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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/25/2018 in all areas

  1. Ah, that's a good one my friend..... you wont find any cause it's home made,. I saw an article maybe 6 or 8 years ago in a forum I can't remember where, about a guy who made something similar wasn't happy with the result using Dyno tape on his wing tank. Based on his idea I came up with a simplier version using two Bar Clamp. The part in the middle is the fix part on the left that I tooked from my 2sd clamp and cut the holding harm at the base. Tooked the red rubber pad off, flip it and crew it on his side, cut it large enough but tight to hold my scribber. Made some adaptor from various scrap plastic parts, found my center on each pad and glue them. Put in what ever I want to rescribe, tank, weapon etc. squeeze the clamp not too tight, adjusting the center part with my scribber on the line, lock it With one hand roll my tank counter clock wise while holding my scribber on it. Haven't found one I can't do...... It became a very handy tool and use it with every built. Hope you like it and have fun. Dan.
    7 points
  2. ..now I had bust my cherry, I wanted a fairly simple but nice to work on mini project so I settled on the MN-26 Radio Compass – it’s the grey unit seen here.. ..to make the body of the unit I used a PE blank to score the size I needed from a sheet of Perspex acrylic.. ..I started to make all the knobs, buttons & switches – here I used a Dremel to spin up a bolt and a file to shape that into one of the larger tuning knobs.. ..I had a PE blank of the front panel of the unit and used this to reference where to drill holes in the perspex to take all the knobs.. ..the knobs are an assortment of bits fashioned from old watch parts (I bought a little tub on ebay for £5 ages ago – super useful stuff) – the most challenging was the tuner handle in the middle – this has a shaft, crank & handle – the handle was scored with a fine saw blade to try and give the impression of the tiny ridges that give grip… ..here are the watch bits – lots of tiny metal shapes of infinite precision, brilliant for repurposing.. ..then the handles were all painted black, the Perspex unit grey, and I prepared the face decal that carries the colour & markings.. ..the decal was stuck to the PE face & varnished, some ‘glass’ was sourced from ultra thin sheet and the decal for the dial face prepared.. ..the first stage of assembly saw the face added to the unit as a laminate with some glass and the dial decal.. ..and all the gubbins added.. ..so thats it. Back in the chair and enjoying myself again.. next up I am thinking of the cockpit 'A' frame and the longerons that link all the bulkheads together.. TTFN Peter
    6 points
  3. It’s been a long 2 whole months since I have mangled any styrene with intent...but the dry spell is over. I have spent the last two months packing, moving, and then unpacking. My hobby room/office is not finished yet, and my work benches are still a week away, but a card gamble and some Tamiya glue is all I need to get started. The walls are painted and carpet is installed, this was a long ordeal because nobody stocks carpet in 15 foot widths except for beige. This MY room! I am going to hang airplane and Star Wars **** all over it! Told my wife to let me (asked politely) do as I please in there. I spent the last month buying every P-40 I could get my hands on, and accumulating some AM bits and bobs for them. I have also been trying to chase down the final versions of what I wanted to build, the last one decided this morning. To keep me on track, I’m going to stick with these. I now have all the decals and masks on hand or ordered, with the only exception being the Turkish version, which I have not found any decals to make, so I’m going to have to custom mask them. Here we go, let’s see how confusing it gets with 8 planes on the bench!
    5 points
  4. Lets talk Hasegawa 1/32 P40 kits for a bit, one regular guy here insists they are bad fitting kits with ill fitting panel lines etc, with different tail plugs for different versions ETC making it difficult. (first I'd heard of that) Mine went together with what I can only describe as one of the best easy nice fitting Kits in my life, especially in the important wing fuselage area, the fuselage panel lines ... and I've poured all over my finished one, panels do seem to match up where they should. I really am a mediocre modeller compared to most of you, but I just never saw these glaring errors in my kit build? Nobody wants a snap tite kit, but my word, have any of us tried to build a Pacific Coast Hurricane? I have and though almost complete its near throwing in the bin down to final canopy fit ... argh <---- 2 year protect as well. Haswgawa P40's ... lovely kit, would build them any day of the week.
