Way Too Many Props GB April 18, 2011 - Extended to July 28, 2012

B-17 Pilot- It's not really difficult to do. Not much more than little slivers of thin sheet plastic. I thinned the slivers down even more by squeezing them in smooth jaw needle nose pliers.Then trimmed to the width I wanted. Leave a little length on each lever an and clip to desired length after glued in place.

 The hardest part was cutting 6 slots in the quadrant to mount the levers into. Use a fresh #11 blade ,  press in just enough to get a groove then using the tip of the blade make a spot to mount the lever. The trick is fitting all 6 in such a tight space.

I've got the flight deck/radioroom/ nav station just about done . I want to add some wiring to add a little gizmology. Should have some fresh pics in a couple days. Just starting the PE troop seat belts ,tedious, there's 29 sets to cut loose from the fret and attach.

Howard 

B-17Pilot- Forgot to mention about using drops of white glue for the knobs on the levers. 

 Now , on to some fresh WIP pics of my Goonie bird. 

I decided to backdate the interior some , starting with the forward cargo bulkhead. 

Downloaded an image of the Eduard detail set , resized to scale, printed out to use as a pattern. Then cut out of thin sheet plastic and overlaid the kit bulkhead.

Even though I'm going to add ribs and stringers to the cargo area, I wanted to add the diamond quilt insulation to the aircrew cabin. Just like the look of it. Started by gluing a piece of window screen to a base. Then pressed a square of aluminum foil over the screen , really working the foil down into the screen.

 Remove from screen, flip over to the face side, trim to size and shape. Paint desired color. I chose MM field drab for a more WWII appropriate color. 

Added some thread for wiring and finished aircrew cabin. Also added some gizmos to the cargo bulkhead for detail.

Paratroop seats with belt mounts attached. notice one made from bit of scrap plastic. Yep' one of those tiny PE pieces went "zing" right out of the tweezers to god knows where.

Look at all those belts I have to anneal paint , install, and bend to shape.

Howard

daddy1

Wow - you've got a lot of work in there already Howard - looks great! 

Howard-

Nice work you`re doing there! That`s a pretty slick idea for the diamond plate...I never would`ve thought of it. Is that an original idea or did you see it somewhere else? I`ve been looking for that kit on the cheap but haven`t had much luck...have a couple Revellogram C-47`s in the stash so I`ll be keepin` an eye on this build...

Len

I think it's an original idea. Never seen it before. 

 Was trying to come up with a way to make the pattern . Tried cutting some fine net fabric on the diagonal. Not right. Then I realized, window screen as a positive mold. 

 First tried tissue soaked in thinned Elmers  glue. On the right track but had a hard time pressing it down into the screen without wrinkling. The foil worked perfect . 

 It's an idea that could use some refinement. Like how to get the pattern to stay deep enough while pressing it down onto the surface it's going on . Going to try a coat of Elmers on the back side( the face up side while pressing into the screen) . That should give enough fill on the back side of the quilt while still being flexible enough to form onto curved surfaces. I'll find out when I do the inside of the fuselage halves.

 Once built the Monogram version back in the 70s. Nice kit.  The Trumpeter is also a very nice although expensive ( I allow myself one or two expensive kits a year). It also seems to be of a more 50s C-47 with the square patterned insulation engraved throughout the interior. As far as the radios and such went , there seemed to be a ton of variation with the type even through the war years, so I figure a little artistic license won't hurt.

BTW- I did get this one for the stash a couple years ago when it was listed for half off during a Dragon online sale. Couldn't resist.

Howard

Howard-

Don`t know if you have a vacu-form machine but that could possibly pull the foil down into the screening to get what you`re looking for. I built a vacuform box out of some plywood and use a shop vac to power it. There`s a couple of threads about building them...pretty easy. I`m thinking the thinner the foil, the better . I`ll give it a try when I get some free time but God knows when that`ll be..lol.

Len

Howard - That's some amzing work thus far! Keep it up!

I've got the RM Light Blue painted on the underside and the bottom camo colour on the top.

It's a mix of Tamiya's flat green and yellow. Next will be the masking and RLM Dark green.

Cheers

Finished the camo and then put on a gloss coat.

Cheers

This is by far the strangest looking bird in my collection. Great Tamiya kit, excellent upgrade but as usual not every facet is covered in the dual sets of instructions. A lot of surgery on the kit parts and the upgrade parts didn't always fit or specify extra modifications. Also a couple of near disasters at the finishing post. No matter how many times one dry fits and tests the fit, it always seems to be slightly out when it come time to commit to gluing!

Oh well, every kit we build helps or techniques in that great learning curve we call modelling.

Cheers

wow.. looking Great Caspar !

Casper - Great looking build, I'll get it up on the front page soon!  One question though, where'd you put all the weight to keep it on its nose?

B17Pilot

Casper - Great looking build, I'll get it up on the front page soon!  One question though, where'd you put all the weight to keep it on its nose?

I had a small problem with that. The front engine block actually has a metal weight inside the resin. It actually turned out not to be enough though. There was a spot between the cockpit and the engine (a small hole) but I'd already attached the engine. I had to hide an extra weight inside the front wheelbay.

Cheers

Sweet build , Casper. Yes it is a strange looking bird, but I've always thought it to one of the most wickedly cool looking  birds the Germans came up with late in the war, if not the coolest. It just looks powerful and fast. Kind of reminds me of drag racing cars in the 60s when 2, 3, and even 4 engine fire breathers were not uncommon. MORE POWER!!!

