War In The Pacific Group Build 2009 - 2010

Charles, its looking great. I know what your saying about those cheap kits, sometimes there more fun than the expensive multimedia jobs. You seem to get more of an achievement out of making them great. From what i can see your well on the way. Bob hit the nail on the head with the window probs. If you dont have any styrene and you only want a little wedge of the stuff to fill the gap, why not justslice a piece of the sprue. You can get a fair shaped wedge from the sprue if you angle the scalpel right. If its too thin, cut another and layer them. Once dry, sand flat. Simple. Hans von Hammer would love me for giving out frugal tips LOL.

...Guy

After an afternoon yesterday of kicking myself, walking away mad, and a few stiff shots, I'm happy to report a disaster averted!

I sprayed the interiors with MM acrylic yesterday. I had it all thinned just right and the whole day to work on it, so I got set up and sprayed a coat which didn't cover at all. No big deal, I figured - just wait a few minutes and do a second. So about 15 minutes later I hit it again and to my horror it started beading and puddling!

My second mistake: I usually use Tamiya acrylics and thin acordingly. I decided to try MM acrylics which (as the directions clearly state) dont require thinning!

My first mistake: RTFM stupid!

So at this point I'm having visions of stripping and starting over. After a few dozen rounds of self abuse I decided the best thing to do was have a drink and figure out how to strip the parts. (This is where the reading the manual part actually occured.)

A few hours later I went back to take another look at the parts and found that the paint had actually settled down nice and flat! The coverage was non-existant and it looked awful but it WAS flat. So this morning I figured I'd try a coat full strength over the top.

It worked! It's not the best looking job I've ever done but it isn't bad. After shading and highlighting it should be OK.

Tomorrow is an all day tailgate / baseball game so I'm hoping to get the cockpit finished and pictures up Monday.

So here's the challenge.  Doing the rigging on the Pete made me remember why I don't do biplanes and the Dauntless is all but done.  I have a 3-day weekend and the better half is out of town.  Sooooooooo:

I decided I would start and finish 1 kit in that 3 day timespan.  I picked the Hasegawa Tony that I had mentioned earlier.  This would be a totally out of box build, no time for aftermarket goodies or scratchbuilt extras.  I didn't even stop for seatbelts since the only canopy option is closed.  I got an early start this morning and as of 4:37PM this afternoon I have:

• Painted, washed, weathered, highligted and completed the cockpit
• Completely assembled the plane
• Sanded and filled all seams
• Masked the canopy (This is one modeling skill I'm happy to turn over to Mr. Eduard and his fine canopy masks.  I do hate masking canopies!)
• Primed, preshaded, and painted with Alclad aluminum and Tamiya yellows and JA gray
• Sealed with Tamiya Clear. 

When the clear has had enough time to cure I'll mask the tail of the fuselage and spray the red.  This will be a bit tricky as it's curved and I've had hits and misses (More of these) when masking metal finishes.  C'mon Tamiya clear!  Do your thing!

So if everything goes like it should, I will slap the black anti-glare strip and JA Army green camo done free-hand, decal, and finish tomorrow.

 When I was younger (I think we all did this) I would buy a kit and have it built and on my shelf later that afternoon.  As I grew up I spent more and more time fiddling with tiny details, aftermarket accessories and scratchbuilt goodies that no one ever really saw.  It's nice to just take a breath and build a kit the way the manufacturer ment you to.

Charles nice job so far on the Hellcat. I've built a few arii/otaki kits and the are nice.

Paul glad to hear the disaster was adverted.

Stu nice job on the tony, in such a short time frame

Jason

Stu-great progress.  I hope to start & complete a build within 3 days at some point in my life.  Looks great.

Paul-glad that things worked out.  And contrary to what the MM label says, sometimes their acrylic paint sprays better with some MM acrylic thinner.  I always add some as a retardant.  

bobbaily wrote:

Paul-glad that things worked out.  And contrary to what the MM label says, sometimes their acrylic paint sprays better with some MM acrylic thinner.  I always add some as a retardant.

