RICHARD WILLS

What Paul said is generally true . However I have a vast collection of wheels from different manufacturers . On the same brand you could definitely go from 70mm to 76mm for rough strips . If you are not worried about looks , I have some larger and thinner than that . So anyone having issue like that , should always ask me first as I may be able to swap out the wheels for something bigger and thinner . From a looks point of view the ones shown always look in the ball park and weigh almost nothing . Ive always liked them . But I do think you have a valid point .

Another useful tool here . The sanding drum . Makes lightwork of the edges and tidies up nicely . Just fits in a standard drill chuck . That is pretty much it . Apologies for mine looking rough , but I'm sure you appreciate I dont really have time for hanging about . I reckon you could do the whole lot in an hour if pushed . But to be fair .......Ive done a few . Any questions?

The ribs need to be flush or nearly flush with the bottom wing skin . When you are entirely satisfied with the fit . , brush some water into the cuts and then add the laser cut mount with golden gorilla glue . It will expand to make a really good grip on the foam . You can sand off nay slightly proud bits later . The kits will also include some strips of ply to line the wheel wells . I have a stock of plastic wheel wells , but never found them easy to fit or convenient . They work better on built up wings , but even then they have snags . Wood is easy as it glues well and is quick to fit . Later you will see that I lined the bottom of the wheel well with a cardboard disc.

Next thing is to remove the skin where you have drawn the lines. Although I've shown a knife , my weapon of choice is the cut off hacksaw blade . The fine point goes round corners really well , less chance of cutting yourself too. Just don't go through the top wing skin and ruin your paint job . Next thing is to scoop out the foam . For many years , I use to heat up an old undercarriage leg over the gas cooker ring and scoop out the foam . Then some genius invented the solder gun . This one is £19 on Amazon and you can change the "bit " to a bigger and squarer piece of wire which is superb for scooping out foam . (I understand you can do soldering with it too 😉)

In the pack , you will also get an A4 overlay which aligns with the wing centre line and the leading edge . First , you need to cut out the shape shown . Then holding it in the right position , draw round the inside with a black pen . Easy , so far isnt it ?

Right , lets get back to the business of putting retracts in the FW190 . As Paul says , we are waiting for wheels from a well known wholesaler , but I have a few stashed for those that are chomping at the bit . The retract kit will comprise of : Laser cut wooden parts for the mount . 2x servoless retract units . Pre formed 8swg legs with coil spring to protect the units . 70mm lightweight wheels , star dome captive wheel retainers , wheel doors and Y lead . Price will be hopefully £59.90 You can see some of the main items below. The laser cut mounts only have four parts , but the each wing will have a mirror version of the other , so take time to glue them together appropriately . For instance , the key hole rib must be inner most on both sides and the main mount plate must have the circular recess for the coil spring rearward . When you see the following posts , this will become more obvious . I would recommend using epoxy or golden Gorilla glue throughout .

that is pig ugly .

While he has popped to the loo , Ive been painting his adversary . My little fella is in a home defence squadron and as they were quite worried about being mistaken for an allied flyer in the event of a bail out , they wore a lot of arm bands etc stating clearly what they were. He looks more like a Cylon than a 1940s pilot . They may have been the baddies , but they definitely looked cool . I suppose having your tanks designed by Porsche and your outfits by Hugo Boss helped .

He's camera shy and has also has a weak bladder . Just popped to the loo.

Its all about creating a model that looks far more detailed than it really is . That suits these two entry level kits because they are supposed to be quick build, no fuss models , but that doesn't mean they have to look ordinary . Im still waiting for exhaust stacks before I call it a day . Also got to give the rudder an impression of fabric covering .

The next bit (and this is fun ) is creating and the metallic look where the paint has "worn through " . You can do this with silver paint and a brush but done very dry . However , I prefer the silver shaker pens and a finger . You can dot random little blobs on and quickly wipe them in the direction of airflow . If you cock it up , just paint the base colour over it . I like mine a bit over the top , but you can decide when to stop .

Here are a few more pictures on the finishing technique . This time using a black chalk . A soft pencil will do the same . In the ones below , you can see me using the masking tape on one panel to keep it clean , but with a circular motion I am creating dust that will overlap onto the adjacent panel . You could do the opposite with white chalk on the dark areas .

Tuppence ? Thrupence ? A tanner ? Half a crown 2 and 6 a pound Its a lost world isnt it ? (Sorry Geoff )

Wood eh ? Funny old stuff . You can get Magnums in a three pack for £3.15 . You've used two , so raised the value of the P51 by £2.10 Ive used individual Tiramisu pots for wheel well lining before and it works out more like £2 each . Conversely , you can nip into McDonalds and get coffee stirrers for nothing and those little paper cups that you put the sauce in (which I have yet to discover a use for ). Is this going to be a new kind of modelling Ron ? A bit like Kevin Costner using ski boots to walk on the sea bed in Water world ? Maybe we could make a man carrying model with stuff from the recycling bin ?

I really like it . It's funny how other peoples models somehow have more appeal . Perhaps its because without seeing the build up , they sort of enter the stage with a bit more jazz ? Colours look very accurate too. Anyway , excellent result .