leoasman

Building a D9 in 1/32 was always pretty high on my list, but somehow I never did. I was talking about it with a friend of mine, who told me: "I've got one in my stock, why don't you have a go?". So I did. (Thanks François!)
 
So, here she is, almost straight out of the box:
 
 
 
I chose a rather unknown aircraft: "White 68" of JG2.
 

 
This specific D9 has a handpainted white number 68 on both sides of the rudder and the typical JG2 yellow-white-yellow bands on the fuselage. 
 

 

 
I kept the weathering as realistic as possible. These aircraft didn't fly too much, but the poor conditions of the airstrips and shelters needed to be shown.
 

 
This kit is really a dream to build. Fit is nearly perfect, I don't think I used any putty except for the tiny sinkmarks in the propellor blades. I went easy and realistic on the weathering. No metal shining through the wingroots, just some primer and dirty bootprints. 
 

 

 
The underside of this D9 was interesting with dark grey at the front and RLM 76 on the aft part of the wings + the simplified crosses.  This photo also shows the weathering of the propellor blades. I painted these brown with a brush, put tiny bits of maskol on it and sprayed them dark green. After removing the maskol, it looks like the wood of the blades can be seen...
 

 
So, that's it for another late war bird in my collection. I hope you like how she turned out.
 
Thanks for watching!
 
Nic 
 
 
 

This is my first model post on the LSP forum. The standard here is very high and I only discovered the forum half way through my build (I have been posting on the Britmodeller forum). Anyway I hope my Spitfire is up to the same standards as the other builds on here This is my take on Tamiya's 1/32 Spitfire Mk IX. It is modelled on one of the aircraft from 313 sqn based in Ibsley, 1944.

 I hope you like it! .....
 

 
The aircraft modelled is the one in the middle!
 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 

It's finished!!!
 

 

 

 
The weather here hasn't been all that great but once it clears up a bit and we get some sunshine, I will take some better pictures.
 
I'm glad to have this one done. It's my first completed LSP in 2 years and I don't think will be the last one for this year.
Carl

More progress on the Spitfire. I engraved a few panel lines that I had missed as well as sanded down some fish eye marks in the paint. I then gave it a light post shading on the upper wings and top of the fuselage. This is the first time I've tried something like this. It doesn't show too well in the pics probably because of the lighting but it's there.
 

 
After unmasking the invasion stripes, i noticed a slight omission:
 

 
Yup, no black stripes 
 

 
So, out with a bunch of masking tape:
 

 
And a quick spray of Tamiya XF-1 later:
 

 

 
Now to let things dry a bit.
 
Carl
 

Here some shots of my ZM A-1H l finished today. As base l used a simple Aluminum disc without any additional work on it. Critics are welcomed.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here she is! 
 
Mostly OOB  except for seatbelts, cockpit decals  and some wiring. The insignias are painted on, first time! 
Paints used: Tamiya and Model Master metalizer.
Weathering: Florys and olis
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
// Ernie 

F4U-4 Corsair (Korean War)
Trumpeter 1/32 scale
Mike Prince
 
Introduction
 
Although the F4U Corsair was created as a pure fighter aircraft, by 1950 jets were appearing on the scene and taking over this role.   In today's terms the F4U-4 and F4U-5 were multi-role aircraft, with the Navy responsible for Fleet defence and operating from the carriers.   In contrast the Marines were responsible for ground support with these and their later specialised close support versions, generally operating from bases ashore.   However, the direct threat to the Fleet was never strongly realised, so many Corsairs joined other Naval aircraft in attacking targets ashore.   The only Corsairs to be used in the pure fighter role were a small number of F4U-5N, deployed ashore to deal with slow flying night intruders.   Other Naval Corsairs operated from shore bases on a more ad-hoc basis, either to increase their combat radius, or as a result of damage.
 
The kit
 
The Trumpeter F4U-4 kit is the only injection moulded option for a later mark Corsair, with Tamiya clearly leading the field for the F4U-1.   Trumpeter's overall shape is fair, let down by shape issues for the cowling, the forward lower fuselage, the wing radiators, heavy ‘fabric' effects on the main-planes and rudder, skinny wheels and tyres and those horrible hinges for attaching the flaps.   As I wanted to have something that could reasonably sit beside a Tamiya Corsair, AMS demanded I address these shortfalls.   The only aftermarket items used in this build were G-Factor metal undercarriage legs and resin wheels, using wheels intended for a Hellcat (the only Corsair ones available were very poorly cast and unusable).
 
