1/32 Revell Bell X-1 Finished

Very interesting subject, the colour really looks nice :-)

Theuns

Wow, the X-1 is a chameleon!  LOL!  In all seriousness, that's a fantastic build!  You did a great job on a historic aircraft.  

Toshi

Great to see one of these buiilt, really nice job on it. Amazing how much differance taking pics out side can make. You can certainly see a lot more in the outside pics.

Great job, Jeremy, looks like the real thing.  I suspect white balance is the culprit on the changing colors.

Ah, good job on a cool aircraft! As a kid I was fascinated with that whole scene and followed it every step I could. Later in life it was really a great moment seeing it hanging in the Air and Space Museum along with the other milestones of flight. 

You have done it justice!

Max

Revenant

Great improvement w the scratched pitots...funny how much of a tonal variation of the orange the indoor vs outdoor light causes! So when are you posting your year-end review!!! The World Wonders...

 

Thank you...just got the "round up" posted!

Crazy...indoor shots make it more orange, outdoor shots make it more red...to the eye, it's in between, leaning more toward the orange side.

Alright, last one for the year!

Final touch being new pitot tubes. Made from Albion Alloys aluminum tubing. Much better than the monsterous clunkers the kit provides.

I used a larger tube for the insert into the wing tips, to replicate what's on the real thing.

Glory shots...

I took the rest of the pics outside, inside pics are kinda blown out and the subtle variations can't be seen.

rangerj

You could add a piece of a round tooth pick to simulate the stick Yeager used to latch the hatch. He had fallen off a horse the day before and injured his ribs so he needed the leverage to pull the hatch lever. If he had made his injuries known he would not have been allowed to make the flight. His flight was followed and observed by Bob Hoover in a T-33. Also note that almost all of these record breaking experimental flights were ended with a "dead stick" landing, that is with no power. You get one shot at the landing set up.

Great looking model. What was your ratio on the red/yellow mix? I did mine with the old Pactra orange enamel, but your orange looks better.

 

The kit does include a "broom handle". This is better replaced by something a bit thinner. I forgot to put it in there...but with that big open door, that's a non-issue.

I honestly couldn't give the exact ratio on the paint mix. I had mixed it up a couple years back, for a Coast Guard helo (amazed that it's still good!). Started with yellow...added red until it looked good to me.

You could add a piece of a round tooth pick to simulate the stick Yeager used to latch the hatch. He had fallen off a horse the day before and injured his ribs so he needed the leverage to pull the hatch lever. If he had made his injuries known he would not have been allowed to make the flight. His flight was followed and observed by Bob Hoover in a T-33. Also note that almost all of these record breaking experimental flights were ended with a "dead stick" landing, that is with no power. You get one shot at the landing set up.

Great looking model. What was your ratio on the red/yellow mix? I did mine with the old Pactra orange enamel, but your orange looks better.

CrashTestDummy

 

 

fermis

CrashTestDummy

I'm guessing you put the blue painter's tape in place before you joined the fuselage halves together?

 

Negative...there's very little room at the bottom of the door where the floor meets it...I didn't want to get the tape stuck between the floor and the fuselage. I stuck it in before adding the canopy.

 

 

 

 

That makes sense, too.  Thanks for the update.  Nice work on the paint!  What color orange are you using there?  I have this kit in my stash. 

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

 

 

Thanks...and...

...well...orange...orange. I mixed Insignia Red and Insignia Yellow...so I guess it'd be Insignia Orange??? (MM enamels)

fermis

CrashTestDummy

I'm guessing you put the blue painter's tape in place before you joined the fuselage halves together?

 

Negative...there's very little room at the bottom of the door where the floor meets it...I didn't want to get the tape stuck between the floor and the fuselage. I stuck it in before adding the canopy.

 

That makes sense, too.  Thanks for the update.  Nice work on the paint!  What color orange are you using there?  I have this kit in my stash. 

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

Revenant

Looking good...from my own extensive and expensive experience I know that yellow, white and orange are the most difficult final colors I spray.  Nicely done!

 

...it didn't 'orange peel' did it?  --see what I did there???

 

Yes, I do see whatchya did...there!....and No...went down nice and smooth.

I really have never had a problem painting those colors...so long as you put them down over white.

Decals are done...nice and simple!

Looking good...from my own extensive and expensive experience I know that yellow, white and orange are the most difficult final colors I spray.  Nicely done!

...it didn't 'orange peel' did it?  --see what I did there???

Painted and glossed, ready for decals.

There is a little bit of tonal variation there...camera doesn't really pick it up though.

Fermis, this looks great and thank you for the white on black tip.  Always learning from your threads.

Toshi

Got the painting process started. Started with black, then went with white, leaving just a little tonal variation showing. Anytime I paint red or yellow, or anything in between, I always paint as though white was to be the final color, then "tint" it with color. I'll go a little heavier with the orange than I typically would, but still leaving a little variation...to keep from looking like a toy.

CrashTestDummy

I'm guessing you put the blue painter's tape in place before you joined the fuselage halves together?

Negative...there's very little room at the bottom of the door where the floor meets it...I didn't want to get the tape stuck between the floor and the fuselage. I stuck it in before adding the canopy.

I'm guessing you put the blue painter's tape in place before you joined the fuselage halves together?

Agreed, nice work in the pit. 

Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas

Fabulous work on the cockpit. The canopy masking is just perfect as well.

Thanks all!

Got some more work done...scribed...all together and ready for the paint booth!

goldhammer

Nice work on the wood.

 

fermis

 

 

Revenant

 

Hmmmmmm...wonder what that BIG base is for???

 

 

 

 

A BIG boat!

 

Are you going to need a bigger boat?

Nice work on the office and on the wood.  Have a chunk of oak in the rig to make a base for the 1/800 Kitty Hawk I'm doing for a friend's widow.  Going to have to make another 5 feet long for the other boat build next year.  But those will have a simple rabbet on the edges for a plexi cover.

fermis

 

 

Revenant

 

Hmmmmmm...wonder what that BIG base is for???

 

 

 

 

A BIG boat!

 

Revenant

 

Hmmmmmm...wonder what that BIG base is for???

 

A BIG boat!

fermis

Thanks guys!

It's sure nice to do something simple, for a change!

 

 

 

Revenant

Interesting, I guess those ship models you alluded to earlier are still in dry-dock....

 

 

 

 

Yes...and no.

I've been looking them over these last few days, planning out my attack...and trying to get myself the gumption to start snipping plastic.

Today, I decided to take advantage of the last warm day (a balmy 34F) for the next while...forecast is for highs in the 20's for the next week. I cut up some oak and made bases for all the boat models I have. Cut em to length, ripped em down on the table saw for width, put em on the router table, drilled for the spindles and hit em with some "golden oak"....gotta let em dry, then varnish em.

I do have two more boats, but already had the bases made for those.