mustang1989

Thanks Jim!! Have been on and off on this one dirtying things up a tad on the walls and the tables. Still gotta work on the outside of the place but here's where we are now:

A year later I know but this is great advice and a great mini tutorial. Thank you for your input and feedback Tom.

I really like how this one is going so far Dave. I've been eyeballing this kit for a while and may pull the trigger on it but in the mean time I'll be watching this one here come to life. Will be looking forward to more.....

Thanks Rusty! FINALLY...………...I've got this bird on wheels. One of the inherent weaknesses of this kit (and there are a few) lies in the main landing gear. Really flimsy parts and allow excessive "wobble" when loaded with the weight of the aircraft. I fixed this by putting a hidden shim between each main landing gear strut and the fuselage opening for the gear bays. I just cut a small square piece of styrene and slipped it between the strut and the rear bay wall. Can't even see it but it worked like a charm in making the main gear ALOT more sturdy. Gear doors have to be painted and installed and some touch ups are needed on the gear after gluing into place as well as a little weathering on the tires but the wheels are now down. Folks I never thought I'd get this far with this plane. I consider it a small milestone in getting back to aircraft building as it was really hard to break away from the automotive stuff but I'm feel like I'm finally getting back in the groove to where I can at least have an aircraft build going while working on the auto subjects. N E wayz…..Today's update:

Good start on this Bob. Watching.....

I also got the flat coat applied. No fading on the sides but some on the upper surfaces of the bird. I'm hoping I didn't go too far.

Ok gang...……...progress at last. It took me a while to get it all sorted out with an approach to this but I think I found one that worked for me. I had glossed the entire aircraft, applied the decals and then adhered the cockpit assy to the front of the aircraft and masked it off. From there I filled the huge lip that was on the top of the fuselage to cockpit join and worked it all in together by sanding and yet more filling. This resulted in the seam not disappearing from the top of the fuselage at the cockpit join so I added a seam in the name of uniformity. It's not "correct" but it looks uniform. After that I black based the entire sanded and filled area, applied the irregular gray pattern and went back over it in RLM 82. Still a little touch up painting to do on the starboard side of the affected area. Here's where we're at so far.

Interesting build and I like it.

I really don't know what to say except that you've definitely got my respects. Fantastic job.

Great weathering and good paint make this one a truly enjoyable build to look at and admire. Very nice work Andy.

Wow!! Just Wow!! I enjoyed the back story just as much as I did looking at the before and after pictures. You must be very proud of this restoration project John. Excellent resto bud!

Good lookin' lil' tractor there Ray. And you're right...it is good to have a change of pace every once in a while.

Very interesting subject and good paint work.

Hadn't peeked in here in a while but I'm glad I did. Great job on that Gama Goat Pat. Don't see these any more. lol

I really have a lot of respect for anyone who can paint figures like this. I consider this a form of real art and a true test of one's painting skills. I haven't been able to pull this genre of modeling off as of yet but long to give it a try. Terrific job on this Bob. Bravo man.