1/48 Hasegawa Arado 234 Blitz-After 3 years..Finally Completed

Looking nice Joe. Actually i think those rivets look just fine. One thing you might want to consider is a gloss coat over the framing. One thing i learnt when i did the 72nd kit was that the framing was on the inside.

Bish

Looking nice Joe. Actually i think those rivets look just fine. One thing you might want to consider is a gloss coat over the framing. One thing i learnt when i did the 72nd kit was that the framing was on the inside.

 

. I'll be starting on the engine assembly and painting next. I've been doing my research so as to build as accurate of a 004 as possible. Stay tuned:

Here's where the completed main part of the build is as of now....

looking goood. thats the way to grab the bull by the horns!!

Thanks Nick. Dude.....this one's been a long time comin'.

I started up on the engine paint up this morning. I have really come to like these macro shots as I use them as a tool to go back and fix certain things that either I miss or made a mistake on. Found a couple of areas that need some attention in the shot below. Anyways....after a base coat, a very light wash just to bring the details out and a little bit of detail painting this is the latest progress:

Oh those rivets around the glass look right on! Same for the engine, you are a super detailing machine!

Thanks Nathan! Great to see you hangin' around dude! Got any shots of that Phantom you've been workin' on?

Joe, I’m loving those rivets around the canopy! 

Thanks MM!!

Joe: Thank you for your comments as well. When you do get to it PM me. I can be of help with the tough parts of the build as well as avoiding some of the things that I got wrong in terms of accuracy. 

Zowie, looking good, Joe.

I agree with the gang, those rivets really set the whole package off. Between them and the open super-duper engine, this is going to be a ringer.

Thanks Greg. There are a few inaccuracies that I found out after the fact and just couldn't bring myself to tear this thing back apart to fix. I am glad to finally have this thing in the finishing stages after 3 friggin' years I can tell you that. lol

Still working on the engine guys. I'm going pretty slow with it as I have lots of reference photos of it so I'm trying to get as much packed into this part of the build as I can.

I’m sure the wait will be worth it! Looking forward to seeing what goodies you’re cramming in there!

Take your time Joe. I know that your patient and meticulous effort is going to wow us out of our shorts. And when that moment falls upon us I'll have a time explaining to the wife unit why I'm running around the house with no pants on.

Thanks Max and Joe!

Still working on this. Got some work done to the nose and exhaust sections as well as continued wear effects. Should be off to piping and nacelle panel mounting strips soon hopefully....

Blimey Joe, that engine is really somthing. Thats impressive work, lovely painting.

Thanks Martin. I do appreciate you stopping in.

I started this kit over three years ago and ran into a lot of problematic areas with this kit. To say that this kit has now moved into #1 on my most difficult/ frustrating and sometimes angering build would simply be an understatement. It was so bad that I stepped away from aircraft building altogether for those 3 years. Some of it I brought on myself by making things more difficult than they needed to be and other areas were just plain ridiculous the way Hasegawa put this thing together. This kit is touted to be one of the best scale model representations of this iconic plane and on that point I'll agree once it's built. Getting there was the difficult part for me. Enough of that banter though. Thanks go out to all who followed, commented and helped out since its beginning....(Bish and TempestJohnny you're both in that group) both here and abroad.

After 3 long years my Arado is finally completed:

Finished cockpit photo



In progress cockpit photo:



aaaaaaaaand engine shots:

Well, it was worth the wait. That is one super good looking build. You may have had your issues with it but you prevailed in spectacular fashion. Well done.!! 

BK

Atta boy, Joe.

Way to stick with it. You did great as usual, and it's great to see a finished aircraft from you. It's been a while. Makes things seem a little bit more 'normal' around here.

I'll bet that uncowled engine is a sight to see in person.

Thanks Brandon and Greg! I really appreciate the good comments. Overall I'm pretty happy with the build but I'm VERY happy to have this one off of my bench. lol

Nicely done Joe!

Beautifully done.

Your friend, Toshi

Nice job on the engine and splinter cammo!

Thats 3 years well spent from what i see. Lovely looking build, the added detail makes it just stunning.

And i have to say thank you. Seeing your cockpit when you first finished it made me realise how much detail i would have to add to my 72nd build which made mine better than it would have otherwise been.

Wow ! The text book meaning of patience super job worth the wait. 

Bravo Joe!! Your perseverence has paid off in spades. It is absolutely spectacular. The engine is a thing to behold. I am so glad you pushed through on this one as it is definitely a teastament to your amazing skills.

So, are you telling me that this gave you more fits than the Monogram Corsair? Well, having seen the issues this gave you I up and sold mine. With the $$ I made on it I turned around and bought this behemoth:

I have no clue where I will display this when done.

Thanks for the incredible journey my friend.