Eye In The Sky GB - January 2010 - October 2010

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I thought that might be the case Vance.  Perhaps someone will run another Eyes GB ....

I have been somewhat busy at the desk recently although I've not managed to take any pictures.  The Arado has received its first coat of paint, licht blau on the underside surfaces and tonight I put down a coat of Future.  I am hoping to get enough time to finish the initial painting by the weekend and get some pictures posted.

Aggieman

 

..... As for your forgotten kit, there would still be time for a second build in this GB if you have the time.

No time, no time!! I've got a couple of 1/72 birds in the works now for a "pacific" GB, that'll take me into softball season so I don't dare commit to anything until October, if all goes well! I'll keep an eye open (insert groan here) for the next installment though.

Vance

Vance,

Will there be another "Eyes" group build in the future?!

Someone informed me there had already been an "Eyes" GB prior to this one, so I'm sure a third (?) will pop up at some point.  As for your forgotten kit, there would still be time for a second build in this GB if you have the time.

Thanks simpilot - I love being able to check the backgrounds with those who've already cracked a kit open! I'll have to check inside the fuselage halves, see if there is any evidence of a matchbox stamp.

Vance that might be a reboxing of the old Matchbox kit which I built back in the '80s sometime, and from what I remember, it fit nicely but had a very thick canopy. HTH 

Thanks for all the comments guys, and keep up the great work. For anyone that has mentioned it, yes, I will be dropping the Storch into a diorama, likely over the summer as I have a group build obligation to finish up first. The removed panels, fuel drum, a figure or two, probably a work bench & tool box etc. out in the open. I'll post some pics as it starts forming up. It'll be my first so I'll likely be asking some questions along the way.

But back to the "eye in the sky" theme for a moment. I was digging through the stash over Easter and spotted one I had forgotten about: 1/72 Henschel 126 from Italeri. Anyone have any experience with this kit? Raised panels & fabric control surfaces actually look quite good; interior detail is zero and the included pilots are horrible. Anything else I should know? Will there be another "Eyes" group build in the future?!

vetteman42

 Hopefully this one will be looking better than the first one I built.

 

I have no doubts about that Randy!!!!!

Yeah Aggieman I built one of these once way back when also, only had flat black and silver paint and the tube glue LOL. I do admit to living out a second or maybe even 3rd childhood at times in this hobby Hopefully this one will be looking better than the first one I built.

Vance, you have done awesome work with your Storch!  Thanks for sharing your build with all of us.  I love the weathering that you've managed with her, and I can see the appeal of putting that bird into a diorama.  (I recently did that with another Luftwaffe build I did, a Tamiya Me262, which is a kit I highly recommend, btw).

Randy, just looking at your pics, I am reminded of my childhood when I built that Avenger kit probably half a dozen times.  It's a great kit that was always a lot of fun to put together.

Vance the Storch looks awesome Mate!!!!! Really like the paint job!!!!!!!! Very very convincing fiels applied winter wash.

Randy your Avenger is coming along fine, looking good!!!! I would hate to be the turret gunner and have that thing going off right in my ear!!!!!!

VanceCrozier I really like your build ! Love the paint job and the fact you left the lower cowling off to show the engine. I do hope you will be posting a picture or two when you get your dio finished I am looking forward to seeing that.

Time for .........well past time for some WIP pictures, heres where I am at so far.

Got the fuse glued together but found the turret had to go in before gluing sooooooo I am expecting to have troubles masking it when it comes time for paint.

With the help of my trusty heat gun, a bunch of clamps, and careful gluing I got the warp out of the outer wing panels. Me thinks it was more a case of luck than skill.

And finally I just had to show off my figures again before they are hidden by the canopy. Hope you guys like this old kit build.

Aggieman, thanks for running the group build and allowing me to pull a cross-build with the Storch. I've had a great time sharing pics & keeping an eye on the others in progress. Now that I can take a breath I need to run through the thread from the start because I know I've missed some pics along the way. Keep up the great work guys & thanks again,

Vance

Hello all,

I am declaring myself officially complete on the Storch, with a * beside my name. The plane is done to my eye (in person) and ready for shelf duty. BUT, I plan to keep working on a proper diorama base to display it on. A few of my earlier pictures show a fuel drum & some access panels piled near it. I'll be doing that, with maybe a workbench & some ski marks laying in the snow. And once I get it on the base I will likely do a little more weathering to blend it in with the surrondings, but that is for a later date. Some final (for now) pics:

OK, so what was added to finish it off - rear gunner's glass & gun in place, auxiliary fuel tank, pitot tube, access door, landing light, wingtip lights, hand painted repairs to swastika + cross decals as mentioned earlier, a pair of blade-like items underwing near the cabin (not sure what they are?), some more light weathering. When I finally get the base done I'll have to post some more pics.

Can't wait to see Mr. Porters dentures!!!

Mr. Porter gets teeths.

Up front I want to say that I cheated. The kit came with sharks teeth decals that were white, black & red. The a/c that I'm doing had black teeth with a tan mouth. I scanned the decal sheet and taped it down on top of some masking material and started carving. Below are the results.

In this pic you can see where I cut out the mask.

Art

Art, B-17 and Randy, Excellent work there guys!!! Looking forward to more!!!!

vetteman42

Artabr

Ahhh ok I know the Pilatus Porter and now I reconize it from you newer pictures, just cant mistake the nose on those. Its coming along very well too cant wait to see a bit of color on it..

