Shaka HI

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Here's a shelf of doom rescue that must be a record for me: eight years! Once I purchased a second Dragon kit I knew I had to build this one. AIMS and EagleCals decals (each depicts the same subject aircraft, I went with the AIMS interpretation), and Quickboost exhausts. I had originally completed about 90% of the kit, intending to build a waspen version, changed my mind to build a Battle of Britain version, left it unpainted and in storage until recently. RLM 02, 65, and 71 overall, using Tamiya paints and my trusty Aztek airbrush. A few mods: turned the rudders and extended the slats. I weathered with Flory washes, Prismacolor pencils, and Mig's Europe Dust pastel powder. Now, back to my originally scheduled build!
 
Cheers, Tom
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop the presses! Karl (blackbetty) put the finishing touches on his very nice F9F-5 Panther in the nick of time. Very nice job mate.
 
Link to build thread;
 
https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=74330

Michael (Dpgsbody55) brings us his nicely done Spitfire Mk XVIe in the personal colours of Air Marshall Robb. Very attractive indeed.
 
Link to build thread;
 
https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72233&page=1

Next up we have a VFC-12 F-18 Hornet in a blue ambush scheme from Mike (Dragon). Great work mate.
 
Link to build thread;
 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72097&page=1

David (Dukie99) joins us with his nicely done French Bearcat from Trumpeter. Great work on this one!
 
Link to build thread;
 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72073

Grant_T brings us another large scale Su-27 Flanker in three tone blue. Great job, it looks mean.
 
Link to build thread.
 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72181&page=1

Up next is Mark31 with his really eye catching Ukrainian Su 27 Flanker C. Wow, that's a great paint job.
 
Link to build thread;
 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72081&page=1

Don (dmthamade) has produced this really nice P-38J from the Trumpeter kit. Great finish mate.
 
Link to build thread;
 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72118&page=1

calling this one done
 
Link to Build thread;
 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72076&page=1

Carl (BloorwestSiR) has done a stellar job on the Tamiya F4U-1A Corsair of the RNZAF. Great stuff once again mate.
 
Link to build thread;
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72095&page=1

First over the finish line is Whackyracer, with his Hobby Boss 1/32 Spitfire Mk VB Malta defender. Top notch job mate.
 
Link to build thread;
 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72413&page=1

And finished. Overall a pretty fun build.
 
 

This time, F-4E Phantom in occasional painting.
I will not write about the model, it's a pretty weak model from Revell.
 
I made the model using original decals without any additions.
I prepared the stand with accents matching the whole.
 

Cleaned up the bench and did a tiny bit more to the spit. Windscreen is now on and I added the cockpit door and the rudder tail light. Also, leveled the ailerons. Starting work on the figure as well.
 

 
 
 

June 23, 2018
 
 
Well, it's raining on a Saturday afternoon, giving me the perfect opportunity to do a few things to push this build down the road a little further at its glacial pace!
 
Like most who build this kit, I'm going to paint the fuselage without the engine attached for ease of handling, but if there are any fit issues, the time to fix them is now.  The other thing I want to explore is the fit of the cowlings, since I have noticed in other builds that the fit is usually not great and I added the Eduard PE brass plate dampeners to the cowling frames, which likely made it worse.  I expected that I would, but I'd rather have this detail since the engine will be displayed most of the time, if not all of the time.
 
First, the fit of the engine firewall.  Not great.  In Step #55, the instructions tell you to attach the engine, “so that the cowling frames match the fuselage shapeâ€.  I'm not sure how they expect you to do this, since the cowling frames are already glued to the firewall and they really can't be adjusted any more.    Note the gaps at the bottom and the angle that the engine fits to the fuselage parts.
 
 

 
 
In my case, it's possible that there was some user error along the way to cause this problem, but I have no idea what it might have been, since the parts appear to fit in a certain way without allowing for adjustment.  In any event, there is a fix.  By cutting and sanding down the rear firewall and cross brace beneath it within the fuselage, you can correct this problem.  It isn't pretty, but it will never show later anyway.
 
