Remarkable scratchbuilding, Squiddy, and in such a small scale! Great stuff!

Progress on the Meteor, I managed to get to the LHS today (first day open again) to pick up some Tamiya XF-21 Sky for the fuselage band. It's a bit dark and a bit green agauinst the MM and Humbrol versions so I mixed it 1:1 with flat white. This jar will last forever...

Now, mask the band and the yellow on the leading edges and I'm really ready for the camo. The only problem is the weather has blown up to heatwave proportions starting tomorrow, with 110F forecast for Friday, so someting tells me painting will be difficult. This build will go overtime, without a shadow of a doubt!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

^^^

Thank you Mike and that shade you've sprayed looks like what I associate with 'Sky' now.

Started to tinker with how to fashion the ejection seat. It has a flat back with visible fasteners/rivets so I started with some thin brass as a test piece.

Thunderbolt379

 The only problem is the weather has blown up to heatwave proportions starting tomorrow, with 110F forecast for Friday, so someting tells me painting will be difficult.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Ta, Mike - you must live in Oz to have temps like that at this time of the year ? ...

Your home brew for 'sky' looks spot on ...

Congrats to all in this GB for all that's been done, being done, will be done, won't be done and sorta kinda thunk about :-) ...

I started a 1/48 Sabre Jet (Academy reissue of Hasegawa) last night and since the kit appears to have no major problems, I'll be ready for paint by tomorrow evening... I too have a temperature problem, but the reverse of Mike - our temps are s'posed to dip into the high teens - way too cold to be painting out in the garage and my wife won't let me put the spray booth on the kitchen table :-) ...

To one and all - have a safe, warm (or cool) holiday coming and enjoy !! ...

pepper

pepper kay

 

Thunderbolt379:

 

 The only problem is the weather has blown up to heatwave proportions starting tomorrow, with 110F forecast for Friday, so someting tells me painting will be difficult.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

 

 

Ta, Mike - you must live in Oz to have temps like that at this time of the year ? ...

Your home brew for 'sky' looks spot on ...

Congrats to all in this GB for all that's been done, being done, will be done, won't be done and sorta kinda thunk about :-) ...

I started a 1/48 Sabre Jet (Academy reissue of Hasegawa) last night and since the kit appears to have no major problems, I'll be ready for paint by tomorrow evening... I too have a temperature problem, but the reverse of Mike - our temps are s'posed to dip into the high teens - way too cold to be painting out in the garage and my wife won't let me put the spray booth on the kitchen table :-) ...

To one and all - have a safe, warm (or cool) holiday coming and enjoy !! ...

pepper

 

LOL- I noticed the temperature reference to and only wish I could share in that! Here in Georgia my "spray booth" is not very inviting either!

Squiddy -- ambitious as ever, teensy bits of brass now! Go, guy! I love it!

Pepper -- shall I add that Sabre to Page 1? There's overrun time for any build underway!

The great thing about the heat is finally getting to use the pool, but I can't paint in the pool... With the Sky band done (thanks for the positive reactions!), all that's left on the Meteor now is masking, then the exact camo matches to spray in enamels... Might have to set my alarm early on successive days and paint around daybreak. Indoors I'm doing a plane for IDF II all in acrylics, which the family don't mind me using in close proximity...

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Thunderbolt379

Pepper -- shall I add that Sabre to Page 1? There's overrun time for any build underway!

Heya, Mike ... please do add it ... it's already coming together very nicely, but I'm worried that I won't be able to lay down the NM finish until we get some warmer weather ... forecast is for low-20's to high-teens until at least middle of next week ... the way the weather is here, it'll probably be up to 75 by mid-week next :-) ...

I've a good friend in QLD who tells me his a/c is running overtime ... hard to imagine Christmas at the swimming pool, yes ? ...

pepper

easily done -- 1:48? M

If it's the F-86 F/30 variant, then it's already there! M

Thunderbolt379

easily done -- 1:48? M

Yes - by Academy but it's really Haswegawa ... even has the same boxtop art as the H kit did ...

pepper

Thunderbolt379

If it's the F-86 F/30 variant, then it's already there! M

Oops - forgot - yes, it's the F/30 ...

pepper

Still on the ejection seat I started roughing in a seat bucket. I could have made it out of brass but like a PE offering that often winds up looking like so many folded up flat panels. So I used a Dremel and carved it out of styrene then sanded the bottom side contours. You can see the kit seat behind the components so far for comparison.

A lil brass sheet, wire and styrene fashioned into an ejection seat good enough for a closed cockpit I hope.

Squidy, I'm speechless... I could barely do that in 1:32! Grinding out the seat pan would be technically beyond me, I'd be more likely to sand up a pattern from balsa and thermoform some sheet to make it. Yours will be much stronger.

My hat is off, sir!

M/TB379

Thunderbolt379

Squidy, I'm speechless... I could barely do that in 1:32! Grinding out the seat pan would be technically beyond me, I'd be more likely to sand up a pattern from balsa and thermoform some sheet to make it. Yours will be much stronger.

My hat is off, sir!

M/TB379

Eh, I like the fastest method possible and am simply too lazy to do it as you described even if that would have been better. Besides I never pass up an opportunity to earn another scar from my Dremel!

Thank you for the kind words.

Hey Guys:

I wanted to add a picture that will illustrate a method I've started using to remove the pour stubs from resin parts ... give it a try :-) ...

