Official Natural Metal Finish Group Build II

Seems I have a problem with joining group builds lately, but being in them helps with me completing the builds.  If I still can join, I'll have a 1/48 Tamiya P-51D that will be a crossover with the 8th AF GB

DoogsATX I dont use them all the time, only when I want to build an open cockpit. Most of the kit canopys have been pretty clear, but I dont like the thickness of them for open builds. I have a MiG-3 on the bench I am going to have to use vacuform because the kit part really foggy almost looks like it was acid etched. Looks like you did a fine job on yours to me.

vetteman42

DoogsATX that vacuform canopy looks great I know they are a PITA but find in the end they are very much worth it in the end result. Is why I am waiting for one for my build.

I can see places where they certainly make sense. I think I'll definitely be picking up a Kingfisher canopy when I get around to that kit, since I'm hoping to absolutely knock that one out of the park (already got Lonestar Models' cockpit tub, properly sized float, cowling and Vector engine on order), and vacform and stackable canopies seem to go together like bacon and everything.

But...I'm pretty far from considering making vacform canopies a standard AM purchase the way I seem to have done with seats and tires. Huge PITA factor and, at least with these canopies, I don't think I did the best job with the windscreens. Too many contours for my crude scalpel skills.

Also...my eyes are STILL all wigged out like 15 hours later! 

DoogsATX that vacuform canopy looks great I know they are a PITA but find in the end they are very much worth it in the end result. Is why I am waiting for one for my build.

CallSignOwl it does indeed look like the bondo pitted some, what I do to prevent that as much as I can is apply it with a shaped plastic spatula then wet it before its dry with some nail polish remover and pull the spatula over it again, very gently. I would think using your finger tip would work also in those tight places. I do have the same troubles in corners that you are having but the nice thing is it doesn't chip or flake out as easily as the squadron type putties do. When I do have those pits I use Mr Surfacer 1000 and brush on a heavy coat, then  wet sand most of it off, then brush on a flat acrylic paint like silver or bright red then sand that off. If I can see the color where the pitting was then I hit it with the Mr Surfacer again and sand again. I do that until all the colored paint comes off. Usually gets the pits taken care of with the first or second coat, sounds like a bunch of work but it really isnt. I just started treating it like body work on a car or motorcycle gas tank only smaller.

The Bondo seems to be a bit pitted and Ive been trying to sand it smooth. I think if I had that nail-polish stuff it would have been smoother (acetone, right?)  I'll keep at it for now, but I may have to go over it with the Testors Putty.  I used that for the gape on the wings, and because I had the Iso-Alcohol, I was able to smooth it down nicely.  Here is where I am at right now:

OWL

Well that was a giant PITA! I managed to extricate the canopies from their backing sheets without accidentally cutting them in half or stabbing myself, but it's not something I'm looking forward to doing again any time soon.

Though...for stacking canopies like the Dauntless, Kingfisher, etc...I can see how they make a ton of sense.

I also ended up just using the main canopies. The windscreens just did not fit well at all. But they were designed for the Monogram kit (Monogram makes/made a Wildcat?), so I wasn't expecting the more complicated shape of the windscreen to line up as easily.

I also Futured the glass for four different aircraft last night...so I'm getting closer and closer to the real painting!

Owl,  wow now thats a gap....

48, nice looking progress on the Jug...I have a feeling that this is going to be a nice one

Aggieman, looking forward to seein some pics buddy

Doogs, Goodluck and have fun with that vac canopy...And yep my stang is the Tamiya 1/48, they just go together like a dream....

Far less climactic than my Great Models shipment that contained...you know...models...my Squadron vacform canopies showed up today. Going to cut and Future to tonight if I don't ruin them with ineptitude...the hopefully start laying down some primer tomorrow.

Sweet, ill head out on saturday and see what i can get for you.

Scorpiomikey

 

CallSignOWL:

 

thanks for the offer Scorpiomikey! Any Reference pics are welcome. You don't see a lot of foreign planes scooting around very often. 

OWL

 

 

Lemme know what you need and ill head down this weekend and see what i can do for you.

With my build here, I'm not going for super-accuracy: I'm focusing more on the finish; but I think a general walk-around of the hot spots would be great. Like the nose intake, cockpit, wheel wells, tail area and exhaust would be helpful.   The canopy would be good too!

Thanks!

OWL

Poor fit indeed!

Best of luck getting that cleaned up! 

I got the tail attached yesterday....but it was a poor fit!  lots of putty was applied along the dorsal spine and tail-fin. This is my first time using the red Bondo glazing putty, so we'll see how this goes.

OWL

Man I step away from this build for a week due a TS Hermine dumping boat loads of rain in the D/FW area (which we needed) and I missed some great progress. Great work ya'll!!

I guess some left overs from Hermine is sweeping through the area, cause I was about to place a coat of sealer over the NMF when all of a sudden here comes more .  more waiting for me.

IBuild148

Doogs - Nothing like getting our 'toys' delivered. Its like Christmas even though we know whats inside. 

Amen to that! I love ordering online, because opening the brown box and rifling through the contents is just so much fun! The biggest surprise was how great the bargain Eduard Yak-3 looks. And just two very spartan sprues! Think I might start it tonight and build it alongside the La-5. Seeing as the cockpits would use the same colors and all...

Unfortunately, no Squadron box, and without the canopies I'm still stalled out on the Wildcats...

Steve - Good luck during your painting sessions.

kermit - Thanks for the positive comments.

Doogs - Nothing like getting our 'toys' delivered. Its like Christmas even though we know whats inside. One day I would like to build a 1/32 aircraft and a Jug would be at the top of the list and warrant the AM additions.

