Wow Andrew, That is a fantastic looking build. 

Amazing detail.

Steve

Thanks very much, Steve.  I wanted to ask, the US Coast Guard logo, do you serve?

Great finish Andrew!

We've had a lot of snow here the past few days, and I haven't had to go into school so I managed to squeeze in some bench time.  Main assembly is done, now I have to start the paint job.  I decided not to show the engine.  I didn't like how the rear fuselage fit over it, and it would have been a significant amount of work to get it to look right.  I ended up just gluing it on.

Andrew,

Sorry for getting back so late.

Yes, 14 years. I got out as an E6 Electronics Technician.

Lookin' good there, Bob.

I asked, Steve, as I'm an Engineer with the Canadian Guard.

That's great, are you assigned to ships or cutters at times like we are?

I'ts been a while since I was in, I got out in 1997. I had a chance at better pay at HP, plus I lived on the west coast, was just married, and my next station was to be a cutter out of New York City  . I took the HP job.

We're assigned to a ship for about 2 years at a time, then rotate through to a different vessel, working a month on and a month off.  We build up vacation time as well, so I'm taking my three months straight off now.  Sounds like you made a smart move, there, and I'm sure HP pays better than the government.

It has it's up's and down's, but no standing duty, no cold winter patrols in the Bearing, and no politics, at least at my level.

Ok!  It's been awhile,but, after a month 1/2 of nothing but rain and high humidity I've finally been able to get back to work on my 262. Please excuse my horrible attempt at mottling, but it's a skill I'm still developing. Here's a couple pics of where I'm at. Thanks for looking.

Sorry, I had another pic but the copy and past function on my iPad takes about 20 mins per pic. I need a better way. Ugh!

Looking really nice, there, Woody!

Looks good Woody!  I finally finished masking and painting my F-80.  I just have a few touch-ups to do and the major parts of the painting will be done.  I haven't built many NMF planes, and I tried spraying Testor's silver over gloss black.  I think the paint is a little too thick, but it polished up nice using an old t-shirt.  Next time, I think I'll just use the silver.  Now onto the wheel wells and then decals.

Woody: Nice work, the mottling looks fine to me from your photo.

Bob: Looks good, never had much luck with silver paint myself but yours turned out really well. Plus the yellow wingtips and tanks, I... hate... painting... anything... yellow... 

Thanks...I know what you mean about yellow, I think the wing tips and fuel tanks got at least three coats of paint before I was happy

Three coats- sounds about right! I'm still stuck on those stupid yellow stripes on my Sabre, I'm trying go with a bunch of light coats but I'm still getting runs. Thankfully I'm using acrylic paint for them so I can clean them up without harming the Alclad finish.  

Ok folks, I'm gonna call this one done.  This was a great model.  A real pleasure to build.  I had absolutely no problems with any part of this kit, other than my own short commings.  So without further delay, here she is.

Thanks for looking and as usual any and all comments and critiques welcome.

Great work Woody. The gun bay and mottling look perfect. Nice work on the panel lines as well.
Beautiful Job  

Thank you very much.  The gun bay on this model is really something else.  So much detail, it was pretty easy to just throw it together.

Awesome job Woody!

Very nice, Woody.  It is one of those kits that is a pleasure to build.  I was surprised how easy adding resin was, compared to some kits.  You've really done a nice job on that, very nice mottling, panel lines and decalling.

Top-notch job Woody, kudos sir!

Red13 looks awesome Woody! Great looking paint work! Very nicely done Sir!

Thank you all for the very kind comments.

I managed to get the decals put on tonight.  The decal sheet I bought off Ebay was pretty old, and a couple of the decals shattered, but I think I repaired the worst of the damage.  Not a whole lot left to do before I'm finished, just the landing gear and canopy.  I'm not going to do much in the way of weathering since this is a peacetime bird. 

Finished her off tonight!  This kit was a bit of a trial.  The fit of the major parts was pretty awful, and I never really got the rear fuselage to sit right.  The AM decals shattered, and I had a heck of a time getting the landing gear doors on.  Even with the weight I crammed in, she's still a tail sitter.  I also replaced the kit's gunsight with one made from scratch.  The kit had the sight molded into the fuselage.  It would have been pretty tough to try and shoot down a plane if you couldn't see it.  But, things could be much worse, and I don't think I did too badly with the NMF finish.  Was my first try at it, and I learned a lot of what to do (and not to do) the next time I try one.  The markings are for a bird of the 62 FS of the 15 Air Force at Selfridge Field, MI.  These are the markings she wore when deployed to Berlin in 1948 in support of the Airlift.

Nicely done, Bob!  You can't see any problems in your photos.

Thanks Andrew!

Nice job Andrew!  That is one sweet looking bird!

Bob: I don't see any issues either, nice work! Plus as I said you did a great job on the yellow, three coats I think you said, which I always have problems with. And the red nose looks great, I make a mess of curves like that but yours looks perfect!

Thanks!  I lucked out on the curves in that the black stripes are decals.  I made a photocopy of the decal sheet and used the black stripes to cut a piece of masking tape to the right shape.  The decals don't line up perfectly, but I think that has something to do with them breaking when I tried to put them on.

That, Bob, is where I like using the technique you mentioned to cut a mask.  Whenever I can, I photocopy the decal sheet and cut and paint as many markings as I can.  It weathers, doesn't break, no need for setting solution, just a bit of time and patience.