That's a great looking Mustang, 68GT.  Really outstanding work.

She looks good to me! Really nice work on the tricky cowling checkerboard decal.

You could go with a wash or just leave it. It would pick out the rivets etc but you certainly don't have to do one- she looks fine as she is.

Thanks, its just a little charcoal dust that was brushed on.  I tried to use it for gunpowder stain but don't think it came out so good.  It might just be because it is over the white stripe though.

I was wondering if it was just me or does the Mustang look too clean?  I know I forgot to give it a wash but I'm not sure.

Great job on the Mustang!  I really like the exhaust staining

I regret that I have but one model to give for this GB.  

Thanks, stik and Gamera.

Masking canopies is a pain sometimes.  The tape and MicroMask method seems to work best for me.  Never could quite get the hang of other methods people use.

B-17: Beautiful job! Love the nose art, just all around great work!

CMK02: She's coming along great! Gawd I hate masking canopies...

Gary, Great job on the C-47. Sorry to hear you're having eye-sight problems. I hope you're doing better. Thanks for the kind words about my geschutzwagen. The description of the thing is a mouthful, for sure. It was a lot of fun to do. Best wishes on future modeling.

Looking good there cmk!

As for me, now that my K-200 is done, I pulled my Marauder off the sideline this morning and resumed work. I only scratched up the turret gunners foot rest from some brass rod bent to shape and attached it with CA. But that is all that I had time for this morning before work after my bike ride & breakfast with my family. I will get some photos up tomorrow or the day after. ;-)

I seriously doubt that it will be done by the 6th, but it will be done in the next few weeks!

And finally for tonight, I worked on the engines.  I'd painted the central portion earlier with MM's Neutral Gray (which doesn't look anything like WEM's Neutral Gray; MM seems to be a bluish kind of gray).  After it was dry, I masked and painted the cylinders with some old Floquil "Weathered Black."  It's more of a dark, dark gray, so I should be able to run a black wash to bring up details.

Also got busy with the propellers.  After I painted them black, I used masking tape to mark off the yellow tips, then mummified the blades by wrapping them up from the hub.  Then I overpainted the tips with black again to seal the tape, then applied some white as a base and finished up with the yellow.

I intend to paint the hubs some kind of silvery-metallic color.  I usually use silver, but think I might try MM Steel this time.

Thanks, 68GT.  It does get tedious--a B-24 has a lot of windows in the cockpit.  Here's how the windows looked when the masking was done.

I used the same technique for the fuselage windows, which sort of have rounded corners; but if the tape is thin enough, you can poke it and prod it into shape.

That must have taken forever but I'm sure it will look great!

Very nice looking C-47's, Gary and B17pilot.  Very attractive work.  The invasion stripes are impressive.

I masked the canopy for the cockpit of "Aries."  Don't have all the photos of any further progress off the photo chip yet, except two of the canopy.

I used thin masking tape, and followed the framelines.  Then trimmed them after they were in place.  Following the tape, I fill up the centers with MicroMask.

At this stage, it looks like a rat's nest.

actually working on the 18 paratroopers now. though it might be a couple of months, give or take

Nice looking build B17, really glad we have these C-47's. A D-Day GB would not be the same without one. I'll use the top pic now and can always change it once you have done the dio, which I hope you will post here even if its after the 6th.

GAF

Meanwhile, some questions for those of you who know such things:

The elevators on the C-47 -- cloth covered?  I'm shading the rudder and the ailerons.  Figure the elevators were too.

The forward antenna on the C-47 is not the boomerang type in the kit.  Was there an antenna there (the one over the cockpit).  The profiles don't show one.

Gary: She looks good! Sorry I can't answer any of your questions.

Ouch, I hope your eye clears up. I can see how you can't do much modeling but it seems like a pain to try to read, watch TV or anything with blurry vision. My hopes and prayers.

There's some great work in here.

 Duke's Bronco Models 10.5cm LEFH18(SF) auf Geschutzwagen 39H(F) is just fantastic (and I had to copy that from his description because I had no idea what that thing was!)  Can you tell I'm not an armor guy?

Eric's Heller L-4 is going nicely.  I need to add a version of that to my stash.

68GT's P-51 is coming together.  Great work!

As for me, this is as far as I've gotten this weekend.

 Sorry for the blurry image.  The wheels are on and she's ready for decals.  I decided not to do anything about the striping.  I've looked at pictures of C-47's from WWII painted with invasion stripes, and as far as I can tell I'm not that far off... somehow.  Since I have several C-47s in the stash (and since Revell just released the 1/48th scale version recently I have one in the mail), I'll be more discerning in the future. 

Meanwhile, some questions for those of you who know such things:

The elevators on the C-47 -- cloth covered?  I'm shading the rudder and the ailerons.  Figure the elevators were too.

The forward antenna on the C-47 is not the boomerang type in the kit.  Was there an antenna there (the one over the cockpit).  The profiles don't show one.

On a more personal note, I've had a minor set-back in my modeling.  I've suffered some burst blood vessels in my right eye because of a blocked vein (related to my diabetes).  My vision in that eye is now rather like looking through a dirty windshield.  Depth perception is a bit shot.  I'm going to try to muddle through, but I may not make the deadline for this one.  We'll see how the future goes for any new builds.  The opthamologist said it might clear up, or it might not.  Here's hoping!

Thanks for reading.

Gary

Thanks, Checkmate. I really enjoyed doing it.

Well done with the P-51, 68GT!  The NMF looks very nice, along with the striping!

Nice effect on the wings of your Piper Cub, Eric.  Quite pleasing to the eye.

Been out of the loop, since I've been out of the state since last Sunday.

That's a nice looking bit of heavy armor there, BD.  Very appealing paint work!

Looks good 68GT, and you're almost done!

wayne, what build is that, have I missed a later entry.

68, looking nice, can't wait to add it to the list.

We are almost into the last week all, so hopefully we can round it off nicely.

Hey, 68GT. That plane's looking really good. Congrats.

Still lots of good stuff going on here.

Went camping for a long weekend but I'm still chugging along on the Mustang.  I hope to complete it this weekend.

decided my green paint wasn't working well with silly putty and, since this was the third attempt, i smoothed it down and painted the entire bow green. have it under a lamp to cure and will overspray the other colors. this has been quite annoying given i base coated my DANA with the same bottle and had no problems.