dukdalf

Already I'm imagining an inline FW190 or a radial P-51. I like these 'freaky' concepts, Spiton. Yours is very well done!

Having read almost all of the above, my vote goes to the Me-262. In it's wake we seem unable to resolve an enjoyable but probably endless mathematical, semantic and geopolitical confusion, which by itself should be enough to earn it the title .

Very interesting project, and very similar to some of the ideas that keep me awake at night... Your parts list seems extensive enough as it is, but should you need any more I have an almost complete Airfix #7112 (for the B XVI or PR XVI) that you can plunder at will.

Slow progress, at my usual snail's pace. Dryfitting the first door and not quite there yet: Pondering those lumps which need to be turned into troughs: I've read a build report on this amazing forum (frankly, I feel a bit out of my depth when I look at the work shown in some topics) where the strategy was "drill an enormous hole, fit a pipe which has an internal diameter equalling that of the trough and start sanding". Too difficult for me I'm afraid, so I've come up with an alternative plan which involves no more than drilling straight (yes, that would be essential) into those squares, sand the lump down and fit a syringe needle or something, and forget about the pipe. Knowing Eastern Express, they will probably have provided enough plastic: I've been wrestling poor Pierre into his seat and after a lot of surgery he looks like this: Here, the stick is at its original length. Not a position his instructor would have approved of I think and I'll try to prevent the obvious indecent suggestions by shortening it somewhat and then he'll be ready for his harness of bottle-lead, which he should be familiar with. The fit of the intake fairing behind the cockpit is as good as it gets, before filling and sanding that is. The tilt of the radiodeck seems to be the way EE would have you fit it. The rear canopy part will hide it so I've left it as is. I might add a wire or two before closing, but next week the wing and the glass should be fitted so I can start preparing for paint. That is unless you have any suggestions for improvement, of course. All are welcome.

Looks great! Oh, and thank you for reminding me that the same kit must be loitering half-built somewhere on my shelves, too. Should finish that, sometime soon...

Thank you, guys. I'll be sure to pass on your kind words to my Cobra under construction as frankly, I think she's just plain ugly... Just kidding of course, but as Adrian I'm very surprised at the quality of this kit. Slightly unorthodox in its engineering at points, but clearly someone gave it some serious thought.

Thanks guys. The story of the Bell Cobra's is a peculiar one: neither aircraft found much appreciation at home, the Soviets loved both apparently. I gather the French were rather desparate for any kind of fighter aircraft in those days, I haven't found any contemporary pilot reviews yet but it was fased out pretty quickly after seeing heavy combat use in Indochina. I'll finish this aircraft in Normandie-Niemen colours, as part of a personal 'group build'. Anyway, back to work: Tidied up the three fuel tanks and blanked off the rear end on the ventral one. It doesn't sit flush with the underside of the wing to allow what I suppose are cooling vents to be opened, and a dry fit warned me from sticking it on as-is. Under the tanks is the part that will make up the wingroot intakes: portside has been cut to look more like those on a P-63. I've left the 'cleavage' in the top frame open because of this: I'd rather fill that seam than sand down the canopy sides... On the radio deck I'll add some more detail and the armoured glass before gluing it in. A dryfit of the intake fairing on top and the glassworks promises more fun to come: Thanks for looking!

Thank you, Soviet. The first interior colour is on, I've sanded down the insides of all wing sections considerably to give a slightly more convincing edge, did some scraping and sawing at the starboard control surfaces (that trim tab on the port wing will go) and closed up the first wheel bay. EE would have you fit inner gear doors, but I can't find any evidence of those being present on the P-63. They would require major surgery to the wheelbay edges to fit. (I'm sorry about this photo-misery,but Photobucket keeps playing up in saving changes and my camera skills need a major shot in the arm):

Hi, Having used this forum far too long as only a source for references and good ideas (thank you, all !) and as a warming-up for the upcoming French Fancy GB, I'd like to share my latest effort with you: Which I hope will turn out looking something like this (in flight, yes): The Eastern Express kit is a reboxing of the Toko-edition. It gets mixed reviews but so far I'm pleasantly surprised by its quality. The proper fit is of course hidden beneath plenty of soft plastic, but it is certainly there and the detail is more than acceptable. I've chopped the headrest to make way for a sheet of armoured glass: The main problem would seem to be those rectangular blobs on the nose which somehow have to be transformed into gun troughs: Thanks for looking, more pics tomorrow.

Very nice job! Your glasswork looks good enough to restore my hopes somewhat, but I'm still not sure about the decals. They look a bit oversized to me and since you say they're a pain to fix properly I might consider spraying the national insignia and use the serials from this kit or from the MPM. Thanks for keeping me posted, my response is a bit delayed because I spent the last two weeks on holiday in France.

Hi Wayne, I understand this group build is at its end, but will you be posting pics of your finished Hare? Here? Thanks, Jan

Thanks for your reply. I'll check later today to see how you got on with the decals. As for a Mosquito, I have both an elderly Airfix and a Hasegawa and both have their problems. Shapewise the Airfix is acceptable, but it's covered in huge rivets and as with most older Airfix kits, it's a lot of work. The Hasegawa fits fine, but has a serious shape issue just ahead of the windscreen and just as little detail inside as the Airfix. Apparently the Tamiya would be your best (and most expensive) choice.

Nice work so far. I'm very interested to learn your experiences with the Blue Rider decals, as I have the same aircraft under construction using the Amodel-kit, for a Russian helicopter group build over here: http://www.modelbrouwers.nl/phpBB3/viewtop...196&t=36767 In Dutch I'm afraid but pictures say more than enough, don't they? And like stevehnz (and maybe you too?) I have a stack of kits for a Tintin-series: the Airfix Tiger Moth, Revell Ar196A and a Hasegawa Mosquito are under way, as is the Mi-1. Yet to start: bashing the mongrel 109 from two or three kits and the Airfix Chipmunk. Good luck with your Hare!

Thank you for your reply, Giorgio, but don't hold your breath for me to finish this thing. Those intakes are proving to be a b* and the cockpit isn't even out of the sprue. The Linden Hill sheet I've seen, but there are so many aircraft on it I know I'll never build it seems a large investment. I did buy some PE so I can at least fix the wing fences and a weapons set by ICM-set for the indispensable rocket launcher. That just has to go on this aircraft. The last-flight Czech version I like, but Peru would also be good. Libya even better, maybe Syria, Mongolia, Angola, Vietnam, any exotic operator will do. By the time I'm ready for decals there might be a cornucopia out there...

I've got one of these kits as well: As I wanted to something different with in terms of nationality I looked into available decals, but it's almost all Warsaw Pact so I'll probably do a Czech or DDR-version, but not the one on the box. Bit too colourful for my taste. Started by opening up the intakes on the nose: It's a bit crude this kit, but the overall appearance shouldn't be too bad in the end.

Well, they might be an improvement over the WK-stuff but they're anything but transparent... The kit as a whole makes you feel very grateful to its manufacturer: very rewarding efforts with sandpaper and filler, you get all the room you need to add detail and improve shapes and dimensions, and then there's the opportunity to go out and buy some decent decals.

There is of course also this Mil Mi-1 by MPM. Not the best of kits and showing its age, but cheap and with a lot of work it can be made into a decent model (I hope...):