The 50 Shades of Gray Group Build!

Thank you Robert. The X-35A is indeed simple and clean in its’ lines and appearance. It’s a bit of a shame that they did not give it a more colorful and typical prototype paint scheme. But then it would not have qualified for this GB . The kit is made by Revell Germany. 

A couple of observations. First the builds shown here have been simply amazing. O, that B1 is incredible. I didn't realize how HUGE that sucker is, Wow. And Stick the F35 is incredible. That is some really outstanding work...by everyone.

Now onto my F15, albeit quite a bit less grandious. This little plane, for as simple as it is, (well its actually about one step up from a snap tite kit), has been a pain. Lots of fit problems and with that comes the filling, filing, sanding, priming..repeat. but its together and about ready or paint...

After some color (a shade of grey, Gunship grey that is) is on, I think it might not look so bad.

Stik, superb finish there, the X-35 looks an absolute treat. I like the clean look, really good.

Tomcat, looks like you have had a bit of a wrestle straightening out the 15, but it is looking good.

Tomcat you get a special award when you finish that one. Are those ejector pin marks in the middle of the horizontal stabs? Egad!

Tomcat, that will look a lot better once you have a coat of paint on there to cover all of that seam work.

Lost, thank you. I’m just happy to have this one finally finished.

My new Viper came in yesterday... I broke a window  and a new one was the most reliable way to get a clear sprue so i have something perfect for this build. Will have to build another Viper with the cracked screen, OHH DANG  I already have a paint scheme picked out. Now for progress on this one 

Got a stencil for Christmas 

definitely like these!

next up will be the light ghost gray +10% black before the top coat.

Coming along nicely Mark, it will look good with the gray coat on.

Mongoose - What is that stencil?  Certainly gives a nice effect!

Glamdring the brand is Freehand Airbrush Templates. Comes with 3 different patterns. I cut 1/4 pie from one sheet so i could get it up close enough to transfer the pattern when spraying.

All 1 color now :-)

 

https://themaddmongoose.smugmug.com/Marine-Skid-Zulu-s/i-RLdnPjR/A

 

 

 

Check out the graphics i did for this latest model...especially for rick & morty fans, I couldn’t have just plain hellfires 

 

TheMongoose

Tomcat you get a special award when you finish that one. Are those ejector pin marks in the middle of the horizontal stabs? Egad!

 

...Ahhhh yes, yes those are ejector pin marks. Thank you for pointing that out, I missed those. I guess its back to filling, filing, sanding....etc, etc. 

Hey Grayers,

I haven't been in this thread for a while and boy, I've missed a lot! First of all, thanks for the pats on the back regarding the B-1. Much appreciated. I'm glad that thing is done. Second, there is some amazing work going on in here. There's been some great modeling going on since I finished my beast!

Well, I'm back with a proof of life. Just wanted to let you all know that the B-1 didn't kill me, although it came close. I still have my little "Stearman" in the works, and I have been able to make a little progress on it.

This is my first biplane and I figured, for the sake of expanding my skillset, I'd go ahead and rig it. In for a penny, in for a pound, eh?

So I started with drilling some holes for the rigging.

Once all the holes were drilled, or at least as many as I could plot, I got the main assembly slapped together and primed.

Since then, I've been able to spray the primary colors. I'm building this loosely based on a restored warbird, so the colors and marking won't be 100% accurate. The primary color is ADC gray with yellow.

Anyway, that's where things stand with this project. I have a couple of whirlybirds in the works for a couple of other GBs. I'll make sure I keep everyone posted on my progress.

Keep up the amazing work gang! Comments, questions, and criticisms welcome.

Cheers!

-O

-O your paint looks really thin and smooth. Gonna be a good looking bird.

Very nice paintwork O and very fine holes for the rigging.

And very normal sized too for a change.

The Melbourne is in a stage of getting a lot of the deck furniture made up. I made the vertical launch system, the big radome near the stern and the guidance system on top of the bridge.

I also have done a boat and crane. But I need two of these, so I am trying casting these.

First the masters:

For the boat and crane a two piece mould:

And some of the results are good and some are bad. The big ones work well, but the small ones are pretty crap due to me not being able to get the air bubbles out - especially the sextuple chaff launchers. 

So still working on the casting to get better results. Need four of the chaff launchers, and multiples of the other bits. So back to the casting...

Interesting update, Lostagain!  I have never considered resin casting on a project. 

O, it is nice having a splash of color on these pages.

My real reason for casting is my scratch building is so poor I cannot make items consistently!

