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

Yeah, I'm sure those Girlscouts can keep a person pretty busy......Hey Wibhi2, love the pics of the cockpit!! Is that a resin seat ??? And what did you use for seatbelts? What is your technique for painting all of those fine details?? Hey James, have you sprayed your AB yet?? I'm still waiting for all of my items I've ordered, but I hope to get them sometime this week.

Hey Heath,
You know I thought about saying something about being in San Diego but I wasn't sure if I would have anytime for anything. As it turned out we didn't, the next time I'm heading that way I will let you know.

usmcsm,
Thanks for the info.

I am new here and was wondering if it was too late to get in on the groubuild?/ Also do we pick any USMC aircraft ?? I have so many unbuilt I can be very flexible as to type anything from a 1/72 WW1 DH-4 to an F-18..Thanks

I am going to use metalizer. I have some handy from the last go round in this hobby. That was one thiing I kept everything. Although I have had some problems with the older paints.

Well here are the finished pieces for the front office. Sorry about the grainy pict.
Somehow, I wish that I had a digital camera with a macro lens

QUOTE: Originally posted by jimz66 Drew No offense taken. This is my first build in ten plus years.

Yeah, I'm on my second build after starting again. My break from modeling was about 10 years.

QUOTE: Dealing with tuerretes it is hard for me to even do this but I Do the best I can.

I worked with a woman who had Tourette's -- she was our ace saleswoman and good fun to be with! Doing one's best is all the any of us can do. I have to keep telling myself that my best is good enough and the rest will come with practice. Once I decided to get back into it, try new things, and not worry too much if I make a mistake, I found deep satisfaction from modeling.

QUOTE: I think that having the natural metal finish underneath will make it easier for me to mask the area's needing to be masked and then go from there. Again I am new as well, I read that article, and from that point on I figured until I got NMF down right that would be the way I would go and then figure it out from there.

I've had luck with Testors MM Acryl (acrylic) aluminum from my airbrush, but I was spraying onto the enamel primer coat. The acrylics don?t' seem to stick too well to bare plastic for me. Do you know what sort of paint you're going to use? If not, I'd suggest an enamel for your base coat.

QUOTE: Thanks for the kind words of support. I am going to spend more time sanding before painting. We have till July to finish this so why not? Why rush the finish?

That?s what I think too. I've been working on my Phantom since late May of last year. There were a couple of months where I didn't touch it, and some weeks where I'd only get an hour or two of work done. However, a lot of the time was spent with me trying something new for the first time: filling/sanding, priming, using an airbrush, laying down a gloss coat of future, and now putting on the decals using setting and solvent solutions.

QUOTE: Keep up on posting guys it sure helps me on my end.

Amen! It's great talking about techniques and getting encouragement. The group build keeps me motivated to do a little bit each night.

Regards,

Drew

No offense taken. This is my first build in ten plus years. Dealing with tuerretes it is hard for me to even do this but I Do the best I can. I think that having the natural metal finish underneath will make it easier for me to mask the area's needing to be masked and then go from there. Again I am new as well, I read that article, and from that point on I figured until I got NMF down right that would be the way I would go and then figure it out from there.

Thanks for the kind words of support. I am going to spend more time sanding before painting. We have till July to finish this so why not? Why rush the finish?

Gary is it your policy we cannot post images of this build anywhere? I would like to post mine on ARC eventually. So If I have to wait let me know. I assume that is the policy. Thanks.

Keep up on posting guys it sure helps me on my end.

Scott53,
Absolutly! If for no other reason than that it is right across the street. He has a fine selection of model aircraft in all scales. As a military history buff you well feel right at home as soon as you walk in.

QUOTE: Originally posted by jimz66 I am doing the Patriot Hornet from Twobobs. I am using the Aluminum for a basecoat. Like I said earlier as that fellow did in FSM a couple years ago with that Helldiver. He used the natural Metal finish as a basecoat. You think this is a bad idea?

Hi Jim. I didn't mean to sound critical, I'm mostly just curious because bare metal seems out of place on a Hornet. It makes sense (to me) for something like the Helldiver because when paint would chip off, you'd see bare metal. I think in the article you refer to, the author used that effect for weathering.

