1. move forward or make progress, especially when circumstances make this slow or difficult.

Finally progress on the Stuka.

In fact, I’ve made some pretty significant movement towards the goal of finishing this beast up.  In the time it has taken me to get this far on the Stuka, I have finished Trumpeter’s Mig-3, and Eduard’s FW 190A-5.  As I have mentioned ad nauseum, part of the foot-dragging on the Stuka build has been wading through some broken part issues.  Figuring those out has taken some of the wind from the proverbial sails.

As she stands right now, all of the parts issues have been addressed (no telling how long it will take me to get a replacement canopy from Italeri), and the model is almost ready for the gloss clear.  I am actually very happy with the way things are coming along with the paint.

The paint, minus the primer, are all from Vallejo’s model air Luftwaffe set (RLM 02, RLM 04, RLM 65, RLM 70, RLM 71).  I still think I prefer Model Master enamels, but these were not bad to shoot, dry quickly, and are easy to clean up. The downside is that they don’t seem to be as durable. I’ve read horror stories of Vallejo paints peeling under masks, but that isn’t a problem I have faced.

I’ve grown to prefer the so-called black basing method over pre-shading, but it takes significantly longer.  Using this method I literally paint each panel individually. This technique gives some nice subtle variation between the panesls that I find comparable to models that I’ve seen using pre and post shading methods.

For both accuracy and speed, I used LF Models pre cut vinyl masks for the camoflage. I’ve used these on several builds and really like them. Admittedly they are less helpful with the straight lines of Luftwaffe splinter camouflage than RAF schemes found on the Spitfire, Tempest, or Mossie.  Total paint time is somewhere in the 4 hour range, not including drying time between colors or masking.

I think I am on schedule to finish this kit this weekend (replacement canopy notwithstanding).  That’s a good thing as my wife is about to pop. For her sake, I hope it happens soon. She looks very uncomfortable.

Once baby day arrives I will take a couple of weeks away from the bench to get situated with a new child, but then I have a couple of builds in que for the fall.  I committed myself to the Multi-Engine (bomber) Group Build on Facebook’s Military Model Graveyard. For that I have Monogram’s 1/48  Heinkel HE 111 – H4/6 lined up, with Eduard’s PE, and other goodies. I have to submit my build in early January.  I’ve also committed myself to a Reddit s/modelmakers Strike Fighters groupbuild.  For that, I’m doing Revell’s F-15E Strike Eagle with enough ordinance to single handedly win a war. It has a tentative start date of November 1st through February 1st.  Join me there!