WoW doogs, you are increda-fast!

Excellent job

Doogs: That looks maaahhvelous! Congrats on another great build.

Doogs that Hun Hunter is stunning !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to read your blog and learn to shade like that NOW!!

Funny how the white back ground makes the bottom look like it's neutral gray, but we know better.  I will get the front page updated in the morning and have your badge ready for you then too. Well done sir.

Kudos Doogs! She's another stunner- congrads!

Doogs the front page has been updated with your completed build And your badge has also been uploaded for you to collect.

Small update, (cant keep up with doogs) sprayed and assembled burners. couldnt get the true colours to show. they really do look much better than this to the eye. the ring around the edge is chrome but doesnt look like it as it is refecting the other colours. the shrouds have been rubbed with pigment to reduce the shine and the internals have been dusted to resemble the ones i photoed.

DSC01787 by omgpainful, on Flickr

DSC01798 by omgpainful, DSC01789 by omgpainful, on Flickr on Flickr

DSC01793 by omgpainful, on Flickr

 i may yet run a line wash around the inside edge of the shroud and the splitter between the cans later.maybe.

Great job ya'll!  Well I had some catching up to do! SInce I was in the process of moving, I couldn't get any modeling done for a month   Well things are settling down, so I have resumed. Looks like I made some progress on my P-47D before I moved.

I've gotten the cockpit tub together and the wings, and fuselodge together.  I like it when you can slide the cockpit up through the bottom (helps with getting the seams ) Thats a Ultracast seat installed.

Here's the cockpit tub (I noticed I forgot the rudder petals, but have put them on since the pics where taken)

Parts:

Together:

Barring war or earthquake I've got a natural finish plane next after my battle with USS Oregon is won. It'll be a Revell Texan or Academy Hawk: expendable in case of catastrophe. 

In the meantime I've run into a NMS questions that has me scratching my head. I was checking out a neat new site Fundekals (www.fundekals.com). Their new and have a limited range of (so far) only WWII planes but they look great and have rock bottom price ($4 for 1/48). They keep things cheap by having downloadable paint/decal schemes. (A little like Eduard). I was looking at their P-51s (one is below) and I'm scratching my head. They differentiate between natural aluminum and lacquer aluminum - unfortunately it's not rock solid clear on the diagrams which goes where (sure is helpful when instructions use some kind of texture to indicate similar colors). I assumed that "natural" aluminum meant natural surface and "lacquer" aluminum meant aluminum colored paint used on control surfaces. (They've got stainless steel, but that's pretty obvious a piece on the exhaust.) But by looking at them, it appears to me that the lacquer includes much of the bottom of the aircraft. Of course there's a real possibility that I don't get the picture at all. Would appreciate advice as this subject is on my mind. Pic below, but checking the web site will give a more clear example: might tempt you to try one of their products.)

Eric

Eric - you'll have to let me know how the Fundekals are - I've got their P-51 stencils in 1/32 but it's going to take me awhile to get to one of them big 'Stangs.

To answer your question, the shading sucks and sucks hard, but as I'm looking at it, it is accurate. On P-51s, the wing panels and rivets were filled with putty, sanded smooth, and the whole thing painted with aluminum lacquer. It's a different, more "painted" look than the bare metal elsewhere. 

Basically, the entire top wing gets aluminum lacquer, save the control surfaces (which were metal). Most of the bottom wing, too, save the big bare metal blocks just aft of the gear bays. And also - anywhere that's lacquer should also be puttied and smoothed save for the ammo doors and the panel lines that continue aft of them (I notice everything else is grayed out in the painting guide).

I just did this very thing on my recently-completed P-51B. This in-progress shot may help you map where the lacquer goes:

Obviously I don't have the concept right. I thought NMS meant that. So you're saying that most of the aircraft was actually painted an aluminum color. Paint means pigments and pigments are going to going to leave a different look than aluminum waxed or not. I've been thinking about this in the back of my mind because I also have a Nieuport 17: and I figured I'd give it a silver paint job, but paint. The thing's fabric, not metal. So I was thinking that what you wouldn't want to emulate natural metal you would want  kind of very subtle pigmentation because silver paint still looks like paint.  I will most certain check your B model although I'm thinking Mustang right now. So, if I've got this right, the 51 has a kind of "painted look." Was this something North American cooked up or were all NMS some kind of paint? I've got a very good book on Japanese Army aircraft and the author said the planes were natural metal, given a protective wax and (maybe) some camo over that. So I thought that was how it was done. Silly me. (I helped my brother paint a Piper Cub a lovely yellow dope and almost died because of miserable circulation: helped make him a pile of money though. A cherry Cub brought big bucks.)

Will let you know about the Fundekals: I actually want a Med Spitfire. Actually should have a decal stash regardless. I'm finally getting back into modeling after having to work for my supper for several months (Id forgotten how miserable that was), and once I finish the ship from hell (USS Oregon) I'm going to do the Texan/Hawk (really to figure out how to approach my IJNAAF planes). Then fulfill my craving for a FAA TBM - not sure why I have it, but when I bought Accurate Miniatures Avenger it just said "paint me sky: I will sink U-boats." So I'll obey. Then maybe my first Spitfire. (I've done three Lags and no Spitfires: how'd that happen?) Then do five tanks. And not think about a ship for a year or so.

Eric

As I understand the P-51's fuselarge and tail were bare metal, but due to the laminar flow needs of the wing section, all pannel joints were sealed up and a silver lacure was painted over it.

In theory the Neuport 17 should qoalify as a natural metal plane, the silver on it is just plain alluminium paste or powder mixed into the last few coats of dope. Natural allu ,just aplied slightly different than sheet allu . LOL!

