Second model: 1/48 Revellogram B-25J

That is fabulous! It definitely looks like you have more experience than you are claiming. Very well done! I think I will be watching your progress with enthusiasm. :)

You did a great job getting started.  I'm most impressed.

Toshi

Cheers for the kind words! I did models when I was a kid, gave it up like many here when I was around 14, and just came back to it. Like I said I'm trying to practice on the detail work so what you see here is the result of hours of work - multiple washes in different colors, repeated rounds of drybrushing, continuing to go back to an area "one more time", etc.

I will say, this is my first time using an airbrush, and I will absolutely tell new modellers to jump in and invest in one. Just a quantum leap in what you can achieve with paints! I'm anxious about the exterior paint job and weathering but will continue to plug away at this and post pics of my progress.

Put together and filled/sanded the wings. I used Model Masters spray can white primer on one side. Went down rough and pebbly. Rust-Oleum Painters Touch 2x primer in black, however, went down a dream right out of the can. I recommend it highly.

Any advice on preserving raised details while sanding? I was going to cover over panel and rivet lines with thin masking tape strips.smoothing the primer shouldn't take much sanding, but I'm thinking ahead to fuselage, wing root, and nacelle seams/gaps that may take more filling and sanding.

Your story is not unlike so many of us here alright. I also started back up just after turning 39 and using my old hobby to wind down after work is what led me eventually start looking online for information. Since finding Genessis and FSM, among other forums, I've made significant progress in my skill levels.

I agree with you about investing in an airbrush as well. It opened up a whole new world of possibilities andit uses much less paint lol!

One more thing, about the repetition of going over those "areas" repeatedly... We all do that! Over and over again until you are happy with it. But look at those results! You should be very proud of that work because it is very well done!

Anyways, welcome! In a few months or a few more builds you're going to look back at this build and see how much progress you've made. You're going to be seriously good at this soon enough. I can see that.  :)

Regular blue painters tape is a little thicker and resists sanding fairly well. You may still have to change it out if you have a lot of sanding to do in an area though.

I use Krylon Ultra Flat Black Camo, Rustoleum Flat Black, and Tamiya grey surface primers, all with excellent results.

When having to sand around raised surface details, sometimes you have to sacrifice them for a smooth join area. Sometimes you can add those details back. Stretched sprue can beused to add raised panel lines back. Some companies offer rivets as decals. There are options available and plenty of tricks and techniques to save those details or replace them.

Like you I have returned to the hobby I loved as a boy about 3 years ago.

A tip from your Uncle Jay ;

I have had good sucess restoring raised panel lines by sticking 2 strips of tape VERY close together and painting the gap with Mr. Surfacer 1000, letting it dry for 1/2 hour and carefully striping off the tape.

Some very nice work going into this.

If you do want to keep doing 72nd, an essential investment is an optivisor. Age and worn out eyes should be no bar to the One True Scale.

Looking good! When I started this hobby back up again in Oct I started out with a 1/72 and at 53 yeah my eyes just couldnt do it lol

First problem:

The aft portion of the bombardier's compartment here sticks out past the bucket, so when I dry-fit it to the fuselage (which I haven't put together yet) it leaves about a 3mm gap. I guess im going to try to reapply glue to those joins, see if I can get them loose, and move the assembled parts forward in the bucket so it will mate cleanly to the fuselage. If it were an area that wasn't visible I'd sacrifice interior detail for clean seams. Unfortunately with that glass nose...

Also got the engine nacelles mated up to the wings. Did some trimming and sanding and they came together pretty well. There's a pretty large gap there on the underside. I read about someone using latex (not silicone) caulk for seams with good results. Im going to try it on this area that shouldnt show much. My plan is to go over the join with a wet qtip or finger and smooth it to the point that it doesn't need sanding. 

Also got the cockpit glued into the fuselage

I had similar gaps on my P-40. I used strips of Evergreen sheet styrene so I wouldn't lose the raised detail and sanding was minimized with no putty. I still ended up sanding a little and losing a bit of detail, but the connection is most assuredly more solid.

You could give that a shot instead of latex caulking.

Awesome job  I be watching this.

