jcfay

Hey there - I have one of the smaller hold n folds and it works just fine. But I would also recommend one of these (which I picked up at Great Models, I think), as I use it far more often: My thing with the hold n fold, etch mate, etc., is that it really takes much longer to get the PE part aligned in the hold n fold compared to any sort of hand-held tool (be it the above or some pliers, etc.). I just end up using the hand-held thing much more frequently, as it's faster and easier. But sometimes I'll still use the hold n fold. Enjoy the PE! It's fun and pretty easy to use too, in my experience - JON P.S. I definitely use a couple of other things, too, including the clear plexiglass holder/handle thing that came with the hold n fold, and also the small sheets of acrylic plastic (although plexi or glass would also work) to cut the PE on. These are really valuable.

Guys - thanks very much for all of the compliments. It's appreciated. It was great to see Jamie's Stuka too; what a fabulous piece of work that is! Sean - the painting process on this took a whole number of steps, definitely far more than what I usually do on a build (due to the distemper). I didn't chronicle it in a thread (I'll be better about this in the future...) so here is what it was: 1) Primer, and then preshaded panels lines with black 2) Painted select spots (areas that could be prone to more wear) with Alclad aluminum 3) Added table salt with water to these spots, and let dry 4) Painted the standard RLM 65/70/71 camo, let dry, and then removed the salt exposing the metal areas 5) Gloss coat with future 6) Decals 7) More future 8) Weathered with artist's oils 9) Yes, more future 10) applied bluetac masks over the upper surface insignias and markings 11) Sprayed a highly thinned flat white mix over upper surfaces, unevenly and with varying patterns; removed masks 12) After drying, took paper towel with a bit of thinner to surfaces to remove some of the distemper, and further streak it 13) you guess it, more future! 14) weathered with artists oils, and applied tamiya smoke and a small bit of grey for exhaust stains 15) more future, with a bit of tamiya flat base in it for flat finish I think with all of the wait times between coats for drying this took me the better part of a month and a half or longer, but I think it turned out well. It looked like these sorts of Stukas were already pretty dirty even before the white wash was applied, so I wanted to do that too. The table salt/flaked metal thing also worked out pretty well too, but most of that is mostly hidden. Altogether I was going for many different layers. Thanks again, JON

Matt - great work. It looks awesome, overall, very nice detail and painting. Those MDC sidewalls are really, really nice too. Keep the pics coming please! JON

Here's the guns. The include a bunch of Eduard details as well as scratch-built piping and tubes. And of course then they're weathered pretty heavily too... And, just one quick shot of part of my inspiration for this thing. A pic of a super-dirty stuka: Thanks for looking, JON

Alright, here's some more. Pics of the cockpit: This shot shows the high-quality Hasegawa canopy, and the great canopy interior decals, as well (mixed with some paint, of course): A good view of the instrument panel and radios: Some more sidewall detail through the excellent transparencies: Some shots of the underside. Also visible is the Eduard radiator replacement details: More Eduard detail: Next will be the guns...

Howdy folks - well, I've finally finished this 1/32 Hasegawa Stuka G2, with Eduard's interior/exterior PE sets, Voyager model's metal barrels, and an Eaglecal decal set. This was Hans Ulrich Rudel's bird, but I decided to put it in winter distemper as well (I didn't find any pics of this specific aircraft in distemper so I took a bit of liberty here). Looking at some pics of winterized Stukas (super dirty, of course) towards the end of the war I couldn't resist the chance to weather to the extreme. The original build article started some months back (here's the original post: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=20706) as part of the "Wings of the Luftwaffe" group build (also with a resin engine, which I abandoned since crafting replacement cowling panels was going to be such a bear). Couldn't make the deadline but at least it's finished! Hope you like it. It sure was a fun and time-absorbing build. Full view: Some views closer in of the weathering on the beast. The whole process took a very long time: More pics to come...