Oh and a not so interesting fact - about 15 years ago I bought a SH 60 B kit to do up as the RAN helo on Melbourne. But the kit was rubbish and I never made it. BUT I have just used the two intake covers back to back to make the radome for the Melbourne!

I'm going to have to cancel the 2nd F-4 and put it up on the shelf until I can find some deals I like. The kit decals were so off that the light gray just blended in and the dark gray looked green.

I'm going to have to cross build this Academy 1/72 A-10 from the CAS GB that I just started. I only have the cockpit assembled and basic painting done on it so far.

I'll follow -O's lead and add a hint of color to this gray GB 

and close with the gray haha

I used black lacquer primer over the gray to simulate the texture of the anti-slip surface.

Still watching this from the sidelines and enjoying the show. Love those Hellfires!

Hey there FSM,

I'm back with a little bit of progess to share. This build is coming along slowly, but I'm happy with where it's at.

So, when I last shared, I had the two main colors sprayed on. I've since added a fuselage band and some decals.

The band is Insignia Blue with the white "U" and "Y" masked and sprayed. You can also see that I started the rigging too.

The majority of the decalling is done. The tail surfaces and top wing are just dry-fitted for the sake of the pictures.

I still need to do some touch up to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The decals didn't behave as well as I would have liked. Oh, and I accidentally snapped off the tail wheel, so I have to fix that. While paint on the tail dries, I'll work on rigging the main wings. That should be the next big chunk of progress to show.

I know that the markings aren't accurate, but I'm using a little artistic license based on an airshow bird. I like the way it's coming along, and that's all that matters.

Feel free to share your comments, questions and criticisms. As usual, they're always welcome.

Thanks for looking!

-O

Been following the thread-a lot of great work being displayed.

I had primed & painted (airbrush & Tamiya acrylic)-not happy with results so the body went into the Amazing Green (I think-found it at Walmart) bath and started over, got the two tone painted and a coat of Future.

Results are a little better-still some imperfections but nothing that decals won't cover.

Hope to Bare Metal Foil (first time) some of the larger trim and use a chrome pen for the smaller details by the end of this weekend.

Nice updates all!  The clock is certainly ticking, a little over a month and a half.  Funny how fast that year went, all things considered....time to start thinking abuout a new GB topic...

I made some very minor progress on the Freedom, assembled and painted the drone and the choppa:

The drone will be sit on the flight deck, and the Seahawk will poke out of the hanger bay.  I just need to clean up the seam that popped up after I painted it, the helicopter was molded in clear plastic.

It's down to these two things, affix the anchor, and then done!  I am just running into a shelf space issue for it...hence my delays.

Drat! I've encountered a minor setback, and it's all my own doing.

I was trying to touch up the vertical stabilizer and the striped decal (mostly) lifted off. Strange, because I didn't use tape for the sole purpose of avoiding this hiccup. I used Parafilm and the decal still came up! Never had that problem with Parafilm before, especially since it has no adhesive. Anyway, there are no pictures, but I'm in the process of stripping the fin. I'll repair it and instead of using a decal, I'll paint the on the stripes. 

See you soon!

Hey Robert,

I'd like to submit another candidate for this GB. Since crossovers are allowed, I'm wondering if I can submit my USMC AH-1J in gray Gulf War camo? I should be wrapping up my Stearman soon, so hopefully I can share my Cobra here too?

Let me know.

Thanks!

-O

Decals on with a bit of Solvaset-had a little silvering due to the less than smooth paint job.  Went for the early 60's lower class gasser look with contingency/sponsor decals to the extreme.

Read an article that recommends final clear coat before applying Bare Metal Foil-hope to apply clear coat tomorrow and then foil on Sunday-or use the chrome pen-always have a Plan B.

Still need to paint the engine, trim in the interior and dig thru the spare parts bin for some different wheels-not happy with the kit wheels.

Bob those decals pop right off the car against the gray, super! I see what you mean about the silvering, they look like they were thick decals. Try poking a small hole with the tip of the #11 and applying some solvaset over that If you want to try and get rid of it. 

Thank you Mongoose-usually Solveset will resolve the issue with an application-if not better in the am, I'll give your suggestion a shot.

You bet, O.  Go for it!

Nice work Bob!  Glad to see the car moving forward.  Ba dum dump  

The Chevy is looking great!

I almost forgot some progress pictures of the A-10.

68GT whose A-10 is that? I've been looking at which manufacturer has the best so looking forward to hearing how yours goes.

It's the Academy kit in 1/72 scale with much better fit than the Revell kit. It's not bad but nothing like their A-37. The fit on the A-37 was so good I didnt use any filler.