blackbetty

get well soon, buddy!

Hi all,
Well, starting on the tail unit there are a few areas that needed to be addressed:
The 'Berg' had pronounced 'wash-out' (upward flare) at the outer trailing edge of the ailerons. Although it looks as though this was attempted in the kit parts, the 'wash-out' was nowhere pronounced enough. This required careful bending after heat soaking in hot water (boiled).
The combined fin and rudder had a few areas that I felt needed to be re-profiled after comparing the kit part to drawings in several notable publications.  
The tail planes and elevators, when laid together with the rib tapes aligned were found to be off-set to each other. I also felt these parts needed re-profiling.
 
Mike
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi all,
The basic fuselage is now completed, with the addition of the blast tubes for the two 'Schwarzlose' machine guns, crash pads and top rear engine pipe.
I also added lead wire to represent the pipes/wires connected at the back of the instrument panel, although its virtually impossible to see them and worse once the upper wing is fitted.
There's a lot of photo-etch detail to be added to the fuselage and another engine pipe, but those will be left until later in the build to prevent the getting damaged,
Now it's time to move onto the wings and tail unit,
 
Mike
 

 

The cockpit rear bulkhead. A lot of cockpit mods are going on and at least that part is just about done. Here it is before:
 

 
And those are the hydraulics for the opening of the canopy in their imaginary positions (not functional yet). I somewhat cheated and made them retractable 'through' the bulkhead. One shows how they should look like when the canopy is open and the other - when the canopy is closed.
 

 

 
And here it is painted, with wires and rivets and basically it's prepped:
 

 

 

 

This has been on the back burner whilst I was building the hellcat,  but had time to do a little painting over the last few nights.  I’m learning a lot and having fun.  Cheers. Matt

i learn something new every day. if we leave off the guns on the kit we will have a fuel tank at least...

Hello,
 
this is my last model, an F-4J(UK) Phantom (E / ZE353) with the 74 (F)Squadron, also known as "Tiger Squadron", based at RAF Wattisham in the late 80s.
 
The model is based on the Tamiya kit with the addition of the Black Box resin cockpit, GMT resin J-79 exhausts and engine auxiliary air intake, resin wheels and a resin SUU-23A gun pod.
I made the reinforcement strip running under the fuselage along the wing using plasitcard.
Other minor details come from the Eduard PE sheet.
I've also added some hydraulic hoses and plates to the undercarriage wheel bays.
The pitot and AOA tubes are made of metal by Master.
A couple of red coloured resin FOD were added to the main jet intakes.
The unique camouflage is done using Tamiya and Gunze colors: for the greenish bluish gray I made my own mixture.
Decals are from Yellowhammer, but I've used small roundels from a Xtradecals sheet... the Yellowhammer's are too big.
 
CIAO!
Piero
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A couple of models I finished off recently to clear the bench and have a break from my Sukhoi. I was also testing out some new lights for taking pictures. The Spitfire is from Airfix in 1/72 and the 1099B from Revell, also in 1/72.
 

 

 

 

Hi all!
With the undercarriage and wheel wells done I now started work on the tail booms.
The construction is a bit tricky due to multiple parts requiring careful alignment before committing to glue.
KH sure did design the kit for both engines to be left exposed.
The fit of the engine covers was just atrocious and more clean up is required...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now....Firstly I know HK is doing this as a full kit, and I have probably wasted my money etc etc.
Second, I dont want this to turn into a burn session either...Good constructive and informative info is what I am after as I am no Phantom expert, but have always LOVED the FGR2 with the fintop RWR, grey scheme and beefier 'look' as opposed to the American ones. I am relying on expertise from you guys to help me out.
 
I originally had one of these ordered many many moons ago and was like many of you here and never got it.  But thanks to Mike (Serian01) here on the forum he sold me his and has realized my dream of building this kit and conversion...thanks buddy, I owe you one!
 
I have done a reasonable amount of research on the conversion (Great review on here on LSP) and there is a lovely conversion being done over on LSM with Cees.  Couple of areas I want to check on when it arrives, but the kit wont be here for a little while yet when my friend brings it over in the Global 6000 he flies (LOL only the best courier for this kit!)
 
What are good resources/books out there worth buying (I sold all I had when the conversion never turned up)?
Can I use an Aires F4J cockpit upgrade set...as in....Is much of it comparable to the FGR2?
Does anyone make the big strengthening 'Doubler' plate that is on the lower centre section? (can always make that out of plastic card if needed)
What about wheels, are there any aftermarket ones better than the Tamiya kit ones?
Seems like the Spey exhaust may need extra detailing?
From what I can gather, Frank Mitchell and Klaus/Meteor did a really good job of revising Franks original model to correct a few more issues.
 
