ChuckD

I have done one HKM B-17, but it got shelved for about a year as the shape of the nose and tail really bothered me.  If Aska or whatever Border's calling themselves this week can deliver a well-done B-17 in 1/35, you could probably count me in.

Hello, all.  I'm back with another update.  It is with great pleasure that I inform you, the figures are done.  I make no pretenses to be an expert figure painter and certainly not anything like an expert sculptor.  But, every figure is practice and I'm fairly happy with how these two turned out.  I definitely see some things I would have sculpted differently, but those are all lessons to apply to the next project. 
 
Anyway, here a few shots.
 
The scene is starting to come together!

 





 
The crew chief...

 
... who started life as this:







 
And, our intrepid pilot.



 
Remember, this is what he looked like before:

 
Yeah, now on to the final stage: the Corsair herself!

Man, I feel for ya.  Another Revell Mustang makes a final approach to the garbage bin.  It's a shame, really.  The interior is great, but the exterior is an utter trainwreck.  The only reason I kept mine around so long is because I was so happy with how the cockpit looked.  But I just couldn't overcome the fit of *everything else.*
 
Every single panel and part you struggled with fought me tooth and nail too, so to the trash it went.  Life's too short to build crappy kits.
 

Hello, all.  I'm back with another update.  It is with great pleasure that I inform you, the figures are done.  I make no pretenses to be an expert figure painter and certainly not anything like an expert sculptor.  But, every figure is practice and I'm fairly happy with how these two turned out.  I definitely see some things I would have sculpted differently, but those are all lessons to apply to the next project. 
 
Anyway, here a few shots.
 
The scene is starting to come together!

 





 
The crew chief...

 
... who started life as this:







 
And, our intrepid pilot.



 
Remember, this is what he looked like before:

 
Yeah, now on to the final stage: the Corsair herself!

Hello, all.  I'm back with another update.  It is with great pleasure that I inform you, the figures are done.  I make no pretenses to be an expert figure painter and certainly not anything like an expert sculptor.  But, every figure is practice and I'm fairly happy with how these two turned out.  I definitely see some things I would have sculpted differently, but those are all lessons to apply to the next project. 
 
Anyway, here a few shots.
 
The scene is starting to come together!

 





 
The crew chief...

 
... who started life as this:







 
And, our intrepid pilot.



 
Remember, this is what he looked like before:

 
Yeah, now on to the final stage: the Corsair herself!

Hello, all.  I'm back with another update.  It is with great pleasure that I inform you, the figures are done.  I make no pretenses to be an expert figure painter and certainly not anything like an expert sculptor.  But, every figure is practice and I'm fairly happy with how these two turned out.  I definitely see some things I would have sculpted differently, but those are all lessons to apply to the next project. 
 
Anyway, here a few shots.
 
The scene is starting to come together!

 





 
The crew chief...

 
... who started life as this:







 
And, our intrepid pilot.



 
Remember, this is what he looked like before:

 
Yeah, now on to the final stage: the Corsair herself!

Hello, all.  I'm back with another update.  It is with great pleasure that I inform you, the figures are done.  I make no pretenses to be an expert figure painter and certainly not anything like an expert sculptor.  But, every figure is practice and I'm fairly happy with how these two turned out.  I definitely see some things I would have sculpted differently, but those are all lessons to apply to the next project. 
 
Anyway, here a few shots.
 
The scene is starting to come together!

 





 
The crew chief...

 
... who started life as this:







 
And, our intrepid pilot.



 
Remember, this is what he looked like before:

 
Yeah, now on to the final stage: the Corsair herself!

Hello, all.  I'm back with another update.  It is with great pleasure that I inform you, the figures are done.  I make no pretenses to be an expert figure painter and certainly not anything like an expert sculptor.  But, every figure is practice and I'm fairly happy with how these two turned out.  I definitely see some things I would have sculpted differently, but those are all lessons to apply to the next project. 
 
Anyway, here a few shots.
 
The scene is starting to come together!

 





 
The crew chief...

