Hello John,

Thank you for the input and stopping by. Here is what the Dragon instruction are showing..........



I retain the question: Why is this been omitted? Is this a modification that was only done the E2 Tropical line since this may have lead to being a maintenance issue with the area filling with sand and the crew getting improper venting. Was this a field modification or done at the factory level? Logic dictates after all, that this vent is behind the wing and is in the air stream so it is possible it was omitted. So, again is this something Dragon made up or was this really omitted.

Now since I've not very many examples of the E2 Tropical online in my research, I have not make the modification that is mentioned in the instructions to do lack of information.

Dragon, in my opinion, has made some errors in their kits, be it the M103A1 kit or this one. Either they are going by the very limited examples that do exist or Dragon is not completely doing the correct research before production starts or they are trying to kit bash what they have in production to make a "new" kit.

I try to keep the builds from going into what I call a "Frankenstein" build, were you buy a kit and hack it up to make a "perfect" kit. It's a hobby, your already spending up to $150.00 bucks and then turning around and removing up to 75% of it, then adding other $200 in "upgrades" and aftermarket to make it "perfect." Different strokes I guess. And yes I do sleep very well at night knowing it's not "perfect."

When I do a build review, like this one, I try to look at the kit as it is, research the real deal, and compare the findings during the build and mention them as I find them, the rest I leave up to you, the viewer/reader to make your modification has you see fit. I try to keep it simple, don't try to confuse the viewer/reader with "what if's", just the facts.

Anyways,

As far as the nose vent goes, that I have taken care of as of today. I've taken an old Tamiya 1/35th scale 20mm magazine holder and modified, sanded it to fit in between the top 2 guns. The angle of the vent is not exact, but it's there.

Rowan, the instruction sheet does show to nose vent on final over head view for decal placement, just does not include it on the nose part itself.

Paint is on going. Again, thank for stooping by.

See ya in the funnies................

Brian,

Wow - quite a comprehensive build you are creating!

Using the 20mm for the vent - clever!

Hello Fred,

Thanks for the kind words. I really don't have much to go with, so I just guessed. Will have photo's shortly.

See ya in the funnies...............

O.K., here's the nose vent and the part used.







Here's after..........







Not exact like I stated in last post, but comes very close. Not bad for a former truck driver and future Pastry Chef.

See ya in the funnies................

Go with what I have told you, and what you see in the photos. Those two air vents were introduced on the 'E' variant, from the E-1 onwards, and the Tropical kit added to the 110 had nothing whatsoever to do with those inlets.

Hello everyone,

Update time.

My apologizes for not doing anything for a week. I've been having lower back challenges that needed some attention. Had a steroid injection on Tuesday and because of this, I've been very sore and unable to do much until today.

So here we go...........



Under carriage done.













Under side radio ant. mount and ladder installed. Note hoop ant. is not installed. The P.E. that came with kit is trash, bend beyond salvaging. Must make replacement.







And now we wait.......It's getting there.

Thanks for tuning in.

See ya in the funnies.......................

Spending the day sanding down high spots from first coat of wing paint that was done the other day.
Second coat to be applied shortly.

See ya in the funnies...........

Hey gang,

I'm getting a bit with the paint at this point. I'm not sure what the heck is going on with it. Ticking me off.

Anyways, still hard at work on it.

See ya in the funnies.............

FINALLY! After a week of banging my head against a brick wall trying to figure out the paint challenge, I've got it!
Photo's tomorrow. Still not out of the woods yet. Will explain when I post in morning.

See ya in the funnies...............

Hello everyone, it's photo time!

Yesterday or last night, (depending on what time zone your in,) I posted that the paint challenge had been overcome. Well, here's what happened, and please take notes, there will be a quiz later.

If you've been following closely I stated in an earlier post about the humidity in the apartment, or lack of. This was one factor in the paint not behaving like I needed it too. The second factor in this was that the Model Master color, Sandgelb RLM 79, was not thick enough. Normally I have had no challenges in the past with Model Master paints coverage, if its mixed correctly.

Did you catch that? We have user error in play here.
Why I did not catch this sooner, I have no idea. Aliens, planets not in the correct alignment, Colorado altitude, head up my *&%$, who knows.
The point is that I got it fixed.

Here's the first step. Make a stir stick!



This is made from a popsicle stick. You can make it for a Dremel tool. I'll post the process on how to do this later.

Here's the results of having the room at the right temp., and the paint mix correctly.
Note: I'm still going to have to go over and sand down some high spots, but its not like before were I had to strip everything off.







Light sanding with 220 grid sand paper and second coat up next.
This took way too long for the paint do get done.

Anyways,
See ya in the funnies................

Hello everyone,
Today we are going to make a stir stick for a Dremel tool out of a popsicle stick. This is for builder's that do not have a paint shaker in their inventory. You will need the following items:

1. One Popsicle stick.
2. Fine point marker, for tracing shaft of Dremel bit.
3. X-acto knife or razor saw. (either works)
4. Drill bit from Dremel tool for shaft pattern width.
5. Masking tape, to hold bit in place while tracing shaft.

Step one:


Place drill bit on popsicle stick, making sure it is some what centered.

Step two:


Trace out shaft of drill bit. The shaft length is depended on the depth of the paint bottle you are going to use.
One popsicle makes two stir stick.



