CANicoll

Anyone with half an eyeball can see that these two pieces don't fit together worth beans, no matter how you try and put them together.  Look at how the center of the lower half is over the seam while both the front and back are behind.  That means the curve is not the same.  Furthermore, where the two halves join is not a consistent radius in cross-section with the rest of the curve, so when you get through, the tank won't be round in cross-section.  It just screams shoddy ... reminds me of Aurora or Lindberg.  And for the uninitiated, the Tempest needed all the fuel it could get so those tanks were critical.
 
From the photos I've seen here, about the only thing I'm impressed with is the main gear ... that looks very good.
 
Paul

Ahh, finally found the pictures of the finished model and I see what you all mean by it looking like it was quilted.  Definitely up to the builder, but I think it is a bit overdone.  But in ANY case, hopefully this means this will actually be coming to market sometime soon.  Love to see the expansion of subjects in this scale, and the improved quality (yes, still harping on the KittyHawk P-39 I'm struggling with!) of these kits.
 
Hopefully we'll see a lot of these built on LSP and we can then have further discussions about the finish.  
 

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WOW, looks amazing and such high quality work  - thanks for sharing.  Love the Hustler but the NMF skill has thus far eluded me so have not tried to tackle that beast just yet but yours looks terrific - very well done.  I'm amazed all the tyres are sitting perfectly flat on the table - super work!
 
Ignore the nitpickers - the markings look terrific IMHO.  Great job on a great subject.  Will have to see on BritModeler your build thread.
 
Chris

Zero,
 
I am just starting with the Vallejo paints myself - having usually used Model Master acrylics and Tamiya acrylics as well.  I've experienced a learning curve with the Tamiya paints too, and have taken the same tact as Peterpools.  I now use Tamiya thinner with the Tamiya paints, and MM thinner and cleaner for the Model Master paints.
 
I am doing the same with the Vallejo paints as well, at least until I get more experience with them.  Using the Vallejo thinners and cleaners.
 
I do have a 'practice' model that I try new paints and techniques on and will be testing out thinners and mixes on that before I use them on the HK P-39 I'm building. 
 
There are few things more frustrating in model building than having problems with the airbrush so I hope you find the answers to your paint issues.  Looking forward to hearing your solution.
 
Best of luck!

Yeah, I know all that Dave - I have a degree in Multimedia, and am a web developer by trade. Technology is my stock-in-trade - for better or worse! I use DPI as shorthand to avoid confusion, since PPI is much less familiar. The photos of my Do 335 that I sent in to AIR Modeller were deemed just acceptable in terms of resolution and quality, but they were taken before I switched to shooting in RAW, and possibly suffered from some slight compression noise. I just don't think my camera is quite good enough for pro magazine work, but my skills could do with some work, too! I'm just waiting for one of the camera kits at work to become available, as I won't get better for cheaper anywhere else.
 
Still, I think David at AIR Modeller came up with some pretty flattering results:
 

 
I wish I had some more photos to post of this build, but sadly, no progress of late.
 
Kev

I've been sidetracked by the need to do a bit of behind-the-scenes work on the website lately, plus some work in the garden, but I've scratched out a little bit of time for the P-39. One area that needs a bit of attention is the back of the pilot's headrest:
 

 
So, at the top we have some damage caused by an ejector pin, created half a raised one interbred with half a recessed one. In the middle we have a large indent that represents the rear of the padded headrest on the front of the part, and at the bottom there's a recessed ejector pin mark. All this on one small part!
 
I elected to fill it with my usual combination of CA and talc, mostly because it dries relatively quickly compared to traditional putties. This time, however, after curing and sanding, it still hadn't filled that hole properly, so I followed up with some straight CA gel and accelerator. Well, I used too much accelerator, and it had a nasty effect on the plastic. I regret not taking a photo of it, now, but the plastic crazed quite deeply, and even seemed to start de-laminating. I'm hoping I've been able to sand it all out effectively, but have now attached it to the rear cockpit bulkhead as per the instructions. I'll give it a squirt of primer after the glue has cured.
 
Speaking of primer, one thing I've discovered with this model is that I probably should have washed all the parts prior to commencing construction, and the used a primer on them. Any place where I've used acrylic paints on the bare plastic has been problematic, with the paint rubbing off quite easily. With the aforementioned rear cockpit bulkhead, I was able to rub off around 50% of the Vallejo Bronze Green with a cotton bud, a couple of days after applying it. I was able to remove it completely by using another cotton bud soaked in tap water. Things seem much better if I use Mr. Surfacer first, which I'm trying to remember to do!
 
Ernie asked me privately about the state of my exhaust parts (ahem), as he found his to be fine. I remember them being difficult to remove without damage, with the sprue attachment points being relatively large, and in awkward places. There was also lots of flash, and clean-up and assembly was a right PITA.
 
