Iain

Looking really good Kev!
 
Iain

Only need to finish up with the seat harness or belts, and of course throw in a few cables plugged into the back of the instruments….these close up pics looks terrible to me, but to my Mk 1 eyeball it looks a lot better…... 



 

So, here's a quick summary of the work I've just completed on the tail. Firstly, gluing some 60 thou half-round styrene strip to the leading edge of the fin:
 

 
The curve into the fuselage needed a little extra help, so I glued an extra section on top there. I started with liquid cement, and then flooded the join with thin CA.
 
After curing and a quick tidy up with some sanding sticks, I concocted a thick mix of CA and talc, backfilled the join with it, and then squirted it with accelerator. A few minutes later I took to it with some sanding implements, and arrived at this:
 

 
You can see that I also filled the kit door recesses while I was at it.
 
A quick test fit shows that the result is much better, and much closer to what I was after:
 

 
Not perfect, but close enough for rock'n'roll, appropriately enough.
 
At this point, I think some final priming and a bit of wet sanding is all that stands between me and the painting stage!
 
Oh, except that I told myself I would be rescribing some panel lines in this one...
 
Damn it!
 
Kev

Hi gentlemen
This is my last construction, something different today ... this is the Wessex  HU 5 from Fly.... the kit is a "short term", the plastic is thick, the engraving is sometimes "soft", especially the multitude of small holes supposed to represent the rivets (they are raised on the real machine) but no matter that works, we have some nice resin parts ( cockpit consoles , rotor head , wheels etc ....)The decals are thin and nice , for 4 different colorful helos .. The instruction sheet is .....not clear , and I dare to say "messy" , ... But stop chatting, there is a complete review of the kit here....... Well, don’t expect a very detailed construction like "Shark 64 did it here some time ago, I’m nowhere near as skillful as he... My main improvement is in the cargo cabin. there is a lack of detail inside, and God knows this area is " occupied," so I scratch built it, and too bad if nothing will be seen afterwards..... I put some raised rivets here and there on some hatches, panels and so on, especially around the windscreen, for a more pleasing effect, I added some "pipes" along the fuselage on both sides , the rotor head needs more details , a good picture is very useful because of this complex area ........ what else ??, the paint scheme is not provided, but it's nothing, I just painted a big D on the fuselage, the decals are from the kit...... Is it perfect ???? no , but despite some issues , it was a cool trip ......so enjoy ....or not thanks for watching
Alain
some in progress pictures





 





 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm back....  been a long grind adding rivets to this thing.    For the aft fuselage and tailboom, I transitioned to Archer's decal rivets (still using those solder balls for a few areas that don't lend themselves to decals).  Also had to spend a great deal of time sanding off incorrect details on the fuselage.   This includes some stiffener plates that were on the tailboom and a large cargo hatch on the aft starboard fuselage which wasn't present on Army UH-60's.    After that, it was full speed ahead on the decals.    These went down extremely easy and after a coat of Micro Sol / Set the look very nice.   
 

Sharp eyed viewers may note that I haven't applied decals to the area aft of the cabin door.   That's because I'm going to have the cargo doors in the open position, and you won't be able to see the fuselage.    No sense making extra work for yourself. 
 

 
My approach to finishing this kit is to decal and paint the tailboom but hold off on the vertical stabilizer.   That way I can use the tail to hold the model while finishing up the detail bits on the fuselage, painting, decals, etc.    I wanted to minimize handling of the surfaces with the decals on them.    In retrospect, that probably wasn't necessary since the Archer decals are impressively strong once they are fully cured.    
 
That's it for now, thanks for checking in. 

Painting continues.    AK Real Colors US Army Helo Drab as the base, then with a couple of custom blends of paint to replicate the faded, weathered appearance of the real thing.    One tint is more of a brownish OD, the other a chalky lightish-green. 
 