QUOTE: I have the whole model assembled. Nothing is painted other than the cockpit. I have to paint the aluminum for around the weapons pylons plus the engine area in the back.

I know there's bare metal around the engine exhausts, but I wasn't aware there was any near the weapons pylons.

QUOTE: I just figured it was the best way to go. My sanding isn't perfect but for this one I am still learning. I will work on this for each subsequent build I do in the future. I am getting there I will do some more sanding before I proceed. Then rewash. You disagree?

Absolutely not! It's your model. Build it the way you want it. I'm at the relatively inexperienced end of the model-building pool. I've seen a couple of articles where folks have primed their planes with some sort of bare metal finish, so it's not a crazy idea. I'm simply curious about your take on the pros or cons of doing that for your plane.

I spent a lot of time sanding and finishing the Phantom I'm working on. The primer coat really helped me spot the areas that still needed work. I'd work on something, shoot a primer coat of Testors light gray spray enamel, and then sand some more.

That's one advantage to a natural metal finish -- you'll certainly see where additional sanding needs to be done.

I'm glad I took the time to really work on the model before painting it. I simply can't see the seams now. There are still a couple of areas that could have used some work, but I'm the only one who is going to notice.

In any event, I apologize again if I came across as critical.

Good luck, and enjoy the build!

Regards,

I'm doing the Hasegawa -4 Corsair in 1/48th. I want to finish it with VMF323 markings. They had a brown cowl, FS 20152. Testors doesn't have this FSN, nor anyone else I have checked. Any one have a suggestion for a match?

Also, has any one here been solicited for the new USMC museum at Quantico?

I am doing the Patriot Hornet from Twobobs. I am using the Aluminum for a basecoat. Like I said earlier as that fellow did in FSM a couple years ago with that Helldiver. He used the natural Metal finish as a basecoat. You think this is a bad idea? I have the whole model assembled. Nothing is painted other than the cockpit. I have to paint the aluminum for around the weapons pylons plus the engine area in the back. I just figured it was the best way to go. My sanding isn't perfect but for this one I am stil learning. I will work on this for each subsequent build I do in the future.

I am getting there I will do some more sanding before I proceed. Then rewash. You disagree?

I am also pondering the idea of doing a second model for this build. I am thinking of doing the rescribing work on my F-4B and converting it to and RF-4B, as I have the front end nose conversion. I will not use the cockpit that I have, I will stick with the regular cockpit as I would like to save that one for my Special Scheme markings from Testors I wrote about days ago. I do have one other set of RF-4B's from another company. I think it is from Microscale. There are two RF-4B's and one RF-4C. I think from Alabama. But that is for another time. I also have that F-4J so I have to wait and see what my long term plans are. Take care.

USMCSM...I been planning on swinging by MCAS Yuma one of these days, is that hobby shop worth a stop?

SBD builders,
Here are some Dauntless sites.
http://www.dauntless.narod.ru/
http://www.aero-web.org/locator/manufact/douglas/sbd.htm
http://www.compass.dircon.co.uk/SBD.htm
http://www.military.cz/usa/air/war/bomber/sbd/sbd_en.htm

Some may take time to download because they have a lot of pics. These are restored SBDs of different types. Hope they help.

I put more decals on last night. I know this sounds crazy, but I actually like applying decals.

Jim, why are you painting an aluminum base coat for your Hornet? What sort of scheme are you painting?

Regards,

Washed my Hornet this morning. Hope to paint the aluminum basecoat today if it dries fast enough.

hangin' in pattern. Thank you.

