How ya doin'? Yo, Ant'ny, time for me ta stop messin' around and show my progress, capisce?
I wanted to get some pics up, to show that I haven't been sitting around watching all this time. So, a progress update on my entries.
First up, the Zero. This was an eBay find, an old boxing, that I originally picked up for my Midway collection. The old box cover:
and a look at the parts:
Typical of Monogram's design at the time. Very simple construction and operating features (working landing gear, spinning prop) with a decent level of detail, but perhaps not 100% by today's standards. The cockpit consists basically of the instrument panel. But once you close everything, you can't really see it, anyway.
The kit is basically an A6M5 model 52, which I say because of the exhaust stack. I'll finish it in late-war IJN colors. Breaking the assembly down into subassemblies, I did the cowling first. Here it is, basically complete:
There was a hairline crack on the top side, which was easy enough to repair by flowing a little liquid cement into it. From the right side:
Tamiya Flat Black out of the rattlecan, and Flat Silver for the prop and spinner. A little Tamiya Flat Aluminum applied for chipping along the cowling panel seams, and also dry-brushed onto the engine details:
Of course, when the prop is in place, you can't see much of the engine at all, so I didn't want to waste a lot of extra effort on it. I'm trying to keep this one out of the box as much as possible. I did have to address the one part that was missing, the propeller shaft. A piece of toothpick did the trick.
Final assembly of the fuselage and wings is awaiting completion on painting the pilot.
Here is a shot of my other entry, the SBD kit, which I will finish as a USAAC A-24 stationed in the Philipines in December 1941, inspired by, and as a tribute to, the men whose actions were described in "Doomed at the Start":
Most of the effort has gone into drilling out the holes in the dive brakes, which I'm doing in two passes, because the first bit that I used was a little too small, the holes didn't look quite right, when I was finished. Also, I've laid down some color in the cockpit, and painted the crew (they're almost done. For this kit, too, I'm trying to finish it out of box and not go nuts on it, because I want to finish it 
Both of these are relatively simple subjects, and I'm trying to keep it that way, while getting the best finish that I can.
Comments and criticism are welcome, thanks for looking!
Other Monogram kits in progress right now:
2 P-36 kits in 1/72
2 P-40B's in 1/48
1 P-47B bubbletop in 1/48
Tom Daniel's Red Baron hot rod (for an automotive group build at AgapeModels.com)
Lots more in the stash!