FW-190 Reich Defender III 5/10-2/11

Sorry Clebode. I was a bit under the weather yeasterday so I did not get the fuselage closed up I'm heading to the bench right now to finish up the IP and close her up.

I also got my EagleCals decals today. Man its going to be hard to pick on scheme. One late war bird even has a non standard  Blue green underside with NMF wing panel on tne bottom of the wings.

Off to the bench I go!

                                                          Soulcrusher

Soulcrusher,

Where are your photos?  

I am going to prime the fuselage now.  Seams look good after a silver Sharpie drag.  Stuck with the CA fill as your tip on gluing tabs made the fit quite good.    Only tiny gaps to fill.  I have the Squadron putty but I have only used it for big gaps.

Frank,

I am in contact with Jerry Rutman.   His upgrade parts look beyond anything I have tackled so far but I am giving it a go on the main wheel wells. 

Karl,

I wish I had gone your route on a 1:72.  Looks good so far.

Nice start, Karl! You're moving along at a pace Guy would be proud of!

Andrew..great inspirational pics!!!

Thanks for those pics Andrew, great inspiration!

Very nice Builds......

Well i have my Eduard A-5 and i'm impressed, it has everything so i'm showing everything, engine cowls open and gunbay panels open.....

How can pics of the guestbe off topic????? Beutiful shots!!! Love the decal/paint work on them!!!!

Glad to see some progress, I am not going to start soon, because I am working on a Monogram Monster, but I thought I would post some pics from my model contest trip.

Whoops Blurry

These are other builds I saw at the contest-- not mine.  I hope this is not too off topic, but I thought it was interesting.

Clebode I only use super glue to fill a seem that it going to need to be rescribed later or to repair and accidental scratch when rescribing. It dries much to hard and is very resistant to sanding. Have you tried Squadron putty. It dries fast and sands nicely. Wet sanding is the way to go no doubt even when you are doing rough sanding. It has sveral advantages. The first is less dust all over your bench and the second is you sanding sticks will not clog up and will usally last longer too. Glad to hear the fuselage is almost ready to get glued. I'm going to be glueing mine up tonight.

Frank I did see the first pictures you posted I just wanted more!

                                                                                                                         Soulcrusher

Clebode - that pit looks great!

Hoping to have something to look at for you fellas tomorrow.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

Soulcrusher - You are now my official coach.  Thanks for the great tip for mating the fuselage halves.  Seams are not my forte but I am getting better with practice.  Your advice should be just the ticket for this project.  As practice for tackling the fuselage I glued the halves of the big right side air scoop last night and after about 30 min had a seemless beauty.  I am using a new glue that is thin and lightening fast as opposed to the Testors I had always used before.  It really softens and thoroughly welds the styrene making an initial scrape of the seam much more effective.  That allows minimal use of gap filling CA which I have always had trouble sanding down completely.  I have also switched to wet sanding from dry.  Big diference.  I should get the fuselage toghether today and start on the seams..  The actual fit is not too bad.  The major problems seem to be around the openings to the pit, tail wheel and lower wing.

Frank - Thanks for the link to the other site.

Clebode

Looking good there Karl, you're really zipping along with this one! 

Clebode- Great work on the office, especially that IP!

Great detail on the instrument panel Clebode!

Great progress everybody!!!! Beautiful work!!! Karl thanks for the heads up on the vertical stab being too angular!!! Will have to tone mine down as well when I get to it.

Clebode- Jerry is a regular here, and he can be found there quite a bit.  Hope it helps!

soulcrusher

Frank no progress pics?

                                                                                                                            Soulcrusher

 

I actually posted some a couple of days ago, but I think some missed them.

No problem. I have build many short run kits and they do try your patience. You can not go at it like a Tamiya kit where you can expect to complete whole steps in one night. Progress with short run kits is measured in weeks not days like alot of the easier kits.  I think when you build these kits they really improve your skills because they force you to find solutions and use all of your skills to build them. Take you time with it is the best advice I can give you with a short run kit. One trick you can use for the absence of locating pins on the fuselage is to glue small tabs of thin scrap styrene to the inside of the fuselage and leave then sticking out about 3mm past the edge. Add them to the top and bottom of the fuselage where they do not interfere with the cockpit or engine plug. This will keep the fuselage halves from shifting up or down while you are glueing them together.

Frank no progress pics?

                                                                                                                            Soulcrusher

Soulcrusher,

Thanks for taking a look.  I am looking forward to your photos tomorrow.  You have been a big help keeping me from going nuts with the PCM Ta 152.  This is the first kit that presens with only basic engineering that I have tried to tackle.  I have never faced a fuselage with no locating posts before.  And its a pretty big tube.  I am taking my time.

Frank,

I have heard from Jerry Rutman and have an order in.  He has been very responsive.  You mentioned another forum.  What other forums are places I should check out?

Looking good so far Clebode. The instument panel looks good. You will not be able to see much of it when its installed as it sits pretty far back in the cockpit. I should have some pictures to post tomorrow of the fuseale all closed up with the cockpit and rear engine compartment all finished up.

