Landrotten Highlander

Thank you, not without its challenges for sure.  I have redone the TF30s 4 times and pylons twice.  Both i am settled on results finally.   Hope to get this buttoned up in next few weeks.  Got a Phantom on deck

AIMS 1/32 PR/Tac R Hawker Hurricane build update Hi everyone I have finished the weathering I will do with the airbrush. These poor birds operated in red dust and constant retreat under fire and were a mess which I hope to reflect on my build. Thanks to Robert for the wonderful Rescue Models weathering templates - a real treat to use. Now I must spray everything matt and then can do the oil and pastel weathering plus the final assembly and details. Hope you like.

Managed a bit of progress on this during the last week..
 
 
First pass of chipping and weathering done. I need to tone down the green on the tailplanes.

Was the same paint (Humbrol 30) albeit brushed on as opposed to sprayed on - my mistake.
 
Once my stock is gone I'll be converting onto the MRP version if I can find anyone with it in stock in the UK!
 
 
The Eagle eyed amongst you may also see in the background the initial stages of the other build I have going on - an Airfix 1/24 Bf109E!

I was recently talking to my model building friends (Yes, even I have friends) and the subject of stalled builds came up. Seems the standard procedure they follow is to set the kit aside and work on something different. I, on the other hand, am willing to die on every hill. Problems that come up for me are problems to be overcome. My goal is to finish what’s on the bench come hell or high water, good bad or indifferent. I’m not keen on having a closet full of things I’ll never finish, which brings up to today’s episode.
 
YET ANOTHER SET OF DYI NATIONAL INSIGNIAS!
 
If you recall, I had a problem with Oramask 810 leaving residue on my Microscale clear decal film. I did find a work-around by laying down a coat of flat clear and made decals, but I wasn’t thrilled with that because in doing so the clear film would be thicker with that added coat of flat. Long story short, the vendor suggested Oramask 810S which has a different adhesive and sent me some free sheets of the 810S, so I decided to whip up a fresh set of decals. Let’s walk through the process.
 
Here’s the 810S masks cut and ready for use. I used transfer tape to hold everything together and put the entire mask down in one piece. Notice that each mask’s parts are identified. I’ve always been concerned that very minor tolerance differences by the Cameo could cause fit issues when I tried to fit mask parts back into place. Yea, I’m good at overthinking everything and that’s why everything takes forever around here.

 
Next step was to remove the masks for the Insignia White. Notice how all the pieces are arranged (aww, aint’ it cute) so each goes back where it came from. Right now I’m pumped and confident everything is going to go as planned…. Yea, right!

 
First, I did some Scothbrite mottling with brown. It said “brown” on the bottle and that’s all the I need to know. I’m like that with paint. I also marked one of the wing insignia “fade” to distinguish it from the one that goes on the bottom of the wing which won’t be faded blue.

 
Then, since AK Real Color Insignia White must have been formulated by satan, I added some yellow to MRP white to kinda look like Insignia White and misted several coats to mute the mottling.

 
Then came the inevitable problem. The %$#! 810S mask would not stick to the white! I decided that hitting it with my shoe wouldn’t help, and dying on this hill isn’t how I roll. ARGH!

 
So, back to the Cameo to cut new slugs using the old 810, hoping it wouldn’t leave any residue. Before I tried to fit the 810 slugs into the 810 mask I made it very clear to the “gods that hate me” that I wasn’t about to put up with any of their shenanigans so they bowed to my will. And, as an added bonus I discovered that everything fit with no problem. We on a roll now.

 
Next I laid down a mist coat of blue, because the mottling here was going to be white and the blue made it possible to see where the white was going.

 
Then the white mottling.

 
Then mist coats of Mr Color DIY Insignia Blue, removed the remaining masks and viola! I’m good with this. You will notice the small triangular marks on the fuselage decals. Those are marks that would have aligned with the panel lines on the kit. I originally REALLY wanted to paint the insignias on the model but the confounded 810S material wouldn’t stick to the model! But all that effort is not gone to waste, we’ll see more of those alignment marks later.

