A little more progress on the Tamiya Il-2M3.

I cut the masks for the '2' using a Cricut machine.

The aircraft I'm modelling had its original tail markings - the slanted white fin tip group identifier and the individual 'White 2' aircraft number - over sprayed with what looks light a temporary white.

Only the tail was over sprayed on this and other group aircraft, so it wasn't a winter white-wash.

The '2' will be overpainted using a black decal from a Yak-1 sheet.

You can see on the second pic that realised that I had failed to sand smooth some decent scratches that I had left on the tailplane. It seems that the Gunze gloss coat allows these to be sanded where the Vellajo paints on their own just scratched off. Of course, the latter had also cured for longer.

The tooth-pick trick is something I learnt here on iModeler.

3 attached images. Click to enlarge.

The kit also provides a nicely detailed engine that I assembled and painted as per the instructions.

Of course, because I am closing all the engine panels, none of that will be seen again except for the forward filler cap on the oil reservoir (that I need to paint silver).

The engine is needed for three reasons;

1. the oil reservoir cap that pokes through a hole in the top engine panel

2. to mount the exhausts

3. to mount the prop

Unfortunately the positioning of the oil reservoir is uncharacteristically vague. So, I will wait until I am closing the fuselage up to glue it in and adjust it to fit the top engine panel.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

G'day Spiros (@fiveten),
I'm sure I mentioned I was building it before, but these are the first photos I've taken.

Yes you had, my friend @michaelt! Just me and my mind getting lost in all this excitement 🙂

Nice progress on both, my friend @michaelt! The scheme on the Tamiya looks extremely realistic!

Very nice work, Michael (@michaelt). It certainly looks like you made the right choice on the instrument panel. It looks better than you could get with photoetch or 3D printed panels. The camo on the Tamiya really looks the part. Well done.

Looking very nice with decals, Michael @michaelt
Good save on the star.