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I finished this several weeks passed but only got a chance to take the glamour shots a few days ago. The WIP is linked below. The short version is that this is a very nice kit that assembles very well. I added some aftermarket in the cockpit and scratched up some added detail on the engine but by far the most work was in the painting. In addition to the recall scheme itself, all the markings are painted except for the airframe stencils. The pics… Cheers.

Some may recall I have mentioned in the past that my wife sometimes requests I build something for her, usually a biplane. In 2020 the request was made, and indeed initiated, when she gifted me a Revell 1/48 kit of a Stearman/Kaydet PT-17 for Christmas. She wasn't too impressed with the kit options for paint and markings and a short Google search later we found this... We had our markings and I produced this... ...from the kit she gave me. I found the Revell kit to be really fun to make and enjoyed the challenge of the paintwork immensely. If you'd like to see more of it, there's plenty here: http://making-history.ca/2020/03/20/earning-their-stripes/ About eighteen months later we moved from Sydney to Canberra. At the time both NSW and the ACT were in lockdown and as a result the move was rushed and uncoordinated. In order to simplify the model packing process I sold several built models - you know where this is going, right? - one of them being this Stearman. Big mistake. I really didn't expect Mrs. Mark.au to be bothered, but she was and I made a promise to replace the stripy biplane one day. That day has come; this Christmas I received another Stearman under the tree, this time the ICM 1/32 scale kit. Here'a a nice review, though my version is the original, without the figures. In consultation with Mrs. M, I will do a different recall plane this time. Something like of these... ...because I like the idea of the yellow-backed aircraft number providing a bit of contrast. I'd really like to find a contemporary photo to work with but the only ones I have found so far are of the the airframe I built already. If I can't find one, I'll work from modern photos of a couple of Stearmans that have been painted in stripes and are claimed to be historically accurate. I made a start last night on the larger assemblies because I'm waiting on some cockpit goodies from BNA to be delivered. In addition to the wings and tail assemblies, I also painted the fuselage interior. The latter was done with a black base, and then a thin wet coat of a light canvas colour (the fuselage was doped linen over a frame). Applying a thin wet coat meant the black base showed through in sus a way as to negate the need for a wash in the next step. When the canvas was dry enough I dry-brushed aluminium over the ribbing structure to knock out two birds with one stone; the interior structure was [generally] left bare metal so my dry brush painted the structure accordingly, and because there was a little transfer of aluminium paint on the canvas paint as well, it replicated a slight bleed-through from when the canvas was painted with its base silver dope at the factory (before the yellow, and then the stripes). All this will be more or less hidden behind the tubular cockpit framework which will be painted interior green so it's a bit moot. Nonetheless, it'll bring a depth to the interior and I'm satisfied with that. Next up I'll start the cockpit proper, hopefully my delivery of cockpit detail parts comes today or tomorrow (and includes kits for the next two in the Captured Birds series, as well!). If not, there's plenty to get on with, including painting the wings if I really want to. Cheers.