Uncarina Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Brilliant work John! Cheers, Tom Thunnus and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaxos345 Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 Absolutely amazing built John!! John Thunnus and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Molitor Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 Outstanding! I love them all. Nicely done John. Martinnfb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted June 12, 2021 Author Share Posted June 12, 2021 Thanks guys! Sorry for being off-topic for this extended period but I promise to provide a modeling update soon. In fact, I just sprayed some paint on the nose wheel well. I've been obsessed with painting lures with the crackle pattern. Or obsessed with "trying". It is REALLY difficult to get consistent crack patterns on both sides of lures. I'm averaging one success after 5-6 tries. The funny thing about the failures is that the crackle medium (which is similar to white glue) forms a thin, elastic "skin" over the base color. It can be peeled off, leaving that base coat intact, which reduces the work. Similar to when your skin peels after getting sunburned. I've developed a color pattern using the crackle finish that I call Zombie... Martinnfb, D.B. Andrus, Jeff T and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.B. Andrus Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 The Swimming Dead? Thunnus and Martinnfb 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted June 13, 2021 Author Share Posted June 13, 2021 5 hours ago, D.B. Andrus said: The Swimming Dead? "I see dead bass." Thanks guys! As promised, I've had some time this weekend to forge ahead with this Tomcat build. Before I paused, I had added some wiring in the nose wheel well to replicate some, if not all, of the myriad of hydraulic and electrical lines present in the real aircraft. Just a little bit to knock the detailing above what you would find with the kit parts alone. The wheel wells are typically white. Instead of just using one shade of white, I elected to use an off-white (which is a it yellowish) as a base and utilize other light colors including regular white to introduce some contrast. The off-white was sprayed over a black to try and get some shadow effect. The wheel well components after some brush painting. After the brush painting, the components were given a gloss coat, a dark brown pastel wash and finally a flat coat to seal it all. The wheel well was glued together after the flat coat. Due to the black base and the pastel wash, the off-white turned out a little bit darker than I wanted... more of a light grey. Some of the bigger components within the wheel well were lightly dabbled and dry-brushed with a neutral gray to impart some wear. Now that the wheel wells and cockpit are complete, they can be mounted within the forward fuselage halves. scvrobeson, Greg W, Brett M and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenshb Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 Really good work on that wheel well... Thunnus and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted June 13, 2021 Share Posted June 13, 2021 Wow those wells look busy! Nice work. How are you enjoying the build? This kit was my first 1/48 build in many years, and piqued my interest in pursuing more jet builds in this scale. Cheers, Tom Martinnfb and Thunnus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 Thanks guys! Appreciate the input! 9 hours ago, Uncarina said: Wow those wells look busy! Nice work. How are you enjoying the build? This kit was my first 1/48 build in many years, and piqued my interest in pursuing more jet builds in this scale. Cheers, Tom I am enjoying the build very much! It's always refreshing to try new subjects especially since I tend to be ultra-focused on WW2 Late War Luftwaffe subjects. These modern jets really pack a lot of junk into these wheel wells and although I feel bad that I'm not adding the level of detail that I would consider to be realistic, I gotta take it one step at a time and not be overly ambitious. I want to keep the build moving forward. Maybe I can take a more complete approach next time. Cuz there is ALWAYS a next time. There are a few bits to add before the fuselage halves are glued together. The re-fueling probe will be retracted so the door is glued shut. Fit is good but surprisingly not Tamiya perfect and I may need a tiny bit of filler on that forward seam. The Vulcan cannon cover fit is perfect. The cockpit tub is glued to the top of the nose wheel well assembly and then located within the starboard fuselage half. Fit is ultra positive with multiple contact points. The fuselage halves are fused together using Tamiya Extra Thin cement. A small bead of Mr Surfacer 1000 is used on the seams. If one is very careful in lining up the fuselage halves before they dry, you could probably avoid filler altogether. The cockpit sill has been painted. Martinnfb, Jeff T, Greg W and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Always a milestone when the fuselage halves come together! It’s nice to see this take shape. Cheers, Tom Thunnus and Martinnfb 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 Thanks Tom! Moving rearward to the central fuselage/wing area, I am starting to think about the main wheel wells and how I would go about adding any detail to them. The nose well was pretty easy since the well was essentially an open-ended box structure. But the surfaces for the main wheel wells are comprised of two distinct levels and spread out over many different parts. The ceiling of the deeper portion of the wheel wells are on inside of the wing tops. The top of the shallower part of the wells are on the wing bottoms. The vertical walls of the deeper portion are made from these parts. Finally, there is also some sidewall detail on the intakes. Putting these parts together will give us a better picture of how the wheel wells are configured. As you can see, the detail in the wells is very sparse and not very convincing. Like the nose wheel well, my intention is too add some detail but won't attempt to capture the actual maze of wiring and cuts. scvrobeson, Greg W, Martinnfb and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 I've elected to glue in the various panels and doors on the nose. Fit has been great so far! Here's' a look at the forward fuselage with the cockpit sill glued into place. The ejection seats and the instrument panel shrouds have not yet been attached permanently. scvrobeson, D.B. Andrus, TAG and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 Great update John! It really does live up to the Tamiya billing with the fit, engineering, and detail. Matt Martinnfb and Thunnus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-10LOADER Posted June 14, 2021 Share Posted June 14, 2021 (edited) Great work so far. This kit practically builds itself and is a joy to build I've been told. I have 4 kits in the stash, 2 A's and, 2 D's. I took about 15 mins and fitted some parts and was really amazed by the precision. Those two "lines" on the center of the canopies are supposed to be there, they are lightning arrestors, not mold seams, don't sand them away. The Tamiya kit your building is a Block 85 to EARLY Block 95 jet so, the Block 85 jets would include BUNO's from 159588 - 159637 and the early Block 95 jets would be from BUNO's 160379 - 160414. As long as you use everything in the box and, the kit decals, you'll have an accurate Tomcat, if you care about that kind of thing. If you choose to find aftermarket decals, they'll need to fall with the BUNO's listed above to be accurate, again if you care about being accurate. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!" Edited June 14, 2021 by A-10LOADER Uncarina, Martinnfb, Thunnus and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted June 14, 2021 Author Share Posted June 14, 2021 1 hour ago, scvrobeson said: Great update John! It really does live up to the Tamiya billing with the fit, engineering, and detail. Matt Thanks Matt! Smooth sailing so far! 30 minutes ago, A-10LOADER said: Great work so far. This kit practically builds itself and is a joy to build I've been told. I have 4 kits in the stash, 2 A's and, 2 D's. I took about 15 mins and fitted some parts and was really amazed by the precision. Those two "lines" on the center of the canopies are supposed to be there, they are lightning arrestors, not mold seams, don't sand them away. The Tamiya kit your building is a Block 85 to EARLY Block 95 jet so, the Block 85 jets would include BUNO's from 159588 - 159637 and the early Block 95 jets would be from BUNO's 160379 - 160414. As long as you use everything in the box and, the kit decals, you'll have an accurate Tomcat, if you care about that kind of thing. If you choose to find aftermarket decals, they'll need to fall with the BUNO's listed above to be accurate, again if you care about being accurate. Steve "TOMCATS FOREVER, BABY...!" Thank you! I'm not going "all out" on the details and accuracy but am always interested in improving things if it ain't too difficult to do. The two "lines"... are you talking about these things? I've not verified but I previously assumed that it was a mold line and ran the entire length of the clear part. I'll have to double check this. Thanks for pointing this out! CODY, scvrobeson, Martinnfb and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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