scvrobeson

Thanks man! I thought about the Airscale decals, but you really can't see much of the IP in there, it's buried in the fuselage, and in 1/72, the piece is so tiny anyway. I've got it together now, and it's just attaching the glass, then I can start painting it. Matt

Hey everybody. I recently received this kit for my birthday, and got a start on it today. It looks like a pretty nice kit, of a very odd subject. Apparently this was supposed to be a new Soviet attack bomber, but the first prototype was severely underpowered. So they decided to bolt another engine on the front, and turn the S-1 into the S-2, using the two engines to drive a big contra-rotating propellor. It was a good idea, but never went into production. I think it's a great looking plane, and wouldn't mind seeing one in 1/32.... The box art shows the prototype, in a nice light grey, with no markings on it. Sprayed the interior Alclad Duraluminum, since I can't find any references, and it's what the instructions said to paint it. You can kind of see the detail in the cockpit, but it's really great in real life. Whoever did the masters really cared about this plane, and making the model look right. And some more interior stuff, the radio racks and instrument panel. There are no decals for the instruments, but I think it'll look okay with what I painted on. The detail on the radio racks though is great, especially since those will be out on display in the cockpit. There's a lot of glass, so the interior will be very visible. That's all for now. I hope to get some more work done on this over these next four days, since I'm on Thanksgiving break from school. Thanks to everyone for reading in, I hope this build comes out okay. Matt

Hey Harv. Sorry, I haven't heard anything about the Stockton show yet, although it'll probably be in March or February like last year. Once I find out anything, I'll be sure to let you know. About the legs, they are still on the agenda for winter break, once I have a month to just build. I do promise to get them done, but it's just taking time, sorry. Hey everyone, I've got a tiny update here. I went and Futured the canopy today, got it nice and clear. The Future looks great, and now I can mask it up for the silver. I think I'm going to try making the de-froster by masking it from the outside, and spraying it on. It might work, it might now. Won't know until I try it. The Future really made the clear parts shine, and really made them clear. You can see everything through them now. I hope you all like it. Hopefully should be done soon, all that's left is the canopy and landing gear, and the Shooting Star is all done! Thanks for reading in guys, and all comments are welcomed. Matt

Thanks Peter! The secret is, it's not fully flat coat, it's actually a mix of 50/50 semi-gloss and flat clear, from Model Master. That flattens the finish down, but doesn't remove the metallic sheen from the paint. I'm glad you like it. Now I just need to make sure I don't screw up the landing gear or canopy, and this thing will be all done and on the shelf! Hope to see some work on your Panther soon, such a cool build Matt

Thanks Christian! Just need to fix that area between the nose wheel bay and main wheel bay, AGAIN, to make sure it's smooth. It always looks fine till the Alclad dries, then the problems show up. But this last coat of Mr. Surfacer 1200 should finally fix the problem. I'm glad you like the wheel bay, most of it is fully artistic license, just to look like what's in there, and the heavy weathering seems fitting with the outside of the plane looking so dirty. Hope to see more updates on your build too. Matt

Thanks Kevin! I'm glad you like it. I'm really enjoying this build, it's been a lot of fun. I think I might add a few more oil streaks on the bottom, but I'm undecided right now. Matt

Thanks Jason! The wheel bay set is really nice, and I think it might be a required update for the Shooting Star. There is just so much more detail in the resin then there is on the kit parts. The Avionix cockpit is nice, but I'm not so sure if it's required, since so little can be seen in there, but the seat is a nice upgrade. Thanks man, I hope to get this build done soon and on the shelf. Matt

Christian, this build is looking awesome!!!!!!! The interior is going together so well man, your scratch-building is really first-rate. Can't wait to see what you do next. I'll be sure to send you those pictures man to help out any way that I can. Keep up the great work man. This build is going to be huge when you get done. Matt

Hey everyone. it looks like the main work on the F-80is now done. I got the oil washes done today, and gave it an overall flat coat, as usual with Model Master Flat Clear lacquer. It's a flat color, but still retains enough of a sheen to look metallic. The oil washes were all done with Mig oils, thinned with mineral spirits. I used both the black, and the dark rust, to provide a dark, oily shade to the wash. After that, I went back and added some streaking using dots of the black oil paint, to look like fluid leaks, and accumulated grime along the airstream. Once that all had a chance to set up, it was clear coated, and it's another step closer to being done!!!! I've seen this staining on every F-80 picture I have, so I went back through and added it with some oil paint, to look like the grime and smoke that seems to leak out of that vent. I hope you can see all of the oil effects I've added onto the build, I think it looks pretty good. Not too stark, but not so subtle you can't see it. Thanks to everyone for reading in on this build, I hope you're all enjoying it. The next step will be preparing the tip tanks, and the landing gear. Those are really the last steps until this build is done! Thanks guys. Hope to be back soon with more progress. Thanks for reading, all comments and critiques are encouraged. Matt

