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Did a bit more work on the tail wing and some supports around the cockpit which I did not capture in a photo. That completes most of the wood work for the fuselage. I also used the airbrush to lightly spray on some "Golden Oak" stain and also some light brown Tamiya paint just to give the bass wood a bit more color and to hide some of the laser cut char which I had also partially filed off. The kit instructions suggest leaving the char but painting over it with a "light wood" color. I am very much enjoying using the new air brush. The next steps are mostly painting some of the smaller metal bits for the cockpit controls, some engine bits, fuel and oil tanks, etc. At least some of that work means waiting for the UPS delivery of some paint. I may skip ahead and do some other subassemblies if I get impatient with that wait.

I think you and I have similar ideas of what we like to build. Are you going to do a log of the Fiat, or at least post a few pictures when finished? Thanks, I think I'll leave it completely naked. As I recall, one of the build logs of the Model Airways Camel did that half covered/half uncovered look.

As mentioned, I have started the kit, and am on about page 18 (of about 270) in the instruction manual. The build starts with a jig for the fuselage frames and then building up the fuselage. And yes, 2 of the first 4 parts I glued together I did incorrectly. But that is inconsequential I think. For the "required supplies" the instruction manual lists only CA but I have also been using wood glue for some of these bits. Fuselage jig: Frames around the cockpit and main wing spars. Some of these frames are quite delicate and easy to break, as I have already done a couple times. The photo etch pieces here I felt did not fit great as they were a bit larger than the wood piece that the wrap around. Remaining frames in place, followed by front structure/firewall:

When I posted the Clerget 9 cylinder rotary engine a while back, I mentioned that I also had and intended to build the Artesania Latina version of the skeletal Sopwith Camel in 1/16th scale. I've now started on that build. I don't really intend to do a full build log but will try to occasionally post progress pictures. But I will start with some unboxing pictures. The kit has laser cut parts (both plywood and solid wood), strip wood, cast metal parts, a bunch of photo etch stuff, some miscellaneous stuff, a poster and a CD. It is missing a printed manual....that is on the CD in PDF form. I am still getting used to that. I've transferred the PDF to my iPad and have used that, but the danger is touching the iPad with a finger that has glue or paint on it. Otherwise the contents of the kit seem to mostly be high quality, and the laser cutting seems to be well done, with a bit of char but no scorch marks. Many of the laser cut parts are actually jig parts to hold the fuselage and wings during construction. There's a lot of work ahead, but I have already started thinking about possibly doing some sort of diorama for this....e.g. displaying it on a grassy field with the front of a WW1 style hangar, perhaps with the engine I previously built displayed on a stand. We'll see once I get to that point. Who knows when that will be.

Congrats on finishing another beautiful model! It manages to look both accurate/realistic and artistic. The finish on the hull is especially appealing to me.

Looking very nice! I struggled a bit with the transom but yours appears to be in good shape and good alignment.

Welcome to MSW! Be sure to check out some of the smuggler build logs, and start your own when you get going. There are a lot of helpful people here, including the owner of Bluejacket, in case you get stumped along the way.

Wonderful work, just amazing. I was also thinking, it is commonly expressed on this forum (including by me) that taking close up photos of our models reveals the small mistakes and smudges, scratches, dents, paint chips and so on. You, sir, seem to be immune to this phenomenon. Well done.

The Dory looks great and you are off to a good start on the pram. Regarding posting issues....for some reason the last image you posted is the "HEIC" format (High efficiency image container), while the first four are all jpeg. HEIC is an Apple image format that is not supported by the forum software, so the image does not show up in your post. So whatever you did to take and post the first four images, keep doing that. There are ways to convert the images, and there is a setting on the iPhone to tell it to use a more compatible format, if there is not some reason you want HEIC for other purposes. Google "HEIC file" to learn more than you ever wanted to know about it.

@Landlubber Mike thanks for the info. Seems the pen would be perfect for the trim around the windows. Most of the cars I have built don't have a lot of chrome, or they have incorrect chrome wheels that should really be painted silver. But lately I have built a couple '50s or '60s era cars and have a few more in the stash, and they have more chrome. In the past I just used the Tamiya X-11 paint or some Model Masters "Chrome" paint, both of which are really just a bright silver. @lmagna that is the exact stuff I used. One of the big issues I had was the side windows that have those two little fingers that I guess are the brackets for the front vent window. It was very difficult to form the foil on those little fingers and get it to stick, and I stupidly tackled that toughest one first instead of doing the easier front and back windows first. I also used an individual strip on each edge....I've seen others on youtube cover the entire window with one large piece of foil and then cut away the inside, which seems wasteful but maybe gives better results. And of course the old excuse....it looks worse in the close up pictures than in real life, especially with every little wrinkle catching the light of the flash

Thanks. And yea, I did not know that either. I guess the gull wing doors were not just a styling thing, but were actually there for a reason! The kit (and the car) actually had a flat(ish) underbody panel. I did not put that on....it did not fit great and it covered up all that detail. Thank you. I cannot take any credit for the chrome bumpers, etc. I just used the chromed kit parts as is for those bits. One thing about the chrome was a bit of a pain....on both the wheels and the dashboard you had to paint over some of the chrome part, which does not work real well. If I had some of the better chrome paint, it might have been better to strip the chrome off of those parts and then paint them.

