Viet Nam War Aircraft Group Build

Thanks Tj glad you like it.

plasticjunkie

The Mig 21 is done. Please use the last picture for the completed build section.

You sure?  I was thinking the one with the hand!  You know, for scale

Hi Gents, got the final coat of clear on the hun this morning and that was an adventure. 

I am becoming quite the expert at losing bottles of paint. Last time i cleared the kit I had to stop as I noticed a decal issue on the lower wing I had to fix..  I fixed the decal and today I went back to finishe the clear coat.  Now I can SWEAR i used mr color semi-gloss at the start of this adventure and the sheen on the previously painted parts would confirm this.  Now I only have one bottle on clear sitting on my bench along side all the other colors I have been using on this project, but as I am getting ready to load the airbrush , I notice, it does not say 'semi-gloss', just FLAT.. SAY WHAT??? I search vigourously for the semi-gloss clear but can't find it anywhere. Now I am starting to question my faculties... why is the flat sitting where the semi gloss should be? why can't I find the semi gloss? Did I just intend to use semi-gloss but opted for flat last time? Well I'll just test the flat on a small area and  observe the effect. Yes is FLAT. I go back to searching for the lost bottle of clear semi-gloss. No luck. This is rediculous. After asking the 'why me' question for a few minutes I gave into my urge to get-r-done. I found a bottle of mr color gloss and added a bit to my flat , re-thinned and re-tested. Result was good enough so I went with the improvised semi-gloss.  Long story short is that  I finally got the clear coat done.

I also got the canopy mask off and was very happy with the results until I pulled some of the paint off the frame of the wind screen (gotta be careful when you polish your clear parts cuz paint just won't stick to them that well). Now I have to fix the frame. 

Well, anyway, more progress was made than lost I suppose...

CB chit happens. We get caught up in the build and place things here and there without giving it a second thought and bam it goes AWOL. Sometimes it's freaking staring you in the face and you DON'T see it! The bottle will turn up eventually. I do the same crap with with glasses and I Phone .

Anywho, the Thud is ready for some color so I might do that in a bit. 

I got in some resin wheels for my Viggie yesterday!

They are markedly better than the kit versions (well, duh).

Yep, time to get moving again!  And Caracal has announced upcoming decals for the RA-5C, so no excuses now!

Man, those wheels don't look anything alike.

Checking in with some progress on the Dragonfly. I used MM enamels all the way. I threw 2 coats of futures on and need to add the blue to the wings and get into some panel lines wash and decals. This has been onr of the best monogram kits I have built for sure. Everything fits really nicely.

Nice progress.

I was wanting to add some detail to the wheel wells on my Fujimi Skyraider.

The kit had nothing.

The Hasgawa kit looks like this.

And I found this image on-line.

I haven't finished yet, but this is what I have come up with so far.

That looks very good Ziggy. Some of the older kits need some TLC and your's will benefit from some added details.

I painted my Thud yesterday but the Postimage site is down for maintenance and unable to post new pictures for now.

Thank PJ, I want to work on the cockpit and engine next, detailing the engine is maybe a waste, you can't really see much and it is supose to have some kind cover or air director that the model is lacking.

Sigep Ziggy

Thank PJ, I want to work on the cockpit and engine next, detailing the engine is maybe a waste, you can't really see much and it is supose to have some kind cover or air director that the model is lacking.

 

You are welcome Zig. Hey just Google it and get as close as possible. I know what you mean about hiding stuff. I just wired up a radial engine for my 1/32 KI-43 and most of the details will be out of sight once in the cowling.

Postimage is back up so here are some shots of my newly painted Thud. I marbled the entire air frame with blacks, greens and tans. This gives subtle tonal changes on the top coat but one has to be careful not to go heavy with the final coats.

The top coat goes on in light coats as to not completeley cover the marbling. The final result is a worn and weathered look that the SEA paint schemes developed after field use. The washes and staining will further enhance the weathering. Click on the pictures for closeups. 