 
... who started life as this:







 
And, our intrepid pilot.



 
Remember, this is what he looked like before:

 
Yeah, now on to the final stage: the Corsair herself!

Hello, all.  I'm back with another update.  It is with great pleasure that I inform you, the figures are done.  I make no pretenses to be an expert figure painter and certainly not anything like an expert sculptor.  But, every figure is practice and I'm fairly happy with how these two turned out.  I definitely see some things I would have sculpted differently, but those are all lessons to apply to the next project. 
 
Anyway, here a few shots.
 
The scene is starting to come together!

 





 
The crew chief...

 
... who started life as this:







 
And, our intrepid pilot.



 
Remember, this is what he looked like before:

 
Yeah, now on to the final stage: the Corsair herself!

Thank you.  I more or less followed Luke Towan's tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSKG9rcb_Y4 
 
I varied in that I wrapped the trunks in layers of 1.5" wide masking tape to help give them texture and strength.  This is a much larger scale than what Luke works in, so I had to add some heft to them.  Cutting the fronds was the most annoying part.  To get them to come cleanly off the cutting mat, I had to set them to run suuuuuuuuuuper slow and do 2 passes through the cutter.  A set of 12 fronds - all that would fit on one sheet of paper - took 65 minutes.  Each tree has 38 fronds, so you do the math.  That was just to cut them, then I still had to super glue a wire to the back of them and paint them.  They turned out really really nice and I'm very happy with them, but I shan't be doing another one again for some time if I can help it.
 
Interestingly, whatever materials Luke uses behaved the opposite of mine.  He put a sheet of laminate on a sheet of paper then ran it through his cutter.  I used oramask 813 on a sheet of paper.  He then glued the stem to the laminate as he specifically said the leaves would bend towards the laminate side over time.  On the first, taller tree, that's what I did, but my leaves bent towards the paper, so that tree has leaves that are bent upwards from the stem.  On the second, shorter tree, I glued the stem to the paper side and got the result I was after.  They both look great, and I think it adds a little visual interest anyway, so whatever.  Lesson learned.
 
Anyway...
 
Today was a good, long day at the bench.  I bopped back and forth between working on the figures and the base.  The figures are still very much a work in progress (only the flesh tones are done), but the base is finished!
 
Though not present in the photos, I added a little grass for visual interest.  I did it in such a way that maybe the SeaBees missed a swatch or two as they were grading the runways and taxiways.  I don't intend to glue down the Corsair so that I can use this base for as a photo base for any single engine engine Pacific warrior.  Yes, I've tried squeezing the A-20G and Lightning in... they fit, but only just barely.
 
Anyway, here you go.





 
And a couple placeholders...



 
If all goes well, I should be able to finish up the figures this week and turn my attention to the Corsair proper next weekend. 

Yep.  The spine under the tail (in green below) is perfectly straight from the radio compartment to the tail gunner's position.  On the HKM kit, there's a very subtle curve.  It's not much, but it's noticeable once you see it.

 
 

Yep.  The spine under the tail (in green below) is perfectly straight from the radio compartment to the tail gunner's position.  On the HKM kit, there's a very subtle curve.  It's not much, but it's noticeable once you see it.

 
 

Hello, all.  I'm back with another update.  It is with great pleasure that I inform you, the figures are done.  I make no pretenses to be an expert figure painter and certainly not anything like an expert sculptor.  But, every figure is practice and I'm fairly happy with how these two turned out.  I definitely see some things I would have sculpted differently, but those are all lessons to apply to the next project. 
 
Anyway, here a few shots.
 
The scene is starting to come together!

 





 
The crew chief...

 
... who started life as this:







 
And, our intrepid pilot.



 
Remember, this is what he looked like before:

 
Yeah, now on to the final stage: the Corsair herself!

