Axel's corner

After preparing all the sub assemblies and parts I gave them a good wash with lukewarm water with some dish washing soap. While the parts were drying I decanted Tamiya surface primer (white and grey) into some paint jars. All the parts received a grey primer coat to check for blemishes or spots that need to be reworked. After everything is checked the wings and body will be primed with the white surface primer. After the grey primer, this is how everything looks. Apart from the front wings and the rear wing, everything looks ready for a splash of color. The front wings need some extra work filling and sanding to get rid of the ejector pin marks. The ejector pin marks on the rear wing are hardly visible anymore. Only a few short shot spots on the back of the rear wing need some attention. After sanding, the front wings, rear wing and the body got a coat of white primer in preparation for the color. In the meantime I already painted the suspension, cockpit and engine/g...

Well. I can hardly believe how long I've been silent here on this blog. Not counting the two show reports I posted earlier this week, the last posting here being from November 2021... But, since I went from a 5 to a 4 day work week at the beginning of this year, there is finally some more spare time to spend. Oh, and a good cleaning of the modelling "cave" did also help in motivating me to dive into the cellar and do some building again. To start a (fingers crossed) longer stint of modelling activities, I decided to (finally) continue with this particular kit. It's been lying around for almost 10 years, so you can say it's desperately in need of some attention. Luckily all parts are still accounted for as I had the parts nicely packed away (for a change). Upon inspecting my work I couldn't quite look past a few things that weren't so neatly done. Especially the engine/gearbox and rear wing assemblies were a bit wanting. Also, upon cross-checking ...

Recently (October 19th) I visited the Scale Model Challenge event in Veldhoven. Just short of an hours drive from where I live. This was a first for me. Although this event has been taking place since 2007, I've never visited Scale Model Challenge before. Mostly because I was afraid there would be "nothing" to see for me as a (mainly) civil (car) modeller. And as I've been going to the IPMS Netherlands event which takes place just a month later, I've never had the urge to also visit the SMC. How wrong have I been all those years. What an event. A rich selection of vendors and club stands from all over the world adorned the rooms and halls of the NH Koningshof conference center. But the highlight surely was the competition area. The sheer amount of fantastic models (from all disciplines) on display was simply unbelievable. And the models (and their creators) came from all over the world. I think I've never heard more different languages in one place...

This blog has been awfully quiet of late. And yes, I've promised this in the past, but I really (really) intend to be a bit more productive. But more on that in another post. This first post since long will be about the KMK Scaleworld event I visited last June. It's been several years since my last visit to this modelling event, as it clashed with other appointments in the past. The event has been relocated a few years ago and I was eager to finally visit the event at the new location. Luckily this year I was finally able to attend it once again. The event took place at the Thomas More Campus in Geel (Belgium). It's just over a one hour's drive from where I live. For me this is one of the shows with the highest quality of displayed models. Not only in the contest area, but also at the club stands. And there were quite a few of them. The hallways of the campus were filled with vendors and club stands. In the cellar another large room was filled with club stan...