Anyone know where I could lay my hands on a second black box harrier cockpit set?
Just about finished the first cockpit (pics tomorrow?), but I have a second RM kit on the way
and if that cockpit is anything like the this kits cockpit - yeech. On a side note: Block Box did say they had plans to release an office for the hasegawa harrier kit..

keeg,
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. Busy with the family which means running my daughter around town for various functions. I am sure you can relate to that.
Airshow parking is plentiful. It's all out front of the main gate and at the fair grounds. Gates open at 0800. No coolers, bring lawn chairs. No Blue Angles this year but they will be at the El Centro show of course. I wouldn't bring any backpacks or stuff like that unless you have a toddler then they'll let in a diapper bag. Camera bags are ok too.
As for the hobby shop I don't know the exact name but it is in a strip mall directly across from the Gate. when you see the F-4, A-4 and Harrier aricraft on poles you are there. Turn in at the Cheveron and you'll see Hobby Shop in big white letters. Be advised my man does not take credit cards, and thats a good thing or I'd be in trouble with the budget director!
If I can hook you up any better let me know.
wibhi2,
I diggin' through my pictures and I'll send some soon. I'll get more this weekend so stand by.

QUOTE: Originally posted by jimz66 Thanks Drew I just wish those images were larger. Thanks again.

Jim,

Some of them are larger, and you can see them that way. Right click on the images (if you're using a PC, I forget what you do for Macs. Shift-click?), and choose "view image" or "show picture" from the menu. Those items will be available if the image has been shrunk by the HTML code.

The larger image will appear in your browser window.

Regards,

If you have a Digital camera or scanner if you can scan the photo and send it to me. I would like to see what they look like. Thanks. Good Luck.

Hasegawa 1/72. Kit nr. 00071. It's the one with the photo on the front.
There were at least two very similar birds, the one I'm building with light blue (3107), and one that I've found on pictures in various books. This one has a darker blue and two American flags on its tail. (3101)

What kit are you using?

Just started on the RF-4b. It wears a bicentennial scheme of VFMP-3, and I was wondering if anyone knows what color blue it has on the nose and tail. The directions only mention Gunze Sangyo numbers, and those are quite difficult to get in my country. So if anyone knows a FS-number for that, I would be really pleased with that. (Modelmaster, Tamyia or Humbrol is also welcome)

Thanks Drew I just wish those images were larger. Thanks again.

James,

Most of the photos that I got were from using Google. There's some great photos here:
.
http://www.vmfa-333.com/
.
And some good Hornet photos here:
.
http://gumballproductions.com/333/
.
Now I need some help. Does anyone have some good images of the starboard side of a Phantom? Specifically, I have decals that say, "Rescue opposite side," and I think they go under the canopy rails. But, all the information that came with the decals only shows the port side of the plane.

Regards,

erh gary just wondering the 1/48 scale SDB is it from the marines ? i think i got one somewhere

a bit busy with work latedly maybe i will try the SDB

Drew how many photos do you have? What form are they in? I am a Phantom nut and VMFA-333 is one of my favorites? Can you help for future builds? Thanks.

Still sanding my Hornet. I hope to finish that tomorrow. Hope to paint the basecoat of silver by Tuesday or Wednesday. I am doing the same technique as on that Helldiver from FSM a few years ago. It was in the same issue as that Tomcat article by Darren Pang.

Good Luck to all.

Hi all,

Just checking in: Tonight I finally finished all the decals on the port side of the Phantom. They look great! I applied the "Danger Jet Intake" decal slightly off-center vertically, but I can live with that. Otherwise, everything really worked well.

This is the first I've gotten to work on the plane for a couple of days, but even at my current (slow) pace,I hope to have the decals done by Wednesday.

After finding a whole bunch of photos of VFMA-333 Phantoms in action, I've decided to just do the air-to-air loadout with the center external fuel tank. That should look pretty good, and the missiles are already done. I can drop the bombs into the "spare parts box."

Regards,

Finally got the wings finished on my Hornet. Now I am working on the sanding and filling. Next step after that is to attach all the small stuff, wash then paint. Good luck to all.

Jimz66,

For the group build I'm going to do a 1/72nd scale USMC AH-1Z Cobra (Hobby Craft kit #HC2206 with custom Enduring freedom markings. I think it is an Academy re-box. Going to start on it next week. This will give me some time to order some after-market parts and gather references.

Gary,

hey whats up, yeah I am ...planning on an all Modern US Navy theme this go'round. An F/A-18A with Desert Storm markings and an F-14A VF-103 Bomb Cat with (pre-Jolly Rogers scheme) GBU-12 loadout- maybe more, not sure yet. I've been working hard on my book and taking photos been eating alot of my free time.