106 replies to this topic

[geedubelyer]

Hi fellow GBers (feels good to say that)

 

At last I can actually join in since my Tamiya MkXVI landed this morning.

I've only just opened the box so it's early days but I'm thrilled to be on board.

 

Cheers.

Edited by geedubelyer, 23 April 2016 - 07:23 PM.

[harvey]

Looking forward to your contribution....Harv

[mozart]

Welcome Guy, I'm sure it'll be a good 'un!
Max

[Iain (32SIG)]

Welcome aboard Guy!

 

Iain

[Phartycr0c]

Time to get stuck in!  great to have you in the playground.

[dmthamade]

Looking forward to your build, been a while since we've seen one. BTW, do you uhhh wanna swap upper wing halves, by chance....?

 

Don

[geedubelyer]

Hi guys, thanks for the warm welcome. It's good to be a part of such a worthy cause.

 

I'm going to take the kit instructions with me to work this morning and have a good look through them on my breaks. First glance looks very promising.

I think I have a number of decisions to make. Taking inspiration from other builds in this GB I suspect that I may go with the post war scheme of silver with a yellow tail band but I'm guessing that masking might work better than the Tamiya decals?

 

 BTW, do you uhhh wanna swap upper wing halves, by chance....?

 

Don

 

That's a great idea Don. Let's swap snail mail addresses by PM and I'll get them out to you ASAP.

 

Can't wait to get started.

 

Cheers.

[geedubelyer]

Hi everyone,

 

I've managed to begin the Mk. XVI at last. This build will be almost out of the box but I will deviate from that occasionally as I feel the need arises and I'll be sure to detail that when the time comes.

 

For now I've started at the beginning.

Step 1 in the instructions is this little fellah. I painted the entire cockpit walls with MrMetalColor buffable aluminium before spraying on an acrylic green. This allowed me to scratch and rub away the topcoat to add some wear.

 

Step 2 are these two...The green has a wash applied followed by a light dry brush to pick out surface detailling.

 

Step 3. Finally for this briefest of updates is the forward cockpit bulkhead and the IP bulkhead sandwiched together. We also get to build and add the compass.

I used an Airscale decal to replace the kit part. Peter's sets are clearer than the kit parts on this occasion.

 

Next up in step 4 is the IP and rudder pedal assembly so more of that in a while. I'm away for a week or more so the next update will be after I get back. Have fun everyone.

 

Cheers.

Edited by geedubelyer, 24 January 2016 - 04:48 PM.

[petrov27]

lookin' good - great start!

[Shoggz]

Yeah, nice work.

[mozart]

Love the well used finish you're getting Guy, can't wait to see more.....though I know I'll have to!

Max

[BloorwestSiR]

Looks great Guy. The scratches and weathering are really top notch.

Carl

[dennismcc]

This is looking great, I should follow suit on my next build and really study the instructions.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Phartycr0c]

Lovely work Guy. 

 

In hindsight I would have liked to opt for the "more bang for the buck" Tamiya spit boxings, but time unfortunately is a pressing, I have to get a B17 out by November! 

[geedubelyer]

Hi all,

 

Hello petrov27, and Shoggz, thanks for the kind words, much appreciated guys.

 

Hi Max and Carl, glad you like the chipping and weathering, thanks.

 

Hello Dennis, I've found it pays to try to follow the instructions on Tamiya builds as they can be pretty complex and it's easy to miss the optional parts. (Ask me how I know )

 

Ayup Pharty, thanks man. Glad you likey. Those Flying Fortresses are monsters are n't they? Recently saw the box in a model shop. Wow! You've got your work cut out mate but I'm confident you'll succeed. Go for it. Such an impressive chunk of plastic parts when they're built.

 

So I got back from my trip without too many problems but yesterday was a bust as I was too tired to see straight.

After a night's sleep I managed a little work on the Spit between this and that.

 

The photos show the results of stages 4, 5 and 6.

 

 

 

I had planned to create the dials on the IP from scratch using punched acetate and Airscale decals but I ran into a couple of issues.

Firstly the punch set I use has a limited number of pieces so there were a couple of instrument faces that were slightly the wrong size.

Secondly, I was having difficulty deciding which of the Airscale decals to use where. Although there is a list of the instruments in the pack, none of the dials looked the same as reference photos that I'm using. Additionally the decals seemed to be a bit large for the Tamiya IP.

The net result is that I ended up using the kit parts and I'm happy with the finished article. Once it's buried in the fuselage I think it should pass muster.

 

In parting for this update a quick snap of something I bought on my trip.

 

I'm not sure whether these are necessary but they certainly look good in the packet.

 

Thanks for taking a look. More when I can get to it. Next up, the seat and harnesses. I am going to eschew the kit parts in favour of aftermarket so a bit of research is in order.

 

Cheers.