 
So now, finally I have all my DYI decals finished (famous last words) and ready to go. I made new wingwalk lines with a very dark gray… I don’t like black, it will look too “fresh” on a weathered model.

 
So after much cursing and gnashing of dentures I’m ready to finish my chipping extravaganza in hopes of finishing this thing before they haul me off to the nursing home.
 
I WILL be back!

Hey all-
not much of an update- been busy with everything BUT modeling..
 
Here is some work with the outstanding Kopecky grills:
Got the left one roughed in-

 
but you can really see the difference the Kopecky parts make from this angle-

 
Also got the gun vent placed. The vent is faired-in with JB Weld, which is the same color as the resin part, so maybe not easy to see. All of the Kopecky stuff fits like a glove if you just take your time.

 
cheers
P

Thanks guys!  Appreciate the check-ins!
 
After the flat coat on the bottom dries, I can remove the tissue paper from the wheel wells.



 
 
The topsides are given a flat coat too.  I'm using Model Master Flat Acryl.











 

The wash is finished.  After a few different experiments, I decided to go with a darker wash color on the lighter RLM 71 Green portions.











 
 
A flat coat on the bottom begins to lock in the final look of the paint scheme plus applied effects including pre-shade and pastel wash.



 

I need to keep my eyes open a bit longer - was readin wine, wine, wine, wine.
Got thirsty and had a cuppa
Nice work by the way

It's now one big chunk ...I don't know if it's me or the model but just not enjoying this one at all . I'll finish it for the GB ...but if it weren't in the GB I'd be SODing .
 
To be fair, stuff I've filled and sanded doesn't look too bad .....it's more the fact I'm having to do it at all on a 5 year old tooled model  ....as you can see plenty more to do . 
 
I'm thinking now the old 1978 tool Revell Typhoon might not be so bad after all  . 
 
Whine whine whine etc .....
 

 

 

I've applied the decals.  Not very many of them... limited to the 410004 code on top of the tail fin (which was custom printed onto Microscale decal paper), the white warning stencils on the red control surface tabs and some other stencils on the tail.  This is based on the notes found on the EagleCal decal sheet which says that stenciling was not apparent, presumably because of the field painted camo. No yellow fuel triangles on the fuselage or dotted white walkway lines but since the tail was presumably left in factory colors, I put stencils there. 
 
I used the kit decals for the white warning stencils but some of the EagleCal stencils were more in-scale than Border's so I used those.





 
 
The small "8" from the EagleCal chevron decal was cut out and applied within the painted chevron.  Size-wise, it looks ok.

 
 
The decals were sealed with a coat of Alclad Aqua Gloss and I moved on to the pastel wash.  My washes are a simple mix of scrapings from a pastel chalk, water and a touch of dishwashing soap.  Very easy, economical and I can create any shade I need.  For the bottom, I used a grey wash.  Here's the starboard wing bottom before the wash.

 
 
The starboard wing bottom after the wash.

 
 
Starboard stabilizer before and after the wash.



 
 
The grey wash is not as contrasty as black or dark brown and highlights the rivets without making them stand out too much.





 
 
The same grey wash was used for the upper surface.  The contrast effect is now the inverse of the bottom... the grey wash is now the lighter color.  I think it works well on the darker RLM 70 Black Green but the contrast is reduced to almost zero compared to the lighter RLM 71 Green.

 

Thanks for the interest gents. I intended to build an F-14D from this kit and was given an old D conversion by a fellow modeler. To do this I has to build the forward wheel bay as the conversion cockpit was not a drop in fit.
 
 

 

 
Time now to de-construct the wheel bay and later in the week onto the cockpit.

 
 
As you can see the Tamiya kit wheel bay is sparsely detailed and many pipes and tubes are not round. To improve the look and make it a bit more interesting I replaced some details. Unfortunately my only reference on this, the Squadron Signal Walk Around only has 4 pages on this, but at least better than nothing. 

 
More next week
Nick

In one of polish forums there is contest which theme is "Africa" so i changed my painting conception and will build Franco Lucchini early series III machine with parts from other plane/planes.



