Got the canopy finally on.

Funny how it goes, the things you think are gonna be easy turn out to be some of the hardest lol (and vice versa heehee)

This thing was a pain to aline! A wee pro-tip; make sure the bullet-proof screen that sits inside the front canopy screen is sitting low. Mine was a tad high and kept popping the the windshield unit up.. hence the tape strung down to hold it in place while it dried. Luckily the main hood and the windshield frame came together fine  

Thought I'd post a quick update before I leave for work.I'm getting very close to the finishing point now.
I spent the other night getting the guns, doors, gear, and speed brakes attached. All the rest of the fiddly bits are painted and ready for glue.

unfortunately, I had a mishap with some CA and removed some Alclad on the bottom left wing they I have to repair now.
I'm buying a new digital camera in the morning when I get off work, so i'll party some pics then.

Thought I'd post a quick update before I leave for work.I'm getting very close to the finishing point now.
I spent the other night getting the guns, doors, gear, and speed brakes attached. All the rest of the fiddly bits are painted and ready for glue.

unfortunately, I had a mishap with some CA and removed some Alclad on the bottom left wing they I have to repair now.
I'm buying a new digital camera in the morning when I get off work, so i'll party some pics then.

ColGrey.. love the  P80 man!!   Would love to do an 1/32 scale of this bad boy. Classic air history. Love the shots bud. Good job  

Got a ship to deal with but a plane is up next. I really want to give acrylic NMS a spin - really not sure that I'm up to Alclad. Anyway, I've got a Revell 1/48 Texan that I'd like to use as a kind of medical experiment. We'll try Hawkeye metal as the base but panels from Gunze, Golden, Tamiya and who knows? Sounds fun but don't expect anything beyond a chuckle.

Eric

Gotten all the detail parts and painting done including shading of different panels and all that good stuff so now I shall move onto the decals then a pinwash of enamel wash so not to ruin the decals... I wont use any future cause that ruins the metalizer anyways here are some pictures

Woah had a P51 flying over us all day today.. EPIC!

Those things mustve of been stealthy when it came to ground attack.. I for one didnt even hear both passes (at different times in the day) until it was about 2 or 3 seconds away.. then GRRR it flew over with that beautiful Merlin engine note and was gone into the blue sky. The first time my auto garage door just wouldnt open fast enough lol and I only caught the tail end damit.  But so fantatisc to see them still flying and a speaical bonus as I was working on my model version at the same time it flew over. Think it was flying over from the Warbirds over Wanaka air show  that was recently on. Loved the pass overs

This is the the Mustang doing the biz (taken a couple of years ago at another air show here in my hometown).

Anyway... back to modelling -

Ive finally tried the AS-12 (Tamiya bare metal silver) in their spray can. At first was very dubious to use a can but heck the colours spot on. Done the undercarriage covers and tail wheel but these are the drop tanks and landing gear. 

DoogsATX

 

Theuns:

 

Man you guys are getting THE most stunning results with your NMF, I am seroiusly jelous!

We can't get any of the Alclad range here in deepest Africa ,so I will have to make do with what I can get. I will try some Tamiya X11 chrome silver. If you look closely at the wingroot fairing you can see some I brush  painted on as a gap filler as it sands well.

Not sure if it will look more "shinier" if I first airbrush on a coat of gloss black and then the chrome silver. Any of you lads done this before????

Theuns

 

 

I don't know, Theuns. The high-shine Alclads (Airframe Aluminum, Chrome, Stainless Steel...) get shinier with the black undercoating because they're semi-translucent, so the black base lends a certain depth to proceedings. Perhaps you could thin down the Tamiya (though I'd recommend trying Titanium Silver or, preferably, decant a rattlecan of AS-12 Bare Metal Silver) and get something like the same effect.

Another option, if you can get Hawkeye's Polishing Powders in that part of the world (think he ships everywhere, but probably worth asking), Tamiya AS-12 CAN be buffed/polished to a very high shine.

If you gentlemen don't mind my butting in here...

He definately ships to the Netherlands so i can assume that means worldwide. I ordered a few weeks ago on a saturday night and had it on my doorstep the next monday. Talking about fast shipping eh? Lovely product!

Richard

Theuns

Man you guys are getting THE most stunning results with your NMF, I am seroiusly jelous!

We can't get any of the Alclad range here in deepest Africa ,so I will have to make do with what I can get. I will try some Tamiya X11 chrome silver. If you look closely at the wingroot fairing you can see some I brush  painted on as a gap filler as it sands well.

Not sure if it will look more "shinier" if I first airbrush on a coat of gloss black and then the chrome silver. Any of you lads done this before????

Theuns

I don't know, Theuns. The high-shine Alclads (Airframe Aluminum, Chrome, Stainless Steel...) get shinier with the black undercoating because they're semi-translucent, so the black base lends a certain depth to proceedings. Perhaps you could thin down the Tamiya (though I'd recommend trying Titanium Silver or, preferably, decant a rattlecan of AS-12 Bare Metal Silver) and get something like the same effect.

