AIRCRAFT - USMC Group Build (ends 7/30/04)

Hi all,

I did more work on the plane last night. I gathered all the different parts of the landing gear from all the different sprues and stuck them to a piece of heavy cardboard with masking tape rolled onto itself.

It was driving me nuts that the pieces I need are on three different sprues.

Then I used my trusty spray can of Testors light gray enamel to prime the parts on one side. I'll flip them over and do the other side tonight. I've found it essential to prime with an enamel when I'm going to paint parts with white acrylic.

I also cleaned up the figure who already was standing. He looks really good, so I hope I can paint him well.

Regards,

Hey jimz66....

It was only the Dash 1's with the aluminum interior as they were the only ones that were pre-war....I saw this in Kinzey's Dauntless book, as well as on the online build of the SBD-1 at the AM website....

QUOTE: Originally posted by kik36 BTW, all of those pieces you have in the fuselage halves, are those scratchbuilt, or part of the kit?? They look good!!

Sorry Heath... didn't see this until just now.... the details come with the kit.... AM does an awesome job including all the details-- even the flare pistol...in fact-- I guess that can be a gripe-- sometimes there is so much interior detail that it's hard to get it all to fit when assembling ...but I have always loved AM for this.....

Jeeves that book by Kinzey is it still available, and are their cockpit drawings in there?
I came across a website a while back and I can't seam to relocate it. The fellow did a model in 1/32 the one I mentioned on the previous page, and he said he srcatchbuilt the interior. Now I have the Haseagawa one and I have it partly assembled and painted so ripping it appart isn't feasable. Not only that what do you think the difficulty would be in that, as I have no scratchbuilding experience?

Yeah-- I have seen it at Barnes & Noble recently...it's the Detail and Scale book series-- they have great shots of all Dauntless variants in there...as well as close ups of dive flaps, landing gear, etc....Bert's the bomb

Mike what about the cockpit? Are there drawings in there, or do you know were to find some. I need to build that cockpit from srcatch. Thanks.

Mike, that's cool that they are such detailed kits, especially for 1/72!!! Are the kits moderately priced, as compared to Tamiya?? I may have to pick up an AM kit in the future, and see what they are made of!! I'm glad someone's doing better with their resources than me....I've been having a very tough time coming up with photos for the F4U-2, and the references usually have one or two short pages referring to the model. I did realize last night that since they were actually converted from 32 Birdcage F4U-1's, I could probably get away with using the photos of F4U-1's as reference for the cockpit details. The hardest thing is coming up with the color of the wheel wells....as far as I can tell, some were painted zinc chromate, and some white....any one know if there was a method to that madness?? Right now, I have 'em painted zinc, but was worried, it may look silly with a white bottom and zinc wheel wells.

jimz66

Yes-- they do have some nice interior shots of the cockpit front and side panels as well as the rear gunner well and panels..... they don't have any for the -1 per se-- but they do for the -3 and mention that the -1 and -2 were nearly identical......in fact- the rear cover of the book is a large color pic of the cockpit panel- complete with gun charging handles and ammo counters, the scope used for aiming the guns and bombs, etc....and they also have some -5 pics with the reflector-type gunsight.

Being a Dauntless lover, I bought the book anyways-- but I guarantee from a modeler standpoint, it is an excellent investment. I have the Avenger book from the series as well....

kik36...

Sorry that I misrepresented the kit-- it's 1:48 scale.... and as far as pricing go-- the reintroduced kits average around $35....some places still sell the older kits (in some cases in plastic bags) for cheaper.....but if you do a search on ebay for Accurate Miniatures in 1:48, you should find some deals....as that's where I got my SBD-1 and P-51C from....

As far as resources go-- and I don't work for the company but there is a Detail & Scale out for the Corsair I believe.....even if you have your area B&N order it for you-- you can usually scan through it before purchasing it to see if it's what you need...

Heath,
You can paint your wheel wells zinc chromate green or interior green, as they were sometimes painted that color in the field after repairs were done. Most of the time, they came from the factory painted white, with the struts either white, light gray, steel, or the same color as the aircraft's bottom. Just depended on what day of the week it was, I guess. This only applies up to the F4U-2, based on my references. Also, painting the cockpit the same as a -1A is correct.

Gary I see you and I are closing in on 500 posts do we get a new star? Lets see who gets there first. But of course lets be friendly about it. Hey does anyone know where a list of ranks can be found? I causually went looking for it on Saturday and couldn't find it. Thanks.

Yeah Gary, some photos of the VMF-532 birds look dark in the wheel well areas....some people are really great at using Black and white photographs, but I am one who can't really tell, or imagine what colors they should be. According to the text though, some had the early national insignia encircled by a red border, instead of blue (which is what the kit came with).....I'm thinking I'm gonna have to let that one go.....I think that if I look at the money I've spent on this build with resources, AM parts, etc...I'd probably flip. Best not to push the budget too far, just to get decals. Besides, according to my eyes, in the photo it looks blue!!!! Hey, you can't believe everything you read!!!!

Hey all, Glad to see everyone is moving right along. Wish I could say the same, I guess I just have to many things going on and a very short attention span. Maybe its ADD Or maybe I'm just to tired, These cuties will do it to you:

Anyway, hope you are feeling better Heath and your progress looks great. I don't even want to tell you were I'm at on mine. I have been reading my history books though.
Talk to everyone soon.

Heath,
The red bordered insignia was only used for a short period of time (danged if I can remember what period it was, though), so I wouldn't use it unless you just wanted to. And, BOY, do I know what you mean about spending too much money on a kit.......... You don't even realize it until you add it all up.

keeg,
Is that your newest BUILD in the picture?? (A little play on words there!! hehhehheh) I'm assuming it's a boy, based on the blue all over him. He looks very cute. Can we assume that those are his sisters there? Why don't we see them sitting there showing him how to build a model (a snap-tite kit - gotta start slow, ya know).

