[RNBeavis]

Well, this is the first model I've built since I was 12 (17 and a bit years ago!) and I'd forgotten how completely absorbing it is putting them together and painting them. So far, so good. The cockpit is nice - never done one before - though I selected a green to use internally rather than the blue the instructions said as it's green in il2 dammit.

I don't have an airbrush, but with careful use of the excellent tamiya paints and a good selection of brushes I've got it looking lovely with a nice flat finish. The canopy is a right arse to do by the way: I hadn't anticipated what a complete bugger the Zero canopy is with all those window frames!

I've yet to mark the panels out, apply weathering, decals and stick the engine on, etc, but I'm dead chuffed with it thus far. Sorry the picture can't be better, but it gives you an idea... well, if anyone's reading this, anyway ;-)

[jopped]

Looking good mate! Try not to do to much new things at once. Just go bit by bit

Cheers,
Joppe

[RNBeavis]

Yes, that's sound advice. I've learned a lot from this one and I'm looking forward to putting that into practise on my next one (for which, ha ha! I might buy an airbrush!). Bloody painstaking work though!

[Hannable69]

One trick I've learned with doing canopies. Even with masking, sometimes paint will get on the glass. I use a pointy toothpick to scrape the paint off around the panel lines. Even a complete flub-up can be fixed this way, and it takes a lot of stress out of doing them because you don't have to think, "If I so much as twitch, I'm going to ruin the whole canopy." Nope. Just take out your trusty toothpick, do some gentle scraping (the wood won't scratch the clear plastic), and viola ... Might need several toothpicks (or, if you're like me, I continually resharpen the toothpick with my hobby knife) but you'll be able to get even the smallest of mistakes taken care of since the sharp point allows you to get right up there next to the panel lines ... especially if the lines are raised (which they usually are).

Airbrushes are still a mystery to me. I bought one some time ago, but never could figure out how to mix the paints and such or what size nozzle to use ... or how much air pressure to apply, etc. etc.

[KG64_Cnopicilin]

Nicely done window frames