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Hi all, 10. Hog finished 1/32 Tamiya HGW wet transfers & seat belts Barracuda wheels Eagle cals only Number 13 Painting mask home made All colours Mr.Paint/MRP

well hello folks can't believe a month has passed since I last posted an update... I have not been idle though - I have done a lot of 3D modelling for the tailwheel, main wheels (for which I am getting help!) and the spinner (of which more later..), in between I have also released an airscale instrument panel set for the Hobbyboss 1/32 B24 Liberator and also worked with Airfix to master this airscale cockpit set for the new and mind blowing Airfix 1/24 F6F Hellcat - the decals for all the instruments & placards are in production, but the PE is done.. ..as for the P51, when I had the Hellcat PE test shot done, I also added a load of extra P51 stuff to the fret so I make the most of one-shot production, Part of that was the stainless steel side panels that surround the exhaust ports, and I also made a fold up box structure that is the structure that surrrounds and supports the exhausts themselves.. ..Also seen here are the 3D printed exhausts from Model Monkey - huge shout out for these as they are exceptional quality and amazingly are hollow so are ultra realistic.. ..these were folded and the details added before the boxes were added to the outer panels - the exhausts are not yet fitted so they can be painted & added at the end.. ..and so onto the spinner - this is one of those things that has sat in the back of my mind as a niggle since I started this build - it is unfortunately unpainted on the real aircraft so had to be made in metal - a bit like skinning a tennis ball in sheet aluminium - very tricky.. ..I actually bought the HpH 1/18 Merlin engine model hoping to cheat and get a good basis for the prop & spinner from that, but it is very crude - the spinner is a solid with four peg holes in it to take the blades - there is no reference to the cutouts on the real thing, so that was a 70 euro write off (though I think I can use the blades so may not be dead money...) I restarted my Rhino 3D programme trial and got to work modelling the Spinner... ..when I went to get it printed at Shapeways, I noticed you could choose polished Aluminium so I thought well that would be brilliant as it would save lots of messing around with skinning as I could just polish the part - so at great expense (150 euros) I ordered it with the hub done in plastic.. ..two disappointments... one - it's not polished at all, it is more like a carbide burr in texture, and two, somehow I got the hole cutouts wrong as two were in the right pitch for the blades and two were in the opposite pitch.. ..that said - it is aluminium, and after filing & polishing is just like a cast part - don't know how they do it, but it's bloody clever.. ..as the cutouts were wrong, I knew I had to skin it, so I made a tape mask and started with the lower section... ..with this skin added, I taped it to the top part to mark another tape template with where the cut-out holes were on the next bit of skinning (there are 3 - bottom, lower of the top cone, and the tip) ..this skin needed rows of 3 rivets adding so I made up a jig I could do this accurately with.. ..I was hoping after adding this I could get away with the spinner tip being the base aluminium part, but there is a lip that can just be seen.. ..in doing the tip, I nearly gave up as turning one sheet into a fully compound curve sheath without a visible seam proved very difficult - I don't have any in progress pics, but at this point the bulk of the shaping has been done and the skin runs up over the lower part - I was hoping I could just sand & file this away for a nice close fit (I should have started with the tip & made the lower panel fit it, not the other way around..) ..once it was all sanded away, I was really happy with the result.. ..the prop hub was painted and added to the base.. ..and it is a perfect fit.. ..it feels great having got that done - everything else is easy by comparison I also have the right sheet aluminium that Brian (Out2gtcha) kindly shipped from the US on my behalf so can now start skinning the airframe.. ..a milestone I think, and hopefully the start of more regular updates.. TTFN Peter

Thanks Brian, Ray and er.. the mongoose I’m on a roll at the moment and can’t leave the kit alone. It’s just too much fun! Airfix does give the option of showing off the gun bays and I’m doing just that on one side. I’ve added a little detail and I’ve used a Master Barrel MG as a 21st century twist. It really is a huge leap over the kit part. Cheers, Guy

