Hunting After Dark, 2011-2012 Night Fighter Group Build

John thanks, I've lightly wet sanded raised panel lines before after painting a contrasting color before top coating and get a good effect from it,I'm sure you can do something along the same lines with your idea. The Stinger is coming along nicely and I really like the action picture with the guns blazing!

Vance yea it looks different enough to leave that way lol,had to top coat it tho;)

Greg thanks,I would rather slam my dangly bits in a rusty truck door than move! Hope you get the work bench up and running soon would love to see more of your builds!

Here is the salt application

Then after layers of varying shades of blue

the underside

after touching up the white and adding some staining

Well whats the verdict too much,not enough or just about right and leave it alone? Thanks

Very nicely done.  I've still not tried it but you have done a great job around the aircraft.  However, I would not  have done it on or around the radome.  The radome was made of fiberglass, not metal.  The metal chipping around the engine and on wings near the engine seem correct to me.  The chipping on one side of the cockpit seems ok but I think it was more prevelent on the Japanese planes.  Their paint adhesion was not as good as the U. S. planes.  What do you think?  Have you seen photos of Corsairs with that kind of chipping near the cockpit?

NFN thanks, You're correct about the radom and I've repainted the chips out, much appreciated! I totally dropped the ball there! The chipping on the leading edges will remain just that chipping. However the areas that are heavily trod upon will hopefully after the layers of weathering be just that and toned down quite a bit, You are absolutely correct about the Japanese paint adhesion problems and I've not got any photo evidence of that on the Corsair.  I've seen it on other airframes from shoulder straps being flung out and just climbing in and out of the office,just hoping it shows as wear in the end and not total paint failure,we'll see;)

The first wash after a hair raising decal session. The decals were very brittle and the port side fuse star came apart,did my best to save it.

Buffed off the first wash then applied a second especially heavy underneath

Then the second wash is starting to tone things down and bring the panel line details out

Your Corsair is really look great Trey

Especially the paint chipping and nice job getting those difficult decals into position .

As for me , my progress has been a little slow as things at home have been quite busy but I am slowly getting the paint laid down on the Stinger

I like to use BluTack for masking my camouflage pattens , here you can see that I roll the Blu-Tack into thin strips of spaghetti into the camo patten I want and mask the area I wish to leave tan (FS30219)

I then airbrushed the remaining area's mid green (FS34102)

And just now I completed the dark green (FS34079)

Tomorrow , I'll cover the remaining top area's and airbrush the flat black to the fuselage sides / bottom and under wings . So I'm slowly but surely getting there .

John .

Phantom's coming together. I was thinking about how to paint the gap between the intake vents and the fuselage so I've ended up painting that part of the fuse first. I've also painted the flaps and will mask those off when I attach the intakes. That way when I paint the rest of the bird I should get a nice clean result.

I've also attached any of the ordinance pylons that share the same colour as the underside. ie. the Sidewinder/TER racks, MER rack and the external fuel tanks.

Also got the undercarriage done.

Cheers

Ordinance assembled, there sure is a lot of it!

Cheers

Great work so far on the F-4D Casper and that's a good idea about leaving the intake splitter plate's off so you can paint the area behind first .

The landing gear struts and wheels look awesome as well 

I airbrushed the underside of the Stinger with some flat black this afternoon

I also managed to get some dark green on the B-57G canberra as well ; Tomorrow  I'll give her a few coats of flat black on the underside also .

After dinner I'll pull the mask's from the upper surface's of the Stinger . I hope the camouflage looks okay , I spent lot's of time masking !

John .

I got too nervous and couldn't wait for after dinner to inspect the camo scheme

Overall , I'm quite happy with the results

There are a couple of areas that will need a little touch up but I expected that .

Anyway I'm happy .

John .

Gee whiz guys! You are making me feel like I am a slow poke.  I have been building, just that it takes some time to do the updates in "my style".  Also been doing the newsletter for the local club, so you know that I have been busy.

Too many irons and not enough fire!    My stumbling block isn't the building, it is the painting.

Anyway, all the builds I have been seeing on here lately have bee fabulous!  Love how the camo is turning out on that gunship John!  TREYZX10R that Corsair is looking good!

Never fear, I am still (lurking) here and building, just need to make some time to do the new posts and I have a bunch to do.

One other thing, if any of you are in driving distance to Memphis, My local club is hosting it's annual model contest next Saturday at Briarcrest School.  Last year we had quite a few vendors as well as nicely build kits.  If you are interested, PM me and I will send you a link to our club site for info.

John great looking cammo it looks spot on!

Casper the gear looks great nice work so far!

Heavens Eagle thanks,looking forward to your next update. I'm sure it will be worth the wait with your attention to fine details.

I'm calling it done,overall not a bad kit except the decals but that might be due to age.

Canopy times today.

I've masked off all canopies and attached the various amounts of Eduard PE. They look great with all the locking systems and stuff in place. I've also masked the inside, it's better in 1/32 and larger scales to see paint on the inside as well.