M. Brindos

I had similar gaps on my P-40. I used strips of Evergreen sheet styrene so I wouldn't lose the raised detail and sanding was minimized with no putty. I still ended up sanding a little and losing a bit of detail, but the connection is most assuredly more solid.

You could give that a shot instead of latex caulking.

 

Unfortunately I don't have any stock styrene, nor do I have a local hobby store. So I have to identify options that don't involve a one week turnaround ordering from online. I'll report on the caulk. On old thread I read on here suggested that it worked quite well

Old credit cards work well as a substitute for sheet styrene, but I'm curious about the latex anyways lol. If it does work out well it may just solve a few of my problems as well.  :) 

the caulk worked beautifully! Fills the seam nicely, and you can wipe excess away with a wet qtip so there's nothing to sand away. The advantage over plastic putty or Bondo is that it's completely nonreactive with the plastic. It does shrink down a little. If you were looking for a completely flush seam it might take a few layers. I wanted to leave a seam here because it's a seam in real life, but just to fill the big gap was there.

Before:

After:

That's convinced me! I'll be looking for some latex caulk now.  Thanks!

hmm. Don't know why the after picture didn't post. I'll try to fix it later. I bought Ace brand latex painters caulk, huge tube for $2. Couldn't find any in the little toothpaste tubes that didn't have silicone in it, so had to use the kind that uses a gun.

The after picture is showing. No small tubes, eh? Guess that means I'll have a vast supply of gap filler for a looooonnng time lol.

Tried stretched sprue on a tailplane gap on my first kit. Ended up with a very sloppy joint and sanding off all my detail just to get the excess glue smooth. I do need to practice that technique. Might try it somewhere on this model if I find the appropriate spot.

Also, took apart and reassembled the bombardier's compartment and it sits much more cleanly against the fuselage. There's still going to be a pretty good seam/gap to fill, but it's manageable. Im not looking forward to putting g together the fuselage halves. Looks like there is going to be quite a bit of seam work there. Waiting for my Touch n Flow to arrive in the mail next week for that part.

Meanwhile, putting resin gun barrels on and masking the glass. Probably painting and detailing the engines too. Any advice on painting the 50 cals?

Yeah! Paint them flat black and rub them down with a graphite pencil. If you can find an old lead pencil theeffect is not as stark, but wil look the same after a clear coat.

Easy, effective, and looks perfectly like the real finish.

Just a standard pencil works fine. The softer art ones are easier to grind down if you want to brush it on though. Hit the highlights or, as I do, rub down the entire thing. You won't be able to get all of the crevices, but you don't needs to. "Try it, you'll like it" lol. I do this on all gun barrels. Its just the most realistic finish for them IMHO.

You can even black wash over it for filling in the deep areas!

The gap filling latex painter's caulk? I can't imagine machines guns are all that troublesome. Lol!

I may have to give the caulk thing a try myself!  I've been using perfect plastic putty, and I really love it.  But if I run out I know what to try!

Nice looking build so far!  I'll be watching.

Update: the caulk has shrunk down a little more after a couple days, so I would recommend two applications for any use, knowing that it's going to receed somewhat.  

Bomb racks and sloppily-painted bombs installed:

Engines painted and detailed, installed with cowlings onto engine nacelles:

With the wings completed, I think I'm going to try spraying the OD/NG on these. My only pause is that I'm going to have to mix the grey, since I don't have any, and I'm not sure I can make it an exact match when I mix the rest for the fuselage.  

This little post was broken out of the box. Replaced it with stretched sprue.  Hopefully it'll be strong:

Bought quick boost barrells.  Unfortunately, the set I got's for the B-25B, which means there are only seven barrels instead of the 19 on this bird.  I'm going to use them on the nose mounted guns and the waist guns.  

Also sadly found the mask set I ordered was for the -B model, meaning it's not very useful for the canopies on my J.  I'm going to experiment with a couple of things, since fortunately this kit comes with two complete sets of clear.  Has anybody ever tried painting over the whole canopy and picking the paint off of the clear glass with a toothpick?  As tedious as applying a pre-cut masking set seems, using tape and cutting each window out individually seems even more so.