Pretty cool there Eric, I assume you'll paint the insides of the wings flat black so you can't really see the lack of walls there?

Funny but to me Vader looks like he's sitting on the can, he just needs a copy of FSM to read while he's taking care of business!  

Taps88

Here is the completed cockpit. As you saw, in my previous post, there's really nothing too it. Just 4 sides and they don't completely enclose. You won't notice it, once it's all closed up (hopefully)

I painted it all grey and am trying to mimic, the red lights. In all photos I've seen, there is no other colored lights inside the Tie Fighters.

Nice job Eric, that is looking real good!      And thank you for the background about your build!  I found that very interesting!  You are staying true to one of my (and I think everyone else on this group build) idea of doing great research on your project!

Ken

Gamera

Pretty cool there Eric, I assume you'll paint the insides of the wings flat black so you can't really see the lack of walls there?

Funny but to me Vader looks like he's sitting on the can, he just needs a copy of FSM to read while he's taking care of business!  

Cliff, I just about fell out of my chair laughing!    You can come up with some good ones!

Ken

Cliff / Ken

I thought the same thing when I saw him in the picture. That's pretty funny!

Son Of Medicine Man

Gamera

Pretty cool there Eric, I assume you'll paint the insides of the wings flat black so you can't really see the lack of walls there?

Funny but to me Vader looks like he's sitting on the can, he just needs a copy of FSM to read while he's taking care of business!  

Cliff, I just about fell out of my chair laughing!    You can come up with some good ones!

Ken

I suppose even super-villains need to "take care of business", but how would he get in and out that armor? I suppose he could use the Force to sort of....er... Oh never mind!

Gamera

Pretty cool there Eric, I assume you'll paint the insides of the wings flat black so you can't really see the lack of walls there?

Yes. I did a test fit and you can tell the lack of walls, so I did wind up painting them last night.

The 2 hull sections go together ok. Right in the front, there will be a problem though. I will either have to putty or fill in with some styrene. 2 rather large gaps to deal with.

jimbot58

Son Of Medicine Man

Gamera

Pretty cool there Eric, I assume you'll paint the insides of the wings flat black so you can't really see the lack of walls there?

Funny but to me Vader looks like he's sitting on the can, he just needs a copy of FSM to read while he's taking care of business!  

Cliff, I just about fell out of my chair laughing!    You can come up with some good ones!

Ken

I suppose even super-villains need to "take care of business", but how would he get in and out that armor? I suppose he could use the Force to sort of....er... Oh never mind!

I always figured he had a 'poopy hatch' under his cape somewhere! 

'BA-WHOOSH' - 'The Force was strong with that one...' 

All joking aside nice work Eric, love seeing people take these older kits and bringing them up to speed. 

Not that much going on here, I sprayed the bottom the Apache with some Tamiya primer to find any seams and got runs and drips all it. Guess I'll have to take some thinner and try to scrub them off, don't want to sand and erase a bunch of detail. Sign, why can't anything ever be simple??? 

On to the two hull sections being glued...

I have decided to get the back sections together and dry, before tackling the front. You can see that I have a lot of fixing to do, to get it all squared away. I made sure that the panel lines are lined up. If not, I will go back and rescribe them.

By the way, if you don't own these Quick Grip clamps, I suggest getting them. They are awesome and come in very handy. I could use two more. You can also see, how I had to paint the inside, of the hull, that the cockpit walls did not cover.:

Here is a close up, of one of the problems, I am dealing with:

Test fit of the front & top glass frames...looks pretty good. I'm really excited to get it finished.

Taps88

Test fit of the front & top glass frames...looks pretty good. I'm really excited to get it finished.

Wow Eric, you are doing a great job with that kit!      It is really giving you a challenge!  I can't believe how bad the fit is on that!  I hope the glue holds after you release the clamps!

Ken

Gamera

I always figured he had a 'poopy hatch' under his cape somewhere! 

'BA-WHOOSH' - 'The Force was strong with that one...' 

All joking aside nice work Eric, love seeing people take these older kits and bringing them up to speed. 

Not that much going on here, I sprayed the bottom the Apache with some Tamiya primer to find any seams and got runs and drips all it. Guess I'll have to take some thinner and try to scrub them off, don't want to sand and erase a bunch of detail. Sign, why can't anything ever be simple??? 

Too funny Cliff!   

But not funny about dealing with those runs and drips.  But when I find myself asking that question about "why can't anything ever be simple?", I think about how quickly I would become bored if everything was easy.

I also remember reading an article from FineScale Modeler where it is the "Great Modeler" that overcomes the problems just like what you described Cliff.  So consider yourself one of those "Great Modelers" who chose to take the time to fix it right!

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Well here in Lafayette, Indiana we have some nasty weather heading our way.  From looking at the radar it looks like it will hit about 2 or 3 in the morning.  It has a history of tornados (they have tornado warnings now in Illinois).  I have a NOAA weather radio that will wake me up but I usually take a sleeping pill to get to sleep.  I think I will just stay awake until it passes to make sure.

