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Mike Grant
Superb 👍

Oleg Smilyk
Thanks Mike, glad you liked my work 🙂

Thomas Kolb
Incredibly beautiful work!

Zbynek Honzik
Fantastic job, realistic weathering! Masterpiece!

Oleg Bogolei
Exellent model!

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Beautiful work mate! 👍

J35J
Impressive work! Congrats 👍🏻

Łukasz Gliński
Amazing 👍

Tibor Szilvai
Great! 👍

DerMattes
Fantastic 👍

Dominik Weitzer
wow. impressive F-15.

Oleg Smilyk
Thank you, Thomas, describing the assembly process that you do all the time is inspiring!Thank you Zbynek Honzik for your excellent assessment of my work!🙂

Oleg Smilyk
Thank you,Oleg and Robin!

Oleg Smilyk
I am very pleased,J35J thank you!

Oleg Smilyk
Thank you,Łukasz Gliński, you are doing wonderful things!🙂

Oleg Smilyk
Tibor Szilvai,DerMattes,Dominik Weitzer yours generous comments are much appreciated! 🙂

Oleg Smilyk
Thanks to everyone who liked!🙂

Robert Podkoński
Awesome job, Oleg! Congrats!

Oleg Smilyk
Thank you Robert, your comment inspires a new project!🙂

Mirko Römer
Wow, stunning work!

Олег О
Великолепно! Очень красиво!

Guy Rump
Excellent modelling, congrats! 👍

Oleg Smilyk
Thank you mates, very much!Good luck in your modeling!❤️

Neuling
Guy said it. 👍

Spanjaard
wow, stunning job!! where did you got those decals? would love to have them myself!

Oleg Smilyk
Thank you guys very much ❤️!@Spanjaard I took it here hlj.com/1-72-scale-j..03-303rd-fg-plzjd-30

Spanjaard
thanks Oleg! unfortunately "This item is discontinued and is not expected to come back into stock." 😭

Oleg Smilyk
Hey ,Spanjaard, maybe this product is on sale in another store,try searching on Aliexpress .

Spanjaard
there is another option from a different producer that i can get locally, so i will go for it, thanks anyway!

Spanjaard
it may not be as good as Platz, but it will have to do 🙂

Oleg Smilyk
👍

Creighton Henthorn Jr
very nicely done

Rando
Gonna shift gears with a more straightforward Tamiya build. I wanted to make the all-black night fighter option, but thought the color scheme was too simple and I also wanted to try some camo painting. So I got decals for a night intruder option, which is the best of both worlds, and the camo with black underneath just looks really cool.

J35J
Mossie! I'm in👍🏻

Markus Antonius
There is nothing more complicated, to replicate a all-black aircraft not making it look too dull, in my opinion

Ludvík Kružík
Interesting choice. Both when choosing a machine and when choosing a kit manufacturer. Compared to the Crusader, we go back in time by choosing the aircraft, but it's a big step forward in kit quality.
I wish you a lot of fun and as little trouble as possible building this kit. And of course I will be happy to follow it 👀

Jennifer Franklin
Following 👀, 'm excited to see how this turns out.

Rando
Welcome friends! Yes Ludvik this is a "palate cleanser," I wanted to see how a nice Tamiya goes together, it's also the second kit I got so it's been sitting in my stash awhile. I'm already messing with ejector pin marks, we'll see how much trouble I create for myself 🙂 and Markus--yeah I figured the topside camo would add a lot more visual interest.

Desert Marlin
And so it begins!!! You have earned the right for a break from raised panel lines!!!

Rando
🤣 I guess I have! The Monogram Voodoo lurks around the corner. The Mosquito's fit sure is mostly nice so far

Rando
Wings and nacelles are glued together and been painting the many cockpit components. Drilled out the gun barrels on the .303 Brownings too, I like the look

Markus Antonius
Is that Tom Servo in you profile picture, btw? 😄

Rando
Oh yeah! Been an MST nerd since forever

Rando
Did some detail painting, and been pounding the instrument panel decal with micro sol. It's slowly conforming to the raised dials, but I have solvaset and mark softer on order since Tamiya decals are apparently known for this…

Gerald
👍

Rando
I improved the cartoony decal seatbelts by applying them to foil, cutting them out, and painting the black edges a similar color. Idea thanks to an old IPMS Stockholm article.

Desert Marlin
I have the FB and NF versions… I need to finish my P-8 and get started on a Mossy…

Desert Marlin
The belts look great!!!

