Ian

Museum quality build, a 1;72 masterpiece. Ian.

Cheers guys... Ian.

Kit - Hasegawa K25 Paint - All Lacquers Decals - Kit Extras - Loadout from spares. McDD F-15C Eagle 36th TFW Bitburg AB, Germany 1986 I know I cannot prove it, but this is the first-ever 1:72 F-15 kit I have built, and I've been nailing bits of plastic together since 1970 ! - Bought this for the massive sum of 10.00 GBP from Phils' Model Shop in Southport back in 1990, and it's sat in my stash ever since. Picked it up around three weeks ago and it's been an absolute joy ever since. We really did have it good back-in-the-day with Hasegawa issuing top-quality kits like this almost monthly. So what to say about the build ? - Apart from the thirty actuating rods for the exhaust petals which were/are a bl**dy nightmare, it's an easy, easy build. Virtually no putty or filler required anywhere, even the potentially disastrous wing/fuselage joint was a breeze. Cockpit area is beautifully detailed and mine is fully painted, however I snapped both the actuating struts when I was manipulating the (huge) canopy into place so reluctantly had to glue the 'glass' into place, shame really but that's down to my sausage fingers and general clumsiness, 'owt to do with the kit. The decals behaved impeccably even after all this time, I was fully prepared for them to shatter into a million atom-sized pieces when they hit the water and they simply didn't !. Paint is Mr Color lacquers and TBH appear a little too blue on the build, so I'll need to have that in mind if I use them on any other Low-Vis build in the future. So as ever thanks for taking the time to look and /or comment... next I'll finish my Tamiya Honda, then maybe a 'What If' project. All the best from Middle Earth. Ian.

Not sure how I missed this first time around, it looks superb and you've obviously put a lot of extra work into the build. This is definitely a subject I'd like to try - love a NMF build ! Ian.

Thanks folks for the comments, very much appreciated and never taken for granted. Got an old Hasegawa build on the bench just now - from their 'Golden Age' - that's going well, but am a wee bit nervous bout the decals as they're almost forty years old. After that, no idea... whatever leaps off the shelf and yells 'BUILD ME' the loudest I s'pose. Cheers from Middle Earth. Ian.

Looks just as good here matey.... Ian.

Fantastic livery and great selection of Tu's. very tempted to buy/build one of these... Ian.

Thanks George.... Actually wasn't too difficult: Ian.

Kit - Tamiya Paint - All acrylics Decals - Kit & Aeromaster 48-149 Extras - Squadron vac-form rear canopy. Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat VGF-29 USS Santee Operation Torch, November 1942 Just over three weeks from opening the box until finish, not after a pat-on-the-head, it's simply that sometimes (often ?), it's just great to build a 'good' kit without the drama, bad language and high parts count. And I thoroughly enjoyed it ! So I'm not going into any detail about the process, there's so many folks who can do that far better than I can - some of them here on this very website - Suffice to say, the only additions are seat harnesses from masking tape and a Squadron vac-form (rear) canopy. What you see here is 98% from the box, including the decals. I carefully measured, sprayed and masked the yellow 'Torch' circle around the fuselage before any other painting was done. I used lightened Tamiya XF-18 & XF-19 as the main tones - there's a load of pre & post-shading that combined to give the final finish, followed by varying panel line washes & stains with oils, and some streaking and general dirtying with enamel washes. Not too much else to say, I took time away halfway through another more involved project 'just because...' and I'll go back to that build somewhat fresher and 'rejuvenated'. Feel free to make any comments, ask any questions or pass on any criticisms. All the best from Middle Earth. Ian.

Pretty d*mn close to perfect.... Ian.

I love the subject and the colour scheme - partly because I really enjoy doing 'left field' subjects but mainly because I was with the Coastguard in the UK and here in NZ for over twenty years. Off now to see if I can find the same kit !!! All the best from New Zealand.

Nice build, it's been ages since I last did a NASCAR build. Almost all of my Slixx sheets are used-up now and the ones remaining aren't in good condition - still got some JWTBM & Powerslide sheets tho'. I was lucky enough to see the #98 car a few years ago - It's in the 'America on Wheels' museum in Pa. Might have to go and look at some of those decals and kits again. Ian.

Museum quality build. Simply outstanding. Ian.

Thanks all, appreciate the feedback and comments. Not sure what will be on the bench next... what I am fairly certain of, is that the next armour build will be German, maybe a Hetzer, maybe a Jagd Panther. Cheers, best from NZ.

It's a fantastic kit, and looks fine in the photos. Like the others have said, perhaps ease-up on the rust spots in the next one. Dust & dirt and general 'muck' IMHO give a more real world feel. Ian.