As I said I know little of aviation modelling outside of my interest in NZ Aviation, so any help would be much appreciated.  I want to gather all I can so I do this conversion justice when I eventually start on it.
 
Cheers Anthony
 
 
 
 

Hi Guys,
 
A little more work on the Mistel braking chute.  I made the springs from fine brass wire.  The lanyard to the shackle is made from twisted lead wire and the shackle itself is from a Takom 1/35 Panther tank kit.
 
Springs made from brass wire wound round plastic rod to get the shape.
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
Springs superglued to the casing:
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
Twisted lead wire for the lanyard:
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
With the shackle in place:
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
That's all folks!
 
Regards,
 
Bruce Crosby

another reason to not start the kit gone!

That title though... Sorry, couldn't resist.
 
I've received several requests to make replacement parts for the nasty rubber bladder parts included in the Trumpeter 1/32 F-14 Tomcat kit.
The rubber parts are difficult to glue, difficult to paint and some have even had them weep oils that ruined their paint. As with rubber wheels, there is the fear that they will deteriorate and completely fail in time.
 
While there are basically 3 positions for the wings, extended, swept and over-swept, I decided to only offer two, extended and swept. Those who want to do over-swept will have to do some filing and sanding.
Here are the swept position parts:

 

 
The bladders inflate using air pressure from the engines so there is some variability as to how much they inflate. I've found pics at cat-launch where they appear over-inflated while in others they have relaxed and the ribs in the under-structure show. I have made the (extended wing) bladders slightly relaxed to where the sub-structure barely shows. Those who want it to be more prominent can sand away material and those who want them more inflated can add material.
Here are the extended wing parts:

 

 
The stock kit has the wing glove sealing plate intersection with the forward section of the fuselage flush and have the rubber bladder notched to allow this. In reality the intersection should not be flush the full length, but flush at the front and raised at the rear. I made the bladders without the cut-out notch forcing the parts to fit properly. The parts in the previous pics are just sitting on the kit. Here you can see how they will look when everything is glued:

Also note that the gap between the sealing pates and wing in the previous photos shows the parts just sitting on the kit with only a little tape holding things together. The gap will be tighter on a fully assembled kit (sorry, no pics to show this).
 
The actual bladders are a Teflon coated canvas. They do get scuffed up and show wear. In some cases slight wrinkles show and in some pics it appears as though they have had large sections patched with slightly different colored canvas. Check your references for the plane you are building. I chose to make the bladders smooth and clean. You can add scuffing, wrinkles and patching if you choose or just (have fun and) replicate this and the weathering with paint.
 
I will be pouring more production molds in the coming days and making some simple instruction sheets (the parts are drop-fit so there's not much to write about). I'm hoping to have these ready to release in the next week or two.
 

Hi Gord,
 
Here are a couple of pics of the "extended" nose gear strut. I am not sure that this is the actual total length of the nose strut when it is the "hike position" used for cat launch. I extend mine for the airborne position when fully extended in the Weight Off Wheels (WOW) when in the retraction mode. I determined this by placing the upper trunnion mount in its position and then determining the maximum length with clearance to the aft wheel well bulkhead.  
 
The spacing marks on the mat are 1/2" apart.
 

 

 

 
This is the nearly retracted position needed for my purposes.
 

 
Hope these are helpful and if I can help further just let me know. The build up to the point I stopped is here on LSP but the photos went the way of many others.
 
Barry

Hi All,
the big airfix hellcat is finally finished!  An enjoyable build of a really Great kit.  No real issues just took some careful building and plenty of dry fitting before glueing  in place.  The blue was tricky to get any depth and variation and didn’t really like being worked with oils.  I used a neutral wash for panel
lines and as a filter.   Resin wheels was the only after market and all markings are painted.
cheers
Matt



 

 




 

Hi Brian,
I agree resin kits are maybe not the easiest to work with and a lot depends on the manufacturer of the kit.
My recent Sopwith 'Swallow' was partly resin converted but in fact the only part of the set I used was the wing, as the rest was unusable or had shape issues.
Even then the wing was full of 'blow holes' etc.
The HPH Models kit does not suffer from these issues and as resin is well moulded. However, like most resin kits it does have the usual problem of having no location peg/holes, for example around the seam joint for the fuselage halves. Also each part has to be cut from its backing resin and carefully cleaned up before it can be used. Resin by its very nature is brittle and small parts are easily broken. Lastly of course is that the entire assembly of the model needs to be done using CA adhesive, as normal styrene cements have no effect.
I guess one good thing about resin is that unlike cemented styrene joints, you tend not to get joint 'melt' and ghost seams appearing after a while, as the CA adhesive dries more or less straight away and doesn't melt into and weld the resin, as happens with styrene.
 
