Not too long...  Just a few James Bond movies...  :)

Wow, NFN that looks fantastic!

You're making me look so bad! I'm going to stuff my P-61 back in the box, bury it in a hole, and find someplace to hide.

Seroiusly I think I'm just going to do mine straight out of the box, I don't think I have to skill to pull off that kind of modification.

I think you're underestimating yourself.  :)  Nothing wrong with straight out of the box.  Honestly, I just make this stuff up as I go.   My first attempt I spray painted with rustoleum because I didn't have an airbrush.  I still have one more to go.  I'm debating on doing a P-61B called First Nighter and this one will be pretty much out of the box.  :)

Awesome stuff!  So far the Luftwaffe is ruling the night sky.  Thanks to jbrady and now NFN, their air superiority may be in jeopardy!

Nfn, that is awesome work on the Widow!  I love seeing veteran kits build up by someone skilled like you.  It makes me really appreciate a kit more, when someone takes an older or more challenging kit and makes it museum quality.  My kit is certainly challenging, but it won't be museum quality!  All the builds here took incredible craftsmanship.  I was just at Model Fiesta IPMS show, and I think anyone of the completed kits here would have taken top honors!

On the other end of the spectrum..... I attached the fiddly landing gear, and then the nacelles the other day.  The nacelle fit is every bit as bad as the nose and tail!  I made some faux 20mm cannons for the gun pack too.  This way it isn't just an empty hole when you look in the gun ports or shell ejection holes.  The engines came out good.  I used the kit engines with some cylinders robbed from the Verlinden set, and the Verlinden plug wires.  Regardless of my whining, I think these AMT havoc's have a lot of potential.  I just hope I have the skill/patience to get 'er there.

Cheers,

Greg

Thanks NFN, hopefully she won't look too shabby when I finish her. And after the learning experience of building the first one out-of-box I think I'll know what to look for dealing with the pratfalls if I should try to do a second putting more work into her.

Greg: Great looking stuff, despite your problems with the kit she's coming along well.

Hopefully will have photos of the cockpit soon, about 97% done with my subject for the Korean War GB and trying to finish her off first.

Gregbbear

Awesome stuff!  So far the Luftwaffe is ruling the night sky.  Thanks to jbrady and now NFN, their air superiority may be in jeopardy!

It's about time for the RAF to make a showing. Paint! On things!

So far, I'm really liking this kit. I'm glad I decided to save the Aires for later...the cockpit's relatively involved and I'd rather know the "lay of the land" before I go modifying things. That, and the Barracudacals stencil sheet comes with some gorgeous IP decals that I'm itching to try out (along with decals for the radios, several interior placards...).

I'm still fighting over what to use for the exterior. Right now I'm leaning toward pre-shading in black, then using Vallejo Black Grey (what the IP and other bits are painted with in this pic). Or maybe a 50/50 Black and Black Grey.

Looks nice Doogs.  The allies need the help.   Your idea about pre-shading black, and then using a black-gray sounds good.  That is what I was thinking of trying with my P-70.  Did you read the Night Stuka article last year in FSM?  That guy even mixed in blue in his black mix.

Did you come down to Modelfiesta?  There were some pretty awesome deals, and some great entries.

Cheers,

Greg

Beaufighter is also on the way. I'm trying to figure out how to paint the thing. Tamiya's call out is for flat black... way too boring. I should have some paint on the interior later this week.

Gregbbear

Looks nice Doogs.  The allies need the help.   Your idea about pre-shading black, and then using a black-gray sounds good.  That is what I was thinking of trying with my P-70.  Did you read the Night Stuka article last year in FSM?  That guy even mixed in blue in his black mix.

Did you come down to Modelfiesta?  There were some pretty awesome deals, and some great entries.

Cheers,

Greg

Blue? Really? For the preshade or the top coat?

I did head down for Modelfiesta. Wish I'd brought something to enter...there were some fantastic builds on display but I think I may have at least been competitive. I'll definitely be entering something at the Austin show this fall, not sure what yet though! 