Hey Keeg, was that little one scratchbuilt? It looks like you used some aftermarket bits, like that Black Box bassinet.

Regards,

Hey Heath congrats. That is what life is all about.

Hey keeg - nice and congrats to you and your lovely.

Okay, here is an update on the harrier family. This is the B II conversion using the set from AMRAAM. The white line between the resin LERX and wing is a .40 card stock filler that I needed due to the cut location. If you use this set, make sure you cut the wings 4 mm forward of what they suggest.


Om a side note, I just got the TAV-8B conversin from c&h Aero miniatures and I am a little upset with meteor products - they have the conversion set listed for $75.00 and based on what's in it - it's a bit on the overly expensive side. To make matters worse, there was a double price tag on the top of the box. The tag underneath was for $49.00 - which I think would be more in the ball park. The resin castings are pretty good, but the scribing on the fuselage nose section is very light. If anyone is interested, I'll post pictures of that conversion set

OK-- just finished applying the Alclad to the fuselage as you can see....did I mention how much I am growing to love this stuff!!!

Looking good Mike!!!

Hey James, beautiful family man!!! That's definately a great excuse for not geting anything done!!! LOL Hopefully this weekend, I'll finish painting the zinc chromate, do the future glossing and start on the washes.....hopefully by next weekend I'll have the wash, and dry brushing done in the cockpit. I'm building mine with the left wing folded....I have yet to decide if I'll drop the elevator, as I've never tried that yet......but the flaps themselves will definately be dropped. I got my patch in today for the squadron I'm modeling, and will share that sometime this weekend......the teeth that were bothering me have been fixed, I had two root canals and a wisdom tooth extracted....so the temp crowns are on now. Unfortunately while eating this evening, I screwed up a whole nother tooth on the opposite side of my mouth. But it only bothers me when I eat right this minute, and after dropping $2500 this week to get the other teeth fixed, I may have to wait a couple of weeks to fix this new problem. Don't worry Gary, I'm working on getting them all replaced....I'm with you all the way!!!!

Phew... what a weekend!

The wing tops are now yellow....just have to wrap the yellow around the wing to the very front of the bottom.... and the fuselage and cowling bands are done!! In actuality, I guess this will look like I am exactly copying the online build at the AM website, but really- I am using the Gatefold Book of WWII Aircraft from Barnes & Noble as my guide-- to build a squadron leader's plane flying out of Quantico, VA. Really- I guess the only difference is the numbers of the fuselage....

Jeeves did you put anything in between the Alcalad and the yellow? Or did you leave it as is?

Hey Drew or Gary, I hope that one of you can help me with this, I have a photograph in one of my books that at this moment I cannot locate it. I have seen the markings that you are using Drew and the look sweet. I can't wait to see them finished. But I have decals from the USS Nimitz in 1977 and 1978, from Aeromaster for the A-7 from the VA-82 and VA-86, I am wondering if I can get markings for VMFA-333 from the same cruise? Or doctor them up, can either one of you help me? It would be great for a future diaroma potential. Thanks Good luck to all of you. Take care.

Actually-- the wing tops did not have Alclad applied.....I probably should have for weathering purposes-- but since this is a pre-war Dauntless, I am going under the assumption that they had time to take good care of her I did a white primer...and then the yellow for the wing tops....and everything else had a black primer...and then the Alclad......

QUOTE: Originally posted by jimz66 Hey Drew or Gary, I hope that one of you can help me with this, I have a photograph in one of my books that at this moment I cannot locate it. I have seen the markings that you are using Drew and the look sweet. I can't wait to see them finished. But I have decals from the USS Nimitz in 1977 and 1978, from Aeromaster for the A-7 from the VA-82 and VA-86, I am wondering if I can get markings for VMFA-333 from the same cruise? Or doctor them up, can either one of you help me? It would be great for a future diaroma potential. Thanks Good luck to all of you. Take care.

No problem.

The decals that came with the kit I'm building are for a Phantom of VMFA-333 on the Nimitz. The Monogram decals are a bit over scale and a little yellowed, so what I'd do in your shoes is just use the squadron and ship names, and maybe the plane's numbers from the Monogram sheet. Get the rest from the Fox One sheet.

The decals I have are 1/72 scale, but if you have access to a scanner, you can resize them and print them on some sort of decal paper. Testors offers a decal-printing kit for something like $5.

Contact me off list, and I'll make arrangements to send you the decals and/or scan them for you.

Regards,

Thanks Drew and Mike. I appreciate the quick response.

Hi all,

It's great to read about everyone's progress.

Tonight, I finally got the burner cans and landing great installed on my Phantom. Now all that's left to put on the plane are the gear doors, the centerline fuel tank, and the missiles!

Regards,

Drew,

What's a "landing great"??? heeheeheeheehee!! Does that mean it didn't crash?

Come on Gary be Nice. You two are really at one another. I know it is only in good fun though.

oooohhhh.....Jeeves, never thought about a black underpaint - light enough metal coats could lead to some interesting panel discoloration. Gloss white I know is great for a chromish type finish.

Thanks

QUOTE: Originally posted by garydmason Drew, What's a "landing great"??? heeheeheeheehee!! Does that mean it didn't crash?

Oh, good catch. Actually, it should be "landing grate," part of the top-secret, underground arresting gear system installed at Japanese airbases during the Vietnam war.

Sorry for the confusion.

Regards,

Good come-back!!!