MikeC

That looks nice, well done.

I kind of hurried through the finish on this one - largely because the mojo is returning and I'm motivated to start a more complex project.  I struggled a bit to get the decals to lay flat, even after a few rounds of MicroSol.  Reminder of why, when I'm bring more patient, I paint as much of these liveries as possible, rather than relying on decals.  The decals that came with the kit were decent though, quite thin; the only complaint was a lot of clear film around each colored area - I ended up having to trim most of them before getting them wet, because it was obvious that the extra film would make it even harder to get the decals to conform to a 3D shape.  For the record, this is the first 1:144 kit I've done that came with decals to do the manufacturer's labels on the prop blades...
 

Huh......never knew Acme made pickups

Ki-51 Sonia.

Sonia?

This is great stuff, they look really good.
 
 
I'm one of those people.  I really do not like the current fashion for "weathered" profiles; it becomes more about the artist and less about giving the reader an informative reference.

I think I may have mentioned that I was considering a purchase.  After reading this and other threads here and on Scale Model Paint Masks, and after vacillating between the Cameo 4 and the Portrait 3, I've gone for the latter.  It looks like it will do what I need it to, it's smaller, and I wasn't sure the extra features and facilities on the Cameo were worth the price difference.  Looking forward to trying a few masks.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! It's the first time I do this but it is actually a lot of fun and much like modelling. 
 
It's no secret Jaro, this is how I work: First, I make the line drawing of the aircraft or helicopter. Because the BAF wants to use them on different designs and sizes later on, I make them in a vector file. I check the line drawings with the many photos I took of the real aircraft and correct or add detail where necessary. On some aircraft, you can hardly see some of these details such as rivets or armoured plates, but they are there. With the lines done, the colouring starts and this is done in Photoshop. Usually, a profile takes about 30 to 50 layers, most of them transparent, except for the base colours and markings. It really is a lot like painting a model: base colour, panelling, adding shades and light, chipping, ... When that is done, it's time for the "decals" - the markings and stencils are drawn in the same way as the baseline drawings (in the right colours) and then copied in the Photoshop file. There, you can adjust shape and size to match the reference photos. 
 
Like with modelling, it takes a lot of time to get it acceptable; it usually takes me 4 to 5 hours to colour a profile. The colour profiles are done in a rather large resolution and in a size of +/- 70 cm. Some are a real pain to do such as this one of an Alouette II helicopter:

 
This one took me about 15 hours to do. Because you see every detail of the framing and engine, I needed over 50 layers. Some are way easier, but you have to make sure the details of the first drawing is correct. That takes a lot of checking and time. With that done, it gets easier. Here's a famous Belgian Starfighter:
 

 
I tried to develop a style for the profiles; some people like them clean, some want to see these profiles very weathered or almost photo-like. I'm technically not good enough for the latter. But then I also have to consider that I have to do 130 of them in just 8 weeks. 
 
Jack, you're right, the Mirage was based at Bierset in the 1980s. Here's the profile of another Mirage, which has been restored and is maintained privately in Belgium:

 
The book has to be ready by the end of September and it should be available from the Belgian Air Force or a limited number of shops, yes. It will be a hardcover book of nearly 300 pages. When it is done (and if I didn't go crazy) I'd like to try some other profiles, like Fw-190 D9 or K4 or maybe a couple of F-15s, I'm not sure yet. Then again, I'd like to build a model too, it has been way too long since I was able to finish one.
 
Thanks again everyone!
 
Nic

Since I hardly get around to building models, I thought I'd show what I'm currently working on: making profiles. This is for a book that is commissioned by the Belgian Air Force on all the aircraft that have been active in it since 1946. There are over 60 different aircraft and helicopters - profiles have to be made of all of them, sometimes 2 or 3, totalling +/-130 in all. First time I do this, but it's fun. Here are a few of them:
 
 
This a Dassault Mirage 5 BA as it was flown by the the Crown Prince of Belgium (now King) Philippe I. A few years later, the aircraft crashed when a turbine blade broke off and got ingested into the engine. The pilot, flying at just 500 feet, was able to eject to safety though.
 

 
Here's an F-84F in a rather colourful livery. The jet was flown like this at airshows in the 1950s. 

 
Just one more: After a humanitarian mission to Africa, this C-130H returned with a huge nose-art depicting zebras running in front of Mount Kilimanjaro. The nose-art was removed the day the aircraft returned to its home base in Belgium... so just for one day, the C-130 was named "Nairobi Belle".

 
I hope you like these profiles, there are loads more!
 
