Per Ardua ad Astra

Warning, the photography has regressed, if you want to see some modelling and photography by somone who knows what they are doing, check out http://www.arcair.com/Gal12/11401-11500/gal11464-Valkyrie-McFarland/00.shtm

Otherwise proceed to the shambles.

It can be postponed no longer, time to cross the Rubicon and attach the canopy. NB given the apparent importance of said canopy I have massaged it with surgical spirits, Dremelled it with toothpaste and given it 2 dips in Klear over 48 hrs. Seriously thought about getting 0000000001 grade wet paper or specialist car polishes, but regarded the serendipitous discovery of the magical Klear floor polish as a reasonable level of care. So this is what it looks like:

That's right - can't see a thing but at least its shiny.
Time to mask up

And spray paint that baby

The dilemna now is since the spray finish look so good, do I proceed with brush painting the dorsa and tailplane as per F2 instructions?

This might just be the excuse to get an airbrush.

TataTaTaTaaTaa..TaaTaaTaaTaaaaa...(repeat)

Or something similar- wings, fuselage etc have come together and it's starting to look like a Proper Airfix kit

- and only one swoosh, swoosh, DagadagaDagaDagaaa... episode that I will confess to.
No more posts till the canopy is on, by chance we have the magical Klear, so watch this space.

New! Improved! Photography!

I have been advised by a somewhat more technically minded  friend that the pictures in this blog constitute a crime against photography. The advice was in the first instance stop using a flash, so lacking any suitable lighting, took the opportunity of the continuing presence of the Big Light in the Sky in these parts took a few shots outside.

Before

(actually, that was surprisingly effective)

After

Whoa!  Now that really captures my painting skills.

And how goes the build? Increasingly fraught.  As it becomes time to stick the assembled components together, any discrepancies are revealed, e.g. here is some of the residue from paring the nose ring sufficiently to fit on the front (and back to crap photography):

The whole cockpit assemblage has obviously been located incorrectly, leaving me to dread fitting the canopy (apparently the quality and finish of the canopy is the sine qua non of Plastic Modelling - ulp).  

Now For Something Completely Different... Revisiting Airfix

For the man who has everything, and is minus the family for a week, what better distraction than attempting to relive my childhood with The Best Airfix Ever of the  The Iconic British Contribution To The Cold War.
And its all silver - how hard could it be?
First step was to make some 45cm square "portable modelling workshops". Why 45cm? Because that's the width of the ply left over from 2m square I bought to make a lid on the water butt.
Can't put this off any longer - we are at T minus 5 days when the kids return and will want to play or help with any toy sized jet plane. The plan is to have this done and dusted and safely ensconced in one of our display cabinets in lieu of the various pieces of wedding related crystal currently resident (and seeing as this is our 18th anniversary - no better time),

First stop, the most excellent Marks Models where I decline an invitation to a barbecue and only just resist the temptation to go Big Time and get an airbrush.  A rattle-can of silver, 5 random 15ml tins, glue with with a metal pipette and some specialist masking tape and I'm good to go. But World Cup final precludes anything other than the occasional browse of youtube where it soon becomes apparent I really should have gone for an airbrush.
But oh boy am I ready

Crossing the Rubicon

This can be put off no longer. Time to open the box and start putting this mother together. And at step 1, Houston we have a problem,

There is a tiny little man in the model needing a gazillion different paint colours, The model cannot be stuck together and spray-painted with all-forgiving silver until this tiny man is in his cockpit. 

Even if the tiny man were to be left out, the cockpit still requires insane level of details otherwise the plane will be a Ghost Plan. Hmmm..... 

No, lacking flesh colour paint and limitted to 4 shades of silver, we will persevere and make tiny man and his acoutrements a worthy representation of those of risked and sometimes lost their live in the Cold War.

Just need to hold out till I get some flesh coloured paint. In the meantime, got back on Easy Street by spray painting some of the interior- now we're sucking diesel,