Eye In The Sky GB - January 2010 - October 2010

Jmabx thats a beautiful job on the camo Cant wait to see the masking come off.

Aggieman wow !! Thats gonna be a nice build of an interesting subject

Yes... patiently waiting for some Arado progress!

Randy - Thanks! I absolutely love splinter camo... my favorite.

I managed to spray the canopy framing aluminum and yet again had all kinds of problems with the Eduard masks not sticking. I didn't turn out bad but don't look at it close because the masks shifted around.   I'm dreading pulling off the masks over the glass... might be a terrible scene.

And decals...

Look closely and you can see some of that engine from underneath.

I think that's all for today. Hopefully I'll finish her up next weekend.

Jeremy your almost there mate!!! Looking great!!!!

artabr - welcome back from your hiatus! And I would support you in your choice to "work up" to the Storch. It is without a doubt a great kit, but I've noticed two things! The parts are very detailed & fit nearly perfectly... but if you mis-align something, the tolerqances are so tight that you risk throwing other things out of alignment. And knowing what I paid for the thing (not that it was ridiculous, just more than my usual) seems to put a little pressure on me to "not screw it up", rather than just enjoy the build.

jmabx - love that little Taifun. I build a lot of Luftwaffe stuff, and it felt weird putting a splinter pattern on something other than a fighter!

Got some time in on the Storch over the weekend. quick light sanding of the primer, double-checking all the seams etc. Overall coat of dark green, tape masks & finished up the splinter pattern with black-green, peeled off the masks to reveal the splinter-pattern camo. Underside grat still needs to be done. There are a couple of spots that need a quick touchup but I'm not going overboard as I have yet to do the whitewash. With a little luck I'll get progress pics up today too.

Later,

Jeremy, your Taifun is starting to look ready for take-off!

Got some other projects done, so I started on the CP of my Mossie.  Got some of the intruments/radios painted.  Will post pics when they're glued onto the CP floor

VanceCrozier

artabr - welcome back from your hiatus! And I would support you in your choice to "work up" to the Storch. It is without a doubt a great kit, but I've noticed two things! The parts are very detailed & fit nearly perfectly... but if you mis-align something, the tolerqances are so tight that you risk throwing other things out of alignment. And knowing what I paid for the thing (not that it was ridiculous, just more than my usual) seems to put a little pressure on me to "not screw it up", rather than just enjoy the build.

jmabx - love that little Taifun. I build a lot of Luftwaffe stuff, and it felt weird putting a splinter pattern on something other than a fighter!

Got some time in on the Storch over the weekend. quick light sanding of the primer, double-checking all the seams etc. Overall coat of dark green, tape masks & finished up the splinter pattern with black-green, peeled off the masks to reveal the splinter-pattern camo. Underside grat still needs to be done. There are a couple of spots that need a quick touchup but I'm not going overboard as I have yet to do the whitewash. With a little luck I'll get progress pics up today too.

Later,

Thanks for the welcome. Yeah, Vance, thats what I was thinking. Discretion being the better part of valor, I figured that I'd start small. I had some problems with my hands a couple of years back, and I have a hard time handling small parts. The Storch is a great kit and I don't want to take a chance on ruining it. God knows the spare parts box just about over-flowing with botched kits as it is.

Jmabx, she keeps looking better & better. Great looking build.

Art 

Back again.

This is going to be my first Group Build attempt.

Here's the kit. I haven't done much yet. I'm still trying to get set up again. It's amazing the amount of essential material that you can acquire for a hobby.

Box art:

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 Pieces parts:

 [View:/themes/fsm/utility/:550:0]

Decals for : 1 USAF a/c (s/n 72-1316, 4400 Special Operations Squadron, June 1972), 2 Royal Thai Air Force a/c.

[View:/themes/fsm/utility/:550:0]

 Holes to drill:

[View:/themes/fsm/utility/:550:0]

This is the a/c that I'm going to try for (if I have the patience to do the masking ). The a/c in the first photo did actually serve in Viet Nam with the Australian Army in 1970 I think. It was a replacement for an a/c that had crashed. This is not the camo scheme that it wore in Nam, but I think it's pretty cool.

Notice the bridge abutment in the backround of the pic.

[View:/themes/fsm/utility/:550:0]

Art

Art, looking forward to seeing your WIP shots!!! Looks like a nice kit!

Thanks, simpilot.

I've got a slight change. As they say in football, "after further review"  I won't be doing the a/c that I described in the last photos in my last post. The Australian Army a/c were Pilatus Porters and this model is the Fairchild version. It looks like the exhaust system is different. I might still do a toothy Peacekeeper in the same camo scheme if historical accuracy is not a requirement for this group build.

Art

Might be an issue for nitpickers, but not here!! I want to see that awesome camo pattern.

simpilot34

Might be an issue for nitpickers, but not here!! I want to see that awesome camo pattern.

Art what has been said above cant wait to see this build.

Thanks guys. I just hope that I can deliver my ambitions.

Now I need to find some 1/48 scale subdued kangaroos, if such critters even exist. lol

Art

What size 'roos do you need? The Italeri or AMT UH-1D kit had some.

stikpusher

What size 'roos do you need? The Italeri or AMT UH-1D kit had some.

About 1/48 Huey size. LOL, It figures that the two Huey kits that I have are both "C" model gunships. They're 'rooless.

