plane_mc Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 (edited) I have been hesitant to post my progress on this one as I haven't had the best record on finishing my large scale projects, but here it goes. This is the HK Models Do 335 B-2 kit. I have been working on it on and off since last fall. I have the Eduard Brassin wheels and muzzle brakes as well as the HGW seat belts to add to the kit. The rest of the details that I will add will be scratchbuilt. I plan to do it in the following whatif markings that I found at http://www.inpayne.com/whatif/whatif4.html. I am hoping to be able to make my own masks for the major markings using my Silhouette Portrait cutter. I will be using a combination of Tamiya, Model Master Acryl and Vallejo paints for the entire project. I don't always follow the instructions to the letter and skip around to the areas that I feel like working on at the time. This kit was no different. I started with the front engine. I didn't like how HK molded the front propeller shaft to the engine front (part O20) making it so the propeller wouldn't spin. I drilled through the center of the propeller shaft using the hole that was already in it to get the center. I then cut off the molded shaft and drilled the hole out so the new shaft would spin freely. I then used some styrene rod in various sizes to make a new shaft and mounting point for the front of the engine. I modified the kit gun barrel to fit my new propeller shaft so I can glue it in after assembly ( to keep from breaking it off during construction). I did have to enlarge the hole in the propeller just a little bit to make it fit the new propeller shaft. Now the propeller spins and the gun barrel is stationary. Next up I modified the radiators, both front and back by adding some fine brass screen to the faces to give them some detail. I applied masking tape to the faces of the radiators and then used a pencil to mark the edges, making a template to use to cut out the screen. For the front radiator, I added a couple of strips of styrene on top of the screen. to be continued. . . Edited May 10, 2017 by plane_mc Zero77, Jan_G, Wolf Buddee and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plane_mc Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 I assembled and painted the engines per the instructions. I did not add anything to them except for the mod to the front mentioned earlier. Front Rear The cockpit was built up from the kit with the only additions being: some masking tape for the straps on the rudder pedals styrene rod for the instruments backs and fine lead wire for the instrument wiring a piece of clear acetate to replace the gunsight glass that was molded in grey the seat will be getting the HGW belts added at a later date The gun bay, nose gear bay, bomb bay and rear radiator trunking was assembled straight out of box and painted. to be continued. . . Wolf Buddee, Zero77, Shawn M and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plane_mc Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 Interior pics continued to be continued. . . mark31, Jan_G, Shawn M and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Excellent !!.... Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plane_mc Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 I then glued up the 2 fuselage halves and added the front engine. I have had no fit issues up to this point. I wanted to be able to add the 30mm gun barrels after painting, but the way the kit is designed, you have to add the guns before finishing the wings. Since the guns would never be seen after assembling the wings, I decided to replace the barrels with some brass tubing and make a mount for them so they could be added at any time. I made up the mount out of some sheet and tube styrene using the kit guns as a guide for sizes. I drilled out all of the holes on the Eduard muzzle brakes and then glued them to the brass rods. That gets this caught up to where I am at now. I am really trying to complete this build, but I must warn that I am an extremely slow builder. I will continue to post updates as I make progress. Thanks for looking. Jan_G, Shawn M, mark31 and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyWan Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Looks excellent. Watching with interest - might give this one a try one day! plane_mc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 excellent work! plane_mc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Buddee Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Wonderful build so far Mark. Keep going man. I wish that HK had done a better job of providing detail for the bottom of the front engine as there's a lot more hanging there. Unfortunately, clear photos of the details are hard to find. I've been looking, believe me. I wish that there was access to the rebuild documentation and photos of the sole surviving one in the States. Cheers, Wolf plane_mc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel_W Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 A most impressive build so far. Speed isn't important. When you get it done, is when it's done. What's most important is the quality of the build that crosses the finish line. Joel plane_mc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Wow, Mark! That's some really nice detail work. I also like what you've done in making the gun barrels removeable. Hope you do finish this one, it'll be a beaut! Jim plane_mc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monthebiff Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Really nice work Mark and coming together very nicely. Regards. Andy plane_mc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Very impressive work, Mark! I built an early pre-production test shot of this kit, and enjoyed it tremendously. Your additions and improvements are excellent. Kev plane_mc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Clunkmeister Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 Awesome job so far, Mark. Top notch in every way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Molitor Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Love it Mark. Have this same bird in the stash. Thanks for sharing this with us. Troy plane_mc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plane_mc Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 Thank you everyone for the kind comments. I am having fun building this one and I am motivated to finish it. I hope to be posting another update soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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