bitbite

Everything is looking awesome in here guys but let's not forget the true significance of June 6 . . .

MY BIRTHDAY!!!! SEND PRESENTS!!!  

Some shoes... from Paris. 

Gary

Everything is looking awesome in here guys but let's not forget the true significance of June 6 . . .

MY BIRTHDAY!!!! SEND PRESENTS!!!  

Today I had a few uninterrupted hours at the bench so far. And I think that I made good use of them to this point. During the week when I assmbled the nacelles and checked them against reference photos, I saw that there should be a firewall at the front of the wheel wells. I also saw that while the area of the upper wing directly above the wheel well was properly detailed, the rear portion was not. So I tackled both of thos issues this afternoon with the help of the internet and sheet & strip styrene. First I traced the outline of the nacelle front onto shome sheet plastic and cut it out. Then I added various details using a couple of internet photos as reference. Fortunately I was able to find a photo of the two different side wells and saw that there was some detail difference in the boxes on the firewall so I created that appropriately.
the first completed firewall

glued into its' nacelle

then using half round styrene rod I added the detail to the upper rear wing area visible thru the wheel well opening
Here is a shot with the undetailed side for comparison

a close up

and once both wings were done

both completed nacelle firewalls- note the slight different set ups between the two

placed onto their respective wings

lower left wing & nacelle

lower right wing & nacelle

after dinner I will try to get a bit more work done...

checkmateking02

Nice work on the Puma, Eagle.  Your painting skills are outstanding!

WOW!  Thank you!  Never had outstanding and paint skills in the same sentence before!  Thank you so much!

Should have pics soon!

Eagle90

Nope, Ken, you aren't the only one lagging.  I've had more stalls and delays with this Liberator than I want to think about.  Something must be disturbing the time-space continuum.

Nice work on the Puma, Eagle.  Your painting skills are outstanding!

Here's some things I ran across today, to assist in remembering:

www.telegraph.co.uk/.../D-Day-Prince-Charles-pays-tribute-as-Spitfires-lead-D-Day-commemorations-at-Pegasus-Bridge.html

www.itn.co.uk/.../service-at-pegasus-bridge

And, truly, thanks, Bish, for hosting the GB.  As usual, you've done a great job; you stick with it and don't bug out--never to be heard from again. 

Bish, I also tried MicroMask on its own to mask canopies; ya know--apply it, then trim it with a knife.  Never got that to work either.  The way you're using it is the only thing it's good for, IM(experienced)O!

Thanks for hosting this GB Bish.  For as long as I can remember I've always held June 6 in a special place.  My dad and I always sat down to watch the Longest Day, and it always reminds me of my great-grandfather who came ashore Utah Beach on D-Day +3

BlackSheepTwoOneFour

Every year for the last 10 years D-Day is always on my mind to those who fought in this Great Crusade. They're not too far from my mind to those who fought and died for our freedom. Thank you to all our WW2 vets.

Just so you know, I am unable to complete my P-47 Thunderbolt :( for this group build due to life taking away the free time I had - my son's Little League, family obligations, etc... Well you get the picture. When I do get the chance to finish it, I will post it.

I too, have had D-Day on my mind at this time of the year for as long as I can remember. My prayers go out to all veterans, Living and Deseased and their loved ones. I belong to one group of ww2 vets in which we have uncles, or other relations who we never had the chance to know. I have 2 uncles 1 who died in WW2 and 1 who died in Korea.

Thank you for the great GB. It makes me want to watch "Band of Brothers" again.

I apologize for not feeling up to par and not being in latley . I'm trying to get things back on track here.

Thanks

Every year for the last 10 years D-Day is always on my mind to those who fought in this Great Crusade. They're not too far from my mind to those who fought and died for our freedom. Thank you to all our WW2 vets.