No joke.  MM is always a finicky mistress.  I find their darks seem to do okay, but try to spray anything light in color and you're in for fits unless you add some thinner to it.  My experiences have been that the lighter the color the more thinner to add.

The Dark Sea blue on my Dauntless was done totally out of bottle, but its white belly was at 50-50 mix

Paul: I hear you, man! I'll admit that some of my painting mistakes were a result of shots BEFORE the painitng, but that's a whole nother story. THere are several brands of paints I like, but nothing has sprayed so nicely as Tamiya and Gunze for me. I hvae been trying to convert everything to Gunze acrylics by slowly replacing the others as I run out. Now Gunze Acrylics are not sold in the US anymore, or are at least phasing out here. I haveto get them from overseas.

MM seems to "spit" too much on me.

Stu: Nice start on the Tony. And I hear you abuot a nice relazing OOB build. THat's another reasion I like the Arii/Otaki kits. THey refresh the modeling soul.

Hey Stu..nice looking Tony so far....I just got one the other day during a HS paint run.....

Charles....about that canopy......instead of filling, how about the another option....cut the little "wing" off since there is a natural break line there for the sliding part of the canopy and the fill in with a custom shaped piece of "glass"...say using a vacuform sheet or a piece of an old canopy....

As for my Rufe...well the office is done....the elves came in and finished up some wiring although they left the pit all dirty and scuffed...oh well...

Carlos

Stu, WOW, youve cracked the bulk of the build and in no time. Sweet looking NMF.

Paul, that cockpit looks ace. Like the extra wiring. Im looking forward to seeing more of the Rufe,

...Guy

Charles that is a very nice Hellcat!!!! And so quick!! Well done!! Myself, I would use white glue and see how it worked, if it doesn't do the trick then go to greater measures.

Paul well done on the save!!! I haven't had problems wth Taniya or Gunze yet. The only paints I used to get when I lived in the states was MM enamels. The full range was available and seemed they always had the right color, now that I am in Oz, Tamiya Humbrol and Gunze are the main ones and MM is available but not as readily. Oh, sorry lol , you were talking about MM acrylics, never used them before, but will be weary of them if I come across them.

Stu that looks great!!! And so quick as well!!! You are right about the OOB builds!! You have that sense of accomplishment much quicker and it spurs you on to do more!!

Carlos, yur office looks superb!!!! Those elves need to clean up after themselves!!! But it actually looks quite good the way they left it!!!!

Well some visual progress sort of. I glued the top half of the wings on last night and let it cure all day today and positioned the fuse to get a feel for the sixe and look of her. The Leading edges of the wing will need minimal filling and sanding but the undersides are a different story. Not a problem just more work is all. Then will tackle that pesky scoop on th ebottom of the forward fuse and cowl I mentioned before. Will get there in the end. Here's a pic!

Stu, nice job on the NMF on the Tony.

Is that the 1/48 offering from Hasa?

Carlos, great job on the Zero pit.

Is that the new Tamiya kit?

Bob, you're making that old timer look stunning.

I think there's a lot of pleasure to be had from making an old kit look comparableto a new release.

No movement on the Ki-44 at the moment, however the F-84 is almost done, after which I'll pick up the Ki-44 again.

Karl

Nice work Richie, Shes looking like a plane now...sort of like a German Arado AR 196,

The Japanese copied German planes quite a bit so it wouldnt surprise me if it was.

...Guy

Thanks Guy!!! The Jake was a bit bigger than the Ar-196 and could carry more farther. Was an all round better plane cept for the Ar-196's punch. Was also faster and had a longer endurance. Looking at the pic I would say comfortably that one reason the Jake was faster was because of the lack of struts for the floats! That thing looks like a jungle gym!

http://www.hbo.com/events/pacific/

Richie-looking good.  You'll have that thing primed and painted soon.  Looking forward to seeing more progress pics.

Karl-I agree..there is a certain amount of pleasure in working with an older kit.  However, after this one and three Monogram's that are still WIP (work in process) I'll be ready for a nice Tamiya/Hasegawa fix.  Hopefully you'll be working on your Ki-44 soon. Charles & I are going to need some more targets....

