1/32 Trumpeter A-4E Scooter: 8/4/17 Crossed the finish line

[Joel_W]

Brian,

  Come on in and join the party.    Any and all comments, ideas, or issues you see, please let me know. 

Joel

[Joel_W]

Nice work Joel.

 

Regards. Andy

 

Andy,

  Thanks for stopping by, it's much appreciated. Glad that you like my efforts to date.

 

Joel

[Joel_W]

     Yesterday, when I gave the center line drop tank a good looking over, I wasn't to happy with what I saw. The ribbing was showing through the primer   The only thing I could think of is that the Bondo wasn't fully cured, and shrank a little more. So I gave it several coats of Tamiya Gray Primer filler, and let is just dry out for 24 hrs. Then I very lightly sanded it with #600 emery cloth, followed by a  4,000 grade Micro Mesh pad. Re-primed, and it now looks like it should. 

 

           So it's back to finishing the decals including the stations which should be later today.

 

Joel

Edited June 25, 2017 by Joel_W

[Guest]

Dam Joel, just catching up. Great work on the tank. Haven't touched my Corsair in over a month. Maybe the Nats will give me my mojo back !......Harv

Edited June 25, 2017 by Guest

[Gazzas]

Hi Joel,

     Nice work on the tank!  I like the way you've demonstrated to make a cross section larger, evenly.  I'm writing from Alaska, so haven't had much time for forum stuff.  Good to see progress.

 

Gaz

[Joel_W]

Dam Joel, just catching up. Great work on the tank. Haven't touched my Corsair in over a month. Maybe the Nats will give me my mojo back !......Harv

 

Harv,

  Glad that you finally stopped on by. I've missed you. Honestly, so far I think that the Scooter is my best work.  I'm really enjoying the build, as well as pushing myself to do all those little corrections.

 

  As for the return of your Mojo, it will come. All the time you put into those exhaust modifications just burnt you out. The Nats will do the trick. Pete and I are returning to the IPMS scene at next years Noreastcon. But even though we're entering a few models each, it's not about winning this time around, it's about building to the current level and standards since the last time we were here in the 1970's that's important to us. And of course seeing just how many of the old crowd is still around, and if we even remember each other. 

 

Joel

[Joel_W]

Hi Joel,

     Nice work on the tank!  I like the way you've demonstrated to make a cross section larger, evenly.  I'm writing from Alaska, so haven't had much time for forum stuff.  Good to see progress.

 

Gaz

 

Gary,

  Thanks for taking the time away from your Alaskan vacation to check in. Glad you like the tank mods. Believe me, anyone can do it.  Hope that you haven't run into any Bears yet. Talk to you soon.

 

Joel

[chuck540z3]

Excellent Save/Modification of the wing tank!  That's what I enjoy about modeling the most:  Adapting to challenges, because every model has several.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

[Joel_W]

Excellent Save/Modification of the wing tank!  That's what I enjoy about modeling the most:  Adapting to challenges, because every model has several.

 

Cheers,

Chuck

 

chuck,

  Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out the Scooter build to date. It's what makes posting my work so rewarding here on LSP.  Glad that you liked how I went about the modification even though it wasn't anything major by a long shot.

 

Joel

[Joel_W]

   Been working on the weathering of the fuselage trying to duplicate the wear & tear that a Marine based Scooter received in Vietnam. One thing to note is that the Matt clear coat hasn't been applied as yet, so that the Gray and White colors are a shade or two darker now then they will end up being. 

 

 This is my reference picture, but I avoided the really grimy sections and spots, at least for now.

 

 

  I started on the Starboard side, so my pictures start there as well. Weathering consisted of a Tamiya recessed panel line wash, and a overall sludge wash of Flories Dark & light Gray mixed 50/50.  The original Black Basing still really contributes to the overall look of the Scooter.

 

 

 

   I wasn't so sure that I was  happy with the Tamiya wash and lighter staining along the sides of the main panel lines, so on the Port side I left them off to see which way I preferred. 

 

 

 

 

   I much prefer the look of the panel lines on the Starboard side, so I'm going to add the additional wash to create the dirt effect.

 

  for the bottom base weathering, I used a combination of black basing on the somewhat heavy side, and a heavy dose of my combo Flory sludge wash. 

 

 

 

  After I add the panel line wash on the Starboard side, I'll finish weathering all the stations, and continue to work on the bombs, but it's about time I start to address the landing gear too. 

 

   Time for a confession. On the Starboard wing I somehow managed to damage the paint with my weathering in one area by the trailing edge.  I ended up sanding out the spot, mixing the paint a shade darker, then repainting the area. I followed that with the same mix with another drop of black to help hide my screw up. For once I got it right. I can't really see the repair either. 

 

Joel

[Gazzas]

Joel,

   I always love looking at your paintwork and weathering.  I never would have guessed you had made an error and fixed it up.

 

Gaz

[Joel_W]

Joel,

   I always love looking at your paintwork and weathering.  I never would have guessed you had made an error and fixed it up.

 

Gaz

 

Gary,

   Thanks so much buddy for stopping by and checking out the Scooter, it's always much appreciated.

 

  I usually screw something simple up, and in the process of trying for a quick fix, make it much worse. This time I just got lucky as I was able to match the paint with my own mix in two shades and it worked out. But I still have plenty of time for more screw ups.

 

Joel

​Joel

[A-10LOADER]

Looking really good Joel and, I agree with you, I prefer the starboard side weathering as well. I also like to use these for weathering too, especially the oil stain which comes in the D set.

 

Steve

 

[Joel_W]

Looking really good Joel and, I agree with you, I prefer the starboard side weathering as well. I also like to use these for weathering too, especially the oil stain which comes in the D set.

 

Steve

 

 

Steve,

  Thanks for stopping by and checking out the Scooter.

 

  The Flory washes and Tamiya's Black recessed panel line wash are my staples. I've never tried Tamiya weathering pastel sets yet, but I'm really thinking of giving it a try. What I do use before the clearcoat is a few Oil washes for different effects and localized fading, oxidation, etc.  Every build just seems to have it's own life when it comes to weathering no matter what my preconceived notions are.

 

Joel 

[Joel_W]

Great job Joel. I love when a build really starts to come to life with paint and weathering.

 

Tony,

 Thank so much for stopping by. It's much appreciated. the Scooter is slowly starting to actually look like a Scooter should. Well, at least a Marine one. 

 

 When I 1st started this build, I thought that 4 months would be plenty of time, but I'm in my 5th month and will finish if I'm lucky just before the 1/2 year mark. It's not that I'm trying to rush, but staying focused for the long haul is something I need to get accustomed to with the majority of my builds now in 1/32 scale. 

 

Joel