SPA Modeler

Looking good, Gary.

Wow lot's of progress Gary! Coming along nicely. I've bought decals from Aztec models in the past and they did take quite a while to arrive. Your soccer war project sounds like fun.

Gary, you've got this Mosquito well in hand. I'm sure that you'll have it wrapped up soon enough.

I'm looking forward to seeing those Aztec decal builds. Hopefully the burros carrying your decals will cross over the Rio Grande and not through it to keep your decals dry and serviceable. I have really liked the Aztec decals that I've used in the past. Crazy to think that in 1969 that Mustangs and Corsair's wold be shooting at each other. But then again, in 1961 Invaders and Sea Furies were shooting at each other over Cuba, so why not. Almost anything can happen in Latin America.

This build is looking dope (See what I did there).

The soccer war was the last time piston engine fighters squared off

BlackSheep214 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 10:00 am Looking good, Gary.

Thank a lot, Tom!

keavdog wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 11:38 am Wow lot's of progress Gary! Coming along nicely. I've bought decals from Aztec models in the past and they did take quite a while to arrive. Your soccer war project sounds like fun.

Thanks, John! Yeah, I'm excited about those plans too. I'll be glad to move on from this one.

Stikpusher wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 11:46 am Gary, you've got this Mosquito well in hand. I'm sure that you'll have it wrapped up soon enough.

I'm looking forward to seeing those Aztec decal builds. Hopefully the burros carrying your decals will cross over the Rio Grande and not through it to keep your decals dry and serviceable. I have really liked the Aztec decals that I've used in the past. Crazy to think that in 1969 that Mustangs and Corsair's wold be shooting at each other. But then again, in 1961 Invaders and Sea Furies were shooting at each other over Cuba, so why not. Almost anything can happen in Latin America.

Thanks, Carlos! Yes, getting pretty close to full-on painting now. A couple more sessions on the bench will make a lot of difference. I'm hoping those Aztec decals are good ones, I've never used them before. Yes, it's something to consider that those aircraft, long past their expected lifespan and operational era, were still locked in life and death struggles at that late date. History...ya gotta love it! (Says the ex-history teacher! )

keavdog wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 2:21 pm The soccer war was the last time piston engine fighters squared off

That is an interesting and amazing fact!

Medicman71 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2023 1:22 pm This build is looking dope (See what I did there).

Missed ya in my earlier post, Mike; thanks for the punny comment!

You're really cranking on this build, Gary! The metal finish came out very nicely!

Thanks, John! I'm finally making a little headway, but my heart's just not in it for some reason. I find myself cutting corners and letting little things go that normally I'd be obsessing over. The old kit is notorious for its shortcomings and knowing that has sort of prejudiced me against it, I think. But, I am eager to continue and get her finished...bigger fish to fry, so to speak!

Yeah, my pseudo silver-doped finish is going to work okay, I believe. I know I will feel a little more confident masking over it than the previously planned Vallejo paint. Speaking of "short comings", here's an interesting build by shortCummins, from the International Scale Modeler site, that I've been consulting a bit. I'm familiar with his work from Britmodeler and here he shows just which parts of the "wooden wonder" were made of metal:

http://intscalemodeller.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=20592

I’m pretty sure that the tail flight control surfaces were doped fabric over the frame work. The rudder certainly was, as this battle damage photo clearly shows,,,