Hunting After Dark, 2011-2012 Night Fighter Group Build

Great job there Casper.  :)  Trey, the engines were shipped in crates and covered in Kosmoline, a preservative oil.  I also found a picture in a book I'm currently reading that has a mock up of the engine and mount for the P-61.  Oddly enough, its the diorama book from Fine Scale Modeler.  "How to Build Dioramas", pg. 76.  The crates for the engines were cubed with a band of wood around the top and a band of wood around the bottom.  There is also a diagonal bit of wood running from the top band to the bottom band on each side.  A photo and instructions on how to make the crate are on pg. 70.  Hope that helps.  :)

You guys want paint?? You got it!

almost 3 pots worth. I did the underneath with Tamiya XF-85 Tyre Black but wasn't that happy with the finish. I did the top with Mr.Colour H77 which is Rubber black and has a nicer sheen to it. Once this dries I'll apply gloss coat for the decals.

Cheers

NFN thanks its a big help for sure!

Casper like the looks of the black,that scale will sure gobble up some paint!

Ship 1 is complete

off on patrol

Very nice...  Are you going to add the two antennas on the bottom that look like capital "T"'s.  I think they are DME antenna's but I'm not sure at the moment.  They are used to measure distance to ground.  they are located on the central part of the fuselage.

Thanks NFN yes after I get done banging it around and knocking off the other antenae I'll scratch up a pair for both birds. Appreciate the reminder!

Well all of the hard work with masking sure paid off. I'm very pleased with the results. Here is the underneath.

Only 2 decals to go on the bottom then I'll attach all of the greeblies before decalling the top. I want to avoid resting this bird upside down so as not to upset the paint work on the top.

Cheers

Here's the top view of the Nighthawk. I must say the inclusion of PE intake grills from Trumpeter is awesome. It's hard to convey in a photo but if you look at just the right angle, you can see the intake fan sitting back behind the grill. The other PE parts were not see through so it really gives the model a boost. I tried to photograph this but couldn't get it

Cheers

Ok, this bird is done!

Cheers

Looks sharp Casper.

Ship 2 is nearing completion

Ship 2 is nearing completion

Ship 2 completed,time to concentrate on the dio now.

thanks for looking,cheers Trey

Great looking builds here guys. Those P-61s are a really impressive project Try, I know heaps of work has gone into achieving that outstanding result.

The F-117 is really nice too Casper, great build of a really interesting aircraft.

Cheers

Tony

Thanks for the feedback guys. It always helps! I really enjoyed this kit, not quite as intricate or puzzle like as a Tammy in this scale but fun nonetheless and looks great OOB

Here's a shot next to my Phantom II F-D

Cheers

Tony thanks, appreciate you taking the time to comment with some kind words! Not much progress thats note worthy,been struggling with the trees and base. Figures are also killing me,painting them is not a strong point for me. Heres the basic base layout



Spent a long time painting and inking the palms to get rid of the 'plastic' look


Maybe after some dullkote they'll come around


the crew need some more detailing and cleaning up,especially the faces

Used a dual action sander with some 80 grit to give the base some depth variation,then just a quick rattle can to check my work


thanks for looking,cheers Trey

Hoist is ready now

Hey there, I've got another entry if that;s OK. I should be able to squeeze this one in by January cut off!

Just picked this up from my LHS, very nice little kit and expensive! Lots of PE and even resin, usual excellent Eduard quality at this scale.

I'm going to be doing the variant on the box art.

Cheers

Dio update ,basic vegetation in place ,just deciding where the big parts need to be now.

scratching up a Maintenance tent and some basic support equpment next.

nice !!

Some work on the Hellcat's cockpit. These Eduard profi packs are very nice. Lots of great detail and almost the Tammy shake-n-bake ease of build. My only compliant is they do not supply enough guiding pins on the two halves of the fuselage, wings, etc. Apart from that, all good.

Cockpit and IP, nice details on the coloured PE

View of the seat, the harnesses in this set are actually pretty good.

Cheers

Everything fits very nicely on this kit!

Cheers

Excellent work Casper. And the good news is that I have two of these things to build.

Cheers

Tony

Great looking office Casper!

Got the main painting done.

Interior colour;

Coat of Tamiya grey primer;

I mixed the Tamiya Royal Navy XF-17 with XF-8 blue to get a lighter shade for the body. I think it turned out just the right shade. Will certainly be further helped by a gloss coat. Also one of the simplest paint jobs I've done in a while. Whole plane same colour including the landing gear and wheel wells.

Cheers

Got the engine finished and attached along with the exhaust pipes;

...and with the engine cowling in place;

It's gonna be over 100F here today so I'll leave the gloss coat until tomorrow...

Cheers

Great Job Trey!  I like the way it came out.

Really nice looking Hell Cat Casper.  I may not be writing much lately but I'm following along.

It has been extremely busy for me of late.  I will have some pictures to post here shortly...   I hope.  :)

Ok, after many passes with the Tamiya rattle-can, I got the hellcat nice and glossy

Next decals!

Cheers

Yeah! Really good decals included in this kit!

Cheers

Finished the Hellcat. Nice little kit, recommend to anyone wanting to do a Navy bird.

Cheers

Well done my man, well done.  I like it.  :)

Ok, more pictures as promised.  Couldn't have done it without a little help from my friends.  :)

the gaps that this model has are terrible.  Nothing a bit of filler and filing couldn't cure. 

Lots of filling and filing to be done.  More to come as time permits.  :)

Casper sharp looking Bird!

NFN those are'nt gaps they're canyons! Looks like you've got it handled tho! Those Widow mechanics sure are a handy bunch of fellas;)