This is a Pyrex cake 'pan'... you, of course, can use any sort of pan or dish that has a 'lip' around it to hold water in ... I get the sanding blocks at Lowes and have them in grits from 100 to 400 ... cost is about $1.50 for a package of 2 in each grit ...  I fill the pan about halfway full of water and depending on what resin part I'm going to sand, I start with the appropriate grit # ...

What's really neat about this is that as I sand, I push the block to the bottom of the pan ... the part is completely covered with water ... I then move the part on the block, back and forth, sanding it down to the point I've removed the pour stubs from it and I have a 'ready to go' part ... I take my finger off the sanding block and it 'pops up', rinsing the part off as it does ... a quick run under the sink faucet takes care of removing any bits and pieces and resin dust ...

The neat thing here is that no resin dust floats around to be inhaled or cover your working area ... the sanding block has a sponge interior and when done, I just squeeze the water out and let it dry ... the grit is 'wet or dry' ...

They will last 'forever' ...

pepper

This is about all I'll be doing to the cockpit. It's painted and dirtied a lil bit just to get some contrasts within.

Squiddy -- excellent work! That's more detail than my 48s usually get!

Top stuff, looking forward to the airframe stage,

Mike/TB379

^^^

Thanks TB. I'd already scribed a few fuselage lines and evened up many others. Of course I've yet to see just how much blending of the wings to roots I really want to do? It's a "charming" model. Or one might say nothing fits!

Well that was fun. The wings are one piece with overlapping 'tabs' within the fuselage. I had to thin down those tabs and reshape them to help the wings locate against the roots which also needed some shaping too. Then when placing the rear mid wing atop the raised tail the locating pins assure the fit was askew. Well some more fiddling finally got things together and here's a couple of pics just to see it shaping up. Gap filling CA is indeed your friend. Of course the nose wheel bay is "empty" and that's on the list of things to do.

I want to go with the four AS 014 option. These were the same engines that powered the V1 'vengeance weapons'. Oddly they are of 'pulse jet' technology but the V1s were considered rockets?  But it was this version of powerplants which was aloft when the test flight went awry and the pilot used an ejection seat for the first time. I also just like the oddity or look of four jets slung under wing.

Of course the kit parts were barely "round" and suffered the most at the inlets. So I carved up some aluminum tubing inserts to clean up those openings. Sanded, shaped and rescribed the bodies as well.

I mixed the 81 and 82 I had too thin, spraying just would not cover so I brushed it on thick and I will wet sand and respray later on this week. I should have primed the plane in a darker color. I think my next one will be with acrylics, the mist is killing me in the basement. I am not used to the panel lines on this Hobbycraft kit, they are very deep. Trying to finish on time.

Well, I'm calling the Meteor finished. The Airfix decals carried a lot of carrier film which was a pain to (try to ) remove.

A fairly difficult build, but nonetheless a satisfying one. I may highlight the panel lines at  some stage.

Sorry gents, been away today and just got back --

Squiddy -- phenomenal work on that Heinkel, the scratchbuilding input needed on a limited run kit is intimidating but you're pulling it off in style!

XR81 -- it's great to see the Arado coming together at last -- take your time and do it justice!

Simon -- marvelous finish! That paintwork is smooth and beautiful, and that's a nifty diorama too! Well done -- page 1 is updated!

Cheers all, will get back to painting the Tamiya Meteor soon,

Mike/TB379

Simon L

A fairly difficult build, but nonetheless a satisfying one. I may highlight the panel lines at  some stage.

 

Gorgeous build - kudos to you ...

I personally never do panel line washes ... I think they are way overdone ... from the library of aviation photos I have, I've yet to see panels so sharply defined as on some models ... just doesn't work for me as it just doesn't look like the pictures I'm building from ...

As i said in the korean War GB, 'that's my 2 cents worth and I'm sticking to it' :-)

Again, congratulations on a great build ... it's just marvelous ...

pepper

Mrsquid and Xradio: Great stuff guys, coming along great!

Simon: WOW! Very sharp - you NM looks perfect! If you add anything to the panel lines I'd go with something suble, she looks shiney and beautiful as she is.

"TB", Gamera- thanks.

Staring on the bottom side I cleaned up the wings to root area further with some shaping and sanding.

Built in the front well.

And started to see what I might do with the softly molded nose gear assembly.

 Made a new wheel assembly out of a tire, rim and axle from styrene, aluminum and brass. Located that with the gear which was given new scissors and brake line.

Man, you've certainly got the 'touch' !! ... I have trouble enough glueing the fuse together, let alone scratchbuilding  like that ...

Great job !! ...

pepper

Thank you Pepper but I've got a secret.

ELVES.

MrSquid2U

Thank you Pepper but I've got a secret. 

ELVES. 

Do you think any of them might like to live in Texas ?? ...

BTW, is this GB continuing ? ... I thought that it ended on 12/31/10 ?? ...

I'm still working on the Saber Jet I'm finishing in a SAAF scheme, but don't think I'll have it wrapped up in less than a week or so ... still have to do the airframe painting and our weather is turning cold again ...

pepper

Pepper,

 The way I read the intro to the GB seemed as if stragglers would be given some grace? I've been slowed down by cold weather myself here in Georgia.

 Now if you has said it was warm and balmy there in Texas I think all of my Elves would have abandoned me. Too late, I'm keeping an eye on them now!