Rando
Thanks Marlin! Definitely my favorite part of the build so far. Actually just threw the whole thing together today, now that the cockpit has been all worked out. It's not exactly intentional, but because this NF version I chose doesn't have the radar features, I've been breezing through construction since it also doesn't use the FB rockets/bombs/bomb bay. Next I need to get the canopy on ASAP since I keep breaking off gunsight 🤬 the only construction left is the landing gear, props, and the crew hatch and boarding ladder. Looking forward to painting

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Excellent work on the model. Looks great. 👍

I'm sure you're not the only one who breaks off small parts of the model. I have the same problem. All it takes is one very brief moment of inattention and one careless move and that's it. Although I try to handle the model as carefully as possible, for example, I have broken off the antenna on the bottom of the Gripen four times. 😭

Aman S.
Following...looks great

Rando
Thank you all, and glad to have you here Guy and Aman! No more breaking off the gunsight for me now Ludvik, the green strip decals are on the inside of the canopy and masks are on. Just gotta mask off the guns and then it's time for surfacer

Desert Marlin
Nice! I just finished the cockpit on the P-8 so, I really appreciate this step you have accomplished!!! Cheers!

Rando
Guess I'm onto the painting phase! I already painted the propeller caps ocean grey, then decided to hit the bottom side with matte black. Also getting the undercarriage painted and assembled too.

Desert Marlin
Love this stage! Looks great!!!

Rando
Thanks Marlin! I got it ready to paint the dark green. IDK what others do for camo like this, but to make a "hard edge" camo I used Tamiya curved tape to make the lines, and then used regular masking tape and paper towels to mask off the rest. Excited to see the finished paint job

Neil
It's looking good Rando! 👍

Rando
Thank you Neil! At first I was thinking the ocean grey looked too dark, but with the dark green I find it contrasts well. Just got to fix some overspray and touch up some areas and it's on to decals

Desert Marlin
Excellent work! The scheme is coming along nicely!!!

Rando
Decals are on with a gloss coat over them…maybe some weathering today?!

Desert Marlin
Oh yes!!! Great Saturdays provide the opportunity to focus on all those little details seen in the mind's eye!

Rando
Hell yes Marlin especially a rainy one like this! Working on the landing gear while giving the gloss time to cure

Jos Jansen
Iam in Rando.

Rando
Hell yeah bro! Finish line is near!

Desert Marlin
The MLG look great! Where are you that it is raining?

Ludvík Kružík
Marlin, it looks like Rando was visiting the Czech Republic today. It's been raining here all afternoon 😄

Rando, that chassis looks fantastic. Didn't you put pictures of the real chassis here by any chance 🙂

Desert Marlin
😆👍

Rando
If only Ludvik, I'd love to come out that way. Would have come by to say hello and see your workbench! Been a pretty nasty day here in eastern Massachusetts too. Was also a good day to bring the kids to a model train show, fun look at an adjacent hobby.

Here's hoping the chassis fit into the nacelles without too many swear words 😉

Desert Marlin
I spent the day painting here in Nevada.

Ludvík Kružík
Rando, I believe it would be a pleasant meeting. I'm sure we'd have a lot to talk about. And of course I would love to show you my desk 🙂

Rando
Indeed Ludvik we sure would, I'd be thrilled to meet you Marlin and all my modeling friends on here someday.

Mosquito is like 99% done! Landing gear went in surprisingly easy and now just some wingtip lights to install, finish painting the crew hatch, and attempt to rig the antenna mast. Pics soon!

Definitely looking forward to seeing painted the P-8 Marlin!

Desert Marlin
I'm starting gloss for markings…

Rando
So I have to say I'm disappointed with how the canopy looks. I used Eduard masks and they were a struggle to get on as they didn't fit great. In hindsight I should probably de-tacked them too, like I do with Tamiya tape, since it seems like they left adhesive residue. They left some rough paint edges. Not sure how to improve it, I've done some careful scraping with toothpicks and Leveling Thinner, which improved it some, but considering popping the whole thing off and repainting it.

Desert Marlin
Using a 000 brush, put a couple of coats of thinned out black along the bottom of the canopy glass then a similar thinned coat of color over the black. That would firm up the window frames. The rest of the frames look pretty good to me!

Rando
Thanks Marlin, so would that help with that weird splotchy white color, especially noticeable on the frames in back?

Desert Marlin
Those should be dressed with a thinner brushed on in very small quantities until the streaks relent. I had thought those were aluminum chipping which would also be valid!

