have always found Halfords Grey primer to be an excellent match for Medium Sea Grey, so I have left as is. Initial upper camouflage is a couple of layers of H106 for the Ocean Grey. Icarus

OK - lurid fluorescent orange sparyed on. I wasn't convinced of the colour, but Dad reckons it is a good match for his old a/c (although 54 years might have dulled his memory a tad...) Icarus

Sadly, with the missing Spitfire parts curtailing my other KUTA entry, I have dug this other pending model out of the pile. This is actually my Dad's old a/c (hence his scribbles on the instructions!). Masked up, and ready for some seriously lurid flourescent paint... [/url] Icarus

Ok. Primed, and ready for paint. [/url] Sadly, I have now discovered why this model was lying unfinished on the shelf - the spinner is missing from the kit! I guess I will just have to await a replacement from those nice people at Revell.... Icarus

OK - starting to get a shift on here. This model fits together beautifully - even at the insertion of the lower central wing tab into the fuselage. Plans for tonight include attaching and masking the canopy/glazing work, then some priming. I must admit, this is the first time I have every use decals to represent seat belts - I am surprised how well it looks, at least superficially... Icarus

Wow - long time, no Britmodeller. Two kids and all that. However, this KUTA looks just the thing to get my modelling juices running again. A slightly neglected Spitfire to do over the Xmas break - managed to do a bit of work whilst staying at the in-laws over the last few days... further updates as the mince pie/Xmas pudding fest allows... Icarus

Oh well - life has intervened, so won't get this finished in time. Finally got all the correct-sized bits of the cockpit delivered, and have started painting them. With a fair wind behind, should get the cockpit and main a/c priming done this weekend, but no more. The rest of the build will be on the Association of London Modeller's forum - see you there... Icarus

Change of plan (final one now). Just looked at the Eduard website, and their Brassin version of the Su-7 seat includes the resin posterior support, plus pre-painted PE seatbelts. I have therefore ordered this as a replacement, and will use the correctly-scaled bang seat from the Eduard donor kit for this OEZ one. Anyway, off to paint the cockpit (and new seat...) Icarus

I have been having a good, long think about this (not easy for a surgeon, but there we go.) If I used the resin seat from the Eduard kit, I would also have use all of the associated PE as well, subsequently "neutering" any subsequent build of the Eduard boxing of this kit . Looking at fu_machu's excellent build of this kit, admittedly with a pilot figure in it, he seems to have gotten a good result by using the Quickboost seat, sanded down. So... This is the proposed solution. I have used my original Quickboost seat, after a lot of sanding, and added the great resin detail from the Eduard kit behind the seat. At the moment everything is tacked in place with white glue just to check how it looks, before painting the detail, but I think it works. Thanks for your help everyone! Icarus

Oh dear. Once Pandora's box is open... Have just been delving around the resin bits of the Eduard Su-7, and found this bit that goes behind the bang seat. It too will have to form part of this expanding KUTA build. I guess I will need to ask our Czech friends how I order replacements for what is now turning out to be an Eduard donor kit... Icarus

Thanks Mish. However, the seat has been giving me a lot of grief - it doesn't fit! I have been scratching my head trying to work out what's wrong, so in desperation I broke open the Eduard Fitter-A that I have in the stash (which is essentially the same plastic with some updated resin/PE). Lo and behold, the seat is much smaller: So that explains it. Looks like some more painting is required. More progress on the main aircraft... I know the Fitter had all of the aerobatic ability of a dodo, but it does look vaguely cool, in a Blake's 7 kind of way (showing my age....). Icarus

OK. A bit of work over the festive period, mainly on the cockpit detail painting: Which will count for very little when the kit is built, as the cockpit is a dark and hidden place. Oh well! Icarus

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Can I join this GB with this little gem from Tamiya? Overall Bare- Metal Silver finish according to Tamiya, so should be a pretty little thing. The only aftermarket stuff I plan to use for this will be kabuki masks. Icarus

Thanks Procopius. Maybe not free, but certainly bargain-basement cheap, given the state of its economy... Anyway, my North Korean build will be a Tamiya 1:48 MiG bis. Posting to a web page nearby in the near future... Icarus

Evening all. From Cliff's list today, North Korea seems to be free. Can I nab that (alleged cyber crime fostering) country please? Icarus

Thanks Mish - you're quite right. Not exactly a far-advanced build, but a KUTA is the only thing that will get me beyond the despondency I feel looking at the amateur surgery done unto this poor kit before I got hold of it! Icarus

Can I join this party with this kit? I'll use the 4th scheme from the Eagle Strike decal set: Icarus