Mighty 8th GB 1-Nov-2010 - 31-Oct-2011

I will deffinatly have to try that true details set. But don't expect this from all AM sets. But that said, i am rather addicted to adding the odd extra part.

Nice start on the P-51B , Owl ; The resin cockpit set looks great

I have the fuselage together on my 1/72 P-51D , along with the wings and stabilizers ;

She just needs a tiny bit of putty along the seems and I'll be ready for masking and painting .

I seem to be going through a bit of a "purple patch' lately with my builds , making lot's of progress on different projects , so i added the 1/76 Airfix Recovery set to the bench ;

like the RAF Refuelling Trucks I cut the chassie and suspension pieces for the Thornycroft Coles Mk.7 crane from the sprue and glued those parts together and cleaned up the cab pieces as well ;

And the same with the Bedford OX Tractor unit along with the 'Queen Mary trailer ;

next I'll airbrush the cab interior parts of both vehicles RAF light grey ;

I was thinking of adding a damaged Mustang fuselage to the trailer unit but after looking at google images and seeing some pic's of Mustangs after landing accidents , I would probably have to do an extensive search for decals to match a photo of a damaged Mustang . So for the time being I'll just make both recovery vehicles and if I have enough time and I happen to stumble across some suitable 1/72 Mustang markings , perhaps I could throw in a vintage Airfix Mustang kit ......... We'll see ?

                                 John .

Helo, coming along nicely. Do you build dioramas do you plan on useing the vehicles in their own displays.

Looking good, Owl.  Will be interesting to see your progress, and learn some things about cockpit detailing, since that hasn't been my strong suit.

Very ambitious project, John.  Look forward to seeing it develop.  It's a great idea.

Looks like its going to be a busy finish.

 I just got the last decal onto ole puss, i always like that part. I decided to leave the top of the right wing bare. Going to leave it over night now and give it a flat coat tomorrow. Then its just a case of adding the little details and doing a touch of weathering, o ye, and do the braceing for the nose.

 I am not sure if i can get any pics up as i had to leave my camera at home last weekend and i am not home this weekend. Going to see if i can get any pics with my webcam.

Good for you, Bish.  Looking forward to seeing what you did with the nose.

As for decals--eh!  They and I have a love-hate relationship.

did I mention I love painting cockpits?

I will bear that in mind next time i need one doing OWl. Nice job on that.

The decals are my favorite part as for me they bring the kit to life. They turn what until then is just a B-17 into a specific B-17 that had a history.

Owl-nice work.  Looking forward to more pics.

Bish-I agree-for me, the fun part of this hobby is researching a specific plane/pilot and learning the history behind both.

Well, stick a fork in me....I'm done.  Not my best work, but I'm glad that I chose the Monogram kit-a lot of potential there and with a coupon I can pick them up for less than $10.-.  Next one I'll take more time & care.

One upgrade is that I trimmed the gun sight and added a piece of clear plastic from a scrap spruce.  I'm happy with that upgrade and the potential for future builds.

Anyway, here's my build:

In summary, the seams are fair-a lot of filling & sanding.  The aftermarket decals did not like the cowling of the Monogram kit, nor the propeller hub.  Again, that's more of a reflection of my skills-I'm not the most patient person.

Bish-great GB.  I loved the theme-hope to maybe see it again in the future.  Thanks for letting me hang out here.

fyi, a great book on the 8th Air Force in WW II is Masters of the Air by Donald Miller.  Well worth a read.

Cheers

Well its come out very nice bob. Have you got any more [pics or are you happy for me to use that one. I am in camp this weekend, and as i have a lousy connection, not sure if photobucket will handle it, so i might have to wat until next weekend before i put it on the front page.

Very glad to have you along. I do plan on hosting more GB's. But that won't be until i am certain i won't be going away and i have decent internet. So it probably won't be for a couple of years. But i may well do another 8th AAF GB, or something along similar lines.

Been a pleasure haveing you along. And i will try to find that book, thanks very much.

Thanks Bish.  I'll make it a point to take a better picture and post it tomorrow.

does anyone know where I can find photos of "The Flying Scot/Viscous Virgie"? Im having a hard time finding images that aren't color profiles. I already tried littlefriends.co.uk, but no dice.....

Afraid i don't have much on the P-51 OWL, what are you trying to find out.

