billw

The problem is when you put the canopy on, the upper part of the doors will stick out. If you align the upper part, the bottoms of the doors will stick out. At least that's the way my kit was. If the doors had been regular styrene instead of clear, I would have just bent them a bit for more curve (vertically), but was afraid to try that with those clear parts. If I ever do another one with the doors closed, I'll probably cut the upper window part off the door and put them in separately. Good luck with yours. BW

In addition to what has already been said, there's another minor flaw that you need to know about. On my example the rear portion of the clear canopy was a bit narrower than the fuselage, leaving a 'step' edge showing. Some careful sanding will fix most of it, but I didn't quite get rid of all of it on mine. I did build mine with the doors closed. It took some sanding and scraping on the doors and fuselage because the curve in the doors them selves don't quite match the fuselage. Also had to trim the throttle quadrant and notch the port-side door to get it to close. It was a little bit of wor

The doors on my example actually fit the opening pretty well. The problem was the upper (window) part didn't slant inward far enough. What made it worse was the aft part of the canopy was a bit too narrow & added to the problem. I ended up aligning the upper part with the canopy and sanding down the lower part of the door to match the fuselage. Also had to shave down the throttle quadrant to get the port door in far enough. With the exception of the door/canopy problem, the kit went together very nicely. BW

You're basically using the Future in place of the Set, and I don't know if that would make any difference or not (I don't use that method). But I'm guessing that either way, you still need to wait a bit after applying the decal before using the Sol. I know that almost every time I've ended up with a permanent wrinkle after drying, it was because I put the Sol on too soon. As for 2 layered decals, I wait for the base decal to dry completely, then apply a little bit of Set and apply the second decal. But I'm not sure the Set is really necessary as I have put on 2nd decals without it and it work

In addition to the excellent advice already given, keep in mind that not all decals will react the same to Sol & Set. So best to do a test with a decal your not going to use to see how they handle it. When I started using Sol/Set decades ago with microscale/superscale decals, the recommended routine was to apply the set first, position the decal, then wait (maybe 15 to 20 min) for most of the Set to dry before applying the Sol. I still use that method today. Appling the Sol too soon (before the decal is 'stuck') may cause the inevitable wrinkles to not go away completely when dry. I still

I've had my Wrem B since the mid 70's, and still use it for most of my painting. It's well built and I like that I can break down the nozzle, clean it, and have it back together in just a couple of minutes. My only problem is I haven't been able to find any replacement seals for the nozzle for many years, and the ones in the brush have hardened & are starting to leak air. From a previous internet search, I got the idea they were no longer making this brush, or any parts for it. Looks like I'll have to look again. Thanks for the post. BW

So very sorry to hear you lost your best friend. Unfortunately it's the down-side to loving animals & having pets. I've lost 2 dogs and 3 cats since 2007, and it never gets any easier. You gave Lucy the best life possible, and I'm sure she knew you loved her. Peace be with you. BW

I built a display case for my 1/200 Yamato back in the early 1980's, and spent $60.00 on the Plexiglas sheet alone. The base came from scrap material at my workplace. I don't know the price of Plexiglas sheet now, but I doubt it's any cheaper than it used to be. If you can get a case built for $40.00 and it's halfway decent... go for it. Doubt you can build one any cheaper. BW

It's really up to you how you build your models, or should be. There's nothing wrong with stuffing a cockpit full of resin when most of it can't be seen later. All that matters is that you are happy with the results. I never display open canopies, and I have many builds in the case that have more money in the pit than the kit cost (almost). Can't see hardly any of it, but that's ok because I had fun improving the kit. In the past few years though, I've pretty much stopped putting in full cockpits. The most I do now is a resin seat w/belts, as that's still somewhat visible through the canopy. A

AKA super glue. BW

Nice post about an old friend. I logged around 1100 hrs as a crew chief in an H model in 68-69. They were a workhorse aircraft for sure. Mine took a lickin and still brought me home more than once. More than a little sentimental about Hueys. BW

I have both kits, but have only built the Tamiya version. For ease of build, it would probably be Tamiya. Hobbyboss also has a very nice D-9 and if it's anything like their Ta152C, it will be a relatively easy build as well. I'm not an accuracy expert, but the Tamiya has some minor problems like the undersized wheels, closed off wheel wells, only one centerline shell ejection chute, etc. It looks like a 190D-9 when built though. I've read on other forums that the older Dragon/DML 190D-9 is the winner in the accuracy category if you can find one. But that one has a problem with the gear strut r

No messy mishap here, but is a little on weird side. I was doing final assembly on a 1/48 Tamiya P-51B, and was putting on those tiny strut arms for the inner gear doors with a sticky-tape toothpick. The strut slipped off the toothpick before I could place it, and of course, vanished into thin air. I didn't hear it hit the table, and was too far from the edge for it to drop to the floor. Still I figured the carpet monster had it, so spent the better part of an hour scouring the floor to no avail. I didn't have a replacement, so I just put the gear doors in up position so I could move on with i

When I was working I was lucky to get 3 or 4 hours a week-end at the workbench. But since I retired early last year, I've been able to put in 2 to 3 hours a day on average. Sometimes a little more, and some days I don't work at it at all. I like that I can do a little bit of work every day now, rather than only being able to build on weekends. I can stay focused more and not lose track of where I'm at & make mistakes (which I tended to do before). Enjoying the hobby more now than I ever did. BW

The Italians and The Japanese used them.