Tomek

My interpretation:

I added another line.  It emanates from the oil sump, next to the big white hex nut, meanders to the left, and terminates with a hex nut cap into the carburetor housing.
 
Thanks for looking in.
Sincerely,
Mark

Thanks K2. Here's where it's at:
 

 
Workbench Reset!
 
I'm going to push on a little bit with my outstanding (well, they're not that good...) 1/48 builds before coming back to this one, just so I can do it without any distractions. For a while, anyway...
 
Kev

The other decals like the roundels, and lucky enough the Marines decals on the booms went on fairly well, with much less drama, but I attribute that to more luck than those decals somehow being different than the others.
I also applied the fuel markers, and walkway indicators. Im not really worried about the port side rescue arrows being missing, because I have seen pics of 1:1 VMO-4 aircraft, and a lot of them did not have them.
 
Overall considering what a complete and utter NIGHTMARE the decals were, I think I skated out pretty good, as I feel completely lucky just to have gotten on the ones I did without ruining them too. I put on the decals, then applied a couple layers of Micro-sol. After all that was dry, I applied another thin layer of gloss clear to further conceal the carrier. All in all, the ONLY good thing I have to say about these decals is that they did snuggle down very nicely, and once a gloss coat went over them, the decal carrier virtually disappeared:
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
You can see I have applied a very slight bit of weathering on the upper wing turbine vents, but in reality, most of this will be covered by the vent hatch, so it will be even less noticeable:
 

 
 
 
Sorry about all the fuz...................this was due to static being created after the clear dried:
 

 

 
 
 
Lesson learned for those using the kit decals: BE FORWARNED, and BE CAREFUL!!! The decals are not user friendly in any way shape or form IMHO.
Im letting the over-decal clear dry tonight, and will see if I can get the matt finish on in the next couple of days.
 
Cheers till later all!

evening ladies
 
thanks for all your kind comments - it keeps me going when things get tough!
 
so a few more dolly steps forward towards my bench being well and truly dominated by this monster - I keep dinging the fuselage on tools, lamps, my bench edges etc - I think I will need a bigger bench by the time the wings get on..
 
..last time I had added the lower nose casting so I set about sorting this out with filler, CA & primer - it took a lot of messing about actually as the join kept opening up so it took quite a bit of re-work and so many layers of primer I need to let it go off for a few days to settle down...
 

 

 

 
..I needed to find something else to do so I started looking at the cockpit area - this is the start of my favourite part of building models and I have a totally blank canvas...
 
..first I looked at getting the shape of the opening right - after lots of looking at photo's and measuring and an hour or two of playing around with 1mm tape to define the shape, I suddenly realised I was building from a card model so should have a template canopy part...
 
..I cut it out and got the Airfix Typhoon pilot that came with my test shot and soon got my bearings - it may also proove useful when making the canopy itself..
 

 

 
..something wasn't quite right as things weren't symmetrical and after lots of head scratching I realised one of the cockpit sills was lower than the other, so i had to sort that and reinstate some of the fuselage I had cut away..
 

 
..one of the main challenges is going to be building a cockpit into a hole - I figured out the only way will be to make assemblies I can insert - a floor, sides etc..
 
..the floor won't fit in one piece, so I split it along a break in the real thing's floor at the bottom of the instrument panel..to help figure this out I mocked up a panel shape...
 

 
..soon I had the basic inserts for the floor and the sides - this is the start point for a fair bit of work
 

 
..and how in principle lining the cockpit will work...
 

 
..thats it for now, thanks for stopping by...
 
TTFN
Peter

thanks Radleigh & all of you
 
speaking of which.... I have been a busy bee, but not in a traditional way - I decided to get some bespoke PE made up for the cockpit so have been busy designing it..
 
..I don't know how to drive the layered graphics program needed (Illustrator or Coreldraw) so I just do it in Powerpoint and give the designs to my very clever graphic artist who will do what's needed before I can get them off to my PE supplier PPD in Scotland for a one off job.
 
It's not cheap, but worth it for the effect and the work it will save me.
 
I am very fortunate to have a few period shots of N7654C's cockpit so have designed against this... it seems like it had a new panel fitted after military service as it is subtly different from the other reference I have - that said, much of the rest of the cockpit is common so pretty straightforward to get better reference shots to work from..
 
anyways, here she is in 1980...
 

 
..and here is the artwork..
 

 

 
..I printed negative paper copies to get the sizing right...
 

 
..onwards & upwards...
 
TTFN
Peter

Engine is done.

Replaced the ignition lines.  3 Intercooler lines; one red, one solder, one blue.  Magneto linkage.  Carburetor linkage. 
 