Looks the part, PJ.

Ok some work done on mine. Decals done. Lots of stencils. Gloss coat sprayed. Weathering is next 

Looks great Tj! 

Looking better and better TJ.

So after taking up residence in my new home in AZ for a week, today I finally sat down at my bench and did a bit of modeling. 

With a new permanent companion that I’m gonna call Klaus, after Klaus Meine from one of my favorite bands, The Scorpions

I don’t have my airbrush set up yet, so I did painting the old fashioned way, with a brush. This is gonna be a basic build OOB, and I should have my airbrush up and running by the point of external painting.

I am using Monogram’s A-7 kit, which is a B model

And Eagle Strike decals to make this A-7B from VA-93 off of USS Midway during Operation Linebacker in spring/summer 1972

Aside from the decals, the only change that I will make is to the ordnance load out for an Iron Hand configuration.

So today my basic work was using Tamiya Yellow Green on the exhaust area of the fuselage interior, and Testors square bottle acrylics- Dark Gull Gray in the cockpit and White in the intake. 

Gonna need some more coats of white before it is acceptable... my brush painting skills have atrophied...

Great paint work PJ and TJ!  Stick I will watch how you paint your Crusader as I believe the Navy paint job is simular to my A1.

Sigep Ziggy

Great paint work PJ and TJ!  Stick I will watch how you paint your Crusader as I believe the Navy paint job is simular to my A1.

 

It will be the same. Standard USN paint scheme from the late 50’s thru the late 70’s, Gull Gray over White. 

Thanks Zig!

Zig, PJ, TJ, Jacknewbill, and Scorpion King,  Very Nice work!

Can't wait to see that A-7 done. Been a fan of those since "The Final Countdown".

Now, my F-100 is coming along. Seems like the closer the end of a project gets, the slower I go (makes sense I guess). Plus I'm competing with my Son's F-16A that I am trying to get done for this B-Day at the end of the month, and the usual extra curicular activities... Think I'm gona have to load up on coffee an pull an all nighter this Saturday....

 Scorpion King, I like that, wish I would have thought of it first!

Anyhow, thanks SK for the paint info.

Sigep Ziggy

 Scorpion King, I like that, wish I would have thought of it first!

Anyhow, thanks SK for the paint info.

 

scorpion king... you’re killing me Smalls!

You had me LOL!

Well, you gave me an idea for my updates....

Yesterdays progress report:

In the morning I painted the seat cushions with Vallejo US Uniform Green... I thought that it would be more Olive in color...  :headslap:  nope... nor does it look like any US uniform item I’ve ever come across in 45 years or so of collecting stuff from WWII thru today...

I then added a coat of Humbrol acrylic satin white over the Testors flat white... better... but still needed another coat

In the afternoon I painted over the Vallejo green with Polly Scale Olive Drab ANA-319... much better. And I painted the side consoles, control stick handle, and IP instruments with Testors acrylic square bottle Flat Black.

I’ll go back and touch up the IP this afternoon....I also added another coat of Humbrol Satin White in the intake, but no new photos of that. 

In the evening, I sanded off any white paint on the gluing surfaces of the intake, then glued the halves together.

Klaus has inspected and approves...

Keep him honest Klaus! 

cbaltrin

Keep him honest Klaus! 

 

He is!

You gotta love Harrihausen!!

jmoran426

You gotta love Harrihausen!!

 

Indeed! A true master of his art!

Today’s update post of yesterday’s work...

I puttied up the interior seam of the intake with Tamiya putty. I would have preferred to use Squadron white putty, but who knows when I can get my hands on some of that stuff... it’s a case of go with what you’ve got...

I’ll see about sanding it up today... touch up painting after that...  

Then I did some detail work on the IP and painted up the jet pipe...

I also did some detail painting on the seat harness, touch up on the cockpit tub, the submitted it all to Klaus for inspection...

This afternoon I should make more progress...