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JunkyJan

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Everything posted by JunkyJan

  1. 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!)
  2. 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).
  3. 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?
  4. Stunning model. And also glad to hear / see that there is a better alternative to ALCLAD II out there.
  5. Your work is totally awesome - I love the idea of taking a factory-assembled & finished model and improving it (a lot!).
  6. 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.
  7. 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
  8. 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...
  9. 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:
  10. 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)
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. Thanks for the kind comment, Harv - wish I could improve my photography though (it does actually look a quite a bit better in real life!) Something I forgot to mention - the 21C spinner is too small at the back, and the Revell spinner seems too long again. I fixed the 21C spinner by gluing a disc of 1/16 card to the backplate and then added Squadron putty + liberal sanding to get rid of the "step". I reckon the final result will be about 75% 21st Century kit, about 15% or so Revell, and the balance being made up by Evergreen, Squadron Putty, Milliput, gap-filling superglue etc. Ah yes - I also need to add that the Revell plastic firmly refuses to be glued to the 21C kit parts with ordinary plastic solvents (Tamiya etc) - you'll have to use a CA -type glue.
  16. As I said before, very sadly I started assembling this kit years ago as a "quicky" for a desktop-corner display model. I decided NOT to try and break the model apart in order to redo the interior - instead, decided to leave it as is and later (carefully) remove the seats etc and replace with resin items. Another factor in this decision was that I was none too sure that this conversion can actually be done - the Revell kit's radiator area might be too wide or too narrow etc (it turned out to be almost perfect). So.... I started out by literally hacking away (Dremel'ed away actually) the whole radiator area of the 21C kit. It is not deep enough - by about 3/32" at a minimum. In retrospect I think what might be easier may be to carefully cut off the rear of the radiator (where the B-2 version would have the radiator flaps) and then cut off the radiator itself - add spacers of the correct width and add the radiator back in again. You will still have to use the Revell kit's radiator flaps and front intake lip though. The underside of the nose area from the Revell kit is needed as well - you will notice that it has a shallow V-section which is correct for a B-2, whereas the 21C kit has a rounded section (as per the B-1). Now for the really bad news.... The 21C radiator will now be too small (it is moulded as part of the radiator lip anyway) and the Revell kit's radiator is under-size - even for the Revell kit. I ended up constructing a new radiator front from Evergreen card stock and Evergreen plastic strips.... Just make sure you have 11 vertical louvres + 1 horisontal strip (use reference photos - there's tons on the web) and you should be good!
  17. Hi Gents Sorry about disappearing like that - work got in the way (I live from crisis to crisis work-wise, as I'm sure many others do). I am in the process of uploading in-progress pics to a file sharing site, but right now I am laying down the basic colours... my personal jury is still out out on where exactly I'm going with this, other than it must be North Africa / Mediterranean theatre but NOT Hubert Polz's "Snake" Stuka (the subject seems to be too controversial for me - I'll never be able to make up my mind if there should be a snake on the starboard side as well!). I'm very partial to a plain RLM79 -finished aircraft such as T6+EM (4.StG 2) but at this stage I can still switch to a mottled-camouflage aircraft - T6+AM (also 4.StG 2) comes to mind. Reason I'm so keen on North African Theatre aircraft is due to several of my uncles having seen combat against Germany and Italy during this time - I'm assuming under Montgomery. I recall that my mom's youngest brother was a Sapper and another served later in Italy under Montgomery in the Signals Corps, as part of the 8th Army. They never spoke much about the war but still said enough to greatly impress a pre-teen boy.... Earlier-stage in-progress (hack-job alert!) pics to follow!
  18. Thanks for the responses guys. I'll get on it tonight - I have some "real-world responsibilities" to take care of this afternoon (I'm in the Pacific TZ). EDIT: ...Or in a couple of days or so.
