1/72 EKA-3B Skywarrior/Whale - DONE! 09/20/2015

My honest opinion is that you're doing another one of your very detailed and fun to follow builds. I really enjoy seeing how you add so much to the basic kit. Thanks for keeping us up to date!

Mike

Looking good, Pawel! Keep at it!

Looks great Pawel.

Hello!

Sorry for my late reply!

Mike - thanks a lot for your kind words! I'm glad you like my work.

Devil Dawg, John - thanks a lot!

And i've got another Whale update for you - I managed to put some paint on my model. Here's what it looks like now:

The stripes are for the paint scheme of the VAQ-131. I decided to paint them on instead of using decals from the Hasegawa kit, and I'll be modifying the kit markings anyhow. The stripes and the anti-glare panels are Humbrol 33 black, and the antennae fairings are Humbrol 32 dark gray.

I also have painted with the paints mentioned above - preshading is Humbrol 129 gray over Humbrol 140 gray. White is Tamiya primer from a spray can.

I also found a useful trick on my way - if you're painting over a layer that had a lot of time to dry (like one week here) and there are some imperfections (like places where the tape lifted a bit) you can wait till the fresh layer is dry to the touch, and then clean the imperfections up with a Q-tip moistened with airbrush thinner - it worked for me here.

I hope you like it - thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Looking good!

Mike

Wow! I'm very impressed! I just got back from the U.S.S. Lexington and they have on sitting on the flight deck just as you emerge on top. God, that's a big bird!. My daughter's Navy Jr. ROTC instructor actually flew one, so I am very interested in this thread. I'm trying to get a picture of him with his plane so I can build it.

I noticed the one on the Lex had a bubble canopy and that yours does not. I guess that changed depending on the model? Anyway, great job, especially on a 1/72!!!!  Keep up the great work. Raymond

Mike - thanks a lot!

Raymond - thanks for your kind words! When you get that picture, could you post it here? It would also help if you asked the man about VAQ-131 - that's the unit "my" Whale belonged to, I could use every help here. BTW, I plan to model the BuNo 142403.

As for the canopy - it changed between models, but only minor details. Looking from the deck it seems to be bubble canopy, but on top there's rather large "roof" with the ditching hatch in it - much better noticeable when you're handling a model. So no real difference between my model and the Lexington whale - in fact they are pretty close together. The Lexington whale looks like a KA-3B tanker to me.

Thanks for your comments and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello!

Another update - this time I tested how a wash could be applied to my model. I chose the horizontal stabilizers as the test ground. I lightly thinned some Humbrol 32 with turpentine and applied this mix to the panel lines over a thin layer of future. Before an hour passed, I began to wipe the was down with a dry paper towel. The results were OK - as the photo shows:

I hope you like it - thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

She's looking great Pawel!!!  Can't wait to see this beauty finished!

jelliott523 - Thanks a lot! I can't wait too - but it's going to take some time. I'm waiting for some custom PE and decals to arrive.

In the meantime I'm working on the landing gear - I added some Eduard PE and thin copper wire for now:

Thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello everybody!

Last week I've been working on the landing gear. Black wash and the Hasegawa kit decals really dress up those areas. In the main gear bays there were many details to add, especially the strut operating cylinders, running the whole width of the aircraft. There were also the extension boost cylinders - the little diagonal ones, and also the door latches. Still missing are the door operating cylinders - they will be added together with the doors and are only kit supplied. So here are the bays:

On the other side there's the pressure refuelling plumbing:

Main gear struts:

Front gear strut - there's still a nice PE part to be added:

Thanks for reading - good luck with your projects and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello!

So here's the next update - it was time to do some decaling. The kit I have gives you two paint options:  VAQ-131, AB-615 from the Mediteranean cruise and the VAQ-130, NG-614 from 1972. I wanted to do a Vietnam bird, and I found two photos of the VAQ-131, NH-615, which was similar to the AB-615, so I decided to develop my own decals using the kit decals as dimensional help. That's what I did and a little company called Malius Manu printed those decals for me. The biggest challenge was to get thin gray and white partition lines between some markings and the black stripes on the tail. In hindsight it would be best to mask the apropriate areas off at painting the stripes - but I didn't do that. My idea was to incorporate those gray and white borders in the decal - it worked with white, but wasn't doable for gray. So I did something else - I masked off and painted the right shapes on a clear decal sheet:

Then I put them on the model:

When this was dry, I put the decals on:

While not perfect, I'm quite satisfied with the results. The declas from Melius Manu react well to the mix of Micro Sol/Set, Mr Mark Softer and Solvaset - working with them is a pleasure.

So now I'm putting the remaining decals on - hope you liked it, thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Awesome job on the Whale. Interesting how the stars and bars are located so far back. Even the Vigilante that was a huge plane had them up front. Great job Pawel.

You are doing an excellent job on this kit!

Mike

Hello!

PJ - with the electronics "blisters" on the sides there isn't so much space on the sides of the hull for the insignia - I guess that's why they are so far back. Thanks a lot for your kind words!

Mike - thanks a lot!

Now I'm movin' on with the decals.

