Calum

Decals on and Flat coated. Decals were from the kit except for the fuselage roundels (these had a weird bit of printing on the yellow ring) . Apart from that, the kit decals performed really well conforming to the detail with an application of Micro Sol. Flat coat was SMS

Yeah mine had a plastic interior. well detailed as well

Paints on. I used Tamiya XF22 German Grey for the Dark Slate Grey and lightened Mr Color Extra Dark Sea Grey (EDSG) for the EDSG. My Color Duck Egg Green and Sky was used for the underside. I'm assuming these got a bit grubby when based on the ship so I've used a RB productions Splatter Airbrush Stencil and a piece of ripped Scotchbrite to messy up the surfaces. I've also started the weathering process with some oil washer and coloured pencils.

Replacement Canopy received, thanks a heap Chris. Fit of the clear parts isn't the best being a bit larger than the fuselage.Still when you start a Special Hobby kit you know you'll have to use the sanding tools This is also one of those kits that you really want a mask set for, unfortunately I didn't have one so had to resort to some old school masking techniques.. I think it's just about ready for paint

Terrific build and great photography

Looks great

Here's something I wrote on the weekend. It has a method to get Haseagwa spare parts. https://hamfisted-modeller.blogspot.com/2019/04/getting-spare-parts-hamfisted-modellers.html FYI the Internal Reply Coupon method is still works and seems to the best method if you don't have a friendly local agent (Everyone except the USA) . I received some spares last week using this method.

Are the period buildings in the OP's images still used? If so what for.

Thanks All All good Ian, just haven't been posting much except on my FB page. Back home to NZ next week for the Omaka Airshow , am looking forward to that

This was built for the 2019 NSW Scale Model Shows "Airfix Cup" . I chose a aircraft operated by 808 Sqn Fleet Air Arm Royal Australian Navy during the Korean War. This particular aircraft was flown by a New Zealander Lieutenant Guy A Beange . You can read about him here. It damaged by Typhoon Ruth in 1951 and was ditched overboard. Markings are a combination or masks, kit decals , home made decals and from the Barracuda sheet. There's more on the build and what I thought of the kit along with more photos over at my blog for those interested. Otherwise here are some photos

Too late I've managed to get the main parts together. Fit was better than I expected but there was as till bit of filling and sanding to get some of the inserts sorted out. I fitted the air scoops on each side of the nose even though these aren't mentioned in the kit. I had some vac form canopies to pose the front and rear cockpits open. However the vac forms are for the grand phoenix kits and the front one doesn't fit correctly over the fuselage behind the cockpit. So I've decided to use the kit clear parts and do closed cockpits. The fit of the clear parts to the fuselage isn't that bad, although I did to do a fair bit of sanding and dry fitting to get a good fit. The worst bit is that the clear part for variant I'm building is quite a bit larger than the fuselage. Hence I'm in the process of using filler to try and build up the fuselage to match the contours of the clear parts.

Thanks all

Currently building a Special Hobby 48 scale Early Firefly Mk 1 and am getting close to paint. (see here) What is the consensus on if the Camouflage in the EDSG /Dark Slate grey over sky scheme as to whether this would have had a hard edge or soft edge? Thanks in advance

Am going to have a crack at the Special Hobby Firefly. The Mk 1 boxing took my fancy a few years ago at a swap and sell and it has a RNZN piloted aircraft as an option in the box. Over the past 12 months I grabbed the Barracuda prop, wheels, Master Model barrels and a few barracuda vacuform canopies (ok more than few). I also picked up the Eduard Steel Seatbelts although there are for the Trumpeter kit, not that it should make a difference A pleasant few hours snipping and gluing and I have the basis of the cockpit. It looks pretty good in bare plastic And A few hours more and we have a finished cockpit from the box bar the Eduard Steel belts (for the Trumpeter kit). Detail is certainly acceptable. The instructions are a little vague although cmkkits.com has some build pictures that help and there's nothing that will challenge most people.

I think you'll find better availability than that