Thank you Scott and Welcome Alfonso! It's always great to have subject matter experts visit my builds and I appreciate the input, especially since Allied aircraft are not my forte. I love the mismatches caused by replacement parts and I think a Blue Grey port wing will make a neat visual statement. My guess is that Sea Blue was not applied on the top of the port wing based on the photos... maybe the rest of the Sea Blue had faded to the extent that it wasn't necessary? Exterior issues aside, the work on the inner Corsair creeps along. Here's the seat. It's made up of four parts including a etched metal part. The rear bulkhead, which will ultimately hold up the seat was my next painting assignment. Based on Scott's comments, I wanted to account for cockpit components painted in a Dark Green due to more than one contractor supplying the cockpit sub-assemblies. Since no specifics were given on WHAT might be Dark Green, I thought about doing the seat but I decided to do the seat mounting frame and panel behind it. The seat was chipped using the MIG Scratches Effect fluid and given a dirty wash. The base metal finish was kept dark to help tone down the shine of the chipping effect. Also painted at this time was the intermediate bulkhead that houses the foot pedal controls. Chipping was done on the pedals and also the plate beneath the pedals. The components have not been glued together yet and I was only able to get a single shot before the assembly kept coming apart in my light box. I've given the instrument panel some light chipping along the edges to better match the worn surroundings. And here is the control stick painted up. Not sure what that cone thing is...almost could double for a pee-pee relief container but it is on the wrong side. I added a wire to the end of it. The central cockpit station between these bulkheads is still to come.

98.354% done. So a few pics.... Whats left you say? Paint the pilot and add the Sparrow missiles. Dan

9th Hog finished. HGW wet transfers & seat belts Barracuda wheels Maketar mask All colours Mr.Paint/MRP

Thanks dashotgun. Amazing what a powerful self-critique tool posting photographs on a forum can be. Looking at the last photo I posted, I realised that the panel lines were totally uniform and overstated. Some panels get removed often as I mentioned, but others don't, and shouldn't have the same treatment. I decided to use a grey wash some on of the panels to soften the overall look, and here you can compare the top of the photo to the bottom (left side) to see what I mean. Accentuated panel lines are a contentious issue as it is, and I think some variation helps. Apart from that , and some work on the radome to get rid of the black primer that came trough on my slightly heavy handed chipping scrub, the model is finally done. Here is a little foretaste of how she looks... Many thanks to all who have shared this little journey - it has been good fun! Detail photographs to follow on RFI tomorrow... Sean

Hi all! It's been a while but I used my photo set-up to help light the kids room when it was painted and this took more time than originally planned! So I worked on the cockpit some more and added detail to the bottom section. The flat rectangular part is the floor of the rear cockpit. The front cockpit part will rest on the front and rear spar when they are added later. The holes in the center of the wheel wells are for the eventual gear retraction cable. The square opening is a small window to visually check the postion of the landing gear. Another will be added symmetrically to the left bay. Finally, there is an opening for the landing light in the rear of the right bay. I added more structural detail in the rear fuselage where it might be visible. I also started to add the many small reinforcement plates which are all over the cockpit and will support equipment and other items. I removed a small section of styrene strip on each side between the cockpit openings to leave space for the rear instrument panel. Here are both instrument panels and their supporting structure. The final panels are to be glued to these flat sections. Here they are in place seen from below. I use a punch and die to make the openings in the panel for the instruments. The tape serves as a guide to get the correct height for the holes. The flat strip of styrene is used to nudge the panel so it is properly aligned before punching out each hole. I made a photocopy of the ICM kit instruments to use for the UTI-4. Clear styrene will be sandwiched after the panel is painted. I will try to finish the front and back panels this week end. Bye for now! Alain

The first pressing of the replacement Emerson Turret for the Hobby Boss 1/32 B-24 Liberator is a success. Next up I will continue work on the Consolidated turret. I am working on the Consolidated unit and will have it ready tomorrow 3/16 and available for sale om Sunday 3/17. They are being sold individually for $15 each.

