Count me in on this one HG, love it!
Ulterior motive at work here as well as I have plans for building this kit in RAAF markings in the future as #4 in a WWII 1-, 2-, 3- 4-engine RAAF Flying Boat project (Seagull, Catalina, Do-24, Sunderland). Your build will definitely serve as a reference library for me for the build 
Cheers, D
Darn it Damian, now I really have up my game since that it will be a āreferenceā. Ok, fine Iāll do it for you and Colin, but remember itās 1/72 and I am not a wonder worker. God bless.
Hell Yeah!!! 
Hi Flyers!
And so we begin. Before the pictures though, I have to say this kit, for a 1/72 is incredibly detailed with almost no flash. The fit, so far, is really good and fun to put together. On with the show.
Using a fine file to remove the plastic detail. Then it was polished smooth for the best fit of the PE bezels.
Gotta love Cartograf decals. Iām using NATO black for all my details. Silicone brushes are great for positioning the decals.
Some 214 highlight the bezel frames. Otherwise theyāre impossible to be noticed.
Once the decal was completely dry after an hour a decent coat of X-22 will let you see the proper placement, plus adds a lens effect and glues it in place.
Later, run some CA along the edges to ensure it stays put. Looks pretty good, yes?
The harness partsā¦ well they are what they are.
The floor really needed some filth to knock back the solid interior color. The seat PE fits perfectly. Scuff the the paint away from the brass and plastic if you are only putting one coat of paint on.
I put the plastic parts on instead following the instructions and inserting them in the PE.
Some serious detail for a 1/72.
Medium blue for the cloth curtain door. Now for some detail masking.
Only takes a half an hour to mask off the electronics.
Sure it takes some time to mask and spray, but looks much better than hand painting.
Hereās the before shot of the unmasked parts prior to being soft/dry brushed.
Look, I have no clue at this point how much of it will be seen. Italeri do make very clear windows, so why not.
Besides, itās rewarding and fun to add high tones of silver.
Donāt sweat the minor flaws or bit of flash here and there which will truly never be seen.
There you go @ColinEdm weāre off and running. I have have 5 other projects on the go for clients, but will work yours in from time to time.
Thanks for have a look everyone.
Youāre off to a great start! Looks very nice so far, looking forward to seeing it progress keeping in mind you have all the other builds to work on as well.
Love it HG, great stuff mate!
Hi Friends,
Managed to squeeze in half a days work on the VNM.
The anchor deck I figured would need some attention.
The supplied thread will not hand slip through, but I didnāt want to widen the cable hole. A tiny wire made into a loop will pull it through.
A dab of CA and some tape will secure the other end after a knot was tied.
I used VMA resin CA to slowly pin down the cable to make the shape then handpainted dull coat to cover the shiny spots.
Nice little subassembly.
To see if aft needs to be weathered I had to dry fit and look inside. Itās so dark that any light will shadow the details. A complete waste of time to add a wash in this case.
Opened back up, I can continue with.
A wax pic-up stick works great for the windows.
Sadly, thereās a lot of distortion.
Using liquid tape because of the limited glue points.
Scrape the connection points.
Great fit here.
More when completed.
Thanks.
Wow, that is some updateā¦ The detail work is outstandingā¦ And the blue curtain looks really good and adds some nice colourā¦ I wonder if it will be seen once all closed up though ? Shame if you canāt.
The flight deck looks lovely sat in the fuselage, really crisp looking and the anchor is a great touch ā¦ Love how this coming togetherā¦ And it looks big in that 8th from that last pic with the starboard wing in the fuselageā¦ Great update 
Great progress HG! I wonder how this compares to the Special Hobby kit? 
Thank you @Johnnych01 Thanks @Russelle More fun to come on this one. Iāll try to pull off making the canopy removable. If that works Iāll do more panel line and filth weathering in the cockpit and area.
Hi Friends,
Quick update.
Because thereās plenty of interior detail Iāll leave the door open. The darkness will highlight the ribs as if they were weathered. Not being lazy, just smart.
Using an old airbrush needle to dab some friskers on the windows. I could have added more windows, but the fit would have looked awful.
These guns need to be darkened a tad, but are ready. Iāll leave the cuss words out as to how many times I tried to connect them HA HA.
While one segment is curing Iāll do something down the road.
Iām walking around the cement of the wing halves and making sure these sections have hardened.
Lots of projects on the go in the studio, please be patient. Enjoy @ColinEdm
All looking very nice HG, and Iām glad I am not the only one still using clothes peg as clamps
And of course, the windows and guns look lovely
Thanks @Johnnych01
I know the panel lines are deep on this one, but Iāll feather them down. Yes, heterosexual men like flowers on the clothes pins, it was all the dollar store had. Sure hope you like the improved gun look. Stand by.
Looking great HG! You have a lot on the go, impressive workmanship on all.
Hello Sunderlandians 
Only five pictures, yet it represents many hours of work, as you all can appreciate.
Iām using Mr. Masking SOL R with an ultra fine brush. Some poster tac holds the sticks so the parts can be maneuvered easier.
The front turret has to be pre-painted.
Krystal clear is flexible enough to reposition if they get bumped while adding the left half. If they were glued with Tamiya extra thin they might pop off. Iāll show more on this later.
Iāll attach the canopy later, but it will be sprayed with a coat of interior green then the camo. The guns will covered and the gaps stuffed with soft sponge.
I used a flexible ruler to poke up the top windows by slipping it in the gap of the belly. Then the slow process of walking the glue around. On the connection pins I used Tamiya white label glue because itās slow curing. After this flashes I can sand the seam lines.
Huge thanks to Sunward Hobbies for getting my last order to me quickly to get more work on this project move along.
Thanks everyone for the views, likes and great comments. God bless.
Nice work as always HG. every time I read these post in all the forums, there is always some new tool or product I find I have to buy (in this case the Krystal Klear) ā¦ damn this hobby lol
I found when I did the Wildcat that painting the canopy interior frame is a must as it does add a great deal of realism ā¦ just so fiddly .
Does that Krystal klear have to built up in stages ? and I assume it can only be used effectively for small areas like the porthole windows on the Sunderland ?
I agree about something new. What is Tamiya white label glue? I donāt think I have seen that product around these parts.
Here you go Sir.
John,
For canopy and wind screen interiors I use 1mm and smaller stripes of masking tape where the frames are. Then add your masking fluid. While the fluid is still wet remove the tape and let the fluid completely dry. Now you can spray the interior color.
Right you are about small areas. Makes great lenses for instruments, or as an adhesive like I used it for the plastic windows here. Makes awesome portholes on ships as well. Thanks.
Hey Yāall,
Spent my Sabbath day doing the wingsā¦ mmmmm wings! Now Iām hungry, thanks @ColinEdm ha ha.
Not much filler was needed after sanding edges, but the light housings were a mess. Bondo to the rescue. Itās lacquer based and clings really well, plus if it is sanded smooth enough acts as a primer.
Panel lines and rivets redone.
As you can see, the bulbs were painted white and contrast enough with the silver.
The covers were short shot, but the upper and lower paint should hide this a little.
Definitely protecting the covers with SOL R.
Youāll need a thick set of drill bits. Pensioning this grill should be funā¦ YICKS.
I want an organic look, hence the drooping ailerons. This took half my work day, but just another of the many improvements to come.
Special thanks to Sunward Hobbies for getting my supplies to me super quick!
Thanks guys.