Fvdm

Gentlemen, let me introduce myself and my Airfix 1/24th scale F6F-5 building. A lot of words have been written about this kit, a lot of reviews are on the web, and yes, a lot of building threads as well, no doubt: this kit is the hot kit of the day.
I will not add pictures of the box or of sprues because they are well known, but I will dive soon into building. Being it my first thread, and my first time with a 1/24th scale I will appreciate any suggestion and criticism to enhance my work, they are welcome.
Airfix has done a very good job with this kit, IMO, and most important thing, has left to us a lot of details to deal with and to add, in a word a lot of fun.
My start is obviously from the cockpit and the first impression is that it is big, really big. Installing the P&W 2800 radial engine with its 1,34mt (52 inch) of diameter, US airplanes were large, if compared to the narrow airplanes wearing an in-line engine like the DB family, and result was a comfortable and roomy cockpit.
I started with removing all moulding lines and preparing pieces for extra detailing, then I moved one area at time to do my job, trying to had as many details as I could.

First of all, I removed all the plumbing lines and replaced them with lead wire and plastic card. Lead wire is a wonderful product but is very delicate and very easy to damage with pliers if you don’t pay attention, some time it’s sufficient a grim look to damage it, so I drilled holes where the clamps are, then fixed rods to reproduce clamps themselves and wrapped the first line gluing sturdily just to have a referring point and completed with all the others lines. If you pay attention with ca glue, you can do a very clean and nice work, not my case indeed, but I am quite satisfied with it.

 





Pedals were detailed as well, cutting the side cylinder from structure, replacing the lower support with copper wire of the right size and moreover spacing them form the pedals, as you can see on the real bird. A simple job but I think very necessary and quite effective.

 

Side consolles have been detailed too. Airifix has done a nice work here, and IMO, meaures, volumes and general appearance of these parts are good. I only reworked some particular that was over sized, sanding to size and reshaping where it was necessary. I think pictures can tell the story better than me



Photoectched parts are from Airscale 1/24 wonderful set, of course, but IMO it represents more a F6F-3 cockpit than a F6F-5, or better to say, it reproduces both versions.  I will try to explain. Central console is provided with heater control panel and fluorescent light panel, I mean decals and holes on the panels. According to my documentation this is a feature of -3, not -5, where these panels were moved to the right console. Not a big problem, I filled the holes with putty and sanded smooth.
On the other hand, just the right console has the heather switch and radio master switch, 22a and 90 in the picture, in form of holes on photoetched part for these, typical of -5.
Airscale has done a smart job, IMO, leaving all the opportunities to modeler.


As I was working in this area I made from scratch the sliding hood control  and added some lead wire here and there. I have not completed the parts with all details I want, however, as I will add them later, after the painting session.

 
To be able to close the airframe, I focused on the tail, and I found this area not completely satisfactory. First of all, I felt the necessity to resize the arresting hook case, adding some sprue. I made from scratch the two missing internal frames, trying to replicate the real thing as better as I could, and reshaped the original frame to accommodate the longer arresting hook. I apologize for the crude picture of parts with blurs and dirty, I had not realized how they were until I watched on the screen, and I cleaned everything before final assembling. The raw side surface of main frame is due to several “wet fit” with plastic glue while preparing the parts.

After a full Monday afternoon of cutting, measuring, sanding and gluing I finished my job, and I realized that not much of it will be visible when everything will be painted in dark blue and airframe closed.  I will try with different shades of blue, but I not so convinced. Well, what can I say? I am a modeler, and modellers just want to have fun, and I had.
If the bird was a -3  with a three tones camouflage and white undersides and internal surfaces, well, it would have been nicer. A good exercise for the next Hellcat? Why not, I am sucker for a three tones bird. As the job is not perfect at all, acceptable for a “dummy” I would say, dark blue finish will be very forgiving.
 