                                                                                                                                Soulcrusher

Clebode- I saw a post by Jerry Rutman on another forum stating that a death in the family last week has slowed down his business to a standstill.  He's hoping to be up and running again very soon!  Just thought I would pass it along.

As promised, I have photos of the pit and IP.  I have a little touch up to do on each but I am going to let them rest for a bit while I take a look at the fuselage fit.  It looks to be challenging.

I really liked the restraining straps for the rudder pedals.

Nothing too fancy with the IP.

Nice little prodject there Karl. It is always good to pull a nice little 1/72 fighter out and just have at it. They are nice and simple builds and you rarely ever get hung up on one.

                                                                                                                 Soulcrusher

I wasn't intending to start anything for this GB until at least after I'd finished the 262 for RD2, however there are a few techniques I want to try on the 262, but rather than take a risk on a £45 kit, thought I'd go with a test subject first.

And this is what was sitting in the cupboard...

...not the world's best 190 kit, but with a bit of work.

So I cut sprue last night, and this is where I'm at this evening..

I ended up modifying the top of the fin, as Academy got it far too angular.

It's not perfect, but it's better than the kit.

I'll give it a coat of primer tomorrow, and then paint the pit.

Karl

No pics to post (not really anything to look at), but I should have something good by Monday morning. Probably most of the assembly done, as well as some paintwork!

Mobious,

Thanks for the response.  It raises my comfort level immensely.  I have never tried to airbrush Vallejos.  Use them for details and figures.  I am going to experiment with the lacquer thinner and the LCs to see what happens.

Clebode

Has anyone had any experience with Lifecolor paints?  I just received the RLM 76, 82 and 83 for the Ta 152.  I bought their thinner too.  I am normally a Tamiya and Vallejo guy and lately have been thinning the Tamiyas with their lacquer thinner, a tip I read about in a recent FSM,  with great results on large surfaces.  Let me know if there are any,tips, issues or "secrets" for these LC acrylics. 

Hey Clebode, I've been using the Lifecolor acrylics for a little while now, and I really like the way the paint flows thru the airbrush. I also use Vallejo, and have had problems with all of their green based colors. It seems the blue pigments seperate, requiring a mixing while painting to maintain color consistency. With the LC's I've not had that problem. I've been thinning my Lifecolor paints with non-chlorinated tap water(well water) and have not had any problems. I've also been mixing the LC's with the Vallejo with no problems. As for brush painting, I really can't say. The Vallejo paints are hard to beat in that category. If you have already been using acrylics then you already know that sealing them is crucial to a durable finish, but IMO the LC's are a bit more durable than the Vallejo's but no way near as tough as enamels.

 Hope this helps

 Mobious

Clebode- no experience with Lifecolor paint.

I found a 1/72 CMK resin upgrade set for the A hanging on a peg at the LHS. It has PE belts, pedals, panels and resin tub, seat, stick and that flat area behind the seat where the cat sleeps. Also two vac canopies. Pretty sweet considering I never much detail cockpits, and I wasn't looking for it. Now I just need an airplane model... None at the store (the A-3) so I guess I'll order one.

All right!  Clamped the hose from the shop vac in the Workmate and took the dremel to the massive excess resin on the kit parts.  Cleanup is done!!  Have the pit figured out and should have photos tomorrow.  Where is everyone tonight?  Going to glue some PE now.

Has anyone had any experience with Lifecolor paints?  I just received the RLM 76, 82 and 83 for the Ta 152.  I bought their thinner too.  I am normally a Tamiya and Vallejo guy and lately have been thinning the Tamiyas with their lacquer thinner, a tip I read about in a recent FSM,  with great results on large surfaces.  Let me know if there are any,tips, issues or "secrets" for these LC acrylics. 

I spent alot of time on the pit tonight. There are alot of parts in this sucker includind alot of detail visible through the open wheel well area. Everything is painted up and weather so I should be able to do some glueing tomorrow night and post some pics.

Guy posted over at Swanny's about haveing some domestic type problems that were preventing him from working on his 190. I would sent him a PM to see whats up but he never reads his PM's anyway so I figure he will turn up sooner or later.

                                                                                                                            Soulcrusher

Jason and Richie- Glad you liked that site, I use it for every model I build!  Very easy to use, and from I have seen pretty accurate too.

I have been working on my kit, and have the cockpit ready to install.  It is OOB except for the True Details resin seat, and once the fuselage is cleaned up I can put it in.

Where's Guy at?  Figured he would be finished by now and showing pics.

SuppressionFire

Daywalker,

Thanks for the chart link, it is very comprehensive and easy to use. I like they show the colors as well. Being such custom colors I would dare to dream its time to put on the big boy pants and purchase a airbrush! Not promising anything yet, have been contemplating the idea in the depths of my mind for some time now...

 

I was wondering about that Suppression, knowing your preference for rattle cans....I've never seen RLM 74,75 and 76 in spray cans before....