chuck540z3 Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 (edited) (EDIT) Never mind, problem solved! I was wondering if any of the other Special Hobby Tempests used the Mk II Gyro Gunsight and sure enough, not only does the Tempest Mk II have it, but the instructions in Step 12 show you that Part J21 IS the bracket that should be used as shown below. It has the same "shelf" shown earlier in a "unrestored" Tempest Mk V and the part is on Sprue J! It attaches to a slightly different central IP Part I17 vs. Part I49 that should be used for this model, but they are pretty close, other than the two holes on either side of the recess that it fits into in Step 19. All I need to do is drill two holes and I'm done. Easy. I love solving modeling problems that aren't immediately obvious- and we all learn a new tweak for this kit. Cheers, Chuck Edited May 27, 2020 by chuck540z3 Dpgsbody55, Brett M, Kagemusha and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 (edited) Hey Chuck, yeah that first pic is definitely a Spitfire but the gunsight was also used in Tempests. The pad held on with strings is a head bouncer , looks like it might be a prototype installation. Progress looking good Edited May 29, 2020 by MikeMaben USMC Herc, chuck540z3 and Dpgsbody55 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted May 28, 2020 Author Share Posted May 28, 2020 5 hours ago, MikeMaben said: Hey Chuck, yeah that first pic is definitely a Spitfire but the gunsight was also used in Tempests. The pat held on with strings is a head bouncer , looks like it might be a prototype installation. Thanks, I thought it might be. My P-38L has the same Gunsight and there is a foam contraption on the front of it as well, although it is shaped much different. Cheers, Chuck USMC Herc and MikeMaben 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 This is such a valuable reference for anyone tackling the SH Tempest kit! If I ever start mine, I'm gonna be referring to this build constantly! Dpgsbody55 and chuck540z3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) June 14/20 About 3 weeks ago I got up to Step 12, but it was time to start painting. As mentioned earlier, I will show you how I paint and detail cockpits. The first step after all the parts have been trimmed and cleaned up is to spray all cockpit parts with a gloss coat of black lacquer. I’ve been doing this for may years for the following reasons. 1. The gloss black finish reveals small imperfections like seam lines, which can be easily fixed this early in the build. 2. Some of the cockpit parts are going to wind up black anyway. 3. The gloss finish is perfect for applying small decals and placards. 4. The black causes shadow effects when other colors are sprayed over it. 5. The lacquer dries fast and harder than enamel, so small enamel imperfections can be wiped off with a little solvent. Be careful though, because too much solvent and too much rubbing will also remove the lacquer. 6. I find that gloss black with a dull coat looks more natural than flat black, which is often too rough. So here’s the beginning, with all parts painted with Gloss Black Lacquer. Note that some parts are not glued into place yet, for ease of painting, or different colors other than black and green. Next, black areas are masked off before spraying with RAF Interior Green, which is much greyer than USAAF Interior Green. Other small parts are also painted separately with different colors. Gauge decals and placards are then applied to the gloss black, followed by Microsol to melt them into the fine detail of the cockpit parts. The kit decals are better than I expected, but they do need many applications of Microsol to settle them down. I added a few supplemental placards, courtesy of airscale. For the instrument panel which comes in 3 large decal parts, I cut out most of the small gauges into separate pieces to avoid decal film as much as possible. I didn’t hit the very center of each gauge as much as I would have liked, because you can’t see the edges of the gauge until the decal has already settled down. Too late! To repair the decal would be a nightmare, so I left them as is, which isn’t that bad, especially from a distance. All other switches and small details were picked out using silver and red paint as required. After the decals dried, I dry brushed a bit of silver to pick out some of the surface detail, then sprayed a coat of flat coat to dull the finish. Finally, I placed a droplet of Future into each gauge, to bring the glossy glass look back. Some of the masking is tricky, like this steel colored tank behind the seat. Oxygen? The central control stick and floor assembly should be fairly dirty, so I used Tamiya pastels and bit of sandpaper to replicate same. Most of these parts are the kit resin supplements, which are much more detailed than the older kit parts. Pre-assembly, with the throttle dry fit only to avoid future breakage. Until the seat it installed, this is about all you can glue together. The cockpit cage positioned on the fuselage walls, more or less where they will reside after final assembly. Note that the flare holders (?) were picked out with silver and all of the gloss black was knocked down with a flat coat. I applied a bit of a dark wash here and there to dirty up the other parts a bit. A dry-fit walk-around. Note: Most of the holes that the pins should fit into must be enlarged with a small drill. Excuse the dust! No plumbing or electrical wiring yet, which will be minimal because this cockpit is quite busy without it. Once I’m ready to glue the cockpit into place, I will figure out where these wires will start and end, so that fit isn’t an issue with tight tolerances. Cheer, Chuck Edited June 15, 2020 by chuck540z3 dodgem37, Basta, zaxos345 and 25 others 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Molitor Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Hi Chuck, I’m curious to know if you still decant your black lacquer from a spray can as you did on previous builds? I should also mention previous “epic“ builds mind you. Maybe on the P-38 or Spitfire I recall you doing that on those particular builds? Perhaps not. Thanks. Troy chuck540z3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, Troy Molitor said: Hi Chuck, I’m curious to know if you still decant your black lacquer from a spray can as you did on previous builds? I should also mention previous “epic“ builds mind you. Maybe on the P-38 or Spitfire I recall you doing that on those particular builds? Perhaps not. Thanks. Troy Thanks and I do (TS-14), but only because I have several rattle cans of it to use up and decanting is easy. The new Tamiya lacquer paint in a bottle should work just as good. I have the Flat Black version (LP-3) and it works great. Cheers, Chuck Edited June 15, 2020 by chuck540z3 Troy Molitor and Sakai 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaxos345 Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Amazing as always Chuck!! John chuck540z3 and Sakai 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vincent Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Nice but waaay too clean ! V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Excellent work Chuck! Taking notes! Sakai and chuck540z3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 2 minutes ago, Vincent said: Nice but waaay too clean ! V I knew somebody would think/say that, because so far it's true. I'm not done yet. I still have the seat and belts to do, which will be fairly worn and dirty. Once installed, I will then review the overall look, to see if additional grime should be added here and there. Remember, this aircraft was delivered towards the end of the war and didn't even bother with invasion stripes, so it likely is cleaner than most. The other reason it's a bit clean is that I am gravitating away from the dirty look in my models. It's easier to cover flaws and mistakes with grime and harder to hide them if it's clean, so I like the additional challenge which is more pleasing to my eye. Cheers, Chuck Sakai, Victor K2, Anthony in NZ and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vincent Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 1 hour ago, chuck540z3 said: Remember, this aircraft was delivered towards the end of the war and didn't even bother with invasion stripes, so it likely is cleaner than most. Your model your choice indeed. I will just point out that these a/c were operated from muddy forward airbases and their interiors got dirty pretty quickly, in a couple of weeks usually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Vincent said: Your model your choice indeed. I will just point out that these a/c were operated from muddy forward airbases and their interiors got dirty pretty quickly, in a couple of weeks usually Your arm twisting is working. Let me see what I can do.... Cheers, Chuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaninaustria Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Coming along very nicely mate! Can’t wait to see more! Cheers Alan CANicoll and chuck540z3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamj Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 So nice....Instrument panel looks great. chuck540z3 and Sakai 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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