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Longest Day GB

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  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: AandF in the Badger State
Posted by checkmateking02 on Sunday, July 27, 2014 1:05 PM

Thanks, guys, for the affirmations and positive comments.  I appreciate them.

Thanks also, Bish, for hosting the GB--as well as for your patience!  That is also very much appreciated.

It's been another great GB and learning experience, and I've enjoyed being a part of it.  

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: AandF in the Badger State
Posted by checkmateking02 on Sunday, July 27, 2014 12:56 PM

Finished.

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Sunday, July 27, 2014 11:41 AM

ajd, I get a faded look by spraying thinned coats of lighter shades of OD over the darker base color in selected areas. You can alter your own preferred shade of OD by adding buff or a light green or light gray, or select another shade faded OD or similar paint to look the part. Model Master and Xrtacolour both make faded OD that I have used for this in the past. Or since many companies shades of OD vary in their basic appearance from one another, you can use one of those. If you are gonna go this route, and build an aircraft with fabric covered control surfaces, dont forget to use a seperate shade on those. The doped OD faded faster and differently than the surrounding painted OD areas.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    April 2006
  • From: ON, Canada
Posted by jgeratic on Sunday, July 27, 2014 10:00 AM

Check - continues to look good, looking forward to the completed pics

ajd3530 - going by  what I've seen others do (and write) about faded olive drab, Bish has it right - white alone won't give the proper look.  

The only advantage I see of a base white coat is that it will give a more pure look to your main paint colour choice.  Even spraying on light coats of olive drab, there still needs to be addressed the colour shift.  You could add a filter afterwards of yellow ocher or a desert sand, but this might be more work than you had planned for.   I'm sure others (Stik?) will be able to give better description.

regards,

Jack

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Sunday, July 27, 2014 2:49 AM

That's looking great Check, can't wait to see it done.

ajd, that's an interesting idea. I know to lighten OD you don't use white. But I would be interested to see what those with more knowledge have to say.

Nice work on the Jug. I am looking at putting all the finished builds into a round up thread in the General modelling section, at the end of the month. Do you think you will be done by then.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    October 2013
Posted by ajd3530 on Sunday, July 27, 2014 1:10 AM

That ol' Liberator is looking nice!

So question for you guys: Do you reckin i could get a more faded OD look if I put a white base coat on the upper facing surfaces, then put the OD on top of it?

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: AandF in the Badger State
Posted by checkmateking02 on Sunday, July 27, 2014 1:00 AM

I didn't add any weight to Aries, so to get it to sit on the nose wheel, I drilled a pin-size hole just aft of the bomb bay, and used a straight pin to prop the plane up.

Finished up the three turrets.  For the nose and tail, I tacked them together at the locator pin, then used diluted white glue to fill any gaps.  Nothing I can do is going to eliminate seams in clear plastic--unless someone here knows the secret?,

Also redid the Martin top turret.  The bottom of the clear turret was unsightly and toylike, leaving it bare plastic, so I disassembled it and painted a narrow band of OD on it.

Added decals to the rudders.  Used the kit decals for the Group "O" and Kits-World for the serial and aircraft designator.

The old kit decals still sloughed off some tiny pieces here and there around the edges.  I think that silvering is because of the angle of the camera flash.  Hopefully it will disappear under the final clear coat.  I applied enough MicroSol to it!

Finally, here's the finished undersides--minus the vertical stabilizers (which I'll add later today; didn't want to knock them off while the plane was inverted).  I used some ground-up black pastel for the engine exhaust staining and sealed it with Floquil's flat--sadly, now discontinued.

Barring any further complications, I should be done with Aries today.

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Saturday, July 26, 2014 7:50 AM

AJD3530: Always happy to see another Razorback P-47 and love those old Otaki kits, looking forward to seeing how she works out.

SP: Yeah Monogram was always quite generous with the accessories weren't they unlike some Japanese companies that will remain unnamed too cheap to even include ordinance!