The model which I received to finish. The model that was started and lay in the box for several years. The model is A-7E Trumpeter which was to be made in painting from version D - it was the decision of the person for whom I finished this model. So we have an E version that pretends version D. In my opinion, the Trumpeter model itself is not very demanding and it will be easy to fold. However, you need to pay attention to the dividing lines that are too shallow and need improvement.

Guns. The gun troughs are quite prominent so I am improving these features. Really not a good way to reproduce these on a vac kit so some improvements. And some internal items added. Vac on! Dan

I've started my Tamiya A6M2b in my usual snail-like pace... Let's hope that this will be a project that will see completion! I know there are some minor things that need adressing to get this model more accurate. Luckily, the don't concern the shape of the model, but more details because of the workable undercarriage and details thet aren't quite correct for the timeframe and so on. Because I know that a couple of Tweak Lists were published about the A6M5 and A6M2 but couldn't find them I started this thread: Not only will Ryan Toews redo his tweak lists when his family-situation will allow it, this thread contains lots more invaluable info! Check it out! The box art shows the A6M2b of Lt. Saburo Shindo from Akagi of the 2nd wave of the Pearl Harbor attack: I feel particularly drawn to this scheme, though, the Zero of NAP1/C Tsuguo Matsuyama from Hiryu: Sadly, my first results have to be redone, since the double vertical attachment of compressed air bottles on the left fuselage side wasn't found on the A6M2 but rather on the A6M5...! Can it be seen anyway, on the finished model? Looks like the seat rather blocks any view into the aft fuselage! I think copying the single-bottle brackets also found in the Big-Ed set won't be too hard, so a single horizontal set-up should be possible! I already removed the massive plastic brackets Tamiya supplies the bottles with. Now to find out how the equipment on this shelf looked. Tamiya supplies us with something looking like a Sony CD-player and Eduard follows suit. That doesn't mean anything since Eduard states that it supplies extra details but doesn't supply corrections! Cheers, Erik.

Hi Guys, not sure if this is the right place, if not, mods please move. I made a start on the 1/24 Mosquito. Waiting for some cockpit goodies, so decided to start with the engines. I will get better pics up soon. Disclaimer: No airbrush was harmed in the making of this model.

Hi guys Just finished my Tamiya 1/32 F-4E as an HAF SRA Hope you like it. I will try and take better photos during the weekend. 20190313_203120 by periklis_sale, on Flickr 20190313_203122 by periklis_sale, on Flickr 20190313_203137 by periklis_sale, on Flickr 20190313_203125 by periklis_sale, on Flickr 20190313_203139 by periklis_sale, on Flickr

This beautiful T-38A Thunderbird took a long time and she took a short time. I began a year ago and made good progress through learning to vacuum form a canopy. Then with the pending release of the KittyHawk F-5's I decided to wait it out and gather up some cockpit and clear parts to really make her look sharp. So a year long build timeline with about 4 months of that being actual bench time. The final model is a combination of the Hasegawa F-5E, Belcher Bits F-5A conversion, KittyHawk F-5E/F and some Bondo spot putty! The cockpit and pilot are painted with Vallejo acrylics and the helmet is handpainted. Interior details are scratch built in combination with the Hasegawa side panels and KH seats. The paint is MCW lacquer 60/40 with MrColor Leveling Thinner, 2 coats of MCW clear thinned as well, and wet-sanded to 12000 grit. She's all show AND go with BMF Chrome on the pitot, wingtips, and exhausts. Those exhaust can corrugated metal liners are birthday tiaras for a kids party lol. The decals are a combination of CamPro from the F-4 Thunderbird set and the KH kit. She is adorned with Archer rivets, doors, and hinges to show off her classic airframe! I scribed all the other elements of the fuselage and airfoil surfaces to match the Daco Book as much as possible. Lastly a big thanks goes out to the Aviation Museum of Kentucky who graciously let me take pictures all around their AT-38B Thunderbird including some great shots of the cockpit.