I started to correct Italeri obvious mistakes, Maurizio article is very helpfull. Additionaly i use Kagero Topdrawings. This book is focused on drawings and showing 
manufactring differences beetween series of Macchi.

https://archive.aeroscale.net/review/14521/index.htm

Panel lines which needs to be filled. Early series possibly didn't have gun panels, but I'm not sure.



Other thing is tail working surfaces. I corrected rudder. It has wrong number of ribs and looks very "tooyish". Tamiya thin tape and plastic profile used to fix its poor representation.







I had an idea to paint rivet lines instead of making holes. It was always tiring for me, correcting when line went in wrong direction or crushing plastic by force of pressure.  It is promising.

Progress this morning was pretty decent in my book.  Not done quite yet, but a start.  
 
Base coat of Black Mr. Surfacer 1500, then white shot from above to create some forced shadows.  
 
 
 
A few colors to choose from/mix to get started, and a wet pallet too.
 
 
Starting to block in some color.  
 
 
 
 
I think my technique pretty much obliterated the shadowing from the black and white.  There will be a chance to add them back at the end.  Any feedback is more than welcome.  
 
Thanks for checking in!

After that last picture, all of the masking was removed and the yellow leading edges masked up.  Then the wings were glued on after a few test fits.  No tape needed to hold the wings on, and dihedral is perfect on both sides which is something of a first on my models.
 

 
The fit is very tight and takes a little bit of jiggling to get into place, and the only slight issue was the trailing edge to fuselage joint, perhaps because I may have applied too much pressure to the rear clamp though I did have the clamp spread across the wing and fuselage pieces.  Either way, it's not too bad.  Next job was to assemble and paint the intake at the bottom of the nose.  The area before the intake screen is underside green/gray and the rest is flat aluminium to which I've daubed some extra thin black to highlight the oil cooler screen.  Not sure that it matters as it can't be seen with the intake glued on anyway, but it's there.  You can also see that wing trailing edge to fuselage joint which received a little Mr Surfacer.
 

 
The next pic shows the tail surfaces going on, which did need a little tape to ensure they were even with the wings.  The wing joints on top have been tidied up with a little bit more of Mr Surfacer.  Almost nothing to see here!!
 

 
The tail plane joints did require a couple of coats with Mr Surfacer too, but these have also tidied up very well.  After that, the ailerons and flaps went in and both have some degree of articulation.  This may be one of the few models I have which might be displayed with flaps down.  The rudder also has a degree of free movement, but the elevators do not, courtesy of my following the instructions to build the left side tail plane.  The right side could work, but it's glued to the left elevator too, so NBG here.  Please refer to a previous update as to how I recommend putting the tail surfaces together.
 
The next job was the gunsight and top cover/glareshield at the front of the cockpit.  Here's the gunsight built up using the Eduard etch piece which adds the ring and bead sight to this piece.  The kit does have a ring sight to add, but it looks clumsier and misses out on the bead part.  The pilot's head is protected with a cushion at the back of it, and I painted a light coat of clear green around the reflector glasses to make them stand out a little more when the model is finished.
 

 
Gunsight installed here, plus the pilot's head cushion and etch D/F aerial, with the fore and aft cockpit coamings also painted SG black.
 

 
Here's a few pictures of the model as a whole.  I've screwed it to it's stand and added the drop tank purely for the pictures.
 

 

 

 
Windscreen masked and added.
 

 
And again, with the aerial and the rest of the canopies added, as well as the Master brass pitot.  I'll be using their cannon barrels too when it is time to add them.
 

 
I could build the engine up now, or paint the model now, but not both as I don't have the bench space for that.  I'll have a think about that and you'll see next time which way I've gone.
 
Either way, I could use an answer to the question of what colour to paint the panel between the engine cylinders/exhaust (the panel surrounding the engine mount beneath the guns).  The inside of the engine cowlings are SG black, but I've come across a picture of a Sakae engine which seems to suggest this area should be Aotake.  I'd have thunk it should match the rest of the cowling insides in being SG black, but my knowledge of the Zero is limited.  Help would be appreciated here.
 