 Got some WIP pics . 

Just need to detail up the inside of the fuselage halves . I'm going to add the diamond quilt insulating blankets to the flight cabin area and more WWII correct ribs and stringers to the cargo compartment plus some wiring and a static line for the airborne troops. Then I can close up the halves. I'm thinking about displaying with the forward hatches open to reveal some of the detail up at that end. 

I'm pulling jury duty this week with long days and long commutes morning and evening so wont get much bench time this week . But progress is being made.

Howard

Hey all! Been slow going around here but got a little more done on my skeeter...

Camo is free hand, Tamiya OD. The gray is Tamiya Dark Sea Gray. In the painting instructions it calls for dark and light "ocean" gray...spray cans..which I don`t have so, I figured..sea..ocean  = same damn thing, right? Problem is, light sea gray is sooo close to dark sea gray that I can barely see a difference and I`m not liking it. SO...gonna try some flat white with a few drops of gray to darken it a tiny bit...hope that pleases my eyes...if not, this may become a night fighter....

I`m going to try and get a few hours at the bench tonight. Stay tuned for more pics! Thanks for looking!

Len

I am finally here.  Better late then never I guess......

Gonna stick with the Kinetic 1/48 scale E-2C Hawkeye for this GB.  The kit looks pretty good IMHO.  The panel lines seem a bit overdone but not as bad as the panel lines on the Revell 1/48 B-1B.  

I got some of the tail section and the radome.  I also got an Eduard Zoom PE set for the cockpit.  I should get that done tonight.

@ Macattack80...I heard or maybe read somewhere that the cockpit is really lacking detail for this kit...is this true?

Len

troublemaker66

@ Macattack80...I heard or maybe read somewhere that the cockpit is really lacking detail for this kit...is this true?

Len

Yeah.  It's true.  The detail that is provided looks good but it's pretty basic.  Thats why I got the Eduard set.   They're not ejection seats so the aren't supposed to be busy looking anyway.  The seats don't have the harnesses molded in.  The PE set provides the harnesses. 

The exterior detail looks good.  I am not an E-2 expert but it should resemble one when I am finished. 

I was going thru all the previous pages and there has been some outstanding work being done here.  Fantastic job everyone! 

Howard - Nice detail on the C-47!

Len - Love the free hand camo!  Be a shame to cover that up if you decide to do the night fighter version.

Macattack80 - Can't wait for more!  Wondering about the quality/detail of those Kinetic kits.

As for me, I am resisting (at the moment) to bust out the Ventura kit.  I must finish the old partial built kits first, I must finish the old partial built kits first, I must .....

i just got the Ventura to,.....

I`ve also been fighting off the urge to start the Ventura kit...still have to finish both my builds for this thread. I thought I`d do it for the Monogram Mafia II GB but Hammer said nothing after 2001 is permitted!  Maybe we should all wait and have a Ventura GB...

Lurking, watching some nice builds come together, resisting the urge to start my Pucara, but it's not far off now.

B17Pilot

Macattack80 - Can't wait for more!  Wondering about the quality/detail of those Kinetic kits. 

I have read/heard that their F-16 kits are quite nice and that their more recent releases have been getting better detail wise.  I plan on getting their F-16AM, C-2, EA-6B and S-2 kits.

The fit of the fusleage halves on this E-2C kit appears to be great  No filler should be needed.  The sprue attachment points are quite large though.  Kind of like some of the older Revellogram kits.  So care is needed when removing them from the sprue....no twisting   Also the trailing edges seem to be a bit thick but not unmanagable.

I am torn on building it with the wings folded or extended.   Anyone have any requests?

I got most of the PE stuff attached last night.  I spend more time looking for lost PE parts than gluing them on.    I will try an finish the cockpit tonight and get some pics posted.

macattack80

I am torn on building it with the wings folded or extended.   Anyone have any requests?

 

 

troublemaker66

macattack80:

I am torn on building it with the wings folded or extended.   Anyone have any requests?

 

 

 

Here`s the solution :  Build it with one wing folded and the other extended...best of both worlds! 

Haha!........hmmmmmm....

Ok.  I got the cockpit finished.  After a test fit in the fuselage it appears that most will not be seen.  Oh well.  I know it's there. 

I used the Eduard Zoom set that is self adhesive.  I have never used the self adhesive stuff before and much to my surprise it works pretty good.

There are some levers on the center console area that kinda get lost in the fray.  Those parts are very tiny.  I have never attempted to use PE parts that small as I don't have the steadiest hand with that kind of stuff.  They turned out ok.  I kept the lever "bare metal" hoping they would be easier to see as opposed to painting them gray.  Ehhh....

That cockpit looks great!

Great looking office Kevin!

Thanks guys.  Much appreciated. 

macattack80

Ok.  I got the cockpit finished.  After a test fit in the fuselage it appears that most will not be seen.  Oh well.  I know it's there. 

I used the Eduard Zoom set that is self adhesive.  I have never used the self adhesive stuff before and much to my surprise it works pretty good.

....

I feel your pain! I used an Eduard cockpit set on a 1/48 P-38 recently, a big upgrade on the original Revell plastic. HOWEVER... once the cockpit assembly is trapped inside the fuselage, most of the instrument panel can't be seen, even with the canopy pieces left open.