Desert Marlin
The Mr. Color Leveling thinner with a stiff hobby swab would help clean the edges. The Mr. Color thinner doesn't seem to harm clear plastic…

Rando
LOL, amazing that my mistake looked like something good! Shoulda just rolled with it. I do have a stiff kind of swab, I'll give it a try

Rando
I actually got Leveling Thinner after you recommended it on my Crusader build and it's all I've been using lately. Good stuff, I like that it can leave a smoother finish

Ludvík Kružík
I can confirm. I have the same experience, Mr. Color Leveling thinner will not damage clear plastic.

Rando
I think I've improved the framing a good deal already, both with paint and the thinner. Now just gotta glue on some nylon thread for the mast rigging, which I've never done before. So far I managed to attach it to the mast with some gel super glue.

John
Get some EZ Line, you won't regret it. Nice Mossie too! 👍

Rando
Hey cool, how do you attach it John? And thanks getting close to final pics!

John
You use super glue, it just stretches nicely without putting a lot of pressure (i.e. bending) on antenna masts. So you can anchor one point and then stretch it easily so there is no sag when you attach the other end.

Rando
Got it! I'll order some. I've already had trouble with the mast popping off once.

John
The antenna on my Buffalo build is EZ Line, it's also handy for those annoying multi-wire antennas.

Rando
I see did you use thick or fine?

John
Definitely get the fine size. 👍

Rando
Basically done! Aside from the rigging wire, which I will attach when it gets in. After that I'll upload the beauty shots. Now to clean up my very messy workbench and get the next project going!

Desert Marlin
Bravo! 👏

Rando
So I decided to finally upload the glamor shots for this Mosquito. These were taken months ago but I was dissatisfied with how the photos looked at the time since it was difficult getting the plane to fit in the frame without ugly background. Looking closer though, I thought they actually turned out fine, and pretty nice actually with some cropping and brightening adjustments. So belatedly, here she is completed, the Mosquito night intruder. Great kit, most difficulties I had were my own doing. Eduard masks are not their best. Eagle Strike decals are great. If you have this one in your stash, pick out a cool scheme and build it!

J35J
Your Mossie turned out great! Congrats!👍🏻

John
Hey Rando, I can only repeat previous comment, nice Mossie! I think the canopy looks fine. I'd probably do a masking like this myself for the reasons you ran into. I don't like the "put the tape on the canopy then carefully trim the frames" technique because a mistake can be disastrous, but in this case since most of the frames are straight and well defined, I think I'll do that for this one instead of my usual cutting and taping dozens of little pieces of Tamiya tape to the canopy, which also works, but is time consuming. I did get this kit after seeing your build and I plan to do the NE D bird, I just like the scheme. Looks like the EZ line worked out really well for your antennas. 👍

Rando
Thanks John and Draken! Yeah I kind of gravitate towards cutting directly on the canopy for some reason, even though it's soooo risky. One thing that might be a good alternative to the Tamiya tape is scotch tape (suggested by Marlin), since I found you can more clearly see the actual place you're cutting into. I did that for some windows on my P-51 build and it worked out pretty nice. And also yes--the EZ line was a breeze, thanks for that! For some reason it fought me hard on the aforementioned P-51.

Shameless plug for my F-8 double build, putting the decals on tonight. So excited!

John
Wow, you really like your Crusaders! (I mean, who wouldn't?)

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Ben M
That looks fantastic.

How were the tracks to build? I've found them a bit intimidating

Rui S
Beautiful Paintjob 👍

Creighton Henthorn Jr
Ben M i found them the same but less so than the modelkasten sherman tracks. next time i'll look for a resin option.

Creighton Henthorn Jr
Rui S thank you

Mr James
Great camo painting. Lovely work

Creighton Henthorn Jr
thank you Mr James

Robert Podkoński
Beautiful!

Zbynek Honzik
Very nice! 👍

gorby
WOW, incredible work!

David Taylor
Fantastic.

Christian Skottun
Thank you

Doubtingmango
Stunning!

Rui S
Excellent 👍

Ben M
Wow, this is fantastic! The hammered metal on the nose is amazing. I love all the wood textures. How did you paint the wing ribs?

Lochsa River
spectacular....

Villiers de Vos
Fantastic work. A real head turner.

J35J
Impressive! Hat's off👍🏻

Robert
very nice...

Neuling
Excellent work in every aspect!

Dietmar Bogatzki
Fantastic work, Christian 👍

Michael .
Amazing work!

