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No 6 for 2019 : Hobbyboss base kit with spare Revell decals. Paints were Mr Color and Alclad as usual. This was a paid for build for a pilot friend and after he texted pix to other airline buddies, I’ve got orders for 4 more. That should make a dent in my bar bill for my upcoming trips to Milan and Cadiz. Interestingly my actual physical build time was 5.5 hours including the new angled stand. The next ones will be the actual Revell kit of which I’ve just scored five at a knockdown price, I thought I’d make one for myself for a change! I’ve had a few comments about no pilots, no weathering/open canopies etc. It’s down to who you build for: The folks who like and buy my stuff don’t care about microscopic etch, weathering, rivet perfect accuracy, etc. All of them are non-modellers, not interested in aviation history and most are real life pilots like me (sadly lapsed). To me and them, this brings back memories of a glorious sunny day at Goodwood as we watched the utterly charming Ben Westoby –Brooks chucking this Tiffie around in perfect blue skies with carefree abandon. I was never a fan of the Typhoon but looking at this, I have to say it’s a good looking, beautifully proportioned little plane that no doubt packs a serious punch. The British can do lovely lines on aircraft like no other; elegant is the word that comes to mind. The HB kit has accuracy issues as you would expect for a “snap tite”, worst is the overlong IRST fairing which means the pilot name decal is in the wrong place- it should line up with the slime lights. Revell left out the multiple grey lines for the wings, fin and airbrake which were sprayed decal film cut accurately with my Cricut Air 2. An interesting effect was using a black sharpie on the IRST tracker (a silica gel bead ground in half), it has the shimmery purple black effect the real ones have. The HUD was Hasegawa holofilm and I should have left the top circular. I struggled with this a bit due to a bit of trolling on another part of the form which temporarily sucked the joy out of making models, but that’s passed. Sadly the online world will always be a magnet for said folk, it best to just avoid the places they frequent. Because of that, I’m, taking a break from WIPs etc. as apart from the time, I feel a need to do other real world things, like flying, travel a bit more and playing jazz. There few more RFIs coming up but apologies if I don’t reply to any comments or questions immediately, I’m only logging once or twice a week if at all for a few months as a detox. Now to get ready for the arrival of @Nigel Heath, its my birthday and drink will be taken… Thanks for looking, have fun and stay safe, Anil WIP