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Some nice molded detail there for 1/72 scale.

We all gotta start somewhere! Not plywood -- some kind of cardboard. I'm not sure what we would call it on this side of the pond. It's made out of layers of fiber, like card stock, but not as dense. And yes, all necessary edge coloring has been done to this point.

Some more progress. First, a shot of the cockpit interior, which will never be this visible again after this. Next, the completed fuselage framing. And finally, the first exterior skin is applied. See if you can spot the doubled parts. Next up will be the upper fuselage skins, which will be quite a bit trickier. Cheers!

I picked up a few items, but I really had to exercise some self-control.

Hey, gang. One of the long-time members at Paper Modelers recently passed away, and another member is selling off his collection of ~800 printed kits. That's right -- 800 kits, and at significantly reduced prices compared to what you would normally spend. There is something there for everyone who might be looking to hoard a few extra models, or perhaps dip a toe into the card modeling waters: ships, planes, vehicles, and buildings. Lots of really good stuff -- check it out! http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/marketplace/48666-rjm-paper-model-estate-sale.html

I've never used the pins supplied in kits. I use push pins (the kind with plastic heads). I also pre-drill the holes to eliminate splitting and use a tack hammer to drive the pins.

Welcome, Pierre! The information you are looking for can be found by clicking here and here. I look forward to seeing your work!

I'm adding my belated congratulations as well. Nice work!

Bored? Hardly! I am constantly amazed by what some of my fellow modelers can reproduce in miniature.

Yep, and I'm sure that the process produces the same issues with tolerance when card is the medium. Happily, as I have written about elsewhere, the nature of card stock, i.e. multiple layers of paper fiber, makes it relatively easy to remove material when necessary. I love interwar biplanes and sport planes. A designer could spend a lifetime solely designing kits of all the aircraft that used the Gipsy series of engines. I have a Stampe-Vertongen SV.4 in my stash and briefly toyed with the idea of doing another 2-for-1 build featuring it and the DH.82. Cheers!

Construction begins with cockpit framing. One lesson I've learned over the years (and have had regularly, sometimes painfully, reinforced) is that laser-cut frames are not a cure-all -- one can't simply throw them together and expect everything to turn out right. In this instance (as often happens), it proved necessary to trim away most of the plain card structural parts, leaving only the colored portions to laminate onto the laser-cut bits, in order to maintain the correct thickness of the finished parts. Even then, some of the tabs needed to be thinned by having a layer of paper fibers cut away, so that the tabs would fit easily into their slots. Before gluing in the bulkheads, I opted to add the optional doubling parts to create more 3D-looking control levers -- an extra 11 parts.

If you have any hobby shops near you (rare these days, I know), you can check to see if they carry milled lumber. Look for shops that cater to model railroaders and the RC plane crowd.

I have found that Aleen's Clear Gel Tacky Glue has a longer set time than regular white Tacky Glue. This comes in handy when you need to glue surfaces that need to be adjusted as you work. I used it on the cowling and spinner on my recent Ki-43 build; each is made up of concentric rings that need to be nudged around a bit as the glue sets. White glue sets too fast for this, and CA is too messy for the job. With the Gel Clear, I achieved some of the nicest ring structures I have yet done.

I think your planking job produced an absolutely terrific result.

Go, Steve, go!

Ah, the infamous Last Crusade tank -- the one that goes over a cliff and the turret falls off, revealing quite clearly that the tank is a plastic model. 😂 Fun movie, but a certain amount of suspension of belief was required.

Start up a new log, and we'll put a link to it here in the old one.

I'm guessing that's the old 1:50 scale kit from Wilhelmshavener. I've never built one of their kits, mostly because I like sticking to 1/33 scale, and of course something like one of the Dornier flying boats would be quite large in that scale.

Hello, gang! Well, it didn't take me very long to decide on my next project. No, it's not a ship, though I feel a ship will be in the queue in the near future. I still feel some plane-liness left in my bones, and I'm a firm believer in building whatever strikes your fancy the most at the moment. I've always had a soft spot for biplanes and interwar types, so this plane ticks both of those boxes, and -- bonus! -- it doesn't have a radial engine. The project is a De Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth, a British two-seat trainer that first flew in 1931. From 1931-44, De Havilland built 8,868 examples, of which an estimated 250 are still flying today. Although fully aerobatic, the Tiger Moth had a whopping top speed of 109 mph -- roughly 200 mph slower than my last project, the Ki-43. The kit is a 2013 offering from Kartonowa Kolekcja (which translates as Cardboard Collection), designed by Pawel Mistewicz, and includes KK's usual level of crisp artwork and detailed construction drawings. This will be my third KK project, and so far I've never had to abandon a KK build. As usual, the KK kit has a beautiful glossy cover with some nice artwork; the back cover features photos of the prototype model. I absolutely love the striking coloring on this particular aircraft. Several surviving examples can be found online wearing similar livery. The kit has many optional parts, allowing the builder to choose the level of detailing. Lots of nice diagrams. Also a great three-view included. As I like to do whenever possible, I purchased the laser-cut frames set for the kit, which in this case consists of a single sheet. No molded canopy, though, because most Tiger Moths, like this one, had only wind screens. Construction will commence with the necessary prep work: stiffening the laser-cut frames and mixing up the proper edge colors. Look for construction photos soon!

And here's a bonus pic, just 'cause I like you guys. Actually, I thought this would be a fun pic to include because this is the first time I've had two finished card models representing real-life opponents, the Oscar and the Brewster B-339E Buffalo.

The Big Reveal Chin air intake, propeller, spinner, aerial, pitot tube, aaaaand -- done! A few final thoughts are in order. First of all, I forgot to share that yesterday I knocked over a bottle of thin CA on my cutting mat, enough to ruin the mat and glue two of my fingers together. Like, really together! Fortunately, I had some debonder handy. Even more fortunately, I somehow managed not to spill glue on any parts. 😮 Overall,I am very pleased with how this project turned out. I think it's one of the nicest planes I've built so far, despite the usual kit shortcomings. My main gripe with the kit was once again the diagrams, which I would say are about 90% complete. It's the missing 10% that can be aggravating. Happily, there were no deal-breakers in the mix. Okay, enough gabbing. Enjoy the pictures!

Cowling and machine gun channels done. Just a few bits and pieces left to do.

Ta-daa!! Finished and installed. I left out a few parts, none of which will be obvious. I omitted the push rods on the rear bank of cylinders, because they are on the back side of the engine, which won't be visible at all once the cowling is on. Altogether, the engine has 154 parts.

Boredom, tedium, strabismus -- yes, whatever the cause, breaks are necessary!

If you click MarisStella's ad banner on the home page, you can visit their website. Each model description includes numerous photos of the prototype model along with images of the kit plans. I have heard some people knock MarisStella's instructions (I haven't built one, so I can't say one way or the other), but the owner himself has acknowledged that the more complex models in the kit range assume some prior experience on the part of the builder, i.e. he/she should be comfortable building from plans. Personally, I have always been impressed with their lineup, and if you search through the build logs, you'll find examples of some under construction. PS: Be wary of email ads featuring sale prices on MarisStella kits -- it is often less expensive to order directly from MarisStella, even with shipping factored in.