JunkyJan

Stunning! (And I really need to frequent this forum more, until I came across this thread I didn't even know a 1/32 kit of the Me410 existed!)

Hi Peter At the risk of contributing to this thread going WAAAYY out of context: I am being incredibly unfair as I only mentioned the few "failures" - and never mentioned that I also have had excellent results with mentioned brand of paint. I think that when I say I am glad that there is an alternative now, I am really saying "...with CONSISTENTLY good results, assuming the builder did his due diligence" (and not having to fear that quality control over the chemical composition of the paint used may have been lacking).

Hi Peter I will choose my words VERY carefully so as not to get on the bad side of the LSP moderators (I never want to seem like I criticize!) - but let's just say that on the shelf behind me is a 1/32 MiG-19s in NMF that is still feels slightly tacky about 4 years after being sprayed, packed away in the garage is a B-58 Hustler with baziilions of fine hairline cracks in the paint finish that developed within a year after it was sprayed, and a 1/48 English Electric Canberra with both the tackiness and "dust" problem. Contrary to that I also have a 1/32 Hase F-86F Sabre (converted to Sabre 6) that still looks as good as the day it was sprayed 12 years ago using rattlecan silver paint bought at Walmart, after reading rave reviews about this particular paint on a different model builder forum. In typical Walmart style, the paint disappeared from the shelves after about 6 months and they never brought it back. So, yes, I'm very glad to have an alternative. Will this be available in Canada as well?

Stunning model. And also glad to hear / see that there is a better alternative to ALCLAD II out there.

Your work is totally awesome - I love the idea of taking a factory-assembled & finished model and improving it (a lot!).

Hi Thor Thank you - I forgot to mention that the colour balance is all messed up, the model is the more normal shade of RLM79 - the reddish tint was caused by "warm glow" artificial lighting, and no amount of messing with the white balance settings on my camera could correct that. As to what's next.... Previous to tackling this kit, I built the PCM Hawker Tempest V kit, and I was going to say that I am now in a mood for something "simple"... Thinking to start work on a 1/32 Ju88 A-6U (maritime patrol) conversion, like such: ...However, I have been hearing rumours about the Zactomodels correction kit for the Trumpy A-7 Corsair II becoming available again (there REALLY is a Santa Claus then?), and if that goes on sale I'm dropping everything to switch to that kit.

Thanks a ton, Kev - VERY much appreciated!

So, at last tally, the parts break-down on this kitbash project are as follows: Fuselage, wings & ailerons (the latter modified), tailplanes, wheels, propellor spinner & blades, pilot seat "turnover" armour from the 21C kit. Quickboost resin exhausts were rejected in favour of the standard 21C kit parts Wheel pants, dive brakes, tailplane cantilever struts, complete cockpit canopy (all 4 parts), aileron actuators, antenna, fuselage steps (I think that is what those devices on the lower sides just behind the wings are), and also of course, the complete lower nose and radiator bath are from the Revell kit Radiator "face" was constructed from Evergreen plastic, rear of radiator is from the Revell kit Check you references: If you're building a factory-produced "Trop" aircraft, you should probably use the square-shaped carburetor air intake from the Revell kit (common to factory-produced "Tropical" aircraft). The rounded version that comes with the 21C kit was common to BoB etc aircraft, or field-modified Trop aircraft The rear defensive MG08 was replaced with an item from the modern Revell (Germany) 1/32 Junkers Ju88 kit. It is vastly superior to both the 21C and the old Revell parts, and you can use the extra magazines to help dress up the gunner's cockpit Decals: National insignia came from the 21C kit decals, the squadron emblem (referring to the green 4-leaf clover) came from an ancient Microscale decal sheet (Microscale 32-17 to be precise), most of the squadron codes were either handmade or scrapbox items Make sure you have a fresh tube of Squadron putty, a new box of Milliput and a full bottle of Mr. Surfacer 500 handy - you're going to need it

And Thank You all for the kind and supportive comments I received. It seems to me that a side-effect of "going public" with a project like this 1) It helps overcome the Fear of fellow model builders laughing at one's efforts, and 2) it kinda puts an "onus" on a person, forcing you to try and complete the project... I came VERY close (several times) to just give up on it. The model looks better in real-life than in my photographs (Note to self: Try taking pics in daylight, modern low-power-consumption / "warm glow" lightbulbs are bloody terrible as a light source). I am so happy that I am actually considering doing it AGAIN (!! ) - I know all / most of the "gotchas" now, and the second time around I think I will do it better (and throw the whole hog at it, aftermarket cockpit, resin bombs, dress it up REAL nicely!) Once I have completed weathering I will post one last photograph...

