Dan,

Seriously good save on the decal there !

Looks like it is coming together really well. Should be done before the new year.

No surprise I will not be finished by then, be happy with the wings being on.

I have been doing loads of panel line and fastener scribing, doing as much as possible before sticking on the wings.

Photos will follow

I was lucky enough to get my Dragon Maud and E-100 a few years ago. I can't recall what i paid, but they were not that much. I guess they must be OOP again.

Ye, they stopped applying Zimm in Sept 44 so anything after that you don't have to worry. The good thing about 46 builds is that if you enjoy adding it, whats to say they didn't start using it again. But thats a big area to cover.

Thanks Bish, I went ahead and ordered it. Forty bucks US, I don't think I've ever seen it cheaper. Now it joins my stack of 'whenever I get to it' kits...

I'd looked for the Dragon kits of it and the Maus and could only find them on Ebay at generally more than twice as much. 

Though I think you said your Jadgpanzer model they weren't using any zimmerit at the time so thankfully I don't have to bother with that at least. 

Gamera

Hey Joe, hope you feel better soon. I've been a bit under the weather before Christmas and am slowly getting over it now. 

Funny, I pre-ordered a few '46ish types like Takom's T30/34 and FineMolds Type O-1 superheavies. And Squadron has Trumpeter's E-100 on sale and considering how cool looking Bish's Jadg E-100 was I'm thinking of picking it up.

 

I'd go for it G, it will be a nice build and not to tricky for some thing so big. The only reason i never bought the Trump E-100 is that i already have the Dragon one.

JOE RIX

I do hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and that Santa was good to you all, especially in the modeling department. No new kits but, some high quality paint brushes, a new Iwata airbrush cleaning station, Mig rust effects, micro drill bit set, a vacuform 1/72 PBY Catalina canopy, Modeler's Data File book on the F4U Corsair and some UV reactent glue was a very suitable haul for me.

I've had the Corsair put away for the last while as the holidays and other distractions have demanded my attention. I had hoped to break it out and get some work done today but, I pulled a muscle in my back yesterday and thus, renders it difficult to lean over the bench. More of a nuisance than anything else really. I'll be back at it in short order.

Cheers to a Happy New Year!

 

Yep, good one here. No modelling goodies as people don't really know what to get me. But i did get enough cash to order the launcher for my Ar 196 and put the rest away towards the big Star destroyer, so pretty happy with that.

Sorry to hear about the back. Hope it gets better soon.

And just another reminder to all, no need to rush to beat the end of the GB. Everyone is free to carry on posting even after Saturday.

Hey Joe, hope you feel better soon. I've been a bit under the weather before Christmas and am slowly getting over it now. 

Funny, I pre-ordered a few '46ish types like Takom's T30/34 and FineMolds Type O-1 superheavies. And Squadron has Trumpeter's E-100 on sale and considering how cool looking Bish's Jadg E-100 was I'm thinking of picking it up.

I do hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas and that Santa was good to you all, especially in the modeling department. No new kits but, some high quality paint brushes, a new Iwata airbrush cleaning station, Mig rust effects, micro drill bit set, a vacuform 1/72 PBY Catalina canopy, Modeler's Data File book on the F4U Corsair and some UV reactent glue was a very suitable haul for me.

I've had the Corsair put away for the last while as the holidays and other distractions have demanded my attention. I had hoped to break it out and get some work done today but, I pulled a muscle in my back yesterday and thus, renders it difficult to lean over the bench. More of a nuisance than anything else really. I'll be back at it in short order.

Cheers to a Happy New Year!

Wow Dan, that is a very impressive recovery. Never heard of that technique you used to recover the decal from the tape. That's definitely going into the mental slide show.

Ouch, yeah that blows about the decal but excellent recovery! 

Looking forward to seeing her all done. 

Nice work Dan and great recovery. Looking forward to the final pics.

Thanks Gamera.

Thanks Bish.

Thanks Lostagain: Great work on the wings.

Thanks Joe Rix.

Thanks for the suggestions gentlemen, I decided to flat coat the Olive Drab. I masked the area's around it and airbrushed Model Master Acryl Flat Clear.

107 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

108 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

When I removed the masking, the Shawnee decals pealed up on to the tamiya tape. I first soaked it in warm water, then using a Q tip I brushed on Goo Gone. Then using a sharp #11 blade I was able to gently peal the deal up, then I placed it on some left over decal paper until I put it back on. Reapplied it yesterday and re-airbrushed gloss over it today. All that's left is the canopy work and the pilot, then this Mustang will be done.

