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Hi, Jan and Denis, thanks for your kind words! Well, I started other kits also and this one got lower priority. Too many models, so little time. Check my Intruder and Super Hornet. I also give you a hint about my current favorite (I will start an in-progress topic for this later, hence the text on the photo): But after the Intruder is finished, I'll switch back to the Phantom. Seriously. Cheers, Zoli

Hi, and a happy new year to everyone! Xmas gone. The Intruder is not in the display case. Life got in the way but nothing really serious... <_< The "clear coat, wash" part is done as you will see in this update. I hope you will like it. Cheers, Zoli

Hi guys, thanks for the kind replies. SrkiRad, the kit was bought about about ten years ago sitting patiently in my stash. No clue about the manufacturer of the decals but I guess it was Cartograph... It looks like other Italeri decal sets from that period. So it is quite possible that this is the same decal 2qwik4u used. I guess there are multiple reasons of the failure, mainly it was me who did it wrong... 1) I used Gunze paints instead of MM ones Italeri recommends, the shades might be a little different. 2) Preshading was applied, that changes the color a little darker. 3) Some postsh

Hi Laz (or Lacó? :D), your wish is my command... Here are the pictures of the decaling process. And a sad story on how the bad decals can kill all your hard work at the end... Italeri won the match with KO, I can't (and won't) fix it. Cheers, Zoli

Hi everyone! Gianni, thanks! I use the same pressure settings approximately (a little less)... Bigasshammm, thank you, I'll try to get some Future here in Hungary... Time for a little update: MERs and HARM missiles. I just downloaded some photos of MER, and realized that these could be much more detailed... Anyway, I won't touch them now... Details on the missiles are drawn using a simple pencil. The photos are created using macro zoom, so they show all the small inaccuracies that are invisible for the naked eye... Cheers, Zoli

Hi Gianni! Thanks! By 70% do you mean 30% paint / 70% thinner? In other words, about one part paint, two parts thinner? And at what pressure? The digital camera with macro is sometimes our enemy, the photo shows the orange effect a little exaggerated. The top of the model looks quite shiny for the naked eye... I know that the final flat coat helps this, look at these photos (one of my older model, shows similar orange effect), that would not be a problem itself... My problem is that I want a perfect gloss surface for the decals (always afraid of silvering). Clear coat: Flat coated, f

Hi, thanks for the advice. I prefer airbrushing because my handbrushing skills (large areas) equal to zero (or less)... :unsure: On the Intruder I tried three layers of Tamiya clear - my guess the "paint" was not thin enough (1:1 ratio). Maybe next time. Cheers, Zoli

Hi everyone, time for a little update... Detail painting: wheel hubs and seats. Cheers, Zoli

Hi everyone! Pilatus, Qian, thank you! Time for a quick update: clear coating... Cheers, Zoli

Hi everyone! Thanks for the kind words from you! Time for the next update...painting smaller details. I hope you will like it. Cheers, Zoli

Hello everyone! Thanks for your kind words. Janissary, I forgot to answer the second question: the windshield was glued on after the masking. Diary update for today follows... I hope you will like it. Cheers, Zoli

Hi, I cut it on the canopy. I also fear - but sometimes you must cut it there, when the frame is too curved... I put on the Tamiya tape, remove air bubbles with a toothpick and with a very sharp pencil I draw the border using the canopy frame as a ruler. This thin line helps my eye when cutting the mask with a sharp blade. The key is to do it slowly. And if you take a closer look, you will see that my cutting is far from perfect - a series of short straight cuts... No one will ever notice it from half a meter away when the model stands in my display case... Cheers, Zoli

Hello everyone! Thanks for the kind words! Laz, mate, you are kind, but I'm not a master, just a hobbist. A master modeler would finish his Phantom and Hornet before starting an Intruder - and would remove the sink marks in the Intruder cockpit (yuck!)... :D singeri, I like it too. I used enamels for almost ten years and it seems I switch to Gunze Acrylics now. Feels, sprays and brushes much more better... Todays diary update is here... Cheers, Zoli

Next part...

Hi Robw, yes, that's the kit cockpit. Nice, detailed instrument panel, seats and tub. I only added some wires and foil. A little fitting problem is there with the IP- it is about a mm too wide to fit where it should go. I cheated a bit and move it closer to the seats. Cheers, Zoli

Hi Pete, it's a nice little kit. It is quite detailed (nice IP, wing folds, electronic bay door is a separate part, etc...) and has only minor fit problems here and there. The biggest one is the windshield-fuselage fit. Otherwise it has no problems, an easy build. Cheers, Zoli

Giovanni, Robw and Holmes, thank you! Diary continues...

Hello everyone! This build started as a quick OOB build. Finally it became not fully OOB but almost...and it was not quick, anyway - the plane is still unfinished. A little build diary was created from the photos. I hope you will like it. Cheers, Zoli

Hi Ian, well I've built and painted this kit three times (I mean the same kit - it was stripped and disassembled two times). Got some experience with it I can say. The issues are (or these were the challenges I faced with - and failed at least two times): - large gap between the fuselage and the cabin floor - badly fitting transparent part - the roof of the cockpit (27B) doesn't fit to the cabin ceiling (20B) - tricky engine exhaust assembly, be careful when you glue it to the fuselage - assembly instructions are bad for parts behind the engine exhaust (55B, 56B), check the reference pho