Nic
 
 

That's a good tip, Chris. And yes, it is indeed unfortunate that the passing of time hasn't been kind to many of these older threads. I'm currently in the midst of a long-overdue cull of the LSP Discussion forum, and many otherwise useful threads have had to get the chop, due to broken links and missing images. It's really just the Internet's version of entropy.
 
Kev

That's indeed a 748; I did not know the RAAF operated them.  Found more info here: http://www.adf-serials.com.au/indexbak.html
HTH

The tail colours were airbrushed after masking with fine tape after looking at photos. I used for the Oxford blue (about FS 15058) Gunze Sangyo H328 acryllic paint and for the yellow Gunze H413 (approx RLM04).
 

 
The model had now received the main colours and a few gloss varnish coats were airbrushed with thinnen Johnson Future/ Pledge. The thin ratio is about 3 varnish : 1 thinner, which is a mix of Isoprpoyl Alkohol (IPA) and distilled water. This gives a good undercoat for the decals to avoid “silvering”, that is the disturbing effect of air bubbles below a decal that spoils the appearance.
 
The markings of this particular TA-4G from VC-724 were not aftermarket but gathered from other kits and spares. A large Xtradecal sheet  X72260 provided 4 big roundels of about 23 mm diameter but I needed 6. I was lucky to find 2 more on in the Revell (Italeri mould) Mirage III kit #03919 (though 1 mm larger) which were to be set on the lower wing. The NAVY titles came from the Hasegawa kit decals. The smaller RAN airframe stencilling markings were not very clear to me, I simply assumed these not to be that different than US Skyhawks. The RESCUE arrows though have a different shape and were found in the spares box and Microscale A-4 sheets.
  

 
A pair of RAN squadron badges were found on a 1/32 Revell Sea Venom decalsheet that looked quite like those seen on the TA-4 of VC-724. The large aircraft codes (“878 “picked) seem to have the “British” style and were also found on that Sea Venom sheet. The small a/c Bur.no N13-154647 were composed of various smaller number decals.  
 

 
When decals had been applied, it was time to proceed completing the cockpits. Various details were added to the used AVIONIX cockpit set like throttles, various handles etc. I used the Detail and Scale Vol.32 A-4 Skyhawk book which shows nice details. In front of the forward instrument coaming I saw a sort of grey pipe, maybe for demisting? This was added from scrap. Aft of the rear seat some extra’s were added as well.    
 

 

 
 Adding all those small details took a whole afternoon (and a few beers!   ) 
 
 
 
Undercarriages as per kit are fine and strong enough. I needed however to scrape off the raised mould ridges on the legs. The tail hook was painted white with metal bits and got black stripes. 
 
 
 
The long nose gear leg has the steering rod as well and this is in the Hasegawa kit part #D6. I replaced it with a long metal wire though to have a metal shiny effect. After the gear had been set in place, the gear bays got more details made with wires and stretched sprue for the many hydraulic pipes seen in a real A-4 bay.  

On the gear legs also but just a few hydraulic wires were added. A dark wash was added when all was painted  mainly white. On the gear door with the landing light, an electric wire was added as well.

 
I used the IPMS The Netherlands A-4 Walk Arounds that my over 40 years’ modelling friend Cees Hendriks made for detailing, look here:
 
https://www.ipms.nl/walkarounds/walkaround-jets/561-walkaround-a4-skyhawk
 
Thank you Cees! 
 

The model got now a first base grey coat with Revell 75 steingrau with the airbrush. Some tiny spots needed a bit more putty and sanding.
 
   
 
The lower surfaces and the tail areas were airbrushed white as the Australian Navy (RAN) TA-4G has a gull grey and white scheme. The separate ailerons and flaps were also airbrushed white. For the white I really like the Gunze Sangyo acrylic paint H1 which gives a very fine finish when thinned with the Gunze acrylic thinner. 

After the white had dried, masking was done and the insides of the flaps and fuselage recess were airbrushed bright red. The white tail with rudder would get the special coloured panels and was also masked. 
 
 

 
The lower areas were masked and the upper gull grey FS36440 airbrushed with Gunze Sangyo H325 acrylic paint. The canopy and windscreen were masked of and carefully airbrushed as well.
 
And the slat insides were after masking airbrushed red. 

 
The result is seen here (NOTE:  the tail colours were still to be added).
 

 
The tail colours need figuring out with photos to apply with masking tape. This is the next step to be done.... 
 
 

June 7
 
The jet pipe is a bit undeep as per kit. The rear was cut off and the pipe was lengthened with a bit found in the spares box. In this case with 2 sections of a Hasegawa F-5E 1/32 tank.
 
