b737flyer

Not a very exciting update, but here are some photos from some early work I've done on the Yak-9T. The first is the fuselage halves with the cockpit framing. Unfortunately, my example had several breaks in the framing (while still on the sprue) that needed repair. I've also noticed that to get surfaces to mate properly, some cleanup is necessary. For example, the alignment pins on the fuselage half were too large for the corresponding holes on the other half. Also, some of the surfaces that would normally be butt joined aren't square and need to be trued up with a file or sanding stick to get a good join. Not deal breakers by any means, but some careful preparation and sanding will result in a superior fit. I should also note that I just finished Tamiya's excellent new 1/48 P-38J kit, so my expectations needed to be adjusted accordingly. The kit gives you the option of a closed cowling or an open upper cowling with a full engine on display and the instructions are thoughtfully separated into the steps necessary for either option. I chose the closed cowling option to preserve the lines of the Yak-9, but the core of the engine still needs to be assembled as it integrates with the firewall and contains the 37mm cannon. Next up are some options for enhancing or replacing the kit supplied instrument panel. Top left is Yahu, bottom left is the kit panel, center is the Eduard photoetched set, and right is the Eduard Space set. I ultimately chose the Yahu panel as it, in my opinion, has the best fidelity in terms of the instruments and the overall level of detail. I have to admit, however, it was a bit of a lengthy process getting the detail removed from the kit supplied panel and getting it thin enough to fit in the locating slot in both fuselage halves. I should also note that there are some separate placards included in the Yahu set that are not shown here - they'll be added to the panel just before it gets closed up in the cockpit. I'll also be replacing the kit supplied exhausts with 3D printed examples from Eduard's excellent Brassin line. The kit design requires them to be inserted from the inside of the fuselage halves prior to closing them up which isn't ideal for painting purposes, but I think I'll be able to mask around them and airbrush them afterwards. Finally, while the included surface details of the kit are excellent, there's quite a bit of rivet detail missing from the center panels of the lower wing. Wish me luck....!

Just getting started on the recently released ICM 1/32 Yak-9T. My initial impressions of the kit are pretty favorable, but I'll let the sprue shots speak for themselves. Surface details are well executed (where present), and the fabric texture of the aft fuselage area looks pretty good as well. The real airplane was relatively simple and the majority of the wing was constructed of wood so there's not much surface detail present there. I did, notice, however, a lack of any rivet detail on the center section of the lower wing, the tail surfaces, and the gear doors. The "Yakolev Yak-9 in Profile & Scale Part I" reference has some excellent drawings that will come in handy replicating the rivet patterns. I've also collected some upgrades and extras I'll be incorporating into the build as well. Stay tuned for more updates!

Thanks for the kind words John! I used Cartograf decals that came with the Eduard rebox of the old Academy P-38 kit. They performed flawlessly.

Yes, it’s from the 392nd FS, 367th FG, 9th AF.

I recently completed the excellent 1/48 Tamiya P-38J as an ETO subject. It was painted with Tamiya and Mr. Color lacquers and weathered with oils and enamels. Decals came from Eduard's "P-38 Lightnings Over Europe" boxing of the old Academy kit. I used Eduard Brassin 1,000 lb bombs, Brassin 3D printed turbochargers, and resin cockpit/radio components from an Eduard set designed for the Academy kit.

I didn't get much accomplished at the bench this holiday weekend but I managed to test fit the resin cockpit coaming piece provided by Aires in their set. As mentioned previously, the Hasegawa kit has this part molded integrally with the fuselage halves. The location of the gun sight is too far forward resulting in a piece missing from the coaming. A picture is worth a thousand words here... After some careful surgery with a razor saw, the kit parts are removed on both halves of the fuselage... And here we have the Aires part tacked in place with some Blu-tak to check the fit. Some tweaking is still necessary but overall it's a huge improvement. The rectangular area directly behind the coaming still needs to be removed with a sharp hobby blade. A portion of the gunsight will ultimately come up through this cutout. More importantly, the kit's windscreen still fits perfectly.

After more careful examination I agree Mathieu...I might have to source a more accurate seat from another manufacturer.

Thanks for that John...I have an older Quickboost set for the D-9 that has canvas boots but I did find the newer set and ordered several today!

