Gamera, thank you for your welcome back my friend.

Rocker, your Defiant is looking just fine. And I think getting the Eduard canopy mask set is a good idea.

Bish, thanks buddy. I appreciate your congrats. Jet lag from China trip is better too, I wonder if I might hit the bench over the weekend....

modelcrazy

It looks like a great kit which leads me to believe that maybe the fuse halves are the wrong part. I would have to tear the engine and cockpit out to replace them though. Maybe this time I need to go streight to Italeri.

 

Could well be. I have not had much luck getting a response from Italeri, so i wish you better fortune than i had.

Rocker, good to seeyou back at it, coming along nicley.Almostready for some paint i would say.

Greg, good to seeyou back, all rested and rearing to go i hope. And congratulations.

Scott - That really stinks about those decals!! I hope the replacement ones you get will be of better quality. 

Nick - Great work man! 

After more than two weeks away from the workbench (we got a puppy and she needs some looking after!), I was finally able to get a bit of work done on my Defiant. I filled a small gap forward of the cockpit with putty, and I glued the canopy on with clear parts cement. I'm most likely going to order the Eduard masking kit for my Defiant, because it's going to be wayyy easier to work with pre-cut masks as opposed to cutting out shapes with tape. 

Steve: Good luck with it, sounds like a real PitA.

Greg: Good to have your back!

I just got back from what was essentially 5 wks of travelling (including a honeymoon), and I see you guys have been busy.

Do I have some catching up to do, or what.

Lots of good stuff here, and Steve, that sucks about the misfitting parts.

Dang Steve,

This sounds like you are now trying to restore a full scale Hurricane.  

Scott

It looks like a great kit which leads me to believe that maybe the fuse halves are the wrong part. I would have to tear the engine and cockpit out to replace them though. Maybe this time I need to go streight to Italeri.

No worries Steve. With 3 complete, you have more than earned your badge. If you are able to complete it, great, if not, no sweet. Doesn't sound like Italeri did a good job with this one.

I don't think I'm going to be able to finish the Hurri. I just received the parts tree that has the wings from Italiri after 14 weeks but it is the exact same that I have, which leads me to think the fuselage is from the wrong kit.

I will try to order the tree with the fuselage but it will also probably take another 14 weeks.

Nice work on the cockpit and the pilot looks great Crown.

I'm not sure cockpit detail is that big a deal here since with her all buttoned up there's not much visible inside. 

crown r n7

thank you Gamera the cockpit in this kit is lacking in detail. I was going to place the pilot in ,but I put the cart before the horse. I very rarely use after market parts but here is when I'll make an exception. I did start painting the pilot.

 

I've not yet a Tamiya aircraft, but ye, i would have expected more detail in the pits. But then i suppose its the fit they are best known for. Glad i have resin pits for most of mine.

Its still looking good crown, nice job on the pilot.

I would have expected a Tamiya Meteor cockpit to be pretty good Nick, thanks for letting me know that its light on for detail.

I've never built a Roden kit, but the heads up about the decals is one that  I won't forget when I do.

always learning...

Cheers

Tony

thank you Gamera the cockpit in this kit is lacking in detail. I was going to place the pilot in ,but I put the cart before the horse. I very rarely use after market parts but here is when I'll make an exception. I did start painting the pilot.

Scott: Great job on the rigging. Those decals though- ACK! I have a Roden Gladiator which thankfully I'd planned on using aftermarket decals- thanks for the warning. 

Crown: Yeah the camo looks perfect! Great to see how well it came out. 

I like that crown, nice camo job.

Hey guys been awhile but here is my latest meteor pic

I'll make a note of that if i even do a Roden kit.

Yup, after a few months, blow on the decal and it just falls apart and turns to dust.  I used  a very docile acrylic clearcoat (Hanemuhle) used to restore old photographs and protect ink lithographs.  Try using an enemel or laquer on these decals and you end up with a colored blob of goo.  The best I can explain is that whatever ink that was used somehow reacted to the paper it was printed on, and once introduced to water, will begin to deteriorate no matter what surface finish or decal restorer is applied to it.  

Looks good Scott, but those decals. Never seen that before. So they just fall apart under a clear coat.

Here is a new update on my saga with the SE5.

Rigging is about done.  I am sure happy that I pre-tied everything, it made it soo much easier and everything seems to fall into place.  

And now it looks like an airplane.  Its little buddy the Albertross is checking it out.  

Except, the Roden decals are not going to work.  On my Albatross, it seemed the ink will deteriorate over time after the dull coat is applied.

I applied a coat of decal sealer, and then tested it and the decals still won't work.  I tried applying the decals on the rudder and it was a disaster.

So I am on hold and have ordered a set of new decals from Wingnut Wings.  Its not worth fighting the Roden decals anymore, and I am too late into the build to try to mask, cut templates, and try to paint the roundels on.  

Cheers, 

Scott

Thanks everyone. I think I need to get my hands on one of those Defiants, your turret is looking good so far Rocker.

Cheers

Tony

Nice work Tony!

Rocker, dealing with details that size, I'd have quite a few emtpy bottle caps lying around. 

Nice work there Rocker! You broke off only one of the gun barrels? I'd probably have snapped off at least three the way I've been moving! 

Tony - Excellent job on the pilot and his pup! They look amazing. 

Lewbud - Like Bish said, I don't think there'd be enough room in a ball turret for a rhino suit, it'd probably add to claustrophobia of that already cramped environment! Great job on your Tempest! 

I put together the turret ring and gun mount the other night for my Defiant. Let me tell ya, this is the toughest part of this kit. The fit of the gun bracket into the turret ring is a bit tricky, and I'm interested to see how the turret glass will fit over it. I busted off one of the gun barrels putting this thing together, but a bit of super glue solved that issue. I'm just glad the hardest part of this build is out of the way. I've since treated the clear parts with PFM and They'll be ready to go tomorrow night. 

Hi Tony, nice job on the RAF pilot and his four-legged friend.  I was expecting this to be posed with an aircraft, but your presentation is smartly done.

regards,

Jack

Fantastic job there Tony on one of 'the few'! 

And very professional job with the base too. 

Front page updated, and even managed to get Eagles pics back up.

Thanks again Tony, i hope we will be seeing that Chipmunk soon.

I do, i like that a lot. Thanks Tony for bringing us one of the men of theRAF to go with all the machines. I'll get the front page updated tonight.