 
My primary build log is over on FB.   On it, a former UH-60 crew chief mentioned that they used a version of CARC Helo Drab in spray cans.   He said this stuff faded quickly to a grey/green color.    It was used for general touchups, corrosion control and (in the case of my subject) to overpaint the "United States Army" markings on the tailboom.   This was done when the aircraft received survivability updates circa 2006-2007.   One of these was the addition of extra flare dispensers on the tailboom, which required those markings to be painted out and reapplied higher on the boom.    Looking at pics, I found he was spot-on regarding this, so back to the paint booth I went. 
 

 

 

 
Also put a patch of this paint on the nose, to replicate where a former unit logo or aircraft number was painted out.      
 
Thats it for now, thanks for checking in. 

Actually - there's also some inspiration for this one from an overnight stay at RAF Northolt a few weeks back, when we took my friend's Scottish Aviation Bulldog in for the Night Shoot - and got to see a lot of the history relating to the Polish Squadrons based there during the war.
 

 

 
Blue skies,
 
Iain

And the other long-dormant Spit:
 
Following a prod from my good friend @Phartycr0c I dug this project - along with the Mk.IX - off the shelf at the office for a coat of looking at.
 
I have three boxes in total - contents all a bit random/mixed up now since the third was completed as a two-seater - so it's a bit of a 'Time-Team' dig.
 
But - I *think* there are still all the parts needed to finish this one, as well as the Mk.IX.
 
I've moved from the original Edgar Brooks Spitfire Tribute Group Build to here - with the plan of working on the two remaining Tamiya Spits over lunch-times when I'm in the office.
 
So, hopefully, pick up with some updates in the next few weeks...
 
Iain

OK - so following a prod from my good friend @Phartycr0c I dug this project - along with the PR Mk.XI conversion - off the shelf at the office for a coat of looking at.
 
I have three boxes in total - contents all a bit random/mixed up now since the third was completed as a two-seater - so it's a bit of a 'Time-Team' dig.
 
But - I *think* there are still all the parts needed to finish this one, as well as the Mk.XI conversion.
 
I've moved from the original Edgar Brooks Spitfire Tribute Group Build to here - with the plan of working on the two remaining Tamiya Spits over lunch-times when I'm in the office.
 
So, hopefully, pick up with some updates in the next few weeks...
 
Iain

OK - so following a prod from my good friend @Phartycr0c I dug this project - along with the PR Mk.XI conversion - off the shelf at the office for a coat of looking at.
 
I have three boxes in total - contents all a bit random/mixed up now since the third was completed as a two-seater - so it's a bit of a 'Time-Team' dig.
 
But - I *think* there are still all the parts needed to finish this one, as well as the Mk.XI conversion.
 
I've moved from the original Edgar Brooks Spitfire Tribute Group Build to here - with the plan of working on the two remaining Tamiya Spits over lunch-times when I'm in the office.
 
So, hopefully, pick up with some updates in the next few weeks...
 
Iain

OK - so I'm probably committing to too much - but about to start on my PR Mk XI this evening and, well, sometimes it works having a 'production line' of similar models on the workbench.
 
So - have decided to build a Mk IXc in parallel - a decision sealed when I found my Kagero Top Colours book on the Mk IX - and the scheme/decals for 306 Sqn at Northolt - the next closest Spitfire airfield to Edgar and an excuse to do a fighter as well as a PR bird.
 

 

 

 
Add to that the opportunity to honour many of the Polish pilots that flew with the RAF - in this case Squadron Leader Kazimierz Rutkowski.
 
Progress pix on this and the XI over next few days...
 
Iain
 
 

Hello, all.  For this group build, I decided to do something a little off the beaten path.  I'd considered a couple different fighters in the stash that would be applicable, but ended up deciding on the B-24J that'd been sitting on my shelf of doom for years.  I think I originally bought it as a COVID project and, to the SoD it went after something else happened to catch my attention.
 
I typically don't like to do any of the markings included with kits as they often tend to be overdone.  And, with access to a mask cutter and decal printing paper, I usually like to try to do something unique.  To that effect, I've spent the better part of the evening scouring Joe Baugher's USAF serial number lists and b24bestweb.com trying to determine which ship to build and have ultimately landed on Nan.
 