Bish

Afraid i don't have much on the P-51 OWL, what are you trying to find out.

what the weathering looked like. All I have is the decal sheet, and that only shows the profile.

Right i see. Well in lieu of pics of the actual aircraft, i would just go for a general weathering. I would think most aircraft in a certain area would weather in a similar way. And while getting the right markings and paint job for a certain model is one thing, getting the exact weathering is a bit different, unless its something unusual.

Awesome cockpit detail , Owl ...

Really nice P-51D build there too Bob .

My 1/72 P-51D is ready for masking so hopfully tomorrow I can get some neutral gray laid down on her .

In the meantime I got bogged down a little when I decided to make windscreens and cab door windows for my support vehicles ...

I airbrushed the chassie frames of all four vehicles and some of the other parts and then I started to cut and file small pieces of sheet plastic to fill in the window openings ;

Bedford QL and AEC Matador...

I only made half windows for the doors to give the impression of them being partly down ;

Bedford OX and Coles Mk7 crane ...

It took a lot longer to do than I thought and I'm a little disappointed with my efforts , considering the amount of time I spent making the window's .

Oh well ; I'll putty any small gaps around the cab parts mask the windows and continue with the painting .

Hopfully by the end of this week I'll have the P-51D finished along with the trucks and I can then start on the Hasegawa B-24J . As for a dio , I think I will just glue some grass matting to a piece of board .

                         John .

I think your vehicles are coming out very well, for such small little creatures.

Fascinating paint scheme.  Maybe I missed it, but is it RAF?

thanks guys!

here's where the mustang sits now. Next is foiling!

Good luck with the foiling , owl .

My 1/72 Old Crow is going along nicely , I was able to get the neutral gray and olive drab airbrushed and followed on today with a few light coats of clear gloss ;

Tomorrow I'll airbrush the wheels and prop blades flat black and get her standing on her legs ready for decalling .

            John .

Some great work guys, a real flurry to the finish. Got 2 weeks left to run, not including time added on for builds already started.

I haven't had my camera for the last 2 weeks. The B-17 is almost done, i will hopefully get some pics up tomorrow night.

Right, as promised, some photos. I am really likeing how this has turned out. Not bad seeing as it was about to get stuck in a box and would have been forgotten about.

Just got a few more parts to add, so should be done by tomorrow.

Looks great Bish....fantastic job on the faded/weathering effect....very nice.

Bish, that's a great looking plane.  The fading is excellent, and the panel line treatment is outstanding.  The enhancements to the guns visible in the nose are very well done; even the little barrel covers!  It's really a fine build, worth all the time you lavished on it.

here is a snapshot of where the foiling is now, Im almost done!

OWl, that is looking rather nice. I have not use foil for an NMF. Is each panel foiled seperatly, as thats what it looks like.

Bish, I'm currently working on my final Fort for the GB, "Our Gal Sal."  (Haven't posted pics since it's the same as the first two, until I get to the paint.)  The part with the tail guns was missing, so I was considering how to fix this up.  I thought aluminum foil, but maybe your idea of tissue paper would work just as well.  It's an alternative to try, if the foil doesn't cooperate.  Thanks for the idea.

OWL, your NMF looks really good. 

Bish

OWL, that is looking rather nice. I have not use foil for an NMF. Is each panel foiled separately, as thats what it looks like.

yup, the panels are (mostly) foiled separately. You dont have to do it that way however, it just depends on what look you are going for. I well oxidized bird, as well as a chromed showbird, will be mostly one tint and you can do the foiling in chunks. But if you look at pics of NMF planes from the war, you will see a variation in the panels. That is what I am attempting to do with the different sections.

check, i am not sure what the tail is like on your kit, on the Academy its a seperate piece. I left the guns out during assembly and tried to fit them after, but that didn't work. I had to take the tail off, this was after i had painted and decaled, and fit the guns from the back. The guns came as one piece, basically two plastic rod with no feature attached to a base piece. I had removed the guns and added resin barrels. I ground down the base a bit, slide the 'canvas' over the guns, after makeing two holes, and wrapped it round the base. Then slide it all into the make of the tail and tried to get as good a seal as i could. I wish i had taken some pics, but afraid i didn't.

Its now finished and i have got some ppics, will get them up by the weekend. Just need to write up some history.

OWl, doing the panels that way really gives a great look,all the panels seem to look different. I do like useing Alclad, but i may just give foil a try one of these days, just to see what its like.