Hi Everyone,

Well as I promised, here are the photos of where I am at.

In this first picture is the rear cockpit's front panel with the resin mold stub still attached:

And here is the cockpit where it is to be installed:

 Here is the panel with the resin mold stub removed:

 And here is the panel from behind:

 It took some filing to get it to fit flush.  Here it is epoxied in place:

Tomorrow when the epoxy is completely set, I will file the sides flush with the cockpit sides, then epoxy the rear scope in place.

Ken 

Striker8241

Bockscar

Russ:

The frame is an excellent start, but if by chance, lightning strikes

twice and it doesn't turn out, I think I can send you an original part.

I was thinking of getting a vac replacement for my build,

so if you end up needing it let me know.

Dom

 

Thanks, Dom. I really appreciate the offer. Hopefully, this will work out, but if not, I'll try Rich's suggestion with Crystal Clear. If that doesn't pan out, I'll be beholding to you.

 

Russ

dom

Mikey;

Sorry to hear that news. It's not the kits, it's probably something else as Ken mentioned.

As you've mentioned, might as well get it sorted. Glad to hear there' warmer weather there now, we wolk up to snow on the ground and below freezing temps this morning, oh joy.

Actually wouldn't mind cancelling Christmas right now, and I know a few of you share that opinion.

Take care.

dom

Bockscar

Russ:

The frame is an excellent start, but if by chance, lightning strikes

twice and it doesn't turn out, I think I can send you an original part.

I was thinking of getting a vac replacement for my build,

so if you end up needing it let me know.

Dom

Might just do that. The whole family has had glandular problems at some point in their lives, but i dont know if it would hit me too because im the only male. Also going to get checked for type 2 diabetes and dioxin poisoning (used to live over the fence from an old dioxin plant when i was a kid)

Scorpiomikey

Maybe. Even my computer and playstation hold no sway over me at the moment. I just wanna sleep all the time.

Sounds like you should talk to your doctor about it.  You may have some type of chemical imbalance that needs to be checked out.  It could be anything from a thyroid gland problem to who knows what.  The doctor should order some blood work to check out if anything is out of balance.

Ken

Maybe. Even my computer and playstation hold no sway over me at the moment. I just wanna sleep all the time.

Scorpiomikey

The warmer months are apon us. Ive lost all motivation to build anything. Not sure why, just, maybe its too warm, i dunno. just under a month and ill have a couple weeks off to sort myself out.

Hi Scorpio Mike,

You did just bust your butt putting that floor in and your new workbench together.  Maybe you just need to take a break and enjoy the warm weather outside for a while.  Sit outside and drink a few beers with your girlfriend.   

Ken

The warmer months are apon us. Ive lost all motivation to build anything. Not sure why, just, maybe its too warm, i dunno. just under a month and ill have a couple weeks off to sort myself out.

jimbot58

Hey all.

Sorry I haven't been around much, but the fact is, I guess I've been just more than a little withdrawn. Depression is a demon I've battled often, and with the personal events in my life  last June, the approach of the winter season (Seasonal affective disorder), and now the Holidays, it's been rough.

~

Jim

Thanks Dom, but I can't print decals at the moment.  No decal sheets.

Rich:

I have a Revell 1/32 Typhoon with a complete set of decals,

Would a scan help?

dom

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

Man oh man, what a bummer there Russ!  Was there any sign of distress before you started applying the mask on it?  I feel so bad for you.  I sure hope you are able to get it fixed fairly easily.  I saw several people had a few suggestions for you to try.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for you man!

Ken

 

Thanks for the concern, Ken. I didn't notice any cracks or stress lines when I first started, and I handled it pretty gently.  I remember when I first bought the kit, I painted this canopy first but didn't like the results so I wiped it clean with thinner. Maybe that caused some kind of chemical breakdown. Or maybe something in the box pressed down on it during the 5-6 years it was in storage.

It's not all that bad, though. The kit canopy didn't look that good on the model anyway;  the built-up frame looks a lot better (at least from a distance). And it's an interesting challenge - if I don't mess it up  .

Russ

The frame is an excellent start, but if by chance, lightning strikes

twice and it doesn't turn out, I think I can send you an original part.

I was thinking of getting a vac replacement for my build,

so if you end up needing it let me know.

Dom

Jim:

Very good to hear again from you, we have been

wondering how you doing. It's assuring to know

you have made a positive connection with family,

especially now.

Great work on detailing those bays:

Also glad you're back at the bench!

Dom

jimbot58

Hey all.

Sorry I haven't been around much, but the fact is, I guess I've been just more than a little withdrawn. Depression is a demon I've battled often, and with the personal events in my life  last June, the approach of the winter season (Seasonal affective disorder), and now the Holidays, it's been rough.

