hi thunderbolt

i got thinking about that after i posted. all sorts of wiring and engine mounts. i had a nice engine in my ME-163 that no one would see. in my case i was able to leave it out

Thank, Bish -- can't be helped, I guess, it's one of those tight cowlings for max streamlining, but (Wayne) to leave it off for a workshop diorama would call for all kinds of scratchbuilding to go with it, and in the end the engine itself isn't detailed enougn to warrant going to that extreme. The Hasegawa 1:32 kit of the same subnect might be, though!

Richard -- I ordered the RoG Thunderbolt, you're right, it's a sweet kit!

Raiden fuselage closing up today, or I'll know the reason why...

Mike/TB379

hey bish

i agree abut the engine. wonder if the cowling could be left off?

. i have considered getting one of the 1/6 engine kits. i do have a 426 hemi in my stash. i am finishing up my first helo, MD-500. looking forwaed to seeing CHINOOK. off to finish stuff so i can clear the benches for new stuff.

Mike, thats a sweet looking engine, shame its going to be hidden away

Gamera, thanks, i am really hopeing so.

Thanks Richard, i am hopeing this one will be as good if not better, as it is for someone else. Now a Dutch Chinook, that i wnat to see.

Nice work on the P-47. Not sure if you have alredat mentioned it, but what unit markings are you useing.

Thunderbolt,

Yes, i am referring to kit #4155. One of the very much spoken of newer RoG molds that are said to be very good for low cost. Standard price here is EUR. 6,95 (roughly 8 USD). That kit screams bang for buck. Some of the boxes do have flash on the molds and some don't though... A nuisance i gladly overlook given the price. The office straight out of the box as well as the engine are very reasonably detailed.

With that in the back of your head i am really hard pressed to find proper reasons to lay down more for the asian brands.

Richard

Hi Richard -- would the RoG P-47 be kit #04155? I have a handle on it for a great price.

Yep, I'm looking mainly at the exterior details on the Hurri and it looks like a coat of desert camo will go down very nicely over them. I can usually wrangle an argumentative fit, so that should't be too much of an issue. I look forward to it and have the North Africa scheme paints already in hand here for a larger Spit, so a Hurri is a fun side-build on that project.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Theuns

Can I loin with a 1/72 Academy P-47 Thunderbolt?

It will mostly bee a testbed for using Alclad for the first time.

Theuns

Blitzwing

Can I join with an Esci 1/72 Tornado?

y'all most certainly can! The front page has been updated with your builds.

Can I join with an Esci 1/72 Tornado?

Thunderbolt379,

The P47 is actually Academy. Sofar i really like the fit and detail and it has a very modest pricetag. But like i already said before, the RoG offering in the same scale has a better engine, better decals and a slightly more detailed and accurate pit. Cheaper too on top of it.

Glad you like the hurricane. It is as far as i know an original Revell of Germany mold dating back to 1998 according to the stamp. So if you take that into account (dont expect amazing fit, especially on the wing/ fuselage join) and the fact that you probably won't be building it because of the internal detailing it should prove a fun and very cheap model to build. You can't lose

Richard

Can I loin with a 1/72 Academy P-47 Thunderbolt?

It will mostly bee a testbed for using Alclad for the first time.

Theuns

Kermit -- Just ordered up that RoG Hurri! M/TB379

Thanks, Kermit, I'm doing the seatbelts right now, nothing fancy but there'll be something visible in there to disguise the shocking great ejector pin mark at the bottom of the seat, which is impossible to file away... I've test fit everything and the fuselage fit looks very good. Glad you like the prop, here it is stacked up with the engine:

Unfortunately the engine will be completely hidden by the cowl, so it's painted pretty much for the sake of it.

I just adjusted the fit of the cockpit parts, it looks like they'll drop in quity easily. More pics tonight or tomorrow...

I like the looks of that Thunderbolt -- Tamiya? I'm a bit reluctant to try natural metal at the moment, I seemed to lose the ability to spray it cleanly a while back, every experiment was disastrous... But a camo bird, that I can handle! The Hurri looks very good, I've not built one since I was a kid. Is this an RoG original, or a rebox of Hasegawa?