I also should add that I decided to go with a B-2 as I had fairly good photo references to T6+EM. The SC250 bomb that came in the kit was pretty poor though, and at the time I thought that the overall effect of the kitbash exercise don't warrant a resin AM part (Eduard makes a really nice SC250 resin replacement). So... I ended up grinding the tailfins off, replaced it with Evergreen plastic sheet items, the final result is in the last pic:

Good day all I'm actually pretty happy about the results - I have proved to myself that Yes, the old Revell kit can be combined with the 21st Century kit for a more acceptably-accurate kit. There are still some work outstanding: Completing the weathering (only done some very rudimentary weathering) Add seatbelts (ordered the Eduard set but it's been 3 weeks & still still waiting) Blend in the Revell front windscreen properly to the fuselage Fix some overspray issues Overcome the shock and horror of discovering that the Revell cockpit is in fact shorter than the 21C cockpit (and judging from photographs of of the Trumpy kit, it might be suffering from the same affliction). This means that with the canopy closed, there is an open gap of about 4 mm at the rear of the cockpit. Judging from scale drawings (Kagero etc) the Revell kit cockpit seems in fact correctly-sized - and interestingly, the Hasegawa 1/48 B-2 kit follows the same cockpit (proportionally) as the Revell kit. The 1/32 Hasegawa Ju87D cockpit length is almost spot-on with the old Revell kit. I have some theories on how this error may have happened, but seeing as I am uncomfortable with Stigmata on my own body (for you non-Catholics, that's a reference to the Fear of being Crucified by the Trumpy Fanboys) I shall keep that to myself. It is actually pretty easy to fix / fill in the "missing" fuselage area - but would have been so nice to know that up front! Be warned!! I did receive a set of Quickboost resin exhausts but ended up not using it - I'm not nit-picky but the Quickboost set seems to be really for a mid-production Ju87B-1 and not a B-2... This is based on references and photographs (by late-production B-1 aircraft switched to ejector-style exhausts, and followed suit on R series and B-2 aircraft)

Sorry about the sudden silence, gents. Things were going along nicely & then my project came to a grinding halt... Dropped everything to help my youngest kid move from the city of Vancouver (West Coast of Canada) to the the city of Victoria, on Vancouver Island (confusing for those not familiar with the North American west coast - I assure you it is two very different places). This was because she was offered a "Guvvermint Job" - just had to help her (heck, perhaps she can even look after me one day - I have visited Victoria & surrounding area several times in my life and every time I come back to the Mainland, I catch myself thinking "Wish I could live there..."). That pretty much took up the last of my Xmas vacation - and going back to work afterwards, I got nailed down immediately with having to deal with a backlog of issues. You know how it goes - "Though shalt be punished for having taketh vacation"... I'll try to add to this thread this coming weekend... My current status is "...most decals applied..." - but still waiting on an ancient Microscale decal sheet I bought on Ebay simply for the 4.StG 2 squadron emblems, and also a set of P.E. seat belts from Eduard.

Argh ... The 21C canopy sits almost a full 2 millimeter higher / taller than the Revell canopy. I wish I knew which one is "more correct" - this build is feeling more and more like a series of compromises. Do anyone have any idea? I did receive a set of Quickboost resin exhausts for the Trumpeter Ju87B kit in the mail this afternoon tho - looks fairly simple to adapt for the 21C kit. EDIT: The rear section of the 21C canopy do look quite strange - will definitely replace that with the Revell item.

The artisan(s) at 21st Century Toys were a bit overly keen when it came to adding panel lines to the firewall area of this kit. Compare with the photograph of an early B-2 below to the nose area of the kit in the pic above - you should fill at least one set of panel lines around the nose, and extend the horisontal panel lines to meet the second firewall panel line, closest to the nose. The white lines on the 21C kit is the putty showing where I filled the extra panel lines.

A couple of things to keep in mind if you are cannibalizing the Revell kit... The Revell wheel spats will be angled correctly if you completely cut / grind away the "flats" moulded on the underside of the 21C kit's wings. It is much easier doing that rather than attempting to grind the top of the Revell wheel spats (obviously) but getting the undercarriage angle correct is fairly critical for correct appearance of the eventual model. ALSO: the triangular pieces moulded unto the ailerons are TERRIBLE in appearance - it is supposed to represent the aileron actuators, which were skeletal rod-and-bellcrank affairs. You REALLY should cut it away, fill in the holes left behind (you can even use the pieces you cut off as fillers - sand it down after the glue dried) and drill small holes in the appropriate areas for the actuators from the Revell kit (parts 40 and 41). BTW, did I mention that this conversion might be considered offensive to the average model builder's sensitivities - or at least NOT for the weak-hearted? EDIT: I eventually noticed that the ailerons on my particular kit, when using the locating holes seems to want to "part company" (taper away from the trailing edge of the wing towards the wingtip). Keep an eye out for this, I had to carefully cut it away again and re-attach after "adjusting" the locating tabs.