cib2265

Going to have to get a third Bandai SD at this rate - need 2 for Scariff of course! 
 
Fantastic work, looking forward to the finished product!

Time for a new update. Now the fuselage was glued together it was time for the floats. There was some PE to glue on the floats but how hard i looked, there was not enough PE. I missed a hatch. I took my P&D and made a new one.
 

 
On every hatch I needed a handle. These handles aren't very big.
 

 
Each line is 1mm. 
 

 
After applying all the PE I got this as a result
 

 

 
It seems that the handles at the back of the float are a bit fragile to ( or am I just a bit clumsy? ) so these are also made of brass rod.
 

 
The braces you see here are very fragile and I wasn't able to keep this in one piece. I broke it two times and so I removed them. From brass rod I soldered new ones and it is much stronger.
 

 
I will make a better picture for next time.
 
Here you see the wheelsupports in the float but they are only there for keeping the float level. It must be level for glueing to the fuselage. after that I will remove them.
 
At last I mounted the engine to the fuselage.
 

 
Thanks for watching.
 
Ferry
 
 
 
 
 

Well the lower wings are finished with Bobs eyelets attached, now for the upper wings, I'm happy with my CDL it looks great in real life the photos dont show the subtle tones
 
Rant time.......i know it must be just me but i cant get Vallejo model air paints to work, look at the state on the pre shading on the top wings, I've tried different pressures different thinner ratios. i just cant get it to spray like tamiya or mission model paints, so I'm gonna bin the stuff ( although there model colour range brush paints perfectly)
 
Ive seen other threads where people have made jigs to hold the wings, but i just dont think its necessary, just follow the WnW instructions all fits are perfect so far, now for the tricky rigging
 



 
Thanks for the comments

Thanks everyone for the kind comments !  Guys... I just gotta do this... I have news....
 
OMG !! It's really happening !!!! 
 
I got the first pics of the castings.... This will be on the table at Wonderfest !!
 

 

 

 

 
And the first look at the projected  box cover.. a pic of the finished and painted city is coming from another modeler.
 

 
Jimi said it will go for $50 US...
 
I'm just boggled at being part of this.
 
(excuse me while I go pinch myself)

Thanks for all the comments.
 
I was able to take the Tri-Pacer across the other side of the country on the weekend to attend the model show in Perth. The highlight of the trip was being able to take to the air in ‘Oscar Lima Delta’  for a joy flight with Phil, the owner at the controls. It was pretty cool to fly across the continent in a Boeing 787 then jump into an aircraft 60 years older a few hours later, a very different contrast of technology. Phil was pretty stoked to see the model of his aircraft, but not as stoked as I was to be able to enjoy the smell of AVGAS, the noise and feeling of actually flying in something that I have recreated. I was lucky enough to meet Matt and his family on the weekend as well. Matt’s father Robin was the person who restored VH-OLD into its beautiful current state after it was written off as per pictures earlier in my thread. Robin is visible standing behind the tail of the partially rebuilt aircraft in an earlier photo.
 
Enroute to Western Australia.
 

 
Me looking pretty bloody happy upon introducing the two different sized aircraft. (And relieved that the blue paint colour was in the same ballpark!!)
 

 
A sense of scale
 

 
1500 feet AGL and loving it. Phil kindly agreed to allowing one of my best mates Tony to come along for the ride.
 

 
Phil with model. I think we worked out that I had forgotten to scratchbuild the IPAD mount in the model. Otherwise, Phil was pretty happy with it!
 

 
Matt and family pretty happy to see their father and grandfathers hard work recreated in miniature 
 

 
Post flight debrief with Tony at the RACWA bar. 
 

 
An enjoyable and cherished memory.
 

 
 

Undercarriage more than holding up my Lanc.
 

posted on local modelforum.cz
https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=105045&start=2385
if this is true I will take one  
jan
 

 

Exactly. There should not be ANY aircraft kits in 1/35. IMHO, that scale should be stamped out entirely (even for targets). 
 
D

Thanks for the comments fellas...
 
Here are the little things.  Nothing really fancy about this post but it may be helpful for some who plan on building the kit in the future.
 
So I wouldn't say there is a lot of ejector marks but there are a few that need to be dealt with.  Besides the intakes there are a few on the cockpit side walls.
 
This goes for both sides...
 

 
 
The intakes need some work.  I wish I had better shots of this but it's difficult to photograph
 

 
 
The instructions indicate to glue the intakes and engine bay doors on after the fuselage is together but it would be very difficult to fix the intakes that way.  That and it's easier to get everything lined up before hand.  After everything was glued and dried, I sanded the raised attachment points and used sufacer to fill the gaps.  I use thinner and a q-tip to remove the surfacer but still needed a bit of sanding afterward.
 

