I haven’t had much time this week to work on the Macchi. My brother-in-law suffered a heart attack Sunday and most of my evenings have been at the hospital or previous engagements. I’m hoping to get back to it by Friday and definitely Saturday/Sunday after some lawn work.
The goggles look fantastic by the way. I drilled them out slightly, added the helmet color and put a drop of acrylic varnish in each lens. Unfortunately, I went over the figures with Testors Acrylic Flat using a brush to save AB cleaning time….see above for reasons……but that wiped out the pilots face colors. I need to redo the pilot’s face but should be able to do better this time. Practice you know.
Thanks to everyone’s suggestions.
I also reset my laptop to factory and wiped my hard drive last night. I’m reloading all the software and my personal stuff back on. The good news is it doesn’t appear to have the same Chrome or Edge lock-ups and crashes. The bad news is trying to restore my computer to some semblance of its former self.
I’m sorry to hear of your brother in law. My best wishes and a quick recovery!
Toshi
Toshi, thank you for your well wishes. He is doing much better and will likely move from ICU very soon.
Mike, Stick, Gam, Lawdog, thank you for your immense help with the figures.[t$t] They look far better than they would have otherwise. Not perfect by ANYONE’s imagination but still a lot better. I appreciate the pointers!
I had some time last night to work a little on the pilot and I think I’m done with both of them. Hopefully I’ll get some time tonight to mask, paint the white stripe on the fuse and prop spinner.
I must say, the figures are now quite impressive. 
They are still a bit shiney, but they will really enhance the build regardless. Getting a dead flat finish takes a little practice and I am more than confident you will gwt that problem solved in a short time.
You have done a simply fabulous job with them! 
Thank you Mike, I highly regard your comments and they mean a lot to me. [:D[
I’ll keep working on the shine. I’ll be looking for some of the products mentioned to see if I can get that cut down some more.
Steve
I’ve no doubt you’ll get it figured out.
I’ve settle on using Vallejo Matte and I am very happy with it. You have to AB it though. Brushing it on doesn’t work as well at all.
Ive not found a clear matte that does yet.
The second best, for me, has been the classic spray can of Testors dull cote. Mostly I use it on A/C and armor, but sometimes figures when I need a quick “save” between steps.
You, my friend, have been shown some really good tips and have used them very well indeed. When you’re ready for more advanced tricks just say the word and we’ll help you get that life-like finish that really catches the eye!
We are fortunate that there is a good amount of excellent figure painters on this forum. All you have to do is ask.
There is much more to learn when you want to. 
Now that you’ve got the figures sorted out, I’m positive that we’re all looking forward to seeing the Fulgore make more progress. Lol
Thanks again Mike, the one area where I really need help is figure painting.
If you ever want to do a water scene I may be albe to help in that regard.
Deal!!
Hey Steve, sorry to hear about your brother in law and hope he’s healing and out of the hospital soon.
The figures look pretty friggin’ good! As Mike said they just need a little matte varnish and they’re done.
Thanks Gam,
They moved him from the ICU yesterday and should be out in a couple of days.
Glad to hear your brother-in-law is on the mend. You are doing a great job on this kit and figures! Italian WWII planes don’t seem to be a common subject, but should be. They are just really good looking birds. Thanks for posting your WIP!
Thank you ManCityFan. I really like the look of the Italian birds. They really had/have a flair for design.
I’m glad you bro-in-law is doing better. Your family is in my thoughts. that pilot looks great, but I can’t help but think of Blazing Saddles…“Excuse me while I whip this out”…
Thanks Lawdog, I hope I can do half as well on the Macchi as you did on your Corsair.
About the pilot, I’ve got noe idea what that pose is supposed to be about.
He may be describing how one goes about eating a Shnitzengruben, but then again, perhaps he’s just an animated speaker lol.
One of the best movies of all time
All I got to on Saturday was masking the fuselage stripe.
We received a call from the hospital Saturday morning around 10 AM. The nurse said my brother-in-law relapsed and was having another heart attack and they were moving him back to the ICU. When we arrived they were doing chest compressions and paddles. Once they got him stabilized they inserted a ventilator and he would stay that way for an hour or so and decline again. He would be harder and harder to stabilize and in the end the family said no more heroics. He passed away shortly after 5:30 in the afternoon.
He really didn’t take care of himself health wise. He was overweight, smoked, didn’t manage his diabetes and in the end the body had enough. Sad thing is he was looking great the night before and he was serious about getting straightened out because this had been a wake-up call. The sad thing is he was 6 months younger than I, he wanted to work out with me at the Cardio/Pulmonary Rehab center, stop smoking and start on his diabetes meds.
Yesterday was obviously hectic due to arriving family and arrangements.
Lesson learned. If I’m going to take that flight to heaven, it will be because God bought the ticket not me.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts prayers. I will be back to the Macchi in a few days.
So sorry to hear that Steve. My deepest sympathies to you and your family.
BK
Very sad news. However that is a great way to look at, I will be stealing that quote that saying.
user=“modelcrazy”]
Lesson learned. If I’m going to take that flight to heaven, it will be because God bought the ticket not me.
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BK and Timdude, thank you!