Jamie - great build! I love the Stuka in winter distemper (I actually just finished mine in a similar winter scheme - I think there's something about the Stuka in winter colors that just captures my attention and interest). Your work is really flawless on this one. I would love to see more pics too! JON

Great work. Keep the pics coming please! Jon

Barry - FANTASTIC work. Welcome to the site and please keep the posts coming. Really amazing the level of detail that you're adding, and the clarity of detail too. Thanks for sharing! Jon

I'm with you James. I think that's probably the route that I would take. Although instead I might actually tape off the framing now, then take the scalpel to the bleed over, then spray future on the whole thing (with the mask still in place). Just a thought, however. Jon

Well, as some follow-up, I did end up applying the decals as I think that they will look better (and also there is as was pointed out a considerable amount of internal only framing) and thanks to everyone's really helpful advice. But horror of horrors the decals couldn't have been a worse fit, actually. They were all too long or too wide, but at least they weren't too short so it should still come out o.k. But I was a little surprised that the Hasegawa decals from this kit that is otherwise totally excellent would be so mis-shapen. In general, I thought Hasegawa's kits had pretty decent decals... Thanks again folks - JON

Thanks very much guys for the input - it's helpful. I definitely wasn't considering masking and spraying the inside, although as you point out it can be an option. I think what I was worried about was applying the decals and having them not look to scale, as sometimes the cockpit plastic can distort the perception of scale (unlike the real cockpit glass) and make framing that is actually inside look warped and bizarre. The Hasegawa canopy plastic, however, looks pretty good, thin and clear, so I think that this distortion probably wouldn't be an issue. Also, part of the glass has to be painted anyway, but for some reason Hasegawa calls for this interior portion of the glass to be painted flat black when the cockpit is RLM 66. It also looks like the internal canopy decals are also black, at least some of them and then others look like RLM 66 (although it's a bit hard to tell). So it may be, in fact, that some of the internal canopy framing should be black, and some should be 66 (references don't address this). So I think I'm going to go with the decals. Thanks again, JON

With the current exchange rates that's like $400 US... Maybe someone has the title out there. JON

Hi folks - the 1/32 Hasegawa stuka I'm working on gives the option of canopy frame decals for the interior (and the exterior, as well). Generally, I do like most and mask the canopy, spray the interior color, and then spray the exterior color over top. I'm certianly going to spray the exterior color on the canopy (so I'll be masking it anyway with Eduard's great masking set), but wondered what folks thought about the relative appearance of interior canopy decals. Do they look good or better than a sprayed canopy? They must be a darn pain to apply, too. Thoughts? Thanks (as always) - JON

Dave - thanks, that is helpful, actually. I looked it up and it is No. 5, I guess. I wasn't familiar with that series, but it looks pretty good, eh? Any out there have it? I think they're are a couple available on-line but for $$$$ (or pounds, euros, etc.). Thanks again! JON

Hi folks - I'm looking for images of Stuka engine cowling panels, removed, and the interior if available (long shot, I know...). Specifically I'm looking for images of the D or G series aircraft, but the A&B series might also be of some use. I'm scratchbuilding the interior of these and might end up casting them, so I'm looking to find detailed pics. I have the images from the Squadron Stuka in action, the Luftwaffe Colours Vol. 2 on the Stuka, a Bora press book on the B/R variants, and the Aero detail shots from the Battle of Britain museum. Thanks for any and all help! JON

Texas - you might also want to consider 1:35 items, as well. I just purchased a whole bunch of stuff, actually, and there is far more available in 1:35 that you could use. Since it's close enough to 1:32 the scale difference shouldn't be even noticeable. I was able to find figures (pilots, mechanics, and other soldiers), equipment (medical supplies, oil drums/cans, crates, etc.), and other machinery (oil cart, farmer's cart) at both sprue bros. & great models (although I prefer the former there was more of this category available through GM). HTH - JON

