bdthoresen Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Kev- If you crank up the pressure on your airbrush rig, and thin the paints a little more than normal, you can apply light coats in the tough areas first, then build up the color on the rest of the tub- You would be amazed at how the paint will find it's way in there!!! Nice Work- Keep it up!!!! THOR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spads57 Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 Kevin, She's looking real good.Keep up the good,this project is going to be outstanding. Regards, Gregory Jouette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 10, 2009 Author Share Posted July 10, 2009 Thanks for the feedback guys. I've been chipping away at the cockpit and I'm finally starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. Firstly, the more-or-less finished cockpit under a coat of primer: The next job is to paint it all up and add seat belts before installing it into the fuselage. Let's hope it doesn't become a refuselage! Had a bash at a scratch-built IP too, and I don't think it came out too badly: This sort of work is difficult without a proper punch set, so I use a lot of make-do tools and techniques, and consequently the results aren't as clean and neat as I'd like. After painting I'll fill the empty instrument sockets with some MDC IJA/IJN instrument decals, and it should look pretty effective. More soon! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingman777 Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Good work Kevin, once you get the right colors and details on what you've it'll all look fine, especially the IP. The George Team is rolling on. Have a good weeend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butler Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 That looks superb Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Nice work Kev. look forward to see the rest ! Hubert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 HOLY SHEEEHOLYS, Lookit Kevin go!!!! Man, that looks fantastic dude! Whuf, Team George is kicking tail and taking names....get outta the way they're rumbling thru. That cockpit rocks! Have you had a chance to see if that new engine is going to fit into the cowling yet? Really curious if it is even possible to install, and how tough it'll be to get it to sit at the correct depth. Had a chance to mock it up yet? You never cease to amaze me my friend. Can't help but chuckle, and gaze in wild wonder at what you've got done so far. Very, very cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Have you had a chance to see if that new engine is going to fit into the cowling yet? Really curious if it is even possible to install, and how tough it'll be to get it to sit at the correct depth. Had a chance to mock it up yet? Yep, it fits. Had to do a lot of chopping of the kit's engine mounting bits in order to get the depth right, and I won't know for sure if it is until it's glued in and too late! I think it's pretty close though. I've gotta finish painting a detailing the engine after I've finished with the cockpit, and then I'll have to see if I can insert it into the closed fuselage, or if I'll have to fit it before closing it up. Plenty more to come! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 12, 2009 Author Share Posted July 12, 2009 OK, a bit of a major update today. I've been busy painting the cockpit and IP, getting everything ready to install. I added some token detail to the fuselage to represent the cockpit sidewalls: And after painting: Here's the main cockpit tub itself, painted, washed, drybrushed and chipped with a silver pencil: It's really hard to get decent photos of that boxy little thing! It's funny how the chipping from the silver pencil is really prominent from some angles, and almost invisible from others. Here's the IP, painted, washed, drybrushed and awaiting MDC dials: The flash hasn't been too kind there. It looks much better at actual size under normal light. I'll post another shot when the dial decals are in. Lastly, I tried to get a photo of the cockpit and sidewalls in context, but again taking the photo proved a little difficult. Here's my best shot: It's good to be finally making some headway on this one! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted July 12, 2009 Share Posted July 12, 2009 Heh heh, that is pure sweetness Kevin! Know what ya mean about the silver pencil weathering,....I had a hard time taking pics of the chipped paint on some of my gallery shots. The silver just kinda shimmers in/out as the model gets rotated in the light. Sheesh, you knocked out the paint-job on that cockpit quick! Looking forward to the next progress pics, to see what you tackle next. Nice, nice, nice job so far. Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 Thanks everyone for your feedback and encouragement so far. This build has been slow-going for a variety of reasons, but I finally feel like I'm into the swing of it. I've finished the IP, and I'm mightily chuffed with it: This is the first time I've built an IP completely from scratch, and it came out more-or-less exactly as I wanted it to. One of my proudest modelling moments in fact! It's not perfect, but just compare it to the original kit IP posed to its right! Here it is test-fitted to the cockpit tub: And the tub itself test-fitted in the fuselage: Despite all this, the cockpit still isn't finished. I've got two more tasks before it's complete. First off are the seat belts. I've got a set of Eduard IJN belts in pre-coloured PE, but I don't have any instructions for them, so I'm unsure about which bits to use and how they go together. If anybody has this set, can you scan the instructions for me (it's 32505)? The second task is to scratch build a new gun sight, something else I've never attempted before. I better not get too cocky I guess! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJ Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Fantastic work on that IP, Mate!! I'd be plenty pleased with it, too! I have that Eduard set, but I don't have a scanner. If nobody else has anything for you, let me know and I'll cobble something together somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 13, 2009 Author Share Posted July 13, 2009 Fantastic work on that IP, Mate!! I'd be plenty pleased with it, too! I have that Eduard set, but I don't have a scanner. If nobody else has anything for you, let me know and I'll cobble something together somehow. Thanks Dave. Maybe just a digital photo would be adequate? Of course, after feeling pretty happy with the way things are shaping up on this build, I suddenly realised that I'd completely and utterly forgotten about the pilot's control stick! The kit one is a tragedy, so I'm going to have to fashion a new one and just plonk it in. Grumble, grumble... Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingman777 Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Thanks Dave. Maybe just a digital photo would be adequate? Of course, after feeling pretty happy with the way things are shaping up on this build, I suddenly realised that I'd completely and utterly forgotten about the pilot's control stick! The kit one is a tragedy, so I'm going to have to fashion a new one and just plonk it in. Grumble, grumble... Kev Kevin, that IP really looks good....oh great, now I have instrument panel envy and its too late to do anything about mine. Keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 16, 2009 Author Share Posted July 16, 2009 Work continues. I've added a scratch-built control column, which is a bit of a slapdash affair, but it's not hard to improve on anything the kit provides for the cockpit! Here it is fitted: And then painted: Believe it or not, the main components are painted Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver, with a wash of Tamiya Smoke, so why they look dark grey/black in the photo is beyond me. Once I can figure out how the assemble the seat belts, I can call the cockpit done. The other thing I've spent quite a lot of time on is rehabilitating the surface detail of the kit's control surfaces. Those of you familiar with this kit will know how horrible it is - deep pits located between highly exaggerated ribbing detail. I started by scraping the ribbing detail down, and then sanding it vigorously. After that, I filled the pits with Mr Dissolved Putty, followed by sanding back (rinse and repeat). Then, multiple coats of Mr Surfacer, and the requisite spot-filling of the ugly bits. Phew! What a lot of work, but here's how it looks in the end: Unfortunately I don't have a 'before' shot to compare it with, but the difference is dramatic. More soon! Kev mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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