 

 
 
After at least 100 dry fits with adjustments in between, the engine fit looks good now with good alignment at the back of the firewall and cowling frames along the curvature of the wing.  In preparation for the next steps, I sanded down the top of the firewall slightly for the top cowling and deepened the grooves for all cowling tabs at the front of the engine.  One problem I did create was to add the brass Eduard plate over the kit metal plate used for the magnets.
 
 

 
 
The top cowling fit isn't bad and with a little adjustment and sanding underneath it, I can make it fit better.
 
 

 
 
The side cowlings are only so-so, partly due to the loss of magnetism with the brass plates covering the metal underneath it.  The bottom cowling could use some adjustments as well to reduce the gap at the top of it.
 
 

 
 
To fix the loss of magnetism to the side cowlings, I ground down the very small kit ones then glued larger ones on top of them, making sure that there was still clearance to the cowling and engine frames.  This really helped to adhere the cowling to the engine sidewall.
 
 

 
 
The bottom cowling comes in 3 parts, with the intake made of 2.
 
 

 
 
According to many pics of this cowling in the Montforton book, the middle and rear seams of this intake should be filled, in this case with CA glue.
 
 

 
 
I suspect that the fit of the cowlings is problematic for most, because in the 5 builds in Brett Green's book, Brett didn't use them at all (or show them), while the other builds either glued the cowlings in place or when they were used, the fit is only so-so.
 
I had some trouble with the cowlings on my Mustang build as well, but not as bad as this kit.  With some fiddling, trimming, sanding and many hours of work, the end result can go from this….
 
 

 
 
To this…
 
 

 
 
There's no use playing with the panels until the engine is solidly glued to the fuselage, so that will be a few months from now.  With the engine alignment corrected, at least now I have a chance.
 
 
Till the next rain (or snow) storm!
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina Flying Boat - Bureau number 7277/20 of VP-93 US Coast Guard 1942-43.
This Catalina was assigned to the Greenland Fleet Air detachment at Bluie West One (Narsarsuaq) during WW2. 
 
HPH's Cat is a truly wonderful kit, yes it's expensive, but it also contains everything you need to build this iconic amphibian.
Photo etched parts from Eduard, HGW seatbelts and other printed textile objects. Brass barrels for the machine guns and a nice decal sheet.
 
Yes it is a resin kit and it requires a lot of cleanup of the parts. Sometimes it felt almost like scratch building, yeah you got all the parts, if you
can find them, but they all needed preparation before painting and assembly. Some skills working with epoxy and super glue are also needed.
But the bottom line is, you are really in for a treat with all of the interior detailing that HPH has been putting into this 'Gentle Giant'.
 

 

 

 
Figures are Alpine, D-Day and Evolution Miniatures.
 

 
Interior detailing of the cockpit...
 

 
Radio, engineer and bunks...
 

 
Observers station and aft compartment.
 

 

 
Anchor, well it is also a boat. The characteristic platform to perform maintenance at sea.
 

 
Access ladder to the blisters + antenna installation.
 

 

 

 

 
Thumbs Up HPH!
 
Thanks for looking: Kent
 
https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=64724

Hello ,
 
I try a little come back after a long time....!
 
I try to build  a F-15 DJ from Nyutabaru , the last Aggressor scheme.
 
This plane : 
 
 
 

 
I use a F-15C Tamiya and the parts from a F-15 E for this project.
 
The main fuselage and the wing are assembled.
 

 
The pit is a mix between Aires F-15C , photoetch Eduard , Tamiya F-15E parts and "parts r parts"
 
Sorry for the dust...
 

 

 
I open all the right electronic bay
 

 
And the gunbay
 

 
Some typical renforcement are added
 

 
I finish the three pylon with the aggressor scheme on the tank , a AAM-5 in scratch and a ACMI pod too , the ALQ-131 come from AMS Resin
 

 

 

 

 
See you next , bye
 
Jean-luc
 
 
 
 

A quick update, this kit has won 3rd place in the EDay IPMS 2018 Masters category for aircraft 1/39 and above !

