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Accurate Miniatures F3F-2 Flying Barrel is completed

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25 replies
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  • Member since
    June 2023
  • From: Arden, North Carolina
Posted by Devil Dawg II on Wednesday, June 14, 2023 6:04 PM

Great job, Mr. Aggie Man!

Gary Mason  aka Devil Dawg II

usmarine6482@yahoo.com

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 10:24 AM

Est.1961

What a beauty; nicely done.

 

Thanks!

  • Member since
    July 2008
Posted by Est.1961 on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 8:11 AM

What a beauty; nicely done.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:47 PM

mfsob

"I didn't get one of the struts aligned to match the other, and consequently my barrel sits noticeably askew.  One strut is higher than the other.  By the time I noticed this during construction, the struts had been in place for a day.  I considered attempting a repair, but opted against it out of a concern of doing irreparable damage to the rather tiny parts."

So do what I (try) to do when a construction gotcha' manifests itself in this manner - just don't look at that particular view! Big Smile

Seriously, though, you ended up with a good looking biplane there. 99% of the people who look at it won't even notice, they will be agog at the excellent paint job you applied to that inter-war bird.

 

 

Thanks!

That is actually what I've done with this build.  I didn't photograph it head-on as I usually would, and I haven't really looked at it from that angle much either.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:46 PM

JoeSMG

 

 
stikpusher

Troubles or not, she turend out beautifully! Thanks for the heads up on things to watch out for on this kit! 

 

 

 
Was about to post exactly this.
Beautiful work.
 

Thanks Joe!

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:46 PM

Bobstamp

Despite your problems, that's a great-looking model! Thank you for sharing the blow-by-blow build! It appears to be impossible for model manufacturers to design kits in which all parts fit and make sense and the instructions result in understanding rather than confusion.

Bob

 

 

Thanks Bob!

I'm not sure where the disconnect is between the engineers who design these molds and the writers who come up with the instructions.  As for the writers, sometimes I think that they hire folks who've never actually built a model before.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:45 PM

Eugene Rowe

Looks great!

 

Thanks Eugene!

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:44 PM

CrashTestDummy

I also have this kit in my stash.  Came from HL.  I'm hesitant to build it because of the rigging.  I remember doing all that on Camels and Spads, etc., as a kit, and not looking forward to it.  That DOES look like a nice kit, though.  

 

Thanks a bunch!

I'm pretty sure I also acquired this kit at Hobby Lobby.  Unlike most biplane kits, this one includes rigid steel PE as the rigging.  I really don't know why I had so much trouble with it - probably because I installed it out of order as per the instructions, maybe.  Don't let that dissuade you from building your kit, as it really is a great little kit.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:42 PM

missileman2000

Looks great!

Love those Golden Age aircraft.

 

Thanks Missileman!  I also love the look of the Golden Age aircraft.  Love the yellow wings.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:42 PM

keavdog

Nice job Stephen.  I had this one in the stash but sold it ages ago - fear of bi-planes lol.  Turned out really nice

 

Thank you John!

This bi-plane is actually pretty easy to build, relatively speaking.  The cabanes are molded into the fuselage, which helps immensely with setting that upper wing as opposed to experiences we've probably all had trying to build a Roden biplane, for instance.  The problem I had on this one was more with the PE rigging than actually getting the wings properly aligned.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:40 PM

MR TOM SCHRY

Aggieman,

First off, that kit turned out great!  I've always like those yellow winged birds from between the wars. I have this kit in my stash along with the two old Monogram 1/32 kits too.  Like you, I miss the Accurate Miniatures' kits.  They were great kits and usually priced reasonably too.  So many kits, so little time!

tjs

 

Thanks Tom!

I also have two of those old Monogram kits - one is the Gulfhawk version, the other is the Navy fighter.  I also have one of those from a repop back around the year 2000 hanging on the ceiling of my workshop.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:39 PM

fox

Wow!!! Looks fantastic! Toast Toast Toast

Stay Safe.

Jim Captain

 

Thanks Jim!

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:38 PM

BrandonK

Great build. I have this one as well. Looking forward to building her. Excellent example to follow.

BK

 

Thank you Brandon!  Good luck on your own build of this kit.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Posted by Aggieman on Monday, May 15, 2023 5:38 PM

stikpusher

Troubles or not, she turend out beautifully! Thanks for the heads up on things to watch out for on this kit! 

 

Thank you stik!

  • Member since
    March 2005
  • From: West Virginia, USA
Posted by mfsob on Monday, May 15, 2023 6:43 AM

"I didn't get one of the struts aligned to match the other, and consequently my barrel sits noticeably askew.  One strut is higher than the other.  By the time I noticed this during construction, the struts had been in place for a day.  I considered attempting a repair, but opted against it out of a concern of doing irreparable damage to the rather tiny parts."

So do what I (try) to do when a construction gotcha' manifests itself in this manner - just don't look at that particular view! Big Smile

Seriously, though, you ended up with a good looking biplane there. 99% of the people who look at it won't even notice, they will be agog at the excellent paint job you applied to that inter-war bird.

 

  • Member since
    January 2021
Posted by JoeSMG on Sunday, May 14, 2023 2:16 PM

stikpusher

Troubles or not, she turend out beautifully! Thanks for the heads up on things to watch out for on this kit! 

 

 
Was about to post exactly this.
Beautiful work.