 

 
 
I painted the engine face with Mr. metal color Iron and Zinc Chromate #351.  I really like the buffable Mr. Color metal paints.
 

 
 
It's fairly basic but it doesn't look too bad once it's all done...
 

 
 
I also added most of the PE stuff before putting the fuselage together, it's just easier to manipulate everything that way.  The PE is a really nice touch and really makes a difference, not to mention it all fit well.
 

 
 
One thing I didn't like was there wasn't a lot of attachment points one some of the panels, mainly on the engine bay doors and the exhaust.  I'm not sure why they did it this way since they are not meant to be displayed open.  The saving grace is the fit is fantastic which saves the raised detail from sanding.  Before gluing the bay door, I added an attachment point which probably wasn't necessary but helped strengthen in join. 
 

 
 
I also sanded the little vent...
 

 

 
 
Also did the same for the exhaust...
 

 

 
 
Forgot to mention I thinned out this little vent too...
 

 
 
I wanted to attach the ball after the fuselage was completely done so it would easier to paint.   The only way I could come up with was to shave down the mounting pins so the ball would easily slid in.  I had to shave the pins down a lot to make this work but after some test fitting it slides right in.
 

 
 
The fit really tight here so I sanded down the post a bit.  I wanted to be able to move the rotor blades without the risk of breaking the assembly.  I learned this after breaking the assembly on my 1/48 KH AH-1Z.
 

 
 
Don't forget the nose weight!  It says 3g of ballast so I'm assuming they mean 3 grams.  A penny weighs 2.5 grams so I used 2 of them to be safe.  I can tell you it will definitely be a tail sitter if you don't add the weight.  I'm hoping I put enough!
 

 
 
The exhaust doesn't really look great so a metal tube does the trick.  This is part of the little things that can really make a difference in my humble opinion...
 

 
 
The gun is a bit lacking but you really only see the barrels for the most part.
 

 
 
The barrels are hollow at the tip but I drilled them out a bit more.
 

 
 
Very nice detail on the wings!  They give you a choice for the tie downs to be shown in the up or down position.  This will come in handy when I build my next one displayed on a ship.
 

 
 
And finally everything all buttoned up... Everything came together perfectly and I only had to use filler in a few spots, I was really impressed with the fit!
 

 

 
 
The instructions have you install this PE vent before gluing the fuselage but I found it easier to do afterward.  
 

 
 
I know these are boring updates but I'm hoping it will help others who want to build this kit.  Not that most will need any help since this is a straight forward build and the fit is exceptional. 
 
Thanks for looking in!
 
Bryan
 

Waiting for my DEF Model set then I'll start building mine - inflight of course!
 
BTW, there's a build group on Facebook that covers all these issues, has all the aftermarket vendors and scratchbuilders there with several WIP and LOTS of reference photos....
 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/279260363020283/?fref=nf

Black is scale black. Scale color is nonsensical, but has merit for artistic purpose.
 
More important to worry about variation in the paint, so I'd consider Tamiya German Grey, then NATO black and Midnight Blue as a marble coat below a final black.
 
Ralph Riese's BF110 comes to mind for how to do it...

Black is scale black. Scale color is nonsensical, but has merit for artistic purpose.
 
More important to worry about variation in the paint, so I'd consider Tamiya German Grey, then NATO black and Midnight Blue as a marble coat below a final black.
 
Ralph Riese's BF110 comes to mind for how to do it...

Defmodel casting quality is top notch on my armor stuff. I just preordered the gun barrels and seated pilots from Luckymodel

I'm not a big helicopter builder but I've always loved the AH-1 ever since I watched them fly overhead and knock the sheet out of 'targets'.  It was a sight to see to say the least.  Iv'e never seen the newest version up close but it looks like a killer to me.  
 
I have a rule that for every new kit I finish, I have to pull one off the shelf of doom and finish it before I start another.  I have been doing fairly good with that rule until Academy came out with the AH-1Z, damn you Academy haha.  After opening the box, I knew I wouldn't be able to resist starting it.  It really is one of Academy's best kits.  The exterior detail is just amazing!  
 
With that said, it's not perfect.  The cockpit is very basic and not all that accurate, they didn't even include seat belts.  What's up with that?  The canopy is very close to the real thing but the top part is flat when it should be a bit rounded.  The clear parts themselves are crystal clear either. The kit is very basic when it comes to things like open panels and not having engines.  Some will like this and it seems to be a way of saving money, this kit is fairly inexpensive after all.  
 
I had planned on going all out on this build but I couldn't find enough detailed cockpit photos to scratch the details, plus there isn't a lot of aftermarket stuff available.  I know I'll be building more than one of these in the future so I decided to build this one OOB and build another after hopefully more aftermarket becomes available, specifically a cockpit.  
 