    4 points
  5. In the spring of 1940, the German Reichsluftfahrtministerium's (RLM) Technical Office asked the Arado company at Brandenburg/Havel to undertake the design of a bomber/photographic reconnaissance aircraft to be powered by the new turbojet engines under development at Junkers and BMW. No performance details were specified, except that the aircraft should be capable of covering Britain as far north as the naval base at Scapa Flow. The design work at Arado resulted in the first design E370 (Erprobung). On basis of this design the first prototype Arado Ar 234 A - V1 (Versuchsobject) was constructed and flown for the first time on July 30. 1943. Later it was considered to use the less powerful BMW 003 turbojet engines in two more prototypes with four engines. On the prototype (V6) Wrk. Nr. 130006 four BMW engines was mounted separately under the wings, using the mounts for the rocket boosters for the outer engines. This was to become the worlds first four engine'd aircraft. Wrk. Nr. 130006 was given the code GK+IW and it's maiden flight was done on the 25. April 1944. The prototype of the Arado Ar 234 A (V6) Wrk. Nr. 130006 GK+IW with the characteristic 'take off dolly'... The base kit for this build is Fly Models Arado Ar 234 B-2. The build required some massive conversion to the kit. Fuselage was narrowed. The fuselage was later widened to accommodate the landing gear in the production models. Engine nacelles have a different form to fit the early BMW 003 engines. Landing skids under each nacelle. Complete 'overhaul' of the cockpit canopy and instruments. The characteristic 'take off dolly' had to be scratch build.
    4 points
  6. Erwin

    Beaufighter: FINISHED.

    Started the paint job. I leave the fuselage blank for easier handling. Done with Revell enamels. Matt ochre brown/satin yellow mix. Matt earth/satin brown mix Note that the brush strokes can be seen in the first coat. The right wingtip had a second coat.Note that the brush strokes are gone .
    4 points
  7. I’m about to build six of them at once, 2x P-40E, 2x P-40K, and two P-40N, so if there are any fit issues, I’ll find out, but I honestly don’t think there will be. My experience with other Hasegawa has been really positive.
    4 points
  8. Happy to present a T-28B/D from Kitty Hawk. I would say many pages have been written on the kit itself. It is a well fitting over-engineered kit with much cleanup required and some illogical ejector studs increasing the cleanup time. Once you are past the initial part cleanup the kit fits together exceptionally well, its just the kit is pieced up to sometimes absurd number of sub-assemblies, which seem to be typical for Kitty Hawk. The kit was built as a commission build for a friend of mine that is building a collection of 1/32 aircraft in tribute to his father. I have enjoyed the build and took some artistic license on hanging the training weapons as the paint schemes for most aircraft in the kit are warbirds anyway. Based on the customer requirement the engine is all closed up, otherwise the kit provides opportunity to open the engine up. One word of warning: at least in my kit the balance weights provided were not enough and I ended up with a tailsitter that was solved by attaching the kit to a wooden base but please be aware and check before you get surprised. Cheers, Jarda Hajecek
    3 points
  9. Hi Guys this is my rendition of show time 100 which of corse was a F4-Phantom, below for those that are interested is a bit of the history relating to that aircraft. Fighter Squadron 96, or VF-96Fighting Falconswas an aviation unit of the United States Navyin service from 1962 to 1975. When assigned to Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9) their tailcode was NG, and their radio callsign was Showtime. Originally established as United States Naval Reservesquadron VF-791Fighting Falconson 20 July 1950 it was redesignated VF-142after becoming a regular squadron on 4 February 1953. It was re-designated VF-96on 1 June 1962 and disestablished on 1 December 1975.