Another option, if you can get Hawkeye's Polishing Powders in that part of the world (think he ships everywhere, but probably worth asking), Tamiya AS-12 CAN be buffed/polished to a very high shine.

Theuns: Nice work! Alclad looks shiner with gloss black, I have no idea if you'll get the same effect with Tamiya or not. Still it will point out any rough seams or spots you need to sand a little more and serve as a primer coat that will cover some small mistakes.

Man you guys are getting THE most stunning results with your NMF, I am seroiusly jelous!

We can't get any of the Alclad range here in deepest Africa ,so I will have to make do with what I can get. I will try some Tamiya X11 chrome silver. If you look closely at the wingroot fairing you can see some I brush  painted on as a gap filler as it sands well.

Not sure if it will look more "shinier" if I first airbrush on a coat of gloss black and then the chrome silver. Any of you lads done this before????

Just hope I can salvage the decals for this kit.

Interestring how the "weld seam" on these silver models always look much darked when sanded.

Theuns

Lol cheers Vett.

yeah dunno though, Doogs you may be able to answer this, but the only canopy I can use is one of the newer type Dallas built ones (I think Dallas) instead of the slightly more bubbled back type ones from that were made in the inglewood factory in WW2. I do know that the Dallas made hoods were fitted to heaps of P51D's in the war.

WOW!!!!!!!!!! Cool stuff goin on here !

Krakan love the markings on your F-86 man, very nice smooth NMF finish too. I really like that kit for the engine loads of detail there for sure.

Theuns man you are fast outta the gate man ! Nice start on your build. Sorry I cant help with the wing color as I dont know much about your subject.

Kermit the BIG CAT is coming along nicely

Furyan awwwwwman !!!!!!!! I broke a canopy once an had to wait to get a vac-u-form one, glad you had another on hand you could use.

B17pilot I am really liking your Jug Nice save on the lifted paint too. I also like the way you used the differant shades of alclad, it really created a nice finish.

Got the B-29 on the bench today, now waiting for paint and glue to dry. Man I am tellin ya there are a bunch of parts just for the flight deck in this kit. I am going to build this one in approach mode so it can be displayed on the ground or hung from the cieling. The roughest part of the build I think will be posing and painting figures for the crew.

Now for the big question do we extend the end date of this build or start round IV ?? Hopefully I will be a better host from now on as the dust here seems to be settling, but only time will tell.

kermit

Ugh... Furyan... Thank heavens you had the alternate canopies! Had it happen to me too on a 1/32 scale Hurricane i believe it was... At some point i was concentrating so hard on making my cut that i accidentally just squeezed it too hard...

Good work on the masking btw! I love the bubble canopies since the edge is so wide i can use normal glue to attach it without fear of fogging. The clear parts glue i use (revell) just doesnt always stick so well...

Richard

 

Hahaha thanks, yeah this kits hood actually slides which is pretty cool so no glueing there =)

B17.. love the jug, nice.

Furyan: OUCH! Done that  before, glad to see you're able to use one of the other canopies.

B-17: Flawless, clean NM there!

Furyan - Man that sucks!  Good thing it came with another one!

Update on the P-47:  It in the final stages. Painting is done! Decals need to be added after a clear gloss coat is added to protect paint and such.

Engine added:

Cowling added after (shot of finished paint scheme):

Going to have to use the Alclad paints again!

Ugh... Furyan... Thank heavens you had the alternate canopies! Had it happen to me too on a 1/32 scale Hurricane i believe it was... At some point i was concentrating so hard on making my cut that i accidentally just squeezed it too hard...

Good work on the masking btw! I love the bubble canopies since the edge is so wide i can use normal glue to attach it without fear of fogging. The clear parts glue i use (revell) just doesnt always stick so well...

Richard

ARRRRGGHHH broke my canopy!  

Just a wee tip here for anyone that is going to make the 1/32 Tamyia 'stang - be extra careful when masking the canopy!!  Dont press too hard on the tape on the center line.. below is what could happen:

.

.

.

Thankfully  the kit comes with three choices of rooftops, Ive now had to go with the slightly later model P51D canopy but I think from further investigation Meyers P51's used both... pheww so lucky. 

The replacement

Theuns: Very cool!

Richard: Looks like a perfect finish. Somehow the yellow and green make me think 'John Deere' though

Theuns,

The only ESCI kit i ever built was an F86F for the weekend GB last year. Not a very many parts and the wing to fuselage fit needed its fair share of filler but all in all i had lots of fun with it and it turned out to be well liked by the guys. I hope your kit will give you just as much pleasure in building Dont know much about the fast movers so i leave the question answering to more knowledgeable people...

My wildcat currently sits looking like this:

In the morning i am going to see if i can make those fuselage band decals do as i please.... wish me luck...

Richard

Hi all.

Here is my ols ESCI 1/72 F-104.

I will have to coat the decal sheet with some clear gloss as it seems to fall apart in the water Seems to be a problem with the 2nd hand kits I buy.

Sofar the fit is OK-is ans a little filler will be needed on the intake and rear fuselarge joint lines.

Just to confirm - the wings were wihte overall with the bare metal finnish?

Theuns

Krakan: Great job there, so many different shades on the F-86! Kudos!!