I'm already at the paint stage but I haven't had the time to post a build thread.  I'll try to go through the issues I had along the way so it will hopefully help others with their build.  I have to say that so far there hasn't been a lot of problems to deal with.  The fit is first class and even rivals Tamiya's latest stuff.
 
 
There are a lot of kit photos on the internet but I'll drop a few to show just how nice it really is.
 

 

 

 
Slide molding, how nice is that!
 

 
 
Here is the Pit, not great but not bad either.  They did a good job with the IP's and they really stand out.
 

 

 

 
 
This first thing I noticed was it didn't have full intakes.  Turns out not to be a problem with the way it angles back to the engine face.  It's hard to explain how it works but it's not an issue at all once it's all built up, even the big panel line you see here isn't visible.
 

 
 
 
On the other hand, the ejector marks are a different story...
 

 
 
These need filled too...
 

 
 
 
The cockpit fit is really good, this is the only place I used putty.  Only the bottom part is visible once everything is put together.
 

 

 
 
Black cockpits are difficult for me.  I tried to break up all the black using different shades and dry brushing.  The pit reminds me of the Trumpeter Intruder pit, neither are very detailed and accurate but look pretty good after they are painted up.  I think it came out ok but it's still a lot of black!  I think the pit floor is supposed to be grey but I had already finished it before I found out.
 

 
 
This kit includes green decals for the touch screens but every photo I've seen they have a purple tint to them.  I was going to use clear film for these but I had to remind myself that this was supposed to be a quick build!  I just painted them dark purple...
 

 
 

 

 

 
 
Here is my attempted at making the belts, not great but will do the job.  Cheesy, I know.  I used lead sheet for the belts and some old buckles from the Tamiya F-16.  I made the bottom buckle based on a very grainy photo I found.  I still can't get over how these weren't included especially when there was a really nice PE set that came with the kit...
 
 

 

 
 
I'll post more soon, thanks for looking!
 
Bryan
 

Hi, all.  Well, I've definitely made some progress on the Ghost.  The bomb bay is done as is the radio room (save for sticking on the RO's chair).  After looking through the Eduard PE kits, I decided not to use them in either compartment and just built the kit out of the box.  I did this for a couple reasons.  First, I don't feel as though the bomb bay kit adds much and the RO's compartment is so closed off you won't see anything anyway.  Likewise, I've decided how I'm going to display this, and have opted for a wheels-up, bay-closed, cruise configuration to hang from my workshop's ceiling.  Long story short: I'm not putting a ton of time and effort into the bomb bay or RO compartment.
 
So, with those two compartments done, I'm moving on to the biggest challenge of this kit... Converting the lower turret to one of the remotely-operated belly gun turrets.  I've got my work cut out for me, but things are progressing nicely.  
 
While there are a few pictures out there showcasing the externals of the Sperry belly turret, I basically have this picture to work with for the interior.

 
If anyone has any others, I'd be thrilled to see them.  There are a few major points that I have to address.  
 
1. The turret itself (including mounting the guns inside)
2. The parallel floor boards - the kit parts are angled and follow the contour of the fuselage.
3. The raised platform next to the turret (it's on the right side of the ship in the above pic, but the kit has it on the left)
4. The gunner's station and sighting mechanism on the floor - to include the sighting blister and windows in the fuselage.
5. Mirrored mounts for the waist .50s.  The kit has the left gun mounted at the aft end of the window.
 
I've been tinkering with ideas of how to recreate the belly turret and I'm happy to report that the kit has pretty much everything I need (so far).  I'm going to use one of the spare upper turrets as a stand-in for the belly.  For the cylinder that extends into the fuselage, I hit upon a pretty solid idea...
 

...the unused chin turret.  
 
After a little surgery...

 
The styrene blocks are there to help me set my depth and therefore the protrusion of this part outside the fuselage of the aircraft.  The tape is there to take up some of the gap between the frame for the kit ball turret and the chin turret shell.  These were prototypes and have been cleaned up.
 
I sleeved the chin shell with some thin styrene sheet to give it a nice uniform appearance.

 
Test fitting into the fuselage shows that the part is protruding just about the right depth.  

 
That large gap around the turret will be covered by a flange of styrene sheet.  I found a reference photo that clearly shows a ring of aluminum around the turret, so that should cover that gap nicely.  I just need to get a drafting compass to make a good circle.  Riveting a circular line ought to be a hoot too. 
 
Dry fitting the turret in place shows that things are looking pretty promising.

 

 

 
Next, I'll figure out how the heck I'm going to mount the guns.  But, that's tomorrow's problem...
 
Meanwhile, I've been working to straighten out the two walkways.  This was fairly simple to do with sheet styrene.  I filled some gaps, so I still have a little cleanup to do here.

 
That long center piece will have to be cut so that I can build the gunner's station.  That's the day after tomorrow's problem.
 