Also managed to score way more kits than I intended:

• Hasegawa Typhoon Ib bubbletop
• Tamiya Spitfire Vb
• Tasca M4A3E8
• Cyber-Hobby Orange Box Firefly Vc
• Trumpy KV-2 in German use

Got the last three all in a bunch from Hill Country Hobby for 20% off, and the planes from a different vendor for $15 each. No complaints!

Also came REALLY close to finding the Lone Star Models PBJ wing radar pod...a vendor there had two of the nose pods. Guess I'll have to break down and order direct, but man I hate the whole printing out a form and faxing it in process.

Got a bit more done on the Mossie last night. Sprayed Alclad Duraluminum in the gear bays and on the gear struts. Steel in the radiator vents (Alclad Steel is rather dark). Then turned my attention to the cockpit. Last night was mostly detail painting...seat pads and the like. 

I also busted out the Barracudacals IP decal. Ugh. Great decals, very thin and gorgeous register, but the first decal landed on the IP and stuck. Slightly misaligned of course. I finally got it close, and figured with the closed canopy and all that it'll work. Then the second decal (the white for the gauges) stuck to my finger, curled, and I almost lost it. I applaud them the effort, but really, a one-piece decal would've been far, far better.

Eduard belts are going on next, then I'll be adding some wiring using the Aires set as inspiration. Hopefully I'll have some better pics to show after tonight.

Sounds like you are making good progress Doog.   Sand and fill, repeat.  I am having tough time on the nacelles, and I am going back and forth between it and my P-38M.  Next time I go to the hobby shop, I am buying some better putty!  This Squadron white putty kind of sucks, and it shrinks.

I bought a Fujimi F-4S from Hill Country Hobby while I was there.  Gary (the owner) is real good guy, and his "helpers"  (his daughters) are really nice too.  I was on a Phantom binge while I was there and also picked up 48th scale  Hase Fgr2 Brit phantom, 72nd  Fujimi Fgr1 brit with p.e. and metal parts, 72 Hase F-4S, and AM 72nd F-4C.  I also snagged a Fujimi EA-6B, and an Italeri B-57G, along with a bunch of decal and p.e..  And I finally found part two on the Detail and Scale on the F4U corsair!  For only $5 too.  It took a lot of self restraint to leave with just that.

Cheers,

Greg

Greg - I'd recommend giving 3M Acryl a shot. I've got the Acryl Red (the highly recommended Blue appears out of production), and it's great. Dries a bit fast for my liking, but it doesn't go all crumbly like the squadron crap stuff.

DoogsATX

I also busted out the Barracudacals IP decal. Ugh.

Doogs, do you use the IP decal as a whole? Does it come in one piece? I got the Micromark hole punch, it's fiddly work but I punch out each dial and stick them into the raised dial surface on the IP. Also makes it easier for that drop of Future onto the dial.

Cheers

gregbear, Doogs: Have you tried mixing the squadron putty with lacquer thinner? I found that you can mix it to any consistency you need. Keeps shinkage and crumbling down to minimum and I'm usually sanding in an hour or so.

Doogs, I am going to pick up a tube at the auto parts store tomorrow, and give it a try.  As for cutting the Squadron putty with laquer, I have not tried that.  I just heard the other day of people doing that with the Mr color putty and thinner.  I have used nail polish remover to smooth it out though.  I will also give that a try.  Thanks for the advice guys.

Cheers,

Greg

Greg,looks like its coming together nicely

Doogs nice work on the Mossie

Fear not, Allies!  I come to battle with pictures.  Yes, after tromping my way through the StuG GB...did I mention I really REALLY hate working in the laundry room...I'm off to the night skies over Europe.  I've had some of this done for a couple of weeks, but busy at work, and another 16" of snow over the past 18 hours (no snow days here, bucko!) have hampered my efforts.

