Project status

Just a bit of an update on the various projects working their way through the production pipeline.

I've got color coats on the Xtrakit Canberra PR9 (the Hemp upper surfaces) and the first green on the upper surfaces of the Hasegawa F-111. Both will need some buffing followed by a surface coat, but they are proceeding well. I was able to repair the Alclad issues on the Trumpeter Lightning F6 by buffing down the surfaces and reshooting with one of the colors that does not seem to have the consistency problem. Again, it was White Aluminum, which strikes me as a bit bright for a NMF, but I won't have any more Alclad until I can try to source some from Sprue Bros later this week.

I also managed to be hamfisted enough to snap the front portion of the Lightning's canopy while applying the paint masks. For now I've just stuffed everything with paper towels to keep the paint out. I will be able to finish the model and decal it without those bits. I've already been in contact with Stevens Intl, the US distributor for Trumpeter. They will send me a clear sprue for the kit for $10 including postage. Not cheap, but it was my own fault, so I'll pay up.

At the same time I was shooting the Aluminum coat on the Lightning, I put an overall coat on the Toko Sopwith Snipe. A bit of detail painting, such as the wheels and leather surround for the cockpit, and decals are next for it. The decals are coming from the Model Alliance Silver Wings sheet, which I've been making great use of in the last year. This is like my fifth model using those two decal sets (three if you count the roundel sheet), with more to come shortly.

Over the last couple of days, I also got the wheel wells, nose cone, and exhausts painted for the next Eurofighter Typhoon. This is a two-seater, in line for 29 Squadron markings that came in the book/decal combo from Four Plus. I think this will give me models of three of the five squadrons currently in service.

I also got the canopy masked and the upper surfaces painted on the new Airfix Bf-110E. Though I think we'd all like it if the panel lines were a bit more understated, I think they look fine under some paint. And although I've heard that the vertical tail is undersized, the solution I've seen is to wrap a 5 thou strip of plastic around the outside and then sand it down. If the difference is really only 5 thou I guess I don't see what the issue is. Not sure you could even see the difference in two models standing side to side, one modified and one not. I certainly would have more problems trying to attach and sand a sliver of plastic to the outside of a tail surface than in ignoring the error. But that is why I am a Profoundly Average Modeller, I guess.