Replaced distributor rod and ignition lines.
 

Replaced ignition lines.  Magneto linkage.  Carburetor linkage.
 

Close-up 1.
 

Close-up 2.
 
Thanks looking in.
Sincerely,
Mark

Here is the first(and hopefully last) application of putty. Mostly the arms and a bit on the beret. When it dries I can do the final shaping and then on to paint. The snap link and the helmet will be added after painting.
J
 

 

 
   Next guy up will have no headgear and jungle boots. Way more authentic than the first guy.
 

This past Dec was the 25th Anno of our jump into Panama to handle that pesky Noriega guy.
 
  My former Sergeant Major wanted one of my little dudes. He wanted one with beret and one without. We didn't wear berets while jumping as they would be put in the cargo pocket for that occasion.
 
 Hornet head,scratchbuilt beret,Dragon torso from the Green Beret set and Corcoran jump boots and legs from the Dragon WWII para set.  This is the harness,made out of lead foil from wine bottles.
 

 
With primer
 

 
  The item under the leg straps is an overseas bag for putting the two chutes in after you jump (assuming you made it)
 
  Here is with all of the combat gear and parachutes. The big square case is for the M16(or M60 or SAW)  The parachutes and rucksack are all plastic as are the ammo pouches,canteens,etc while all the straps are lead foil again. This is all scratchbuilt.
 


 

 
  All I need to add are the hands,static line snap hook and the helmet.
I should add that no putty has been added yet to fill any mistakes or gaps in so please have mercy!!
 
 
  So,the load out for this jump
Boots
BDU
dog tags
underwear
helmet
webgear with 2 ammo pouches which including the magazine in the weapon,gives you 210 rounds,2 canteens,first aid pouch,bayonet and 4 frag grenades,one on each side of an ammo pouch
rucksack with PRC77 radio and accy pack,spare battery for same,2 pair sox,one pair underwear,poncho and poncho liner,25 rounds of 50cal ammo,one claymore and 2 smoke grenades
M1950 weapons case with M16A3 inside(including cleaning kit)
parachute harness and pack
reserve parachute
 
  The rucksack for this jump was so heavy I could not lift it one handed.  And I used to be pretty stout.
J

How right you are, Kevin.
 
Thank you, Babs.
 
Thank you, Brother Bear!
 
Thank you, Rick.  IOU.
 
Thank you, William.  Gobi, that's funny.
 
Well, Raf, I've been contemplating that same question.  All I can say is that I'll do what I can.
 
Small update.
 
Found a new drawing and scheme:

I like this layout better.
 

I spent a bit of time messing around with rockets and bombs but the mold material never cured, twice!, and the only thing I found to really clean the material off of the LEGOs is HOT!  As in, melt the plastic.  So lots of LEGOs were deep sixed.  Anyway, the Sinai distances are relatively short and extra fuel tanks aren't really necessary but I wanted something under the wings.  Put in some piping.
 

Drilled some holes.
 

Sanded the back flat and glued in some screen.  It probably doesn't belong but I liked the idea.  It's from a tea bag.
 

Worked on the engine a bit.  Ignition lines are solder and represent braided stainless steel sheathing.  In post 55 I tempted myself with braided sheathing as an idea but decided against it.  To imitate the sheathe I rolled solder under a flat file to impress the diamond pattern into the surface.  You can see the texture better on the solder strip at the magneto.  Hanging coolant hose ties in.  
 

I had nothing but trouble here.  So much so that I'm considering closing up the engine and being done with it.  Wire with red is piston primer.
 

Most of the work was done on this side.  Air intake/carburetor is tension-fitted into the bell housing.  The blue insulation on the ignition wires just has to go.  White is CA remover.  Don't now how that got there.  Coolant hose ties in.  Ran a center-line down the rod to help with alignment of the protuberances.  Lost linkage detail while working on the front end.  Oh well.
 
Not really happy with my execution on this engine.  I'll step back for awhile and see what develops.
Thanks for looking in.
Sincerely,
Mark

Thank you, Raf.
 
Thank you, Brother Bear.  What would nuts be without washers?
 
Thank you, Vandy.  I'm glad you're back!
 
Thank you, Wolf.  Very generous and kind of you.  Oh yes, pardon me, I had forgotten you were working on a Pfalz.  Getting old(er) I guess.  I suppose my invitation to your sons wedding got lost in the mail.  No worries!  I had a family wedding that day also.  Weddings can be a fun time.  Sometimes it seems, to me at least, there is too much time between fun times.  I hope a good time was had by all. 
 