Hi Guys, Some more progress on the Frank. I couldn't make my mind up about the colour of the spinner and tried red first, looked beautiful but not right. So its been repainted in a few shades of metal, once again all Mission Models. The reference photos show the guns in place for load and trim I suppose, but the gun sight isn't fitted, so that's how I'll finish the model eventually. The Prop in red: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr And all metal: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr The canopy popped in place for now: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Trying the engine and prop: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Still lots to do! Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Regards, Bruce Crosby

Starting to look a little more cohesive under a layer of primer. Now for the rivets and detailing the oil tanks Thanks for looking in Anthony

Thanks Guy I’ve finished the engine - minus plumbing, which I’ll do as it gets fixed in place on joining the fuselage. Again, you have to marvel at this, nearly, 50 year old kit. There aren’t many better engines that I’ve come across barring Tamiya & Wingnuts all these years on. So how you see it here is effectively how it comes out of the box. The only change I’ve made is to hollow out the air filter (it was moulded solid) and add a mesh to add some depth. Still some more weathering to go but I’ll do that in situ once the plumbing’s done. I’m going to have the lower panel in place so I won’t go overboard with detail on the base of the engine. I prefer this look as it keeps the overall shape of the aircraft at the front. Thanks, Guy ps I was going to replace the ignition wires but the plastic parts seemed pretty good to me - and they are separate, not moulded on like most kit engines I’ve come across.

1st one for 2019. Tamiya Phantom F4(j), decked out as a 74 squadron aircraft using Yellowhammer decals to depict a F4J(UK). Great kit that builds into an imposing model. All errors were user generated!!

Time to start my tribute build project. Corsairs definitely seem popular lately Been awhile since I've done a prop so will try to do some justice to this kit. Like so many of us I built this kit as a teenager so when I had a choice of what to pick up I decided on this one. The intent isn't to be exact, my purpose is to recreate a childhood memory. My Uncle Dennis grew up in Akron Ohio by the Goodyear Airdock. He remembers seeing the corsairs flying over all the time. When he was about 8 he used to shoot his bow and arrow at them as they flew over lol. I expect this will be just a slightly dirty bird as I understand it they leaked oil from the radials no matter what the flying conditions were. Anyone who can drop in a few pictures as the project moves forward please feel free to do so. That will really help when I go to paint her. I may have to do my own decals for the major markings. The plan is to do an AC from VF653, which was a Naval Reserve Squadron out of Akron Ohio. VF653 was aboard the USS Valley Forge (CV45) during the Korean conflict. Most likely I will do Cook Cleland's AC. He was an Ace during WWII and became a Thomson Trophy winner before Korea. In addition to all this he was from Cleveland Ohio so the whole local area theme is playing big here!

This is Special Hobby's 1/32 scale V-1. A lovely little kit, the usual lo-run moulding features, a bit of etch and a good decal sheet. All paint by Mission Models with a final wash of Flory Black Weathering fluid. Very fast and easy to build and paint. The rear end of the fuselage and engine was assembled and painted in one factory, the explosive section in another and the nose guidance system at a third, all painted where manufactured. Like most munitions, they would only come together as a complete unit prior to launch, being assembled and adjusted in the local bomb dump. Hence the mottle cammo on the back end, the linear colour demarcation on the explosive section and a freehand wavy colour separation on the nose. Some areas were treated to a very thin wash of Mission Models Tyre Black to change the RLM83 and 76 on some sections to emphasise the disparate part manufacturing.

Seam work done and everything primed finally! Will attach the top fuselage/cockpit decking tonight and gloss coat everything for the hexagons. Lower center wing will be decalled before glueing to the fuselage.