Crash - great builds! The level of detail and weathering is great, and really looks amazing. And do post at both places, as it's nice to have the large scale stuff all in one place. Keep the pics coming! JON

Alright folks, time for another update. I've been doing work on the Stuka, but also doing some research on molding/casting parts in resin, finally setting up a halfway decent photo setup, and of course life's other requirements. But finally I've been able to put together an update. First off, as far as the cannon are concerned for this beast I could no longer resist and I had to order the cool (and darn expensive) barrels from Voyager. At $25 they are pricey, but they look so darn good that I had to finally succumb to them: Then, I continued to think about how I was going to display the open engine, and how I was going to fashion the cowling panels. The kit parts were hacked into pieces, a whole bunch of pieces actually: These are now in the process of being built up, modified, and detailed on both sides as I think I'm going to bite the bullet and try and cast them in resin. I want them to be thin, well-detailed, and resin seemed the appropriate way to go. Of course, this required learning about making molds and casting, so we'll see how it turns out. I had considered trying to do the parts in metal, but after collecting some sheet aluminum, brass, and lead I realized that resin casting was probably going to be easier and also allow further detail than these other mediums. So we'll see how it turns out... Some of the photoetch in the Eduard set was added and cleaned up after mounting. This included the cannon mounts as well as parts for the underwing radiators, all of which don't look like much now but after painting and detailing should turn out pretty nice: Also, I modified the horizontal stabs as the kit part is incorrect as a single piece, rather than a separate flap/counterbalance piece and the rest of the stab: I also mounted the wheel spats, and this bird is getting bigger every day! She really is pretty substantial, especially with the longer wingspan of the G-2: Finally, with the new photo setup (basically I purchased a couple of pieces of sky blue poster board, a couple of reflector work lights, and finally dug out the tripod that I had in a box somewhere), I took some pics of the cockpit and work that had already taken place. I think the pics look better, as my shaky hands always made picture taking a real challenge... Next, I'm going to repaint the firewall, mount the engine and radiators, and start some painting in addition to working on the cowling panels. Time is running out! Thanks for looking - JON

Kev - thanks. You know, I really haven't worked that much with acrylics. I think I just got comfortable with enamels first, and ended up then using them as my standard operating plan. But I think that using them would allow a little more flexibility as far as this sort of thing goes, so I might give it a try. Otherwise, I'm hoping that because I'd only be applying the mineral spirits in small spots and for a short period of time, that they wouldn't damage the Alclad. I also figured that since the Alclad is a lacquer-based formula (at least that's what I think it is...) that it wouldn't be affected by the mineral spirits. Thanks again! JON

Hi folks - quick question. I want to try a peeled paint technique, by first laying down some Alclad II, then covering with my enamels, and then laying down a bit of mineral spirits on some of the enamels, apply a bit of tape, and peel up some of the enamel exposing some of the Alclad. I don't think that a light application of mineral spirits should attack the Alclad underneath, but wanted to double-check first. Anyone have any experience with this? I think it should turn out pretty well if it works. Thanks (as always), JON

You're trying to improve? It looks awesome. I'm also trying to improve my photography, but yours is looking excellent. Nice photo setup - what is it BTW? And the build itself is really looking great. Fantastic job on the pit, great painting and weathering, and it looks fantastic. JON

No comment... Actually, I guess they're really "large scale" jugs, to be accurate... Christian - yup, kristal klear does look like that before drying, and then after an hour or so it becomes, well, um, crystal clear. Great looking jug so far. Thanks for sharing! JON

Matt - howdy and welcome aboard. Your work looks great and thanks for contributing. Keep the posts coming! JON

Russ - she's looking great! It's fantastic when the bird starts to really come together too, and you're definitely at that point. Once you put on the 37mm (if you do decide to do so) it's really gonna look great. I know very well what you mean about detours, as they can happen frequently and lead to re-planning, changes, modifications, etc. But that's some of the fun, eh? Keep up the great work and keep the posts coming - you don't need sleep anyway... JON