davec

Looks great! Congratulations on finishing! Dave

Thanks everyone for the very kind and appreciated likes and comments. I think I am in a better place than I was preop, and once I catch up on 6 weeks of my regular job, will be back in the workshop more regularly. I plan to get back to work on the long boat and start Echo (I haven't forgotten that this is a model ship website). In the interim, I'm almost done with the P51. I had a little setback - I experimented with some panel line wash and don't 100% like the effect. I'm trying to decide whether to reprime and paint, or just finish the model so I can start from the beginning on something that won't feel like a recovery project.

I had my surgery and when I started feeling better started work back on the Halberstadt. I was already a little frustrated with it, which was why after I ran into problems with the decals on the upper wing I didn't just strip them and order new ones, so I didn't feel to bad working on it while not at my best. The spinal surgery was very successful, so my left hand and forearm are back to 100% for the first time in two years. Trying to rig a biplane while wearing a cervical collar is not something I recommend, but I did get a lot of peace when I was able to get down into my workshop again. Not my best work, but the whole point is to have fun, and it was really helpful with the rest of my recovery. I'm working on a Tamiya p-51 that my son had barely started prior to giving up building. It was started under the same recovery conditions with the same goal of keeping me sane. He had purchased decals for the P-51C Excalibur III in the NASM, so I'm working on that plane. I disassembled what he had started so I could use the Eduard photo etch set. I don't plan a build log for it.

Beautiful work - congratulations on finishing!

Welfalck- again, many thanks. I have some small rotary cone bits, although I don't know about quality. I just had some surgery , so it will be about a month before I get back to my workshop. Will give it a try then. Looking forward to seeing if seating 30 4 mm tubes in the pin vice for using the rotary tool is easier or harder than holding them by hand and using a hand held drill. Dave

The tube segment that need deburring are .5 mm tube (.3 inner diameter) and are 4 mm long. Is there a rotary cone bit small enough? I can see using a rotary tool on the free end before cutting the segment, but any suggestions for holding the short tube to use a rotary bit on the second end once the segment is down to 4 mm? thanks!

Hi Rob - I think it was you who gave me the idea for using the bigger drill bit. I couldn't remember where I saw it or the specific size. I'll experiment with some other sizes, but am already really happy with the improvement with the size I am using. I made a jig for cutting the microtube: The horizontal slot is a few thousandths wider than the .5 mm microtube so it can roll while I am cutting with the scalpel. The scalpel fits in the vertical slot. The brass pin is 4mm from the scalpel cut. This gets me equal sized 4 mm tubes (I had a hard time getting them the same size when I was rolling them on the mat), is quick, and keeps the tube from flying away at the end of the cut. I think because the boxwood is a firmer backing than the mat, it gives me a little better cut. I don't have to do a ton of clean up, but the small amount makes a big difference in threading the line. I was planning to leave the sharp demarcation between the green insignia field and bordering camouflage. I don't have a good photo of the original airplane, but the Ronny Barr drawing shows it sharp. My best guess is that the field was painted over the camouflage, likely with a brush, so a sharp line feels right. The colors are awful bright which does give more contrast than it probably should have. I'm open to suggestions. I have so many things on this model that I'd like to cover over that I've given some thought to trying to weather it, although that's not something I usually do. Dave

I've added landing gear and rigging. I can't remember where on this site I read about using a .35 mm drill to clean the ends of the microtubing after passing a .3 mm drill through it, but I am very grateful to whoever suggested it. It turned threading the fishing line through the tube from almost impossible to just a little bit tedious. I also added the other pieces to the bottom of the plane. After knocking the upper wing loose a few times, the repetitive reattachment of the struts led to it being pretty crooked. I was able to break the glue joints where the struts met the fuselage and realign them. I'm hoping with a little touch up and clear flat the areas where they were reattached and the decals were disturbed won't be too distracting. The build has had a series of frustrations, but I'm glad I've kept working on it. It's beginning to look like an airplane and the color and camouflage overall effect is pretty good.

Windscreen, exhaust, and upper mid wing section added. This was the last part I anticipated problems with and it went OK. I'm glad I added the midsection before assembling the rest of the upper wing. It was a lot easier to manage aligning all the struts. When I took the picture I saw a band of exposed primer that I missed on the leading edge of the wing. I'll paint it the same color as the bottom of the wing. I just need to be really careful that the masking doesn't lift the decal.

She came out great! Congratulations on finishing!

Quality does sometimes come up on ebay. I watched for a while before the Grobet set I wanted came up for auction. It wasn't cheap, but it was a lot less than buying new.

Thanks everyone for the likes and the comments. I really appreciate them. Robert - next up is finishing the two projects I have on the bench (longboat and Halberstadt airplane). The Halberstadt is close. Once I finish the longboat, I will start the fully framed Echo that I have been planning for a few years. Thanks! Dave

The decal issues are touched up as well as I can do and I’m moving ahead to finish the model. I’ve added the kit decals, applied micro crystal clear to the lenses, done more touch up, attached the rudder and a few other parts, and sprayed everything clear flat. I also spent an evening twisting 40 eyelets for the rigging. The cartograph decals felt much different than the aviatic ones – much thicker and took longer to soak before they were workable. It was a lot easier to deal with the smaller decals.

I just wanted to second Druxey's escapement file recommendation. I bought a set on ebay for my model ships and they are one of my favorite and most frequently used tools. I use them on my plastic models all the time - they can get into places that sanding sticks and regular jeweler's files can't reach.

Wow - beautiful build! Congratulations on finishing!