MONOGRAM MAFIA II GB

Reasoned

That front sight is a whopper.

Isn't it though? And once the gun is mounted stowed it will probably not be visible 

well here are the progress photos of my latest work

the landing gear

the drilled out wing fold armatures

and and overall look as of now- with a test fit of the canopy to see if I like the look of it closed. Not really.

As this is being typed, the canopy is drying after it's dip in Future. Once that is dry masking will begin for major painting on my days off next week.

Those "ribs" on the wings leading edge would sure present a challenge to get lined up and not wiped-out, looks good Stik!

Thank you sir. Lining them up was not too bad, but clean up was a real beast.

I got the decals on the P-40. I used a second set of decals so I could use what the instructions show as the bottom side decals on top and bottom of the wings. These are just a touch oversized, the larger ones would work for the wing bottoms on a couple of 2nd Pursuit AVG birds but I can't recall which fuse numbers had these off the top off my head. I also used the 8s from the second set of decals to change the tail number from P-8127 to the correct P-8173. This left coming up with some 7s for the fuselage sides. I took a piece of aluminum can and cut out a 7 that I could trace around with my hobby knife on the white fuselage band from the UK version. This gave me 4 7s that are not exactly perfect but then again neither were the ones on the real AVG planes. I need to let these dry a bit more and then clean a couple of them up a touch with a knife. The Angel's halo has the red misprinted above the wing so I need to go back and add that in with red paint. Also the eyes on the shark mouth will need a dot of gray added over the red. Next will be weathering and some canopy modifications and the plane part of this will be done.

I've come to love the P-39.  It looks so sleek.  The shark mouth is the most complex decal I've ever applied.  I think it turned out pretty good.

i47.photobucket.com/.../DSCF1164.jpg

I'm planning to do another one day:  Devastating Devil.

Yeah, you really gotta appreciate the lines on the P-39. Both Chuck Yeager and Alexander Pokryshkin  thought very highly of it.

I'll call myself done.  I really enjoyed the Airacobra.  I didn't have to fight with it at all, and I'm happy with the way it turned out.  I left out the gun bay detail to make sure it wouldn't sit on it's tail (I'm a bit paranoid after the P-61).  I used a chunk off of a tire balancing weight.

<a href="s47.photobucket.com/.../models target="_blank"><img src="i47.photobucket.com/.../DSCF1153.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

The focus isn't so good, but I'll get some better pictures later.

<a href="s47.photobucket.com/.../models target="_blank"><img src="i47.photobucket.com/.../DSCF1173.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

And here's a group shot of the hattrick.  P-39 is definitely the most fun looking.  

<a href="s47.photobucket.com/.../models target="_blank"><img src="i47.photobucket.com/.../DSCF1179.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Those picture links didn't work.

i47.photobucket.com/.../DSCF1153.jpg

i47.photobucket.com/.../DSCF1173.jpg

i47.photobucket.com/.../DSCF1179.jpg

@ Cdn-Colin

I just love The Table Top Trio, Great stuff!

Big_Dog

@ Cdn-Colin

I just love The Table Top Trio, Great stuff!

Actually, I have 3 kids and 2 cats.  But this table is in my "hobby room".  The cats aren't allowed in, and only my oldest spends any time in here working on his own models.

Thanks for the compliments.

Cdn Colin

Actually, I have 3 kids and 2 cats.  But this table is in my "hobby room".  The cats aren't allowed in, and only my oldest spends any time in here working on his own models.

Thanks for the compliments.

Cdn Colin nice work on the Airacobra man !! Like the camo on it a lot. I have to build one someday will look good sitting next to my collection of P-40s and the one P-38 I have done.

Stikpusher man you make any kit you build look good and the TBD is no exception

I have a few update pictures of the Stuka I really have been making progress on it. I have discovered it is much, MUCH, easier to both attach and mask the canopy on these birds before attaching the wing. With that said.

Didnt have to do muck filling at the wing roots either as you can see here.

I also sprayed the canopy frames German gray.

Next up I decanted some white Krylon Plastic Primer, tried using it outta the can once and hated it, but I am doing this one in a winter camo and need white as a base. I will say cleaning the air brush was a major PITA, hope it is worth it for that. I am happy with the way the paint went on though, didnt lose any surface detail at all.

Next up is the underside blue, then the fun starts on top. Think I will be breaking out my old Wren air brush for this trick.

Ok so I just finished posting progress pics on my Stuka. Well as I was posting said pictures and comentary it seems a test pilot decided it was time to take it for a test flight.

Test Pilot, Lt Bonehead

It seems she is a bonehead in the true sence of the word, as she over reved the engine and blew it sky high creating an urgent need to make an emergancy landing, which she botched of course. Here are pictures of the *** after recovery and return to the hanger.

I am going to go to Michaels surplus this week and see if I can get another, I think I have another coupon somewhere. I really want to do one in winter camo looks so cool.