Thanks Peter! I'm pretty swamped too, not sure how I've found time for modeling, should have much more time in about a month. I might do the Demon next, or scale it down and do one of the 1/72 projects OOB just as a break between big projects. I've got some more progress on the Shooting Star. I've finished up the decaling, and taken one small step backwards. The decal process was a dream, the Aeromaster markings were amazing. Just settled right now into the recessed detail, and the entire carrier film vanished without a trace. Truly great work from them. But the step backwards was I finally broke down and re-filled the part between the intakes and nose wheel well. Just added some Mr. Surfacer 500 to it, and I'll sand it tomorrow. Just need to finally get that part smoothed out if I ever want this build perfect. Hope to finally get that seam smoothed in, it needs to be done. That part had been bothering me ever since I painted the Shooting Star, and now it's getting fixed. That's all for this update, thanks to everyone for reading in. Really means a lot. Looks like I might be done with this build soon, hopefully. Will be good to complete this kit and get it in the case. Thanks everyone. All comments and critiques are welcomed. Matt

Thanks Jason! Anything would help, the S-2 looks like such a cool design, would have been cool to watch fly. I had a great birthday, went out and had dinner with my family, and my first drink with my dad. Matt

Thanks Harv! The decals really bring the build to life, makes it look much more like the Korean warrior it is. My birthday was actually last Monday, but thanks for the wishes man. And yeah, I did go out and have my first drink with my dad. Matt

Thanks Loic! I'm really liking your Do-335 build, that one's going to look awesome by the end, and maybe once you finish it, Dragon will come out with their injected kit.... Matt

Thanks Shawn! The F-80 is really coming along well, getting closer and closer to done every day. Matt

Thanks Christian! I'm glad you like the build man! I will get a start on the He-111 once I finish some stuff, I've got too much going on the desk right now, but I promise I will. I'm excited to build that one, it seems like a good kit. Thanks for the birthday wishes! Matt

Thanks Jason! The S-2 looks really cool, it's a plane I'm really interested in, but can not seem to find any references on it, would you happen to have any? Thanks for the birthday wishes, it was tons of fun! Matt

Thanks Kevin! The Aeromaster decals are great, besides being so thin, but they have really suck into the detail. And yeah, no carrier film at all, they really look awesome. Thanks for the birthday wishes. It's nice being a real adult now, finally being 21 Matt

The cool dragon on the nose of the plane, it was a challenge to cut it over the open gun bay, but I got it figured out I think. And Monday was my 21st birthday, and I ended up with quite the kit haul for the big day. These three came from my girlfriend, I know, wrong scale, but these are all kits I've wanted for awhile now, so I'm happy. And she's great for buying me kits. And this was my present to myself, the new Revell He-111. Got a good deal on it, and I'm super excited to build it. I have a few projects to get through first, but this one is tempting me all the time.... Thanks everyone for reading in on this build. I'm getting closer to the finish line with each step, and can't wait to be all done. I hope you all like this build, and all comments and critiques are welcomed and encouaraged. Thanks guys. Hope to be back soon with some more progress Matt

Hey everybody. I've gotten on decaling the Shooting Star. The decals are done by Aeromaster, and are really great. They are very, very thin, and have a tendency to curl up and wrinkle when applied, but once they're on, they look amazing. They sink right into the surface detail, and the carrier film instantly vanishes. I like how they look, but lots of setting solution is needed to get them in place. Tried the technique of applying Liqui-Mask with a sponge before spraying the black, then peeling off the masking fluid using a toothpick afterwards. Gives a nice, chipped effect without looking too ratty. Matt

Thanks William! The kit wasn't too challenging, just some fit issues, it's a good kit though, I'm really glad to have a 1/32 Shooting Star more than anything else. Thanks for the nice comments, I'm quite enjoying this build. Matt

Thank you Kagemusha! I think that's part of the reason I was drawn to this scheme, it's so simple, but still exciting. The light grey and blue really look good together, and keeping the build clean is really making it look nice. I'm usually one for weathering planes so they look well used and beat up, but a clean, airshow bird seems to be just what I needed. Matt

Thanks Anthony! I really like this color scheme, it's just so different than what you normally see on Hunters. The grey and blue look really good on my desk, and should look good in the display cabinet. I'm glad you like it, thanks for looking in man. Hope summer down in NZ is good, it's starting to get really cold here in California. Matt

Thanks Phil! I'm glad you like it! You're build is really awesome, I've been using it for tips on mine. The masks were actually extremely easy to use, the Ad Astra masks were pretty much fool-proof. Just place them, and work through the layers. The hardest part was mixing up the roundel blue and the oxford blue, outside of that it was smooth sailing. I'm happy to be making progress on the Hunter, hopefully get her finished up soon. Hope to see some more done on your Hunter as well. Matt

Thanks Jason! I'm glad you like it. I think you should get back to that RF-80, I want to see some more builds on here of the Shooting Star. And it is true, the T-33 is pretty much the exact same as the F-80, just stretched a little bit. I'm glad I could help out with your build, it's good to know I could help someone the way people on LSP have helped me out. Matt

Hi guys! I've got an update on this one. One step closer to finishing the Shooting Star! The light grey has been added to the fin tip, and the OD has been done for the nose anti-glare. Both paints are Model Master Enamels, thinned with Mr. Leveling Thinner, the best paint and thinner combination I've found. All that's left now is the black for the walkways, and the radar cover of the nose. After that, I can finally decal this bird, and get on with the weathering! The extra colors really add another dimension to this one, and help it look much better. Can't wait to see what happens once I finally get the decals on this one. Those Saggin' Dragon decals are really going to set this build apart, and really bring a bright addition to my display cabinet. I hope you're all enjoying watching this build as much as I am building it, it's a lot of fun! Thanks to all of you for reading in, it means a lot. All comments and critiques are welcomed guys, I appreciate the help. Matt