Nice work on the Warthog Owl. Mines the Revell as well. I'm gonna get some aftermarket stuff for mine. Stuff such as replacement intakes for the engines, new cockpit and weapons, and an update set to make it as close to the current standard as can be done. Still hunting for decals though.

Great stuff folks!

Esp your Maus Mike, the camo looks good and yeah I hate those 'fiddly bits' tracks though the Maus is nice in that the skirts cover the upper run.

Very nice Owl.  The A-10 is one heck of a warplane. 

 I've got some update pics to share. 

First , an excerpt form the kit instructions. then some pics to show what they mean. Builds more like a limited edition kit. Which (in a way) it is.

You can see all the fit and fill issues. Although , I built the Williams Bro.s Gee Bee R-1 and the Z many years ago amd don't recall this much fit problems. I also have on deck ,the Williams Bro.s Wedell- Williams racer and it seems like it will be a much better fitting kit. Don't let this scare anyone away from one of there models . They build into very beautiful models . even if it takes a bit more work . 

Besides , look how cool this thing is going to look.

To get an idea how small the racers of the day were, with big engines mounted to them, the Hellcat is 1/48 while the Bulldog is 1/32. yet both models are approximately the same size.  

 Back to more filling and sanding.

Howard

Looks like a course in filling and sanding.  Its really going to look great when its finished. 

Looking good so far Howard. What do you use for filler?

Medicman71

Looking good so far Howard. What do you use for filler?

I use the old standby Squadron Green stuff.  Mainly because it's what I've used for many years and very familiar with. It drys quickly , sands easily. Although, because it sands easily , it's easy to over sand . The filler is softer than the surrounding plastic and when working joints like on the Bulldog, you usually have to do a second coat over the low spots. Really isn't a bad idea to do a skim coat over most fillers anyway. This one will probably need to be primed to check for any missed low spots before final paint . 

 Again, don't let this discourage anyone from the Williams Bro.s kits. They are fun builds and of subjects you don.t often see. One of the planned reissues is the Laird Solution racer . Can't wait to add that one to my stash.

Howard 

Thanks Howard. I use Squadron White and have had good success with it. Course i've only done one kit since getting back into the hobby. Do you know what the difference is between the two?

Medicman71

Thanks Howard. I use Squadron White and have had good success with it. Course i've only done one kit since getting back into the hobby. Do you know what the difference is between the two?

Further proof that this forum is a great place to learn.  I'm using Squadron Green, too, but I've also got some Testors Putty to experiment with.  Every build is an experiment to see what works and the comments here really help.

Howard: really look forward to further photos.  That's a great looking build.

Okay Owl, I submit my Mustang's for your review.  Both 1/48 P-51D's one Revell, one Tamiya.  Thanks to some decals from Hammer & advice from fermis, I was able to build both out, I present Big Beautiful Doll (Revell) & Miss Marilyn II (Tamiya).  Good thing these weren't my first models... they may have been my last.  It was my first attempt with Metalizer paints (interesting stuff). 

Reasoned:  Lovely!!!  The P-51 and the Spitfire are the two most beautiful airplanes ever built.   Ya done good!!

nice job, reasoned. Was the metalizer Alcad?  I'll get these two ponies posted on the front page for ya!

Thanks MajMike, they were a true love, hate build!  Owl, I used MM metalizer, I stated in the aircraft post that once I run these cans down, I'm going to give Hawkeye's product a try.  No doubt the user problem, not product.

Ms. Owl:  Didn't realize you were posting completions on the first page.  What a great idea!  All of us can see all of the builds in one place. 

Thanks for running this.

MAJ Mike

Ms. Owl:  Didn't realize you were posting completions on the first page.  What a great idea!  All of us can see all of the builds in one place. 

Thanks for running this.

yup, I gotta show off these lovely completions, you know.  And I think more credit goes to the participants, because it's not much of a GB if there is no one here building! 

Reasoned nice pair of Mustangs man !!!!!!!!!! Looks like you got the hang of that Alclad for sure, a nice smooth finish. Gotta love those markings too

MAJ Mike

 

Medicman71:

 

 I use Squadron White and have had good success with it. Course i've only done one kit since getting back into the hobby. Do you know what the difference is between the two?

 

 

Further proof that this forum is a great place to learn.  I'm using Squadron Green, too, but I've also got some Testors Putty to experiment with.  Every build is an experiment to see what works and the comments here really help.

 

 Medicman, I really don't know the difference between the white and green stuff. Next time I head to Hobbytown , I'm going to pick up some white stuff . I've wondered what the diff. is ? It would be interesting to put the two on some scrap seams for a head to head comparison .

MAJ Mike- You are so right about these forums being a great place to learn. I've been at this hobby a long time and while I knew I could build very nice models, I never realized the true scope of my skills till I joined the forums. ( Yes, I'm patting myself on the back a little, I've worked hard over the years to develop my skills).  The forums have been a great confidence builder , helped me raise the bar in my own skills while learning new techniques. I have all of you to thank.

FSM magazine promotes itself as a great modeling tool and that's very true. The forums and especially being involved in the GBs is equally and often an even better modeling tool. to all my co-hobbyists .  