John…you’re correct, they are the same in the 190A-8 kit and are not an accurate representation. The Aires resin wheel well set for the 190A-8 looks better but I’ve not read anything good about the fit of that set. More to follow…

Speaking of the cockpit, I'll start with a comparison of the kit offering from Hasegawa and the newly released Aires resin set. The Aires cockpit (foreground) has some excellent detail to include the seat, side consoles, and the floor. The real bonus, however, is the corrected coaming section for under the windscreen area. Hasegawa has this integrally molded into the fuselage halves and incorrectly depicts both the position of the gunsight and the coaming itself. While the Aires part requires some cutting of the kit parts to replace, I think it will definitely improve this area which is highly visible in the cockpit. The instrument panel is the traditional PE-acetate sandwich that I may replace with a Quinta 3d printed set if I can get my hands on one.

I just started one as well - hopefully we can keep each other motivated!

This project has been a long time coming and I'm excited to finally get things going. As you can see I've been collecting aftermarket for quite some time now and the recent release of the Aires resin cockpit for the Hasegawa kit was more or less the "missing link" that was needed to jumpstart the project. So, stay tuned and hopefully I'll be able to keep the motivation flowing!

Fantastic work!

Thanks to all for the kind words - on to the next one!

I started this build almost three years ago and it sat on the bench for a long time with about 90% of the construction completed. I finally gathered the mojo to finish it and it was a lot of fun - my first 1/32 109 and definitely not my last! I added the following aftermarket: * Synthetic Ordnance Works main gear legs * Eagle Editions drop tank * Barracuda Studios prop and spinner, exhausts, intake, oil cooler scoop, wheels * Quickboost Revi 16B gunsight * HGW fabric seatbelts * Master barrels and pitot tube Painted with Mr. Color lacquers. With the exception of the smaller stencils which are decals, all markings were painted using masks cut on a Silhouette Cameo 4 craft cutter.

I managed to finish up yesterday and get some photos taken...more are posted over in Ready for Inspection.

Today I attached the gear doors, drop tank, and propeller/spinner. The drop tank was weathered with a combination of oil and enamel washes. I also started some localized chipping and staining on the fuselage around access panels and hatches. Much more to go but it's a good start.

Thanks for the kind words. I use a Nikon D5300 DSLR and cheap studio lights with 5500 lumen bulbs from Amazon. Normally I shoot in Aperture mode and use a tripod and remote to prevent any blurring associated with camera shake. I have a couple of vinyl backgrounds (white, graduated blue, graduated gray) that I picked up from B&H Photo here in the US. Occasionally I'll do some post-processing in Adobe Photoshop Elements for things like sharpness or to crop the size. The most important thing I learned a couple of years ago was setting the white balance of your camera for the type of lighting you're photographing under. In short, white balance takes into account the "color temperature" of the lights you're using to remove unrealistic color casts so things that are white in person appear white in the photo. Once that's set all colors appear realistic to what they are in person. It's pretty easy to do and if you have a DSLR the manual should have a dedicated section on setting it.

She's got legs...and knows how to use them. This was a major accomplishment today - getting the landing gear and wheels attached. All of the geometry associated with the gear legs and wheels of the 109 makes it difficult to get everything lined up and looking good. I used Synthetic Ordnance Works outstanding resin/wire replacement gear legs and wheels from Barracuda Studios. I'll work on the gear doors tomorrow and hopefully get the prop and spinner mounted as well.

After looking at some more references, I thought I could probably make the prop blades look a little more realistic. So, here's take two. Much better I think.

I've been messing around with the prop and spinner trying to capture the eroded paint look and think I found an acceptable solution. After studying reference photos it appears there was significantly more erosion/chipped paint on the back of the propeller surfaces than on the front. With that in mind, I used Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum enamel paint applied with a sponge, concentrating more on the leading edges. The nice thing about the enamel (over an acrylic lacquer base) is that "mistakes" can easily be erased with a brush dampened with mineral spirits. Overall, I was pretty happy with the results and it only took about 15 minutes to accomplish.

Thanks! Yes, the bottom is finished in half black/half white.

Decals are complete and weathering has started with a panel line wash from Ammo by Mig.

I recently finished Eduard's new 1/48 Spitfire Mk. I as a pre-war aircraft from RAF Squadron No. 54. Excellent kit all around. I used Eduard Brassin exhausts and a LOOK pre-painted instrument panel. Decals are from Iliad Designs Pre-War Spitfire sheet and paints are from Mr. Color and Mr. Paint. A full build review will appear soon in TMMI.

Thanks Rockie!