The friend I traveled across state to visit a few months back came to Denver for Thanksgiving with his in-laws, and I was invited to have dinner with him and his wife's family. I was a little hesitant but finally agreed. Unfortunately, I did end up having an emotional issue about half-way through the dinner. My friend came and sat with me and kind of surprised me when he said that he feels like he and I are like brothers and I am a part of his family and I am always welcome there. Kind of overwhelmed me as my own family has always been dysfunctional with a capital "D".

I still have managed to put some time in on the A-7, and I'll update you as to where I'm at.

I worked on painting:

Glosscoated:

Painted the wheel bays and prepped and painted the avionics bays:

I had to grind a #17 Xacto chisel blade down to about 1/8 inch wide to remove all the detail in the avionics bays. Testors Yellow Zinc Chromate in the little square bottles was used for color.

I then added the PE parts. Not all parts were added as some were just too tiny for me to deal with and a couple were taken by the carpet monster. I brushed on Dullcoat to seal everything up afterwards.

I have moved on to the decals. The Colorado flag is beautifully painted, but also very thick and took about a gallon of Micro-sol to get it to behave. I know the white would have been translucent otherwise and I think it would have been better if they had used double layers as some manufactures do. I also painted the black "W" shaped area as the decal provided didn't quite fit and broke on apart me anyway.

I still haven't decided what to arm my A-7 with. The kit comes with two AN/AAR-45 LANA FLIR Pods, but resources show only one was generally used. Sources also said that mostly A-7E's used the pods, but also that approx. 50 ANG A-7D's were retrofitted to use the pods. I can't find any info as to whether any of the Colorado ANG planes were included in this, but I may just assume they were and include one anyway. Usual configuration was a Flir pod on the inboard pylon for the starboard side and a fuel tank under the port wing. The weapons would be next with an ECM pod on one of the outer pylons. Of course a couple of AIM-9's on those fuselage pylons.

That's all for now. I'll just have to see where the emotional roller coaster takes me next for now.

Jim

Jim!!!

Hi Buddy!!  It is so good to hear from you!  I am so glad you did not spend Thanksgiving alone.  That is great to have a friend open up like that to you.  You deserve to have good things happen for a change.  I know Dom will be very happy to know you are back as well.   

That is fantastic work you have done on that A-7D!  It is so incredilble that it is 1/72 scale, I just can't imagine how you do it!     

Ken

Jim: It's good to see you posting again and I hope you're feeling better now. As a single guy I get kinda depressed around Christmas too. If you ever need anyone to talk to and blow off some steam you have an open invitation to send me a message anytime. Not that there's much I can do but sometimes it does help just to get it off your chest.

Nice work there on the A-7. The avionics bay looks great! If nothing else when I get immersed in modeling it does push everything else out of my tiny little brain.

Hey all.

Sorry I haven't been around much, but the fact is, I guess I've been just more than a little withdrawn. Depression is a demon I've battled often, and with the personal events in my life  last June, the approach of the winter season (Seasonal affective disorder), and now the Holidays, it's been rough.

The friend I traveled across state to visit a few months back came to Denver for Thanksgiving with his in-laws, and I was invited to have dinner with him and his wife's family. I was a little hesitant but finally agreed. Unfortunately, I did end up having an emotional issue about half-way through the dinner. My friend came and sat with me and kind of surprised me when he said that he feels like he and I are like brothers and I am a part of his family and I am always welcome there. Kind of overwhelmed me as my own family has always been dysfunctional with a capital "D".

I still have managed to put some time in on the A-7, and I'll update you as to where I'm at.

I worked on painting:

Glosscoated:

Painted the wheel bays and prepped and painted the avionics bays:

I had to grind a #17 Xacto chisel blade down to about 1/8 inch wide to remove all the detail in the avionics bays. Testors Yellow Zinc Chromate in the little square bottles was used for color.

I then added the PE parts. Not all parts were added as some were just too tiny for me to deal with and a couple were taken by the carpet monster. I brushed on Dullcoat to seal everything up afterwards.

I have moved on to the decals. The Colorado flag is beautifully painted, but also very thick and took about a gallon of Micro-sol to get it to behave. I know the white would have been translucent otherwise and I think it would have been better if they had used double layers as some manufactures do. I also painted the black "W" shaped area as the decal provided didn't quite fit and broke on apart me anyway.