Cheers

Nice Corsair, Trey!

Cheers

Trey, your awesome late-night, Betty hunting, hose-nose is on the front page!  It came out great.  I like all the chipping and different shades for fading.  The south Pacific was hard on the equipment, and you captured that very well.

John, the camo came out great on the Stinger.  I really like your technique, that seems the perfect way to do SEA camo unless you are one of the super talented freehand painters.  Your Stinger is awfully cool, and will definetly be a stand out in your already awesome collection.

Caspar, the Phantom is coming along nicely,  Excellent detail on the canopy too.

Alright guys, I am jealous!  You are turning out some awesome stuff.  Not only are you building high quality models, but some of my absolute favorite aircraft!  I still haven't got my work area together yet.  Slowly, but surely it is coming together.

Cheers,

Greg

This place in a massive state of disarray is my work area as of this evening.  I still have to get my compressor and paint booth, and a ton more organizing, but it is getting there.  I might actually glue a couple of pieces of styrene together tonight.....

My doberman's must think it is pretty interesting.  They have been sniffing the heck out of it for a while!

Cheers,

Greg

Casper thanks really appreciate the kind words!

Greg thanks very much ! Glad to hear you're getting settled in!Looking forward to seeing you get some builds going ! The Dobes look ready too!

Greg- kinda looks like the state of organization around my bench, minus the dogs. In my mind, I'm gonna get to that He-219 soon. I swear, really I am.... 

Greg

Our critter kids, (dogs, & cats) (yes cats too!)  Tend to go through adjusting to new places.  I remember years ago, I had a cat (was definitely MY cat, gave the ex hell till she finally gave him to me)  Was an interesting pet.  One of my moves to another apartment, I moved all the major stuff and then went back and loaded up some of the small stuff.  He went with me on the last trip.  HE WAS HAVING A MAJOR FREAK OUT at the old place with everything gone.  Loaded him up and took him to the new place and let him out.  He looked around, jumped up in the recliner and laid down.  Gave me a look "Here's our stuff!"  Didn't matter that it was a huge mess, just mattered that it was there.

Working on major post updates on several items.  Maybe by next weekend there will be a new post on the Focke Wulf as well!.

Enjoy your new place there Greg!

Mmmm , I'm a skinny , odd little dude and I'm sure if those Dobes of yours greg got one look at me , they would see my arms and legs as tasty milk bones 

I any case it's great to see you have a man cave in the making , with a window for natural light and fresh air , everything should look great once your properly set up .

I airbrushed the underside of the B-57G with some flat black today

I just removed all the masks from the top surface and everything looks okay

I also did a little touch up on the stinger , I thought where the black paint meet the camouflage colours along the upper front fuselage section ( between the cockpit and wing ) the scallops were a little big , so I remasked with some blu-tack and painted some more black and flattened the scallops a bit . It matches the decal sheet diagram a lot closer now .

So next I'll attach the landing gear struts and wheels on both builds and then I'll airbrush some clear gloss

Trey , Really nice work on the Corsair night fighter and as Greg mentioned the faded paint finish from the pacific operations looks excellent as does all the weathering ;

10 out of 10 from me Sir ...

John .

Greg , I just looked at Squadrons web site and saw the F3D Skynight book listed .

I just ordered a copy along with a F-111 in action book .

I wonder if the F-111 counts as a "Night Fighter" ???

John .

Stage Left, feel free to jump in anytime.  There is plenty of time left anyways.

Paul, I am looking forward to your next installment.  If you don't mind, I'd like to save your posts to my computer for personal use.  I have several 190's in my stash, and I would like it for reference, and inspiration.  Not that I could, in my wildest dreams, build to your level! 

I think I feel more lost than the dogs!  It will take me a while to learn a new kitchen, and which light switch goes to what etc.  John, don't fear the dobies.  They are really nice dogs.  If I like somebody, then they like them, except kids, they like them regardless.  If a bunch of 6 year olds wanted to break in and rob me blind, they'd let them.  If it was 26 year olds, somebody is going to get bit.  They are very protective, but in a more passive, and observant way. 

I am loving the SEA camo John!  From what I read, the F-111 was primarily used at night, so it certainly fits the bill.  I just read a little bit the other day somewhere, about a squadron of F-105's that were being used in the night attack role in Vietnam, so as to help develop tactics for the oncoming F-111's.  I need to get a book on them too, since everytime I read a little bit about them, it is always very interesting.  Thanks for the heads up, I have a F3D book on order.  I think that is what will be up next for me.

As for Trey, I wonder what is next???  I've been meaning to say that I saw your AV-8B on the Harrier GB, and it looks great!  That and Caspar's VSTOL behemoth!

I started working on the Canberra for a little while last night.  I am reshaping the tail, and trying to box in the wheel wells, and cutting out the flaps.

