This is good stuff gents...

James,
When I built my Revell Spitfire many moons ago, I had a step in it just like you described. Back then I thought it was supposed to be there. Having been a little more educated all these years later, and with access to the internet, now I know it's wrong.

I like how you fixed it... Other than that problem, I don't recall any others when I built my Mk II Spitfire.
The P-47 looks like a huge monster when parked next to the little petit Spitfire... it's coming along nicely too.

Looking forward to the next installment.

Congrats on the daughter's wedding. Sounds like you raised her well.

Good luck with the photo shoot too, and hopefully you can get some time in the man-cave... 🙂

Sprouting legs may also work... Sorry, I don't have David on speed dial, (but I should). He keeps telling me that I don't need my aluminum hat. Especially when I'm flying my Spitfire.

Well, I generally tune into posts first or last being in Aus. This time it is last regarding the current round of updates and comment. Congratulations on your daughter’s upcoming nuptials! And well done for picking the camera in anger again! I have been coerced into doing my second ever wedding in November. I need to be careful not to go down your path - I’m not a fan of shooting humans! Still it gives me an excuse to test drive the new Canon full frame mirrorless number alongside my trusty older body.

These are looking great James. Happy to see the developments, the fixes and the craftsmanship. No pigs here! My phone was pinging all day with updates - so getting home from work and tuning in to this is just so heartening. Lovely stuff!

I’m in awe of you gents with daughters. I have two boys. They are being raised to treat women with the utmost respect. Being a dad to daughters is a special privilege! I’m jealous in some ways and not in others!

Looking forwards to the next update, here’s hoping the wedding shower runs long and the bench time is extended!

David @davem, to be honest, it's so far out of my mind I almost forgot about it. Thank you for the reminder. I will have to write it up and commit it to memory so I won't break down in the middle of it. Short version, when I met my wife, her daughter was 10 years old. We melded families and the daughter and I fought like cats and dogs for the first few years. She never knew her real father and was raised in a different manner than my two children. Eventually I became Dad and when she turned 18, she asked if I would adopt her so she could have my last name. So yes, it's going to be a special day for me.

Hi Boys...I'm BAAAACK!

After a very long time away from the bench. Has it really been 8 months? Well not quite, I've been messing around with a few other things and tinkering off and on around the bench. Daughter's wedding completely consumed me and then I changed employers and was working a ton of hours for a few months. Things have finally settled down and I was able to get some good time on the bench during the Holiday.

Let's step back to where I left off first. The Revell Spit almost ended up in the trash. Fit and alignment of the canopy was horrible. Probably my fault since I have not touched a model in ages, but it got the best of me. It's now in the something to do later Diorama pile. The P-47, well let's just say I screwed the pooch on the canopy and it too was in dire straights.

No problems. I purchased an older Tamiya Spitfire and was able to secure a few sprues to resolve the P-47. The Tamiya was like the difference between night and day. Didn't even have a "Made In China" stamp to deal with.

I've been getting anxious about starting on one of the 'imodeler at the Movies' builds and realized I had to finish these two first. I also realized that it had been so long of a time since I built a model that Perfection was the least of my worries but the mechanics of building was, so with resolve I dove back in. These will have imperfections for sure, but I'm not worried about that. Re-learning forgotten skills is most important.

Here's where I'm at. The Spitfire fuselage is closed, wing is assembled and ready for mating.

I spent the majority of my weekend on the P-47. Her legs are painted and ready for assembly, the fuselage is buttoned up and wings attached. I applied a light primer to the bottom side and will need to address a few issues next and then apply the underside final coat.

Mtc.

Louis, thanks for the encouragement. Sorry it took so long, but sometimes Life gets in the way and I would not trade those experiences for anything. The photos...a keen eye will notice that I didn't take any close-ups! LOL 😉

As I said above, "Re-learning forgotten skills is most important.". That has taken on a whole new meaning to me! It's been a slow process since I haven't had much time at the bench. Finally got some good modeling time in last weekend and a few hours today. P-47 is very close to completion after several starts and stops.

The camouflage pattern was a big learning curve. I took some 'close to scale' drawings and printed them as near as I could get to the right size. Laid out the pattern, trimmed the paper then attached with masking tape. I had practiced with a Liquid Masking Medium with disastrous results.

The results:

I realized that I had probably not waited long enough before masking the first base coat.
Lesson Learned! The decal sheet indicated that there were certain areas of the paint were suppose to appear faded. Not sure if these planes were delivered with the base brown coat and field applied green or not. There is not a lot of detail available for this Sqd. 146 based in India at the time.


Not very pleased with how the canopy turned out either. I've completed some touch up and will be ready to apply the decals soon. I am also experimenting with a replacement canopy, trying to 'up my game' with the masking process.

Going to let this one sit for the week and turn my attention back to the Spitfire.

Mtc.

I'm a bit late in following this GR8 build - but first things first; Congrats on the Grandchild!
Then; is it an african or european swallow?
And finally; noted your reversed clothespins - I will steal that idea!
Keep those posts comin' - looking good.