I know about a slump.  I was in a slump for a while.  I needed to get away from modelling and do plenty of anything else to clear the mental congestion.  Luckily since getting back to the Mustang have I gotten it behind me.  I had started a PT boat, an AH-1S, and then the SUFA.  Nothing was getting me going until I came back here.  And now it seems to be falling into place (from my mouth to God's ears!).  Good luck
 
No worries, Chuck.  Thank you, Chuck.  As for accuracy, don't compare the wheel well to closely to any manuals, that's for sure.  The cockpit and battery compartment, OK.  The wheel well, let's just say maybe 50%.  Quality: well, just trying to not cut any corners.  Thank you, Chuck.
 
Thank you, Ray.
 
Thank you, Mark
 
Thank you, Bill.  Indeed busy.  You know the old saying, 'If you can't dazzle them with quality, then dazzle them with quantity!'  I sure hope it will look great when painted.  I'll know when I get there.
 
The wheel well is done done done done (to the tune of Dragnet)!  Now I can get a LIFE!!
 

Micro Albion Alloy tube, squished flat and drilled.  Flared the end of .010 rod and made a fastener so it can rotate.  The invisible thread enters here.  The thread represents the Landing Gear Strut to Timing Valve Cable.
 

The brake line is supposed to enter the front of the strut just above the 'Valve' cable, but there is not enough room because of the screw location to fasten the strut into the well.  I needed to move the brake line intersection to the inside.  So I removed a grease fitting that I had earlier located here and installed a piece of hex rod, drilled fore, to receive the brake line running from the well, and to the side to capture the strut mounted brake line.  After coaxing the line into a curve, and finding that it is too short, I bridged the connection with insulation.  Forgot to glue in the pin to capture the brake line from the well.  I'll be bridging the brake lines with red insulation that will have enough play to accommodate a retracted strut.  At least that's the idea.
 

I needed to back-track and rearrange the brake and valve lines.  Also needed to cross the lines to accommodate the strut.
 

Other side.  New hydraulic line next to the spring.  Other side as well.
 

Tamiya part: Hydraulic Landing Gear Operating Strut.  Albion Alloy stuff: Hydraulic Landing Gear Down Lock Actuator.  Box with Albion Alloy: Landing Gear Position Indicator Switch.  Hydraulic lines.
 

Other side.  Hydraulic lines made up.
 
On to the engine!
Thank you for looking in and your wonderful words.
Sincerely,
Mark
 
 
 
 

A few more...
 
           

After exactly 200 days on the bench - with plenty of interruptions for the Skyhawk, LAV-AT and Bf 109G-10 - the Corsair is finally, officially, DONE!
 
What can I say about this build and this kit? Tamiya has really raised the bar with Vought's inverted gullwing. The detail, the engineering, the fit...it's hard to find anything to complain about. The only things I can even ding the kit for are the vinyl tires and gear struts that have an odd amount of flex in them. And those two points easily remedied by aftermarket and so outweighed by the impressiveness that...who cares?
 
This one also gave me room to experiment with techniques, from multi-level chipping to aggressive, almost armor-style weathering around the cowl and forward fuselage. I'm pretty happy with how it all came out in the end!
 
Original WIP thread: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=50930&page=1
 
On to pics...
 

 

 

 

 
 

Tail rotor pedals in process. Added the linkage behind the pedals(not done just yet).I am reshaping the the cyclics too.
oliver

Added seatbelts connection

Hi Rich - yep, I have found lots of useful detail parts that are made for car modelling - the hose is from Tuner Model Manufactory available from HLJ
 
got a little paint on so thought I would put up a couple more pics...
 
..the trouble with building complete detailed assemblies is they are hard to detail paint - I wanted to spray the heater so masked around it...
 
..a couple of shades of alclad and it was done..
 

 
..and after taking the masking off..
 

 
..then a couple of hours carefully painting..
 

 

 
...I need to look at learning some weathering techniques now - I can do a wash and dry brush, but have seen some spectacular effects out there so will have to gen up..
 
..any good tutorials out there on salt / hairspray / whatever black magic they use?
 
can't spend too long as I want to close the nose up and crack on...
 
TTFN
Peter

The bay looks great, Peter! Too cool!!!

evening folks
 
..back with a bit more Tigercat mayhem...
 
 
 
Dan - for you to say that given your amazing scratchbuilt work is a significant acheivement for me - I am thrilled, thank you
 
 
 
Thor, thank you, there is nothing like the reassurance of knowing I am not making it up! I figure it is not beyond possibility that it was fitted to N7654C so will leave it in place. I had better not put on paper how envious I am of you restoring a real aircraft, especially a Widgeon and in Florida - it will be perfect with all the water around that part of the world
 
so, a few more bits and bobs done..
 
