Looking good Louis, admire your attempt at painting the checker board pattern. I wouldn't have such patience, I'm confident yours will look great.

Thanks gentlemen for the kind words. I sincerely appreciate them.

Yes Chuck, for me the whole nose surgery thing on this one was kind of scary, as I have never done anything this severe with a plastic kit before. Now I am starting to appreciate the efforts, just as you stated.

Tonight's progress...

I wasn't exactly pleased with how the squares were lining up. So I came up with a method that ensures the squares are indeed "square"... along with the placement being squared too.

So I promptly replaced several of the little taped squares... and ended up with this.

Here's the rudder and fin after the "new and improved" masking...

after spraying on some black...

and after the tape was removed.

If enough interest is generated, I can post up a quick "how to" article on how I did this... It's really simple once you break it down.

Merry Christmas everyone, 5 days and counting... (or 4 and a wake up).

...and as usual, comments are encouraged.

Thanks Tom !

I found this picture and a few others that show the checkers were hand painted on some planes. This picture also shows that the yellow and black checkers were sometimes reversed...

I will have to go back and do a little touch up work in a few spots where the tape wasn't tightly sealed against the surface. I also scratched the black (and the yellow) in a few tiny spots when I removed the tape... oops.

I started with filling in some more on the resin nose area. It's going to take some more filler before it's though...

Calling it a day...

Fantastic work, Louis, as always, you've really gone to town with these builds, you thoroughly deserve your Christmas break from the iron works.

Today I had the chance to work some out in the hobby room... so I took full advantage of it.

Started out with more filling and sanding on the resin replacement nose.

Then I noticed a small "proud" area cast into the plastic on the tail section. I sanded it down to match the surrounding area.

This spot was slightly noticeable on both sides and was just below the stabilizer and above the tail wheel. I'm pointing to where it was using the wooden tooth pick in these picture below.

Once I was happy with how things were looking, I sprayed on some more Gray Primer.

and the nose got the same treatment.

I'm hoping this one will soon be ready for some camouflage paint...

As usual, comments are encouraged.

Nice going Louis, had the same issue with the one I did. In retrospect I think I would correct the air intake rather than change the nose with the resin plug. Lot of work.

Earlier tonight I was studying a photo of the real "Light House Louie". I happened to notice a small detail that went undetected until now...

If you look close at the photo, you will see the plane has a diamond pattern tire... The kit provides you with a smooth tire...

So I ordered a replacement resin set from True Details. It should arrive in a few days...

Louis, it's been too long since I commented on this, and wow, is it ever a work of art. Incredible attention to detail and a fabulous addition tot he GB. Well done, my friend, and extra kudos for all the modifications and special attention to the finer points.