How cool is that? Being able to find a photo of a plane that would tie into one of your other builds. Plus you had one in your collection that needed building.

The Val is a great choice for this Midway Group Build. Thanks for starting another one and please keep us posted. I will anxiously be watching for updates.

Happy Easter my friend!

Finally got to do some work on the Val. This kit is all cockpit with lots of little parts that slows progress. After you get the office done the rest looks rather easy. Liberated some decal belts from a Gekko Type 11 kit I have in the stash. Third time I've done that which means I'm really short of decals when it comes time to build her. Painted the radial engine in steel as the instructions state then applied a little wash to show some detail. Hope to get more done today.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Little more work this evening on the Val. Fuselage closed up, wings attached, wheels painted and the underside painted in grey/green.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Got the green done. added the wheels, tail hook and have started the decals. The kit decals are laying down really well

1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

Your D3A is really looking great ! The green looks flawless. It's amazing how smooth the finish is. I've had problems with some Hasegawa decals in the past with them not wanting to lay down just right. You seem to be doing a fantastic job with them too.

Did you spray on the yellow fuselage stripe that designated the IJN carrier Junyo or was it a decal ?

Hopefully the canopy masking job isn't too difficult. I remember that it seemed to be the hardest part of the building when I did my Val. Good luck with this and please keep us posted with the progress Tom.

Tom, really turned out well, the paint is flawless.

Looks good! One of the advantages of brush painting is I can do "green house" canopies in multiple masking passes - once for each direction of ribbing! I've found it less stressful and demanding less precision than when I have to mask all the panes (as when I use rattle can, which I do occasionally for single-color finishes).