We have a tri-level house where the lowest level is half under ground so it will offer us some protection.

Just as I was writing this the NOAA weather radio went off with a Tornado Watch alert!

Ken

Yikes! Get to shelter! Be safe, bud!

Russ

Striker8241

Yikes! Get to shelter! Be safe, bud!

Russ

Good news!  The storms are losing a little bit of strength.  The tornado warnings have stopped but the severe thunderstorm warnings have taken their place.  There is still a chance a tornado could re-establish inside these storms though.  It is getting here quicker than I thought.  It is almost here now.  I will have to keep a watchful eye out!

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Striker8241

Yikes! Get to shelter! Be safe, bud!

Russ

Good news!  The storms are losing a little bit of strength.  The tornado warnings have stopped but the severe thunderstorm warnings have taken their place.  There is still a chance a tornado could re-establish inside these storms though.  It is getting here quicker than I thought.  It is almost here now.  I will have to keep a watchful eye out!

Ken

Ken, hope you made it through the storms ok. There are a lot of folk out there who didn't fare so well. My thoughts are with them tonight.

No building tonight as I was at work an extra couple of hours tonight. Too pooped to play.

I did do a little internet research tonight to try and figure out if my King Tiger should have rubber tired road wheels or steel. I finally learned that early Tigers had rubber rimmed road wheels, and this was later changed to steel as there were durability issues. Even my little 'fun' side builds require a bit of research! Steel wheels it will be!

Jim

Some small strips of styrene, some Zap-A -Gap, clamps and sanding. It sealed up pretty well. I'll get a better look, when I airbrush some primer, in this area:

jimbot58

Son Of Medicine Man

Striker8241

Yikes! Get to shelter! Be safe, bud!

Russ

Good news!  The storms are losing a little bit of strength.  The tornado warnings have stopped but the severe thunderstorm warnings have taken their place.  There is still a chance a tornado could re-establish inside these storms though.  It is getting here quicker than I thought.  It is almost here now.  I will have to keep a watchful eye out!

Ken

Ken, hope you made it through the storms ok. There are a lot of folk out there who didn't fare so well. My thoughts are with them tonight.

No building tonight as I was at work an extra couple of hours tonight. Too pooped to play.

I did do a little internet research tonight to try and figure out if my King Tiger should have rubber tired road wheels or steel. I finally learned that early Tigers had rubber rimmed road wheels, and this was later changed to steel as there were durability issues. Even my little 'fun' side builds require a bit of research! Steel wheels it will be!

Jim

Hi Jim,

We lucked out. The storms intensity had died down just before it reached here to where it was just a strong thunderstorm.  The NOAA weather radio did come on warning of 1/4 inch hail and 60 mph wind but we didn't have any.

I hate it when we have storms that late at night.  During the day it is much easier to cope with.

Very interesting about the type of wheels your Tiger had.  Between you and Mike, I am learning a lot about tanks that I never knew before.

Ken

Taps88

Some small strips of styrene, some Zap-A -Gap, clamps and sanding. It sealed up pretty well. I'll get a better look, when I airbrush some primer, in this area:

Good job filling in those gaps Eric!  It looks great!     

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Taps88

Some small strips of styrene, some Zap-A -Gap, clamps and sanding. It sealed up pretty well. I'll get a better look, when I airbrush some primer, in this area:

Good job filling in those gaps Eric!  It looks great!     

Ken

Thanks Ken...

Now that the primer is on, there are just one or two places, that need some sanding attention. I am pleased with how it's coming along. I honestly didn't think I would get this far.

All parts are on, with the exception of the clear canopy pieces. Next it will be getting the color on and solar panels attached. I was thinking of going with Gull Grey, with some White to lighten it up a tad.

I'm not sure how I will weather this....What effects does space have, on the wear and tear on the ship, and it's paint color?? 

Taps88

Son Of Medicine Man

Taps88

Some small strips of styrene, some Zap-A -Gap, clamps and sanding. It sealed up pretty well. I'll get a better look, when I airbrush some primer, in this area:

Good job filling in those gaps Eric!  It looks great!     

Ken

Thanks Ken...

Now that the primer is on, there are just one or two places, that need some sanding attention. I am pleased with how it's coming along. I honestly didn't think I would get this far.

All parts are on, with the exception of the clear canopy pieces. Next it will be getting the color on and solar panels attached. I was thinking of going with Gull Grey, with some White to lighten it up a tad.

I'm not sure how I will weather this....What effects does space have, on the wear and tear on the ship, and it's paint color?? 

Nice work closing up those seams and gaps there. I am curious though, should I be able to see the Big Guy through the front glass or is there some masking in there for right now?

Yes, I have the interior masked off for now.

Ken: So good to hear you make it though things ok, never been though a storm of that intensity and hope I never have to.

Eric: Nice! She's really starting to look like a TIE now. Not sure if there would be any weathering, I can see paint fading on some ships but since a TIE would be carried around inside a Star Destroyer and receive regular maintenance I'm not sure you'd even see that.  

