MikeC

Well it's getting nearer: Hannants have it on their site for back-order, no date yet so could be next week, could be December, could be any time ... https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/TA60328 As for price, I'm guessing on a par with, or slightly more than, the Pacific boxing, but that's only speculation on my part.

Of course, even better service would be adequate quality control to ensure that short-shots didn't make it to sale in the first place. Other companies like Tamiya or Eduard seem to manage it ...

That's nicely done.

I've tried various primers over the years, but now I do exactly what you do; I use Tamiya and Mr Hobby Aqueous acrylics. I don't think omitting a primer coat has angered the modelling gods, and I make sure I clean my models well before any paint goes on them, so issues with adhesion are minimised. Quite apart from anything else, I really don't cope very well with "rattle" cans. I can't use them in the house because they tend to smell; and I end up flooding the model in some places, with no primer at all in others, and overspray on everything else within sight. If you want to prime, and feel you get better results that way, more power to your elbow, if you prefer not to that's up to you also. Room for both in the hobby.

This is also where being what some disparagingly refer to as a "grammar Nazi" pays off: quite often these scam emails are full of basic grammar and/or spelling errors, or have odd phrasing, almost as if English was not the first language of the sender. And it may well not be.

Reconnaissance makes absolute sense for the Concorde: the same high-speed (although not quite so high-speed) supersonic cruise concept as the SR-71, and less costly to operate. Perhaps delete a lot of windows and add ejection seats for the crew? Operators? 39 Sqn or 58 Sqn, being Canberra PR9 units, are plausible.

Old kits can scrub up nicely, can't they? Well done.

The key question is: does it improve on what's in the kit? Sometimes yes, particularly if it's an older kit. But with some modern kits, the detail provided in the cockpit, for example, is such that with nothing more than a bit of skillful painting it can look better than replacing it, especially with etch. And it's less work imo. Etch has another particular problem: it's two dimensional. So you either have to do some etch origami, or accept that things like throttle levers look flat, which in real life they're not. It's very true what Andy says ^^^ : "An easy update is to replace the seat, if you are happy that you can paint a resin one well. This is generally a focal.point for a model" I'll only add to that the comment that resin seats often have a moulded-on seat harness, so no need to fiddle with yet more etch. Can you tell that etch is not my favourite modelling material?

Very well executed; the scheme does look plausible.

That is superb, well done. After all the whisky, rude words, etc, you still want to do another one? That is true devotion. Chapeau!

Interesting: thanks for sharing.

Indeed, there are always exceptions. With P-39s, for example, some propellers had yellow tips, some didn't: it depended which contractor had built - and therefore painted - the prop.

If you've not yet decided, I say go with 3, as I have a bit of a bias towards 8th Air Force. But you may wish to consider 2: that is also Mighty Eighth, and the East Wretham birds do not seem to be modelled very often. @Hewy, I too would have expected one by now: in fact I'm convinced I did see a picture of a projected box art a couple of years ago. I think perhaps Revell's financial troubles and sale a year or two back may have had something to do with the fact that we haven't seen one, or any more indication of one, yet.

I confess to having a bit of a liking for the 356th FG, looking forward to seeing this.

That badge was indeed a small swastika on a white circle, but superimposed on that was a hand making a "V-for-Victory" sign. I attepted it in 1/32 by using a spare kill marking, and flesh-coloured paint on a fine brush, but in a smaller scale I wouldn't bother