Fvdm

Finally this model is ready. Here the pics without any comment.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Wow, that looks great. Beautiful work, sir!
 
THOR   

Hi all,
The engine cowl and after market ‘CMK Master Models’ Le Rhöne 9J (110 hp) has been fitted, which is the correct engine for the 'Swallow'.
The next step is to create cowl plates that were fitted to replace the 'Camel' strap type fasteners at the top of the cowl.
The bottom strap fasteners were retained.
Then final fit the two 'Vickers' guns and feed chutes.
Mike 

I've started my first WNW model - the Sopwith Pup.  So far, the parts have fit together properly and there's been no drama.
 

 
The kit has options for 80 hp Gnome or 100 hp Gnome versions.  I built both engines and decided to go with one of the 80 hp versions - 'Baby Mine' as on the boxart.  Both engines had noticeable gaps between the front and back halves of the cylinders.  I probably should have sanded both halves flat before gluing them together, but the cowling hides most of the engine anyway.
 
80 hp Gnome engine.  The photos have over emphasized the colors.  They actually look much more subdued and realistic.

 
I have scratchbuilt the IP, thinking I could do better than the kit part.  Yea, I know the airspeed indicator is upside down.  Funny how you don't notice those things until its too late.

 
Other interior bits:

 


 
Thanks for looking.  Comments are welcome.
 

................................and it does!!   
 

 
 
 
 
 
It looks like a giant mess ATM, but all those individual wires will be corralled, and glued down inside the airframe, so will be mush less chaotic once done.
 

 
 
 
 
 
You can see here the cockpit and IP lights. Each of the side console lights will be put into a fiber optic strand and run to point at each side console panel so the light isnt so bright or harsh. The IP micro-LED will be put into a tube containing many fiber optic strands, each run to an individual instrument once I have that part finalized. I will leave the cockpit tub out until I have the IPs and cockpit lighting fully sorted, as it will be much easier to set up and handle out of the airframe.  
 



 

 
 
 
 
 
Here is a small vid of the lighting in action with the model room lights off, so its easier to actually see the action. The lower fuselage beacon is in the small rectangular piece with a hole in it beside the fuselage, as it would have been hard or impossible to see on the bottom during the test:
 
 
 
 
I have some work things to do tonight, but will be back on the 104 this weekend.
 
Cheers! 

Now you just need to build a 1/32nd battleship turret to mount it on.....................  
 
 

Finally this model is ready. Here the pics without any comment.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Before I started working with the salt, I first sprayed many small things. I think this is really better than decals and will try to use this as much as possible in the future.
After the paint was dry I applied a layer of matte varnish. I chose matte varnish because the model needs to be made wet before the salt is applied. Matte varnish holds water slightly better than gloss varnish. For the light haze I used kitchen salt. 
 

 
I did some dilution in the airbrush and also a few drops of white. I sprayed that over the blue color. It is difficult to properly estimate how much you should spray, but I tried something. When this is dry (quite fast) the salt can be brushed off. I did this with a stiff brush but it took some effort. When I grabbed a soft brush and wet it, it went a lot better.
 

 

 
The red band to indicate where the propeller line is is a bit too much to the rear. However, I will not change this.
Then the model could be made wet again and put in the salt again. For the second time I used coarse salt, which was made slightly finer in the mortar.
 

 
Now I put strongly diluted smoke in the airbrush and I could spray again. On the bottom I think the smoke is sprayed too strongly but if I put the model on the float and I look at it then I am very happy. It has actually become exactly as I had imagined.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for watching and till the next time
 

I hope all the lighting works like it should be. 

After 5 months and the help of Paypal I finally got the extra sprue from Trumpeter so I could finish this one. I only made this dirty with the Flory models weathering wash wich I applied with the airbrush. After drying I filled the airbrush with water and cleaned up the model. I only let it drip from the model en didn't wipe it aof except for the bottom.
The pictures can be found in the RFI section. Thanks all for watching and commenting.
 

 

Finally this model is ready. Here the pics without any comment.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Finally this model is ready. Here the pics without any comment.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

After 5 months and the help of Paypal I finally got the extra sprue from Trumpeter so I could finish this one. I only made this dirty with the Flory models weathering wash wich I applied with the airbrush. After drying I filled the airbrush with water and cleaned up the model. I only let it drip from the model en didn't wipe it aof except for the bottom.
The pictures can be found in the RFI section. Thanks all for watching and commenting.
 

 

Finally this model is ready. Here the pics without any comment.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Finally this model is ready. Here the pics without any comment.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Finally this model is ready. Here the pics without any comment.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Finally, the cockpit has been married with the fuselage :-)
 
The cover above the upper instrument panel was a bit tricky as it is not wide enough to fit into the slots on each fuselage side. I first tried to force it into place, but that did not really work and I then found out, the windshield would not have space anyways like that. The best way was to glue the front face to the backside of the gun compartment. It took me some glue and patience, but it did work finally. I'll be faster and more accurate with my 2nd Fw 190 that I am building. 
 