Thank you.  I more or less followed Luke Towan's tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSKG9rcb_Y4 
 
I varied in that I wrapped the trunks in layers of 1.5" wide masking tape to help give them texture and strength.  This is a much larger scale than what Luke works in, so I had to add some heft to them.  Cutting the fronds was the most annoying part.  To get them to come cleanly off the cutting mat, I had to set them to run suuuuuuuuuuper slow and do 2 passes through the cutter.  A set of 12 fronds - all that would fit on one sheet of paper - took 65 minutes.  Each tree has 38 fronds, so you do the math.  That was just to cut them, then I still had to super glue a wire to the back of them and paint them.  They turned out really really nice and I'm very happy with them, but I shan't be doing another one again for some time if I can help it.
 
Interestingly, whatever materials Luke uses behaved the opposite of mine.  He put a sheet of laminate on a sheet of paper then ran it through his cutter.  I used oramask 813 on a sheet of paper.  He then glued the stem to the laminate as he specifically said the leaves would bend towards the laminate side over time.  On the first, taller tree, that's what I did, but my leaves bent towards the paper, so that tree has leaves that are bent upwards from the stem.  On the second, shorter tree, I glued the stem to the paper side and got the result I was after.  They both look great, and I think it adds a little visual interest anyway, so whatever.  Lesson learned.
 
Anyway...
 
Today was a good, long day at the bench.  I bopped back and forth between working on the figures and the base.  The figures are still very much a work in progress (only the flesh tones are done), but the base is finished!
 
Though not present in the photos, I added a little grass for visual interest.  I did it in such a way that maybe the SeaBees missed a swatch or two as they were grading the runways and taxiways.  I don't intend to glue down the Corsair so that I can use this base for as a photo base for any single engine engine Pacific warrior.  Yes, I've tried squeezing the A-20G and Lightning in... they fit, but only just barely.
 
Anyway, here you go.





 
And a couple placeholders...



 
If all goes well, I should be able to finish up the figures this week and turn my attention to the Corsair proper next weekend. 

Let's be honest here, after the holidays that forearm (and everything it's attached to) is a little over scale. 

Hello, all.  I'm back with another update.  It is with great pleasure that I inform you, the figures are done.  I make no pretenses to be an expert figure painter and certainly not anything like an expert sculptor.  But, every figure is practice and I'm fairly happy with how these two turned out.  I definitely see some things I would have sculpted differently, but those are all lessons to apply to the next project. 
 
Anyway, here a few shots.
 
The scene is starting to come together!

 





 
The crew chief...

 
... who started life as this:







 
And, our intrepid pilot.



 
Remember, this is what he looked like before:

 
Yeah, now on to the final stage: the Corsair herself!

Yep.  The spine under the tail (in green below) is perfectly straight from the radio compartment to the tail gunner's position.  On the HKM kit, there's a very subtle curve.  It's not much, but it's noticeable once you see it.

 
 

I keep seeing this thread title and thinking, "why the hell are the guys getting so excited about a golf tournament?"
 
Then I remember.
 
Every time.

If you're not dead set on 1/32 for jets, the Tamiya F-14 is one of the most enjoyable builds I've ever done.  I don't much care for jets, but I had to build the iconic Tomcat, and 1/48th is a far more manageable scale for jets. 

Man, I feel for ya.  Another Revell Mustang makes a final approach to the garbage bin.  It's a shame, really.  The interior is great, but the exterior is an utter trainwreck.  The only reason I kept mine around so long is because I was so happy with how the cockpit looked.  But I just couldn't overcome the fit of *everything else.*
 
Every single panel and part you struggled with fought me tooth and nail too, so to the trash it went.  Life's too short to build crappy kits.
 

Thank you.  I more or less followed Luke Towan's tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSKG9rcb_Y4 
 
I varied in that I wrapped the trunks in layers of 1.5" wide masking tape to help give them texture and strength.  This is a much larger scale than what Luke works in, so I had to add some heft to them.  Cutting the fronds was the most annoying part.  To get them to come cleanly off the cutting mat, I had to set them to run suuuuuuuuuuper slow and do 2 passes through the cutter.  A set of 12 fronds - all that would fit on one sheet of paper - took 65 minutes.  Each tree has 38 fronds, so you do the math.  That was just to cut them, then I still had to super glue a wire to the back of them and paint them.  They turned out really really nice and I'm very happy with them, but I shan't be doing another one again for some time if I can help it.
 