The improvements
 
Cockpit.   Trumpeter offers a pretty good cockpit.   A few levers were added, side wall detail extended to cover all visible areas, an oxygen hose added on the port side (fine wire wrapped around thicker solder wire), and a coffee pot added on the opposite side to fill a gap (because I could).   Colour variations between the various seat and back panels and a decent set of belts help bring the cockpit to life.   Various switch boxes were added to the forward cockpit coaming, while the thickness of the plastic fuselage coaming was hidden by wrapping it in a foil strip to replicate padding along the edge (not strictly correct, but easier than filing it all down).   The canopy runners were realigned as much as possible to look parallel and therefore functional.
 
Cowling.   The chin scoop was revised to remove the ‘smile' shape, make it deeper and make it look more correctly like something added on below the main cowl ring.   Sheet plastic was added inside the lower cowl to represent the intake trunking leading from the chin scoop under the engine.
 
Engine.   This is really quite good.   All I added were ignition wires from fine brass wire (unravelled picture hanging wire)..
 
Lower front fuselage.   Quite simply, the cross section of the lower front fuselage is very different to the corresponding area on the cowling; it barely fits behind the cowl flaps in the open position, let alone if they were closed.   I removed the fuselage area immediately ahead of the wing roots and rebuilt it to a much rounder cross section using layers of sheet filed to shape.
 
Wings.   Firstly, the inner and outer panels were joined together with reinforcing on the inside, before the upper and lower surfaces were joined as normal.  The easiest way to deal with the gun access panels was to fill the joins completely then scribe new panel lines.   The ridges for the fabric effect on the outer wings were sanded down significantly.   The metal control surface hinges were simply left out, instead creating a straight surface inside flap hinge line to glue the flaps to directly.   This gives both a stronger result and a much more consistent alignment.  On the lower surface the wing radiator tubs were made deeper by about 2mm as otherwise they are barely any thicker than the wing they're mounted to.   (In simple terms, make them look more like the ones on the Tamiya kit).
 
Tail.   The rudder was thinned significantly and the fabric effect replaced to match the new subdued effect on the wings.   The various trims on the elevators were repositioned to match elevators drooped from the neutral position.
 
Undercarriage.   Trumpeter's undercarriage is actually fairly good.   Unfortunately, it can't withstand supporting an aircraft knocked off the table by the family cat.   G-Factor makes a very fine set that includes brake lines.
 
Painting
 
This was the part I enjoyed the most.   The challenge was to create a finish representing Glossy Sea Blue all over, while avoiding a monochrome colour.   The effect therefore had to progressively reveal layers of weathering and fading as a viewer gets closer.   All painting was done with enamels aver a base coat of silver, protected with a heavy coat of “One-go†(like Future).   Some of the effects were achieved with very different colours including a bright light blue applied as a stippled and swirled wash on high points and areas subject to fading.   Panel lines and wear areas were chipped, scraped and sanded into the Glossy Sea Blue while the paint was still soft, revealing the silver underneath.
At this point the decals were added between the usual gloss coats.   Next, dirty black walkways were then added, leaving worn paint and bare metal showing in places along their edges.   Panel lines were then highlighted with light brown.   The fabric areas also masked and the same light brown mix was lightly sprayed over these areas fabric areas, then polished off the high points with micro-mesh cloths.
 
Markings
 
Markings came from Flevo Decals and worked brilliantly.
 
Conclusion
 
Overall, the build reflects that this kit is one of Trumpeter's earliest releases.   In isolation, some of the modifications made may be unnecessary, but most are self-evident whether or not the kit is to sit near grander company.   However, the painting was the challenge I enjoyed most as I love making an aircraft kit look used but not too abused.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Solid progress tonight. The fuselage is together. Tail and stabs are built up but haven't been attached yet (I want to do some cleanup on the leading edges). Starting work on the lower wing assembly. 
 