And Vader would probably have a crew of guys to wash and wax his personal fighter every day or so...

Gamera

And Vader would probably have a crew of guys to wash and wax

He's waiting now......"The wax is strong with this one"

Taps88

Gamera

And Vader would probably have a crew of guys to wash and wax

He's waiting now......"The wax is strong with this one"

'There is a small spot you missed there! You have failed me for the last time!'

'ACCCCCKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!'

Nice job on the figure, I like how you got all the little dials and knobs and stuff on his life support chest piece thingy!

Taps88

Gamera

And Vader would probably have a crew of guys to wash and wax

He's waiting now......"The wax is strong with this one"

Too funny Eric! 

You are coming along very nicely on this project!  Great work!     

Ken

Hi Everyone!

I have had a very busy day today!

I got up late this morning after going to bed late because of the storms last night.  There was a small tornado in the county just north of my county.  Like I said, I hate it when those monster storms hit late at night!

I started off this morning with the intention of putting a wash on the front wheel bay of my Phantom.  But I realized I did not have any light gray acrylic paint.  So it was off to the local hobby store to pick some up.

When I got back, I checked my email and found one from Russ talking about a Vietnam group build.  Well to make a long story short, I decided to bite the bullet and start one!  It is for only USAF aircraft that was used in the Vietnam War.  Here is a link to it:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/154521.aspx 

If you feel so inclined to join, please feel free to do so.  Crossovers are welcome.  It took me most of the day to make the badge (because my skills with Photoshop is limited).

Tomorrow I will get back to the workbench and add that wash to the wheel bay!

Ken

Ken: Good luck with the new GB!

I already have way too many irons in the fire as well as I think the only Vietnam aircraft I have is a Skyraider. I've got a Phantom or two still but they're all post-Vietnam.

Gamera

Ken: Good luck with the new GB!

I already have way too many irons in the fire as well as I think the only Vietnam aircraft I have is a Skyraider. I've got a Phantom or two still but they're all post-Vietnam.

I fully understand Cliff!  You're doing really well with your Imperial Japanese Group Build Part II!  I still want to join you on that one.  If I had a bigger workbench I would already be there now!

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone!

I have had a very busy day today!

I got up late this morning after going to bed late because of the storms last night.  There was a small tornado in the county just north of my county.  Like I said, I hate it when those monster storms hit late at night!

I started off this morning with the intention of putting a wash on the front wheel bay of my Phantom.  But I realized I did not have any light gray acrylic paint.  So it was off to the local hobby store to pick some up.

When I got back, I checked my email and found one from Russ talking about a Vietnam group build.  Well to make a long story short, I decided to bite the bullet and start one!  It is for only USAF aircraft that was used in the Vietnam War.  Here is a link to it:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/154521.aspx 

If you feel so inclined to join, please feel free to do so.  Crossovers are welcome.  It took me most of the day to make the badge (because my skills with Photoshop is limited).

Tomorrow I will get back to the workbench and add that wash to the wheel bay!

Ken

Ken, a couple of questions about the build. First off, it is for USAF only and does not include any USN or USMC aircraft? My 'in progress'  RF-4B is a Marine Corp bird, and did participate in 'Nam, but not on the list. The other thing is what point would a build be considered 50% completed?

If USN and USMC are not included, I could consider my F-105G as an entry: there are still a multitude of PE parts to go and it is still a fuselage only stage.

In any case, I barely keep up with one build, so I'll have to see. I do love Vietnam era aircraft.

jimbot58

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone!

I have had a very busy day today!

I got up late this morning after going to bed late because of the storms last night.  There was a small tornado in the county just north of my county.  Like I said, I hate it when those monster storms hit late at night!

I started off this morning with the intention of putting a wash on the front wheel bay of my Phantom.  But I realized I did not have any light gray acrylic paint.  So it was off to the local hobby store to pick some up.

When I got back, I checked my email and found one from Russ talking about a Vietnam group build.  Well to make a long story short, I decided to bite the bullet and start one!  It is for only USAF aircraft that was used in the Vietnam War.  Here is a link to it:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/29/t/154521.aspx 

If you feel so inclined to join, please feel free to do so.  Crossovers are welcome.  It took me most of the day to make the badge (because my skills with Photoshop is limited).

Tomorrow I will get back to the workbench and add that wash to the wheel bay!

Ken

Ken, a couple of questions about the build. First off, it is for USAF only and does not include any USN or USMC aircraft? My 'in progress'  RF-4B is a Marine Corp bird, and did participate in 'Nam, but not on the list. The other thing is what point would a build be considered 50% completed?

If USN and USMC are not included, I could consider my F-105G as an entry: there are still a multitude of PE parts to go and it is still a fuselage only stage.

In any case, I barely keep up with one build, so I'll have to see. I do love Vietnam era aircraft.

Hi Jim,

Yes, it is a USAF only build so the RF-4B would not qualify.  But the F-105G does qualify and if it does not have wings yet then I would say that it is under 50% done.  It would be great to have you onboard Jim!   

Ken