Avionics bays coming alive with all the detail being added; looks great thus far! As far as your weather Ken, although no snow here in TN. but plenty cold and damp. Finally got some pics of the tank to post. One shows the metal barrel I picked up but that's pretty much the extent of after-market goodies. I have a tendency to over sand them trying to smooth all out so I figured it was worth it. 

Nice ken, never thought to use those small brushes that way! Now I learned something from you!  As far as the weather, you can sort of track the storms path by the news reports. Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas. Missouri...straight at ya, Ken. They said it was an unusually powerful storm for this time of year.

Well, I'm a ding-a-ling. I just wasn't satisfied with the Growler cockpit detail. I only purchased the cockpit set for the "G", but the for "E" I had started previously, I had purchased the upgraded set. It included things like the rear decking detail, detail behind the cockpit seats, and more. I figured I couldn't have both of the kits on different levels of detail. I must think I'm made of money because I just had to have the upgrade set. Gee it was only $25 (plus S&H)....plus I already bought the original cockpit set for about 7 bucks. Why am I getting so picky in my old age?

You can see the details (no pun intended) here if you like:

http://www.eduard.com/store/out/media/73415.pdf

A bit of a delay now waiting for the mail man...**HEAVY SIGH**

The bays look great Ken.

Jimbo- That`s alot of detail parts for a "jeweler`s scale" kit....I`d go blind trying to build in 1/72nd...lol.

mikeymize

  Avionics bays coming alive with all the detail being added; looks great thus far! As far as your weather Ken, although no snow here in TN. but plenty cold and damp. Finally got some pics of the tank to post. One shows the metal barrel I picked up but that's pretty much the extent of after-market goodies. I have a tendency to over sand them trying to smooth all out so I figured it was worth it. 

 

Looks good, Mikey!  BTW, is that cutting mat in mm or 10ths of inches?

Russ

Wow, lotsa progress here! To avoid leaving someone out I'm just going to say 'Great work guys!'

And yeah got hit with a couple of inches of snow down here in Virginia too, not much but wasn't expecting it to stick!

Russ, all is metric. cm's on the vertical scale and mm's horizontal when viewing from the bottom of the matt. Obviously my pics were 90 degrees off but the hash marks adjacent to the turret are mm's; the ones to the "top" of the hull are cm's.

Thanks, Mikey. I need to get me one of those.

Russ

mikeymize

  Avionics bays coming alive with all the detail being added; looks great thus far! As far as your weather Ken, although no snow here in TN. but plenty cold and damp. Finally got some pics of the tank to post. One shows the metal barrel I picked up but that's pretty much the extent of after-market goodies. I have a tendency to over sand them trying to smooth all out so I figured it was worth it. 

Nice work Mike!  There is a lot of detail on that tank body!

Ken

jimbot58

Nice ken, never thought to use those small brushes that way! Now I learned something from you!  As far as the weather, you can sort of track the storms path by the news reports. Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas. Missouri...straight at ya, Ken. They said it was an unusually powerful storm for this time of year.

Well, I'm a ding-a-ling. I just wasn't satisfied with the Growler cockpit detail. I only purchased the cockpit set for the "G", but the for "E" I had started previously, I had purchased the upgraded set. It included things like the rear decking detail, detail behind the cockpit seats, and more. I figured I couldn't have both of the kits on different levels of detail. I must think I'm made of money because I just had to have the upgrade set. Gee it was only $25 (plus S&H)....plus I already bought the original cockpit set for about 7 bucks. Why am I getting so picky in my old age?

You can see the details (no pun intended) here if you like:

http://www.eduard.com/store/out/media/73415.pdf

A bit of a delay now waiting for the mail man...**HEAVY SIGH**

Thank you Jim, I appreciate the compliment!

As far as being picky, I think we are all that way, it just comes with the hobby!    It looks like that set will be worth the wait!  I am sure with your skills it will look great!

Ken

troublemaker66

The bays look great Ken.

Jimbo- That`s alot of detail parts for a "jeweler`s scale" kit....I`d go blind trying to build in 1/72nd...lol.

Thank you Len!

How are you holding up with the storm now that it has reached you?

Ken

Gamera

Wow, lotsa progress here! To avoid leaving someone out I'm just going to say 'Great work guys!'

