ruzlkampf Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Niiiice, Kevin. You're right, this is one nice kit...and I can see you're doing this up right. Beautiful clean build, dude. Wish I had the attention span to stretch a build out like this, and do it right. You're laying the paint on nice and sweet, gonna be a show-stopper for sure! Uhmmm,...doesn't this GB end on the 15th? If ya need a loud, irritating, coffee-drinking motivator who lives in a 'van down by the river' to be your cheerleader for finishing on time, let me know,...OK?! Let's see, 2 weeks of all-nighter flogs and some of them truck driver '500 milers' pills ought to get ya started. Toothpicks under your eyelids can help with this. Oh, uhm,...see how 'inspirational' I can be?! he he. Just kidding of course. Hmmm, Methinks I should look and see what that next GB just might be. Later, Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 Thanks for the kind words guys. While this kit builds beautifully, it's not without its traps. It's quite complicated, and it's a testament to Tamiya's engineering genius that it goes together so well. However, the high parts-count and fiddly nature of many of the assembly sequences can really try your patience. The cockpit alone has more parts than most of my old Revell kits have in total (perhaps even collectively). You're right Russ, I'll be pushing the deadline at this stage. I worked too long on the Sea Venom before switching to this one, and early progress was slow while I tinkered with the Revell Zero concurrently. I've put both aside to concentrate on this baby, but of course, with Christmas on the doorstep, summer down under, the end of the school year, yada yada yada...it's gonna be tough! I'll have some more photos in the next day or so. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Wow, I never thought about it, but how cool(hot?) is Christmas in the summer!? So, kids get out of school in January, which is the BEGINNING of summer? How neat is that!? That means it's vacation time too, eh Kevin? Man, you aren't going to have much modelling time for awhile then. Hope you don't rush thru this build just to get it done on some deadline, it's looking too nice to just slam together like my models. Take er easy, and savor that Tamiya quality. Later, Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 30, 2008 Author Share Posted November 30, 2008 Wow, I never thought about it, but how cool(hot?) is Christmas in the summer!? So, kids get out of school in January, which is the BEGINNING of summer? How neat is that!? That means it's vacation time too, eh Kevin? Man, you aren't going to have much modelling time for awhile then. Hope you don't rush thru this build just to get it done on some deadline, it's looking too nice to just slam together like my models. Take er easy, and savor that Tamiya quality. Later, Russ Yep, Christmas in summer, which officially starts tomorrow actually. Kids get out of school a few days before, and go back in early Feb. I'll have a break of a bit over 3 weeks, but there'll be loads happening besides modelling (apparently...). Dave, feel like extending this one a wee bit? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted December 1, 2008 Author Share Posted December 1, 2008 OK, some shots of the engine as promised: Anyone notice anything missing? No? There should be something poking out of the front... Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Daaang, Kevin....that looks fantastic. Whatever is missing off the front sure doesn't detract from such a clean motor. You use acrylics, right? Gunze I think you said. Whuf, it sure laid down nice. what colors did you use for the exhaust? Saw the over-spray from the engine cowling in a previous pic, so this is just about ready to plug on the front, eh?! No, wait a minute...you're still working on the wing tops 'n sech. Man, I sure like to know your secret for taking such clear pics, that would be Waaay too close for anything I ever build. he he. Looking good dude,...looking good! Later, Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJ Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Anyone notice anything missing? No? There should be something poking out of the front... Kev Oh, no!! The prop shaft would probably be poking out the front there normally, eh? What a bummer! Oh, well.. Your work on the engine is really beautiful! You'll figure a fix out for the spinner... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Hey Kev, your Sakae engine sure looks very promissing. Could that missing bit be the ignition harness? Cheers, loic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted December 1, 2008 Author Share Posted December 1, 2008 Daaang, Kevin....that looks fantastic. Whatever is missing off the front sure doesn't detract from such a clean motor. You use acrylics, right? Gunze I think you said. Whuf, it sure laid down nice. what colors did you use for the exhaust? Thanks Russ. The detail painting on the engine is an assortment of Gunze & Tamiya acrylics (they don't hand-brush very well though). The bulk of it though is some Tamiya AS-12 (Bare Metal Silver) that I decanted from a spray can and airbrushed on. This was followed by 3 heavy oil washes, using Paynes Gray, to 'fill in' the cylinder fins. I think it turned out a bit too silvery in the end, but I'm happy enough. I think the overall effect should be more 'black' though. The exhausts also got a coat of AS-12, followed by several very thin coats of dirty black/brown thinner* (metho in this case). Once the silver had browned off somewhat, I then added some Gunze Rust to the mix to redden it, and gave it several more thin coats. I was going for a slightly metallic, coppery look, though it's hard to know when to stop! * This is a really useful technique which I only picked up earlier this year. You basically get a small cup of suitable thinners, stick a brush in some black paint and rinse it in the cup, then repeat for brown and voila! Instant black/brown weathering mix. I use it for all kinds of stuff now, and because it's so thin it takes a few passes for the effect to be noticeable, so it affords you great control over it. Great for weathering, exhaust stains, post-shading, colour filters... Hey Kev, your Sakae engine sure looks very promissing. Could that missing bit be the ignition harness? Cheers, loic Nah mate, Dave nailed it. I forgot the damn prop shaft! Never model when you're tired... Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted December 14, 2008 Author Share Posted December 14, 2008 OK, one last update before this is flipped over to the new GB. I've been working on it sporadically, and have achieved more than I thought since the last update. Here's an overall shot of the current state of the thing: Front on: Here's a shot with the engine test-fitted: And a close-up of the landing gear detail: Still needs some touch-ups here and there, but for anyone who hasn't built this kit, the engineering of the landing gear is astounding. The oleo is actual metal, embedded into the plastic wheel fork. A spring and a nut are mounted inside the compression leg, and once it's all assembled and the retaining pin inserted (a rather tricky procedure!), the legs will actually compress on their oleos when the model is sitting on its undercarriage. Even the scissor links work. The legs also rotate into their respective wells, and the gear doors close in a fashion that mimics the real thing. Amazing. Simply amazing. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 You are doing good Kev. Can not wait to see some paint on that one. Cheers, loic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastzx Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Looking wonderful! I am so glad I have this same kit in the to do pile. Seeing this build makes me want to get the other Tamiya zero the A6M2 one day. (I need to build this one first) I just hope Tamiya keeps on making WW2 subjects in 1/32nd scale, as they are art. Keep the photos coming you are really doing a great job on this gem. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Clean, clean, clean....Man, that thing is squeaky it's so darn clean. Very nice job Kevin, even unfinished it has that major 'wow' look to it. This is going to be the bomb when you get it finished! Whoa.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Just beautiful. I still don't know how you work so cleanly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 Thanks for the kind comments fellas. Well, where did that 2 weeks go? Hardly any time at all for modelling leading up to Christmas, but I've finally been able to put in some time. The deadline for this build has shifted several times already, and it looks like I'm going to fail my latest one - to finish it before year's end. I should get it done by the end of the weekend though. Anyway, here she is with my tragically ham-fisted pre-shading: I've been experimenting with using airbrushed oil paints for pre-shading - in this case, Raw Umber. The mistake I made was to over-thin it, so it ran and splattered a bit. I will say though, that if you get the thinning ratio right, standard artist's oils airbrush as well as any other type of paint. Here's the undersides painted with Tamiya XF-71: I'm not entirely convinced by this colour, as it looks too close to RAF Sky to me, but it'll certainly do. Japanese WW2 colours are easily as vexed and contentious as their Luftwaffe counterparts. More soon! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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