Kahunaminor Posted May 3, 2018 Author Share Posted May 3, 2018 (edited) Slow progress as I have had other things on my plate. This weekend just gone by was the NSW Scale Model Show and expo my club hosts. Over 350 entries in 43 categories, vendor tables and the ever funky swap and sell. We judge gold, silver and bronze in the categories and I came home with two gold and two silver so a happy camper. I had planned to have this finished for the show but that was always a loose plan. Anyway back to the action. I am working at closing up the fuselage shortly and as it is a monotone colour scheme, I thought I might try my hand at John's black marbling basework. The wings are now together and ready to be attached. I followed John's lead in using the plastic kit pieces rather that the PE, as not much will be seen at all. The faces of the oil cooler and radiators were painted in XF84 Dark Iron and then highlighted with Tamiya Weathering set “gun metalâ€. Not any of which will really be seen: The wings are now set to be installed, however before that takes place I have to install the resin exhaust plates in their positions in the cowling. Hence why everything is still open down the front end. I had previously sprayed them RLM02 and now just picked out the actual engine areas in XF84 dark iron: Once these are installed, I can install the gun trough piece. I decided to use a spare pair of Master Barrel MG131 tips I had laying around. These are longer than the kit pieces which meant a fixing the trough inserts into the underside of the upper cowl and then drilling out the rear of the trough inserts and aligning them so they will sit properly once permanently installed: I will smooth out the rough edges from drilling and filing but the fit seems good. It was then time to dry fit all the components and see what I was left with. Everything lined up well but I was left with a wing/fuselage gap. I could see the underside needed a little adjustment so I cut and installed a sprue spreader just behind the yet to be installed exhaust positions. Once this had set, another dry fit saw a much better result: Once actually glued and cleaned up, I am confident of a good result. The canopy masks have also been applied so once I tidy up the cockpit sills with some putty and a new coat of RLM66, I should be ready to start sealing it all up. Regards, Edited May 3, 2018 by Kahunaminor mustang1989, Gazzas and LSP_Kevin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted May 4, 2018 Share Posted May 4, 2018 That work on the oil coolers and radiators may seem minimal but it will add to the overall effect. Every little bit counts. Progress looks good Kent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share Posted May 8, 2018 (edited) Welcome back, The exhaust backings are in. To prevent the dreaded “falling inside the sealed fuselage after a bit too much pressure syndromeâ€, I added some more sprue supports: The sealing up the wings, at this stage the wing/fuselage joins are not glued. The lower wing/cowling/fuselage joins seem good and that wierd angular join Eduard puts in will be okay. The oil cooler went in well: I added some drilled out styrene to the MG cowling so the MG131 barrels can be inserted into a positive slot. MG cowling attached and a swipe of a sanding stick should fix that starboard side overhang: The PE storage hatch went on and the cockpit sides were repainted. A little too much pressure applied to the fuselage caused the cockpit to dislodge and drop about 0.1mm at the rear and with it all sealed up I will remain so. Oh well, the joy of modelling: Thanks for looking in and regards, Edited May 8, 2018 by Kahunaminor LSP_Kevin and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) Thanks guys, I appreciate your words of encouragement. I may have been a bit premature with writing off the cockpit as stable. It appears the entire floor/back assembly has come adrift and dropped. It will now need some remedial work. The sidewalls are firmly attached so I will drill through from underneath and gingerly push the floor back into position and hit it with some more CA. :headslap: This is the problem: I will drill a suitable hole through this panel which had to be rescribed anyway: Regards, Edited May 9, 2018 by Kahunaminor LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted May 10, 2018 Author Share Posted May 10, 2018 Fix in progress. 2mm hole drilled in underside, Mk. IA toothpick inserted and gentle pressure on errant decking. Back into place and CA applied liberally to area behind storage area. Rear cockpit replaced. 