Step three:



Step four:


Cut along lines, you might want to use a razor saw to cut against the grain of the popsicle stick. An X-acto knife is needed for use with the grain.

Step five:


Break in half. This makes it easier to work with.

Step six:


Use X-acto to make cut on line.
Use razor saw to cut out notch and you'll get this.......


Step seven:

Repeat process for the second stir stick as seen here.





And here we have our stir sticks.




Now for those that are more inclined to make this with a metal shift, simply replace wood shaft by cutting off wood shaft, drilling and gluing an old bit into the paddle end of cut out.

The tool used in this build is from an old salon nail filing system which is battery powered. So I would recommend that if you use this as is to use the lowest RPM setting on the Dremel, setting 1, to avoid this flying apart on you.

Hope this helps.

See ya in the funnies.................

Hello everyone,

The sanding of high spots is almost complete. I hope to have second coat done by Sunday and posted progress by then.
Finalizing everything to make sure I didn't leave any parts off.

See ya in the funnies..............

Hey, Brian! Forgive me but I have lost sight of this thread.
Know it's late, but if you deleted the vent, you should have made another one on the other side:

Hello Florin,

No problem. Thanks for the drawing, so Dragon did NOT get that part correct. I just really wasn't sure. Yes I did a retraction. LOL

I also may have a mystery P.E. part which is not mentioned in the instructions. This maybe the nose vent. Stay tuned....

See ya in the funnies..............

Hello everybody,

Remember in the last post I mentioned that I may have a mystery part, well here it is.........



I've gone though the instruction sheet and this is not there nor has it been placed in the "do not use" pile as per instruction either. Truth be told, this part is not even on the diagram showing the "MA" parts sprue in the instructions! If this is the nose vent, then we're fine at this stage of the build. I'll just apply and do touch up to it.

So, on to the progress. Underside second coat complete.





Still doing touch up and second coat to fuselage, canopy frame outline, and other areas. The canopy is the biggest challenge for me at this point in the paint.
The eyes aren't what they use to be. Very embarrassing.



Still plugging away at it.

See ya in the funnies...................

Awesome scratch building Brian! You are really going the whole nine yards with this build.

Ernest

Hello Ernest,

Thank you.

Not sure what you mean by scratch building but if your referring to the stir sticks for the motor tool, then I guess I am going all out. Those were done out of necessity, so I had to scratch build them, "redneck" engineering at work.

Everything else is OOB for the build. However, the ant. ring will have to be scratched since the P.E. that came with to kit is bent out of whack and is beyond saving. I'm still hunting for a suitable material to replace this part.

Thank for stopping by.

See ya in the funnies................

Brian,

Fine work! I know what you mean about the eyes not being like they used to be, and about paint being contrary.

She looks great with that beautiful RLM 79!

Ingenious way to make a stir stick!

Hey there, Brian! You are correct, the mystery part from the PE sheet is indeed the nose vent.

Hello Fred,

Thanks. I've been toying with the idea of doing a three tone camo job for it, but I think I'll just leave it and add the lighter brown stripe to the tail section.

Hello Florin,

The mystery has been confirmed! Nose vent it is!
So having that part confirmed, let's review................

If everyone remembers earlier in the build, it was mentioned that the nose vent was absent from the instructions sheet. So I had to scratch it out of a 1/35th scale Tamiya 20mm flak 38 magazine receiver. Which looked like this.............



And turned into this...............



Then after posting, it was discovered this wasn't listed anywhere on the instruction sheet, thus labeled the "mystery part."



So now we know it is indeed the nose vent for the aircraft, thus the 110 got a nose job. I'm not pleased with the outcome, since this is a very fragile part, please use caution when installing.

Here's the results of the surgery............

The part.............



The P.E. nose vent...........







Notice, it's slightly bent, the slightest pressure with tweezers will cause this. Clean up and repainting nose to blend in progress.

The battle continues..........

See ya in the funnies........................

Hey Gang,

Quick update.







Not looking too bad. It's getting closer. Fuselage needs second coat, wings done, minor touch up and I think we'll have this in the bag soon.

See ya in the funnies...........

Your 110 is looking very nice Brian. You did a great job installing the PE nose piece. I probably would have left the scratchbuilt piece in place as I really hate messing with a piant job once it is complete, kudos to you for having the courage and skills to bring it off!

Hello Ernest,

Thank you.
I did debate on leaving it, but went and did it since I only had done the first coat of paint. Had I'd done the second coat, then I would of left it alone.

Thanks for stopping by.

See ya in the funnies..............

Hey gang,

Had some personal challenges, again, pop up, nothing major. Back to the paint. 98% done.

See ya in the funnies...............

Hello everyone,

Good news! Spent the day doing second coat on fuselage and touch up on the 110.
All that's left is decal's and some photos. Decal's will have to wait, I'm getting another lower back steroid injection at 10:15 am M.S.T., I'll have photos posted before I go in.
After I recover from getting stabbed in the back, I'll place the decals on her. Other the that, this build is done.

My apologizes to everyone for lagging on this build, it should of been done weeks ago.

Thanks to everyone that has put they're input into this build and to those that have been lurking in the shadows. LOL.

See ya in the funnies...............