1/48 Monogram Kingfisher X2, FINALLY DONE !!!!!

Amazing ingenuity to make things fit.  Great job.

Your friend, Toshi

 I did make some time the last few weekends to get a bit of work done on the Kingfisher.

Aside from all the sanding and filling around the float attachment points I also completed the engine and it is now ready to be placed in the cowling. I also took some time to open up the exhaust outlets which the kit does nothing for and I made some piping to replicate the exhaust exits. '

I did this by bending some tubing and them filing off the end at an angle to match how they look in the photos. Once I had this done I also drilled out he openings and enlarged them with my Dremel and a round file. Now with the engine sitting in the cowling and the exhaust tubes sitting in place the cowling is beginning to look the part.

I am nearly done with the float attachment work which has taken many hours of work. I will then attach the cowling followed by the engine and outer ring. I will then be in a place where I can attach the wings and I should move quickly from there. This has really taken quite a bit of work to get this far and I can see why you don't see many of these pimped out. 

Well, that's all for now.

BK

Looking good!  Your dedication to these builds is amazing.

I really appreciate that you're giving us the information on how you are approaching and building this kit. Your work is inspiring.

Don't kill yourself with too much work!! Money is not worth poor health.

Well, the second job just didn't allow for time to do life things, any things at all. So, I dropped it and I must say it's great getting time to work on my kits again. 

I have managed to make quite a bit of progess lately and it is starting to look more and more like a Kingfisher. At this point I only have a few things to address and then it will be off to primer. I hope to have this in paint this weekend.

BK

Very nice. Inspirational even!

I very much like the skill and work you've put into this kit so far. The payoff is not far down the line. Looking forward to the painting, etc.

I've been working on the Kingfisher alot lately trying to get the first one done. I finally settled on a scheme and then it dawned on me that I have to lay a star decal inside of the support struts for the outer floats. OOOOFFF !!! That is gonna be really hard as the decal is larger than the area the struts take up. I thought the paint work was gonna be a pain on this due to the floats but those underwing decals are gonna test me for sure.

BK

Nice to see the k fisher again. 

I would think the decaling and painting of the struts area would be easier if the floats assemblies where off the wings.

You may be able to remove the wing floats with out damage. Try softening the glue at the strut / wing atachment with some more Tamiya extra thin.   Lightly pull the strut from the attachment hole at the wing underside as you apply the glue. Wierd that you can remove glue with more glue but it has worked for me and to ease your pain, it's worth a shot.

Hi Brandon,

Your build so far looks great, nice attention to detail.  I like your re-alignment technique with the wings.  I built an AM TBM-3 Avenger a while ago and put in a Vector engine as well; had the same fit problem - engine diameter was too large to fit inside the cowling.  I did the same thing you did, first thinned the cowling until I could almost see through and then still had to file off tops of some of the cylinder heads. 

Now I'm building an AM SBD-5 Dauntless and plan to install a Vector engine as well.  The engine is still in pieces so I haven't been able to test fit yet to see if there'll be a problem.  Just eyeballing it looks like it might fit, but hard to say.  I'm in the process of putting a pager motor inside the engine to animate the propellor so it's taking a little longer. 

Thanks for posting and keep showing us your techniques. 

Steven

Well, I slept on it last night and decided that pulling the struts wasn't what I wanted to do and I did consider using Tamiya ET to soften them up. I also considered just fighting them on and calling it done, but that didn't sit well with me either. So, I've been wanting to get into stenciling my insignias on anyway and why not start on this plane. I'll will paint all the wing insignias on rather than fight the decals. Here's to first attempts.

Also, I have begun work on the second KF that will be a wheeled version. I want to show the plane in both forms it was made and I just don't want to fight that float attachment again. It looks good when done, but I won't be doing another one of those, it just sucks to do. 

I began laying on some color on the float version, but you all will have to wait to see it all done before I reveal the scheme; I think you'll like it. I'm not going traditional on this one. 