Interestingly, whatever materials Luke uses behaved the opposite of mine.  He put a sheet of laminate on a sheet of paper then ran it through his cutter.  I used oramask 813 on a sheet of paper.  He then glued the stem to the laminate as he specifically said the leaves would bend towards the laminate side over time.  On the first, taller tree, that's what I did, but my leaves bent towards the paper, so that tree has leaves that are bent upwards from the stem.  On the second, shorter tree, I glued the stem to the paper side and got the result I was after.  They both look great, and I think it adds a little visual interest anyway, so whatever.  Lesson learned.
 
Anyway...
 
Today was a good, long day at the bench.  I bopped back and forth between working on the figures and the base.  The figures are still very much a work in progress (only the flesh tones are done), but the base is finished!
 
Though not present in the photos, I added a little grass for visual interest.  I did it in such a way that maybe the SeaBees missed a swatch or two as they were grading the runways and taxiways.  I don't intend to glue down the Corsair so that I can use this base for as a photo base for any single engine engine Pacific warrior.  Yes, I've tried squeezing the A-20G and Lightning in... they fit, but only just barely.
 
Anyway, here you go.





 
And a couple placeholders...



 
If all goes well, I should be able to finish up the figures this week and turn my attention to the Corsair proper next weekend. 

Hello, everyone.  If you've been following along the build thread, you're well aware that I was nearing the finish line on Hong Kong Models' new A-20G Havoc kit after starting it the day it arrived in June.  If you haven't been following the build thread, but want a painfully verbose treatise on the inner workings of this brand new kit, feel free to dive into it and its ~350 photos.  If you'd just like to see the photos, here's the gallery.
 
Anyhoo, as I've stated in a number of other threads, I'm fascinated by the SW Pacific campaigns in the early-mid war years.  I'm also a fan of big twins in attack configurations.  Thus, when I heard that HKM was coming out with an all new A-20G Havoc in gunship configuration, I was excited to say the least.  Unfortunately for me, their boxing was strictly marked and built for the European theater.  Not to be deterred, I decided to embark on a bit of a journey.  For this build, I'd be doing several firsts.  To make a Pacific bird, I'd have to scratch build wing bomb racks and teach myself the art of printing my own decals.  I'd also push the idea of masking farther than I had ever done before, so that was fun too.
 
In the end, I'm very happy with the results and they feel pretty close to the original.  The photos turned out a little weird, unfortunately; I suspect that's due to my camera trying to compensate for the failing evening light.  So, things like the speckling on the nacelles and the dust pigments on the wings are much more pronounced than they are in real life.  I found a few close up pictures of A-20s with extensive oil spatter all along their fuselage and nacelles aft of the engine, so that was the inspiration there.
 
Anyway, here's "STINKY" of the 3rd BG, 12th BS in New Guinea.  According to Michael Claringbould in Pacific Profiles vol. 3, this aircraft survived hostilities and was scrapped in situ after the war.  The photo below is one of two taken of her supposedly while she was in Sydney, Australia.
 

































 
The squadron insignia and serial number were the first decals I ever printed for myself.  The nose art was done with a mask.  I painted the dark drop shadow, then moved the mask to the 10 o'clock position and painted the yellow.  Turned out pretty sharp.    





















 
For grins, I got my SW Pacific fleet out for a photo op, largely because I wanted to see exactly how the B-25 and A-20 compare in size.  




 
 

I keep seeing this thread title and thinking, "why the hell are the guys getting so excited about a golf tournament?"
 
Then I remember.
 
Every time.

I keep seeing this thread title and thinking, "why the hell are the guys getting so excited about a golf tournament?"
 
Then I remember.
 
Every time.

I keep seeing this thread title and thinking, "why the hell are the guys getting so excited about a golf tournament?"
 
Then I remember.
 
Every time.