- Joe the SMG

  • Member since
    July 2019
  • From: Vancouver, British Columbia
Posted by Bobstamp on Sunday, May 14, 2023 10:27 AM

Despite your problems, that's a great-looking model! Thank you for sharing the blow-by-blow build! It appears to be impossible for model manufacturers to design kits in which all parts fit and make sense and the instructions result in understanding rather than confusion.

Bob

 

On the bench: A diorama to illustrate the crash of a Beech T-34B Mentor which I survived in 1962 (I'm using Minicraft's 1/48 model of the Mentor), and a Pegasus model of the submarine Nautilus of 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas fame. 

  • Member since
    May 2022
Posted by Eugene Rowe on Saturday, May 13, 2023 12:56 PM

Looks great!

  • Member since
    January 2010
Posted by CrashTestDummy on Saturday, May 13, 2023 12:07 PM

I also have this kit in my stash.  Came from HL.  I'm hesitant to build it because of the rigging.  I remember doing all that on Camels and Spads, etc., as a kit, and not looking forward to it.  That DOES look like a nice kit, though.  

G. Beaird,

Pearland, Texas

  • Member since
    March 2022
  • From: Twin cities, MN
Posted by missileman2000 on Saturday, May 13, 2023 9:38 AM

Looks great!

Love those Golden Age aircraft.

  • Member since
    April 2003
  • From: USA
Posted by keavdog on Friday, May 12, 2023 8:06 PM

Nice job Stephen.  I had this one in the stash but sold it ages ago - fear of bi-planes lol.  Turned out really nice

Thanks,

John

  • Member since
    July 2015
Posted by MR TOM SCHRY on Friday, May 12, 2023 7:52 PM

Aggieman,

First off, that kit turned out great!  I've always like those yellow winged birds from between the wars. I have this kit in my stash along with the two old Monogram 1/32 kits too.  Like you, I miss the Accurate Miniatures' kits.  They were great kits and usually priced reasonably too.  So many kits, so little time!

tjs

TJS

fox
  • Member since
    January 2007
  • From: Narvon, Pa.
Posted by fox on Friday, May 12, 2023 4:19 PM

Wow!!! Looks fantastic! Toast Toast Toast

Stay Safe.

Jim Captain

 Main WIP: 

   On the Bench: Artesania Latina  (aka) Artists in the Latrine 1/75 Bluenose II

I keep hitting "escape", but I'm still here.

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Friday, May 12, 2023 3:21 PM

Great build. I have this one as well. Looking forward to building her. Excellent example to follow.

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Friday, May 12, 2023 2:29 PM

Troubles or not, she turend out beautifully! Thanks for the heads up on things to watch out for on this kit! 

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Katy, TX
Accurate Miniatures F3F-2 Flying Barrel is completed
Posted by Aggieman on Friday, May 12, 2023 2:10 PM

Here is my latest.

For the record, I was a big fan of the Accurate Miniatures kits, and wish they were still around.  I built several of their kits (B-25B, Yak, Stormovik twice, Avenger, Vindicator, and still have another Avenger and a Dauntless in the stash).  The level of detail included OOB is decent relative to the price.  You could certainly augment with PE and resin sets, but IMO OOB these kits look just fine detail-wise and fit-wise.

Having said that, this particular release is not likely one I'll ever tackle again.  First, and to be fair, it is a diminuitive bi-plane, but the fact that it is a bi-plane is not why I'm saying this.  There are a couple of construction gotcha's that one should be aware of prior to putting this one on the bench.

First - the landing gear struts attach in an unconventional fashion.  The attachment points are not clear, either by evaluating the plastic directly or interpreting the instruction booklet.  After the fact, I found a blog referencing this issue; had I known about this problem, I likely would have avoided the big cluster-f**** that I have in this completed build.  I didn't get one of the struts aligned to match the other, and consequently my barrel sits noticeably askew.  One strut is higher than the other.  By the time I noticed this during construction, the struts had been in place for a day.  I considered attempting a repair, but opted against it out of a concern of doing irreparable damage to the rather tiny parts.

Second - the underside gear doors mounting is very - I stress very - difficult.  The instructions even reference this.  You are to put it into the bay rear-side first, swivel it around and -- somehow -- position it properly.  The instructions do state that it will seem that it is never going to fit into position (my experience) but go on to advise the builder to take their time, be careful, and "it will fit".  Uh, yeah, right.  I was never going to get those doors into position without breaking the gear parts that you have to squeeze these doors in around.  I ended up shaving off bits of the doors themselves to finally get them installed.  And you can't see what I shaved off on the finished build.

Third - the kit includes a wonderful fret of PE (not brass as is typically the case, but perhaps aluminum).  Here is another point where the instructions advise the builder to take their time.  I did just that, but still ended up with guide wires that simply don't look right.  These metal parts had some rigidity to them, perhaps too much, but ended up twisting a bit during installation.  I did manage to get them installed, but they don't look like they should on a real bi-plane.  There is not enough tautness in them as I managed to get them into place.  This is probably my fault alone, as I've seen photos of this kit where the builder did a fantastic job in this area.

I painted with AK Interactive Xtreme metal aluminum, steel, and burnt metal, as well as Mr. Color orange-yellow, Tamiya lacquers white, black, red, yellow, and blue, Vallejo tire black, and other colors in the cockpit or the engine - neutral gray and field green.

Next up - Polar Lights' 1/350 Klingon K'tinga with lights.

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