 

 
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Hey fellow LSPers,
I present to you my latest build completed around ten days ago. I did not have time to take photos between flights until a couple of days ago when i managed to grab an evening. 
The kit is wingnut wings's lovely Bris kit to which i have added a bit of scratchbuilding to bring up to speed. I started off planning on using OHM decals for the scheme but to my surprise the decals turned out substantially oversized for the kit parts. The decals were bought directly from the printer ( fantasyprintshop ) so i sent an email to Ollie here on LSP and was informed he was unaware of this issue. In all fairness i can say check your decals as i doubt this is a one off, but i'll give OHM another chance as i bought the brisfish version too (but haven't verified the size of those yet).
I ended up doing vector files of the whole scheme on the mac and then plotting the masks on the silhouette. The whole scheme has been painted on the kit along with all markings with the exception of the small bristol stencils. All paints used were MRP lacquers. The bottom of the fuselage received a slice of aviattic linen decals to give some variation between the linen textures around the fuselage. For the interior i scratchbuilt the wicker seat using brass rod framework and thick EZline to weave the 'wicker'. Some things i will do differently on my next scratchbuilt seat, but i am happy with the first try. Uschi woodgrain decals for the flooring. HGW belts for the interior fittings which were based on the DH9 belts which are the same type used. Little bit of scratchbuilding on the gun elevation mechanism on the gunner station in the form of missing pulleys for the retaining wires. The engine was painted with alclads and MRPs and weathered with oils and pigments. I left one cylinder in natural metal to add variation. The radiator shutters got the linkage and that linkage connected to the shutter control line in the cockpit. Exhausts are from REXx (thanks Mike for the recommendation!) and are really wonderful little jewels. Propeller got the leading edge foiled and riveted instead of painting the strip on. I decided to double rig the control lines and simulated the tensioning turnbuckles by cutting tubing to size, drilling the middle and adding a thin fly fishing wire to look like a retaining wire used to lock the turnbuckles. All weathering in general was done using various oils and pigments. All rigging was done using EZline and, of course, Bob's buckles for the tubing (thanks Herr Baron!)... 
 
I am sure i have forgotten quite a bit since that build ran from when i came back from MMS in April, so if you are interested i will add a link to the works in progress steps on my blog. Feel free to pm me or let me know here if there are any questions you have on any of the build's aspects. 
 
On another note, i will be going off the LSP grid for a while but will still be checking on everyone's amazing progress! you can either reach me by pm or by email for those of you who have my contact!
 
Stay safe as always and happy modeling everyone!
Karim
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So fast forward almost 5 years and I dug this one out of its box and finished it just in time for this years Model Expo in Melbourne.
 
Sorry for no further WIP pictures but I needed to get it done. I built this one out of the box with the only addition being the rigging. I used the Yellow Wings Stencil data, roundels and Thunderbirds logo with all other elements of the scheme being masked and painted.
 
I will do some studio photos once the dust of expo clears.
 

 

Carl, you're great modeler, but even greater human being and Dad (my dad would've beat the crap out of me and has for far lesser infractions)!

Well, with all the nice weather we've been having here in the
great NW, it's not always easy to belly up to the bench, 'but'.
I have been having fun with this one with only a one (so far)
little bump in the road.
I couldn't get the port wing halves to fit without applying any
pressure (like the starboard wing does). I discovered the bottom
of the main spar was bumping into the casting bulges on the bottom
bottom half where the ammo ejector ports are. First I thot I'd just
carve away the obstuction ...
 

 
It still kept bumping so I thot it better to just move the spar out of
the way since the outer portion was not visible and not all that
funtional ...
 

 
That did the trick and now there's no pressure required for a
perfect fit of the wing halves.
Having fun with this and keep telling myself "Don't fret it , just move on"
 

 
Weeee ...