Nice work Torsten! 
With two Hellcats and now a Bearcat in the campaign, Iām definitely getting the itch to tackle a Grumman cat of some sort soon! 
Please let the rumours that have been around for a while prove true that Eduard are planning a series of state-of-the-art 1:48 Wildcatsā¦
All the best
Rowan
That would be nice, though I also like the Hobbyboss Wildcats. Some years ago Iāve built a Martlet out of their early Wildcat kit. Still have 5 Hobbyboss Wildcats in my stash. So no chance for Eduard in the near future for me ā¦
Just wonderful how you are building that 109. It allows me to secretely spy on your progress and get inspiration for mine. 
Hi Drabslab
Many thanks for your generous comments. Iām looking forward to seeing your Emil take shape - Iāve sure itāll be a real gem!
Itās rather ironic how the conversation turned to Hobby Bossās Wildcats, because I just remembered that Steffen sent me their FM-2 many years ago. Heād decided he didnāt want to build it - and, to be honest, I didnāt really feel like it at the time either, so it went straight on the āone dayā¦ā shelf, and sat forgotten. Iāve just had a look again, and Steffen had also included a couple of Vector resin correction sets and an Eduard pre-coloured etched set! 
It would be really fitting make it my main build for the campaign - but Iāve already committed to doing the Do 17 next and I darenāt take on too many builds, or Iāll end up doing my usual trick and not finishing any of them. So, instead, Iām going to do the next best thing and rescue it from the āone dayā shelf and give it pride of place among the priority projects to tackle when the decks are looking clearer.
Take care and stay safe.
All the best
Rowan
Hi again
Iāve done a bit of the work on the Gustavās undercarriage today, adding brake lines:
A little while ago I bought a cheap bumper pack of precision glue applicators on Amazon and had the idea that the finest of the tubes would work as connectors and rigging sleeves.
In fact, even the thinnest turned out to be much too big for the job at hand, but the tube stretches easily over a candle flame, producing a much finer tube:
Iām probably going to replace the looped flexible sections of the brake lines, and the beauty of using the tiny connection tubes is that itās as simple as unplugging them and trying different pieces of wire.
All the best
Rowan
OK, I missed something. Did you make the brake lines out of the stretched tube, or was the tube used to make something else? 
Hi Mark
Sorry - I wasnāt very clear. The main brake lines are stretched sprue with aluminium tape straps, and the loops are fuse-wire. The stretched tubes are the connections between the sprue and the wire:
Looking at reference shots, the loops need to be thicker - almost the same as the connectors. I might try coating them with with PVA, rather than ditching them in favour of thicker wire which could be a struggle to squeeze into the tubes. (Theyāll mostly be hidden behind the wheels anyway, so I might get away with itā¦)
All the best
Rowan
Thanks, I sorta thought the tube was the connector, but I wasnāt sure. Easy enough to pull off in 1/48, I may not have any luck with it in 1/72.
Hi Mark
I havenāt looked to see what the glue applicators are made of but, whatever it is, it stretched beautifully at the first attempt (my only attempt so far). It really was a case of āOh - thatās worked well enough for what I wantā, so I didnāt investigate further. But you may well be able to stretch it thinner while maintaining the tube, so I wouldnāt rule out 1:72. I was actually only thinking earlier that I wish Iād replaced the brake lines on Special Hobbyās new-tool Bf 109E, because the moulded-on renditions are very overscale.
All the best
Rowan
Hi again
Iāve got underway painting the Gustav. Itās got an interesting mix of factory and field-applied camouflage, with some heavy overpainting in some places:
Iāve indulged in a bit of artistic licence on the nose. Eduard show the soft camouflage division continuing further forward, but Iāve done it with a hard break as though the nose is either a pre-painted subassembly from a dispersed production plant or has had replacement cowls from another airframe fitted at some point.
I need to apply the swastikas and fuselage crosses before I go any further, because they have to be partly overpainted.
More soon.
All the best
Rowan
Iād like to change my entry if folks donāt mind. I was going to do an Eduard Albatros D III. Iāll finish it, but itās a pretty simple kit. It seems like this warrants something more serious. So, Iāve acquired some aftermarket with quite a bit of detail for my Albatros DV (and Iām trying to get my hand on some aftermarket undercarriage bits too). If no one objects?
Moving right along on the DV then. There is a choice to be made right away. My PE set allows an assembly of the platform holding the seat and the wood panel behind the seat. Itās pretty clever but a fair bit of detail. Since I plan to have the pilot seated, Iām not sure it will be worth it. The panel behind the pilot is the thick plastic piece and Iāve already folded the PE seat frame. It has a couple of nice things to it including what I think is the altimeter coming up from the floor?
Regardless, that injection mark behind that frame on each side of the fuselage is visible with both the plastic piece or the PE piece, so Iāll fill it. And Iāll also fill the pin mark above the engine. I seriously doubt that is visible, but as long as Iām fillingā¦
Hmmm. Sorry about that pic, the details of the fuselage are not pronounced but are at least clear on the photo on my screen but seem a bit lost on the upload. Iāll take a pic of it filled tomorrow.
Hi Phil
Itāll be great to see the D.V with extra aftermarket details. Iāll be especially keen to see what youāve got in mind for the undercarriage, because Eduard made the struts slightly too short, giving the finished model a rather stocky appearance (I didnāt realise this when I built the kit many years ago):
All the best
Rowan
There is a guy in the UK, Brian Fawcett (1/48 Scale resin detail/correction parts - Brian L Fawcett Models and Patterns), who makes replacement undercarriage for the DV. I have both the Eduard D III and D V kits. The undercarriage braces are exactly the same. But youāll note on the DV the attachment point is higher on the fuselage. I think this explains why the DV may look a little squatā¦
Hi again
Just a quick update on the Gustav:
As you can see, Iām getting on with the undersides. Iāve used ātyre blackā which allows for some shading on the panel lines etc. (I really donāt like pale panel highlighting).
Ironically, before taking the photo, Iād decided the shading shows up too strongly - but itās basically vanished in the photo! Itās that classic conundrum; do you do what looks best to the naked eye or the camera?
All the best
Rowan
Merlin,
splendid work on Your Gustav. I really love this landing gear improvement and the camo looks spot on !
Oliver
Torsten,
well done paint job on Your Hellcats.These will look great!
I startet my Bearcat with the essential set for the cockit from Eduard. I had a similar problem with the pre painted colours mentioned above.
Keep on building
Oliver
Hi Oliver
Great work on the Bearcat! The cockpit looks a treat, and the extra work wiring up the engine and adding cables in the wheel really bring them to life!
All the best
Rowan
Lovely detailing work on your Bearcat, Oliver. That cockpit looks splendid!
This is my Hobbyboss F8F from a few years back ā¦
Strenuous working weeks have slowed down the building speed of my Hellcats a lot but most work is done now. Have to add a few small parts still but I hope to have done everything during the Easter Holidays. Iām not sure if the cartoon is shown on both sides of the cowling on JZ 796. Eduard offers 2 decals so I decided to use them, no matter if itās right or wrong. I further didnāt like the decals for the walk ways, so I brush painted them. That looks much better now. After the landing crash of JZ796 on my work bench everything is repaired now.