I installed Aerocraft 1/24 rear landing gear at this stage because I wanted a tight fit with epoxy glue. Only some minor preparing was necessary, and some thinning of casted pins, a normal job.
 What to say about Aerocraft set? It is very nice, beautifully casted and most important thing SOLID. IMO it is an indispensable set due to the weight of the finished model and the softness of plastic Airfix used for this kit.
Well I am, almost, ready for painting now. Some black primer to check faults and Interior Green a gogo.
I hope you will enjoy pictures and more soon to come, stay tuned.
Thank you for watching,
 

I am sadly stuck with my MH-53E at the moment - I haven't found a source selling litho plate for a reasonable price over here in Europe (buying it in the US would mean very high shipping cost), so I have to build something else.
 
The choice fell upon the project which lost out to the MH-53E when I had to decide what to built earlier this year: an ERA-3B Skywarrior. I have a soft spot for electronic warfare aircraft and esoteric subjects, so the ERA-3B is just perfect as only 8 of them were built (converted from RA-3B). Two of them had the late CLE wing (BuNo 146446 and 146447); the idea is to build one of these 2 in the early configuration with the long canoe under the fuselage. 
 

 
I have printed the main components last year already. It's quite a big beast. It's basically an A-3B, so several changes are necessary to convert it into an ERA-3B. 

 
The A-3B is a "bomber" whilst the ERA-3B is based on the RA-3B, which is a so-called "version". There are several differences such as thicker canopy framing, different main wheels, no bomb bay, different APU exhausts and the entry hatch being located closer to the front landing gear bay on the versions.  
 
Here you can see the re-located opening for the entry hatch.

 
The nose profile was modified as the nose of the CAD file was too pointed. One of the APU exhausts was already installed as well.

 

 
The cockpit has to be built from scratch. I have made a cut to insert the bulkhead between the cockpit and the ECM operator compartment which is located in the former camera bay. 

 
The typical tail extension was drawn in CAD and 3D printed. There were at least three differently shaped tails, this one being the "early" version. It contained a chaff dispenser. 

 

 
The ERA-3B carried ALQ-76 pods which were also used by the EA-6A Intruder. Whilst externally similar to the ALQ-99 carried by the EA-6B, it is completely different in shape and overall dimensions. Luckily, Angelo Romano's excallent book on the Electronic Aggressor Squadrons provided the dimensions to enable me to draw the pod in CAD. More details will be added before it'll be printed; I'll probably use Eduard's PE parts for the heat sink radiators, just like Rich did in his excellent EA-6A conversion thread. 

 
The canoe was drawn and printed as well; it initially was too short but has been lengthened in the meantime. 

 
That's where I am at the moment; I hope this one continue to run smoothly - I'd love to finish this one until end of 2020 which would mean a new record for me. We'll see! 
 
 
 
 

Approaching my first real accomplishment on this one. I followed crobinsonh and ericg builds and decided I wanted to make the fuselage changes so the cockpit looked right. Great guidelines in their builds. I had an idea that i think turned out cool and will save some time.
 
when i cut the 2mm off the backside of the ammo panel I did it such that i got a perfect slice

Next i took this piece and switched sides with it. That turned the rivet line around so that it would be facing aft. This replaced the 2mm wide piece of styrene. 

i cut 2mm out of the coming to move the whole cockpit forward. Really this seems to be Aires intent as the side panels don’t fit right unless you do this. Here’s the final result vs the look of the 1:1 Thunderbird


 
getting the IP to sit down and not stand proud witha PITA! would still like it to be 1mm lower but I’m just throughthe floor of the cockpit on the edges and the top of the intake duct is really thinned out so this is the final position. I’ve tested out the canopy and it just barely fits ... but it fits. 

Exactly what I thought too Alain!  Lothar hasn't been idle, there was a problem with the fuel bowser, but he's fixed it:

Clever man!
 

a few details to go
 
Mark

Wash work in progress.

 

Decals on. Will clean decal solution with water then add a thin coat of gloss. 
 