I started by refining the rear gear door aperture - a bit of cotton gave me a centreline and you can see here the lower part of the aperture needs correcting - a bit of work with a file and all was square..
 

 
..then added some internals to the lower nose casting...
 

 
..also added a bit of detail to the main fuselage parts where the gear bay extends into them..
 

 
..after a bit of work I was happy that it was getting near to being ready to close up and that I should stop detailing & move on...
 

 

 
..I primed all the parts with mr surfacer to give a good key for the paint across the different materials...
 

 
..anyone who has seen my other WIPs will know I am terrified of painting - I don't have much airbrush experience and really see it as an opportunity to balls up a lot of building work..
 
..any way I looked at it, it was time for paint...
 
..I mixed up a pot of Tamiya Acrylic with greens, blue & yellow until I had what I thought matched the colour found on an interior shot of N7654C's cockpit and bit the bullet...
 

 
I also tried a few shadows of Tamiya smoke to see if I could make some lowlight contracts before I detail paint and weather the area - I can see it in real life but think the photo's might bleach it out...
 

 

 
..so, thats it for now - I have to do the detail painting in the next few days (hopefully...)
 
TTFN
Peter

Well, we all can see the cockpit on your photos, so it's definitely not lost effort. 
Looks superb!
 

awww thanks chaps
 
..not back to work yet so got a little bench-time and a bit more done...
 
..first a torsion arm that controls many things it seems, including the rear gear doors and is linked to the retraction jack so I guess sequences the order of things as the gear retracts..
 
..it is a wire core with bits of tube and a number of 'banjo' fittings from the model car world that allow a rod to be inserted at 90 degrees - also made up the arms that control the gear doors. I had to take the brackets off the assembly I made earlier so I could put it all together and lower it a bit so as not to foul the gear leg..
 

 
..I also modified the fuselage so I could add the rear bulkhead and have the whole bay as one slot-in assembly... will m ake things easier to work on...
 

 
..next I started to make up a compressor or something that goes in the rear gear bay - it doesn't seem to figure on restored Tigercats so may be something to do with the cannons, but I like the challenge and it fills some empty space...
 
used a bit of clear tube & started to dress with plastic & brass..
 

 
..added some airscale PE bits and made it up into a sub-assembly...
 

 
..added it and some hose that runs the length of the bay - also mounted the torsion bar...
 

 

 
..and some views of the bay so far...
 

 

 

 

 
..few more bits to do and then hopefully I can prime & paint it - anyone any ideas on an acrylic match for 'Grumman Interior Green'?
 
TTFN
Peter

Next up, I took another hour at least to unmask the dark gray. There were indeed a few spots where the 3 colors intersected, and didn't meet like I wanted, and a couple demarcations that were too pointy, or jagged, or just didn't look right, that had to get fixed. It took only about 2 hrs to fix all three colors, as there wasn't really any 1 spot that had colors that needed to be fixed together....................the MM enamel also dries (for enamel anyway) very fast.
 
For just getting out of the paint shop, and being pretty raw, Im pleased with the results................shes quite an attractive bird now IMHO:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
This is now also hardening off in my heated model room (its been about 8F/-13C today), so the next step is overall color sanding, then a clear!
 
Cheers till ur older!

First, I worked on a few little things..............like getting the black base on the oleo struts, letting that dry, and applying some Alclad chrome. While that hardened off, I finished up the wheels, Although I think the OOB wheels are Ok, I definitely think that this thing could benefit with some 1 piece resin wheels...............along with a complete resin super detailed cockpit, and maybe some nice (black) colored PE IPs. Im not sure I would trust Eduard on side color consoles.
 
OOB Tires/Tyres finished up for better or worse. I think they came out Ok too, but could have been much better:
 

 

 
 
 
Im hoping by the time I get around to my A model, they will have some cool AM out for this thing with all that glass.
I finished up the tri-color camo and unmasked the wing tanks first:
 

 
 
 
MORE......................................................
 
 

Well, we all can see the cockpit on your photos, so it's definitely not lost effort. 
Looks superb!
 

Some more progress, I applied a coat of raw umber over the previously undercoated parts with the exception of the forward floor and the fusalage sides which recieved ushie woodgrain decals.
The end result looks pretty good but will hardly be seen through the cockpit openings...modelling for God I've heard it called!!

the fuse sides uschie deecalled


Sides with frames

Floor bits


And the other 'woodie bits'

More soon,