2mm styrene rod into the hole which will be cut and sanded flush once dry: Regards, LSP_Kevin and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share Posted May 15, 2018 Some progress. The rear cockpit area has been repaired and resprayed RLM66. The canopy interiors have also been masked and sprayed with RLM66 allowing me to fit almost all the final cockpit pieces before fixing the front and rear canopies to their respective positions. I did accidentally leave out the fuel observation tube and the two side lights but they can still be inserted with ease (I hope). I had to sand down the rear end of the rear canopy to get a better fit of the central canopy piece. Happy with that, just some minor beautification and blending: The gun pods have been attached to their positions under the wings and the wings set using tape to address the minor gap at fuselage wing joint. Hopefully after 24 hrs that should hold it all. The left over 66 was used to check my seam work on the fuselage joins and engine area. The beauty of photography is it slows you to check your work, exposing flaws like the port wing leading edge seam: Thanks for stopping by and regards, LSP_Kevin and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted May 23, 2018 Author Share Posted May 23, 2018 (edited) Welcome back, My absence has not been for naught. I have made incremental but important progress. First off the MLG has been updated with brake lines, a base coat of RLM02, some highlights with lightened 02 and the resin wheels prepped for painting: The PE wheel covers were also built up and the lightened 02 added as highlights: I then turned my attention to preparing fuselage for primer. Perfect Plastic Putty was applied to those areas that needed it. I added a drop of water to thin it slightly and found it worked well into those areas. The central canopy was temporarily attached with Micro Liquitape to protect all the innards. But not before dropping it and breaking the antenna point on the tail and the pitot tube! The radiator rear faces and exhaust openings were masked with Tamiya tape. Damp tissue was folded into the wheel openings to protect the finished work there and Mk. II shortened toothpicks were inserted into the MLG attachment points to hold the whole thing off the ground whilst the primer dried. The slats interiors were masked and the slats pushed through the tape: A final walk around for FOD, cleaning some debris from rivet holes and panel lines. I intend to rescribe post priming as it is an easier job to determine on the lighter colour. Happy with that and a longer Mk.I toothpick was inserted into the prop hole and we were ready for priming! I will let it sit for 24 hours but there are some obvious areas that will need attention: Regards and thanks for looking Edited May 23, 2018 by Kahunaminor LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Nice work, Kent! Good to see an update, mate. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 Kent, Great update and glad to see some progress. You always give me some good tips for taking to my own builds. Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 (edited) Thanks Gaz, Spinner and wheel hubs painted Tamiya X1 Black. The spinner spiral starts with a complete circle around the gun opening. I punched a 5mm hole in Tamiya tape, then took the punched out disc and centered it over the 4mm hole and punched it out, leaving a clean 1mm ring. Carefully placed it around the cannon opening. Next is the spiral and masks for the hubs: Regards Edited May 31, 2018 by Kahunaminor LSP_Kevin, Gazzas and Out2gtcha 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted June 8, 2018 Author Share Posted June 8, 2018 (edited) Welcome back, I have not been idle whilst absent from the board and have forged ahead. Firstly the wheels have been finished, the tyres painted RLM 66 and awaiting a gloss coat, as has the overall base colour of RLM 76 and the RLM 70 for the propeller blades: I reworked the masking on the spinner to tidy up the swirl using strips of Tamiya curved tape cut to 1mm. The spinner backplate was first painted white and then had a third masked and the remaining two thirds done in RLM 70. The cannon opening had a touch of Tamiya Gun Metal: A couple of days elapsed to allow the RLM76 to properly dry and I masked the areas for the black on the fuselage and wing seams. The air intake on the port side was left off to make painting easier: Once removed I had the result I wanted: I then could not resist a quick look with the spinner and rudder temporarily attached: Regards, Edited June 14, 2018 by Kahunaminor LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Kent, Your masks worked well, and everything is looking good. My Eduard wings finally arrived Tuesday. I'm at the tail end of a group build yonder, and have a Valentine to finish. Gaz Kahunaminor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) Lacquer gloss coat production line. Some initial wear and tear on the spinner with a fine lead pencil: Next up some stencils and then markings and weathering. Regards, Edited June 9, 2018 by Kahunaminor LSP_Kevin and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Looking really good, I think I'll break mine out today......... Kahunaminor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kahunaminor Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 First decals. Some decals such as the power jack and oxygen fill points will need to go under the painted double chevron markings. So they need to go on and have a clear coat to protect them from the masking: Whilst I was here, I added some decals to the MLG , wheel hubs, flap angle indicators, drop tank and rudder which won't be affected by masking. I also added the JG 3 badges to the cowling: While I await these to properly dry and the protective coat to set before I add the masked markings, I will busy myself with work on the peripheries such as weathering of the exhaust, wheels etc. Regards, Gazzas, Out2gtcha and LSP_Kevin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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