I do wish I had a set of A6M2 blueprints like those Mr Diemert finally got hold of from Japan. The levers and linkages for the throttle were puzzling me, and as it often is, after glueing in the bottom levers - I found a clue. They are actually attached further inward than I had them, which makes sense as they need to get to the carburettor. So, I broke them off and put them on a little mounting on the cross brace (not provided in the kit).
 

 

 
Now the engine is ready to be attached to the firewall...
 

 

 
The oil tank has been sprayed with another coat or two of clear blue/green, and some extra detail added. I was looking for that darker/opaque look Ryan mentioned.
 

 
Here is the engine assembly loosely attached to the firewall in order to see how it looks. 
 

 

 

 
It looks quite convincing in black and white - similar to the captured engine photo.
 

 
Thanks for the advice on the colours Ryan,
 
Sean

Here is an example of just how difficult it is to work out the colours in the engine bay from a black and white photograph (especially with a green/grey colour scheme). One really does need access to the real thing, and the knowledge of how to get to the original paint.
 

 
Wiring up the engine is made a little easier with "spark plugs" to push the wire into, and the guide holes in the baffles on top of the cylinders. This makes it all a bit neater and more symmetrical. I initially left the front leads too long as you can see here. This had the effect of turning the engine into more of an ikebana arrangement than a radial engine, and I had to cut the leads back to size so they only have a little curve to them. The clamps holding each pair of leads together (or apart?) are the pieces of chopped up syringe that I flattened slightly.
 

 

 

 
The cowling supports are now sporting their black coat, with some chipping as seen in the captured engine photo, as well as some pieces of fabric or leather that seem to be riveted onto the square tubing. I assume these are to stop metal on metal chafing? You may notice that I cut the kit's large round fittings (that join the support to the engine) in half and filed them square to look a little less toy-like.
 

 

 
Since I was going to paint, I got the oil tank and firewall prepped. The oil tank is a little rudimentary, so it got some extra detail including what looks like a fluid level gauge on the top, as well as the exit pipe and a filler cap. I also added the fairly distinctive flange at the back of the tank.
 

 
This was then sprayed with Alclad "White Aluminium" and once dry, given a coat of clear blue/green mixed to favour the green for the oil tank. On the rest of the fuselage it appears that the protective Aotake paint is more blue. 
 

 
Time to move into the cockpit...
 

Great paintjob.

Hi all,
I've been working on preparing the wings, fin/rudder, ailerons, tail planes, elevators and their associated support struts.
The struts should, I think, have steel reinforcing pins moulded through them, but I found the 'Z' shaped cabane struts had ends without pins.
Also the fuselage indents for locating these struts had no locating hole.
The single piece fin and rudder had no locations for attaching it to the fuselage and neither did the tail planes.
The separate ailerons and elevators also has no locating pins/holes.
Therefore I added support pins of 0.6 mm diameter for the wing struts and ailerons and 0.4 mm diameter pins to locate the fin/rudder, elevators and tail planes.
 
Mike 
 

 

 

Finally got the wings on. Getting the thing sat flat was the hardest bit. 
Just the engine and a few other panels to go on and finish ringing it. 
|https://thumbsnap.com/TOpheKT5
|https://thumbsnap.com/VLpxMNzx
|https://thumbsnap.com/317FCmTO

Hi, not been around for a while as I’ve been building smaller kits. 
 
I have always wanted to build a museum type model of the Camel and finally go around to buying one. 
This is the plastic version and not the larger wooden type so creating the wood effect was a learning curve for me as I’d never done it before. 
 
Here are some pics of my build for you to look at. As you can see I’m trying to rig the structure as it would have been using reference photos as the kit asks you to rig most of the parts with one continuous piece of line. I’m making the turnbuckles by hand as no one seems to make 1/16 versions. That’s been a job as there are around 300 in the whole aircraft. 
 