Mr James
Excellence at work

Tim Powell
PE seat belts added....

Spanjaard
dio is great, the model amazing, and i have not enough adjectives for those figures. simply stunned

Ben M
This is great, and I agree, the figures have real human emotion to them

Neuling
I agree with Spanjaard and Ben. A very lifelike and dynamic scene you created here. 👍

Mr James
Also agree with Spanjaard.

Fabio
I saved the photos so I could enlarge them, and the more you go into detail the more SPECTACULAR it is.
Well done!

Jennifer Franklin
I need more photos, how did you get here? 🙂

Mr James
Hi Jennifer. I had trouble uploading the pics from my phone have lost everything I tried to upload 🙁

James C
Tidy work. Following 👀👍

Mr James
Cheers James, I'm annoyed I lost all my progress pics. Only weathering left

Jennifer Franklin
Well, the weathering is impressive. You guys make it look so easy.

Mr James
Thanks Jennifer, The turret was a couple of days work. I've watched a lot of videos

Leszek Cader
Wow Mr James! The weathering is a master class, my respect! I like pic 14 with this rusty hole on 0, this makes the whole marking extremely realistc. 👍

Mr James
Well thank you Leszek, how very kind of you to say. As I've said before, I've watched a lot of videos and try to emulate the techniques I see. Weathering is becoming my favourite aspect of modelling so far.

James C
The weathered and worn winter white wash looks really impressive 👍

Mr James
Thanks James, much appreciated from your good self.

Leszek Cader
Welcom on board! I too prefer this part of the hobby than counting rivets... Following your projec, I guess it will end with regular winter diorama? 🙂

Michael Hickey
Nice work Mr James.👍

Mr James
Yes Leszek, I'm going to build a scene for it. Havent decided what yet. I'll have to master figure painting next though... That will be challenging. :-0

Mr James
Thank you Michael. Greatly appreciated.

Rui S
Very nice weathering work. Looking great 👍

Mr James
Thanks matey, great coming from you. Not that long to go now {-) he says...

Rui S
Looking forward to see it on a Dio 🤔

Mr James
I'm open to suggestions, I've got that Precision ice and snow kit I want to use after seeing your Finland dio.

Rui S
Nah, leave it to you, just thinking "Tigers on the mud" 😉

Mr James
Yeah, mud and snow should be easier then grass and trees... 🙂

Rui S
Google it, if you want I can send you the book.😄 😎

Mr James
just had a look. Great pics of what I could see

Jennifer Franklin
Seeing it on a dio would be great 😛

Mr James
Thanks Jennifer, I think I've got one in mind now after looking at a few ww2 pics.

Simon Nagorsnik
Really nice winter camo!
Good job so far 👍

Mr James
Thank you very much Simon.

Leszek Cader
If I may suggest - Ardennes Offensive. I guess Tigers took part in these strugglings too...

Marius
Very well done weathering! I love it!

Mr James
Cheers Marius, much apricated and glad you liked it

Mr James
Hi Leszek, I dont think I've got the skills for trees. I suppose I could hide them under layers of snow 🙂
I've earmarked a couple of muddy road scenes from WW2 pics.

Juskifo
Look at that ❤weather
I love it👏

Mr James
Why, thank you so much Juskifo. Much appreciated from your good self.

Gary Curling
Lovely winter camo.like the bent back mud flap at the back

Mr James
Cheers for that Gary. I must crack on and finish it before the weather changes and my other hobby kicks in... 🙂

Derek Rothfus
This is freaking awesome James! The weathering is so realistic. Love all the rust and grime.

Mr James
Why thank you Derek. Much appreciated. Credit has to go to Tamiya weathering set B and Vallejo rust washes.

Pietro De Angelis
I'm agree with all, weathering really incredible, congrats!

Christian Bruer
Excellent paintwork and weathering 👍

Mr James
Thankyou for your comments Pietro and Christian. Nice of you to say its looking good,

Nathan Dempsey
You're a weathering magician. Beautiful work.

Mr James
Ha... thats pushing it... But thank you for kind words Nathan 🙂

Alberto
Very convincing weathering, great work!

Mr James
Thanks Alberto, Much appreciated

Schwarzadler
Well messed up😉

Mr James
He he, going for that 'been around the block' look 🙂
Thanks Schwarzadler

Spanjaard
really impressive weathering. wow

Mr James
Why thankyou Spanjaard. Nice of to say so

Mr James
Thanks Xa Char for your many likes

Guy Rump
Your weathering is very impressive! 👍

Neuling
Looking forward to the winter dio .............

