Gamera

Thanks guys!

It was Meng brand paint Piers. First time I've used it. It's an acrylic which I really prefer. I'd been using a set of Gunze Sangyo laquer based paints designed for Japanese armour but I'm find it a PITA to use. So I was happy to switch to the Meng acrylic.  

I sprayed in the basement/cellar as I usually do- 24C and with a fan running to circulate the air. It could have been a little warmer but that's the normal tempature and other paint dries just fine. 

Going on holiday myself next week and then going to be trying to finish up stuff for the end of the year. Will be back to work on the Type 89 first of the year next year. Am going to try to start fewer

 GBs and get more stuff finished!!!  

 

I know what you're saying Gam, I'm doing the same. My only new commitments are to the figure GB and the SSGB.

Dodgy

Piers: Looks great! Good to see so much progress. 

Dodgy: Heck yeah, I really, really, really need to cut back... 

Finally back to the bench. Mostly on the Arado.

I have painted the interior RLM02 and got the IP decal in place. I also added a minimal bit of detail on the sidewalls. You can also see that I needed to put tabs on to make up for the lack of locating pins in the model.

And gluing it all together was a pain - it had to be done bit by bit, working my way around the plane from tail to nose.

And in the nose I had to stick a piece of plastic to properly shape the fuselage so that the nose will fit on with reduced filling.

Looks like you really had your work cut out for you there Piers. Looking good now though.

Dodgy

Thanks Ferg, they are a bit of work, I really want to go for a shake and bake kit for my next project...

So back to the Vega, I mocked up the canopy and wing together to make sure they were fitting together well.

Next the canopy was glued in place, a couple of millimetres ahead of where the model had it, so that the wing was correctly positioned. Then put in place some laminated card to give a stub spar as good gluing surface for the wing, and to hold level too. And you can see the centre line drawn on the wing to help alignment.

Then the top wing is glued on

Great idea about the laminated wing spar!

Hi,

Sorry that I haven't been too active on my build lately.  The real world interfered.

But tonight I was able to get most of the decals on, so that the only two main things left are painting the framing of the windscreen adding the exhausts and then some clean up and a gloss coat.

The decals in my kit are very good, but they also were very delicate, with the carrier film being very close to the edges of the shapes.  As such it was very easy to accidentally distort some of the decals when applying them (especially the "G" and "C" decals).  In the end I got most of them on OK, except for one of the smaller "C"s on the right side and one of the small "Imperial Airways" decals (also on the right hand side).

An issue that I had when applying the decals was that I often was able to get them close to looking right, but when I tried to apply some Micro Sol, the decal would shift slightly and then tend to get mostly stuck in place.

Anyway, I am happy how it loks for now.

Pat

Looks great Pat, very nice work.

Dodgy

I'm back and Piers and Pat you're both doing fantastic work guys!!! 

Hope to get back to mine sometime early next year. 

Hi Pat it is looking great there. I know what you mean about decals like the C and G folding and flipping at the worst moments. And I can imagine you needing loads of solvent to get the decals to conform over the corrogations.

Back to the Arado,getting the engine together. It is a tricky three part cowling which does not naturaly hold the right shape. So plenty of locating tabs and a spreader inside. And you can see the amount of filler required and the interesting set up of the undercarriage which guarantees alignment.

ANd now assembled - you can see the gaps around the nose - there are three different nose variants possible in this model.

And undersides showing all the filling required.

That's coming along very nicely Piers! 

Hi all

Would like to join in with Meng's British R-R Armored Car in 1920 RAF livery.

Lostagain>  Nice work on the Vega and Arado!

PFJN> That a nice looking HP-42 despite the hiccups.

As for me, I haven't touched a kit since September.  Just lost drive since having problems with the last two models.  I'll try to get started again next year.  Promise.  Really.

Gary

Wedge

Hi all

Would like to join in with Meng's British R-R Armored Car in 1920 RAF livery.

 

 

Hope it's okay by Piers- that's really cool! 

Wedge, love it, a great looking kit you have there!

I'll get you on the roster soon, life is getting in the way of modelling right now...

Gary, I know what you mean, I think we all go through all that at some point.

Back to the Vega, the bottom wings were carefully trimmed to fit to the wing root and to match the tips.

The canopy? windscreen? was masked off and faired in. The tail was added and the seam filled and loads of shaping to fit.

