Jay Pare

hello
It's been quite a while since my last build on LSP ! This year i've been back to modelling and here's the progress on an F-14B "late".
Cokpit is a franken-pit done with both B ( early, for Tamiya kit ) and D Aires sets. Some parts were carefully cut with etch saws to break down the pits. To summ up,
D tub early seats early front boards and covers RIO: late front large screen, lower screen right side, late stick on the left console, early stick ahead of the main screen ( photos of my unpainted pit show by mistake the late stick ) HUD added for the pilot. I have aires wheel wells and exhausts, and the great Zactomodels intakes which any modeller should have the opportunity to handle once. Great great craftmanship. All in all a pricey pack to gather, but I wont have many opportunities to build up an article on such a big jet !
 
Here are the pictures of the work so far:
 

 
 
 

 

 

OOOOoops ! Wrong RIO stick !
 

 

                        I hope you'll like it ! Fanch  

I'm right in the middle of a build, here are my thoughts...
 
Cons:
 
1. It's a Revell kit, it needs a little cleanup on mating surfaces, it has burring, and some flash. A few panel lines don't meet exactly across the fuselage halves, some panel lines are wonky, and some disappear.
 
2. Edges and openings are not exact and need a little cleanup, sanding, and shaping.
 
3. Sink marks galore. There are some rather deep sink marks near mating fingers (no pins). The flaps are going to require filler along the full length.
 
4. Wing engineering with the multiple parts is fussy, but makes painting wheelwells easy. Unfortunately, fitting after paint is tougher, some paint removal may be necessary.
 
5. The worst part...the tail. Looks nice, but doesn't fit well. The fuselage ends are too thick and will not allow a level transition, the edges have a small mound that will require sanding, also the tab from the tail that glues to the fuselage will require thinning to mate level with the forward half. It took me two hours of sanding and fitting before gluing last night. Once level, you will need to sand more from the spine to eliminate the gap, but you will still require filler. I spent another hour this morning finish sanding and rescribing lines. And I don't even have the halves joined yet.
 
The tail is a fail. It would not have been any harder joining the resin tail to the fuselage, but I wanted to build the first kit stock. No aftermarket, I'm even using the kit IP decals.
 
Now the pros:
 
1. Beautifully detailed cockpit with all the right parts, this would make a fine donor for any other kit maker. Nice assembly logic, nothing strange or fiddly. But, damn...when will they even throw in a cheap set of PE seatbelts? I like the kit decals for the cockpit, would like to have seen silver instead of white for the placards.
 
2. Best wheelwell on any P-51 other than Tamiya, easy to paint aluminum skin and zinc stringers. The cooling pipes running through the wheelwels as separate parts are a nice touch! Wheels and tires are good, but I may just add a set of resin so I don't have to worry about sanding tread blocks.
 
3. No rivets, I may try riveting the fuselage for the first time! Nice for clean puttied wings! Decals are very nice, hate the subject matter, but quality is high.
 
4. Color instructions are top notch.
 
5. See cons...shut up and take my $26! This is not Hasegawa quality, not even close to Tamiya, but, the detail for what you pay is terrific.
 
Interim assessment, worth every penny, not beginner kit, but average skills will yield a stunner (I hope). You will have to use filler, primer, sanding stick, maybe open up a few holes and sand a few mating surfaces. Obviously, the second kit will turn out better once you know what to look out for.

I had to go google it, it means ... This Thread Is Useless Without Pictures 

"Tarting up"...now there is a term I have never heard before, especially when discussing scale models!
 
I like it!
 
Mark Proulx

Pretty pleased with myself!!! Just scored a sprue on ebay that is from a Tamiya A6M5 kit being parted out. The sprue contains drop tank, complete pit, prop, spinner, gear wells, gear doors and other fine tid bits! All for $16.97. Now, you may think that's crazy to pay for a sprue, but, if you add up all the aftermarket stuff that includes everything I mentioned, it would cost a hefty penny more!!! Some, isn't even offered as aftermarket! I bought this sprue because it has everything I need to step up the Revell Zero I just got. Got to say, I'm feeling tingly all over! LOL!   
 
Well now, one Revell Zero will be modeled after one that was stationed at Truk, island. The other one, I will use the Montex Mask set I just got. It's the zero that has the white wing tips and sort of a white lightning flash on the fin with white numbers in the middle of the flash. Just excited beyond words. I'll get my hands nimble first, on that old Monogram Me-109 kit for a nostalgia build, and then jump head long into the deep end of the pool with one of these Zeros! Gotta watch me some Tora Tora Tora! to build up the momentum! LOL!
 

Well here is a photo of my completed 2017 builds:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cheers
Alan

I just want the time to work on the models I have.
Then I would like to have the money to buy the new kits.
Stephen

This one?: http://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=220
 
Richard