 
This is - hands down - the single finest kit I've ever had on my bench. Better than HK's B-25. Better than Wingnut's Snipe. Better even than Tamiya's Spitfire. It's just superlative. I almost want to buy one and mail it to Trumpeter with a note saying "be more like this".
 
Things that on other kits would be a recipe for disaster - like the razorback insert or tail alignment or the fit of the center insert panel just aft of the engine bulkhead - just FIT. With literally microscopic precision. 
 

 

 
Tomorrow I move on to really focusing on the lower wing stuff and getting some paint down. The instructions call for painting everything, but that to me just seems ridiculous. The gear wells have solid walls and the oil coolers aren't going to have that much visibility behind them...

Indeed - you always need to be on the lookout!
 
Not a huge amount of progress, but work has begun on the engine.
 
I've modified the Tamiya engine mounts slightly by adding a little more bracing to the lower sections which will eventually support the mountings for the radiator. They've been attached to my scratch-built firewall and after a few of smaller details were added I sprayed the whole structure natural metal:
 

 

 
The engine itself has also received some modification to backdate it from a Merlin 60 series engine to an earlier XX series - the Halifax I'm building was fitted with Merlin 22s. The supercharger had the second stage removed, and the intercooler above the supercharger was removed and replaced with some thick sprue, heated and bent to shape to replicate the feed from the manifolds. Finally, with more heat formed sprue, I re-created the carburetor intakes on the lower part of the engine to the type seen on the Halifax. Some fine mesh framed with Evergreen created the desired effect on the openings - on the real aircraft these slotted into the intakes on the nacelle to supply air for the engine to breathe:
 

 
A test-fit reveals everything fits as it should in the mountings:
 

 

 

 
And on the wing:
 

 
Still a heck of a lot of work to do, but now I've got the basics done I can add the finer details before some paint and then a whole lot of plumbing...
 
Tom

Thanks for the kind words - much appreciated.
 
This weekend I've made the glazing for the mid-upper. From the MkII Series IA onwards, the Halifax was fitted with the Boulton Paul A Turret - a lot flatter in profile compared to the earlier C Turrets fitted to the MkIs. There was no mid upper supplied in the kit so once again it was a case of having to make my own...
 
I found an old bottle in the recycling a while back and noticed it looked similar in diameter to the A type turret in 1/32nd scale. When offered up to the plans it was indeed identical and thus was put to good use in making a master for the turret. Having a flat bottom, the bottle's profile was amended with Milliput, and then carefully sanded to shape following the Granger plans.
 
When correct, it was then used to crash-mould a turret through 1mm plastic card:
 

 
In the picture above, you can see (from L to R) the bottle/milliput mould, the turret itself and the left over clear plasticard which will be saved for when other small pieces are needed.
 
I then masked the clear areas, and added the gun elevation aperture outlines from thin Evergreen, as well as adding a few Archer rivets for a little additional detailing. The turret was then given a base coat of matt black, followed by RAF Dark Green... and it looks OK sitting in its lofty position on top of the fuselage:
 

 

 
Now these parts have been made, I will attempt to scratch-build the turret interiors... stay tuned!
 
Tom

No peeling,
 
Cheers
Cees
 

Time flies, it's been a while. I got distracted by some scratchbuild escapades, but lately I have been working
on this Beau-ty again. Last pic was taken this evening. Can gives scale. Next stop rescribing the fuselage,
had made a start but had to postpone some after fuselage assembly. The the tail will be fitted and finally
the wings. This is up to speed.
 
Cees
 

 

 

 

 

 

Not a huge amount of progress over the last week, but I have attached the bomb-doors for the main bays.
 
The Halifax had a quite complex set of doors - the upper sections folded outwards to allow the lower sections to rotate up and into the bays. This meant the doors protruded far less into the airflow (when compared to the Lancaster for example) and thus reduced drag when the doors opened.
 
All I had to do was cut the kit's doors to the correct size, and scratch-build the retraction and rotation mechanisms. When they were painted and weathered slightly, it was just a case of adding them to the bomb bay. I also added a final few details to the bay itself, and now can say this area is complete:
 

 

 

 
Onwards and upwards!
 