RIchard: Those bands have to be huge - good luck there.

Krakan,

Great work on that sabre! The metal finish is very well executed and i like the markings on her. Are the yellow bands decals or painted on? Absolutely first rate job from what i can see

Well guys,

I just took the masking off after i sprayed the tail, fuselage and wings. Will post a WIP soon after i did some very minor retouching. At the moment i feel kinda lazy and am thinking of using the decals for the wing and fuselage bands....never had that much trouble with trumpy's decals.... might change my mind though

Richard

So, my F-86F-30 is almost complete. Engine and main fuselage are finished, just need to attach little bits like doors, gear, and stores.weathering on fuse is complete, still need to doa wash on the engine assembly.

Here's some WIP pics for everyone:















I'll post more as I make progress.

Vetteman - truly sorry to hear of your serious family problems, hang tough and know that others are pulling for you.

Halfpint - Another scheme is to lay out frosted scotch tape on a hard flat surface and spray it with the appropriate color, then with a sharp blade, cut the narrow strips to place on the canopy.  Can't remember who to credit with that but I used it on a Wildcat canopy (1:48), it was simple, and it worked very well.  Also, I have used colored paint pens.

Ken

Randy: Ouch, sorry to hear about your niece, hope you don't mind if I keep her and your family in my prayers. Please hang in there.

Richard: Great work on the Wildcat man, I would have commented earlier but Casper just gobsmacked me with the F-100. Love the green tail and the NM is as smooth and flawless as I've seen.

B-17: Sorry don't know what to tell you, I've had paint lift off models I've washed and cleaned with no apparent reason too. I'm not sure why it happens sometimes.

Halfpint: I can only echo what the guys already said. I hate masking canopies. I've tried painting them with a small brush and the results were awful so I guess I have to mask but I still hate it.

Vetteman,

For what it's worth... I know all about the destruction that addiction brings to a family and i guess i can say on behalf of everybody that knows you on here symphatizes with you im sure and personally i hope that in time everything will turn out for the best. Ill be keeping an eye out for ya buddy!

B17

My apologies for assuming it must have been something like cleaning... Stuff like this happens sometimes and it is very annoying to say the least. I hope a retry will solve everything for you

Halfpint

I must say that i totally missed your post but as i understand it you have trouble masking canopies? Vettemans tip on the sharp blade is certainly golden. And most canopies have raised edges. Just go as slow as any shakyness on your part requires and use those edges as guides while you make your cut. 

Contrary to most i actually enjoy masking canopies while enjoying a dvd or some music. Patience, a sharp blade and a state of zen like concentration is the name of the game here... Oh and if you have trouble seeing the edges under the masking tape, try raising it to a lamp; it will show em very clearly.

Richard

P.s.: I kinda scr*wed up the yellow wings last night so i sanded the gritty sandpaper like finish i had and resprayed tonight. Looks like it went better now but i sprayed enamel so im not touching it for 24 hours... Yellow paint sucks...

Halfpint I have the same troubles with shaky hands even in 1/48, what works for me is a brand new blade in the hobby knife and I use a rocking motion instead of pulling the knife where I want to make a straight cut masking canopys. Only works with a brand new very sharp knife.

Theuns your F-104 is in and welcome back to the group.

B17 bummer about the paint lifting man. I think some paints are a bit less prone to lifting than others and surface prep is important for sure. However in some cases it is how you hold your mouth when painting and masking that does the trick it seems. I am sure you can fix the problem and end up with a nice finish.

Casper wow ! Another very nice build is added to the front page, and shiny too Very well done sir That Trumpy did build up nice in your skilled hands.

Kermit oh my but you saved it being able to get the new cowl and are on the way to a stellar finish. That Talon is good stuff isnt it Hey are you going to be able to remove the cowl to show off that engine ??

To all, I feel obligated to tell you why I havent been here as I should have been, or building much this past year, and to maybe offer a little advise to those of you who have kids around. We, my sister and I, have been battling drug addiction in the house, my 22 year old niece for a bit over a year now. Numerous trips to rehab have happened to no avail, she would get herself kicked out each time we sent her, and go right back to the drugs. I dont want to get into the ugly details of things that have happened, as it hasn't been pretty at all. Kind of like seeing what bad thing is going to happen next sorta thing. There have been 10 OD deaths here where we live from the first of the year alone so I know the problem is a serious one, not just in this house.

So my advise, please, if you have kids or grand kids or any kids around. Step back and watch them with your gut and not your heart, see what they are doing. And if something just doesn't feel right, no matter how small it seems find out what is going on with them. Don't make the mistake of thinking it cant or wont happen, because it just might.

Gamera

B-17: Ouch! Yeah I've seen Alclad do that sometimes. It's rare but it does happen sometimes, I don't think it's much worse for peeling up than regular paint though. Did you wash your model before painting? I think that's my problem so I've tried to be more careful.

Cliff

Yea I washed it down with Windex before painting.  Let it sit for more than 5 minutes before applying paint.  Always had good results doing that, with no problems till now.

Casper and Kermit - great work, guys!! 

Ken