If you're at all familiar with the B-24, you know that it still holds the title of the most produced heavy bomber aircraft in history.  As such, the modeler is left with a dizzying array of options and combinations as to what may or may not be appropriate for a particular build.  Best I can tell - and I make no claims to be a B-24 expert - the kit really won't make any B-24 correctly.  (This is, of course, ignoring the wing shape and other form issues.)  My primary criteria in my search were the nose window and turret configurations, and nothing I could find quite matched the layout of this kit.  Either a ship would have the right window layout with the wrong turret, or vice versa.
 
So, we're going to grit our teeth and do the best we can with what we've got.
 
Here's the subject ship.  She's B-24J-55-CO s/n 42-99949, nicknamed Naughty Nan.  On the right side of the nose, there's a Vargas pinup girl whose head has been chopped off in favor of ad hoc armor plating (See here).  She was lost in a mid-air collision with another B-24 on September 21st, 1944 over Belgium.  According to the Missing Air Crew Report, 5 of the 9 crew went down with the ship.

 
The most glaring issues between this a/c and the kit are the facts that the kit calls for an Emerson forward turret and also has side windows next to the bombardier's windows.  The latter are easy enough to smooth over.  The former, however, is a bit of a twist... but I think I have a halfway acceptable plan.
 
Here's what I'm working with so far.


 
Obviously, I haven't done a whole lot yet, but the build has been pain free.  It's a huge, chunky kit, but it seems to be going together fairly well.



 
As you can see, I have oodles of aftermarket to lipstick up this pig, including both an Emerson nose turret and a A6C turret from Cold War Studios.  Our subject ship has an A6C in the nose as well as the tail.  Technically, I have two A6Cs if I include the split-down-the-middle tail turret from the kit.  So, in an effort not to spend more money on more lipstick, I'm going to try to use the kit turret for the tail and the CWS A6C for the nose.  Crossing my fingers here that everything works out because I'm not yet sure if the guts of the Emerson turret from the kit will fit the A6C turret.  (See here for a lengthy discussion.  Bonus points for my giddy naivete in the 3rd post)

 
For Naughty Nan, the window aft of the bombardier's sighting glass will need to go.

 
And so it shall be done.  Plated off with a little plastic card.



 
Rivets around the area are filled with liquid sprue.  Once that's cured, I'll fill the recesses for the windows inside and out with epoxy putty and sand them smooth.

 
So, that's where we're at.  Time to finally get this going.  As I'm not doing any figures or ground work, I expect this build to go pretty quickly, so stay tuned!

Fabulous work!
 
Iain

So, now we get to the 'importanter' bits - nose/kit - kit/nose...
 

 
There's an Invader lurking in there - somewhere!
 

 
In side profile - almost an exact match!
 
The HB kit plastic curves up a little ahead of the nose-wheel bay - which should be flat - and I may knock 2 - 3% of the height of the printed nose in a subsequent print.
 
But actually quite surprised how close it is!
 

 
And in plan view the width is almost spot on:
 

 
Which tends to support the kit designers use of some reasonable 3-view drawings for plan and side elevation - but appear to have 'made-up' a lot of the transitions in-between!
 
Talking of which - from another angle we can see the differences in cross section.
 
At present I actually think the 'truth' may be somewhere between the two - and there's more than enough material (both 3D print and kit plastic) to be able to re-shape as required.
 

 

 
And, if you extrapolate the 3D printed nose back it actually ties in well with the kit fuselage further back:
 

 
All, actually, quite positive! 
 
It just might not look too positive - yet.
 
So - I think the next step is to build up the kit internal bulkheads and floors - I'd like to get the fuselage stable/solid enough to start on some cross-sectional re-profiling.
 
Nimrod one zero departing the circuit to the North West, will report on rejoin...
 
Iain
 
 

Playing with the internal bulkheads I had a eureka moment - back to that later.
 
The bulkheads are generally well detailed - some of it made up, but most of it actually fairly presentable:
 

 
Nose gear bay - a little shallow, but will probably get away with using it more, or less, as is...
 