CallSignOWL

thanks for the offer Scorpiomikey! Any Reference pics are welcome. You don't see a lot of foreign planes scooting around very often. 

OWL

Lemme know what you need and ill head down this weekend and see what i can do for you.

I have received my Alclad paint, so it looks like tomorrow will be the first of what will probably turn into 3-4 separate painting sessions to finish out the base NMF coat and pick out the magnesium sections.

OWL,

Great work sofar! Just into the hobby and already scratching like a pro. Your progress is very impressive!

IBuild,

Nobody doesn't like a well built jug! And from the look of it you are doing yours alot of justice. Been playing with the idea of building "Seattle chief" due to personal reasons. Did a spitfire for my grandfather once because he witnessed a dogfight between a BF109 and a spit at below treetoplevel once. Such builds are always very gratifying

Doogs,

Congrats on your long awaited order! Heard alot of good stuff about gunze paints. Very hard to come by in these parts though...

Richard

Received word from the wife that my Great Models shipment came in...so I now officially have my Gunze Orange Yellow!

Still no word on Squadron. I'm hoping I'll discover some vacform canopies waiting for me when I check the mail...

OWL - That Mig is looking like a bear of a build...awesome to see you wrestling it into place!

IBuild - The P-47 is looking awesome! Too bad about the barrels...next time right? I've got Hasegawa's 1/32 Jug on my Christmas list, and definitely plan on going metal barrels if I get it. At that size, I think they could make a pretty substantial difference.

Sadly, zero change in the Wildcats. Still don't have shipping confirmations from either Great Models or Squadron (but then, despite their promises to do so, I've never received a shipping conf from Squadron). In the meantime, I'm working up a good head of steam on the Zvezda La-5. The exhaust plates are going to be finished in NMF (probably Alclad Steel), so I may post a few pics when I hit that stage.

Quick Update:

I had to pass on the ultracast prop and barrels Doogs suggested because of cost issues.

Alclad 106

Since I don't have a "full view" visual of this aircraft and I have utilized all my resources I have decided to do just a few panels using Alclad 105.

Once all this cures I will then do the OD Anti Glare and the Satin Black cowl.

I'm still debating on the front landing gear "hubs". Judging by the photo it looks like the outer portion is a NMF, the center is a gray and the "star" white. HMM

aww, thanks Vetteman. I do like to try new things, and I think by doing so its the only way I'll ever get close to being as good as you guys here! 

I got a bit more progress to report. I was able to get the dorsal spine on with a bit of work. It had warped or something and did not sit flush on the fuselage at all, so I took a hairdryer and bent it back to a more manageable fit. Thats my first time adjusting parts this way, and it worked very well!

OWL

Jmabx I havent done much on the T-6 other than filling and sanding the wing root seams, so nothing worth posting yet. As I said I am stalling a bit hoping Squadron will get some vacuform canopies in for it. I am however chompin at the bit big time so see the Airacomet in NMF. Sure looks darn good good from here at this point.

Julez you are almost at the home stretch now and looking really good, the stripes and panel shades look to be spot on. Glad to hear you are feeling better too, that flu can be a tail kicker.

IBuild148 awe man you have the black on and maybe by now the some of the NMF and no picx ??? Gonna be a sweet build me thinks.

DoogsATX I hate it when that happens, rattle can paint and waiting on parts. The Cats are impressive now cant wait to see some more paint on them.

CallSignOwl I am amazed at how quickly your skills have improved in such a short time. You have no fear of trying anything new at all

thanks for the offer Scorpiomikey! Any Reference pics are welcome. You don't see a lot of foreign planes scooting around very often. 

OWL

The 21's are awesome. ive got a what if one floating around. If you need any detail photos let me know theres one down the road i can get plenty of shots of. Its sitting in an auction yard waiting to be sold (prolly only have a few more days to get photos, so yeah lemme know)

I got the main wells finished. As I said before, reference pics showed the MiG-21 to have simple detail, so I didn't add much, just some wire and bits of styrene.  I got the fuselage halves glued together...but getting everything lined up inside was a challenge. There are NO locating tabs in this thing!!

OWL

jmabx - LOVING the P-59! Not even painted and it's already looking sharp!

Julez - That's a Tamiystang, right? The bits look familiar!

Reached the end of the line with the Wildcats last night. I'm now officially stuck until shipments start arriving.

Also, if I ever get it in my head to spray Tamiya white primer straight from the can again, somebody smack me. Ugh. It flooded the flaps and surround areas...came off easy enough with lacquer thinner...but on each plane the lacquer thinner decided to eat a bit of surface detail on the starboard wing. Not the port...just starboard. Still not sure why the one and not the other...

jmabx

Thanks IBuild! Amazingly enough, this is one of the nicest and easiest kits I've ever built! Hobbycraft... what gives?

 

 

Julez72:

 

Jeremy, mate everything you build always impresses me....I'm loving the look of your work...

 

 

I greatly appreciate the compliment Julez but my work pales in comparison to yours!

I don't think so buddy, i think our skill level is very comparable but you have a little extra finesse in your work than i do....

Julez72

Mikey, Good to see you back in action, your got more courage than me, i'm still not willing to try foil...

 

Meh, cheap kit. cheap foil glue. kitchen grade tinfoil. whats to be scared of? im finding it easier than paint. if it goes to pot i just pull it off and reaply it. The only thing thats frustrating me is overlapping the foil edges. so im trying to put the foil joins on the panel lines.

Julez,

I do like the different shades on your P-51 panels!

The T/Bolt was painted flat black Friday night. I am going to lay the NMF # 106 in about an hour and let that dry overnight. Then do some masking and panel shading of my own.