Strange - I nearly talked myself out of building resin kits 
 
Mike

Hi all,
The engine is now completed.
I've added the ignition leads and spark plugs, timing mechanism, oil filler caps, water pump and coolant pipe, vale levers and springs and carburettor lever.
I've also made the exhaust pipes from 1.8 mm diameter brass tube mounted onto 1.4 mm tube - the kit items had 'solid' bores.
Test fitted into its mounting frames.
 
Mike   
 

 

 

 

Hi all,
I thought it was about time I took on another resin kit, as the last resin model I built was the DFW T28 'Floh' from 'Planet Models'.
I've had the 'HPH Models' 1:32 scale Aviatik 'Berg' D.I in my stash for quite awhile, so thought it was about time I gave it a go.
Already I've encountered a couple of things that may cause problems.
1. The instruction manual, normal I think for 'HPH Models', consists of a small booklet with photographs and arrows showing where parts fit.
However these illustrations leave a lot to be desired, especially those for assembling the engine, which has many parts and the smallest in the entire kit.
Some of the call out illustrations for parts are not the same as the actually resin parts supplied in the kit, which is a bit confusing.
2. More of a concern is that the kit is supplied with mask sheets for painting the lozenge - not the easiest route to take.
So I ordered the optional decal sheets.
These arrived in polythene bags and without the normal tissue paper protection sheets. Consequently the bags stuck to the exposed decals and despite being careful extracting the decal sheets, some were chipped where they's stuck to the bag. Also the bags had left an imprint across every decal, which I'm not sure will show after the decals are applied.
Thinking this might have been a 'one off' I ordered another set of decals, but these packaged the same way and in the same condition.
I emailed 'HPH' and suggested they revise how the package these decals - I haven't had a reply!!
 
Anyway we are modellers, not assemblers, so on I go.
I decided to work on the engine first, contrary to the instruction manual.
Unless I'm very carefully, some of the tiny engine parts may end up feeding the 'carpet monster' - we'll, but at least the kit is supplied with some spare parts.
I'm using 'Alclad' lacquers on the engine and have dulled down the copper water jackets on the cylinders and the intake manifolds by applying 'Tamiya' Weathering Master (Set D - Oil Stain', which gives the copper an older, heated look.
Long way to go on this one I think,
 
Mike   
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi everyone, so after a couple of weeks left aside did some progress, she is  airborne now! cheers 

Thanks Jack and Ben - your kind words are very appreciated! ( AND Thanks everyone for the 'Likes' )
 
 
 Front fuselage structure :
 
My focus now is the flooring / Back wall , and Front wheel well areas.
I must construct and design the 3 areas to connect together as the following drawings and photos explain....
 
 

 
The red areas above ,  I am working on -  in terms of design /fit / detailing ( rivets etc)  and construction of individual parts...
 
 

 
 
The common areas are that everything 'hinges off' is the back wall of the cockpit ( more of a reinforced station or bulkhead of the fuselage )  as ...
1/. the front is pressurised and the flooring is attached to the rear cockpit wall 
2/. the back of the wall is really a fuselage bulkhead sealing the front of the fuselage to the bombay  and also must carry ....
3/. the front wheel well  and the landing gear structures ( which includes the weight of the aircraft) as well as absorbing  the forces of landing....
 

 

 
The problem is : as shown previously .. the front landing gear  mounting points are to the front of the wheel well - which is also part of the rear wall bulkhead.
So I must incorporate the front wheel well attachment point to the rear wall bulkhead as one molded  piece.
 

 
 
First I must enclose all open areas in terms of molding processes...
 
 

 
 

 
 
The piece to the right ( above) must be merged or incorporated into the rear wall / Bulkhead
 
 

 
 

 
This piece must be square and also needs a tidy-up before the next process.....
 
 

 
 
I have made some bracketing pieces  to make construction of the individual parts more easier for everything to line up and go in it's proper places  - as it should....
 
 

 
 
The red arrows show the alignment strips,  so that each parts simply clips in place 
 
 

 
" Like so! "....
Now we move to the other side of the rear cockpit wall/ bulkhead to the inside back cockpit wall for rivet detailing..... starting with photo references...
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
From this 'Base' I can begin with detailing cockpit.... wish me luck !  
 
Pip
 
 
 
 
 
 

First color main color.

 

i filled the rear panel line of the ammo compertment with CA, sanded it and rescribed the rear outline about 2mm further back to make the door wider in appearance
 

gorgeous!

Couldn't agree more, a much better subject would be the Mig 25.

Here is my "D", which I finished in a huge hurry in order to enter into a competition. It's a little rough here and there and I won't be hurrying a build again. I am please with the result though, and even more pleased to move back to my F-14D now.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Thanks for looking!
 
Marcel