 
Cheers,
Michael

Started decals, definitely a rusty skill set I am fighting through 

@mc65 :
 
Hello Paolo and thank you for your message.
It's true that Revell's models aren't very expensive and make it possible to practice at a lower cost in 1/32.
With a few aftermarket sets, the final rendering is very convincing.
I decided to buy Eduard's PE set because it featured the long PE plate behind the pilot seat, and it's a very visible part. What's more, as you can see, the details of the 2 horizontal brackets on either side of the pilot seat, as well as the 2 instrument panels, are particularly detailed, with lots of fine detail.
The Quinta set didn't offer as much detail (judging by the product photos) and that's what made me choose Eduard despite it being made entirely of PE. 
Concerning the position of the 2 instrument panels, you're absolutely right, but the photos I've posted are misleading in that I've positioned these 2 pieces approximately, so as to make a photo where they appear together.
Their shifted positions are well taken into account by Revell.
 
Eduard set :
 

 
 
 
Quinta set :
 

 

 

 
And here's what it looks like on my FW 190 with Eduard:
 

Hey Everyone,
 
I managed to semi successfully paint the tulip nose and tail swastika. I managed to fumble the white borders in some areas, but it wasn’t so bad that I wanted to risk messing it up in attempt to correct mistakes that could be made less obvious under weathering. 
 
With advice from Thunnus, I began by masking for the black, spraying black, masking for white, and spraying white. 
 
 
The Result:
 
 
I corrected some of the white overspray that was present in the black bits, and the missing white bar on the swastika, but noticed some paint peel. I’ll cover these with some silver chipping where appropriate. 
 
Next I’ll paint the tires, gear doors, and exhaust. I’ve began to cement the control surfaces which has been a frustrating lesson in scraping paint from the gluing surfaces. 
 
Thanks for looking and for those in the northern hemisphere, happy fall. 

First step.
Cleaning the big parts.
 
My six years old grandson asked if it can fly.
That made me come up with the idea to maybe put it on a stand with spinning prop.
 
 

So its finished. I made pineapless using brush. Shorty what I did in last steps:
- weathering only in few lines didnt want to rivets be to prominent (using Tamiya XF fast drying enamels)
- chipping using Gun Chrome from Gunze
- glued gun bay cover
- windshield was a nightmare to fit correctly, hours wasted
- flat varnish - Gunze GX 114
- Aber gun barrels used



One thing i noticed is thickness of bottom landing gear in Hasegawa kit what only showes that it is simplified kit comparing to Trumpy.



Ready for inspection link:
https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/98157-trumpeter-p-47d-razorback-pineapple-mary-132/
 

Hi team
 
Well as you know I have been busy (slowly) building my 1/32  RAF Phantom conversion from the Tamiya kit.
 
A company pretty new (to me at least) has been quietly releasing a bunch of beautifully designed and printed Parts for 1/32 Jets.  Anyway on Friday the postman dropped off a box all the way from beautiful Peru with a gorgeous set of Phantom underwing fuel tanks.  Designed as a complete replacement for the Tamiya kit ones.  As with new companies you wonder what their quality is like.  Well, all I can say are these are just amazing and some of the nicest 3D printed parts on the market presently.
 
I must say that I have no financial affiliation or anything with Eduardo from JPSM (sorry I had to shorten it as I didnt want to type that long name again lol) just a VERY happy and impressed customer!  And I thought I must absolutely post here as I know a lot of you guys have Phantoms in your stashes.
 
I'll do a quick mini review and there will be more on my next RAF Phantom build update.
 
So this is the product item


 
There is the Tamiya part I was about to start detailing....

 
And here are the contents of the box

Notice the little jig in the foreground for setting up the correct position for redrilling the holes to mount the tanks in the correct position, and thos pale circular items are apparently to ensure perfect alignment of the end caps.
 
Look at this detail....excuse my crappy pics

 

 

 

 
Nose cone (perfect shape and contour......just needs a few dings and dents added LOL)

 
And finally end caps with rear part of pylon

 
There is a separate fuel filler cap that drops in as well.
 
Anyway, I am super impressed and just wanted to post this as a public service announcement.  Actually I think whilst I type this Eduardo is a member here...
@Jet Passion
There we go...found him!
 