While waiting for stuff to dry, I've been picking away at the right wing and engines.  The good news about this kit is that there's so much to do, you've always got something to work on.  Tonight I made some good progress on getting the engines assembled and painted up.  
 
Left to right are engines 4-1. 

 
Only #3 is complete at the moment.  The rest need a bit of detail painting and weathering.  Then they're done.
 
Dry fitting the right wing.

 

 
I've done the initial round of sanding, but I have quite a bit of scribing and rivet work to do, particularly on the engine nacelles.  Their fit wasn't all that great, so I had to fill and sand quite a bit.  Generally speaking, the rest of the wing went together fairly well.
 
I painted up the turbos at some point too.  

 
And that's where she stands.  Next is more work on the turret and floorboards.  Wish me luck.  This is more scratch building than I've ever attempted before.
 
 
 
 
Yeah, I can see through dry fitting that the upper fuselage will be a nasty fit.  I've already resigned myself to having to sand and re-rivet a bunch of lines as part of this project, so the upper will just be part of the process.  Generally speaking, I'm not overly impressed with the fit of a lot of the bigger parts.  C'est la vie.  For such a huge aircraft, it's kind of inevitable.
 
 

And finally... the last buildings in place...
 

 

 
In primer...
 

 

 

 
Now to finish off the walls and the mountain. If all goes well, beauty shots next week !!
 
Thanks for looking in !!

It's not dead, just shelved after reality set in.
Zactomodels (14 years) has been my full-time job for the last 12 years and aftermarket doesn't pay much. In order to keep food on the table it became necessary to make smaller products with shorter production times. A new release equals a sudden income flow. Those times between releases can be devastating.

Next new product (coming soon): http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/306361-132-aim-120/
 
In order to finish my YF-23 I'd probably need close to a year at the workbench (while maintaining the business, casting parts and filling orders of existing product).
There is definitely still interest in the project (I still get e-mails asking about it) and I have everything I need to finish it. I just need to keep a steady flow of new products and orders going and not get interrupted again (working with crooked model companies that break their promises). When the time comes I'll remove the ever thickening layer of dust on this beauty and finish her off.
 

 
In-progress here: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/89934-132-yf-23-black-widow-ii/
 

 

Hello,
I have been busy with school and I needed to stop with the HK Lancaster for a while. I had some free time this past week but I did not “feel” any mojo with the Lanc and for that reason I decided for a quick build. My top choice was the New Academy -1Z. 
I will only add the 20mm barrels and seatbelts. 
Modern US military helicopters, except the-64D, utilize the same kind of seatbelts as the ones during WW2 with some minor differences. For that reason I will use WW2 belts for the -1Z
 
Day 1:
The 20mm barrels on the Kit are not very good. They were replaced with the RB ones.

 

 
Day 2:
Not much progress on this day just the first black coat in the cockpit.

 
Today:
Cockpit completion and halves, tail and bits glued together.
 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I am interested in seeing the Revell 262A kit.  I just built the Trumpeter 262 kit and thought it was a good one.  Not great but pretty good.  The main issue I had was getting the nose panel pieces to fit.  The engine nacelles went together well although I elected not to include the engine internals.
 

I started a build group on Facebook to collate the aftermarket options and scratchbuilding here if anyone is interested: https://www.facebook.com/groups/279260363020283/
 

Here are a couple of in progress shots of my 1/48 Sea Fury for the 2019 Airfix Cup at the NSW Scale Model show on 18/19 May 2019 at the Illawarra Sports Stadium. It is posed in flight with an Aerocraft cowling and a set of Propblur blades:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I used MRP paints (Sky and EDSG) for the first time and happy with the result. The pilot is from the spares box (Airfix Hurricane ?) and the gunsight from an Eduard Spitfire Mk. IX kit.
Regards

A bit more progress: finished the main painting of the two Cobras. Sprayed future and the Whiskey and decaled it with decals from Caracal. I thought that this red on grey scheme was looking good. I need to paint the tail of the Zulu Nato black and then future and decals. The Zulu has been a joy to build, great engineering and details. Some pics:




 
More progress soon.
 
Cheers,
 
David
 

Time for an update on the Zulu. After giving a coat of primer, it was time to add the photoetch. I am not a big fan of phototech because I am usually bad at it, but here the pe is a pleasure to work with, it is very thin and conforms well and all the places where the pe goes is recessed so you get a very nice flush finish without much effort. I like it a lot. See for yourself.





 
Cheers,
 
David

My build of the Viper has caught up with the Whiskey. Next step for both is now to fit the canopy and then it will be time for primer. The Viper is a great build. If you take your time, everything fits really well and as many have already remarked the surface details of the Viper are amazing.



 
Cheers,
 
David

An F-22 would be great, unfortunately manufacturers are falling over themselves to provide us with 109’s instead!