Scale aviation modeller international

try adding a touch less orange.
Next, I added a gloss coat
using Tamiya X-22 Clear. I’m
beginning to rely on X-22 for a
gloss coat more and more. It needs
to be airbrushed, but it dries faster
than Future/Klear and is harder.
I’ve also found that the decals
like to stick to it a lot better.
The decals are beautifully
detailed. There are four options
for this build: Muroc Dry Lake
Base, 1947; Edwards Air Force Base,
1950; Muroc Dry Lake Base, 1946;
Edwards Air Force Base, 1947. All the
stencils are clear and easy to read.
I decided on the irst option, as
this was the one to break the sound
barrier. Near the end of adding the
decals I discovered that one stencil
was missing from the sheet; there
are supposed to be two of Decal #23.
I informed Eduard of this, simply
to let them know of this error, and
they kindly sent me a replacement
set. After waiting a few weeks
for the replacements to arrive,

I added the decals

and sealed them

with another coat of

Tamiya X-22 Clear.

Now I was nearing

the completion of

the kit. I attached

the etched gear doors and

carefully aligned them into

position. The hardest part was

adding the small arms that

open and close the doors.

I now had to build a forward

aerial, as I managed to break

the one the kit supplied

(just minutes after it was

assembled!) I used a section

of Albion Alloys brass rod with the

end iled down to a pointed tip. I

think this looks far better than

the plastic version, as it adds a bit

of scaled inesse to the model.

I now popped of the doors

that I had temporarily glued

in place and painted the door

frame XF-1 Flat Black.

Finally, I could remove the

window masks, cleaning up any dirt

and inger prints with Novus 1 to

bring out a nice shine to the canopy.

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