Thanks Eduardo...I hope you sell lots and bring us some more amazing products!
 
Well look out for them on my RAF Phantom build, I think the tanks are a super iconic and extremely visible on the Phantom, (whatever version) and will really add a lot to the look of your finished build as they are just so prominent
 
Cheers Anthony
 

Hi chaps!
 
quick summary of this weekend progress on the P-40.
I have made the missing items, nothing really complicated here but it would have been better to not forget at first place 
 
 
Anyway, I was in the mood for a change from styren and blades so I got the airbrush off the mess it was in... and applied a few layers of paint:
 aluminium / airspray / flat black / cockpit green / water / chipping / clear 
 
If you ask me, I would say it is a bit on the heavy side but I want to belive it will tone down when weatehring will be applied 
 
 
 
It is not perfect but this build of mine have gone further than any other within the last decade so I must to be "forgiving" with myself so I do not loose the momentum 
Please feel free to comment and thank for your interrest.
Cheers!

AIMS 1/32 PR/Tac R Hawker Hurricane build update The rivets catch the light well under a coat of dark glossy blue. i am happy with the look but not looking forward to the problem of bedding down the wing roundels without creases everywhere. I will need to shepherd the decals all the way to drying time I think. If you are doing these rivets on your own build paint masks for the roundels would be better!   A few hours latter..........   Decals are on - not many of them - just the insignia and I put just the oil tank Revell stencil on - you can hardly see the black against the dark blue just like in the photos. I am not an authority on the real 'Bonson Blue' and please take what I have done with a pinch of salt but I simply opted to use the darkest blue I had available which happened to be an unopened tin of Xtracolor X121 FS15042 'Gloss sea Blue' with a few drops of a crimson colour - in this case - again just what I had - Humbrol Gloss 20. Mixed with 30% white spirit in an empty glass jar I got one of the shiniest finishes of my life but it has been so long that i used Xtracolor enamel for a whole model that it was strange leaving it for day before turning over to do the other side and then days after that hardening. As for the decals well the rivets are a real problem here - not as i feared due to creases as if you press own with a soft cloth immediately and get them bedded down the decal solution does not start to crease them - you can then spray a little more solution on later! Anyway the big problem is that it is just impossible to slide the upper and lower wing roundels into position and I had to remove everyone once more and more accurately apply following the photo of the machine. It was a hairy experience but I managed it. Paint masks would be less stressful. As for the upper roundel overlapping the aileron - this was against regulations as it then required the aileron to be re-balanced so I carefully removed the overlapping decal segment. It might well have been applied against reg's but we will never know. Hope you like so far

Primer on. Apart from a short section of split joint seam on the spine just forward of the fin and some minor ventral tank blemish rectification, it is looking pretty good so far.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Derek

Ok, a serious update regarding the figure.  The ReedOak offering is incredible.  I've never worked with figures outside of whatever showed up in the box in the past.  The amount of detail that 3D printing can bring to our benches is something else.  In the photos below, the supports were simply trimmed away with a sprue nipper and still required clean-up before priming.  Initially, an attempt was made to saw away the main supports from the printing base, but even the finest tooth saw would move them enough to break them from the figure.  Some of the supports were full width, to hold the figure securely, while others seemed to separate with very little effort.  
 

 

 

 
 
The fit to the Tamiya cockpit is perfect.  The lap belts meet right at the side of the seat cushion and even with the side of the seat.  The other figure that was in the kit is much shorter than this one, and looks undersized when compared side by side.  
 

 

 

 

 
 
I knew that this resin was very brittle, but wasn't quite prepared for just how brittle. The G-suit hose snapped off before I got to the printing supports.  Not an issue here as it would not be visible in the end, and making the hole in the instrument panel to accommodate it while sliding the seat in would be problematic at best.  Many of the supports shot across the room when cut free from either the base or pilot, so wearing safety glasses of some sort is a must - at least for me.  
 
Certainly, this will take some time to hand paint, and not having any experience with figure painting it will undoubtedly test my skills.   - did you see the watch on this dude?
 
Thanks for checking in.

A decision will be made . . . . 
 
 
 
 
Thanks for checking in!