Tom

Hobby Boss 1/32 Ilyshin Il-2 Sturmovik Single Seat (mod 1942) in my rendition of Lt. Col. Nicholas A Zoob's aircraft.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tail turret is now very nearly done. Its looking good , but my camera is throwinhg the angles out. It looks much better in real life. I have also fixed the cheek windows. They just need a little rubbing down.
 

Thanks for the kind words folks... 
 
 
You may well have a point there - I will double check my measurements 
 
I've taken full advantage of the weather and got the remaining paint work done on the Halifax.
 
First up was a masking marathon to protect the upper surfaces:
 

 
...and then the lower surfaces were sprayed black. After the paint had hardened fully I carefully removed my masking to reveal the squadron codes:
 

 

 

 

 

 
I'm pretty pleased with the outcome, and will now busy myself applying the rest of the decals. These will mostly be made myself, along with a few from the spares box.
 
Until next time,
 
Tom

Well, thats it basically, a few wires more and some adjustments in the the weathering still to do.
Let me know what you think guys..not sure if I should strip it or leave it?
 




 
// Ernie 

Just about done a little more weathering and a flat coat. Used pastels for the weathering and the antenna is clear stretch sprue. Also like to thank Kevin, Paul, Uncarina, Bill, Peter, Ron and Loic for the compliments.
 

 

 

 

 

It's been a while since the last update as painting this model is taking some serious time...
 
I have finally settled on a colour scheme, and have gone for a Halifax GRII Series IA, that began life in Bomber Command and was then transferred to Coastal Command. The serial number was JP328, and she flew with initially with 502 Squadron (wearing the codes V9-H) and finally with 58 Squadron (coded BY-H) at St. Davids throughout the summer of 1944 until the end of hostilities, being SOC on 6th May 1945 and sold for scrap. Interestingly, this aircraft retained its Bomber Command colours, with the only change being the serial and codes painted grey rather than the more familiar red codes in her previous role. 
 
JP328 was fitted with Merlin 22 engines driving four bladed propellers, and was fitted with the late radiator intakes and Morris Block radiators - perfect for the model I have chosen.
 
Another reason for choosing this scheme is the fact that the Halifax served with distinction within Bomber and Coastal Commands, and this hybrid scheme represents both services and is my own little tribute to them.
 
I initially primed the model with Halfords' white primer - I feel this shows up blemishes more easily than grey and polishes better with micro-mesh. After I had rectified a few surface blemishes I pre-shaded the upper surfaces with matt black, and then sprayed the area where the fuselage codes go grey. The codes were carefully measured and then masked off with thin Tamiya tape in preparation for the top coats. 
 
Next came the roundels - a coat of slightly darkened Humbrol gloss red, which was masked and then followed by the 'roundel' blue from Xtracolour, which was again darkened slightly as I felt it was a little 'too' blue. The whole roundel was then carefully masked in preparation for the camouflage colours.
 
I really like Xtracolour's range of enamels, and I used gloss dark earth, followed by gloss dark green. The camouflage pattern was sprayed freehand using a Badger 200 airbrush, and with the pressure low and the nozzle screwed tight, it was easy to get a nice and tight feathered edge. I then picked out random areas of the upper surfaces with with slightly lightened and darkened versions of the base colours, trying to follow pictures of real Halifaxes as best I could. 
 
The following pictures show the current state of play - it doesn't look the best due to the high-gloss sheen but this will be matted down in due course:
 

 

 

 

 
I will now turn my attention to the black undersides and will update you again when that's done.
 
Until next time,
 
Tom

Hi again,
 
I'd like to show you my recently finished big Revell He 219. Wheels are from Eduard and the markings are painted, using Montex masks.
It is the largest kit I've ever built and it was a lot of fun. However I did not succeed in getting the radar antennae straight and in trying to break up the rather monotone camouflage, the weathering came out a bit too heavy. But in the end I am still quite happy with the look of it.
 