 
Have left the nose leg off and worry about that later.
 
Section of starboard cockpit above sill removed from the fueslage moulding and bonded to the canopy. Both main canopy sections also bonded:
 

 
And the main glazings ready to make moulds, to make resin copies for re-shaping as patterns.
 

 
Pity the shapes are all out because they are, otherwise, well moulded and appear to fit the kit fuselage very well!
 

 
That's it for now - putting away whilst I work on something a lot simpler - but I do now have a plan...
 
Iain

So, now we get to the 'importanter' bits - nose/kit - kit/nose...
 

 
There's an Invader lurking in there - somewhere!
 

 
In side profile - almost an exact match!
 
The HB kit plastic curves up a little ahead of the nose-wheel bay - which should be flat - and I may knock 2 - 3% of the height of the printed nose in a subsequent print.
 
But actually quite surprised how close it is!
 

 
And in plan view the width is almost spot on:
 

 
Which tends to support the kit designers use of some reasonable 3-view drawings for plan and side elevation - but appear to have 'made-up' a lot of the transitions in-between!
 
Talking of which - from another angle we can see the differences in cross section.
 
At present I actually think the 'truth' may be somewhere between the two - and there's more than enough material (both 3D print and kit plastic) to be able to re-shape as required.
 

 

 
And, if you extrapolate the 3D printed nose back it actually ties in well with the kit fuselage further back:
 

 
All, actually, quite positive! 
 
It just might not look too positive - yet.
 
So - I think the next step is to build up the kit internal bulkheads and floors - I'd like to get the fuselage stable/solid enough to start on some cross-sectional re-profiling.
 
Nimrod one zero departing the circuit to the North West, will report on rejoin...
 
Iain
 
 

OK - Fuselage cross section - the plan:
 
Lower section - radius from underside to lower side - I think the plastic is thick enough to allow some mechanical re-shaping using the sanding bar Cut the top section - between the cockpit and rear station - away following a horizontal line a little below the start of the radius section Remove the remaining section of upper radius for the side sections Sides/top radius. Having the internal bulkheads in my hands has persuaded me that there should be enough internal strength in these to allow me to bend the fuselage sides in and bond to those bulkheads, after their shapes have been altered Once sides have the correct profile and joints with internal sections have fully dried, add styrene strips to the fuselage sides to replace the removed curved profile section Refit fuselage top section - and re-profile the radius from the upper section to the sides with the sanding bar This should also pull in the rear of the cockpit sills so that they are now parallel when viewed from above  
All theoretical at the moment - but scalpels are poised to make the relevant cuts - and I'll document with photos as I go... 
 
In other news, I suspect the fuselage is a little too 'bulged' in plan view aft of the rear compartment - need to confirm that. If so, some casting resin will be poured inside to give me something to sand into and re-profile.
 
If I can get the external fuselage shapes right I'll be really happy - and the cockpit/rear station/bomb bay areas can be detailed/painted afterwards as it looks like there will be sufficient access.
 
In addition, Jennings Heilig posted this really useful piece over on Hyperscale with regard to the ICM nose part - including a Douglas cross section drawing for station 0.00 - which ties in beautifully with what I discovered over the weekend - and gives the correct profile where the nose attaches on the full size airframe: https://www.hyperscale.com/2022/b26knosejh_1.htm
 
Blue skies,
 
Iain
 
 
 
 
 
 

Playing with the internal bulkheads I had a eureka moment - back to that later.
 
The bulkheads are generally well detailed - some of it made up, but most of it actually fairly presentable:
 

 
Nose gear bay - a little shallow, but will probably get away with using it more, or less, as is...
 

 
Have left the nose leg off and worry about that later.
 
Section of starboard cockpit above sill removed from the fueslage moulding and bonded to the canopy. Both main canopy sections also bonded:
 

 
And the main glazings ready to make moulds, to make resin copies for re-shaping as patterns.
 

 
Pity the shapes are all out because they are, otherwise, well moulded and appear to fit the kit fuselage very well!
 