B17Pilot

Awww but that's lookin sweet. Don'tcha just hate the way those seams get in the way of a nice build ?

Well guys its been slow going but I have one WIP picture to share with you. Its not much, but it is a first for me. My very first attempt at figure painting is finished, although I still need to add a dullcoat to them.

The kit itself does it turns out have some problems to be dealt with like warped wing panels, but I think I may have that beat, we will see in the next few days.

 

Vetteman, no kidding, the fellow in the middle kinda looks like the Duke.

Sorry to hear about the warpage. My kit was another one with windshield issues. It was wider that the frame and needed a little help in a couple of other spots. All in all, it worked out alright, as long as ya don't eyeball it to closely. lol

Art

Artabr

Ahhh ok I know the Pilatus Porter and now I reconize it from you newer pictures, just cant mistake the nose on those. Its coming along very well too cant wait to see a bit of color on it..

B17Pilot

Awww but that's lookin sweet. Don'tcha just hate the way those seams get in the way of a nice build ?

Well guys its been slow going but I have one WIP picture to share with you. Its not much, but it is a first for me. My very first attempt at figure painting is finished, although I still need to add a dullcoat to them.

The kit itself does it turns out have some problems to be dealt with like warped wing panels, but I think I may have that beat, we will see in the next few days.

Nice progress on the Peacekeeper and the Mossie.  Looking forward to seeing some paint.

Birthday parties for a 4-year-old this weekend may very well keep me from the bench, alas, but it's all good.

Its been busy at work, so I was only able to get a little progress done.  The Mosquito looks like an airplane now, complete with engine necelles.  Now I just need to deal with all the seams.

Top and bottom pics of where she stands at the moment

Vance, she's looking awesome!!

Vetteman, the AU-23A was a licenced built copy of the Pilatus Porter PC-6 that was built as a gunship. It was a STOL a/c as was the Storch, although a little bigger. Not many were made in the armed version (17 total, I think), but quite a few of the standard unarmed Porters were used by Air America, the U.S. forces & the Austrailian Army in Viet Nam and elsewere in Southeast Aisa.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3228

Well, it's ready for paint.

Art

As I mentioned when this new build got started I was building the 1/72 Hasegawa Jake. I was too far along with it to enter this build, but however it fits the theme and still want to share. I don't have much more to do, I am dragging my feet is all lol. Anywayyyyyyyy instead of using the prop stripe decals which looked way too big or wide to me, decided to paint them instead. .4 and .7 mm tape was used to get even spacing, then a few quick passes with Tamiya gloss red.

Wow I am away for a couple days and lookie here lotsa sweet builds coming together.

B17Pilot that is some nice detail painting I envy you guys who can do that

Aggieman The Arado is coming together nicely. I am not familure with that aircraft so cant wait to see it when finished.

Artabr Interesting subject you have going, I cant say I have ever seen a Fairchild AU-23A. Almost looks similar to a Storch

VanceCrozier Oh that Storch is looking great I really like the last picture, looks like it is sitting on snow with the fuel cans an all. I hope you were thinking of doing a dio.

From these builds looks like I have my work cut out for me on my Avenger just to keep up with you guys. I finally got started today, by doing my first figure painting. Hope it works out ok as this model needs a couple of figures to go with it. I should be posting a few WIP pictures in a few days

Vance, your Storch looks great!  Looks like you're setting up for a little diorama.

Vance, your Storch looks fantastic!

SWEEEET!!!!! Really looks the part already!!!!!

Aggieman, the Arado is shaping up well. I saw one at my LHS on the weekend & was tempted to pick one up but resisted... I've got to cut down the stash first!

artabr, not familiar with your build subject but it seems to be coming along well, can't wait to see it with the 'roos in place.

My update:

Didn't finish up the Storch as hoped over the weekend... (computer issues - as in "Vance dropped his  laptop without a parachute - didn't end well" ) What's done is done, so back to the modeling on Sunday. Progress pics here:

Sitting on a paper towel - at least it's the right colour. (although I haven't seen much snow anywhere in southern NB in weeks, it was downright tropical here on Saturday.) The "VK" had to be touched up with pieces from a donor decal after getting pealed by masking tape. Sitting under the starboard wing are three gas cans (kit-included) and the three engine panels that I will be leaving off.

Engine detail left out in the open...

From the front, will have to make the skis a little more used looking...

And from above.In person, you can see a little more of the splinter pattern showing through, I think the flash hides it a little. Rear gun, pitot tube, underside lights and drop tank, various exhaust bits are really all that are left so I shouldn't have any trouble finishing up this week. I gave that interior "overspray" a little rub with a wet q-tip (no alcohol) with no luck, so I'm leaving it & referring to it as "frost" from now on!

Vance

DOH!!!!! I live here and didn't even think about them!!!! There is Aussie Decals as well. Great progress on the peacemaker!!!!

Great looking work guys!!

Sorry about the photo quality, I'm a newbe at it.

I'm making a little progress. The kit needs a little filler in a couple of spots, but overall I like it.

I have a kangaroo update. I found some black roo decals, ironically they come from RedRoo out of Australia.

Art

B-17 that looks superb!!!!!! I am lovin' that!!! Great progress!!

Aggie, that is excellent quick progress!!! Really looking good!!! Kinda give you the impression of how it would look as a landplane with R/G at the moment!!! Could be a future what if project for someone maybe??!!