cib2265

More work on the Rhino. Pictures look rough, but it will clean up once done!
 
First, I closed up the main wheel well doors. These required the usual shimming and adjustment - on almost every surface to get fitting somewhat respectably. The drawback of being an aircraft modeller....

 
Note the seams that needed addressing nearly all round with some Bondo (red) putty.
These weird triangle indents done by Trumpeter were filled with shaped 1mm plasticard:

And the ladder door was taken off and refitted as best i could flush, will need some filler, I couldnt find the small tab piece at the end so added with plasticard.

 
Next will be wing and nose reattachment and filling those seams, spot priming to check it all looks good, then I can get on with the cockpit and crew. 
Ordered some new low viz decals and stencils - very hard to find!  
 

It was an absolute doosey to build it literally fell together, most of the kit was almost push fit, it went together that well. I was able to build the whole cockpit area and all the interior as dry fit then take it apart and paint it.
I'm definitely going to be getting at least one more of these and the D, the D I'll do as a Mk. III in RAF use, either as Coastal Command or 205 Group.

MiG-23ML "4644"
1. SLP. Planá airport, České Budějovice, 1991
-first take-off of the aircraft was made on November 27, 1982
- fly to Czechoslovakia to ČB 22. 12. 1982
- total air raid 1136h and 41 minutes
- The last flight took place on 26th October 2000 by Maj. Zdeněk Ouda
Model: Trumpeter, Scale: 1/32
Author: Petr Pícha Photo: my frend Miloslav (thank you)
Accessories:
Aires-cockpit, nozzle, Wheels bay, avionics
Eduard- photo etched part-exterior, Quickboost-cooling of aggregates
Master-pitot tube, sparkers
Linden Hill-Decals
Customization:
 partially modified air intakes, APU-23, APU-60 
-Helping keel
- exhaust and suction channel of the turbostrarter
- undercarriage legs 
-IR sensor
-Other little things
More Photo + building: https://www.leteckemuzeumliborezy.cz/mig-23/

Personally, with the motorized option in the kit ( or should I say an option to motorize it), I was more interested in a seated WWN Naval pilot..............
 
https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-print-models/miniatures/figurines/us-navy-pilot
 

 

 
 
 
This is a bit pricey, but might be worth it, as I dont see many other options for WWII USN in 1/24th 

Here's the seam after sanding. 
 

 
I then installed the engine covers. These are supplied clear so I  gave them a quick spray on the inside. 
 

 
The fit here was really good. Which was a nice surprise.
 

 
Next up will be the nose turret and some of the various sensors.

thanks Andy, its a perfect kit.....would i do another? not a chance in hell, when i meet a modeller who has built more than one, i,ll know i'm in the asylum
 
for those of a nervous disposition, look away now



 
I think I've just paid for Bobs Buckels kids to go through Uni

Finally got all the paint stripped off, now it's time to start converting to inflight.
 
First, a "jimhole" - Long story - in the fuselage, I positioned this just behind the centerline fuel tank:

Next, a 3.8mm styrene rod. I put a cap on this and shaped each end to sit flush inside the fuselage and match the outside contour:

excuse the messy wheel wells, I'll be closing them up remember! 
Next, a 3mm carbon fibre rod inserted into a nice little base I got off a local supplier:

And voila - flying SuperHornet:

Thinking a squadron patch on the base perhaps?
 
You might see some black dots here and there on the fuselage - thats my next stage, cleaning up the seams and bad joins from the original build. A fair bit to do actually, the more I took paint off, the more sloppiness I saw. I'll get this done, plus close the wheel wells before reassembling the wings and other bits.
And when I run out of patience, I'll start painting the crew and detailing the cockpit.
Thanks for watching...
 

The Kinetic 48th kit. 
 
I built five of them earlier this year for VMAQ-2's CO, XO, OpsO, AMO and SgtMaj. Here's the CO, LtCol Rundle and I with his model.
 

 

Finally got all the paint stripped off, now it's time to start converting to inflight.
 
First, a "jimhole" - Long story - in the fuselage, I positioned this just behind the centerline fuel tank:

Next, a 3.8mm styrene rod. I put a cap on this and shaped each end to sit flush inside the fuselage and match the outside contour:

excuse the messy wheel wells, I'll be closing them up remember! 
Next, a 3mm carbon fibre rod inserted into a nice little base I got off a local supplier:

And voila - flying SuperHornet:

Thinking a squadron patch on the base perhaps?
 
You might see some black dots here and there on the fuselage - thats my next stage, cleaning up the seams and bad joins from the original build. A fair bit to do actually, the more I took paint off, the more sloppiness I saw. I'll get this done, plus close the wheel wells before reassembling the wings and other bits.
And when I run out of patience, I'll start painting the crew and detailing the cockpit.
Thanks for watching...
 

Nice find.
 
'He didn't use very strong glue so it was relatively easy to manhandle apart.'
You can also put it in the freezer for a while before popping the parts from each other.
 
Sincerely,
Mark

Almost finished

The kit is absolutely fantastic! Parts are nice and crisp, fit is outstanding and Academy nailed the outline. One at a time. I have these ten to do, about 14 1/48 Prowlers, 9 Hornets, 8 Harriers and several F-35's and UH-1Y's for Marines and squadrons.
 

The first of 10 Academy Zulus is on the bench. This one will be shipped to the Commanding Officer of HMLA-267 when it's finished. Nothing fancy, just a straight build with a nice clean paint job.
 