The rear part of the cockpit tub was a bit too short. I had another Eduard cockpit I used for test fitting and that one was a bit longer. I assume it is due to shrinking of the resin parts over time. Anyways, the good thing is that the gap in the rear will be completely covered by the canopy and not visible at all. 
 
I then started experimenting for the next part I am focusing on: the rudder. I was not happy with the way how Revell moulded the rudder and I sanded it to get a smooth surface. To add texture I used my Cricut machine to create masks. I tested it on a spare 190 fuselage. I applied the masks, then a layer of Mr. Surfacer, I then removed the masks and sanded the surface smooth. The original 190 rudder has some textile strips that were glued over the ribs. The surface is also a bit irregular along narrow stripes underneath the fabric covering (maybe glue?). I tested how 1) leaving the surface, 2) adding a decal stripe for some contour and 3) adding first a thin irregular line of putty (first masked the thin line, then added the putty) and on top of it a stripe of decals. I quite like the result and will go for it. The only thing I will do differently is to use a slightly thinner layer of Mr. Surfacer.
 
Below are some photos I took with my smart phone. No fancy background.
 
 
Cheers, Roger
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

So to show you guys this is still a WIP!
 
I needed to buy a set of outside calipers to establish the true outside cross sectional dimensions of the kit in order to line up my hyrdocal profile. With that done, I simply had to work out where on the line the #3 bulkhead sits, trace the shape from the factory drawings and "merge" it into the kit profiles. 
 
That was probably the easy part. I'm now working away at trying to blend the cockpit lines into the cylindrical profiles of the nose. As you can see in the screen shot, I've been using the cockpit enclosure drawings resized to what I have done so far. As we know, if you were to scale it properly, it wouldn't fit the kit.
 

 
Apologies for the red. I'm not angry, I just had that layer colour selected...... 
 
And here's another screen show the side profile of the cockpit windows and how I need to bridge the gap to blend into the fuselage. 
 

 
Alex's (Fencer) work so far may have you believe that this is pretty easy to do, but there's a lot going on here and I am very much an amateur
 
Anyway, I'm still chipping away at this in between work on the C. I find it good to step away from it every now and then to make sure I'm not doing anything stupid. The plan is still to rough it out first to make sure it fits, then look at adding things like windows and other details once I'm happy with the dimensions. Hopefully more to show soon.
 
Cheers,
 
Craig

Hi All,
‘it’s been a little while since my last update but I’ve been steadily working on the Hellcat and think it is finally ready for paint....well after a lot of masking anyway!  Cheers. Matt



 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Superb, Ferry!
 
Kev

Doing things a bit out of normal sequence now.  I removed the upper canopy part from the tree the other day and immediately scratched it, so now I have to work on other things while waiting for the polish to come in the mail.  Additional pressure is provided by my club, Red Flag Scale Modelers, having their annual contest this Saturday, and there is still a slight chance this model will be ready.  I'll be giving a 3D printing demo during the judging.
 
I printed up the WSO's laser/TV controls today, based on the one photo I have that may or may not be of the right item :)  I assumed the item stands on the floor as well as being attached to the side wall, and that it clears the throttles, gear handle, and ejection seat.  Here is the print fresh out of the printer.
 

 
Here it is with supports removed and cleaned up for a test fit:
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Well it is time to finish and the end of this project:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
And to gather  -  Arado 196 and Me-109, my models from WW2 period:
 

 
Thanks for watching my friends
Cheers

So I'm finally back to work on my Phantom.  The kit decals were trashed as were the Yellow Hammer decals I had.  The kit decals completely yellowed but I was able to bleach them out for the most part by setting them in direct sunlight for a few days.  I tested a decal only to have it break apart in water so I sprayed some testers decal bonder which helped but wasn't perfect.  They Yellow Hammer decals were even worse and they weren't all that accurate to boot.  My only other option was to use my trusty Silhouette to cut some masks.  Thankfully AOA has a new set of stencils so I'm all set.  I drew all the markings, including the walkways, with Inkscape.  It took some time but was worth it in the end.
 
First I painted the white areas:

 
 
Then masks for the green strips and clovers:  Note: I must have broke that damn probe five time now!

 
 
Painted custom green color:

 
 
Masked the stripes:

 
 
Painted the main color:  I used Mr. Color but for this but it seems too light.

 
 
Removed masks...OOPS!

 
 

 
 
Added tail markings

 

 
 
The walkways were next.  The black outline was a PIA!

 
 
I painted and masked the grey areas:

 
 
I also drew the stars and bars from scratch.  These took some work but I figured it would be easier to do these before painting the main color.  I first painted the blue areas.

 
 
Then applied the masks for the white and red areas:

 

 
 
Here she is after painting and removing masks:

 
 
Still a few more to go. 

 
 
You can see just how detailed the Silhouette can cut once you have all the settings dialed in:

 
 
Here she is with all the markings, not on decal used...

 

 

 
 
Time for some blending and a bit more weathering... Thanks for looking!
 
Bryan
 
 
 

Excellent!  As I always say " size doesn't matter".

The cart. This moves on blocks and doesn't ride on wheels.
 

 

 
And all painted and ready for a plane
 

 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for watching.
 
Ferry