I was thinking about, and looked at aftermarket helo decals, I figured that would be my best shot at a black/subdued decal, but no luck. I did find a set of Sea Fury decals that has 6 red roos. I was thinking that maybe I could try painting those. I still have time to search some more. I'm still trying to straighten out my painting shed/building so that I can start this build. I hope to get that done today.

Thanks for the lead, Stikpusher.

Art

Art, might I suggest if someone has those decals in question, to scan them and send you a copy of the scan so you can print them out and make a stencil so they can be painted on??!! Seems to be the best bet if you can't find the right decals. HTH

Art-check out the 'roo on this old AMTech P-40E sheet.  There is only one on the sheet but if you want, I have another sheet and can mail you both 'roos if you would like.

PM me if you are interested.

Art, I'd offer you the ones off my Huey, since I used some Superscale 1st Air Cav markings on mine. But, the kit decals were in horrible shape and pretty much worthless due to getting moist on the box prior to being built.

I got the fuselage halves glued together on my RF-4 today and the seams sanded smooth this evening. What a beast. My fuselage was moderately warped and the fit of th camera station window was bad. after I get the panel lines on top of the fuselage rescribed I will get more pics posted. Then I need to scribe and sand the wings and stabiliators and the major build will be complete.

bobbaily

Art-check out the 'roo on this old AMTech P-40E sheet.  There is only one on the sheet but if you want, I have another sheet and can mail you both 'roos if you would like.

PM me if you are interested.

 

Bob,

 I thank you for your kind offer but, after thinking about it, I'll probably go with the Sea Fury decals that I spoke of in my earlier post. The 'roos ought to be about the right size, and there are 6 on the sheet, which is the amount that I'll be needing.

My decision also has an ulterior motive. It'll give me an excuse to pick up a Fury kit. The Hawker Fury has always been a favorite of mine, and now I'll have an excuse to build one.

 Ah, the devious mind of the modeler.

Stikpusher,

Thanks for the thoughts. Can't wait to see the RF-4 when it's finished. Back in the 1980's I lived in the flight path of Bergstrom AF Base in Austin, Tx. At that time the 67th Tactical Recon Wing was stationed there. I had my windows, and just about everything else, rattled by countless RF-4's on afterburner. Great aircraft.

Art

Art-You're welcome.  And I'm glad that you found a solution that involved adding another kit to the stash!

OK, I'm overdue with my updatpics, but I decided to get set up on Photobucket. (My company is moving webservers, which I think may destroy my previously posted links. I guess I could go back & edit them to the new links? There really aren't that many to deal with.) Anyway, three more progress pics. Hoping to get her flipped over tonight or tomorrow for the underside blue, followed by a coat of future & decals...

As stated before, there were a couple of touchups needed (actually done last night), specifically the spot where my thumb & fingers "masked" the paint coverage... hey, I had to hold the thing somehow

All the support pieces for the landing gear struts have to be added after decalling, so they are being painted off the airframe & added, very carefully, afterwards! What do you think about weathering guys? My main goal at this point is to have the contrast of the splinter pattern showing through the final colour. I'm leaning towards highlighting only a few main panel lines prior to adding the whitewash, then doing most of the weathering once the whitewash is finished.

I've also picked up one of the Tamiya weathering powder kits that includes white, making me think I want to airbush only a base coat & then do as much as I can with the weathering powders to give it a more field-applied look.

Let the discussion begin!!

Vance

Got some work done on my PR Mosquito.  Mostly the cockpit for now, but I did get the wings together.

The wings are together and waiting for the engines

The CP floor minus the nose section

Fuselodge halves have also been started, but still need to have the detail added and painted.  More later.

Vance the paint is looking great mate!!! Looking forward to the weathering you mentioned. Just do it!!!

B17 You PR Mossie is off to a good start!!!

to both!!

Wow there is some great work coming along in this GB! I hope I can keep pace!

But, the model building muse seems to have escaped me for much of the past three days (not to mention a full schedule of family business). After getting my fuselage glued together and then sanded once dry I could not find the motivation to do the scribing. Perhaps during the upcoming week on my next days off.

So here is what she looks like so far.

Looking good stik!!!! In due time my friend you will get it done.

Vance - I really like the way your paint looks on the Storch. Well done.

B17 - Which Mosquito kit are you building? Cockpit looks great so far.

Stik - I fell outta the modeling groove also. Haven't worked on anything all week. At least I don't have any scribing to do. The Phantom is looking good. Did you already scribe the wings?

I havent done the wings yet JM. I am gonna try to tackle those this week on my days off. I also have to fill in the Sparrow bays since it is a common lower wing piece for all the Testors F-4 kits. (RF-4/F-4G/F-4S)  We shall see...

Vance Your camo is looking fantastic and the fading you have done is right on there buddy. Keep up the great work as I can't wait to see more of it.

Stikpusher man I know how much work those Testers kits can be having just finished their F-104 kit. Your Phantom is looking really good so far, looking forward to see more from you as I am thinking of building an F-4 maybe this summer. I made many parts for that bird.

I gotta get a move on and get started on my Avenger for this group.

Everyone's work is looking good.

I had thought I'd get some work done on my Arado this weekend (and since the weekend is not over yet, I just might be able to squeeze in some), but other builds got in the way.  I had bought some cheap Hobby Boss kits to do as a family group build, and with the weather so pleasant here yesterday, it was a great time to get the wife and daughter out to the bench.  My wife built a Hurricane, my daughter built a Typhoon with a lot of help from me, and I built a Thunderjet.  Just have to put decals on and these builds will be done.