Anyway enjoy the build. 
 
Hope the image links work ok. 
 
Matt 
 















 
 
 

DONE!
 
I have posted pics of the finished model in the Ready For Inspection Forum here:
 
1/32 Kitty Hawk F-5E/N: "Kicked Up a Notch"
 
Thank you everyone for your continued interest in this build.   I really appreciate your comments and feedback over the past 9 months.
 
Cheers,
Chuck
 
 

 

 

 
 

hello gentlemen,
thanks for your support! In the mean time Revell is sending me a new canopy so I guess I will be having it in a few days. That has not kept me away from progressing with my build.
Panels have been filled with white primer:

 

 

 
 

Paint job is done.
 

 

Hi Guys,
 
A little more work on the Mistel braking chute.  I made the springs from fine brass wire.  The lanyard to the shackle is made from twisted lead wire and the shackle itself is from a Takom 1/35 Panther tank kit.
 
Springs made from brass wire wound round plastic rod to get the shape.
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
Springs superglued to the casing:
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
Twisted lead wire for the lanyard:
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
With the shackle in place:
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
That's all folks!
 
Regards,
 
Bruce Crosby

Hi Guys,
 
More Mistel!
 
Here's the port engine in its new colours: lots of masking but worth it.
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
Masking up to paint the areas under the slats.
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
With some White Aluminium plus Chrome from MMP.
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
The original holes to locate the struts:  I had scaled them from the Dragon 1/48 model but like all things. it hadn't been researched properly and the points are in the middle of panels, not load bearing frames or spars.
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
And it just jarred on my nerves.  So I re-drilled the holes, the front one just behind the cockpit rear bulkhead frame, the other two  on the main frame just ahead of the undercarriage doors.  The gear legs hang from this frame and the wings are bolted on top, so this is exactly the right place!
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
The original line up:
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
New line up:  see how the code numbers are no longer aligned.
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
As it was:
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
And now.  Note I've outlined the Yellow 3 with a black marker pen, only roughly as if hand painted by a 16 year old conscript.  (My mental age!)
 
Untitled by Bruce Crosby, on Flickr
 
Hope you like it so far.
 
Regards,
 
Bruce Crosby
 

Hi all,
I've been hammering away at the fuselage internal details.
Everything is fitted to the right side of the fuselage with regular testing for the fit of the left side.
Included are control lines, trigger cables, control rods to the engine etc.
I still have some bits to do, like the two machine guns and final weather etc, but I'm getting there,
 
Mike   
 

 

i will follow.

All-
 
Since I have completed my HK 1/32 B-17G, it's time to get cracking on another project. My brother and I were contracted two years ago to build some large scale kits for a flight museum that will open in Salt Lake City, Utah in a few years. I figure, why not get started on another kit!
 
The plan for the museum display is to show, in large-scale, the bombing campaign in Europe using heavy bombers, their escorts, and their opposition. We have completed a B-17E so far, with a B-17F, B-17G, B-24D, B-24J, and Lancaster planned for the heavies. The hope is to make them more or less as accurate as possible, to help share the story of the bombing campaign against Germany. The museum has given us pretty free reign as far as what specific aircraft we model, as long as it was operational in the European campaign.
 
I chose to get started with the HK Models 1/32 Lancaster. After having so much fun building their B-17G, I wanted to get cracking on another one of their excellent kits.
 
So, in steps Lancaster Mk.I EE139, "Phantom of the Ruhr". Originally assigned to 100 Squadron on May 31st, 1943, she went on to fly 121 missions, including 15 trips to Berlin. I plan to model her during her early years, where she wore fuselage codes HW-R. She was later assigned to 550 Squadron, and bore fuselage codes BQ-B.
 
a3425306814_10 by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr
 
While I don't have any in-progress shots yet, I have started on a few small modifications to the kit (chopped up the cockpit floor). Here's what I can glean from photos so far, and I would love any input anyone can provide for this particular airframe:
 
She was an early Mk.I, without side blisters to her canopy. Additionally, from photographs, it appears that she has aluminum interiors to her front turret, aluminum landing gear legs, and aluminum hubs to her wheels. All signs point to her being a very early Mk.I.
 
