Secret Santa GB 2016 !!!

We know that there is at least one kit still in transit. No worries, it'll show.

In the meantime, Santa came through with a kit I was wanting to build, SO winning !!

BK

Here's what Santa brought me in his little white truck.

It apperently comes with it's own water base and dog

Thanks Santa! I'll start on her Jan 1.

Looks like the jolly red fellow dug deep in the bag, all real nice kits it looks like.  Nice assortment of Minicraft, Academy, Trumpter.  I get the first and second off so I can get a good start.

Santa was thinking water skiing when he dropped mine off. Bet it's tough behind that air boat! This kit looks really nice in the box. Ive not built a modern warship yet so I am really excited about this. 

My Santa came through with flying colors!  Gave me the Eduard 1/48 FW-190A-8!  I'll get started on it when we get home Tuesday!  Thanks Santa

Well I've made some progress with my Fw190.  I have yet to try this Eduard offering so I've been reading up on some reviews one have been getting tips to avoid the issues.  Apparently this kit will fall together with Tamiya-level efficiency or punish you like a Lindberg cheapo kit.  The trick seems to be to ignore the instructions and dry fit, dry fit and dry fit some more.  I think I've done enough to ensure a good fit.  So I'm about ready to start painting.  Fingers crossed.

DiscoStu

Well I've made some progress with my Fw190.  I have yet to try this Eduard offering so I've been reading up on some reviews one have been getting tips to avoid the issues.  Apparently this kit will fall together with Tamiya-level efficiency or punish you like a Lindberg cheapo kit.  The trick seems to be to ignore the instructions and dry fit, dry fit and dry fit some more.  I think I've done enough to ensure a good fit.  So I'm about ready to start painting.  Fingers crossed.

 

Boy you waisted no time getting into the kit!  Good for you!  Start 2017 off with a bang!  Be sure to post some pics of the 190.

Eagle90

Cracked the celophane on my gift this morning.  Very nice molding, very little flash, virtually none.  As can be expected in this scale, not much in the way of office detail, floor and a couple of seats, but not much can be seen through the small canopy windows anyway. 

Cut loose the fuselage and smoothed up the sprue stubs on the edges, nice tight fit with virtually no gaps.

Landing gear is basic as well.  I'm planning on doing her as a ceiling hanger with gear and flaps up, and though the "H's" never painted as such, in SEA camo.

Pics as it progresses. Painting the cockpit area today.

Its been an exceptionally cold winter here so far and my new builds are on hold until I can get my torpedo heater from Amazon and warm my garage above the mid 30's. Since all my ABing is done out there I cant really start anything. So, Ill watch you guys build for a bit.

BK

I hear ya.....due for a cold snap this week, down to mid teens.  For us in the banana belt west of the Cascades, that is just plain COLD. With my blood circulation now, I just can't take the cold like I used to.  Doing my builds over at the shop at work for now til spring gets here and can work on some of the others at home.

I got pretty far with the Hornet, just a few fiddely bits to add to the hull then on to the island. The paint and water willtake the longest on this build.

Hello everyone and happy New-Year! 

        I am so sorry this post is so late!  Between visiting family for the holidays and work I've been swamped. 

     Thank you Santa for bringing me a Eduard  1/48 Avia B-534 ProFi pack!  I am ashamed to admit I have never heard of the B-534! I have seen it time to time, but never truly knew about it.  I spent a few hours Christmas night reading about it.  Now that I'm 100% more knowledgeable in B-534s I'm all set to build!   As we speak the parts are soaking in some soapy water.  The PE rigging turn buckles are a sweet touch from Eduard!     

 Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure!

Wow Mike, that is a really cool looking kit. I'm looking forward to seeing it come to life.

I have added the badge to the front page. I can't wait to start on my kit.