Cheers,

Greg

[View:/themes/fsm/utility/:550:0]Ok, now I have pictures to show what I've been up to...  the Italian Night Fighter...  Fiat Cr 42 Cn.

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John paint is looking great, the colors look spot on are they straight from the bottle or did you tint them ?

Greg thanks ,hope things settle down for you and the Family I know what a pita moving can be! I'm undecided just yet I've got a Ju88G,P-38M or a Do335 in the stash tho! Got 2 Me309's on the bench for the prototype GB might be a time squeezing in but I'll try.

NFN looking good so far!

TREYZX10R

John paint is looking great, the colors look spot on are they straight from the bottle or did you tint them ?

 

Thank's Trey , I airbrush mostly with Gunze Acrylics and sometimes Tamiya Acrylics . I thin my paint 50%/50% with Isocol ( Isopropyl Alcohol) , which also doubles as my after-shave !

I was looking at the 1/72 Italeri F-111A kit this morning

I've had this kit in the stash since 30th of November 2002 , according to the faded docket in the box ; So it's probably time I built it . Interesting Italeri supply cockpit decals , quite a rare for Italeri !

There are markings for a 4481st TFS , Takhli 1968 aircraft and a 474th TFW Takhli 1972 (NA) aircraft .

I think I'll go with the 1968 markings as the venerable Aardvark had a rather dubious debut !

There's a nice bomb load of Snakeye's and two ALQ-87 pods and I think that's a Gun pod just aft of the front landing gear ?

Like you Greg , I don't have a lot of reference on the F-111 apart from a couple of pages from some Veitnam reference books ...

Another pic shows a F-111A dropping sensors for the "Igloo White" programme

I'll have a search around for a couple more Italeri F-111A kits , I could build a second one like the pic above which would go nicely with the Wolf Pack decals for a OP-2E Neptune and on that same sheet are markings for a F-111A "Mayaguez Gunboat Killer" 1975 .

In any case I'll build the 1968 F-111A along side the AP-2H Neptune next .

John .

BTW , I'm glad to hear the Dobies are friendly .

Gregbbear wrote the following:

Paul, I am looking forward to your next installment.  If you don't mind, I'd like to save your posts to my computer for personal use.  I have several 190's in my stash, and I would like it for reference, and inspiration.  Not that I could, in my wildest dreams, build to your level! 

Thanks for the complement Greg! I don't mind if you save my posts at all, I save posts that I find instructive helpful or informative all the time.  Hard drive space is cheap these days.  In fact I tend to migrate most of my books to drive storage and get rid of them.  I don't have that kind of space any more.  Also with the reference on the computer it makes it easier to manipulate things for personal use.

Am trying to finish up a starter post on my Great Build Seimens Shuckert.  It is going to be quite a doosie of a post.  First item is opening up 10 large louvers that have both outer and inner bulges.  The part ended up quite thin and the louvers are unbelievable!  Most folks, in fact every other build I have seen remove the rear inner bulge on these louvers.  I am doing a step by step on how I did them.

Here is a teaser if you are interested:

Not a night fighter, but if you are interested in the process have a go!

Still on track to do a post later this week!

Hi all........i'm watching in the site while I note this gb is extended till 1 gennuary 2013.......I'm in!!!!!My model is 1\48 Me 262 B-1A/U1 Nachtjager by Italeri..............Ciao from Italy Enrico.

This profile is from 1\32 Trumpeter Kit

Can I enter a Revell 1/48 F-86D sabre dog interceptor?

thanks

Not much progress on my Stinger Gunship these past few day's . My mother was rushed to hospital earlier in the week and has been in intensive care since . Mum is slowly making some improvement each day , so hopfully it won't be long before they can move her back to a ward .

I'll have a little time this morning to put the decals on the Stinger

There's only a few markings and shouldn't take too long to do . My only concern with the build is how long the masks have been on the front windshield and I hope there won't be residue left on the clear parts when I remove the masks . That can be a real bummer .

John .

Canopies painted inside and fitted, areas masked off and wheelbays filled. Almost time to prime this beast!

Cheers

John really sorry to hear that ,hope your Mom makes a quick and full recovery! I've left masks on for extended times with no ill effect, hopefuly it wo'nt be an issue for you. The Stinger is looking sharp!

Sorry to hear about your mom John!  Hope that she continues to make good recovery.

Finished my major post for my other GB.  Have a couple of pages done on the Fw 190 and will do the rest tomorrow.  We hosted King Con here in Memphis today had some nice builds and some decent vendors.  I scored a Trumpeter 1/32 A-10 with an extra markings decal set and the Verlinden Cockpit set unbuilt for $50.  What a deal that was.  Picked up 8 WW2 German half trak kits from Dragon for just a little bit more.  Like the 251's and picked up a varied selection.

Anyway, running on the leftover fumes from the last set of fumes now so off to the sack.  With luck the new 190 post will get everything all up to current tomorrow and I will be able to get some building done.