    3 points
  10. Major step taken today on this build with everything masked up followed by final assembly of all major sub assemblies. Next up a light coat of primer to check for imperfections and then time for some colour. Happy days!! Regards. Andy
    3 points
  11. Wow - I am honoured to have you and Denzil along for the ride congrats on the win! your CAD is going to be exceptionally useful in the coming weeks... Hi Ray - I toyed with the 190 as it's one of my favourite aircraft, but I am hooked on metal skinning and I have not quite come to terms with painting over it - despite looking i don't think any were ever natural metal! So, an actual update is needed as some actual modelling has occured... As I said before, I was expecting the decals from Ray at Fantasy Printshop and a few days ago these arrived - as you can see I have quite a few... I laid it out with only one of each decal as any duplicates can be taken from another sheet.. ..the quality is up to Ray's usual standard - ie exceptional... lets take a quick tour from right to left... beautiful instruments ..there are a bunch of airframe stencils too - all studiously copied from the original drawings.. As far as selling / making in 1/32 or 1/24 I think that is unlikely before you ask Now my bench is reassembled, the decal's arrival spurred me on to actually get started again after a long hot summer - I thought I would dress up the Throttle quadrant first.. ..simply sprayed it black, added the decals and a quick shot of varnish to seal them in and it was done... more...
    3 points
  12. Here the tail assembly and the adjustments made. The gray stuff is actually old enamel paint, which I use to fill small seams. It works great and it shows well when is sanded down.
    3 points
  13. Please allow me to stop things here. It's pretty obvious that Fundekals copied nobody's work so let's not go there. Cheers Ron
    3 points
  14. I started to work on the wiring of the engine... While the glue is drying, I worked on the arrestor hook. Problem is that it is built in the early stage of the fuslage assembly and the hook is so close to the fueslage that it will be difficult then for the paint job. So I followed what Out2gtcha did in his built: I cut it and drilled it. I glued a metallic shaft (0.7mm) for the assembly at the end of the built. That way I am sure I will not clumsily break it.
    3 points
  15. Had a rather busy time of late with family weddings etc but managed a bit of bench time here and there. I have decided to complete the wings as whole sub-assemblies before moving on to the fuselage, so the wheel wells and undercarriage were first. The strengtheners are very poorly shown in the instructions so I made sure that I identified and positioned each piece before committing to glue: then the rest went together in a straightforward way, building each part of the u/c up in situ: Once the top half of the wing was fitted I could move on to the engine nacelles, starting with the oil cooler and its housing onto the lower nacelle: which was then secured to the lower wing half in two stages, left side then right. A smear of filler was required to get a good fit between the oil cooler fairing and the nacelle. The port side's progressing too:
    3 points
  16. So my subject, as noted, will be a late war, carrier deployed Corsair. By that point, the fleet was using the later F4U-1D version (with a few of the hot rod -4's starting to make it in theater as well). The -1D was pretty much the ultimate WW2 version, with just a few modification from the original raised cockpit -1A variant. These included provisions for 8 rocket projectiles, a 2nd pylon for either drop tanks or bombs, a frameless blown canopy and a few detail changes. All were finished in the classic USN Gloss Sea Blue. What really got me sold on this project was when Fundekals released a very nice decal set of late vintage Corsairs. In addition to the great looking decals, they provide a 49 page instruction manual that goes into great detail on various aspects of these aircraft. Worth checking out over a cup of coffee some morning, go here: http://fundekals.com/images/whistlingDeath/F4U_Inst_Final_7_30_18.pdf At this point, I've narrowed my choices down to an FG-1D (Goodyear built version of the standard Corsair) assigned to VF-85 off the Shangri-La, late May, 1945 or an F4U-1D of VMF-511 off of the USS Block Island, circa July, 1945. Both have interesting carrier ID symbols and a few extra markings for a bit of color. I still may change my mind, time will tell. Anyway, the -1D I'm building will be a later version, which means a few changes to the kit. They are: No walkways on the wings cockpit flare gun deleted entirely Delete upper wing ID light Delete lower wing landing light Add left side armor plate (installed to protect the pilots throttle arm) Add under seat armor plate (installed when the Corsair gradually started performing air to ground missions). Add left side windshield hand grip (anyone have a pic of this?) Add a thin metal bracket on top of seat for seatbelts Fill in cockpit vent in fuselage (this mod was only seen on post-war Corsairs, with maybe a few limited exceptions). Fill in wing fuel tank fill ports (these tanks were deemed an explosion hazard and were gradually eliminated from later production runs). On to the kit. I'll be honest. Over the last couple of years, I've kind of lost my