My humble WIP photos:

Eduard PE Belts from some spares

IP with drybrushed dial highlights (thank you Tamiya for almost making me blind in the process):

Landing gear and wheels after a little "dark wash" bath:

Overview of the cockpit:

Couple of shots of the subassemblies:

Most of the interior sink marks are below the cockpit floor, with the exception of the top most one, which is sort of cut in half.  I have a little mix of "dirty Interior Green" that I'll probably hit over those areas after they're filled and sanded.

Casper the Chihuahua

 

DoogsATX:

 

I also busted out the Barracudacals IP decal. Ugh.

 

 

Doogs, do you use the IP decal as a whole? Does it come in one piece? I got the Micromark hole punch, it's fiddly work but I punch out each dial and stick them into the raised dial surface on the IP. Also makes it easier for that drop of Future onto the dial.

Cheers

It was actually in two pieces. One basically just black circles (except for the blue/yellow/red surrounds for a few of the gauges), and the other the whites of the gauges.

I want to see how it looks when I test fit things and drop the canopy on top. If it's still noticeable and awful, I may dump this IP and snag the one from the other Mossie in the stash. Got some Mike Grant IP decals that would do nicely...or I could just punch the dials out of the Tamiya decal sheet.

Man! All these Mossies and I'm drooling! There's no way I can afford the Airfix 1/24 Mossie before the middle of this year, lucky the build is a long one!

Cheers

Mossie's lookin' good there, Matt! And that's 72nd scale? Dear god...Eduard PE belts give me fits in 48th...I can't even imagine...

Yeah, 1/72.  The belts and the radiator bits were about all I could stand on this one.  Been a LONG time since I've attempted anything with wings.

Major progress on the Mossie tonight. Most of the cockpit's wrapped up. Still need to add some wiring along the fuselage walls, then weather the whole thing with an oil wash. 

I'm happy to report that the decal snafu is barely noticeable out in the open, much less when the pit's buttoned up.

Also...this is my first build using Gator Glue, and I LOVE this stuff. Sets up pretty fast...long enough that I have time to work with it, but not like typical Elmers where it takes forever to cure. I used it for pretty much the entire thing, including securing the lower to the mid deck.

Looking good Doogs. I want to try Gator glue for PE, still like Tamiya extra thin for plastic to plastic.

Nice looking Mossie... 

Ok, here I go with the painting...

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Here is a kind of before and after.  Above here is with a little weathering, below is after I added a bit of Isopropyl alcohol.  :)  See the slight difference?

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Gregbbear

Doogs, I am going to pick up a tube at the auto parts store tomorrow, and give it a try.  As for cutting the Squadron putty with laquer, I have not tried that.  I just heard the other day of people doing that with the Mr color putty and thinner.  I have used nail polish remover to smooth it out though.  I will also give that a try.  Thanks for the advice guys.

Cheers,

Greg

 

Hey guys.. here's a couple of other ideas...

I cut my Squadron putty with Tamiya Extra thin cement.. , squirt a glop of putty, then with a used brush or eye dropper, drip on some tamiya,, stir, then apply, works good.. drys quick...and sticks better as the cement help it adhere to the plastic..

also, at your auto parts store, ask for 2-Part spot putty, it comes with a tube of hardener, it dries quick, quicker of you add more hardener.. and does not shrink...

NFN: You add alcohol to enamel paint???? Love the subtle effect just never thought to try that.

Doogs ,Matt those mossies are looking great! Nfn the widow is lookin' tight. Way too much allied stuff coming up I may have to do another Luftwaffe Nachtjager!

Wow! Great stuff guys!

Finished off my cockpit last night and took some photos. Will try to get them posted this weekend.

PS: Gator Grip is great stuff. I hardly ever use super glue any more.  

NFN - is that olive drab? Didn't know there were any OD Widows...

And suddenly, it's a plane!

Have to say, this one builds up really well, and really fast! And I've also fallen even more in love with Gator Grip. Used it last night on the wing spars, the forward MG cover and nose. Sets up fast enough that you're not holding pieces in place forever, but gives you more working time than CA (and if some squirts out or spills it's way easier to clean up). 

Also drilled out the guns. I think when I build the Night Intruder, I'll be going with the Master .303 barrels.