Trainer GB 2014 #CLOSED#

This really is not my week!

OK here is the model situation on my side.

I have now struggled with this Sampe and the PT-20 and have decided that my sanity is worth allot more to me than the $15-00 I paid for the kits, SO, I will be getting another "real" kit for this GB within the next week or so as soon as the shop get's it in.

In the meantime I ask you guys to continue the cool posts you have been making here and although I may not be able to post pix till PB gets sorted I will continue posting and following the builds :-)

Theuns

had to decide how to get the power into the plane for the fiber kit. the battery will be in the MK5 power unit and a cable will be run to this panel, i dont know if its the right one so if you know better then tell me now before the fuse gets joined.

the panel with removable cover

and underneath (will be painted and tidyed up a bit later)

and on the inside,,,two single pin motherboard connectors. will accept a nice bit of tinned wire with no problem

Nice APU connection!

Yes, looking really nice!

After another (3 rd time) trip to the HS to find a 1/72 T-6 or CHippy I have decided to take this 1/48 Italeri T-6 out of the stash. I was not planning on really building it this year, but I have built another one before with success and I recon t might get me out of my trainer GB "build rut" LOL

Theuns

heres it hooked up. the battery will be enclosed in the flightpath MK5 unit... how ... errr ill figure that out later.

the CMK wheelwells. i only added a few cable runs. im not going over the top, theres too much else to do.

i know there really should be four cables, but i had to use a thicker cable so it can be securely soldered, and four just looked far too out of scale. if it was just for show i would hade used stretched shrink tube, but this has to work and be resilliant to wear.

So, while I was researching markings for my T-6, I ran across some pix of a SNJ from VMT-2 with green stripes on.  I like the look of uncommon markings, so I decided that I'd build my T-6 as a SNJ, like this:

Miramar static display

While digging for VMT-2 references, I learned that green-striped F4U-4 Corsairs were used in instrument training squadrons.  After more research, I found that SuperScale made a decal sheet for VMT-1 Corsairs (48-1050) and I bought it.  So, I decided to pull the old Hasegawa F4U-4 out of the pile and build it alongside the SNJ.

So, I'll have 2 birds in this build.  I will have the SNJ from VMT-2 that I've started, and the Corsair from VMT-1.  

While glue dried on the SNJ, I got started on the Corsair.  

I added a few small plastic pieces to make the sparse cockpit look a little busier.  A few pieces of scrap on the rear bulkhead/armor plating, and a very simple throttle quadrant.  Not totally accurate, but now the 'pit looks a little busier.

Here's the 'pit with a little paint and some decal seatbelts:

The details are a little sparse on this kit, so I decided I'd use a little plastic and wire to help things along.  The engine's pushrods and ignition wires were replaced with some wire and rod.

Before:

After:

Again, not totally accurate, but it looks good "under the hood".

Anyway, I'll be posting progress on both builds as it comes.  Feel free to share your comments, questions, or criticisms.

Thanks for lookin'!

-O

Wohooo ! Nice job on the engines Ortiz. Keep it comin'

I will be doing my "Spammie" in South African AF colors. At one stage we were the largest user of them post war.

Check out this link to the SAAF web site for some interesting and very colorfull markings.

www.saairforce.co.za/.../1

I have painted one of my mate's T-6's with new dayglow and I will tell you it is a massive PITA to do so !But it does look so cool when new.

I recall waiting for a fresh out the shop T-6 at the base oneday and you could see those "painfully orange" leading edges long before you could hear the P/W  LOL

Theuns

That looks like a T-6 office to me mate :-D

Theuns

Yep it looks good to me too!

Oh no! Lucky it is in an area that can be covered, but still one would have liked some quality controll though :-(

Theuns

Hey ajd3530,

Good progress on your cockpit.  I think it looks the part!

Interesting about the fuselage warping.  I had the same problem.  Mine was pretty serious.  Had to use some serious glue and elbow grease to get the halves together.  Didn't have the short-shot problem though.  

Keep up the good work!  Looking forward to seeing more progress!

Cheers,

-O

P.S.  Thanks for the kudos.

Ortiz, mine is the exact same boxing of yours, the original one from '79-'83. I'm honeslty ok with the warping problem. I mean, both of ours have been sitting in the box for 30-35 years. But the short shot does make it harder to make sure I have everything lined up.

On a positive note, I did some dry fitting, and the wing to fuselage connection looks pretty tight, hopefully not much filler work will be required

Hey guys, great detail work happening here.

I got news that my mail order is ready to be sent out.  So soon as it arrives and I can get a look at the contents, I'll make a decision.

Meanwhile, a member had earlier expressed an interest in a badge with crashed trainers.  So here it is incorporating the image they had linked:

regards,

Jack

I know I am biased, but personally, I LOVE it.

Let's go for that one unless someone has another one they want to suggest?

Theuns

Well, since they both look reparable and nobody got hurt too bad, OK.  But it's not nice to hurt a Stearman!