I still haven't decided what to arm my A-7 with. The kit comes with two AN/AAR-45 LANA FLIR Pods, but resources show only one was generally used. Sources also said that mostly A-7E's used the pods, but also that approx. 50 ANG A-7D's were retrofitted to use the pods. I can't find any info as to whether any of the Colorado ANG planes were included in this, but I may just assume they were and include one anyway. Usual configuration was a Flir pod on the inboard pylon for the starboard side and a fuel tank under the port wing. The weapons would be next with an ECM pod on one of the outer pylons. Of course a couple of AIM-9's on those fuselage pylons.

That's all for now. I'll just have to see where the emotional roller coaster takes me next for now.

Jim

Son Of Medicine Man

Man oh man, what a bummer there Russ!  Was there any sign of distress before you started applying the mask on it?  I feel so bad for you.  I sure hope you are able to get it fixed fairly easily.  I saw several people had a few suggestions for you to try.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for you man!

Ken

 

Thanks for the concern, Ken. I didn't notice any cracks or stress lines when I first started, and I handled it pretty gently.  I remember when I first bought the kit, I painted this canopy first but didn't like the results so I wiped it clean with thinner. Maybe that caused some kind of chemical breakdown. Or maybe something in the box pressed down on it during the 5-6 years it was in storage.

It's not all that bad, though. The kit canopy didn't look that good on the model anyway;  the built-up frame looks a lot better (at least from a distance). And it's an interesting challenge - if I don't mess it up  .

Russ

[

Scorpiomikey

I drilled out the exhaust ports on the Bugatti last night.

They look closer to the real thing now. Just about to attach the upper air intake made from scratch.

Nice work, Mikey! That's really a cool looking airplane. Bet it was fantastic to fly.

Russ

Hi Everyone,

As you can see, I am playing catch up with everyone's posts.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving feast with family and/or friends!

I have returned to the workbench myself.  I am currently working on the Aires cockpit.  I had all the pieces painted but not completely cut out and fitted together.  The part I am working on right now is the rear cockpit's front panel.  It is taking some work to make it fit together like it is supposed to.  I will post some pictures when I have it done.

Ken

mikeymize

MiG 17 update: Just finished my other GB update with this so some of this is probably redundant for those that perused that. Managed to get some work done during the holiday week. Not only is NMF a major pain in the keyster for me but this model has seam issues up the wazoo! My normal plan of putty and gap filling super glue was not up to the task, (putting it mildly). Note to self: sanding and polishing, repeat until exhausted! The fuselage was also designed more to be split thus showing off the engine thus causing the massive gap. I'm sure if this wasn't my first real attempt at metalizer stuff I could've done better but...enough whining and excuses. I'm still working on the gear, pitot tubes etc.etc.   Much of what I've dealt with is stuff I knew but didn't realize truly how unforgiving the metalizer is. It's kinda like people warning you about something and you aways think "oh that's just them blowing smoke". Well, this stuff really is more time consuming than other finishes. Still, in spite of all the setbacks it's actually been fun and certainly a learning experience. Will post final pics soon. BTW enjoying everyone else's projects. Lot of talent in this group and a lot of great people too!

Nice work so far Mike M.!  It sounds like this kit has been a challenge to get the seams cleaned up the way you want, but it looks pretty good to me.  I like it!!     

I have not painted any NMF paint yet, but having the detail show through is the one advantage of using the paint, in my opinion.  Using foil is the other alternative for a NMF, but I don't think there is any way to get the detail like you can with the paint.  But as you have pointed out, it is a pain to get the surface perfect before applying the paint.

Ken

Scorpiomikey

Wow, thats a weird way for plastic to react. Wonder what happened.

I drilled out the exhaust ports on the Bugatti last night.

They look closer to the real thing now. Just about to attach the upper air intake made from scratch.

Looks like you have your workbench in working order Scorpio Mike!  Nice job there on the exhaust ports!  Lined them up nice and straight.     

Ken

Striker8241

Hey All,

Ran into a bit of a problem. I was masking my gunner's canopy when it developed a series of fine cracks. They were so tiny I figured I could take them out with Future. But as I was about to paint it, the thing fell to pieces (see below - I glued it back together for measurements). Heartbreaking .

Anyway, I decided to try and build the canopy from scratch. Not sure how this is going to turn out. So far, I have the frame finished and once it's painted on the inside, I'll start on the clear panels. Wish me luck! .

 Cheers,

Russ

Man oh man, what a bummer there Russ!  Was there any sign of distress before you started applying the mask on it?  I feel so bad for you.  I sure hope you are able to get it fixed fairly easily.  I saw several people had a few suggestions for you to try.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for you man!

Ken

Scorpiomikey

The pilot was Ed Heller in his P-51D Blue Nose Hell-er bust. PZ-H

Neat little model there Scorpio Mike!