Thanks for your comments and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello!

I've got another update for you.

I finished putting the decals on and started to weather the surface - it's also mostly done. I used dark gray paint (Humbrol 32) thinned with turpentine - put that on the surface detail, waited to dry a little and then I removed the excess with a Q-tip dampened with airbrush thinner. In places where the lines were too shallow I pencilled them in.. The airbrush thinner also washes pencil off, should it slip. The next thing to do would be to put a satin clear coat on top of that and then start the final assembly. Still waiting for the custom PE to correct the wheels. Here's what the model looks at the moment:

Thanks for reading and I hope you liked the pictures - good luck with your builds and have a nice day

Paweł

Well Pawel ;

    Dog gonnit , You did it again !  Now I'll have to go out and get another Plane .! What's up ? you guys don't like floatie thingies ? Great work Pawel !

Tankerbuilder - thanks a lot for your comment, and for your kind words! Nothing against floatie thingies - I'd love to tackle the brown water navy some day, or Maddox and Turner Joy for their historical significance - just didn't get around to it yet! Good luck with your builds and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello!

Here's the next update - I managed to spray a semi-matt coat on the whole model. That helped to finally blend the decals with their surroundings. With that final coat on, I could at last unmask the cockpit. I'm glad I haven't found any nasty surprises under there, although the close up photos show all the minor finish problems that cannot be seen from the distance:

I also put the flaps and slats on. Especially the flaps weren't that easy to put on. Also note the static charge dissipators on the wing tips - I made them out of thin plastic fishing line, so as to keep them from breaking off:

At the same time I also installed the arresting hook:

You could say - just a few more details and it's done - but such things usually take me a lot of time, so let's see how it goes. I hope you liked it - thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Hi, Pawel -

I wish you had not said there are finish flaws, I've been trying to spot them for a few minutes, now I have eye strain and have yet to find any.. It's just a beautiful build, a so-so kit made into a real gem of craftsmanship. I have thoroughly enjoyed following your build and the texts, very informative and helpful for me in my own hobby efforts. Thanks for all of the posts and photos.

Patrick

Hello Patrick - thanks a lot for your kind words. As the Book says - seek and you shall find... I feel good to know I could help somebody with my writing here. Thanks for your comment and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello!

I've got my Whale almost done - the only thing left is the correct main gear wheel - I'm still waiting for custom PE to correct them. The thing is the kit's wheels are correct for so called "Version" - EA-3B, RA-3B, TA-3B and ERA-3B - but incorrect for "Bombers" - A-3B, KA-3B and EKA-3B - that had smaller brakes.

But for today I installed the wire antennae - made them of stretched sprue:

Also note the AN/ARR-15 antenna on the rear cabin window looking like shades - the decal was provided by Hasegawa without telling you where to put it.

I also spotted some missed panel lines on the underside - I pencilled them in, and also added a tie-down ring at the base of the arresting hook, a holdback fitting (the yellow arrow points to it) and the refuelling hose drogue. I also painted the lights:

I also fitted the crew access/escape hatch and the catapult bridle attachment hooks (from the Eduard PE set):

So, like I wrote the only thing left now are the wheels - I'll let you know when I fix this. Hope you like it - thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Hello everybody!

After a long time, here's an update!

We're talking about this part:

It's the main landing gear wheel, which would be correct for the so called "versions" variant of that aircraft, but not for a "bomber" - and the EKA-3B belongs to the bombers.

It's wheels should look something like this:

That means work. First I got to my trusty lathe and took the unnecessary part out. I really needed to man up on this one for fear of destroying something:

What I got was a very clean wheel:

Now I had to add some detail. I designed my own custom PE part in CorelDRAW! and let a small company etch it for me. That's what took so much time. After I got the parts, I had to shape them. I have built a matrix out of two pieces of iron and turned a brass punch on my lathe. One gentle tap of a hammer and the part was shaped, like on the photo below - on the left - BEFORE, the original part. On the right - AFTER the shaping. You can see the heat discoloration on the part on the right - that's because I heated it with a gas torch to make the material softer and to prevent it from cracking:

Now the easy part was to cut the parts out and glue them to the styrene:

Now I'm going to paint and weather them. I hope you liked it so far - thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Your Whale is coming out beautifully! All I can say about your wheels is...WOW! That is some awesome work! My hat is off to you my friend.

Outstanding!  I'll take a set too if you don't mind.

Unbelievable. The work youve done is unbelievable. I cant believe I havent stumbled upon this thread before.  Really excellent work!

jelliot523 - thanks a lot for your kind words! It means a lot to me!

John - thanks! We'll work on that!

allan - thanks a lot! Well, I'm glad you found it now - welcome aboard!

Thanks a lot for your comments and have a nice day

Paweł

Wow, your attention to detail is superb!

Toshi

Toshi - thanks a lot for your comment and for your kind words!

Paweł

Hello!

Today is the final update - I painted the wheels:

One thing left was to put them on the model:

And so the whale is finally completed, after two years!

Let's take a look at the completed build:

Thank you all for your attention and for your comments - I hope you liked it and have a nice day

Paweł