Daywalker Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 I started this one in August of 2008 (my very first 1/32 attempt in fact!) but shelved it soon after. I decided early on to make this my best build ever, and the stress of trying to do so took all of the fun away. I added a lot of extra details to the cockpit, and was following along with a build article on J-aircraft.com in an attempt to correct some areas of the kit. After getting the cockpit parts painted up in a custom blend of Nakajima bamboo green, I shelved it. After recently completing two LSP builds, I decided to pull it back out and finish her up. Here's how she looked when I shelved it: Removed the fire control box from the left sidewall to relocate it on the aft bulkhead: Drilled some lightening holes in a few components and added wires to others: Parts painted, and seatbelts added to seat using kit supplied hardware and lead foil: The inside of the fuselage, masked for the cockpit color, NMF, and aotake tail gear area. I used thin strips of Tamiya tape to mask off the gluing areas to make fuselage assembly smoother: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 Some paint effects in the office: The finished cockpit, ready to install in the fuselage: Fuselage and tail assembled, working on the gear bays: Wings mostly done: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 I opted to not have the retractable landing operable, instead gluing the leading edge covers in place. I was trying to figure out how to do this at this stage of the assembly, as the main gear are inserted into the stubs in the gear bay and a threaded screw is inserted from the top. The gear fits tightly enough that I can glue them in later. The leading edge covers are the only ill-fitting parts I have encountered thus far. After all of the work was done on the main wings, I was concerned about how they would fit up the fuselage. Any errors so far in the assembly would probably show up here. I needn't have worried, they fit PERFECTLY. One could almost not glue them on and they would hold up. There were prominent molding lines on the cowl parts, which needed to be sanded back. Unfortunately, the very delicate rivet detail would be lost in those areas. So, I took a .25mm round bur and redid all of the cowling rivets first. I had had enough of that chore by the time I finished! My hat's off to anyone who hand-rivets a model- YIKES! The cowling sanded back and re-riveted: Thanks for looking in, more to come soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Wow, terrific work Don! I really like the improvements you've made. I have to say though, that I'm not entirely convinced by your choice of cockpit colour (and it could just be the way it looks in the photos), but that doesn't detract from the quality of your work. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 Thanks fellas! The color looks pretty washed out in the photos (took most of them a while back with a different camera). I used a mix by Van Firth here to approximate the FS34255. I appreciate the feedback! BTW Kevin- I'm Frank, not Don hehe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 BTW Kevin- I'm Frank, not Don hehe! Ah, bugger! So sorry mate. I always get your names mixed up. I'll just call you Wesley from now on. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 Ah, bugger! So sorry mate. I always get your names mixed up. I'll just call you Wesley from now on. Kev LOL, no worries! Wesley... been called a lot of things (can't mention them here I'm afraid) but never Wesley! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Love all of that wiring detail. I'm looking forward to following your build. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewer Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 I always wondered what became of this build, glad to see you back at it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonfly Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 Lookin' really good Frank! I especially like the plumbing. I wouldn't fret about the CP color. Looks good to me. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Thanks guys, glad to have you following along! I have worked on her the past couple of days, but nothing really photo worthy. Little things like engine bits and adding panels and such. Hope to have some fresh photos in a couple of days. More later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikester Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Looking good, Frank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bladerunner Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I LOVED building this one - you are doing an excellent job. I really like the extras you put into the cockpit. Fantastic work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 I think I need to pull out my A2M2b and start again.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 Sorry for the dry spell, but I have been working quite a bit on the engine, and am happy to report that it is finished, save for some soot on the ends of the exhaust after it is added to the airframe. Mostly OOB, I did add plug wires and a couple of other bits. I also added the oil lines between the cylinders, and finally drilled out the exhaust stubs. I first painted it scale black, then a scrubbing with silver and raw umber. After a good coat of flat, I added a few grimy raw umber washes. The exhausts were first painted with Alclad burnt iron, then flat coated and given the rustall treatment. I must say, I am very happy with the way the rustall gave them a patchy, stained and rusted look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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