 

 
and seen here in the tail…

 
The fuselage interior is now ready for closure.

 
The prepared AVIONIX cockpit tub was set with superglue as well as the sidewalls. It was needed to remove a few slices of the resin side walls in order to fit these.

 
Also, a few side walls from card were set as these resin bits had been damaged earlier.
 

 
The cooling duct #C24 at the spine was opened up and set..

 
Now a very important moment during the built…. Closing up the fuselage….  

 

 
The intakes were installed, some joints puttied and sanded. Sanding was also needed at the lower fuselage. On the cockpit sides and intakes some “shrinkage” was filled and some sanding done.  

 
 
The air brakes are separate parts and will probably be set closed. They fit O.K. 
The spine needed however some extra putty and sanding.

 
That's it till now.
 

The major work on the wing was ready. A quick dry fit revealed that setting the wing on the fuselage is quite easy. This kit, though some 40 years old, fits pretty well.
 
Now, the twin seater fuselage was tackled.
 
First, as done with the wing, the raised panel lines were to be re-scribed. Pencil these out using the kit lines as guide and inscribe. As the fuselage is curved, some flexible metal rules were used to get straight lines. When done, the fuselage halves were sanded, removing the raised details.
 

 
There are no engine air tunnels and when the intakes are set in place, a solid was is seen which is quite undeep for this scale. 
 
 
 
The walls were cut open after drilling  a few holes, take care as the plastic is rather hard and avoid “spilling blood…”.
 

 
As the resin AVIONIX cockpit set will be used, it is necessary to remove the raised inner wall detail in the cockpit. A motor tool was used here.
 

 
  It was decided to do just a bit work on the interior. A bulkhead was made from thicker card and in the spares box a big engine fan face found. 

 
Some plastic walls for the “tunnels” were made, bended a bit and set.
 
Some dry fitting was done now for the AVIONIX cockpit tub. This revealed that the poured floor is rather thick. I am not a fan of sanding resin, preferring sawing. Any resin dust is very harmfull. Cutting is also very risky with a razor saw but gives less done. Cutting was done under a running water tap, wearing nitrile hand gloves and put face mask on.
It however resulted in some damaged forward floor areas. But these can be repaired with card.
 

 
  Also, a part of the wheel well needs to be cut and replaced with resin as seen here…
 

 
Meanwhile, the resin bits of the cockpit were airbrushed. The standard colour is probably FS3621. 
  

 When done, it was rather gray and on photos I saw a more “blue” hue in the cockpit.  So it was decided to airbrush another a light coat of FS36320 with Gunze Sangyo H307 on the horizontal surfaces in the cockpit.  
 

 
Here it is seen dry fitted in the fuselage.

   
The insides of the fuselage halves were roughly airbrushed grey with Revell Aqua 75 or use anything you have here. This was done as models with white plastic often show a “shine through” in sun light under the applied camouflage paints later on, so better ensure a thicker paint cover.
 
 
 
It was decided to make this model as Australian Navy (RAN) TA-4G with a gull grey and white scheme. This model would fit nicely within my small Australian 1/32 jet collection. 
A previous post did not provide a clear answer if the RAN TA-4G would have significant different cockpit panels and instruments as compared to the USN TA-4J. It was decided to paint the instrument consoles as the standard on the TA-4J assuming that the TA-4G is not that different when these were delivered. 
The console details were painted with a fine brush looking at photos such as those found in the Detail & Scale #32. Colours are black and gray switches. (the engine trust handles and other details will be added much later). 
 
 
The main instrument panels were painted as for the TA-4J as well. (though it is probably that later on in their service career some main instrument “clocks” were replaced with rectangular ones).

 
 That's it till now. 

Work on the wing started.
 
(1) On all parked A-4's the slats droop and fortunately the Hasegawa kit has separate slats. There is however a noticeable "step" that should not be there as seen here.
 

 
(2) Most trailing edge flaps also are seen drooped on parked A-4's as well. Later A-4 versions also had a split upper flap. Here the kit only provides a solid rear wing so cutting with a razor saw is needed: 
 

 
So thin new upper split flaps, which will be set closed but need to be made from new thin plastic card.
 
(3) Although Hasegawa provides a sort on interior with tubes in the lower wing halves for the main gear bays, these are a bit thick and undeep. I will simply cut these out and they can be later be glued to the bottom (this being the upper wing halves) or make new ones from scrap.  To be done. 
 

 
Before cutting and working on these areas.....
 
