Vandy 1 VX 4 Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Hi Vandy: I think you mean Gary Levitz, not Tony LeVier. Gary raced that airplane till its gear collapsed in the pits at Reno, I think in '83. John You are right Johnny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Thanks guys for the info! March 15/15 A small update, but after a lot of work. As noted above, the trailing edge of the aileron looked weird because there was an overlapping tab that seemed too long on the bottom. A quick review of reference pics shows that this tab exists on the bottom, but I couldn't find the same thing on the top due to lack of good pics, so I was worried that Trumpeter might have put the tab on the wrong side, which is not a stretch for Trumpeter! As a matter of fact, when reviewing other builds of this kit, I found that some modelers had actually sanded the tab off because they might have thought it was flash and I even saw one build with the ailerons upside down! Thanks to Vandy and John, I now know that this tab exists on the top and bottom. Here's a pic of one of them from the top showing the fixed tab and trailing edge extension. As with the other parts on this build, every panel line was re-scribed and every rivet re-punched, so I added some dark wash to show the detail. To replicate the same the same thing on the bottom ,all I did was to scribe a thin tab to match the top. Being on the bottom, this is definitely “good enoughâ€! All of the other flaps and the elevator were assembled and I spent a great deal of time getting them to look as good as possible, using lots of CA glue to fill small gaps and repair many flaws . One item often missed by modelers is to get the trailing edges super sharp and thin, which you can barely see in this pic. Since this build is supposedly “kicked up a notchâ€, I thought I should improve the gun sight, which is supplied by the kit and Cutting Edge resin set as the more commonly used N-9, which is quite boring looking, as seen on the left of this pic. Fortunately, I still have a really nice K-14 gun sight from my Tamiya P-51D build leftover, which is made from 2 regular plastic, 3 clear plastic and one photo-etch brass part as shown on the right. Some P-38's had them, so this bird must as well! Using the same methods I used to paint and detail the cockpit, I cut off the N-9 gun sight and modified the K-14 to fit the existing kit gun sight arm, although I will need to add a cross brace to the front windscreen when I get that far in order for it to look more accurate. Here it is dry fitted in the cockpit with tape. A close-up from the left side. Not only did those Barracuda stencils come in handy, a couple of them are actually made for this very part! From the rear you can see the rear and front glass, which is often not covered by the black shroud on top. I added an electrical cord to the back of the sight according to references. The other side. Here you can see the grip detail of the Cutting Edge resin steering wheel fairly well This angle shows the two circular lenses under the glass, which were a bear to mask off properly before painting. A little closer. All in all a fairly successful modification if I do say so myself. Thanks for checking in! Very nice. And I thought mine turned out nice, but yours puts mine to shame !..........Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Before I leave on vacation, a huge shout out to Peter at "Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements"! In prior discussions in this thread concerning the instrument panel decals and brass gauges available at Airscale, Peter reached out to me and sent me some of his products for my use and review. WOW! I only wish I had this stuff a few weeks ago when I started the cockpit, because there are many decals I used that would have been better with Airscale products. Next time! These photoetch brass gauges, cockpit items and tiny decals are awesome. I know, I know, I'm preaching to the choir and many of you guys use Peter's stuff already, but if you don't, here is his website and the prices are very reasonable for such a quality product: Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements Sharkmouth, Kagemusha, Iain and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Hey Chuck, thanks for the updates. I LOVE what you are doing here and you inspire me with my builds. You are correct, Peters Stuff is awesome! As regards the new specs, I think you have made a good call. I am an Optician during the daytime and all too often I see people just using +2.00 or whatever magnifiers and although it makes things bigger it hasnt actually corrected the problem, which is usually astigmatism etc. When people actually correct their vision rather than just magnify it they cant believe the difference in clarity. Although having said that I am needing to listen to my own advice .....my near vision has always been good, however I am now finding my arms need to be longer...Lol. Have a great holiday! Cheers Anthony Vandy 1 VX 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 (edited) Just used some of Peters stuff a couple days ago on my OV-10A...........your 100% correct, Peter is one of the best modelers we have on the site, and by far and away, one of the most generous too. He generously sent me some of his products as well a long while back for a contest we were running...........super products from a super guy!! Edited March 18, 2015 by Out2gtcha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 Absolutely, 100% agree; Peter's talent (Airscale) and generosity is amazing. Ask a question and he is right there. Need a tutorial and bingo; it's there. His craftsmanship and modeling skills, normally leave me in awe and wishing I could work to a tenth of his level. Best of all, we share the same birthday. and first names of course Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted May 1, 2015 Author Share Posted May 1, 2015 A brief update, mostly to indicate there really is no update. No, I haven't lost interest in this project, but with spring coming early to western Canada, chores that needed to be done around the house for a long time, a bit of golf and now travel to Britain for most of May coming up, I have discovered that I actually have a life outside of modeling. Who knew! That's not to say I've done absolutely no modeling, but it hasn't been much. My current task on this build has been to sand down the wings and central fuselage parts to remove many flaws and blemishes in the plastic, then re-scribe every panel line and re-punch every rivet. EVERY SINGLE ONE, which has been very slow and tedious, but with a new metal finish, it's really necessary if you want it to look good after painting. Hopefully I can get back with an update sometime in June that is worth showing.Cheers for now,Chuck Kagemusha, scvrobeson and Vandy 1 VX 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 God almightly - its like a time machine back to 1944. Being a P-51 efficienado (only because I am a member if the P-51 SIG), I think I am in a position to know. How did you attain that level of realism? Personally I have the North American drawing set on DVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 Very nice, Chuck. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 7, 2015 Author Share Posted June 7, 2015 (edited) Well, I'm finally back, but I still have no modeling progress to show. Vacation, work and nice weather are reducing my free time and desire to model, so progress will continue at a snail's pace until the snow flies once again. Oh well, this build is going nowhere and I have no real deadlines, so I'll model once again when I feel like it.That's not to say I've done nothing associated with modeling lately. Today was the annual Western Canadian Regional Model Contest, which was held at the Bomber Command Museum at Nanton with about 450 entries. This museum holds many vintage aircraft, including one of only 4 Lancasters left in the world with running Merlin engines. Here it is on one of two "engine runs" held today. What a noise!The model contest is held within the hanger where the Lancaster is usually parked. Very cool venue next to real aircraft....I brought my 1/32 Trumpeter (Kit from Hell) A-10A Warthog, converted to an A-10C, to see how it would do.But I had plenty of competition in the 1/32 Super Detailed class, including these 2 German WWII beauties...This F-15E was really nice too.But the real competition was this Israeli F-16. Very sweet, with a killer base to boot...So how did the A-10 do at the contest? Pretty darn good if I do say so myself. Gold in the above category and a few extra special awards. The GOMBS award has a great pic of the late Rick Chin next to a real A-10. How neat is that! Very satisfying indeed. Stuff like this gets me super motivated to enter another model next year, with a Trumpeter P-38 perhaps? Time will tell.BTW, it was really nice to meet (or re-meet) several of you fellow modelers at the contest who frequent this board. It was great talking to you all and I hope to see you again soon. Edited June 7, 2015 by chuck540z3 Seversky, Girlscanplay2, Nic C.D. and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Well deserved !!..........Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Congrats on some very deserved awards, Chuck! Looking forward to you making your way back to this build soon. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Chuck Congratulations on the well earned awards. As as always tell my brother: the cream always rises to the top. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy 1 VX 4 Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Congrats Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBC Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Congrats on the awards, Chuck. I couldn't make it this year. I hope the GOMB's keep Ricks picture on their award as it's a fitting tribute. What a great day it was for a contest and running up the Lanc outside. Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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