Revell Zero Rebuild

[Sabre F-86]

I've decided to rob some parts from the Doyusha A6M2 kit that I won't be using, as it will be converted to a Rufe. Firstly, the drop tank, with a comparison to the Revell version (green):

 

 

 

Kev

 

 

It looks like I owe Maverick an apology. He mailed me a drop tank for my A6M3 conversion and I figured for sure it was a 48th scale tank given the size of it. I even asked him about it and he said it came straight out of a Revell kit. Now I see why I was so sure it was off. Looks like Revell messed up good. I too have stolen one off my Doyusha kit, as I plan on doing a Rufe with that one.

 

Anyway, Maverick, I owe you one!

 

 

Sabre

70 days n a wake up

[fam43]

Hi Kevin,

your high proficiency in resurrecting this old kit encourages me to do my old Hasegawa Focke Wulfs I bought in the early eighties. Hope I will be half so good at least in doing it.

[LSP_Kevin]

Hi Kevin,

your high proficiency in resurrecting this old kit encourages me to do my old Hasegawa Focke Wulfs I bought in the early eighties. Hope I will be half so good at least in doing it.

 

Thanks for your generous praise fam. I'm really just bumbling along here, and taking way too many shortcuts! I'd love to see what you do with those old Hasegawa kits. I've got an old-tool Hasegawa 190A/F in the stash, and I'm thinking about converting it to an S (2-seater).

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Quick update to show where I ended up with the landing gear. I took the plunge and gave drilling them out a try:

 

 

Apologies for the awful photo - it was the best I could do!

 

Here's the end result, fitted over the brass tubes I had installed earlier:

 

 

I'm a bit worried that the angle might be a bit severe, and cause the wheels to cant a bit, but hopefully I can finagle things into their proper positions. I was fearing that the landing gear would be a major sticking point, but this has solved that issue quite neatly.

 

Kev

[ruzlkampf]

heh heh, OK...the haze might've cleared from the 2nd Anniversary celebration, but in the heady euphoria of the aftermath I have made reservations at the convention center for the upcoming 3RD ANNIVERSARY shindig! Be there, or be square. The hula-girls said they could make it again next year....but the owner of the disco-ball said he wants it back, so we may have to compensate with an ABBA reunion or a chain-saw juggler.

Hey, that gear attached nicely Kevin! With the landing gear doors installed and the wheels on, I'll bet it looks a lot different. A 2-seater '190 , huh? Wheeeew, now there's something ya don't see everyday. Can't believe how nice this looks in primer after all the mods you've done to it. Great job! Man, I love these re-build kinda builds....I always give mine away so I never get a chance to do these types of re-dos. Looking forward to the next update Kevin!

[LSP_Kevin]

heh heh, OK...the haze might've cleared from the 2nd Anniversary celebration, but in the heady euphoria of the aftermath I have made reservations at the convention center for the upcoming 3RD ANNIVERSARY shindig! Be there, or be square. The hula-girls said they could make it again next year....but the owner of the disco-ball said he wants it back, so we may have to compensate with an ABBA reunion or a chain-saw juggler.

Hey, that gear attached nicely Kevin! With the landing gear doors installed and the wheels on, I'll bet it looks a lot different. A 2-seater '190 , huh? Wheeeew, now there's something ya don't see everyday. Can't believe how nice this looks in primer after all the mods you've done to it. Great job! Man, I love these re-build kinda builds....I always give mine away so I never get a chance to do these types of re-dos. Looking forward to the next update Kevin!

 

Thanks Russ, but there's no way this thing will see a 3rd anniversary! I'm hoping to finish it by year's end, but I'm aiming for the end of October (yes, 2009!). Once I've finished scratching the cowl flaps and rescribing the cowling, I can start getting some paint on it. The 2-seat 190 is really just a chin-scratching exercise at the moment, as I have no serious refs for it, but it seems like fun to me!

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Well guys, I've finally found my way back to this one. Haven't done a lot of work on it, but I thought I'd get things going again with a small update.

 

I've added brass tube pins to the Doyusha drop tank, and corresponding holes in the model:

 

 

 

The contours for the mating surfaces of the drop tank pylon and its location on the model don't match. I tried to shim the pylon with styrene sheet, but that didn't work. Then I remembered Paul Budzik's method of dealing with this problem, and gave that a go. The results were much better, but not as good as Paul's. I probably need to fill the existing mounting hole for the kit's drop tank, as it will show slightly, but that's a lot of putty for half a mm of peekaboo!

 

Can I get this one done by the end of the month?

 

Kev

[LSP_Ron]

Can I get this one done by the end of the month?

 

Kev

 

Looks great.

 

I am asking myself the same thing with my 109. I haven't finished a kit since March

[ruzlkampf]

Heck Kevin, if it'll inspire ya to finish this Zero.....so you can start work on a 2-seat FW-190 .....whenever you finish this, I'll vacuform you a canopy for the 190.

Heh heh, I love being cruel. (but serious.)

[LSP_Kevin]

Heck Kevin, if it'll inspire ya to finish this Zero.....so you can start work on a 2-seat FW-190 .....whenever you finish this, I'll vacuform you a canopy for the 190.

Heh heh, I love being cruel. (but serious.)

 

Thanks Russ. I think I'm motivated enough, but I need to regain some momentum on it. I've been splashing a bit of paint here and there, and test-fitting some Master Model barrels to it in readiness for a full review of them (coming soon!).

 

Hmm, 2-seat 190...I think I'll need a break from doing it the hard way after this one for a while, but I'm definitely keen on this project. I'm also contemplating attempting to turn my old Revell 109G into a G-12 2-seat trainer! I just need to come up with some decent references and a bit of a plan. I'd rather hack up these old kits for such a cause than ruin perfectly innocent new-tool Hasegawa kits.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

OK, here's some proof of paint:

 

 

Of course, I've since realised that it would have been better to paint the flap bays last, as it's far easier to mask the surrounding area for painting, than mask out the bays.

 

Here's a shot of the Master Model pitot tube, fitted:

 

 

It's an exquisite piece of work, and my photo can't hope to do it justice. The guns are even better!

 

Kev

[LSP_Ron]

Auh, proof of paint! looks good

 

Ron

[Azgaron]

Nice work Kev!

Cheers,

Håkan

[LSP_Matt]

Those barrels and pitot look awesome.

 

You're doing a great job on this Kev...yell out when you're ready to do the 190S...I have good intel and Dave T's resin conversion in the stahs you can use for reference.

 

Cheers Matty

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks for the encouragement fellas. I'm having an off week or so with modelling, as I've got a stoopid cold (yet another), but I'm persevering all the same.

 

...yell out when you're ready to do the 190S...I have good intel and Dave T's resin conversion in the stahs you can use for reference.

 

Will do mate. I'm sure Dave's conversion was designed for the newer Hasegawa kit, but it'll be useful as a reference, for sure.

 

As for the Zero, things are moving along slowly. I've finished painting the drop tank:

 

 

And splashed some paint into the wheel wells:

 

 

Since this will be a Mitsubishi-built aircraft, I'm going with the undersurface colour for the bays and landing gear parts, which in this case is Tamiya XF-76 (Gray-Green IJN). This should contrast nicely with my Tamiya Zero, which was painted as a Nakajima-built machine.

 

I've also been working on the landing gear itself:

 

 

 

 

What I'm trying to avoid at the moment is working on the cowl flaps and the cowling itself. I really don't fancy trying to scribe those cowl release latches, but I'll have to pucker up to it at some point...

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Kev