A bit more good news: I pulled out my trusty copy of the excellent "Naval Weapons of World War Two" by John Campbell and found a fully dimensioned drawing of the British 18 inch Mk.XII torpedo. According to Mr. Campbell, this was "the standard airborne torpedo for the first half of the war and was still in use later in aircraft and to a limited extent in MTBs." If there is demand, I can design an accurate 3D-printed torpedo for your 1/32 scale Beaufighter and Fairey Swordfish models. Here is a photo of a Beaufighter armed with a Mk.XII torpedo. The Beaufighter was also known to carry the US 21 inch Mk.13 torpedo. The US torpedo was much shorter than the British Mk.XII (13 feet 5 inches compared to 16 feet 3 inches) but much heavier. If there is demand, I can design the US torpedo, too. Here's the Mk.13:

Kagemusha and Alain, Thank you for your kind words. I am almost finished with the pit and I am pretty happy with the result even though the macro is unforgiving. it looks better IRL I need to finish the bangseat and add bits and bobs and I can then close up the fuselage. Cheers, David

Thanks guys. While my wife was working on her paper for school and my son was on X-Box last night I found myself at the bench for an amazing 3+ hours which is what I usually get over a time span of 3 days! I was able to get significant amounts of work done on this puppy. After that long stint of work I am now nearing completion of this truck. Finishing shots should be coming pretty soon.

Thanks! That narrows the selection of kits in my stash. I think a T-2 Buckeye would be fine. Regards - dutik

One gear door down, one to go: A very dirty door - pretty lazy weathering. Maybe I will do a little more later. The placement of the door opening cylinder in the landing gear bay months ago was really a question mark. But I had no need to worry - it's just about right. The thin silver lip that is just above the door I added to the gear bay cutout on the fuselage. It's really supposed to look that way. That lip, or shelf, is why the hinge fittings need to be goose necks.

Like how I just shoveled a swath through the debris field for the plane to sit in?

And here's some more detail shots to close out the show. Thanks to everyone who helped me make this the best model I've built to date! If you're intereested in the full WIP you can find it here T-38A Thunderbird

Having reached an amazing US$30k in donations, and with Paul's insurance company now starting to pay out, we have decided that the GoFundMe campaign has run its course, and will be deactivated soon. I've disabled donations in the interim, and would like to thank each and every one of you who so generously supported Paul and his family during this difficult time. It's made a world of difference! Hopefully we'll see Paul back to churning out modelling goodies sooner rather than later! Kev

2 updates in one day, Holy Moly Batman. What can I say, I've been on vacation this week. Outer plylons with bombs, check. Ladder with pilot, check. Canopy, dry fit, check. Roger, over and out, Dan

Hi all, Here's more progress on the UTI-4. I opened up the 4 hand holds just ahead of the cockpit openings. Here are the first parts that will go in the cockpit. Some structures and both instrument panels. The forward one (on the right) is split in 2 and will be glued on the plastic part above where dials have been quickly sketched. Also the 2 floor panels which are limited to where the pilot's feet are. They have the correct width but will be trimmed in length when I will be more certain of the exact dimensions. The first section in place. The position has to be right for the front instrument panel to have the correct split proportions. After a few days here is what I have managed to do. Most of the structural details are in place. Just a few more to add to the left side. That's it for today, and now it is time to place the large landing gear hand crank and all the other bits. Bye for now! Alain

Hi Guys, I was wrapping up the George and doing some work on a customer build when I spotted a Frank lurking in the stash. It shouted at me "Oi! What about me?" and I heard the call and took the box out. I had forgotten the Frank kit from Hasegawa that I had started a couple of years ago and opening the box I found the cockpit almost complete, painted but not finally assembled. I remembered that the Eduard etched seat had picked up some crud when I was spraying it and decided to call it a day. I found id used probably 90% of the Eduard set and most of the painting wasn't too bad. So I found the original paint and decided to have a quick squirt with the airbrush, laying on some Mission Models Grey Primer then Mr Hobby Nakajima Interior Green. It didn't take long and soon I had the cockpit assembled and inserted into the fuselage halves. Then I was actually quite shocked to find I had actually run a Rosie over the airframe at some point! It got even better when I looked at the wings to find them assembled AND had also been visited by Rosie! And the engine was assembled and painted, the prop assembled but not painted. Why on earth had I not finished this kit? So here's yesterday's work, from opening the box to getting the wings on. Starting point: A fine collection of plastic! The seat primed and painted, the IP with MMP Flat then MMP Gloss on the dials: Belt up! Rivetting experience: Tub assembled: The state of play: Today it's going to get a clean and a coat of MMP Grey Primer which is rapidly becoming my favourite. Once it's on it doesn't come off, as I found out with the George. Regards, Bruce Crosby

Hi all, Not my habit to build outside LSP. But this is for my club's-contest.Each year we hold a competition with all the members. This years theme is "Red cross".