As for my Mirage 3cz, I have been sanding and filling the wingroot fairings today.....untill I got bored with it an put it asside for a few days. (go figure, I have a short attention span LOL!)

Theuns

About the Nuke - I knew that was the case. (Saw a neat NOVA show about the Hindenburg - retired NASA engineer was trying to pin things on the aluminum particles in the dope instead of the hydrogen. Went into some detail about dope making after WWI.) But it would still be a pigment and wouldn't look like natural metal. On the plane I do here, I'm going to use as many brands of acrylic metallics as possible to see which will look the most like metal and which the most like a metallic paint. Sorry, regardless of quality, I just don't have the facilities to use lacquer paints so Alclad is out.

Super work guys!

Eric: As Doogs and Theuns said yeah- just the wings were painted aluminum- the rest of the aircraft was bare metal. To reduce drag putty was applied to the seam lines in the wings sanded flat and the then painted over. Other than the wing tips, ammo hatches and a few other areas the whole wing should be one seamless surface. Last P-51 I did I almost cried over having to putty over all that fantastic detail Tamiya put in the kit and sand it down...

Slowly moving toward finishing off my P-40 and hopefully will get back underway on the P-47 for this GB soonish!

Very useful info when I get around to making a Pony. Had no idea that was the case. (Wonder if this new wonder-32 scale Japanese P-51 has the requisite lack of detail. I hate putty, although I've found a product called Perfect Plastic Putty from the UK which is the easiest to work with I've seen. (Also like modeling gel or paste from Golden. Better is a good fit.)

On another thread I was asking for tips on getting rid of tape residue from masked canopies. Buying some stuff called "Un-Du" that's supposed to be close to perfect. If so, I think I'll make the A-6 for this build - but it's got a load of glass and I'd really like to get a canopy right for once. No laminar flow wings on a Texan.

Eric

wheel wells ready to go in.

DSC01808 by omgpainful, on Flickr

WoW! that looks awesome.

what they look like in the wing. (thanks spark)

DSC01811 by omgpainful, on Flickr

Update to the mustangs, I finished up the surface prep on them today and even had time to spray the base coat to one of them. i could have gottent the other as well, but i dropped it during sanding earlier and busted a wing route. i had to re-glue it and its setting up now. i used micro mesh sanding cloths for the surface prep and the alclad 2 black gloss base for the undercoat. also pictured below is the second paint scheme i chose.

TL: WOW, those look fantastic!

Spark: Now that's what I call a shine! 

decided to remoeve the moulded on formation lights and make some clear ones. started 3 times , 3times the carpet monster has claimed them. F&2* it.

B17 welcome back !!! The pit is lookin good buddy, been missing you around here.

Spark84 that 51 is looking good so faqr man can't wait to see some NMF on that very nice base coat.

Talentless those gear bays look awesome !!!!! Hey are you looking for a test pilot for the test flights when this thing is finished ? OH and about the carpet monster, it was determined by our very own CallSignOwl after a great deal of research, that offerings of jelly beans will plaicate the carpet monster to some degree. I have found that jellybellys will also help as I ran out of jelly beans once.  

vetteman42

 

Talentless those gear bays look awesome !!!!! Hey are you looking for a test pilot for the test flights when this thing is finished ? OH and about the carpet monster, it was determined by our very own CallSignOwl after a great deal of research, that offerings of jelly beans will plaicate the carpet monster to some degree. I have found that jellybellys will also help as I ran out of jelly beans once.  

I find swearing very loudly helps. it annoys the wife, doesnt help me find what i dropped, but i feel much better for it. so i had another go and guess what, yup , i dropped it..but now there are four bits on the floor, the odds of finding one are improving all the time and when scrabbling under my desk swearing (quietly) i found 2!!!!! wohooo!!!

DSC01856 by omgpainful, on Flickr

thanks everyone for the comments!

vetteman42

OH and about the carpet monster, it was determined by our very own CallSignOwl after a great deal of research, that offerings of jelly beans will plaicate the carpet monster to some degree. I have found that jellybellys will also help as I ran out of jelly beans once.  

that's the best way to do it, right there!

Ive started my little p47, so pics should be up soon!

I found once you replace the missing part, the carpet monster spits the original back up, taunting you.

Apu exhaust

Imagke2 by omgpainful, on Flickr

tubs in with complimentry cat hairs and card to keep bullet centred.

DSC01871 by omgpainful, on Flickr

wings wre dead level. i found this tip somewhere. cut off the tab, sand correct angle on wing , screw it together with plenty of mek. not sure if its the right angle (not that anal) but looks ok to me. also shows shimmed gunpack and plastic disc so you cant see right through the fuse (more to add yet)

DSC01868 by omgpainful, on Flickr

Imakge1 by omgpainful, on Flickr

wing roots just needed a dribble of mr surfacer 500 and a clean up with a cotton bud dipped in alcohol. no filling, sanding, or rescribing (thank God it turned out ok)

DSC01884 by omgpainful, on Flickr

Imakge3 by omgpainful, on Flickr

starting to look like a plane instead of a box of bits :)

I find taking a desktop lamp down close to the carpet and holding it at different angles is very helpful to find lost parts.

I love Lightnings, I'm looking forward to seeing this one.

Cheers

Tony

I understand silver painted aircraft also qualify for this GB ?

If so, here is my 1/72 Italeri Sikorski S-55 (H-19b Chicasaw) I am doing in South African Air Force silver and dayglow sceeme.

It will be a VERY basic out the box build, just fun, no frilly extras LOL!

Theuns

Talentless and Theuns: Nice work guys!

Basic structure completed so I painted the dayglow over some gloss white. Will have to see if the dayglow cures...it is a bit old.

It will only have a few dayglow patches and the rest will be silver LOL!

Theuns