modeling mojo. I still completed a couple of projects but had to force myself to hit the work bench and build. I'm writing it off to dealing with crappy products from the manufacturers I mentioned above. I think they kind of sucked the modeling life out of me. This time around, I'm a lot more enthusiastic. If you guys need a jump start, get one of these kits. I started work on the forward cockpit bulkhead and rudder pedal assembly. For a reference, I've been using Dana Bell's Aircraft Pictorial on the Corsair (Vol 2). This is a fantastic, reasonably priced book. Dana goes into great detail on all the modifications done to the Corsair 1A and 1D versions and provides a large number of clear, useful photographs to aid the modeler. It's a critical reference if you are building this model. Looking at the pics in the book, I did note some details I can add to the Tamiya parts. For the rudder pedals, I added what I assume are pedal adjustment levers. I also drilled out a couple of lightening holes in the base of the bulkhead. I'll probably add some more detail to the rudder pedals, just trying to get a few more pics. One note - my philosophy for stuff like this is to scratchbuild only what can be seen. If it won't be visible in the completed model, I just ignore it. If it will barely be visible in the completed model, I just approximate it so the cockpit looks sufficiently "busy". These are a bit rough but from the angle you are viewing them in the completed model, they will look good. Trust me on this.... The hydraulic lines on the forward bulkhead are a good example. The won't be seen easily when the cockpit is assembled. Especially the lines under the instrument panel overhang as shown below. Finally, a couple of pics of the sub-assembly dry fitted together. Seems to look nice and busy. Still have more work to do... Thanks for looking.
    3 points
  17. Some tuning up of the overall paint scheme and national markings added... I will be ordering some masks to be made for the ‘V 083’ code. Stay tuned! Cheers Alan ‘
    3 points
  18. Just a quick head's up for those who seldom venture South to the Vendor's Board, check out these goodies, Typhoon, Polikarpov I-16, Polikarpov I-153.
    2 points
  19. Looked from the top of the old lady..... .......for me the most beautiful shot
    2 points
  20. There's nothing to not like here, a big dirty phantom, great job! The paint, the weathering, the weapons load love it.
    2 points
  21. Two quick and dirty pics to show you the progress of the day: Closing of the fuselage halves. ZM gives movable airbrakes but I decided to glue them in closes position. And the wiring of the engine is progressing. My eyes hurt... I'll do better pics of the engine when it'll be complete.
    2 points
  22. Hi Many thanks for the orders and the kind words Before next pilot, we did another civilian lady, for a change in the green/tan world A+ Norbert
    2 points
  23. The only thing I have heard about the P-40 kits is the fit of the tail inserts. This has been solved by gluing the tail parts to the fuselage halves before gluing the halves together. Doing that, and from what I have read, there really isn't any major problems.
    2 points
  24. I know what picture your taking about. But its an Junkers 88 bomber
    2 points
  25. Major progress (not).... I scratchbuilt the pilot's left arm armor plating! This was an field modification to late-war Corsairs (in addition to this, they also added a plate under the pilot's seat and removed a couple of armor plates protecting the oil tank aft of the engine). I guess Marine pilots were so tough that they only needed one arm to fly their planes home. Only Army Air Corp wimps need armor to protect their right arm I suppose. I also drilled out a couple of holes while I was working on this part. The fit of the seat frame has to be seen to be believed. It's perfect! In retrospect, I'm not sure I'm happy with the way this came out. I might end up replacing this. That's my big update folks. I'm off to the Granite State for the weekend, i'll try to do some building when I return. Thanks for looking!
    2 points
  26. Thanks for the nice feedback guys - she’s just waiting for some custom masks to arrive - then I can finish her up!! Her night fighter sister ship is also approaching the finish line!! Cheers Alan
    2 points
  27. Hey Guys, almost my tough...... but mixing both petals set would look a bit weird, too much detail on Aires compare to the kit. but maybe I should cut both set and add Aires petal on the kit ring base...... yeah maybe... But that would be for my next Flogger built, cause has you guys and blachbetty remind me about those petals dropping down once stop, I won't do that mod, cause what I had in mind in the first place was my Mig right after his landing, with a pilot, full wing out with tank, flap and speed brake deploy... kind a like that one... NIce hey..? so I'll stick to the kit burner and exhaust, sorry Aires. Did work on my intakes and spliter plate, shorten them a bit... add some styrene to fill the gap between fuselage and intake... and will have to wait for my Quickboost spil doors to put those intake on.... totally forgot.. but that's Ok, still got plenty to work on.... so did some scribbing work on my wing tank. It took me 15 minutes, done. Thanks for watching and all your constructive comment guys, really appreciate, have fun and more soon. Dan.