PhantomofTheRuhrBefore100thOperation by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr
 
img012 by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr
 
24336d1142014385-lanc-phantomoftheruhr_144 by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr
 
08741b6a17bc6f1e690930dc43d2f8c5 by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr
 
Here's a few questions I have for the boffins:
 
1. What type of bomb sight would she have? I have a feeling she has an early SABS (Stabilized Automatic Bomb Sight) because she is such an early bird, but I am not sure, and its not entirely clear in the photos.
 
2. Would she have her fuselage windows painted over on the sides? (EDIT: It looks like in the last photo I posted, that she does indeed her her windows. I hadn't noticed that before).
 
Hoping you all follow along on what will surely be a long journey once again. Thanks for tuning in!
 
- Dennis S.
  Thornton, CO USA

Really nice!!

Great job so far! It is turning out real nice with the lights. 

Thanks Troy!
 
Well we officially have a GBPB! (Great Big Pointy B@$*!d)  This is going to be one TALL model  display when done
 

 
 
 
 
 
The wings are at this time, just push fit into the fuselage, but the fuselage is 85% complete, and the fit was surprisingly good. Its a loooooooooong model though! The fit of the cockpit was good all around, and the nose cone has really started making it look like a zipper now. I have blended the sections of the cockpit that had to wait until the fuselage was assembled, but now I still need to go back and add the photo etch details to the inside areas of the cockpit, then finish up painting those areas the cockpit color. After those are dry, I will mask them off and repaint the ODG on the instrument hoods:
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
Even the area at the nose where 4 panels come together fit exceptionally well, and needed only mild sanding to bring the nose cone into alignment and smoothness with the other 3 panels:
 

 
 
 
 
 
The only fit issue I experienced was on the rear spine panel on the port side. This was likely due to my own error in assembly, but has been dealt with using PPP and Mr Surfacer Black 1500:
 

 
 
 
 
 
Ok guys, this was shot with my crappy cell camera, and of course with the lights off and with YouTube dumbing down the quality, its kind of a crap video, but you can get an idea of what the lights look like with the fuselage closed up. The top and bottom asynchronous flashing beacons will get a small piece of fiber optic cable cut to a size to sit in the small cut tube that the MLED sits in, so it will shoot light directly up into each beacon light that will get glued on top of the hole. These both will eventually get painted red.
 
 
 
 
 
 
The only down side here is the exhaust really only shows up bright like this with the lights off. In most situations, I will likely be displaying the 104 in a lit contest or show type lighting. However, you can still see the exhaust light flickering and the color by changing the angle you look at it, and if you look more up inside the exhaust. The effect is just a bit more subtle with the lights on. The other lights, including the cockpit lights you can still readily see with the lights on.
 
I'm going for a very clean (display/vignette wise) look, so I'm hoping the clear rod will clean up nicely, and I can cut it off at a desired angle later on the bottom of the base. Ill likely add some chrome paint or foil there on the bottom of the display/end of the clear tube to help bounce the light back through the clear rod.  I will determine the length of the rod later when I know how much room I have to work with in my display cabinet. (I'm definitely going to have to raise my second to bottom shelf to accommodate the 104)

Ok so I’ve had this in my stash for ages and only now do I feel confident to build it.  I’m really excited about the prospect and can’t wait to get started.  Over the years I’ve had it I’ve bought several aftermarket items, resin wheels, decals, paint masks and the ‘big ed’ pe set.  I bought this last item a while ago and even though I’m not a massive pe fan I’m going to give it a go... at least some of it anyway.  Not 100% sure which particular aircraft I will build, it will be an OD machine with a NMF underside that is for sure.
cheers
matt