Just so you know, I am unable to complete my P-47 Thunderbolt :( for this group build due to life taking away the free time I had - my son's Little League, family obligations, etc... Well you get the picture. When I do get the chance to finish it, I will post it.

checkmateking02

Progress looks good, stik.  You're not the only one who won't be finishing by 6 June.  The longest day just got longer.

I'm glad to come accross your post Check. I thought maybe I was the lone one who wasn't going to be finished. As it turns out, I think I will finish the P 47 in a week or so. I have the landing gear ordered from SAC, and the undercarriage covers ordered from my LHS. I should have both Saturday

Gentlemen, just before we enter our last 24 hours, I would like to thank you all for talking part in the GB and for the awesome build, both finished and yet to come, and having some fun and giggles along the way.

But while we are all having fun putting together these pieces of plastic, I would ask you all to reflect and think about the serious side of the models we build. 00.16 CEST, 23.59 BST tonight, marks exactly 70 years since the first Allied troops landed in Normandy when 3 gliders from the British 6th Airborne Div landed close to Pegasus Bridge. At 06.30, 05.30 BST, the first troops hit the benches when US forces landed at Omaha.

I would ask you all at some point in the next 24 hours to give a few moments thought to those from both sides who lost there lives on 6th June and in the days after.

And to honour those veterans now gathering in Normandy and elsewhere to remember there fallen comrades and friends.

Thank you.

Check, I have never tried it on painted surfaces. I started out using it on its own to mask canopies, and that was a real pain. Once I started using Eduard masks, there are some where you have to fill in gaps with liquid mask, and then I found it ok as it went on top of the mask around the edges. I would never dare use it for masking a paint scheme.

Eric, looking really good. I think it will be ready in time from the looks of it.

Eagle, really nice work on both builds there. Don't worry, we will make sure you get plenty of more armour practice

Thanks Gamera. I hardly think my work on this perfection... just more of a mild obsession to get it really busy in there.

Great work all around guys!

SP: Looks good, sorry you couldn't hit the end date but you can't rush perfection eh?

Eric: Very nice work there too, I really like the painted effect you have on the invasion stripes.

Eagle: The two armoured cars look great. Love the broken, damaged mirrors.

WOW!  Some awesome work everyone!  What a great GB!  Many thanks to Bish for hosting!

So I think I'll get the Puma finished tonight!  Along with the /1 that was a surprise addition to my build.  All I have left to do is the decals and a few little weathering details and they will be done!  The pics here are from last night.  I spent some time working on the tires for the Puma.  Like I said before, the /1 was what I was originally using to try things out on before I committed them to the Puma, but things turned out well for both and I kept going with both kits.  So you can see I didn't do too much weathering with the /1 tires, but did a little more with the Puma.  Tried my first wash too!  Not sure if it turned out as well as what I have seen on here, but I tried.  Also tried adding some "camo" netting to the vehicles.  Not familiar with camo netting so I hope I'm close.  Also, hard to see, but the mirrors on the Puma are 'weathered".  The one on the left (hardest one to see) is scraped up and battered.  The one on the right side is "broken"!  You can kinda see it in the pic.  I put different equipment on the 2 vehicles and painted the tools slightly different colors on each one.  Tried to mix it up a little.  Figured they would not have been cookie cutter vehicles out in the field!  So I should be able to get the decals on tonight and have thing one and thing two ready for deployment on the 6th!  Thanks for looking...enjoy!

Eagle90

EBergerud

This GB is getting as busy as Ike in June 1944 (or something like that.) 

Eric

This GB is getting as busy as Ike in June 1944 (or something like that.) Very nice work (do like the P-51: mine was more romantic because it was Polish, but I suppose the USAAF was there too) all around. In retrospect I should have made the argument that the build should stop in late July with Cobra (the real end of the longest six weeks) but a card layed is played and the year duration does have logic. Anyway, like some others here, I'm putting on the gas to try to get my Piper L-4 ready by June 6. Think it'll be done, but close. It's a very modest effort in modelling terms, but I just don't like the idea of Panthers running around and causing trouble for the forces of good. So what better anecdote than some flying eyes that could bring down artillery shells - including some very large ones - literally on top of German strongpoints and AFVs. With the Shermans and Cromwells the free world has delivered to the bocage, we need some help. Here's what's on the way.