  19. Good day folks I have been a fan of the Ju87 Stuka for about as long as I can remember (almost as long as I have been a fan of the Curtiss P-40 series). Some time ago - I think about 5 years when 21st Century Toys released their 1:32 Ju87 kit, I bought one but was rather disappointed... Wheel spats decidedly strange-looking affairs, canopy looks a bit off etc - could live with that but the more I looked at the kit, the more I came to realize that the 21st Century kit is really closer to a Ju87B-1 than a B-2 series aircraft (shallow radiator bath, underside of the nose tapers to a rounded section whereas the B-2 had a shallow V-shape etc). The decals in the kit are all for B-2 aircraft though - very good quality decals, sort of at odds with the kit itself. By now I probably sound like a "Rivet-counter" (I REALLY don't think I am, I am as willing to apply "Modeler's Discretion" than anyone else!) but I dug up my ancient copy of Squadron's "Ju87 Stuka in Action" which confirmed my suspicion (see page 20 - it's rather glaringly obvious that the 21st C. kit is way closer to a B-1 than a B-2). Think of the outcry that would happen if Tamigawa would sell you a Spit IX kit, you open the box and you find a Spitfire Vb with IX decals - that's how I felt about it. So.... I decided to just "slap it together", put it on a desk corner as a display model (which is probably what 21st Century Toys intended these kits to be for anyway), got about halfway with that before I got distracted with a more interesting project and the half-built model was chucked back into its box and shuffled to the bottom of the stash. So... 5 years later, recently turned 60 and suddenly woke up to the cold realization that I can never build all of the models in my stash - Sorry Dude, you're running out of time left on this Earth! Sorting through my unbuilt stash to separate my "Must-build-bucket-list" kits from my "Who-cares-it-was-on-sale-anyway" kits I ran into the old half-built Stuka kit again. For some reason the Stuka Bug got hold of me right there again - and remembering that I read somewhere that the the spats & canopy from the old Revell kit can be used to fix some of the issues with this kit or even the Trumpeter kit, I had the bolt-from-the-blue idea to do some Major Plastic Surgery and 'transplant' the Revell radiator bath + underside of the nose to the 21st C. Toys model. That should give me an acceptably-accurate Ju87B-2 model - and I can even replace other items such as the chunky tailplane struts and dive brakes with the more "dainty" Revell items. Disclaimer: BAD IDEA! No, actually - VERY BAD IDEA! You'd be far better off to just buy the Trumpeter Ju87B-2 kit + Brian Fawcett Correction resin kit - altho the latter is a bit expensive, it looks like (judging from pics on the web) an incredibly well done correction kit. I stayed away from the Trumpeter Stuka kit as I am still gun-shy in regards to Trumpeter's 1/32 kits - mainly caused by the A-7 Corsair II nose issue (that one is in my bucket-list stash - I'm hoping that the correction kit will be re-released again one day). I went ahead and bought an old Revell Ju87B-2 kit off Ebay for about $15, and at that stage I was still thinking that I'm ahead of the game money-wise. So... I have been working on this Conversion / Plastic Surgery / Personal Fiasco / Comedy of Errors for about a month now (as time permits - I am involved in the Software Development industry where even just admitting that you have a Life Outside of Work and God Forbid, even an actual hobby that does not involve Computer software or hardware can be Career-Limiting. I have been taking pics with my cellphone camera as I'm going along and although it will never win a Pulitzer Prize for Documentary Journalism it might help someone else to not make the same mistakes (speaking of which - did I mention - save yourself the pain and rather buy the Trumpeter kit + Brian Fawcett correction!!)... Assuming you gents out there would be interested (or even amused) to see more info & some bad quality pics being added to this thread? BTW - if you can't laugh at yourself sometimes - Life will Get You! -- Jan BC, Canada
  20. Very very nice! I remember growing up and reading my dad's copies of Time Magazine as well as Life - and those depressing articles they published during the Vietnam War (late '60s / early 70s). One article had a beautiful colour pic of an A-7 being launched from a carrier.... The photograph was almost taken at the same angle. I am continuously amazed by how such a prominent feature could get messed up...
  21. Thanks for the responses guys. I feel exactly the same way - an A-7 needs at least to be "approximately" correct and unfortunately the canopy line + intake are prominent recognition features of the type. It's a no-go for the time being, then!
  22. Thank you, Vandy! (I have been lurking & skulking around forever!)
  23. Good day! I bought the 1/32 Trumpeter Corsair II kit about a year ago. At the time the Exactoman website still showed the Correction Kit (to fix the squished intake and canopy) as still available. Of course I then tried to order the kit, got no response and then a few weeks later the Correction Kit went to "Not Available" status. So.... I'm capable of fixing the mis-shaped intake lip & trunking myself, but I've never been any good at vacuforming canopies (half a century if model-building experience - "a man's got to know his limitations" ) Do anyone know of an alternative source of (correctly-shaped) 1/32 Corsair II canopies? Regards -- Jan
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