Thanks for all the kind words and for stopping by.

BK

Well, the attempt at painting the insignias on was a total failure. SO, I removed them pulled the floats off so I could apply decals easier. I didn't want to do that but it was needed. I have the bulk of the paint work done; just need to touch up a couple spots. I will add the float support struts and apply decals very soon. Since this is a stateside bird I have to remove the bombs off the racks before I apply them and given the design is going to take a bit of scratch work. All in all it coming along nicely even though I hate this kit at this point, but I will complete it anyway.

BK

Very nice. Clearly a change of heart regarding finish though. So much for one RAF one and one triple blue one!

You got that right. I was going to paint them in those schemes but with the floats attached it was clear that a dual or triple color scheme was going to be a HUGE pain to paint. That is what made me change my mind to the aluminum laquer instead. Now that I've painted it that color I actually like the look, and it's differernt than the standard blue you always see. My biggest regret on the changes I've made on the kit is that it was a fight most of the way and the kit has turned out to be less than fun to build. This dislike for the kit has changed my mind in several ways. I changed the paint schemes to both be aluminum laquer birds, both US and one will be on wheels. All of this is due to the issues I've run into along the way that I just don't want to repeat again. They will look pretty decent when done, but I won't be doing anymore of these. I'm looking forward to build the Kitty Hawk one that I have. I think I will enjoy it much more. Thanks for looking.

BK

I am making slow progress as usual but its starting to show. The paint work is mostly done, for what it's worth, and I have the decals on. I have some small things left to do but nothing overwhelming. I look forward to seeing this one done and working on the other one. I think I won't dislike that one as much as this one.

BK

Gorgeous paint work there Mate.  I was hoping mine would look near as good in this scheme but it's on hold for a while.

Did you paint the blue and red stripes on or are they decals? Either way their just perfect.

Jay Jay

Did you paint the blue and red stripes on or are they decals?

BK

Well, the float version KF is nearly done. I only have some small bits to complete and I'll post up the pics.

Meanwhile, I have been working on the wheeled verion and I am liking it a whole lot more than the first one. The cockpit in it is a Cutting Edge piece and you just can't find those anymore. It is super nice and I left everything nice and clean and crisp as the photo of this one I am working from is from the factory when it was just finished and preparing to ship off the the Virginia. I hand painted the instruments, there were no decals used. I'm pretty happy with the look.

I should have the float version posted up in a few days. Thanks for stopping in.

BK

Where is the dihedral in the wing?

Very nice work on that cockpit

Excellent work on your -2 Kingfisher.  Good choice on the LSM float as that is an EDO which was used for -2/3's.  The kit float is the Vought float which is for the -1.  Which version are you going to do for the wheeled version?  If a -1, you could do a diorama where the mechanics are getting ready to change the wheels for the kit (Vought) float on its beaching gear.

richs26

If a -1, you could do a diorama where the mechanics are getting ready to change the wheels for the kit (Vought) float on its beaching gear.

Checking my reference material it is a -1. It is #4-0-3 destined for the Virginia as the "Commanders in Chiefs" plane. As far as a dio, that's a really cool idea. I intend to work on this one a bit slower as the first one was not fun. I am enjoying this one but I'm not gonna rush it so I may look into that idea. Thanks for the input.

BK

At this point I'm calling the float version done. This one fought me every step of the way. I could have done far better I feel, but in the end I think it is still far better than the kit was to start with. I hope you enjoy the pics. Parden the dust, I forgot to blow it off before the shots. This is what happens when you leave the kit on the desk while you work on another.

BK

Brandon,

For all the sturm und drang this kit engendered, you've done a wonderful job!

Looking forward to what you do with the 2nd kit.

For a kit that was somewhat of a problem child that looks really good. Nice one Brandon!

Turned out really nice. 

Brandon that one came out looking fantastic! I am a big fan of the color scheme and I would have never known it fought you by the way it turned out. Really nice work here!

A phenom of a job, most  amazing!