 

 

After reading a handful of complaints from a few modelers regarding the decals in the Academy AH-1Z, I decided to do a quick test. First, not only is one of the colors called for incorrect (36320), one of the paints they recommend are Vallejo. I would strongly suggest you DON'T use Vallejo's air colors as they are way off.
 
The correct colors for the AH-1Z are 36375 for the bottom and 35237 for the top.
 
In this test, the paints used are Ammo acrylics 36375 and 36320. This was used to check for color contrast as the decals "should" be printed to match 35237 as that is the color used for the markings on the real aircraft.
 
The gloss used was Mr. Hobby Super Clear out of the can. Now, I have used 36375, 36320 and 35237 from Ammo, Hataka (lacquer) and AK real air colors. While all three brands respective colors are slightly different shades, they are close enough for me to conclude that any one of these three paints will provide the same result. 
 
I will be doing a test on a chip painted with 35237 to see if the decals 'disappear'.........they should.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Dave
 

hi 
sorry i come late here, a long time ago a figure painter I really appreciated explained me that he'd always add some pale yellow to his black and since i've kept the habit to add some to any black that i find too deep. I have no exact ratio, just eyeball it. My go to yellow is Gunze H79 that i add either to pure black or tyre black. A ref I ALWAYS have in my paint stock. You can also add some olive green or red brown according to the colors around the part you are painting. Black is a lot of fun to paint !
bye
Fanch

Hey @Gazzas
 
This video by Doogs from his Black Basing 201 series might help:
 

Not a Mark I or II Spitfire - or even a Mark V. 
 
There does not exist a high quality 1/32 early Merlin Spitfire on the market. There's the new soap plastic Revell or the inaccurate Hobby Boss or the ancient stuff from Hasegawa. 
A Battle of Britain Spitfire would be an extremely popular subject for the high quality manufacturers like Tamiya, Wingnut Wings, Zoukei-Mura et al, and would sell more than any multiengine bomber.

But they've already made the best WW2 bomber in 1/32, why do anything else? 
 

 
Now, a WnW Spitfire Mk I/II in Battle of Britain markings would sell like hotcakes....

Bummer, but thanks Peter. 
 
 
 
I think I have a lead on a 1/24th pilot.....................I think.   I found what appears to be a decently sculpted/scanned 3D printed WWII USN pilot:
 
https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-print-models/miniatures/figurines/us-navy-pilot
 
 
He is a tad on the pricey side, but in its current configuration, is in 1/6th scale, however the OP has put out the scale factors on the pilot including 1:24 = 0.251.
The pilot seems to come in multiple parts, including different head and arm combos (including gunners position arms for rear gunners positions):
 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Obviously its not a perfect setup, but Ive got a note into the guy to see if he can in fact do a 1/24th scale copy, and how much it is. Ill update here once I know. 

Not a Mark I or II Spitfire - or even a Mark V. 
 
There does not exist a high quality 1/32 early Merlin Spitfire on the market. There's the new soap plastic Revell or the inaccurate Hobby Boss or the ancient stuff from Hasegawa. 
A Battle of Britain Spitfire would be an extremely popular subject for the high quality manufacturers like Tamiya, Wingnut Wings, Zoukei-Mura et al, and would sell more than any multiengine bomber.

But they've already made the best WW2 bomber in 1/32, why do anything else? 
 

 
Now, a WnW Spitfire Mk I/II in Battle of Britain markings would sell like hotcakes....

I painted the ejection seat. I used a very fine tipped Copic multiliner marker pen to draw in the stitching on the belts and the black lines in the ejection handles.
 

 
 Next up was the rocket rails. I scratchbuilt one good one from plastic card and rod.
 

 
Fitted with a rocket for sizing. I have used the Aires RP-3 rockets with concrete warhead practice rounds.
 

 
i then made a copy of the stubs in resin
 

 
Which I multiplied by 6 pairs. I used plastic rod for the rail part.
 

 

 
Test fit.
 

 
My good mate Les was kind enough to make me up some 803 sqn crests for either side of the tail to match the ones on the real 109
 

 
I used the excellent Australian made gloss clear produced by SMS to clear coat the model before applying the stencil data. Highly recommend this stuff.
 

 
Getting closer to the finish line.
 

 
 

My messy paint booth offers the perfect background for the requested photos - there are quite a few things to give you an idea of the size of the beast. 
 

 

 
I am currently running test prints of the sponsons on my Photon but I am not happy at all with the results. I may have to find another solution to print them...

I detailed the ejection seat and primed it. For the belts, I used aluminium foil cut into strips with copper wire adjusters and plastic card buckles. I used a thick piece of copper wire with a thinner piece tightly wrapped around it for the oxygen hose. 
 

 
primed
 

 
 

Another small update.
 
I have started to test fit everything to ensure that it all lines up and looks the part. I will start painting all of the pieces of the undercarriage, canopy and other parts now that I have the model mostly done to ensure that I put in an equal amount of effort and not just put these things onto the model at the end as an afterthought. I made up the deck landing sight on the nose from music wire and will electrify it with 240 volts to ensure that wayward fingers and camera straps at model shows are suitably rewarded with an unfavourable zap.
 
To add extra visual presence to the model I have also decided to fit rocket rails and practice concrete warhead RP-3’s, so the search for reference to these items has begun. Will detail my efforts in doing these parts soon.
 
The extra detailing that I put into the rim of the belly tank is quite visible in this photo and is well worth the effort.