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Saturday, July 26, 2014 12:05 AM

Good to see you finishing this one up. Externally the Otaki/Arii kits are really nice, but internally they need a little help. But when you consider that they date from the late 70s or so you cant really complain much.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Friday, July 25, 2014 2:15 PM

I love how most Monogram kits in 1/48 come with flight & ground crew figures, and some kits also include an accessory such as a tractor, bomb cart, or other such item.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Friday, July 25, 2014 11:23 AM

Bish: Yeah it's a little tow tractor and bomb truck. It's either Airfix or Academy, I can't remember now- I looked a two sites but couldn't find it now.

Edit: Ahhh, found it! You're right it's the ambulance and tow tractor set from Academy. 

Link

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Friday, July 25, 2014 11:17 AM

G, I asked about the little tractor in your other thread. Now you mention Academy, I think I know what it is, I am pretty sure I have one of the sets. I think its the set that come with an Ambulance and a bomb trolley.  

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Friday, July 25, 2014 11:13 AM

CMK, finding good 72nd figures is not easy. The biggest range is German ground crew and pilots, with revell and Airfix sets, plus a few from Preiser and a few resin CMK sets. For USAAF sets, there is only Airfix, one small set from Preiser and a few CMK sets., For RAF, there is Airfix and Revell and a couple of CMK.

I find ground equipment the tricky one. For RAF/USAAF there is a good range from Flightpath.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Friday, July 25, 2014 9:49 AM

CMK02: Thanks! The figures are mostly from Preiser, a German company that does mostly railroad related figures, they have an USAAF and a Luftwaffe set in both 1/48th and 1/72nd.

Link

The truck is from Academy and the Jeep from Heller. I believe the tractor is Academy too but can't remember that clearly. 

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: AandF in the Badger State
Posted by checkmateking02 on Friday, July 25, 2014 9:31 AM

Thanks, guys.  I have hopes to finish things up this weekend.

Bob, I know how that goes.  One of the things to contemplate during building is what to add when--so I don't knock something off, especially when it's impossible to put it back on.

Gamera, the dio of Virgo looks great.  Just had a look at it.  Good motivation to get Aries finished.

Where did you get the figures from?  There never seems to be much available out there in 1/72.

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    February 2014
  • From: Michigan
Posted by silentbob33 on Friday, July 25, 2014 7:39 AM

Looking good CMK. I almost always get little "dings" here and there when I unmask.  And it seems like with every other  project I break something major off.  I think the decals look great despite the problems you've been having.

On my bench: Academy 1/35 UH-60L Black Hawk

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Thursday, July 24, 2014 10:37 PM

CMK02: I know what you mean about one step forward and one step back. Still the nose art and the clear parts look great!

Guys, yes Charlie McGill was the pilot, only met him once when I started work on the B-24, sadly he passed away before I finished it. I found the photos but they're a little blurry. I posted them over in the Diorama section.

Link

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: AandF in the Badger State
Posted by checkmateking02 on Thursday, July 24, 2014 9:26 PM

Yeah, stik; I even got the wings attached after posting those photos.  

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Thursday, July 24, 2014 7:34 PM

Getting real close there now CMK

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: AandF in the Badger State
Posted by checkmateking02 on Thursday, July 24, 2014 7:32 PM

Some progress photos. 

I unmasked the windows, and managed to dislodge the astrodrome.  Also pulled up some paint on the cockpit canopy frame.  In the process of fixing both.  I could make progress if it weren't for all the repair work. Bang Head

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Thursday, July 24, 2014 4:02 PM

gamera, I hope you can find those pics. Do you still have the build.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: AandF in the Badger State
Posted by checkmateking02 on Thursday, July 24, 2014 3:54 PM

Would that have been Lt. Charlie McGill?  The 486th BG website lists him as pilot of "Virgo." for 11 missions.  He must have had some stories to tell.

I for one would like to see the photos of your build.