Anyway, got some work done on the P-40 today-wings mated to the fuselage.  Fortunatly, the cockpit acted as a spreader bar and made the wing/fuselage fit a little easier to live with and then I used some Tamiya cement and the wife's hair dryer (trust me-I don't need a hair dryer) to 'gently pursuade' the wings and fuselage to match better:

Before

After

I think I'm just going to cut some thin styrene sheet and stuff it into the tail wheel bay-easier than trying to fill & sand.....

Ps1 I like your avatar!!! The link was good too, Thanks!!

Thanks Bob!!! Will be a couple days before I get back to it probably, gf is coming down.

on behalf of the elves...thanks for your comments....now to close up the Rufe.....although I got something up my sleeve I might try out...

Karl...the pit is for the hasegawa Rufe...all things considered I guess its also a Zero pit..

Guy..I would love to add a AR-196 to my float plane family...does anyone know of a 1/48 kit of one???

I also got the PE in the maill for my Pete...I see another float plane in my future!!

Carlos

Great work on the P-40 Bob, the wing root looks perfick.

Carlos,

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-48-Arado-Ar-196-Ar-196A-plastic-kit-with-Photo-etch_W0QQitemZ120438219027QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c0aad6113&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

There you go, if theres any more manufaturers, i couldnt find them. I hear think Italeri may make a version as well,

...Guy

Bob - That E is looking good! Did the E have cowl guns like the B? Wondering where the butts went.

Progress!!! (with pictures even)

I got the cockpit just about done and took a few shots before closing up the fuselage. Pictures courtesy of my daughter's cell phone, which seems to handle the macro focus much better than my camera!








 

Very nice, Gary. You've captured the look of a busy cockpit.

Bob: Very nice work on the seams...has this kit turned you into a pro? These are the things that make us better modelers though, eh?

Well, the Tony is 98% done.  Just some finishing touches and weathering to go.  Now I'll admit I did make one glaring error in my haste to finish so quick.  I installed the landing gear backwards.  Oops.  Of course I noticed this after the superglue had completely cured.  Oh well.  I also today laid down a primer coat on the components of the Jill cockpit.  This one should be a nice kit.  Very detailed.  Too bad the only canopy option is closed.

DiscoStu wrote:

Well, the Tony is 98% done.  Just some finishing touches and weathering to go.  Now I'll admit I did make one glaring error in my haste to finish so quick.  I installed the landing gear backwards.  Oops.  Of course I noticed this after the superglue had completely cured.  Oh well.  I also today laid down a primer coat on the components of the Jill cockpit.  This one should be a nice kit.  Very detailed.  Too bad the only canopy option is closed.

Landing gear? You are worried about the landing gear????!!! In your haste you didn't finish painting it!!!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously FANTASTIC camo pattern Stu!!!!!!!!! WOW that looks good!!! WELL DONE MATE!!!!

Thanks all.  Still much work to be done.

Gary-You're doing a great job on your P-40.  That Revell-o-gram can be a bit challenging but you're making it look like a high dollar kit.  Nice job on the cockpit.

Stu-that's one neat camo scheme.  How did you paint the squiggles?-airbrush?  Good work....and I would have never noticed the landing gear...

mucker wrote:

Bob: ...... These are the things that make us better modelers though, eh?

And turn what remaining hair I have left even greyer...

bobbaily wrote:

Stu-that's one neat camo scheme.  How did you paint the squiggles?-airbrush?  Good work....and I would have never noticed the landing gear...

Yup.  Airbrush, low pressure and Tamiya IJA Green at about 50% thinner.  I did it free hand point blank. Not too hard, but if this had been a more involved project I probably would have cut some patterns out of a note card and used it as a template.

Beauty of a Tony, Stu! Nice job on the camo...that's a colorful bird. ONe of the neater looking isngle engine Japanese aircraft IMHO.

So....are you nice and refreshed now?

Great work on the P-40. And great pictures considering the camera.

Stu, that looks amazing, the squiggles look perfect. I like it so much so, that im bidding on one even as we speak. I know what makes it gorgeous too, A liscence built DB 605 LOL.

...Guy