Anyway, I hadn't really looked at them since setting them aside after gluing them all together, so I dialled up 'super macro' mode on the camera and put one under the lens:
 

 
Given the PITA I remember them to be, this doesn't actually look too bad. Most of the opening seem round enough, and once cleaned up and painted, should look quite good. The small raised section on its back is the remains of the sprue attachment point. There's some scarring on some of them that I'll have to deal with.
 
Lastly for today, another instalment of what the heck were they thinking? Note the photo below:
 

 
The rudder pedals are supposed to be sandwiched between the front and rear instrument panel parts, with the three moulded pins on each one lining up with the...wait...what? Oh...there's only two holes...
 
I'll have to carefully remove the centre pin on each rudder pedal. Or I could drill out the corresponding holes, but I don't trust myself to get the alignment right, or even to not drill right through the piece. It's easily fixable of course, but a bit odd.
 
Back when there's more!
 
Kev

Nice, Kevin!!! The cockpit looks great, and you got a great start on the engine. I think you are right on the wiring; the way they have looks like fuel hard plumbing!
Attached is a pic I found on Wikimedia(for illustration purposes only)
 

Along with the cockpit, I've been putting the engine together:
 

 
There are a lot of parts involved here, so it pays to examine the instructions and parts carefully, and plan ahead. Even so, not everything fits as convincingly as I'd like it to, but it's all pretty workable. The instructions call for Air Superiority Blue for the main engine body, but I opted for Tamiya XF-82 Ocean Grey. It's a little dark and not quite blue enough, but looks the part to my eye.
 

 

 

 
There is one element that I don't like, however: the ignition wires. What you get is two parts that look like this:
 

 
They're poorly-moulded, overscale, and quite unrealistic. What you see in the photo above is the result after quite a bit of clean-up work, mainly removing attachment stubs and flash. The worst part, though is that there's no positive fit to the engine itself; you just kind of drape them over the existing pipe work:
 

 
The curved part at the rear just hangs in the air, and in fact curves away from the main engine. Given the level of detail involved generally, this is really poor. I'm seriously contemplating deviating from my OOB rule on this one (apart from seat belts), and modifying or even replacing these parts. I'm only going to be opening up the port engine panel, so even if I just do that side, I'll be happier I think.
 
Kev

Thanks, Matt. I'll consider it, but right now I'm thinking of every feasible shortcut I can take with this build. I don't want to rush it, but I'm also determined that this one won't bog down and languish on the workbench for months - like most of my other builds!
 
Kev

Hi Kev.  You might be able to save that rivet detail by using on of these vibrating tooth brushes.  Inexpensive, and found at your local drug or grocery store. I cut a small disk of wet-dry, and super glued it on the end of the vibrating brush.  When the sandpaper gets dull, just glue a fresh disk on top of it.   Ever use one?  Works pretty good.  HTH
 

 
Best regards
Patrick

This is the kit that I'm increasingly hating to build.  I'm just amazed at how poorly engineered the kit is.  Part with locating pins but either the mating part doesn't have the holes/slots for the pins, or the slots/holes are not big enough to take the pins/tabs.  Parts that are also too big to fit where they are supposed to as well. I have multiple examples of this.  Really disappointed that every single step takes far longer than it should to deal with fit issues.
 
Progress so far.
 
Overall seems like so far can get the fuselage together - but it is rapidly apparent that all of the top of engine paint and detail is for naught - nothing of it will be seen as well as detail on the front and rear of the engine.  

 
Got the minions painted (I mean the oxygen tanks!).  Another dumb mounting point issue - the lugs to ensure the proper height to the tanks could have been put UNDER the frame, not on top.

 
Installed they look great 
 

 
The equipment tray in front of the cannon magazine required cutting down the mounting legs in the back and widening the alignment slots in the front.  Still not sure how it will all fit yet when enclosed in the nose.
 
I thought the front landing gear would be a nice simple project for this morning...
 

 
Painted the Model Master Metalizer, but the silver mounting piece (looks like a 'W') did not have any holes in the roof of the landing gear bay so that required some drilling mounting holes.  The entire also had to shorten the piece from the landing strut to the 'W'.  Putting these three pieces together took 45 minutes and they are not well aligned.  Still have to fix that.
 

 
Finally got ONE thing together with out a huge issue:  the instrument panel.  Did some cutting of the decal to get around the raised switch detail, but overall  it came out better than I expected.  The decals themselves are very nicely printed and not very fragile. I pushed them down over the IP details and that came out pretty good afterall.
 

 
So have to fix the front landing gear still, then get the cannon shells on the nose and add the nose guns.
 
Thinking about HGW seatbelts.

Check out the forthcoming Scale Aviation Modeller International for my take on this kit, including a tip about weight.

Hi all!

My new model.

WIP: http://www.greenmats...r-148-monogram/

 

Ok, inspired by JohnB I've started a new build - the Kitty Hawk P-39N/Q which I'll build as Snooks 2nd.  I'm only a few days into the build and already having a love/hate relationship with the kit.  I really like Airacobra's and 1/32 is ideal to show off the cockpit, engine and nose of this unique bird.
 