 
That's it for now - putting away whilst I work on something a lot simpler - but I do now have a plan...
 
Iain

So, now we get to the 'importanter' bits - nose/kit - kit/nose...
 

 
There's an Invader lurking in there - somewhere!
 

 
In side profile - almost an exact match!
 
The HB kit plastic curves up a little ahead of the nose-wheel bay - which should be flat - and I may knock 2 - 3% of the height of the printed nose in a subsequent print.
 
But actually quite surprised how close it is!
 

 
And in plan view the width is almost spot on:
 

 
Which tends to support the kit designers use of some reasonable 3-view drawings for plan and side elevation - but appear to have 'made-up' a lot of the transitions in-between!
 
Talking of which - from another angle we can see the differences in cross section.
 
At present I actually think the 'truth' may be somewhere between the two - and there's more than enough material (both 3D print and kit plastic) to be able to re-shape as required.
 

 

 
And, if you extrapolate the 3D printed nose back it actually ties in well with the kit fuselage further back:
 

 
All, actually, quite positive! 
 
It just might not look too positive - yet.
 
So - I think the next step is to build up the kit internal bulkheads and floors - I'd like to get the fuselage stable/solid enough to start on some cross-sectional re-profiling.
 
Nimrod one zero departing the circuit to the North West, will report on rejoin...
 
Iain
 
 

Another placeholder for me - and yet another project.
 
I've wanted to do this version of the Invader since I was a teenager - there's something about the re-built Vietnam era Invaders - good looking yet deadly purposeful.
 

 
Back in the early '90s I started on the ID Models kit - but that needed soo much work it would have ended up almost totally scratch-built. Somewhere, it's sat in a box with some modification work done - and the 8 gun nose shape done; with vac shells and a resin core.
 
Can't find it at present - I've either binned it at some point, or it's upstairs in one of the garages...
 
Anyhow - was really excited to see the HobbyBoss kit on it's way, but less impressed the more we saw of it. 
 
However, it's the only game in town - and will be a far easier starting point than the old ID Vac in my humble opinion!
 
This will be an absolutely glacial build - but it now lives at work, so will get a few hours work on it each week when I'm actually in the office.
 
Initial look at fuselage:
 

 

 
This is the first area I'll be looking at - the wing root:
 

 
This is too low on the fuselage - and the wing cross section is incorrect - so I'll be cutting this out around the edge of the root fairing area and replacing with styrene sheet to make the surface flat along the fuselage, before the next stage, which will be re-profiling the cross-sectional shape of the fuselage to fix some of the other fuselage related issues in the kit.
 
I'll be doing a review of the HobbyBoss kit for the website in the near future - everything is now photographed as it comes in the kit - I just need to pluck up the courage to pull it all together, with an initial 'tweaks-list'.
 
I'm approaching this as I would a vac-form of unknown accuracy, rather than a model kit. I think that taking that mental approach will help me keep what little sanity I have left! 
 
Fortunately I have the resources here to be able to 'bench sand', vacuum form and cast - I'm going to need all the tools in the arsenal on this one I suspect!
 
Have FUN!
 
Iain
 
 

Happy Birthday to the Royal Canadian Air Force!
 
And a Happy 106th to the Royal Air Force.
 
Ad Astra!
 
Iain

OK - Fuselage cross section - the plan:
 
Lower section - radius from underside to lower side - I think the plastic is thick enough to allow some mechanical re-shaping using the sanding bar Cut the top section - between the cockpit and rear station - away following a horizontal line a little below the start of the radius section Remove the remaining section of upper radius for the side sections Sides/top radius. Having the internal bulkheads in my hands has persuaded me that there should be enough internal strength in these to allow me to bend the fuselage sides in and bond to those bulkheads, after their shapes have been altered Once sides have the correct profile and joints with internal sections have fully dried, add styrene strips to the fuselage sides to replace the removed curved profile section Refit fuselage top section - and re-profile the radius from the upper section to the sides with the sanding bar This should also pull in the rear of the cockpit sills so that they are now parallel when viewed from above  
All theoretical at the moment - but scalpels are poised to make the relevant cuts - and I'll document with photos as I go... 
 