Howard

 BTW- Reasoned- Nice pair of horses you've got there. I've built Miss Marylin from the Revelogram kit , have another in the stash to build as Big Beautiful Doll. 

On Miss Marylin , I used artistic license and matched the green back to the green in the checker stripe on the nose. The 1/4oz bottle of Testors gloss green is very close. Looks great even if it isn't accurate. It was also my first try at using aluminum foil on the skin, except I painted the wings MM aluminum. That's what came from the factories, sooooo . Foiling is tedious to do, but looks wonderful . I'll have to build that skill more as I've some much larger aircraft I want to do in natural metal.

Howard

daddy1

MAJ Mike:

 

Medicman71:

 

 I use Squadron White and have had good success with it. Course i've only done one kit since getting back into the hobby. Do you know what the difference is between the two?

 

 

Further proof that this forum is a great place to learn.  I'm using Squadron Green, too, but I've also got some Testors Putty to experiment with.  Every build is an experiment to see what works and the comments here really help.

 

 

 Medicman, I really don't know the difference between the white and green stuff. Next time I head to Hobbytown , I'm going to pick up some white stuff . I've wondered what the diff. is ? It would be interesting to put the two on some scrap seams for a head to head comparison .

Howard

Yeah I don't either. I used Squadron White on the Osprey and it worked good. Just curious about the green. Maybe i'll have to get some to see.

Nice Mustangs Reasoned!! They both look great.

I have been working on my build in bits and pieces the past of week so its time for some WIP pictures. Its the Revell-O-Gram 1/48 P-51D, first the box art to start off with.

I will be building this one as Lt. Arval "Robby" Roberson,s mount of the 8th Airforce,357th Fighter Group, 362nd Fighter Squadron, "Passion Wagon". Two pilots became aces in this aircraft the other was Captain Charles Weaver.

Vetteman: The P-51 willlook great.  Your guys always amaze me with the detail work on the aircraft cockpits.

Wow vetteman, that is a serious case of Deja vu you gave me.

Looking good there so far ,Randy. That really is a good ol' stand by of a kit , only a couple fit issues here and there. It builds up nicely detailed OOB and can be super jazzed up if that's ones preference.

Howard

lovely start vetteman!

Daddy and V-man: Good looking stuff guys, please keep the photos coming!

Reasoned: Fine pair of ponies! Been forever since I've done a P-51, need to do one of my own.

I've used both Squadron green and white putty. I'd heard the white has a finer grain or so it's claimed but never really saw any difference between them other than the white may be easier to cover with some shades of paint.

Grandma arrived from Colorado, so my build time has gotten a bit interrupted. But she is super supportive of my hobby and doesn't mind me rambling on about my planes.

Ive gotten a little work done this past week--gluing the gear doors on. This plane was designed to be built wheels-down, but a little bit of work can make it into a wheels-up model.  The gear struts needed to be trimmed to lay down, and the gear doors hit horribly. A lot of sanding and putty was needed to get things smoothed out with no gaps.

painting next!

OWL

Ms. Owl:  Looking good.  Orange putty?  What are you using?  I'm a low-grade novice, here.

MAJ Mike

Ms. Owl:  Looking good.  Orange putty?  What are you using?  I'm a low-grade novice, here.

 Its red Bondo glazing putty. you can thin and smooth it down with acetone nail polish remover.

CallSignOWL

MAJ Mike:

Ms. Owl:  Looking good.  Orange putty?  What are you using?  I'm a low-grade novice, here.

 

 

 Its red Bondo glazing putty. you can thin and smooth it down with acetone nail polish remover.

Ahhh! Another lesson learnd.  Thanks.

Hi Owl, can I jump on board with a crossover from the NMF III build? I'm building a Mustang P-51B 1/48 Tamiya kit.

Cheers

Casper the Chihuahua

Hi Owl, can I jump on board with a crossover from the NMF III build? I'm building a Mustang P-51B 1/48 Tamiya kit.

Cheers

absolutely, glad to have you on board!

daddy1

 BTW- Reasoned- Nice pair of horses you've got there. I've built Miss Marylin from the Revelogram kit , have another in the stash to build as Big Beautiful Doll. 

On Miss Marylin , I used artistic license and matched the green back to the green in the checker stripe on the nose. The 1/4oz bottle of Testors gloss green is very close. Looks great even if it isn't accurate. It was also my first try at using aluminum foil on the skin, except I painted the wings MM aluminum. That's what came from the factories, sooooo . Foiling is tedious to do, but looks wonderful . I'll have to build that skill more as I've some much larger aircraft I want to do in natural metal.

Howard

Yeah, you got to be careful with the BBD decals they are a bear.  As far as NMF, I used the MM version and it works okay, not very forgiving but probably user error more than anything.  I have read that Hawkeye's products, or Alcad is supposed to be more durable, which is key if you have additional paint details to be masked off.  fermis suggested doing the non-NMF first in order to mask over, which worked well.  I was able to use Tamiya mask on the NMF (sealed) with no problems, probably should let cure for a couple days before you try it.

Thanks for everyone's comments on the 51's, I appreciate it.