EmperorKai

Beautiful job on those Harold! Kai

Hi Rich- Thanks and yes, definitely! I decided to try this route mainly to explore the process. If it doesn't work out, my plan B is to mask and paint the markings. Luckily I have access to a die-cutter for masks, and if I end up going this route, I'll share this approach as well. Kai

Work on the intakes has been ongoing for some time, but I'm now at a point where it comes together. Here, a pic taken earlier in the build (before the wings were glued together). Readily apparent in this view from the bottom are the gaps where the intakes meet the fuselage. In this view from the top, the intakes have been positioned tight against the fuselage, but now the join along the leading edge of the wing is mismatched. A view from the front to get a sense of the potential reshaping that would be necessary to smoothly join the wing to the intakes if they were used as-is. The intakes fit against the side of the forward fuselage VERY well. However, when compared to references, the splitter plates would be a little too close to the fuselage if pushed inwards. To push the intakes out from the fuselage a bit more, they intakes were shimmed along the join with the fuselage with .040 strip styrene. Here a frontal view after addition .015 and .010 shims were added. CA was used to smoothed out the join. Once the fitting question was resolved, the intakes were masked off. Here, the ducts have been painted white with Gunze C69 Off White, masked and an initial coat of Gunze C327 Red FS11136. The inside of the splitter plates were painted with the upper fuselage color (Gunze C307 Gray FS36320) since will be difficult to get at this area once the intakes are in place. Lastly, the cockpit is almost done- just a few painting details left to go. Here, the cockpit taped together for fit. Thanks for looking! Kai (edited for grammar)

I haven't had a chance to update this post for awhile, but I have been poking along on this build. So I have lots to share this time around. First up, the elevons. After bringing the main airframe together and test fitting these, I felt there was too much of a gap where they insert into the trailing edge of the wing. They were split open on the interior portion and expanded to they would fill the gap better. Some additional sanding helped improve the gap. I missed taking a pic of the gaps before hand. Once the gaps on the trailing edge were addressed, it shifted how they fit slightly in relation to the fuselage. The gap along the fuselage edge was shimmed so the elevons correctly fill the space once aligned with the fuselage and ailerons. Next up, adventures in decals. Once I had composed the graphics and arranged for a half sheet, a draft print was run. The colors will have much better presence on the high quality print run. As a note going forward, red displays funny in these pics- they actually look pretty good when looking at them. I should also mention that these are specifically for AC 102 during the 1962 cruise. I found several variations of the AK tail codes so I included two versions. A single coat of Testors decal bonder was sprayed over the top and allowed to dry overnight. The first question was whether they would react to decal solvent and how they would take to surface detail. Using a Revell 1/32 P-47 as a worst case scenario (raised panel lines and RIVETS!), a sample was cut out and applied. Here, the decals reacted in frightful fashion to decal solvent. After settling and drying, it was evident that there is a limit to how much they can take. Some minor tenting, and some crinkly effect remains. It also appeared that the ink was disintegrating and needed a second coat of bonder. Here, a test on the aileron with another single coat sample. Aside from a slight mis-alignment, the result was better. I found that once decal solvent was applied, there was a very small window to play with the decal (such as nudging for alignment) before the decal would tear. Hence the crinkling in the center. This also confirmed that the graphics were sized correctly. A final test of the single coat sample on the rudder. The black ink started to separate to a more extreme degree than the red. A second coat of bonder was applied to the remaining sheet, and as a result, the decal laid down much better (just a little crinkling). The decals are noticeably thicker, though not to a critical degree. A close up here where the decal did crack while positioning it on the aileron. With the second coat, they are not as flexible. Taking a step back to get a sense of the net result. The home-grown decals approach will require some finesse, but the markings are pretty darn cool and I'm both motivated and confident it will be worth the effort. I have a few more pics, so this update will run into a second posting. Kai (edited for grammar)

Thanks Paul! Another awesome group build- Thanks for your work putting it together Kai

While pouring over reference pics, I found a few that looked really interesting to me and inspired me to depict a few variations. One is the refuel probe on the tank. One of the characteristics of the Skyray was the ability to carry tanks with the refuel probe. This pic is of a bird from the USS Shangri-La in 1961. The kit comes with markings for 4 different aircraft, and I had initially intended to do VFAW-3 with the blue tail and stars. But there's alot of builds out there with those markings, and I wanted to step out a bit and do a different scheme. So I've decided to do my own markings and depict an F4D from VF-13 Nightcappers. The aileron stripes are red and white with black stars. I really like the markings from the 1962 cruise, which were slightly different than their previous tours. I've modified a profile here to visualize what it would look like. While working on custom markings, I've also managed to get some bench time in as well The landing gear doors are pretty much done. Tamiya clears were used for the lenses on the nose gear door. I want to show a little more depth on the white underside- here, some of the effect on the nose gear door. For the refuel probe, I used the Quickboost F-100D Type A set. Through reference pics, I concluded the boom itself should be just shy of 1-3/8". Note that the resin boom might be a tiny bit curved. When it comes to things like antenna, pitot tubes and refuel probes, I prefer something that can take a little abuse, so I replaced the boom with brass tube. Here, the completed probe. The tanks are now ready for paint. Thanks for looking! Kai