But the fit of the kit and mold quality leaves a lot to be desired.  JohnB has highlighted a lot of the fit issues so I'll try not to duplicate those here.
 
I was very surprised at the flash and excess pour plugs (at least that is what I call them).  The flash is very noticeable on the engine wiring harness:
 

 
And on the back of certain parts:
 

 
The exhausts come in 24 parts, and half had significant flash.  Not ideal on an $80 kit.
 
The fit so far has also had issues: for many pieces that are supposed to come together, either they are so tight as to nearly be snap-fit, or the lugs just don't fit.  For example: parts D10 and C30:  Part D10 has holes for locating pins, but part C30 doesn't have any pins.  Things like that just slow down assembly.
 
On to the build!
 
Have to start with the engine, but remember that only the sides are really visible:
 

 
I have a lot of work to do on the exhausts, and then will add the wiring harness and detail the engine block.
 
Started work on the cannon and machine gun parts:
 

 
As we know P-39 models are tail sitters so I'm trying to find as many places to put some lead including inside the machine gun magazine in the nose and all of the other hollow boxes.
 

 
Not sure how effective this will be and probably will still need to add nose weight, but hopefully a bit less.
 
Here is the cockpit so far.  Using the Vallejo acrylics and have been very pleased so far.  They go on very well (if not very bright!) with easy water and Windex clean-up.  I have not tried detailed work with the paint yet.  Getting used to the eye-dropper dispenser but also like being able to easily add more paint, and not having to thin it (I am spraying right out of the bottle).
 

 
This is the green the Kitty Hawk kit called for - looks very, well, GREEN to me.  I've started doing some highlights using Model Master Dark Green to reduce the monochromatic effect.
 
More to come.

Nice start Chris, and yet another reminder of the one I have languishing on my workbench!
 
 
I call those things 'ejectites', as they're caused (as far as I'm aware) by the ejector pins pushing out the still-soft plastic from the moulds.
 
Kev

I just sprayed my first batch of the Vallejo paints on various parts of the interior of my P-39.  I didn't dilute the paint (per suggestion from my LHS) like I usually do with the Tamiya and MM acrylics.  I did 'prime' my Iawata HP-C with a few drops of water before adding the paint.  
 
The session went very smoothly, shooting at 20psi.  For clean-up, after emptying the cup of the little bit of residual paint, I added more water which pretty well cleaned out the cup and brush (still at 20psi), then added some windex (ammonia-based glass cleaner) and sprayed that. Back to water and it was all clear.  
 
Hope this helps.

Zero,
 
I am just starting with the Vallejo paints myself - having usually used Model Master acrylics and Tamiya acrylics as well.  I've experienced a learning curve with the Tamiya paints too, and have taken the same tact as Peterpools.  I now use Tamiya thinner with the Tamiya paints, and MM thinner and cleaner for the Model Master paints.
 
I am doing the same with the Vallejo paints as well, at least until I get more experience with them.  Using the Vallejo thinners and cleaners.
 
I do have a 'practice' model that I try new paints and techniques on and will be testing out thinners and mixes on that before I use them on the HK P-39 I'm building. 
 
There are few things more frustrating in model building than having problems with the airbrush so I hope you find the answers to your paint issues.  Looking forward to hearing your solution.
 
Best of luck!

The Ju88 Mistel, FW190C and Tiffy have been packed away for the time being.  Frankly, resin has been killing my MoJo.
 
I finished these 2 1:144 Eduard Spits as therapeutic builds.  I love the challenge of resin.  But man, I had 3 major resin projects on my bench at the same time.
 
I am considering starting my Trumpy P-40B OOB build with Pearl Harbor finish.  Get my WNW DH.9 on the bench.  TBD.
 
The Eduard Spitfires were a complete joy to build.  Never thought I do something as small as 1:144.  It was a nice break and I might consider doing another 1:144 build.
 

With decal softener solution, a small decal on matt finish is usually no problem. Just take care to trim it so there is no remaining carrier film on the border, so you're sure to avoid any silvering.

Yup - I'd just apply over a small dab of Future/Quick Shine/varnish of choice - should work fine!
 
Iain

Just a follow up: Marty Sanford suggested that i start with Tamiya Royal Blue, and start adding black to it until i got something that looked right.
 
And that's just what i did.
 
Now i think i have a lifetime supply of Tamiya Custom Mixed Insignia Blue.
 
-d-

Thank you D.B. for your concern.
 
Cheers,
Q

For some reasons, a Cobra on the ground with the flaps down always looks wrong to me. Now I know why. 
So I think I'll just close the flaps on my Kitty Hawk P-39 and leave it at that.
 
Thank you all gents, for your insight,
 
All the best,
Quang

I do what Peter does actually, and lay out towels.  
 
But the other thing I do is hang or set up what I've just painted vertically in my paint booth and leave the blower running until the paint sets up. The blower sucks the air out, and being vertical means dust can't just fall onto the model.