    2 points
  28. Greetings everyone, Today's update, The GBU’s are complete !! Subtle changes but, they’re more accurate and look better IMO. Now I can change the loadout from time to time on my Big Cat. BFD added to the CCG and it’s arming cable. I even added the Pulse Decoder setting dials ( 3 small black dots) to the CCG. Scratch-built Wing Release Mechanism and latch with arming cable. Both of these arming cables SHOULD be wrapped around the two rear sway braces (one on each side) of the bomb rack but, then I couldn't change the loadout. Close enough to give the illusion. Now I just need my 3 replacement decals to show up and I can press on with this build. Without them, I'm at a standstill. Hopefully they show up sooner than later. Thanks for checking in. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!"
    2 points
  29. The 'Seemann' marked aircraft was W.Nr. 18107, a G-6 lost on July 3, 1943, about a month before JG 53 first use of the rockets.
    2 points
  30. Well a small update today. I have finished scratchbuilding the 400gal centreline fuel tank. I took the pic before priming as you can see all the weld seams, filler cap and drains etc. I know it isnt much to look at but it was a mission to make and get symettrical, and placing it underneath the wing where it will go looks great. It is quite visibly bigger than the 300gal underwing ones. Thanks for looking Cheers Anthony
    2 points
  31. Test fitting.......maybe I should cast some of these????
    2 points
  32. Gisbod

    Junkers Diorama

    Hi all, Just finished my Wingnut Junkers. My first attempt at a diorama, and was a surprisingly steep learning curve! But great fun too. Aviattic resin Crossley trailer, fuel cart & figure. Diodump factory wall and gates. Home made plaster cast base in a picture frame. I hope to be taking it to Telford this year & will be in an upcoming ‘Scale Aviation Modeller’ magazine. Thanks for looking in Guy
    1 point
  33. There's also a die-cast http://www.forcesofvalor.com/product_inner.php?productId=197 Their not bad have the Opel Blitz for another project Bob
    1 point
  34. Thats exactly the correct approach and it works well. The only other glitch is the extra frames on the front windscreen that needs to be sanded down and polished out. The left and right windscreen panels are one piece not two.
    1 point
  35. The problem is, of course, is how one defines "good". What is good for one fellow may be just fair to another. Since these are so inexpensive you may do best by buying one of each and comparng them to one another. I do not have that problem as I am not a fine scale modeler by any means. I use the "three foot rule". If it looks good from three feet away it is good for me. The average arm's length is three feet so I do not have to carry a tape measure. Happy hunting. Stephen
    1 point
  36. We're on vacation in Scotland and picked this up. I'll try to get a better image when we're home in a couple days. Carl
    1 point
  37. I'm not doubting you Thierry, you are obviously having some serious fit issues with the kits fit in the tail section, can you illustrate with a pic or two what the issue you are having is please? All I'm saying is, hand on heart, my Hasegawa 1/32 P-40 went together like a dream compared to my many other kits I've built, have looked at mine again and I know I never used filler or did much sanding and for me, re-scribing is something I rarely do.
    1 point
  38. Indeed they do, such a great design.
    1 point
  39. SolidWorks, it has a built in rendering engine. Some of those images posted are rendered images and some are just screen grabs.
    1 point
  40. 262's are such cool looking aircraft. Another nice one in progress, Alan!