An RF-101C and an F-101B would be awesome. That would be up there with "I'll have your baby" happy. Kai

This post makes me happy. Kinetic models makes me very happy. A 1/32 scale injection molded kit of the Kingfisher makes me friggin' ecstatic. This is a kit I didn't think I would ever see, and knowing I now have a much better alternative a vacuform (the only other kit of this out there) means I get to actually build one of these without blowing a year of my life on it. It would be easy for me to get on a pedestal about the virtues (or lack thereof of) of whatever kits, but bottom line is while I appreciate a critical review, I think for myself and build what I want, when I want, for myself. Too many rivets, not enough rivets, too big, too small... don't care. I'll fix it (or not fix it) and be friggin ecstatic doing it. A post on the internet no more decides what kits I buy/build for me than Rush Limbaugh or Rachel Maddow determine my presidential vote. In this day and age, one would be the wiser to be as critical of the reviewer as the reviewer is of the subject. Glen's doing a great job responding to the market (case in point; OV-10, two versions no less, another kit I never thought I'd ever see). HK posted pics of test shots for months in advance, and held back release of the Mosquito for corrections, all in the open and on the internet for everyone to see. They're doing a great job, and I consider myself fortunate that there are two new kits of the Mosquito out (of different versions even) to build. I could go on, but seriously, this is a first world problem I am happy to have. With that said- Glen, the only thing that would make me happier than a Kingfisher is a F-101B Voodoo. Like, ludicrously happy. Kai

Sweeeet- Nice job Adam! Kai

You musta read my mind- I have an extra one of these kits and was thinking of doing an EJ as well. Looks great and very much looking forward to your build! Kai

Howdy! A small update. Have been focusing on the landing gear as bench time has been tough to come by and it can be done in small steps. The main gear bays are of course now mounted, but here is a close up of one of the bays with a partially assembled main gear fitted. The parts layout for the wheels Once assembled, plasti-clay was used to seal up some of the gaps around the rims The treads seemed a little extreme compared to reference pics, so they were partially filled in. The completed wheels Brake and hydraulic lines were added to the main gear with lead wire and lead straps for the P-clamps. The gear were primered with Gunze C92 semi-gloss black. They were then given a coat of Gunze C69 Off-white. Mig Dark Wash was used and then they were given a light touch up coat of Gunze C156 Super White. The completed gear. The pistons were painted with Gunze Chrome Silver metal coat and buffed to a shine. Here's a great reference pic for comparison. Note that the gear in this pic has compressed as the hydraulics have been drained. Thanks for looking! Kai

Fantastic work Hubert! I also really like your write up- there are some great lessons in there. Thanks for sharing! Kai

Built the Special Hobby version- Not a bad kit at all. When it's done, it looks like a P-39. It's crunchy on the edges though. For me, the worst of it was the intakes on the wing roots, with a few other tricky areas such as the canopy and car door. I'd recommend the Kitty Hawk kit though. Kai

From their website (http://www.model-space.com/us/model-planes.html): Model Details Laser-cut plywood, die-cast metal and photo-etched component | Working parts include the landing gear, doors and ailerons | High-quality material | Officially Licensed through Boeing The first month is free, so it may only be $1100, not $1200. Oh, and they also offer a 1/32 Spitfire for the same price. Kai

Nice work Dennis I especially appreciate the color callouts. Very helpful! Kai

Can't wait to get my hands on these kits. Woohoo! Wessex- never thought I'd see one, and still holding out for a Sikorsky H-34. Kai

Sweet- love them Coast Guard colors. Kai

Thank you Maru- you're making me blush Their is lots of tremendous talent on this forum, and I always very much appreciate it when some of that wisdom and experience is shared- it has helped me a great deal, and I enjoy the hobby more because of it. It is my sincerest hope that I'm able to return the favor in whatever small way. Thanks again my friend! Kai

Awesome comparison Barry! Personally, I like to know the inaccuracies of kits so I can judge for myself whether it merits extra modeling attention or not. For me, the biggest revelation here is how each of the aftermarket F-4 seats differ. Your excellent post does a great job of illustrating which ones work best with the respective kits, and why. So for some, while 4 scale inches may not rise to the level of scratchbuilding a new cockpit, having this information to evaluate the best aftermarket seat to use is incredibly valuable. Heaven knows how much I've spent on aftermarket that ultimately I can't use because it's not a good match for the kit, poorly fitted or not detailed to my tastes. Kai

Wow, what a build Tim! It's like an episode of "Pimp my Bearcat" Kai

Very cool! Bravo! Kai

I thought about that, but it is so oversized, it doesn't make sense. There also isn't really a joint between the two potential sides- it's all continuous. Bottom line, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe as Tony suggested, a tow bar. There's a punch mark that was copied in the casting, so what kit was it copied from? Kai

Ah-ha- That explains it. I thought it was very weird that G-Factor didn't have this in their line up. Hope very much you can resurrect for another go at it. Kai

Thanks Mike If I remember correctly, the SAC F-8 Crusader gear was adjusted slightly for weight, but was clearly based on the original pieces, as well as the F8F Bearcat set, which I think may have been corrected to properly fit the wheel. But I think your statement is right on target for most of the SAC sets. Kai

Wow! Did you get it direct from Lukgraph? Looks like I got seriously burned by Hannant's. Kai