(4) The wing was re-scribed with a scriber using the raised kit lines as guide. I drew lines with a pencil at these lines. When done, lines were inscribed. Next, the raised lines were sanded off with the now new inscribed panellines remaining. Make sure to keep the very good vortex generators at the wing.
 
 
 

 
The "step" at the the slat section was to be made invisible....

 
The wing trailing edge sections were cut. I also decided to remove the ailerons and set these separately later on.
 

 
The removed trailing edge flaps were sanded thinner and will get a rounded nose. The removed wing area were closed with thin plastic card. These represent the upper split flap section but will be set "closed".

 
All needs to to be blended in and made flat with putty and sanding. When done, rescribe some panellines and gaps. (not yet done).
 
Step work was done with putty. A couple of sanding and putty passes were needed to get smooth results. Protect the surrounding areas with tape.
 

 
The split flaps were also tackled, puttied and to be sanded blended in....
 
NOTE: between the flaps a detailed mid-section is seen; Hasegawa suggests this can be drooped open for engine access / cooling, a very nice suggestion as it is often seen on parked A-4's. Will be considered later on. 
 

 
and the result.... some more putty is still needed.... 

 

 
To be continued....
 

For the "In the Navy" group build I pulled a very old kit from the loft:
 
Hasegawa TA-4J Skyhawk in 1/32
 
This kit was one of the first 1/32 Hasegawa kits (after their F-104) that was released around 1981 along with their single seat A-4E Skyhawk.
I am sure many of folks here know or even have made this kit, but the last decades I have only seen a few made. It is still the only TA-4 trainer in this scale.
 
As it is so long ago, I thought it would be nice to first show the contents of kit #S024:
 

 
The sprues are in white plastic with some common sprues with the single seat A-4. Most notably is the longer fuselage.
 

 
 
 
 
 
You get a few less "stores" in the TA-4 kit with only the wing fuel tanks.
 

 
The few panel lines are raised and very tiny raised rivets are seen as well. That was the technology those days and it does not look bad at all. 
 
The decals in this kit are for a single US NAVY VF-126 "bicentennial" bird in 1976. 
 

 
The decals have "yellowed" over the years. I will stick them on a sunny window for a few weeks to brighten them up again with sun light. Or will make another scheme with different decals.
 
This kit has a good outline and although the cockpit interior is basic (with optional 2 very crude pilots), it does have instruments and side panels with raised details. Very nice. But I will use an AVIONIX (probably ex- Black Box) resin cockpit set #32040 that I found in the loft as well. 
 

 
The resin parts are seen here and look good but the bottom mould block at the floors is rather thick. The consoles have very fine raised detail for the instruments. These are very tiny and a paint challenge. The ESCAPAC seats seem to be of type 1G-3. 

 
 =============
 
For this Group Build model I will follow some suggestions during constructions as nicely explained by Mike for a TA-4G seen here at LSP (2014 article): https://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=2072
 
Some of these are:
- inscribe panel lines
- remove the "step" at wing nose with drooped slats
- open main air intakes
- improve cockpit interior
- add detail on landing gear and in bays
 
Other nice improvements would be:
- to droop the trailing edge flaps
- lengthen exhaust pipe
- add detail inside the canopy
 
I have plenty of reference books at home. But will also look at the many walk around photos that my modelling friend of WWW.IPMS.NL Cees made seen here:
https://www.ipms.nl/walkarounds/walkaround-jets/561-walkaround-a4-skyhawk
 
Many details on the single seat A-4 and TA-4 are similar.
  ================
 
Still I do not know what NAVY scheme to make the model in for this Group Build....
 
I have a few aftermarket US NAVY decals sets but also decals also to make an Australian Navy TA-4G. But first I have to sort out a few unknowns and may ask some questions here at LSP.
 
Cheers, Meindert
 

You'll hate this.
 
I spray the parts with white primer. Then I choose a 'wood' coloured acrylic paint and apply it in the direction of the grain with a flat brush. I keep brushing it until it goes streaky (like wood grain) then stop. When it's dry, it gets a coat of Future
 
That's it
 

 

 

 
Richard

That's interesting, I did not realise there were so few of them.  Although we can bolster numbers a bit if we count the military derivative, the Andover: the RNZAF operated a number of ex-RAF aircraft for some years.  But that's probably a bit o/t, sorry.
 

Really sorry for your (borh of you) troubles, and glad she is on the road to recovery.
The 748 is a classic, this looks like it's going to be an excellent model.