    1 point
  41. Those renders look awesome! What software do you use? Thanks. Juraj
    1 point
  42. Thanks Alan. I will start another Arado Ar 234 B-2 build, sometime in the very near future. One of those found in Grove, Denmark on May 5. 1945, after the German capitulation . But right now I think I need a break and a slight 'change of view'. Ehhhmmm... Too many ideas to choose from Alan. Maybe I should do a poll, what would you be interested in following? Partly started projects/on the bench right now: Avro Lancaster diorama, vehicles and figures (1/48) 'Flying Circus' WWI diorama Fokker Dr I's (1/32) Fiat 500F - Italeri (1/12) Cheers: Kent
    1 point
  43. Thank you all for your kind comments of encouregment, just so pleased to get back to this buid again and enjoying again. Busy week again but made a little more progress with the drop tanks complete. A fairly tricky job getting holes drilled, frames fitted and everything all lined up. Just need to get the clear parts on the wings masked now. Regards. Andy
    1 point
  44. Quite a clear reference picture of the gauges:
    1 point
  45. Not to much bench time this week but managed to get the revised air scoop tidied up, I then decided it would be easier to build the FuG 220b fram work onto the nose assembly as I thought it would be easier to do now rather than trying to fit it to the assembled fuselage. And a quick test fit onto the fuselage. Tricky work to get both sides fitted, lined up and looking equal. Now need to add some weld beads and bolts here and there. Pretty happy with the results so far, I can now just fit the nose at the end of the build once the rest of the airframe is complete. The MG 151's can br removed and re-fitted with ease afterbuilding tubes inside the nose for them to slide into, also need to add the flash suppresors to the barrels but wont do this til the end of the build once I have fitted the dipoles and recievers. As ever, thanks for checking by and comments/ criticism always welcome! Regards. Andy
    1 point
  46. Nice quite time today at home so made a start on getting some initial colour on the cockpit sub assemblies. Now I can get down to detail painting and bringing some depth to it all. Regards. Andy
    1 point
  47. So I have now got to the bottom of the SM gun installtion fit issue's and it is down to a couple of things in my mind and worth documenting for those who are planning this build. I am now happy with the fit inside the closed fuselage and after remedial work this is where I am now. To get to this point I first removed the MG 81 ammo bin I had previously glued in place, next I removed the lower etched panel PE37 from the starboard cockpit side wall I had fitted earlier as I noticed I had fitted this diferently to Johns show model as you can see below. Initially I fiitted on to the lip but it needs fitting below the lip. I did this originally as it fitted nicely in this position when mated with the cockpit floor. To get this part to fit below the lip you need to remove around 1.5mm to get a good fit,I aslo made sure when I re fitted PE37 it was close against the side wall to give me as much room as possible. Before and after I then fitted the cockpit tub into the fuselage , fixed the starboard MG and checked alignment with the canopy and fixed its position with a dab of cyno to the pin just protruding from the cockpit floor. I then reoved everything from the fuselage and re-glued the MG 81 bin back into place followed by re closing the fuselage and fixing the port gun into place and now the guns fit nicely without fouling anything. Now need to get the co2 tray and associated plumbing in place which should be interesting but much happier now I have overcome this initial problem. Regards. Andy
    1 point
  48. Some bench time on this today and first up I would say for anybody planning to do this build is to decide which airframe they are building first and formost and really study the instructions before diving in as it will make life so much easier in the lomg run. I made a start on the cockpit and added all of the basic detail to the floor and side panels in readyness to add various cable runs/ details. Also started work on a some of the smaller sub assemblies, the castings /detail are fantastic, here is one of the ammo bins I have been working on, not sure if it shows up but the wooden cover is nicely engraved, an etched alternative part is also supplied but I think the resin is just right on its own. I can honestly say that John has put together a brilliant conversion set here and comparing it his Ju-188 conversion I am also working on at the moment, the level of detail/ casting quality have now moved on to another level. As always, thanks for looking in. Regards. Andy
    1 point
  49. Hi Guys, well this is the first time I have ever posted anything of mine "in the works", but someone was asking about the Beading Tool on Discussion forum. I had a look around my pics on file and found these of my Skyhawk I had photographed several months ago with it in. This TA-4K has been completely rescribed with the slat areas filled to a smooth upper contour, new front/rear fuse attach bolt points, redesigned NACA intakes, new positions for slat rails and rollers installed etc etc... Everythng so far has been rebuilt or modified, I have started installing the CE intakes by grinding off the outsides and slotting them in the kit ones then filling & sanding them smooth, along with a box full of scratchbuilt items. I hope you like progress so far.
    1 point
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