Eric

.

Lol! Yes it did!

Progress looks good, stik.  You're not the only one who won't be finishing by 6 June.  The longest day just got longer.

You're right, Bish.  I find MicroMask nearly impossible to remove from painted surfaces, so these days I only use it for clear canopies, outlined with masking tape.  

I used to paint wheels with the tire color, apply MicroMask, paint the hubs--and nearly always the mask wouldn't budge.  I even tried applying a gloss coat, then the MicroMask, hoping it wouldn't stick so well to a slick surface.  Still had trouble with it--even after letting the paint dry for days.

I tried soaking it in water for days at a time; it still wouldn't release.  Tried scrubbing it with a tooth brush; no dice. 

The perverse part is that when it does lift off, it frequently takes the paint with it.

I don't know what's with the stuff, but for masking painted surfaces now I use only low-tack masking tape or poster ticky-tacky.

B-17Pilot and 68GT, grats on the completions, very respectable builds - I like them both!

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Gary - I know Techmod makes US serial markings (available in white, yellow and black) in various sizes.  Yea, it's impossible to use a clear printed decal on anything but a very light background.

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Looking forward to whatever else crosses the finish line.

regards,

Jack

B17Pilot> Thanks for the info on the control surfaces.  I thought they were all cloth covered.  Good to know for certain.

And that's one nice C-47.  Wish mine could turn out as good.

68GT>  That's a very good P-51!  Up to you about the wash.  You might try some on the bottom.  What with the rain around D_Day the top might not have been so dirty. 

CMK02>  That's a lot of masking!  Good luck on the B-24.

As for me, I've run into a bit of a road-block, so I won't have this done in time.  I was hoping to print decals for the serial numbers and ID letters for this aircraft, but the letter color is so light and the OD so dark that they just don't show up.  I can't print the decals dark enough and come up even close to the correct shade.  I may have to do the lettering by hand, but that's a difficult path with my eye in such poor shape.

I'm feeling rather down and may just take a break for awhile.  Maybe I'll get back to this later and have a better idea about what to do.

Thanks for running this GB, Bish!

Gary

Thanks Bish. I think over the next couple of days I will have lots of progress photos. I am at the point now where many things will come together and show.

Look forward to it eagle.

And no worries stik, we have some progress pics, and that's enough. Nice work so far, I like the foot rest.

Well, I wont be finishing this one in time for June 6, but I am still plugging along. Now that my K-200 is done, this one has moved back to the front of my workbench. I have been nickle and diming work on it this week before I go to work. Earlier in the week, I created the gunners footrest for teh turret with some brass wire

then I started work on the engine nacelles- I opened up the vents just ahead of the wheel well and cleaned up the mold ejection pin parks before gluing them together. Lots of test fitting and sanding is gonna reduce, but not completely eliminat the gaps where these fit onto the wings. That is probably the roughest fit area on the kit. But it can be minimized I am finding.

and lastly I added some strip styrene to catch the overhead waist gun ammo bins mount in the vertical tail. Unfortunately during the sanding/fitting process I damaged one of the tail gun ammo chutes... forward three step, back one...

I am on days off after today so more progress soon...

Hoping to have final pics tonight or tomorrow at the latest!  My first armor build completed!

Eagle90

Ok guys, I am calling last orders. The GB will officially end at 23.59 BST Fri night, that's just over 48hours away. You have until then to show some progress pics to qualify for the GB.

Check, great work there, how do you find the micro mask. I have a bottle but can't get used to it. I find it a real pain to remove.

68, I like it a lot. You could give it a little wash, but I don't think that essential. really nice. I'll add the top pic to the front page.