Hamp Day Six

 A few days where little got done due to work and, on Thursday at least, extreme tiredness (I hate earlies!), but plodding through an hour or so's work per night on tidy up, seem checking and some masking and stuff. 

Obviously the engine and cowling will be popped off prior to painting! I just like adding them for pictures. The plan is to complete the model with all markings in the overall amber grey with all markings added (mainly sprayed on) and then spray the dark green mottle on top to allow it to look field applied.

I'm trying out a more complete assembly before painting here. For twenty or more years I've ribbed my good friend Craig Sargent on how incredibly complete he gets his models before painting. . . it always looks like a recipe for disaster to me, with so many fragile parts to work around. But on the other hand he is one of the very best modellers I know, so there must be SOMETHING in it, right?!? So we'll see how clumsy I am, and how much I'll break painting it!

See you after paint. . . I hope.

Hamp Day Three

 I have to say, this being my second one of these this year, that unless something pretty spectacular happens in the next two months, of the kits I've built in 2022, this is going to be my KOTY. It's simply delightful. Two tiny dabs of filler on the fuselage in front of the windscreen on the top. And I could have avoided that with more care. 

And on the underside, a shim of .25mm plastic sheet at the rear of the lower wing join was all that was needed to make fit pretty much perfect. 

And with that most of the assembly is done in three days from opening the box. Some details, canopy and masking, and we're off to the paintshop.

Stay tuned!

Zero Sum Game From Eduard

 Earlier in the year I picked up the Eduard A6M Zero kit. I generally don't have much interest in Japanese WWII subjects - nothing against them, just never really moved me that much. So I thought I'd do the Zero as a palate cleanser, knowing that being a new tool Eduard product I would have few problems building it!

It turned out to be one of my favourite subjects of the last few years, an incredibly enjoyable build and one of the most rewarding painting and weathering jobs I'd done in a long while. It just went right. It also piqued my interest in the subject matter, so when the Type 32 "Hamp" was released this month, I grabbed one from Andy at Antics, and with my ast project finished earlier today I set about it. And here we are.

As you can see, not much to say at this point, just a few hours spent gluing bits together, but the detail levels on Eduard's latest toolings are little short of spectacular.

And then some paint added to start things off - all Mr Color lacquers and some Tamiya lacquer in this case, to set the base for detail painting and weathering. I'm not using much of the included etch on this one, I'll see how paint and decals look in the relatively small cockpit. See you soon!