Hi all

"In for a penny..." as they say. In the course of preparing to in-box review Kitty Hawk's new largescale P-39 I did my usual test-fit of the main parts:



Of course, you've guessed it - the bug's bitten and I can't resist building the beast now! So, while I get on with writing the review, I'll also run a blog. It'll highlight hurdles along the way (and I can already see some looming...) and make for a more complete review in the end.

I've got to work at Oxfam today, but I'll try to get started properly when I get home around tea-time.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Looks like a well fitting kit. Boy are your current builds growing by the day. You just might have to beat me to full retirement just to catch up on all those builds.

Joel

Looking forward to watching this one come together. I am planning to pick one up once they hit the shelves here.

Cheers, D

Rowan, which markings are you pondering?

Best wishes,

Ian

Hi all

Thanks for your interest. As for it being a well-fitting kit, that's certainly true of the main parts - but it does need a bit of preparation, because the bugbears that tend to dog Kitty Hawk kits - namely ejector pin marks - are sadly here in abundance (I actually ended up removing the locating pins on these engine parts too for a better fit):



There's also an occasional bit of heavy flash on the review kit - one slot for a wing tab was entirely filled in:



Something else I noticed was a bit of mould release agent, so I recommend giving the parts a good wash in detergent before starting work.

Which colour scheme? Well, unfortunately, the French and Italian decals are hopelessly out of register in the sample and the US insignia look slightly ragged, so my options are limited to the Soviet schemes - which, luckily, were my first choice anyway.

Another really odd thing with the decals is that some of the inks appear to have been printed on top of the gloss carrier film - so I'll have to do a check to make sure they don't disintegrate when they're soaked.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

No photos as yet, but I've got things under way - kind of... The first job has been filling ejection pin marks, and there are a fair few of them.

I'm getting my head around some of the details of the build, and I can now see why Kitty Hawk add the nose-gear perilously early; the whole nose section is a cat's cradle of interlocking parts. So I'm looking for a work around for the transmission shaft before committing myself - but I may end up following the instructions... heavens forbid!

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Glad to see that you're working on the P-39. Just follow the instructions so you don't end up as we say, painting yourself into a corner with no way out.

Guess you've put away the Bronco for now.

Joel

Bought mine yesterday and Sprue Brothers shipped it this morning. Those guys are great.

I will be picking up my Tamiya 1/32 Mossie at the end of the week and will be ordering this when I do (T7 Models). It does look good and it will make a nice change to do a Russian scheme

Hi again

Sorry for the snail's pace progress on this one. I did manage to spend a little while at the workbench today and even started spraying some undercoat.

I have to say, every time I think I've caught all the visible ejection pin marks, I find some more - so they are a real delay in getting under way if you're picky about such things (like me). I wouldn't normally bother with an undercoat on a mainstream kit, but I've done so on this to pick up any extra prep needed.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
It's one reason I still prime. I find all sorts of errors, and issues that need attention before I move on.
Joel