In other news, I suspect the fuselage is a little too 'bulged' in plan view aft of the rear compartment - need to confirm that. If so, some casting resin will be poured inside to give me something to sand into and re-profile.
 
If I can get the external fuselage shapes right I'll be really happy - and the cockpit/rear station/bomb bay areas can be detailed/painted afterwards as it looks like there will be sufficient access.
 
In addition, Jennings Heilig posted this really useful piece over on Hyperscale with regard to the ICM nose part - including a Douglas cross section drawing for station 0.00 - which ties in beautifully with what I discovered over the weekend - and gives the correct profile where the nose attaches on the full size airframe: https://www.hyperscale.com/2022/b26knosejh_1.htm
 
Blue skies,
 
Iain
 
 
 
 
 
 

Playing with the internal bulkheads I had a eureka moment - back to that later.
 
The bulkheads are generally well detailed - some of it made up, but most of it actually fairly presentable:
 

 
Nose gear bay - a little shallow, but will probably get away with using it more, or less, as is...
 

 
Have left the nose leg off and worry about that later.
 
Section of starboard cockpit above sill removed from the fueslage moulding and bonded to the canopy. Both main canopy sections also bonded:
 

 
And the main glazings ready to make moulds, to make resin copies for re-shaping as patterns.
 

 
Pity the shapes are all out because they are, otherwise, well moulded and appear to fit the kit fuselage very well!
 

 
That's it for now - putting away whilst I work on something a lot simpler - but I do now have a plan...
 
Iain

OK - Fuselage cross section - the plan:
 
Lower section - radius from underside to lower side - I think the plastic is thick enough to allow some mechanical re-shaping using the sanding bar Cut the top section - between the cockpit and rear station - away following a horizontal line a little below the start of the radius section Remove the remaining section of upper radius for the side sections Sides/top radius. Having the internal bulkheads in my hands has persuaded me that there should be enough internal strength in these to allow me to bend the fuselage sides in and bond to those bulkheads, after their shapes have been altered Once sides have the correct profile and joints with internal sections have fully dried, add styrene strips to the fuselage sides to replace the removed curved profile section Refit fuselage top section - and re-profile the radius from the upper section to the sides with the sanding bar This should also pull in the rear of the cockpit sills so that they are now parallel when viewed from above  
All theoretical at the moment - but scalpels are poised to make the relevant cuts - and I'll document with photos as I go... 
 
In other news, I suspect the fuselage is a little too 'bulged' in plan view aft of the rear compartment - need to confirm that. If so, some casting resin will be poured inside to give me something to sand into and re-profile.
 
If I can get the external fuselage shapes right I'll be really happy - and the cockpit/rear station/bomb bay areas can be detailed/painted afterwards as it looks like there will be sufficient access.
 
In addition, Jennings Heilig posted this really useful piece over on Hyperscale with regard to the ICM nose part - including a Douglas cross section drawing for station 0.00 - which ties in beautifully with what I discovered over the weekend - and gives the correct profile where the nose attaches on the full size airframe: https://www.hyperscale.com/2022/b26knosejh_1.htm
 
Blue skies,
 
Iain
 
 
 
 
 
 

Playing with the internal bulkheads I had a eureka moment - back to that later.
 
The bulkheads are generally well detailed - some of it made up, but most of it actually fairly presentable:
 

 
Nose gear bay - a little shallow, but will probably get away with using it more, or less, as is...
 

 
Have left the nose leg off and worry about that later.
 
Section of starboard cockpit above sill removed from the fueslage moulding and bonded to the canopy. Both main canopy sections also bonded:
 

 
And the main glazings ready to make moulds, to make resin copies for re-shaping as patterns.
 

 
Pity the shapes are all out because they are, otherwise, well moulded and appear to fit the kit fuselage very well!
 

 
That's it for now - putting away whilst I work on something a lot simpler - but I do now have a plan...
 
Iain