David,
I just read through this WIP post. I guess I’m a little late to the party. But, that said, what an incredible undertaking, and from what i’ve Seen to date, looks to be very impressive.

I’m not sure if you’ve figured out the base or not, it my 2 cents would be to either have it disappear (flat blacked, etc.) or have it look like the white cliffs of Dover. Since that was such a beacon for bomber crews as they headed home to England. But what do I know...

Breaking up is hard to do. With a house move imminent the den is being broken up and packed - we're bugging out.

That said, it's Friday (which is an early finish for me at work) and there is no way I can resist the siren call of the bench. So, with the poor old workspace in a woefully depleted state...

...I managed to get the first coat of mottling on the Gustav.

Which stacks up ok with the look I'm going for...

A mixture of work, the house move, a need for some reflection, and being stuck with a 24 hour day mean my modeling (and iModeler) time has been severely cut. Ah, but who the hell wants to grow up? I have to say that just an hour on what's left of the bench this afternoon had a great effect on how I was feeling. There's a whole lot of good to be said for using different parts of the brain and I really miss that intense level of concentration that modeling demands.

@coondog 'What do I know?' - well, I think you know a lot, Matt. A lot. Thanks for the thoughts and I think it could be just the perfect idea!

@dirtylittlefokker Man, moving is stressful enough for anyone. Take your time and worry about the moment, we will be here when you are done! 🙂

Awesome job on the Me 109. I can't wait to see the final unveil of this epic project!

David, I think I have said before that the main reason my wife positively supports my modelling is her perception of it as a very pure form of mindfulness (you'll know more about the value of that in clinical terms, I'm sure). Everything else goes away. That, and the fact that involving my two boys keeps them creative and 'hands-on'. I'm finding it hard to look at a kit currently - don't know why! Maybe just 'too much of a good thing' and the recently ended school hols/family visits. Anyway, you'll ride out the 'real life' storm I'm sure and get back to your projects in good time. The 109 is looking stunning!

David,
I just finished reading the last updates on this fantastic build journal... One of the things I really disliked was moving. The packing and unpacking of items in particular. It seems like it takes several months to really become comfortable in (and accustomed to) your new surroundings. But once you are settled in things get better. They say that home is where the heart is. I think that is true...

I occasionally spent considerable time looking for certain items that the "Gremlins" stole away with during the night, (like the one who took the prop from my Tamiya F4F Wildcat about a year ago).

I especially enjoyed the latest Spitfire drawing you made for me 🙂 Having taken the time from your already busy schedule to draw it shows a lot about your character and friendship. For this I sincerely thank you. I will get that one framed and proudly displayed in "Casa Bromwich" soon...

As far as your Gustav is looking... well the word "fantastic" immediately comes to mind. Looks like you got the mottles down to a science now. The shaded lines on the rudder add some character too. Franz would definitely approve...

I'm happy to see the air brush dilemma has been resolved, and I hope that you get your new "man cave" / Hobby room set up quickly.

This morning at about 03:30 I was thinking about which George Beurling Spitfire Mk V to replicate on one of the builds... and now you have me wondering about the Magneto Cross Shaft Driving Gear. I'm guessing it's one of the other things they missed besides getting the muffler bearings just a tad too big for 1/32 scale...

Oh yes, one last thing. For me I really like how a Pratt and Whitney R2800 sounds on start up, but then again a RR Merlin making a high speed / low altitude pass is hard to forget. Then you have to add a DB 605 also has a distinctive sound when the supercharger is whining... 🙂