And yeah got hit with a couple of inches of snow down here in Virginia too, not much but wasn't expecting it to stick!

Hi Cliff, we officially ended up with 9 inches of snow!  We are still under a travel advisory.  At least it is supposed to get a little over freezing tomorrow (34F degrees) so we should see some of it melt.  Wednesday is supposed to be even warmer.  I hate cold weather, and I hate snow.  I definitely live in the wrong part of the country!

Ken

Ken: Nine friggin' inches!?! Wow!!! At least  you have snowplows etc. We're far enough north we get snow every now and then and far enough south we don't have much equipment to deal with it. The older I get the more I can understand why people move to Florida when they retire!

Well, the photos I took of the cockpit turned out as fuzzy as your typical flying saucer photos. I'll try to retake them tomorrow. Anyway here are the boxes. So far both kits have went together very smoothly.

Son Of Medicine Man

troublemaker66

The bays look great Ken.

Jimbo- That`s alot of detail parts for a "jeweler`s scale" kit....I`d go blind trying to build in 1/72nd...lol.

Thank you Len!

How are you holding up with the storm now that it has reached you?

Ken

Gamera

Ken: Nine friggin' inches!?! Wow!!! At least  you have snowplows etc. We're far enough north we get snow every now and then and far enough south we don't have much equipment to deal with it. The older I get the more I can understand why people move to Florida when they retire!

Well, the photos I took of the cockpit turned out as fuzzy as your typical flying saucer photos. I'll try to retake them tomorrow. Anyway here are the boxes. So far both kits have went together very smoothly.

You crack me up Cliff!    Fuzzy flying saucer photos!

For nostalgic building I have the Monogram 1/48 F4F Wildcat and the Revell 1/48 F6F-5 Hellcat.  Of course they are raised panel lines.  When I get a chance to build them they will be strictly OOB!

Ken

troublemaker66

Son Of Medicine Man

troublemaker66

The bays look great Ken.

Jimbo- That`s alot of detail parts for a "jeweler`s scale" kit....I`d go blind trying to build in 1/72nd...lol.

Thank you Len!

How are you holding up with the storm now that it has reached you?

Ken

We didn`t get any accumulation at all...snowed hard as hell all day but too warm for it to stick to the road....I love being on the coast!

I envy you Len.  I used to live at Dover AFB for eight years which is close to where you live.  I know what you mean.  It doesn't usually get as cold as it does here!

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I got the second coat of green zinc chromate on the side walls of the avionics bay tonight.  Not much reason to post any pictures of that.  Tomorrow night I will add a different color! 

Ken

What can I say about the weather? Hey! It's Colorado! If you don't like the weather here... wait a minute! It'll change.

Nothing picture worthy for me either. Just doing the tedious; filling and sanding seams.

Oh, and by the way, I guess it's after midnight and to me.

Big friggin' deal.

Jim: Happy birthday to you sir!

Ken: Sorry, now that everyone and his cousin is toting around a cell phone with a camera you think if flying saucers or bigfoot were real you'd see some good photos but noooo, the same fuzzy, half in focus krap we've been getting for the last fifty years. If you want me to believe this stuff is real is it a big deal to ask for a few decent photos!?!?! 

Happy Birthday Jim!!!                   

Ken

Hi Everyone,

I added a little color to the avionics bay tonight.  I need some semi-gloss black but I don't have any in acrylic.  I will stop by Hobby Lobby on the way home tomorrow night and pick some up.

Ken 

  Hi Ken, avionics bay just keeps getting better. BTW what kind of magnification do use for that kind of detail work? Just curious. Also, I have 2 snaps of my "other" build. It's an F-86 that I'm doing primarily as a test bed for my first try at airbrushing MM metalizers. This is just prior to me shooting gloss black on it. I'll include some more as I progress along with my T-34 just for sh&@# & giggles.

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the compliments!

If you are using Model Master Metalizer, the instructions say to spray it on bare plastic.  The Alclad II is the one that needs the gloss black under coat because the metal top coat is "hot" and will eat through the plastic.

The magnification I use is the Donegan Optical LP2 Lens.  It only magnifies at 1-1/2 times @ 20 inches but it makes a big difference.  I also use the LED lights that are made for it along with the Xenon Lamp that is also made for it.  The Xenon Lamp makes another big difference, especially working on a part like the avionics bay that would otherwise have a lot of shadows inside it while working on it.