He219A-5-00 Flickr

He219A-5-01 Flickr

He219A-5-02 Flickr

He219A-5-03 Flickr

He219A-5-04 Flickr

He219A-5-06 Flickr

He219A-5-07 Flickr

He219A-5-08 Flickr
 
Thank you for looking.
Nico

(Part Two)
 
Step 6:
 
Check out your handy work with a quick test-fit:
 

 
Step 7:
 
It's now time to attach the blades - this was done using the plans to ensure everything was aligned correctly. Special care was needed when drilling the apertures for the blades to pass through and attach to the backing plate:
 

 
Finally, it was time for a test-fit of all the props (no 2 excluded for obvious reasons) and see how everything looks:
 

 

 
The propeller for engine No2 has been put in the fully feathered position as on the finished model the cowlings will be removed so I thought it could be a nice little touch to show some problems with this engine:
 

 
All in all I'm pleased how they've come out. In hindsight I think I could have made the blades slightly thicker at the root, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it to be honest. Considering I had nothing to start with I think they'll be passable. 
 
That's another big step forward on what is turning in to quite a journey!
 
Tom

Thanks for stopping by and giving me some positive feedback guys - it's much appreciated and sure helps to keep up the motivation 
 
Time for another update...
 
I've got the props more or less completed now, which is a weight of my mind as they can make or break a project such as this. As there are none provided in the kit, it's a case of having to steal some from an appropriate donor kit, or make your own. I have wracked my brains (that didn't take very long!) and couldn't think of a kit which had the same 4-bladers as a Halifax - my life would have been easier if I'd done a MkIII as a Revell Beaufighter would have been a fine donor, so it was down the "scratch-build them" route.
 
Earlier in the build I showed you how I'd modified a 1/24th scale needle-blade Mosquito prop as a master for making resin copies:
 

 
Well CMK came up trumps and this lot arrived:
 

 
So with the blades sorted, it was a case of making a spinner. The four-bladed propellers have a more rounded appearance then their three-blade cousins, and I was confident that I could make a master from Milliput. Here is this master offered up against the plans:
 

 
And after a little more shaping with sandpaper and a polish:
 

 
It was then time to have a go at some crash moulding. This is a reasonably quick, cheap and straightforward way of making copies of the master without having to spend ages making four from Milliput and ensuring that they are all identical.
 
Step 1:
 
Heat some plastic card over the hob until it starts to 'wobble'. Don't let it get too soft otherwise you'll push the master right through it (and make a mess of the hob!):
 

 
Step 2:
 
Allow the plastic to cool a little, and then remove the master. You will be left with a perfect copy of the spinner in the plastic:
 

 
Step 3:
 
Carefully cut the spinner away, but leave some spare plastic as this will be trimmed later:
 

 
Step 4:
 
Make a backing plate for the spinner:
 

 
Step 5:
 
Insert this plate into the back of the spinner and then trim the excess plastic (yet to be done in this picture):
 

 
(Part two to follow)

I've got a little more to update you on regarding my Halifax project...
 
I've been doing some further work to the flightdeck interior in preparation for the adding of the canopy. I had this resin seat in my spares stash left over from a detail set provided with the Combat Models 1/32nd B-17:
 

 
Although it doesn't really resemble a Halifax seat, it was a good starting point. A few modifications later:
 

 
I also scratch built the instrument panel from plastic card which was drilled to resemble the dials and gauges. The rudder pedals were also scratched form Evergreen strip:
 
 
 
When painted up it looks passable (especially as it will be viewed through the canopy)
 

 
When all painted up and added to the earlier detail on the flightdeck it all comes together nicely. The control yoke and various other smaller details were scratch built, as well as the fire extinguisher which was made from old sprue and sanded to shape:
 

 

 

 
The only non-scratch built items were the seat harness which came from Eduard, and the basis of the seat.
 
I've also added a little more detail to the wheel bays, and added the outer-most bomb doors:
 
 
 
Finally, I've started work on the propellers. These will be 4-bladers and the spinners are more rounded in shape than the 3-bladed prop - I will be plunge-moulding my own spinners so have made a Milliput master to use. It has to be slightly smaller than the actual size you need it to allow for the thickness of the plastic:
 

 
Slowly but surely edging to the point of painting...
 
Until next time,
 
Tom

I've now got the cockpit about 90% done.  I took a few pictures as test shots to see what I'm missing and what I need to correct so if you see some errors, so do I.  I still need to paint the co pilot's seat belts, the brackets holding the O2 tanks that look short will not be seen when the turtle deck gets installed, I need to put in the thermos and the cups and the wiring is not complete yet.  More to come.