Looking good!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Bish,

Love the camo on that Chinook!! I am eyeballing the big 1:48 one from RoG for awhile now.... planning on a dutch paint scheme though.

Mike,

Looks like you are off for a very good start. I love the prop especially. Very nice!

As for me....

I promised a pre paintbooth pic but i kinda forgot.. So this is my little thunderbolt with the undersides grey on. I sprayed the entire model so the grey acts as a primer at the same time. Today i am planning on spraying the dark grey/ green camouflage on the top.

And while i am posting a WIP anyways i thought it wise to introduce the hurricane as well:

It offers the boxart brown over brown camo but also another India/Birma theatre one in green over brown camo:

The sprues... The shape of the fuselage is well molded and nicely detailed. The office parts however are rather spartan. I dont worry about that too much as i am interested in the outside appearance first and foremost:

So looks like this froggie is in for some fun the coming weeks

Richard

Progress on the Raiden has been happening behind the scenes, here's all the prepped parts so far:

Painting is Tamiya Acrylics other than the silver, which is Humbrol enamel. The prop and spinner are a mixed shade (online recommendation) overcoated with Microscale Satin; lack oil wash detailing and some drybrushing on the cockpit parts; the instruments are drybrished and Futured.

At the next update the main construction should be done. All that remains here is to add some tape seatbelts and assemble the cockpit, then bring the fuselage together.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Great looking chopper Bish, this is going to be awesome!

Pleased

Bish

Thanks, i am rather chuffed with it,  hopefully this one will be the same.

chuffed?

Thanks, i am rather chuffed with it,  hopefully this one will be the same.

Well-done cockpit, Stu.  It must have taken quite a bit of time to accomplish that.

Bish, that's a great-looking helicopter.  Really sharp looking.

Thanks, i am doing it in the Falklands scheme. Its exactly the same one i did for the Falklands GB, i am sure you can remeber it, but just in case.

The only difference this time round is that there will only be the Falklands falg on the base. The guy i am doing it for had a relative who fought during the campaign. 

taxtp and Kermit, the front page has been updated! 

bish, nice progress. Have you mentioned what scheme you're doing that in?

A couple of pics of this weeks progress. Managed to get the fuselage together. Still got a bit of sanding to do along the top seam. I have added the canopy, which once again is a pain in the butt. But i didn't get any pics of that as it was a bit late in the week.

Hopefully by next week i will have some paint on, i really need to get a move on with this. 

Edit,

Woops,.... i meant that i was hitting the paintbooth with the Thunderbolt, not a hurricane; thats the new one im doing...

Richard

Taxtp,

Very interesting subject and seldom seen on FSM. Love your choice! Very much looking forward to your take on this model.

OWl,

Miss Host,.... if you would be ok with it i would like to add a 1:72 scale RoG Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIc to my current build. I picked up this little box this afternoon and will start on her as soon as i have layered the first coat on my british Hurricane, hopefully tonight.

The joining of the fuselage, adding wings and taking care of the seams are all done on the Thunderbolt. took me just two evenings... I will try to add a pre paintbooth pic or two soon I must say that i am quite pleased with the Academy offering sofar. Just a fun and no fuss model. Still prefer the RoG one though even though it has more flash on the mold, i like the lines just a little bit better on that one.

Richard

Richard

I'm going to settle on the Academy 1/72 Hawker Tempest Mk V with Airwaves P/E set. Not sure which scheme I'll go for yet.

Cheers

Tony

Stu: Cockpit looks great, love those blue seatbelts. And I know what you mean with NM finishes, ack.

Here's an update on my Mirage.  No real issues to speak of.  Had some fit problems getting the cockpit to fit right, seems the IP and control stick wanted to occupy the same space.  The trick to this kit is getting the nosewheel bay to align properly.  The rear bulkhead of the cockpit is the fore bulkhead of the nose gear well and it has to marry up perfectly with the lower wing.  This took some dancing but nothing major.  There was some warping on the upper fuselage that required some sprue shims to get things to line up.  Since this is going to be a NMF bird I have to check every seam and pit with Mr Surfacer since NMF gives you nothing to hide behind. That's the reason for all the gray splotches

will leave the side skirts off. looks like a different tank without them. probably do the same with leopard 2a4