I think everyone here has heard me say this before, but the part about modeling I like the best is the research!  And it is great when we are joined by veterans like Berny, Russ, Mike M., and Kbuzz, who can share their experiences with us!  I just love listening to their stories and their expertise about the aircraft they were involved with.

Ken

Bockscar

Son Of Medicine Man

Tsar Bomba:

Now that's a blast!!!

Ken, please send link....

Dom

Ken 

SHIIISHHH....THAT BEATS PEELIN' ONIONS TO GET MY EYES TEARED UP!!!!!...LOL

That is a pretty cool video Dom!  Thank you for sharing, I like it!

Ken

Scorpiomikey

Thanks for that link dom. Im trying to decide between the Eduard 1:48 BF-109 E-1 new mold profi pack or the E-3 profi pack. Theyre the same price...maybe i should buy both and then get a hurricane?

Hey you are welcome for the link Scorpio Mike!  I think you should buy both!

I recently purchased the 1/48 scale Revell Messerschmitt Bf-109f-2/4.  It is going to be one of my "fun" kits that I will build strictly out of the box.  I remember building the 109 as a kid, couldn't tell which version it was.  I always thought it was cool that it had a cannon that shot through the propeller hub.

Ken

MikeM: Yeah, the NM isn't that hard to use, it's the undercoat that's a pain since the NM will show every teeny-tiny flaw or blemish in the paint. Still, she don't look half bad so far. 

Russ: Yeah as Rich said you can apply the stuff with the windows in place. You just need to grab a little on a toothpick and then rub it around inside the window and it will form a film covering the hole. Still the film you're using sounds like a good idea, please keep us informed as to how it goes. 

Sparrowhyperion

Russ.  Like I said, you can build up the windows from the outside since it's already in place.  Takes like 30 seconds a coat, and maybe 3 coats at maximum.  You wouldn't have to remove the frame.  But film works as well I guess. lol

Ahh, sorry Rich. Guess I missed that part. I'll try that if this film idea doesn't work out.

Thanks, bud!

Russ

Russ.  Like I said, you can build up the windows from the outside since it's already in place.  Takes like 30 seconds a coat, and maybe 3 coats at maximum.  You wouldn't have to remove the frame.  But film works as well I guess. lol

Striker8241

Bockscar

Frick-a-Zee Russ!

What a start!

Are you going to line that with thin Styrene or other clear film?

You are now elevated to SenseiRusSan;

I'll see if I can find you a replacement, but

I would be just as happy to see that project finished successfully,

looks ffflipping fantastic just the way it is, "CUT-AWAY-GLASS" effect, right?

-Dom

PS:

This might have the glass you need:

http://www.1001modelkits.com/b-52-superfortress-model-kit/31158-boeing-b-52d-super-fortress-canopy-designed-to-be-assembled-with-model-kits-from-monogram-1-72-squadron-accessories-9196.html

Let me know,

-Dom

Dom:  

I think you may have the solution!  I was planning to cut individual panes from a thin sheet of PETG, but your suggestion of "clear film" may be the way to go! I hadn't even thought of that. I'm thinking - cut a piece to fit the whole canopy and glue it on with a thin wash of white glue, then just paint over the frames, leaving the panels clear. It will all depend on how the film looks once it's stretched over the frame. 

I'm going to try it first. Also, thanks for the link for the vacuform canopy. That's probably the way I'll go if the scratch canopy doesn't work out.

Rich, Cliff:

Thanks for the tips on using Crystal Clear. Unfortunatly, I built the frame in situ so that option is out. I'm afraid I would destroy it trying to cut it out now. However, I filed your tips away for future reference.

Thanks to alla youz guys 

Russ

 

MiG 17 update: Just finished my other GB update with this so some of this is probably redundant for those that perused that. Managed to get some work done during the holiday week. Not only is NMF a major pain in the keyster for me but this model has seam issues up the wazoo! My normal plan of putty and gap filling super glue was not up to the task, (putting it mildly). Note to self: sanding and polishing, repeat until exhausted! The fuselage was also designed more to be split thus showing off the engine thus causing the massive gap. I'm sure if this wasn't my first real attempt at metalizer stuff I could've done better but...enough whining and excuses. I'm still working on the gear, pitot tubes etc.etc.   Much of what I've dealt with is stuff I knew but didn't realize truly how unforgiving the metalizer is. It's kinda like people warning you about something and you aways think "oh that's just them blowing smoke". Well, this stuff really is more time consuming than other finishes. Still, in spite of all the setbacks it's actually been fun and certainly a learning experience. Will post final pics soon. BTW enjoying everyone else's projects. Lot of talent in this group and a lot of great people too!