BK

I've made a lot of  progess on the Fw 190.  In doing some online research one of the tips that was recommended was to ignore the instructions and add the engine mount to the firewall prior to installation.  If you follow Eduard's steps they would have you wait until after the firewall has been installed and the fuselage halves closed before putting in the engine mounts.  The engine mount consists of three tubing parts plus the engine mount ring.  Doing this per the instructions would require tweezers and a lot of patience to get the alignment right.  I had visions of it being similar to a ship in a bottle, so I was happy to get this out of the way now.  Some white glue for testing ensured alignment, and when everything was set I locked it down with Tamiya liquid cement.  *Whew*

The other potential bugaboo with this kit appears to be the alignment of the wing spar.  If this is off by even a bit not only will the landing gear have a funny angle, but the spar will prevent the lower wings from mating with the fuselage correctly.  The tubing in the center of the spar has to fit exactly between and behind the spent casing chute from the firewall.  I spent two nights carefully test fitting the spar to the fuselage and when I was comfortable I locked the spar down.  Hopefully doing this now will help me avoid a ton of sanding and big-boy words down the road.

I also went ahead and assembled the engine.  Given that very little can be seen once it is closed up I elected not to try to wire it up.  

So far I think I am ready to move ahead with the major assemblies and am optimistic about the rest of the build.

A quick note, pics were taken with my iPhone, so I apologize for the poor quality.

Got the fuselage buttoned up on the BUFF, and prelim seam sanding done.  Just a little filler in a couple of spots.  Glued up the wings, and as can be seen, need to fill and scribe from the flaps out. Port wing worse than the starboard.  At least they are on the bottom with this kit.  Will install flaps and engine pylons after I get that chore taken care of.

My moment of truth came with the Fw 190.  After a ton of test fitting I very slowly completed the wings to fuselage portion of the build which apparently is the most fiddly part of the Eduard assembly.  With a ton of patience (And the fact that the football game on in the background was so dull I was able to stay focused!) and only a few, gentle swipes with a sanding stick,  I got the lower wings/upper wings, and fuselage all mated.  I am very happy to say that the internet tips did their job and everything eventually clicked into place.  So much so that there are no seams to fill!  Things should really start moving now.  The only real daunting task left is the placing the exhaust pipes into the engine.  Each pipe must be added individually.  Eduard was kind enough to provide a jig for this step, but it's still going to be tedious. 

Wow, you guys are really making some nice progress. I can't wait to get started on mine when the weather finally lets me.

BK

modelcrazy

An update on the Wasp. I sprayed the lower hull camo and added acrylic gel followed by a coat of artist acrylics to the base. I will be sanding the base and painting another thinned coat of blue which will be slightly lighter in color. This will add some contrast to the water and give the impression of below surface turbulence. I also ordered some 1/700 crew.

 

 

Impressive! I have to admit, you sure do make it seam easy. 

Looks good, coming right along.  You guys are making me look like a piker...

A sting by any other name is still a sting by a nasty flying object.  Wasp was still on the other side of the world at that time.  She got to the Pacific after Midway.

Opps my bad. Hornet. One of those pesky bugs.

That is really looking quite good there Steve. I really need to make the time to fiqure out this whole water crafting you do.

BK

Here is the progress on last year's Mig-23. As you may remember, I had some issues with the black and red flame scheme and went to the camo version instead. I should have it gloss coated tonight or tomorrow and then I'll get to adding decals and the small bits.

Greetings all, and a late Happy New Year! I made it back from Australia safe and sound. Here is what was awaiting me when I returned. Thank you to my Secret Santa, cant wait to get it started. Sorry for the rotation on the picture, I couldnt get it to adjust when I brought it over from PB.

Welcome back from summer down under......with what we have been getting the past 3 weeks you should have stayed longer.

I like the save on the MIG, nice paint work.

The little BUFF is starting to come together.  Fuselage is all filled and sanded, same with the wings and engine pylons.  Will get the wings and tail on today and she will start to look more like a flying machine.  Going to attach the engines and tip tanks after paint, since the pylons and upper half of the pods and tanks are camo'ed in the SEA scheme.  Will put up new pics in a few days.

jelliott523

Greetings all, and a late Happy New Year! I made it back from Australia safe and sound. Here is what was awaiting me when I returned. Thank you to my Secret Santa, cant wait to get it started. Sorry for the rotation on the picture, I couldnt get it to adjust when I brought it over from PB.

 

BK

Yeah, I know the feeling about the weather! Not sure what you're getting in Oregon, but we had record snow here in the SW corner of Idaho. Definately a shock from the sun and warm weather of Australia, wish I could have brought it back!

Looking forward to seeing the BUFF when its completed!

Thanks about the Mig paintwork, not entirely what I was going for, as I had to custom mix the colors to get them "close". I think it will look fine after its decaled and weathered a bit.