They make stronger lenses but the stronger the lens, the shorter the distance between the lens and what you are working on.

Ken

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

I added a little color to the avionics bay tonight.  I need some semi-gloss black but I don't have any in acrylic.  I will stop by Hobby Lobby on the way home tomorrow night and pick some up.

Ken 

That's looking good, Ken!    BTW, what source are you using for reference?

Thanks,

Russ

mikeymize

  Hi Ken, avionics bay just keeps getting better. BTW what kind of magnification do use for that kind of detail work? Just curious. Also, I have 2 snaps of my "other" build. It's an F-86 that I'm doing primarily as a test bed for my first try at airbrushing MM metalizers. This is just prior to me shooting gloss black on it. I'll include some more as I progress along with my T-34 just for sh&@# & giggles.

Ken: Looks good!

Mike: Good luck with your paint mule. As Ken stated you don't really need a base coat for anything but Alclad. Metalizer seems to work almost better if you just polish the bare plastic to a nice gloss. The big problem here is anything that is different like putty on seams or a small area where liquid cement has scarred the plastic will pop out like a sore thumb when painted.

 Hey Y'all. Well I appreciate the tips on not needing gloss black but......as the pic shows, too late. Next time! I will see how the aluminum plate goes on this evening. As I said it is a test bed.

For that reason I didn't go all out on the cockpit, etc. I chose interior green even though my sources indicate they mostly went to grey circa 1953-54. I just like the green better. There were a few places where I had used putty and gap-filling glue and the black seemed to help diminish evidence. I really attempted to sand very well this time though so not sure how much it helped; we'll see! BTW recommend the 2 books shown for this jet; very good IMO.

Mikey

One more thing....Thanks for the info on magnification Ken. This group of guys have been very helpful thus far and continue to be. It's appreciated!

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

I added a little color to the avionics bay tonight.  I need some semi-gloss black but I don't have any in acrylic.  I will stop by Hobby Lobby on the way home tomorrow night and pick some up.

Ken 

That's looking good, Ken!    BTW, what source are you using for reference?

Thanks,

Russ

Hi Russ,

I am going by pictures from the book "The Modern Phantom Guide:  The F-4 Phantom Exposed" by Jake Melampy.  It is a great book.  It has pictures of every USAF F-4 Phantom variant and every area and angle and they are all in color.  I consider it a "must have" if you are serious about doing a USAF Phantom II.  It is a bit salty in price, $43.95 from Amazon, but it has 1,069 full color images with descriptions so I think it is well worth the price!  They are not small pictures either, since they are spread over 228 pages.  Here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Phantom-Guide-F-4-Exposed/dp/097950645X 

Ken

mikeymize

 Hey Y'all. Well I appreciate the tips on not needing gloss black but......as the pic shows, too late. Next time! I will see how the aluminum plate goes on this evening. As I said it is a test bed.

For that reason I didn't go all out on the cockpit, etc. I chose interior green even though my sources indicate they mostly went to grey circa 1953-54. I just like the green better. There were a few places where I had used putty and gap-filling glue and the black seemed to help diminish evidence. I really attempted to sand very well this time though so not sure how much it helped; we'll see! BTW recommend the 2 books shown for this jet; very good IMO.

Mikey

Hi Mike,

Thank you for the tip on the reference books!  As you can tell, I use them quite a bit and they save a lot of time searching on the internet for the right picture!

As for the instructions on the Metalizer, I was just repeating what I read on the Testor's website.  They have a whole section of tips on Metalizer inside their FAQ.  Here is a link:

http://www.testors.com/faq 

If you click on number 5 "How do I apply Metalizer Paints?" it will give you their tips.  This page has also a lot of other tips on their other paints such as mix ratios for air brushing, drying times, etc.  I use it a lot.

Ken

mikeymize

One more thing....Thanks for the info on magnification Ken. This group of guys have been very helpful thus far and continue to be. It's appreciated!

You are more than welcome my friend!  Any time I can help it is a pleasure for me to do so!  I think everyone here is a great bunch of guys and I have learned more than I have passed along.

Ken