Very nice Alain - looking good! Torben

Good work so far. This build gets better and better with every update.

Clamp to a hard flat surface (glass, steel, ceramic tile etc) and dunk in hot but not boiling water? Hopefully it’s not permanently attached to the fuselage.....

Great start on the Su-25! Very interesting aircraft for sure! Alain

Egad that looks nice! Love the exhaust coloring.

I dry fitted all the underside extra's. 20 mm guns (Me 109) Drop tanks or extra bombs (Me 262) Antenna (Me 262) Torpedo's (type might change later) The same antenna goes on top behind the canopy. A high tech feature on the Adler are the pannels.Held in place by electro magnets instead of screws.

Jay, You Rock!! Gaz

Hi Guys, This morning's work on the Frank has ben applying Flory Weathering Wash over the model, section by section. I've used grime all over the airframe with Grey on the nose anti-dazzle paint. I think Black would have been too stark and I found the Grey blended into the metallics too much. Here's the starboard wing top slathered with wash: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Now with the wash removed with a damp wad of kitchen paper: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr The port tailplane: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Underwing detail: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr The other side: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Now the fuselage! Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr The fuselage cleaned and the grey on the anti-dazzle panelling: Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr Regards, Bruce Crosby

Hi Jay, She looks great! Amazed at the work you're putting in! Gaz

Thanks guys. I have done a small amount of work to the model, mostly doing some changes to two areas where I had some feedback from mates of mine when I took it to a club meeting a few days ago. The H in Hepcat was always a touch too thick and was something I was happy to leave alone, but it was something that was pointed out to me as above after he saw it online. I fixed it and am yet to redo the sealing coat of varnish, hence the different sheen on the inside of the H. Thanks Dan! The port side chipping was also changed a bit, to concentrate it a bit better in one area rather than how I had it. I have blended that area into the rest of the wing root with the lighter shade if green. Cheers Brent!

Came back for another look. Quite the threading exercise. Great show. Sincerely, Mark

This is just the greatest, Peter. Brings back rewarding problem-solving memories of the Tamiya kit for me. Thank you. By way of P-51B/C Manuals. I have a full set. Thank you. Sincerely, Mark

How on Earth are you going to replicate all that intricate detail on your model? Kev

Hi Guys, Well, I've been busy with the other two Frank kits. The interiors got built and painted and I assembled them into the fuselages yesterday and added the wings and a very small amount of filler. One of the models needed some thin plasticard shims to widen out the fuselage slightly so the wing fit was better, then a very small smear of Mr Dissolved Putty. I didn't go mad crazy on the interiors as I know from building the first one that you can't see sweet FA inside once the fuselage is buttoned up. I'm not building for a magazine or a competition or a customer so its going to be OK to show at the club and sit om my shelf and gather dust! One of the two new builds has and Eduard etched seat, with the colour etched seatbelts from the same set. For once, the paint cracked as I bent the metal so there was some remedial painting to do. This model has the IP from an Aires cockpit set which I'm not going to use as its far too much effort and the same reasons as paragraph 1 above! Paints here are all Mission Models, even the washes. The other interior has a Master Casters resin seat, the Eduard colour etch IP and the plain etched belts from the Aires set but using the colour etch buckle that's a spare in the Eduard set. After this is posted I'll be putting some MMP Grey primer on the second and third models. Right now they are on the table to my immediate left, having been washed with warm water and a detergent, using a sponge, then rinsed with water and dried with paper towels. Master Casters seat test fit Eduard etched seat test fit Eduard colour etch IP Aires etch and film IP Eduard seat and belts finished. Still needs the control column! The two interiors. Hope you like them. Regards, Bruce Crosby

Wow man. A truly Russlike project thats really taking shape. Good on you Alfonso. Cheers Matty