Fisher AD-5W test build pics and tips

[paul fisher]

OK.....I have (hopefully) re-sized these pics to work with the LSP image thing...I have been building up and painting my AD-5W for the instruction manual while awaiting the decals.

I'decided to try some simple pre-shading on the cabin bits to add a bit of depth and a lived in look. 

 

First off, you get the belly plate attached and faired in. I use thick CA glue and Zip Kicker as filler as it won't shrink or react to paint, and is easy to scribe after curing.

 

 

Once the seam is cleaned up  I use vinyl tape as a guide for my scribing tool to cut the panel line.The CA glue cuts much like the surrounding resin.

 

 

The vertical panel detail on the fuselage is then gently scribed to meet the new line.

 

 

To paint the cabin, I decided to try a bit of pre-shading with matte black to add some depth.It worked out better than I had hoped, so i also did some on the electronics and rubbed off the paint from the knobs and switches. I removed the gray paint from the two transformer domes for some contrast as these were fiberglass.

 

 

The black paint was removed from the radar scope face with a cotton bud and some acetone to make it easier to paint later on.

 

 

The pre-shading came out quite well on the main bulkhead, giving it a more substantial look.Cicuit breakers were picked out in black and silver .

 

 

The fwd radar operator's circuit breaker panel sits on the floor in front of his seat.

 

 

Adding the platforms for the electronic bits, and some of the black boxes.

 

 

 

 

 The stick and rudder pedals for the pilot

 

 

Instruments are printed on high gloss photo stock, the resin dash is fixed to this with thin CA glue and then trimmed out.

 

 

 The faces of the APS-20 radar scopes are painted with Testor's Stop light amber, the bulk of the cabin is now done but for the seats.

 

 

 

The dash and coaming are glues into the upper fuselage with a stout tab.

 

 

Next I built up the belly radome from the two halves and cleaned up the join. The two small holes you can see above and below the seam are for locating the cleats that hold the radome with cables to prevent swaying . They will be added later so the paint doesn't get too thick on them.

 

 

Since the Guppy carried no weapons, there are no holes under the outboard wings for pylons. I used .030" plastic rod and CA glue to fill the holes.

 

 

The wheel well inserts are put into place, and the shell ejection chutes and catapult lugs are filled.

 

 

Since the trumpeter Spad is molded with too  much dihedral in the wings, I simply cut some shims of .040" plastic to slide into the wing roots before

gluing to the fuselage.this gently reduces the dihedral to the correct 6 degrees.

 

 

 

Some .030" strip stock was cut into lengths of .700 ' to fab up the stall strips unique to the Guppy.These are filed to a gentle triangular section

and glued onto the wing leading edges just outboard of the fold lines

 

 

Now we start painting! Undersides and rudder in semi-gloss white.

 

 

 

I shot a wee bit of matte black into the rudder hinge line before applying any color, wiped away the excess.

 

 

You can see how by carefully shooting the paint over the masked off rudder the pre-shading leaves a pleasant 3D effect in the hinge line.

 

 

The antenna fairing on the fin is shot dark gray, and then a thin strip of Coroguard silver goes on all the leading edges.

 

 

More Coroguard on the tail planes and main pylons

 

 

Most of the paint work is done, this was taken before i got the Coroguard sprayed.

 

 

More pics and BS to come , it's going to make a fascinating model of a much overlooked variant of the Skyraider. Stay tuned!

 

Paul

[dodgem37]

This is kick-ass.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[paul fisher]

Thanks! I'm trying to make time to get the rest done as fast as i can.Work gets in the way of work....

[LSP_Ron]

Looking great!

[Scotsman]

Thanks you Paul this is very much appreciated , and what a conversion,  I haven't looked forward to a kit as much since I got the original Tamiya Stine Eagle back in the 90's .. eek! I'm old!

 

ColinR

 

 

[LSP_Ray]

That is looking good, Paul! 

[seiran01]

Damn, I’ve got some catching up to do, and I only have one paint colour to contend with! Looking good Paul

[Kagemusha]

  Mr F! Lovely work, and great tips, hope it spurs some folk into investing in your wonderful products.

[Jack]

Oh yeah, great tutorial, a pleasure to see, good show.

 

Jack.

[paul fisher]

More progress on the guppy.....

 

 

The sealing gasket on the radome is masked off with thin vinyl tape so it can be painted black.

 

 

Before painting, the rest of the radome was masked off with strips of frog tape.

 

 

After gluing in the cowl internal flaps I realized I had forgotten the paint the thin ring of silver Coroguard onto the front of the cowl.

Bummer! So, I cut some vinyl tape down to .062" so it would follow the curve and masked off the outsides...Then the rest with frog tape.

 

 

I dug around and found a pill bottle that was an exact fit for the inside of the cowl, sometimes you get lucky!

 

 

Success! I managed to get it done without having to remove the internal flaps.

 

 

The anti glare panel runs straight back at the top, this is important to get the look right once the windscreen is applied.

 

 

The antenna coverings on each wig tip were originally filled in with Bondo and sanded smooth.After the Coroguard was applied I used

squares of black decal to make them black as it's easier than masking and painting them.

 

 

I used the national insignia and step lines, etc;from the AD-5 decals since i don't have the actual kit decals yet. Kicksteps are again

cut from black decal paper to save masking.

 

 

Here you can see the radome with the black gasket painted in.It is a true black, and slightly gloss to make it look different from the

front of the radome.

 

 

Amazing how just a few decals will make the model begin to snap into focus.....Can't wait to get it finished!

[LSP_Kevin]

Terrific work, Paul!

 

Kev

[Out2gtcha]

Great stuff Paul!   Thanks for sharing, this conversion looks excellent indeed.  

[alaninaustria]

Outstanding! What I like the most is I believe you are the first pattern maker I’ve seen build his own beautiful creation to a full-fledge finish! 

Such a beautiful conversion!

Cheers

Alan

[LSP_Ron]

Wow, your' cruzing right along on this.  The paint work looks great!

 

Ron

[KiwiZac]

Beautiful stuff, Paul. I enjoy a good WIP and this is definitely one of those.

 

I've never been a Guppy/Fat Face fan (A-1E forever!!!) but I love what you're doing with this. Beautiful!