Hey everybody! My first post here (other than my introduction post over at the new fish forum 
) is going to be all about showing off my newest completion. Hot off the line and ready to be delivered to a dear friend is my 1/48 Roden Staggerwing!
Done up in said friend's dream colors with his custom N-number and whatnot - this is what he said would be his "If I won the lottery..." aircraft. Well apparently he won the lottery because he's getting his dream bird!! Okay well maybe that isn't quite what he had in mind but he doesn't seem to be complaining - seems to be quite excited about how this thing turned out. Anyways - onto the interesting part!
I'd like to start off with showing a few behind-the-scenes stuff then wrap it up with some final shots of the finished product - enjoy!
Diving in!
Door installation - the fit was quite excellent and with the simple shape of the door, it was incredibly easy to sand to fit perfectly.
Closing up the gear doors - this was a little more difficult than the cabin door but was not too testing for my patience - just repeatedly sand and fit until it worked!
Stock (and very basic stock at that) cockpit complete - I did not want to spend a lot of time on the interior of this aircraft so I kept everything out-of-box and simple. I want to build another kit of this aircraft for myself, and that example will be getting the full treatment, with the door open and all.
Starting to look like... something! Again, fit was actually quite excellent here - actually did not use hardly any filler at all at this stage. Filler came into play when the wing was installed - but even then, not much compared to some other kits I've built.
That's more like it... starting to look like an airplane now! Top wings have been dry-fitted - they are not permanently installed until the end of the build. The only things that happened after putting the wings on for good was rigging and odds-n-ends (antennas and whatnot). But anyways, dry-fit looks good - I need to be a little more careful with my sanding around wing roots if I am going to be putting off wing installations like this in the future though - join edges were a little rounded and this shows in the final build but it could be a LOT worse.
The engine - completely stock. Painted with Alclad chrome and aluminum and detailed with Model Master colors.
White base coat - After shooting some flat white primer followed by some more sanding and making sure everything was buttoned up well, I went for some shiny new white paint, with a lovely ghost of a man taking a picture in the background... spoooooky... Okay okay sorry just ramping up for Halloween next month Base coat went VERY well... actually wished I was done with painting! 
But it was destined to be a purdy yellow, courtesy of my first try with Vallejo Model Air. Base white was Testors enamel. Been strugging with Model Masters so I wanted to try some other stuff... Vallejo was great but wouldve been nice if they came in gloss options. I have actually since moved onto Tamiya... I think that's the ticket for me. Nothing has worked as well as Tamiya is working for me now.
And here she is in yellow! This picture was also taken after the weathering was done as well. Cowling is dry-fitted only. Really should've painted it together with the rest of the plane as in the end it turned out to be a slightly different shade of yellow... lesson learned!
Working on light weathering using a mix of black, white and brown pastels. Pretty darn happy with how this looks! Probably actually a little on the heavy side but I wasn't sure how the gloss clear would conceal it (I know I know, it's clear... but you know what I mean - the shine of the gloss can sometimes "hide" subtle and faint weathering and paint shades) so I made sure it wasn't TOO subtle. In the end, this was actually perfect - it's there but it doesn't jump out. You notice the airplane first and then the more you look at it, THEN you start to notice the streaks and whatnot - exactly what I wanted.
Another angle on the weathering...
Time for some blue trim! Shot with Testors Gloss Blue enamel - was a perfect match for the blue kit decals. I never seem to have much good luck with masking but this time it went pretty well... no bleeds! On me or the aircraft...
Voila! I think it looks stunning, if I do say so myself. This build is turning out to be some of my best work yet! The blue does look a tad "shocking"... almost like a neon, but that is due to the photo. In person, it is actually really pleasant.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, what you have all been waiting for (you didn't know you were waiting for it... but trust me... you were), the final result! Rigging done with superglue/accelerator and ..008 monofilament. Prop/Spinner done with Alclad Chrome. Decals are kit (stripes) and custom (tail N-number and logo). Clear gloss is done with Model Masters Acryl. Mount is brass rod, and base is from Hobby Lobby stained in Red Mahogany, then clear varnished.
This was the first time for me to try the method of lights by painting silver then clear red/green - love the results!
Exhaust staining - this was yet another first for me. I have never airbrushed anything other than paint jobs - so this was an entirely new try for me, and the result is nice but overdone. I think I needed to use a thinner paint at a lower pressure. I wanted more of a light exhaust soot effect instead of "I never clean my aircraft's belly" look. But hey... trial and error right?
An overhead look - you can see how the weathering got toned down by the gloss, just as I intended. Looking good! Theres lots of these light streaks all over the aircraft - all the control surfaces and all the panels have this going on, but it's subtle enough that its mostly only seen when you're looking at the aircraft in person - pretty hard to capture in pictures.
Note streaking from the gear doors as well as control surfaces, lights, etc.
Custom N-number and logo. The logo is actually for the Deaf Pilots Association, an organization that not only we are both a part of (I am a current member but previously held a board position. My friend who this aircraft is for, is currently president.) but we also met and developed our friendship through activities and events hosted by them. www.deafpilots.org
One last shot before I go 
Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed my inaugural post! Looking forward to posting more and hearing feedback from y'all. Until then, keep the blue side up!