As someone who rebuilds these classics I must say not nice to hurt ANY plane :-)

Think of it this way, the pupil who caused that has job security for a long time..............in-order to pay it off LOL

Theuns

Cool, glad more people like this badge...  I was going to add a Vargas pin up girl (the image was of a beauty applauding in sarcasm), but I think it became too cluttered, so left her out.

Yea, I think only Theuns had commented on the flying pig proposal, so I guess it didn't fly with the rest of the group - haha.

regards,

Jack

started to alter the kit to fit the fibres. 

v channel cut in the AM seat tub

0.6 mm hole drilled in the wingtips and the rest channelled with a dremel.

and it all seems to fit

now if someone can help me find the damn clear parts sprue i have mislaid.....

OK FSM, I have a little progress to post on the SNJ.  Not much, but it is something to show.

I was able to get the fuselage halves glued together.  Unfortunately, like ajd3530, my kit had some seriously warped pieces.  I was able to muscle 'em together, but I lost some detail while attending to the seams.  So, I had to use some creative masking and Mr. Surfacer to restore the raised detail around the tail, on the spine, and behind the cockpit.  The panel lines and rivets will be replaced with Archer's resin details.  I put this aside to let the Mr. Surfacer dry.  In a few days, when I'm sure it's dry, I'll go back and smooth everything out with a fine sanding pad.  

Here's where I'm at with the SNJ:

It'll be a few days before I touch this baby again.  Stay tuned!

-O

Alrighty then...

As the SNJ's glue dried, I got to workin' on my Corsair.  I started with grinding out the exhaust stacks.  They're pretty weak and I decided to replace them with some styrene tube.

I also got the fuselage closed up on this one.  But before I did, I decided to rescribe the kit.  All the panel lines aren't done yet.  I still have to scribe some lines on the nose, but those are waiting until the wings get attached.

Speaking of the wings, I'm working on their panel lines too.

I'll post more pix as my kits come together.  (Yes, pun TOTALLY intended.)

Cheers,

-O

O: nice progress!

Talent: Watching you wire her up is really interesting!

Oortiz, now that is some fine scribing work - you've done this before haven't you?  Next time you post, can you give us an image of the tools you use for this?

regards,

Jack

Howdy Jack,

Thanks for lookin' and thanks for the compliment!  

Actually, this is only the 4th kit I've fully rescribed.  Usually I just build 'em the way the come out of the box.  As far as my tools go, I don't really use anything special.  Here's what I have in my aresenal:

For long straight lines and compound curves, I use Dymo tape.  For specific shapes I use various scribing templates.  As far as the scribers themselves, I have a few.  One is the small yellow handled one.  It was included along with a set of Hasegawa scribing templates.  Another is a sharpened dental tool.  However, the one I use the most is a homemade job.  It's simply the tip of a sewing pin held in an Xacto handle.  The Tenax is used after sanding the to smooth out any plastic that was pushed out of the panel line by the scriber.  My compass just helps with keeping distances consistent.

Hope that helps.  If you're looking for more info, there's a mess of info on YouTube.  Just search "scribing panel lines" and there'll be more info that you care to...uh...care about!

Cheers,

-O

OK FSM, I have a little progress to report.  First, my SNJ...

I was able to get the upper part of the fuselage/cowling installed.  Monogram included two different types of upper cowling.  One with a gun fairing and trough, and one without.  Since this is a trainer, I was originally going to use the one without the gun.  However, as I looked at a pic of the SNJ I'm modeling, I realized that the airframe had the gun fairing and trough, but no gun.  So, I used the corresponding parts from the kit.  Once that was on, I checked to see the windscreen's fit.

The fit isn't great, but it's not bad.

I also installed the wing assembly.  

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised at its fit.  The wing root joint was nice and tight and needed no filler.

I gotta start thinking about how I'm gonna tackle the transparencies on this bad boy.  That's the next big hurdle.

Until then...cheers!

-O

Like my SNJ, I was able to get the wings installed on my Corsair.  There are still a few more lines to attend to, but overall, the scribing's coming along nicely.

Here's what my Corsair looks like with her wings on.

I was able to get another tight, solid joint at the wing root of this build too.

You eagle eyed modelers out there would have noticed two small styrene "tabs" extending from the leading edge of the wing, inboard of the oil coolers.  That's how I was able to get a watertight wing root.  I glued the upper and lower wing halves together, without gluing the joint just inboard of the oil coolers.  This allowed some flexibility in the assembly.  When I glued the assembly to the fuselage, I was able to spread the upper and lower wing halves apart far enough to give me a tight seal between the upper wing and the fuselage.  The little styrene tabs were filler for the very small gap on the wing's leading edge.  

I figured a small gap on the leading edge would be easier to fix than a gap at the wing root.  As it turned out, this was the only "filler" I've needed on the entire build.

At this point, I just need to clean up that "filler", scribe the last few lines on the fuselage and clean up all my panel lines, and this fella's ready for paint!

Stay tuned!

-O