Back in May I was cruising along through life and modeling without too many cares.  Making progress on my latest overly-complex 1/32 warbird.  Then my wife was diagnosed with colon cancer - very much out of the blue, no reason to suspect anything wrong.  Despite really wanting some sort of distraction at times, I found myself utterly unable to focus due to stress and lack of sleep.  My manual dexterity was similarly shot.  I was actually afraid to ride my bike for a while (I have been riding and racing for 40 years, for context) because my reaction times were so poor.  So needless to say I had to hang up the modeling tools, and most everything else, for a while.
 
Fast forward a couple of months and (I am thankful every day for this) my wife is recovering nicely post-surgery, with pathology indicating that the cancer was found early enough that it was removed completely and hopefully won't recur.  Now that I'm not full-time on nursing her back to health any more, and I've finally recovered a bit from the stress (which was vastly more debilitating than I expected it to be), I wanted to try and get a bit of model mojo flowing again.  I didn't feel up to diving back into my 1/32 Airacobra just yet, so I pulled something small and simple off of the shelf - I wanted something that just required basic skills, would involve no research, no scratchbuilding, no decisions.
 
Seemed like this should fit the bill.

 
It's a simple kit.

 
That builds into basically this A/C:



 
I'm afraid I didn't (still) have the presence of mind to take many pix while building - it was hard enough to remember how to do the basics & not screw them up...
 
This is mostly assembled - I decided to attach pretty much everything but wheels, main gear doors, and props before painting.


 
Looking pretty in primer...


 
And with the fuselage painted gloss white

 
Hoping it will come together quickly now.  It's nice to be building again - contributes to life feeling more back to normal...

Cessna 172 (N or P) - the world‘s most produced aircraft and there‘s not a single, decent kit around in any scale..!
 
Reissues that I‘d really love:
 
Nichimo Cessna 172 and Fuji FA200 in 1/20
Hasegawa Boeing P-12, F4B and P-26 in 1/32

Sort of related, but this community is the opposite of how i “learned” to make models.  When i was a kid in the late 1970s and early 1980s, i toiled away in our attic, alone, teaching myself how to use an airbrush, reading magazines and Shep Paine inserts in Monogram 1/48 kits, and it was a solitary pursuit.  Research was done at the library or by buying books.  That was it.   I learned a lot, but when i came back to the hobby as an adult, the internet was in full swing. 
 
i am still amazed at the generosity and “here is how i did that” information that people are so willing to share.  I have learned SO much from the amazing members here, and am comfortable posting a WIP on MY first LSP, only to find even more assistance and generosity, people chiming in on ways to handle things, taking the time to answer very basic questions either in response to a question on the how to section or even answering private messages.  The positivity and support is just astounding.  The patience with new members is endless. 
 
I had assumed that since i saw this as a solitary hobby that people would closely guard their secrets, but its the opposite. People want to share their hard earned tips and tricks, people who are so far above me in skill level, that its just amazing. 

that attitude has rubbed off on me, and i find myself doing the same thing, if something works or doesn't work, i share it.  Theres not much yet that i can help others with, but this site has DEFINITELY made me a far better modeler, and the results i am getting on my build are far better than i could ever “teach” myself if i didn’t  have this resource. 

i recognize that i am a very inexperienced modeler, but i am performing at a level i would never have believed, just because of the camaraderie here.  
 
Everyone here can see for themselves who their favorite, most talented modelers are, but i for one would not even vote on a thread trying to select the “best”.   I am amazed at the talent here every time i open the site.  
 
this place is my modeling home.   

...So I had to wait a few days waiting for some parts to arrive for my 109D. I saw my old PCM Mc200
on the SOD and thot "why not jump on that just for kicks ? " Since then the parts I was waiting for
have arrived but I'm gonna finish this first.
So let's pretend I just started this WIP (I think I started this back in 2008/9  )
First some pix of the kit ...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This is about as far as I got when it was shelved ...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Here's where I was about a week ago ...
 

 
First, mottled on some WEM verde mimetico 2 ...
 

 
Since enamels take so Loooong to dry, I waited overnight to finish the green ...
 

 

 
...then the giallo minetico 4 (yellow) splotches ...
 

 
...then the bruno mimetico (brown) splotches ...
 

 

 

 
No grigio mimetico on the underside yet , I had to slap some decals on ...
 

 

 
... I went over the whole thing with a very fine abrasive sponge under warm tap water and leveled the sufaces the
best I could and put the upper wing insignia on.
 
I'll be applying a semi gloss overcoat (more semi than gloss) , some moderate weathering ahead.
All the paints are WEM enamels except the yellow which is Humbrol yellow 154 and the cockpit
interior on which I used Lifecolor  years ago.   I've been havin' a blast gettin' this much done in a
relatively short time (I'm not used to that ).    Stay tuned sports fans