Pepe
Gran trabajo.... Me gusta el efecto de la torreta

Mr James
Thanks Guy for saying so.
Neuling, I've cut the base but need some filler or grout or something for the undulations
Thanks for the kind words Pepe. I'm happy with how the turret turned out

Andy Heim
Very nice rust effects! Wow!

Mr James
Cheers Andy. Just pigment and Vallejo light rust wash 🙂

Mr James
Cheers Conner, glad you liked it

Mr James
Cheers Lenny, glad you liked it

Mr James
Thanks Mark and Henry for your likes 🙂

Tommy Agne
COOL 👍!!! Very nice weathering👍.

Fritz01
Another fantastic paintjob. Thanx for explanations of technics you used.

Mr James
Cheers Tommy, glad you liked it.

Mr James
Thanks for saying that Fritz. I like to see how other modelers work their magic, so hope it may aid someone maybe? 🙂

Mr James
Cheers for the likes Neil 👍

Gary Curling
Looking forward to seeing the dioarma for this super model

Stephen Lesley
This is weathering on another level. I am speechless! I can almost smell the oil/petrol and have a subconscious urge to scape the mud off my shoes. 🙂

Mr James
Cheers Gary, when I get back from this stint of work, I'll push on with the dio.
Ha, brilliant comments Stephen 😁 Thanks mate 👍

bruno egral
Houa ! Superbe.

Mr James
Merci Bruno. 🙂 and thankyou for all the likes

DuperScale
Every mm on the model received attention from you, perfect weathering. 👍

Mr James
Thankyou for saying so Duperscale.

CaptGPF
I agree with everyone - top notch weathering! The rust effects on the spare treads really stood out for me. how long does it take you to do this level of weathering?

Mr James
Thanks CaptGPF, The weathering side of modelling is what I look forward to the most. I look at a lot of better modellers work, mostly on this site, and try and copy what they've done. I'm constantly going back over a period of time, adding little touches here and there, so I would say I spend weeks after its painted, decaled, varnished and oil washed.

Guy Rump
Excellent work and superb weathering. 👍

Mark Sherwood
Inspires me to build a Tiger 1 again. But I have summink ' on and a defrustration build too, on saying that. A very nice Tigger' Mr James all round. 👍🥸🤟

Michael Kohl
Dirty work of the convincing kind.

Mr James
Thankyou Guy, Mark and Michael for your kind words. Much appreciated 🙂

Doubtingmango
Great finish James! The rust and filth is spot on

Nathan Dempsey
Always love seeing this one come up in the feed.

J35J
Always a pleasure & inspiration to see your work! Great stuff👍🏻

Mr James
Doubtingmango, Nathan and J35J, I thankyou for your kind comments. Having recently looked at some excellent winter tiger builds, I do wonder if Ive overdone it a bit.

gorby
WOW! Stunning weathering.

Neil Patrick
Fantastic work! I love the weathering. Lifts the good old Tamiya kit to a much higher level. Am I right this is the vehicle in the photos of Wittmann in winter 43/44?

Mr James
Thanks Gorby, glad you think so.
Yes Neil, I believe Wittman was assigned S04 on the Eastern front in 43/44. Loads of excellent builds of this vehicle out there. I'm now painting the figures for it.... and struggling.

Arif Saeed
Fantastic result, Love the weathering 👏👏

Mr James
Thank you Arif. Nice of you to say so 🙂

Mick Burdett
Cracking work puts my work in the shade !!

Mr James
Thanks Mick, I wouldn't say that matey

Dom S.
Nice work 👍

Mr James
Cheers Dom

Kesa Tiho
I mean this literally when i say my jaw dropped the second i saw that tiger

Mr James
Ha ha, Well thankyou Kesa. 🙂

Vincent Uijtendaal
Awesome work also!…how do you get yr paint to crackle up like that?

Mr James
Thankyou Vincent. Nice of you to say so. I used a couple of thick layers of cheap hairspray. I then left the water on top for quite a bit and it started to crackle.

Vincent Uijtendaal
Cool!…thanx!

Jennifer Franklin
There are some impressive weathering techniques on display!

Mr James
Thanks Jennifer. I do like a bit of weathering 🙂

John
Very cool 👍 The weathering is top notch. I really like the cracked whitewash on the turret roof but the whole thing pops!

Mr James
Thankyou John, much appreciated