themongoose Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 You know these little models are nothing like their full size partners. When I need to figure out if I have the bodywork smooth on a car I lay a paper towel on the surface, lay my hand flat on it, and then slide it across the new bodywork. It's amazing how if you take your eyes out of the process and just use feel how well you can tell of the surface is flat. Not here! So I initially did some sanding on the offending parts shown above and I ended up with a step down in the bondo. Not what I wanted Time to break out more tools...This is a great profile tool for models...and the kids thought it was for facial recognition, bah. Obviously the right side is lower than the left, so I need to add putty. The workbench now looks like this This was the worst side. This pic shows how far back I brought the putty to feather in the edge and get the profile correct. Much better profile now. I also did one on the sides but I'll spare you those views Final version, 1 day's worth of time. I made sure to let everything dry. I tend to move too fast and sand before anything is dry... kkarlsen, Azgaron, Starfighter and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) Lots of little stuff this weekend is starting to come together. I had to fill and rescribe most of the wings. I only left the hinge joints alone. Along the top of the fuselage those panel lines were part of the resin part, the rest I did. They are a bit deep and wide now that i see them in primer so i will have to try and minimize them as I’d rather not fill and rescribe if I don’t have to. Later this week I’ll scribe the front fuselage and then it’s time to join the halves together! not seen are the stabilators. I drilled and pinned them so they will rotate like they should when in the fuselage. The vertical tail is pinned and sanded. Once i do the lights in it I’ll glue it on. I wouldn’t do that yet but it needs filler and the scribed lines have to cross from the tail onto the fuselage so I’m stuck there. lov’n this group build! Edited January 28, 2019 by themongoose Grammar Erwin, kkarlsen, johncrow and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Nice work rescribing! Håkan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted January 28, 2019 Share Posted January 28, 2019 Awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 Stellar week here - I got a personal tour of the AT-38B Thunderbird at the Aviation Museum of Kentucky! In all my searches it’s never come up, until last week. I called and they had the team working on projects there set me up with a ladder so I could grab shots of both cockpits. It’s hard to find walkaround pics of these planes for some reason. I swept the floor for them basically while taking pictures under the plane as well as all around it. Have the last details needed to finish the cockpit. I’ll detail things out as i go forward. Here’s a few shots from the trip. Kagemusha, Starfighter and Anthony in NZ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 Wow there's so much work going on in this GB! I read at lunch and in the evening to keep up. I didn't want one but I may get a Lanc after watching 4 or 5 of them go together. I'm at least building virtually with you guys. I haven't worked on a prop plane since high school, dang that'll be a whole new set of painting and weathering skills. Limited bench time during the week for me. Decided to work on the pilot since I could do alot in a short time. This is the 1980 season uniform. I primered him in Vallejo black primer this time. I tried white and grey on past pilots. White was not my favorite as the colors washed out...read red was a little pink Boy it's hard to take a good pic of a figure with an iphone. Did my best here to show some detail. I am really improving my airbrush skills. Kinda forced to. The black was impossible to cover using a brush. you could really see through it. Dang transparency of red! So I airbrushed both the red and white without masking him. 25psi, 15 drops color, 5 drops thinner, 1 drop reducer. His helmet is gloss varnish. Shirt, gloves, and pants are satin varnish. Parachute, mask, and harness are flat varnish. I don't have a defuser for the light. For those of you in the know is that why I get so much reflection? Here's where my camera fails. That's the Thunderbird patch on his right chest pocket. Looks more like a blob here. In person the decal looks good under the magnifier. Looks like a blob though to the naked eye. You guys know how that is right, you know it's there even if it is hidden! For this last one I think I'll have to make my own helmet decal. I'm fresh out from past decal sheets. I bought some white decal paper today so maybe I will check out the tips forum this weekend and see if I can learn how to do this. BradG, Starfighter, Dragon and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 (edited) Working on both ends this weekend. Trying hard to get to a point where i can prime it all 1 color. There were gaps at the exhaust. The Belcher bit kit instructions said to expect it to be rough and that it should be sanded down. To keep the overall length and avoid trying to square everything up i decided to add a spacer. Turned out to be perfect because now there’s a slight gap between the nozzles whereas before they touched at the base of them. on the nose I worked to scribe the new panel lines. Started with a template to sketch it out in pencil. the big panels were scribed. While i was looking at Archer Rivets I discovered they have a sheet of miscellaneous panels and fuel doors. They all have rivets...wow just what i need for this plane under the cockpit. and then last i worked on the light for the landing gear. This thing is 5.5mm in diameter. Not enough spares for me in my short modeling career to have this. I was able to make one though out of the main runner from a clear parts sprue! Sanded some curvature on it using a special sanding block for pool cues. It’s shaped just like the face of a light. Some sanding and polishing and POOF 1 light. Covered the surface with blue tape and cut it off. Traveling for a few days, so till next weekend happy modeling! Edited February 4, 2019 by themongoose spellcheck Anthony in NZ, Fanes, Azgaron and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Nice work with the exhaust and scribing! Håkan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted February 10, 2019 Author Share Posted February 10, 2019 Time to force myself to take a break and let some glue dry. I've got the fuselage halves together. Originally I thought I would use putty to build up the belly but looking at it yesterday it just seemed like too much. I am afraid it will crack in the future. Thought about it overnight and didn't really have a good solution until just a little bit ago. I cut out the shape I wanted from some styrene sheet and then used my heat gun to soften it and shape it. Now I need some thin sheet along the side and it will take just a little bit of putty to taper all the edges into the fuselage. Here's a broader view. I have all the scribing done. This morning I also installed the landing light on the nose. That's all for now folks! Fvdm, Starfighter, BradG and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fvdm Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 Great work and problemsolving. I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 +1 on that! Håkan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Looking good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Tonight I had some time while the wife was talking to her mom...can you say 2 hours lol. I made a splitter plate for between the intake and the fuselage. Dang this is small. It's 0.010 styrene. I made a spacer so I could hold it in place while using a needle to apply the CA. There's a 1st for me haha. Finished product! Some sanding and a little primer, then repeat for the other side. I'm getting closer to primer for the whole plane. I keep telling myself that...I thnk to keep the mojo up because every time I go into the workshop I find another detail I have to do before I can primer. LSP_Paul, BradG, johncrow and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Looks fab! I can relate on the "finding another detail to do before priming" sentiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 That's looking awesome......of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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