109 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

Dan: Your Mustang is looking fantastic. Can't wait for you to put the finishing touches on. I tend to agree with suugestions to flat coat the OD anti-glare and to refrain from flat coating the NMF. Maybe a semi-gloss coat to reflect a little bit of exposure to the elements. As for the yellow, I'm not rightly sure about.

Lost: Impressive progress nonetheless. Although it might seem a minor area, the work you are putting into the subtleties is quite remarkable.

Looks great LA, I'd think it were an injection molded kit from your photos. 

Dan, looking very good there!

I agree with Gam and Bish, don't flat the metal. Flat on the olive, the yellow maybe leave glossy.

Not much to report at this stage. Wing trailing edges and tips suffered in sanding and handling, so I have built them up:

The extensions have been faired in with putty. I have also cut spaces for the tip lights, still need to do trim tabs and panel fastenings, then the wings can go on. The jig with the correct dihedral is set up and ready to go!

She looksa realbeautDan. As G said,i wouldflat coat the none NMF areas, not sure about the bare metal.

Oh wow Dan, that's beautiful!!!

I'd flat coat the yellow and olive drab areas along with the prop etc. You might want to experiment with finishes on the NM though, I've seen the flat really mess with the metallic look.

Thanks Bish, Gamera & Lostagain.  I'm really happy at how the Mustang has turned out.  Propellers are on, airbrushed gloss on top and bottom.  I'm guessing like the Luftwaffe aircraft a flat coat should be applyed?

106 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

Dan, great metal finish there, especially considering where you were a short while ago.

Decals looking very good,  dressing the Mustang up nicely.

Dan: She looks fantastic, I still don't see any issues with the NM finish. Super nice work!

And the rockets are a nice touch. She looks good with teeth!

Dan, really glad you have been able to get to this stage, really worth all the effort. Can't wait to add this to the front page.

Thanks Joe Rix: Just one of those things, the more I mask, the easier it gets.

Thanks Gamera.

Thanks Bish: Yes I agree on the yellow, my camera has made it look a little bright, its more of a dull shade.

Thanks Bruce: All the hard work is paying off now.

Thanks Lostagain: Outstanding work on your MB5, a wooden jig always comes in handy with building aircraft.

All the painting is over, so I've been attaching the add-on parts. Using CA glue everything went on fine, the tail wheel has been broke off four times now.

88 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

89 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

90 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

91 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

92 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

93 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

95 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

96 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

I airbrushed on a single coat of Model Master Acryl Gloss Clear on both side. Then it was time for decals.

101 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

Decals went on pretty good, no rips or tears. The star insignia on the top left wing is softening nice over the raised detail.

102 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

103 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

Wow Lost, That is some really amazing work. I am quite inpressed with you patience and improv. You are the man.

Yeah LA, great job there. Lots of extra strength for the tail-planes and I can imagine that spinner would be a bear to get drilled out straight. 

Some really nicework there lost, tons of effort going into this.

So the work on the tail plane. The elevators had to have the ends cut off; these bits are part of the tail plane. Brass wire holds the elevators onto the tailplane.

The outer end of the tailplanes were too rounded due to the vacforming process. I added a flat piece of 10 thou and back filled to give a proper square edge.

Next the tailplanes were glued on! The angles and levels were checked and double checked then the first one was shoved on, again pinned on with brass wire.

In the foreground is the cradle for the spinner, ready for when I get to drill out the prop holes.

Next I glued on the small addition to the tail. I also could not resist putting the elevator in place for a test view:

Once I had the other side glued on as well, I opened the fuselage again and epoxied the brass wire on the other side. Milliput will be used to fair in the tailplane, adding more strength. Overkill, but I am developing my technique before gluing the wings on...

You can also see the simplified tail wheel support now in place and painted.

Thats some fine cutting there Joe, looking forward to seeing those fitted.

Dan,

The masking job on your P-51 is top notch! Sorry to hear your troubles with the paint. But, from the pictures you can't tell. I'm looking forward to seeing this one finished!

Dan, that is looking really nice. I have a thing for German aircraft with large yellow areas, but it looks just as nice on the Stang. And the yellow has come out really nice as well.

Mustang: You've more guts than I to make those cuts. But I guess there's no other way to show off all that engine work you put in there. 

Dan: I can't see any issues with the finish in the photos. And the yellow and OD green look perfect.