I've been watching too many plastic car build videos on Youtube and wanted to explore that area a bit more, so built the Tamiya 1/24 Mercedes Benz 300SL from the mid/late 1950s. I tried several things for the first time with this build, with varying success... - I used my recently purchased air brush for all the priming and some of the painting, though I used a leftover rattle can for the body (both color and clear coat). The air brush worked well and I am definitely getting more comfortable using it. - I used the chrome "bare metal foil" for some of the chrome trim around the windows. This was less successful, as I could not get it as smooth as I would like, though I am sure that is user error. Next time I think I will try some of the newer chrome paint (by Molotaw or Alclad). - Also the first time I used the "panel line accent" around the trunk, and the first time I ever scribed the panel lines to make them a bit deeper. The latter was almost a disaster as a couple times I slipped and scratched the body so had to do some filling/sanding to repair it. - I also used some wire to add a bit of extra detail to the engine, though one of those I had to remove because it interfered with the hood closing all the way. Overall, I enjoyed the build. As with all Tamiya kits I have experienced, things generally fit together very well. There were a few tricky and fiddly bits but nothing too problematic. I am not sure what is next. I planned to build one more car from my stash and then start the Artesania Latina Sopwith Camel, though I just might go straight to the latter. Below are some pictures during construction and of the completed model. Thanks for looking!

I can identify with that remark! (though I then spend time on the computer looking at MSW). Welcome to MSW.

Glad to see you doing another build log. I don't think I have seen a log of the 1/8" scale Bluejacket America so it will be interesting to see how it comes together. Based on your build of the Atlantic I am sure it will be another beautiful model in the end.

Pulling up a chair....this looks like it will be a fun challenge for you. I had no idea the original was built in Indiana. As a former and possibly future Hoosier, I take a bit of extra interest.

Congrats on finishing the revenue cutter....it looks fantastic. Those are some of the more dramatic model ship photos I've seen. I really like the first one and the last two.

I missed this build log until now. Looks like you are off to a great start. That framing jig looks like a lot of work but I am sure it will serve you well, and reduce the stress of gluing the frames to the keel. The aft skylight deck beam assembly looks great....I remember really enjoying that part of the build.

Congrats on finishing a very fine looking model! I hope you take some more formal pictures of her and add her to the gallery. And I for one am reading your build log but have no idea if the yellow balls have a function

Looking forward to seeing the finished pictures of your beautiful Fifie. Do you plan to do a log for the Fiat in the non-ship builds section? I for one would be interested. As for plastic adhesive, I think it is similar to paint in that the dangerously smelly stuff works best I've been using the Tamiya extra thin and regular cement on a plastic build I am doing. The former is great for gluing together parts before painting....just hold them together and touch the seam with the small brush in the cap. If things are already painted, scrape the paint off of the mating surfaces for it to work best.

I too wish you well on your upcoming treatment and recovery. The model is looking great. Based on the new model shipway, you must be planning some much larger projects in the future.

I missed your new member intro so I will welcome you to MSW here and be the first to follow your build. I built this same kit 5 or 6 years ago before I discovered MSW, and have built a few other Bluejacket kits. It is a fun little kit to build. It looks like you have a nice dedicated work area, and are well prepared.

Thank you, I appreciate it. I will consider doing a build log....does not look like there is one here for the AL kit. But I am not sure when I will get started, likely after the first of the year.

As I mentioned near the end of my America build log, I bought a Model Airways 1/16th Sopwith Camel on a bit of a whim when I got a good deal on it. Then after doing more research I decided I preferred the version by Artesania Latina with its greater detail, including quite a few photo etch parts, so I bought one of those too. I then wondered what to do with the Model Airways kit. One thing I like about the AL kit is that it includes a metal cowl which adds some color and gives a bit more finished look, though it hides a lot of detail of the rotary engine. So I decided I'd build the engine from the Model Airways kit and put it on some sort of stand, to be displayed along with the AL kit once complete. Below are a few photos of the completed engine along with the carved propeller. The engine is made up of a bunch (125ish) of cast metal parts. Gluing them together is not the most enjoyable modelling experience. Carving the propeller was much more fun and actually not as tricky as I thought it might be. I recently bought an airbrush (more for a few model cars in my stash) and used it for the first time on this. After putting the engine together I sprayed it with Badger Stynylrez primer (what a name...) and then some Model Master "steel" color paint and used some Tamiya panel line accent. I pretty much followed the kit, though I used some 26AWG kynar wire with black insulation for the spark plug wires instead of black thread suggested by the kit. The stand was my own design made from 1/4" x 1/8" basswood from my stash, which is basically a scale 2x4s. If you got this far, thanks for taking the time to read!

Wow, just amazing as everyone has said. Thanks for including that last picture with the eye glasses. Looking at all the other pictures it is so easy to imagine this diorama and the individual pieces being much larger. The amount of detail you are fitting into a small space is incredible.

Good start, and welcome to MSW. This looks like a nice kit and from what I have seen produces a beautiful model. If you have not done so, search for other build logs of this kit....I know there is at least one recently completed one. That may provide both help and inspiration.