Flat-coated the fuselage and wings today; applied some powdered pastel for engine exhaust staining; worked on the nose and tail turrets; painted de-icer boots on the rudders.

Not much substance there for photos, but the day is still young.

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Thursday, July 24, 2014 9:06 AM

CMK02: Again, very nice work there. I hate it when I cement something together and find sanding dust inside where I can't reach it so I hope it's not that.

Interesting facts about the two Aries, I had no idea. I think I'd mentioned building the same kit as Virgo for the pilot of that aircraft some years back. Sucks that he passed away a few weeks before I finished her. I found the photos the other night- will have to see about posting them over in the dio section.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: AandF in the Badger State
Posted by checkmateking02 on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 1:34 PM

Sounds plausible, Bish.  From what I've found, artist Sgt. Brinkman had some different designs.  There were apparently two for "Leo," and "Taurus" was never finished, so maybe the lone ram was his first concept.  Interesting historical digression, anyway.

Here's the Martin top turret.  There was originally a flange at the bottom of the solid piece, intended to sandwich the assembly between the fuselage and hold it in place.  I filed it off, and will just drop it in place.  It didn't fit well anyway. 

And the ball turret.  I'll have to glue this into the fuselage, since the bracket inside the fuselage broke once the fuselage was closed up.  It fell out, and defied my efforts to replace it. 

Looks like sanding dust got stuck inside.  I'll try blowing it out with my compressor--but then, maybe it's imperfections in the clear molding.  Didn't notice it until looking at the photo.

The main wheels.  I've already installed the nose wheel.

And the engine nacelles.

Currently working on the nose and tail turrets.  They'll be kind of unsightly, since they are each split in two pieces from side to side, right through the clear areas. 

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 10:33 AM

Clearly that did do their research. they must have seen the markings and thought Zodiac, it must belong to the 486th.

That other Aires, it joined the 44th, BG in Nov 44, several months before the 486th came over, so I am guessing this was the first one. then when the Zodiac Sq came over and had their Aires, they renamed the first one. That seems the most logical explanation to me.

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • From: AandF in the Badger State
Posted by checkmateking02 on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 10:25 AM

It appears the Academy people didn't do their homework, either.  Thanks for the link Jack.  I see that the alternate "Aries" was assigned to the 44th BG.

Thanks also for the info, Bish and stik.  I'll proceed as planned, and will post some more progress photos later today.  Had a little trouble with the nose and tail turrets I need to see to.

 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 7:08 PM

Yes crews usually, but not always flew the same aircraft. For example, Flak Bait's normal (and third) crew was bumped out of her so the Group commander could fly her for her milestone 200th mission. But usually the reasons are more mundane. The crew may be on leave or pass, or some reason of rank and mission number seniority. Another not so well known example of not using the crews assigned aircraft are both Enola Gay and Bock's Car. Both were flown on their Atomic Bomb missions by pilots who were not regularly assigned to them. The Enola Gay nose art was added just prior to that mission at the direction of Col. Tibbets, and really upset her normally assigned aircraft commander. That was "his ship" and not Col. Tibbets assigned mount.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    April 2006
  • From: ON, Canada
Posted by jgeratic on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 7:02 PM

Checkmate - I think whatever it is you chose decal wise, it will look great.  It is a bugger when the information is out there in bits and pieces.

It does seem there were two aircraft named Aries.  The one with the lone  ram artwork seems to have been renamed RAM IT DAMMIT at some point, according to this site;

http://www.b24bestweb.com/aries-v2-1.htm

regards,

Jack

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England
Posted by Bish on Tuesday, July 22, 2014 5:38 PM

I guess its possible the other crews plane's were unserviceable, and for some reason McCabes were rested or something.

I don't think I would get to stressed over it. You can only go so far, and then just have to make a decision. I don't think you will be excluded from the GB if it is later shown your mission marks are not 100% correct.  

I am a Norfolk man and i glory in being so

 

On the bench: Airfix 1/72nd Harrier GR.3/Fujimi 1/72nd Ju 87D-3

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