themongoose Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Man that looks like dried oil leaks. Nice show! mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 Thanks, Gents! Today I managed to get most of the cockpit finished. I still need to add a few knobs and switches to the IP, as well as to complete the sidewalls. However, I decided to stop for the night and post the current state of things. I used the HGW belts on this one, but I'm not entirely happy with them this time. I've used their sets on a few builds in the past and have always been impressed with them. However, this set seems to be constructed differently, in that they have two layers of material, with the backing layer being a thicker, paper-like material that I don't remember seeing on previous sets. The result is that they are harder to get a realistic shape and "lay" of the belts, if you know what I mean. It was actually quite difficult to get them into place. I'm not sure if HGW has changed their construction, or if this is just an isolated example. I snapped a couple of photos, but noticed upon upload, that the lighting over my bench makes things appear MUCH brighter in the photos than they do in person. In reality, the interior green is much darker and the weathering more pronounced and dirty looking, than what the photos would indicate. Not a fan of LED lighting for photos. The instrument panel is from Yahu and I think it looks pretty good. I also added a few bits of wire/hose, as well as dressing up the rudder pedals a bit. I'll post more photos when I get the sidewalls done and perhaps I can get a little better lighting next time. Happy Modeling John themongoose, Zero77, coogrfan and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Very nice work on the cockpit John. I hear you about bench lighting making taking good photos a challenge; I struggle with that on all pictures I take at my bench. I also use HGW seatbelts on nearly all my builds. Every set I have used has the paper backing that you describe, unless I am misunderstanding what you are saying which is quite possible. I always crumple the seatbelt material into a little ball and roll it between my fingers after removing the backing to make them more supple; I find that helps a lot. Ernest mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 That's looking great John, luv the engine mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 That's looking familier, and very nice it is as well. This kit really surprised me, it was a pleasure to build, looking forward to more. Cheers Dennis mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Nice job on the cockpit. Minor point of note: That rectangular piece that goes over and around the seat (actually behind the seat) is most likely a bungee cord that would be white, tan, or grey I think. I'm not entirely sure on it so take it for what it's worth. It just looks an awful lot like an A6M and J2M seat installation and they have bungees in that location. mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 Thanks, everyone! Ernest, I'm used to the paper backing on the HGW belts, but this one seems much thicker than normal. I was going to peel it away, but what would be left over is a surface film that looks much thinner than it should, in my opinion. Juggernut, Thanks for pointing that out. Funny you should mention that, because as I was doing the assembly, I was thinking to myself, "I think that should actually be a different color". I just wasn't sure what it was and forgot about it. I'll go back and change it before final assembly. Thanks again! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlamoSnep Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Cockpit looks great! mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted January 19, 2023 Share Posted January 19, 2023 help ? coogrfan, dennismcc, Gazzas and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted January 20, 2023 Author Share Posted January 20, 2023 Ok, NOW I'm calling the cockpit "done" (spare a couple of touch-ups I see that are needed, as I look at the photos! ). I used Off White with a touch of Khaki mixed in for the bungee suspension rigging. I added a bit more wire and thought about doing even more, but realize that most of it wouldn't be visible, anyway. So, it's time to move on, I think. Now I can start riveting the main airframe parts and get them ready for assembly. I see in the instructions that they tell you to remove a hatch on the right side of the fuselage that is ever so slightly raised from the rest of the surface. Not looking forward to that, but also need to do some more research to figure out what it is and if it should actually be there, or not. If it does need to be removed, I'll want to do that before riveting. I could just be lazy and decide to leave it there, anyway. Hoping it's not too hard to remove, if required. Thanks again for all the input (and special thanks to Mike for the photos of the seat/suspension system!). It is greatly appreciated. John Dpgsbody55, Alain Gadbois, denders and 12 others 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted January 20, 2023 Author Share Posted January 20, 2023 (edited) Here is the hatch in question and Hasegawa's instructions that relate to it. I'm not sure why they tell you to remove it, since every photo I can find of a N1K2 that shows this area seems to have it present. I'm not sure if the prototype didn't have it and Hasegawa overlooked this step for this kit in the instructions (they also offered a prototype boxing). Or, maybe there's something else that I'm missing? However, it seems to be a safe bet that I could leave it alone and be just fine, so that's what I'll likely do, unless one of you scholarly members can show me otherwise. John Edited January 20, 2023 by mywifehatesmodels BradG, LSP_Kevin, Landrotten Highlander and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 7 hours ago, mywifehatesmodels said: Here is the hatch in question and Hasegawa's instructions that relate to it. I'm not sure why they tell you to remove it, since every photo I can find of a N1K2 that shows this area seems to have it present. I'm not sure if the prototype didn't have it and Hasegawa overlooked this step for this kit in the instructions (they also offered a prototype boxing). Or, maybe there's something else that I'm missing? However, it seems to be a safe bet that I could leave it alone and be just fine, so that's what I'll likely do, unless one of you scholarly members can show me otherwise. John I'm with you on this. Leave it. I have the Aero Detail book in the Shiden-Kai and there's no mention that any of them did not have the life raft bay (which is what that door covers). mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 Yeah you should leave it John, it was not there on the earlier Shiden 11 (different gun configuratio). The Shiden 21 (yours) had that hatch, like Tim said. mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greif8 Posted January 21, 2023 Share Posted January 21, 2023 Great work on the cockpit John, it looks outstanding! I am with Tim and Mike reference the hatch, I would leave it. Ernest mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 (edited) So, I've been chipping away at the task of riveting. I've only used photos of original/restored aircraft, as well as checking out some of the riveted models that have been posted on this forum, as a guide. I don't have any sort of plans that lay out the exact pattern. It's not perfect, but I wasn't about to start counting rivets.... In the end, most of them likely won't be very visible, but the effect will still show through, in some spots. At this point, I have most of the fuselage done, spare a little bit on the tail. I added an oil wash to get a better grasp on where I'm sitting. There are certainly a few spots I might fix, but not too bad for my being so rusty with the rivet wheel. I decided to attach the halves of the tail assembly to the fuselage halves, in order to have an easier time in filling/sanding the seam and riveting the area. This is MUCH easier than trying to attach the tail and add the details after the fuselage is assembled. Now that the fuselage is nearly done, I feel a little more motivated to finish out the riveting and get this thing ready for paint. Most of the "difficult" stuff is done, but I must say that this kit seems to fit extremely well in every resect, so far. Therefore, nothing really difficult about it. Just taking my time. Thanks for checking in! John Edited January 31, 2023 by mywifehatesmodels BradG, tucohoward, coogrfan and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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