Don Hammer I humbly ask your permission and the approval of the family to place a contract on Lt Bonehead.

I think a one way trip to a local  eatery may be in store for Lt Bonehead

vetteman42

Ok so I just finished posting progress pics on my Stuka. Well as I was posting said pictures and comentary it seems a test pilot decided it was time to take it for a test flight.

Test Pilot, Lt Bonehead

It seems she is a bonehead in the true sence of the word, as she over reved the engine and blew it sky high creating an urgent need to make an emergancy landing, which she botched of course. Here are pictures of the *** after recovery and return to the hanger.

I am going to go to Michaels surplus this week and see if I can get another, I think I have another coupon somewhere. I really want to do one in winter camo looks so cool.

Don Hammer I humbly ask your permission and the approval of the family to place a contract on Lt Bonehead.

At least it wasn`t finished...nothing like a completely finished model that you worked hard on, biting the dust...I know that feeling well!

Good thing Revell kit`s are cheap...

Len

almost looks like you could do a crash dio with that! lol

See if Gamera will loan you his lizard for that dio.

CallSignOWL

almost looks like you could do a crash dio with that! lol

That's tough but look at that face!

Maybe you can bash it with some other kit or parts you have around.

68GT

That's tough but look at that face!

Maybe you can bash it with some other kit or parts you have around.

I think you could make a really good "crash" dio with the Stuka...looks like it`s landing gear folded on one side, slid down the runway and smashed into a reventment.....

oh I didnt take it wrong 68GT its all in fun Dog. Anyway I could never hurt that dog, she's just so,,,, well, lol,,,,,,,,, she's Bonehead. And shes a great mutt for my nephew, she knows when to rat him out and is very protective of him.

I was thinking of a dio for it and it is something along the lines of your idea, a crash landing hitting a tree and spining around into a brick building or something like that. I did pick up all the pieces from the yard with that thought in mind.

Perhaps Herr Leutnant Bonekopf had this in mind...

vetteman42

I did pick up all the pieces from the yard with that thought in mind.

Hope you washed them!

OK, just spent the past session masking up the greenhouse canopy of my TBD. That was quite a project. Now lately I have been airbrushing my canopies in two stages, an inner and then an outer color, since often the interior of the canopy framework is black, gray, or some other low glare color different from the aircraft exterior color. Now here is my situation. The best TBD cockpit reference photos are from pre war when the TBDs were still in overall Aluminum lacquer and so were the cockpits. 

Now some TBDs pre war had their cockpits and interior canopy framework painted in Interior Green

and some judging by no contrast in this photo of 6 T 8, had at least their upper decking painted in Blue Gray, which is the way that I am going with my build.

So based on the photo below of LCdr Massey in his TBD, would you say that the interior color of the canopy framing is Blue Gray to match the exterior?

Hey Stik, don`t know if this helps you but, I have Squadron`s TBD In Action, and it says early TBD-1`s had Aluminum dope interiors and later aircraft had green zinc chromate innards. It would make sense, at least to me, that the older planes that were re-painted after hostilities began still had the aluminum interiors, with the new blue outside. It`s a guess on my part, can`t see them taking the time to repaint the insides when they were rushing to get ready for a fight. Then again..the Navy works in mysterious ways....

Len

Yup. And all carrier based aircraft were painted in the Blue Gray over Gray camouflage by Oct 1941, so the wartime rush was not quite there yet.  B&W photos are really hard to nail that point due to low contrast between Blue Gray and Interior Green. So I am guessing that based on the photos above I can go with either Interior Green or Blue Gray and not be wrong. But with my cockpit top decking already in Blue Gray, that would be a better choice for the interior of the canopy framing.

Well I decided to do some airbrushing this evening. First up I took are of the black for the area under the windscreen. Next up was Light Gray for the lower surfaces. And finally Blue Gray on some of the fiddly bits and upper surface areas as well as the wing folds, lower portions of the outer folding wings, and the cockpit decking.

cockpit decking

wing fold & outer lower wing

tail area showing Blue Gray & Light Gray demarcation

final Blue Gray fiddly bits

and overall as of now

Midday work session progress photos:

remaining fiddle bits painted

cockpits after other fiddly bits have been pinted and installed

front cockpit

middle cockpit

rear cockpit

gunners stowed canopies that I painted last nite installed

and finally the masked off full canopy installed- the rear portion is not masked properly as I am using it only for masking purposes. I actually started masking it by mistake until I realized I did not need to do so because I would be using the opened & stowed portions only on the final build..

And now that the afternoon bench session is over, I have met my goals for work on this kit for my weekend- she is painted.

the NS Light Gray lowers

NS Blue Gray uppers

based on photos showing some TBDs with the Blue Gray extending around to the lower portion of the leading edges of the flying surfaces, I did that on mine.