The first primer coat revealed a few things to be corrected. Sanded it back tfill and repeat. Managed to knoch one tail fin off, and crack the cowling seam, so nothing unusual.

You can see the struts that need to be built up with milliput, that's the next to do.

Some nice work on work intensive kits here, the Vega and the HP-44 especially.

I have had some health issues that have taken up time and energy, so I have been slow both reporting and making progress on my modeling projects, but here is where I am now on the SBD, it's not too far off being done.

Piers: Looks good! I know what you mean, I always end up knocking something off or cracking a seam or something like that... 

John: Nice work! Love the seatbelts and the engine looks good! You're a braver man than I going with the yellow wings! A pain to paint but they look soooooooo good! 

John, that is looking fantastic. There is some super detail in the cockpit and you have done a great job on the engine. i agree with Cliff, that yellow is striking.

The Arado is coming on too. I have white based the wing tips and tail, then masked ready for a coat of grey pimer. Primer even.

Then a coat of RLM 02

Piers and Cliff, I have pretty much come to peace with doing yellows, I always use a white undercoat in any kind of white, I think I used Model Master flat white, followed by Hataka C006 insignia orange yellow FS 13538 or ANA 506 it says on the bottle, it's their lacquer-based paint.  It only took two light coats of the yellow for the SBD wings.

Piers: She's coming along nicely! 

John: Yeah, I've gotten better at yellows- as you say a white undercoat is a great help. But I still have enough bad memories that I still don't like 'em!  

I admire you for going with that scheme. 

I'd like to join up with a Tauro 1/35 Fiat 3000 1st Series. It was the first tank Italy built after WWI and oddly enough saw combat during the Allied invasion of Sicily. 

GreySnake, 

That sounds very interesting - I look forward to seeing it coming together.

I had not heard of this tank before.

You are added to the roster!

G'day boys n girls and bald headed babies. I hope everyone had a good Christmas. I've been away from the forums for a few weeks due to life issues and Christmas requirements. Haven't been near the bench for the same reasons. Hope to get some plastic therapy in the next few days.

Piers the Vega and the Stack are looking great despite the challenges they presented.

Wedge the armoured car looks like a great kit. I've always wanted to build one of those.

John the SBD is coming up a treat. Love detail and the colour scheme.

Cheers all,

Dodgy

GreySnake

I'd like to join up with a Tauro 1/35 Fiat 3000 1st Series. It was the first tank Italy built after WWI and oddly enough saw combat during the Allied invasion of Sicily. 

 

Sounds cool!!! Welcome! 

Piers, I decided to do an Accurate Miniatures 1/48 Gruman F3F-1 I got for my Secret Santa gift.

No telling when I'll get to it but hopefully sooner than later.

That's great Steve, you are added to the roster. Looking forward to seeing this in its (I assume) bright colour scheme.

Happy New Year everyone!

So the EOY point for the Vega: I got the gloss white on, after grey primer and white primer. Two coats of rattlecan gloss white.

Starting the decals, I figured the first would be the blue cheat line. Unfortunately, the three cheat lines on the decal sheet are short and different blues. So I found a matching blue decal - an Airfix 1/72 Fairey Rotodyne to cut some out.

With that in place, I could get the other decals placed. The Draw decal instructions say that the decals are thin and tough. This is true - one decal I dropped on the bench upside down. I recovered it and happily stuck it on - then saw that I had stuck it on in reverse. So I put water on, floated it off, stuck it onto my finger, a piece of plastic, scrunched it up and then managed to get it onto the model and straightened out and looking good.

On the cowling, as well as the flashes down the side, Draw decal have provided bits to go across the top and bottom and to fill in the top of the light blue. Here is one ready to go - unfortunately I had to use it unprepared as I had spilt water on the sheet. I could not get it to fit in any position or direction. Unfortunately Draw decal do not provide any directions or diagrams for decal placement.

So this is how we ended today with the Vega

lostagain

GreySnake, 

That sounds very interesting - I look forward to seeing it coming together.

I had not heard of this tank before.

You are added to the roster!

 

Thanks for adding me. I will post pictures of the kit next week when I can finally start building again. 

I did order a set of aftermarket tracks for the kit since the kit included rubber ones are one link too short on each run. 

Procrastination at its best!  I'm not much of a vacuum form guy but after 20 minutes or so I think I'm good.  I've been putting this canopy off for a long time.