Mike - looks good to me, but I'll let the experts weigh in.

Along those lines, I took my first stab at doing an oil wash today, after much research and dithering.  I figured I'd post a pic and let you guys tell me if I'm actually doing this right, lol.

I think it captures the dusty look that I'm after, but I'm not sure if the color is too light or not. I used Burnt Umber. It actually looks a bit more red in the picture than it does in real life.

Funny story: After much-too-much stressing over using accurate paint colors, I finally told myself to stop it.  I'd get as close as I could and just get a @$&* model built.  So after many weeks of stressing about it, I see in my pictures that my camera (well...me) is unable to accurately reproduce the colors I used anyway!

So, anyway here's my cockpit pics.  The green is quite a few shades darker than it appears.  There seems to be a ton of discussion on what color green to paint the Mustang interior.  So, I took the advice of one guy (can't remember who or even which site) and mixed 10 parts Model Master Green Zinc Chromate with 1 part Testors Flat Black.

And I took my first stab at weathering.  I painted the floor Testors Gloss Wood and then went sloppily over the top with Flat Black.  I then carefully scrapped away a little more right where the pilots feet would be.  I think it turned out OK.  Something I'll have to work on.

The office:

Fuselage halves assembled:

Thanks Gary. In for a penny, in for a pound... I am now debating how much to add to the rear or the aircraft at the gunners stations... There will be some... Just not sure how much...

Stik,

Those scratch-built modifications are really great!  This needs bigger windows. 

Gary

After this one, I will have to confidence to do the Revell B-17F that I have been wanting to do that is in my stash. It's not as hard as I thought to do this stuff.

Great work there Stik. I am getting the bug for scratchbuiling myself after the He 111Z and current 88. And as bob says, you know its there, and it can be seen if you look hard enough I am sure.

I have never done one of those before. But between the single window on each side, and the open front , most of my work will be visible from one angle or another.

Hey SP, that looks great, you should have done a cut-away so people can appreciate all the extra work you put in there!  

Thanks Bob. I have one of the old Monogram SBDs that I have slowly been working on over the years. I just wish that my scratch building on that had been at the level that it is now. But I still have the TBF to tackle one day as well. With the lessons learned on both. But feel free to hit me up- hopefully I can help. There used to be AM sets for both of those kits. Eduard made stuff for the Avenger, and a company called Medallion Models made resin & white metal updates for both.

Stik, your scratchbuilding looks amazing!  I've been reading up on scratchbuilding for my Revell Dauntless and Avenger since there doesn't seem to be much in the way of resin cockpits for those two birds in 1/48.  I just might have to consult you when I get around to building them.  And it doesn't matter if it's all that visible or not, you'll know it's there...

Another middle of the night "eureka"... I was trtying to figure out a chair base for the radio station and just was not coming up with anything in my spares bin. Then in the night it came to me, I remembered that I had cut off a radial engine crankcase gearhouse and I could modify it into a part the generally resembles the real base... so first thing this morning I went and found the part and  filed in some grooves, then made some strip styrene adjustment tracks. I also modified a pilot's seat salvaged from my original Marauder build, removing the base mounts

Next I scratch built the floor area of the compartment from sheet and strip styrene. I made the floor path corrugations from triangular strips 10mm long... many of them...

then I made the framework for the radio rack and navigator chart table

then I reached the point where those parts were nearly finished

then I put it in place for a test fit

then just to make sure I was not missing anything I had another look at photos of "Flak Bait's" radio compartment. I noticed there was a rather prominent lamp for the chart table. A few pieces of rod and strip styrene

glued into place on the front bulkhead

and with it test fitted in place

OK, it's official, I have too much time to work on things like this. This work will barely be visible...

Stik: That's some really neat scratchbuilding work!

todays update... scratch work in the radio compartment... first step, bare plastic... on the rear bulkhead, I added a portion of the cockpit bulkhead salvaged from my orginal Maurader built way back when... in teh second step I show the added work with strip styrene and components salvaged from various builds... and finally my use of wire to replicate various lines. While none of it is exact and precise, it is all based upon photos of "Flak Bait" in this area and looks the part...

Front bulkhead

rear bulkhead

We are not alone Wayne! I'll bring the paint! But I don't think they will let us have sharp tools in there...

hey stik

we canm start an ipms chapter in the looney bin. i do this a lot but, as i have a flexible schedule, i look at my model building dreams as my subconsicous focusing on what it considers important at that time. i consider this means this is what i want to focus on.

Which is more than I am at the min.

Yes I am finally in the game!

Nice to see you started stik.

Nice pic raven.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.................... NICE!!!!!

Check out this gorgeous dame. 'Dinah Might' - Utah Beach Museum, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, Normandy, France.

Now I want to build a bomber. Must focus!

Hmmmmmmm, SP, I go the opposite way- you wake up to model, I doze off while trying to model....

She looks good, I really like the radio gear you're adding. Have the same kit in the stash, I'll be watching see what tricks and techniques you use here on yours. 

bitbite

No, stik.  There's something seriously wrong with you.  

More than you know my freind 

Raven, glad to know that I will have company when the men in the white coats arrive...

Ok, if there are no photos, it didnt happen, so here we go...

first up, a base coat of Humbrol Aluminum in the interior

then a close up on the cockpit rear bulkhead, front and rear, that my midnite sleep creativity told me to alter... apologies for the poor focus, but you get the idea

first step- open the molded in curtains

then a rummaging thru my spares bin for radio gear salvaged off of old builds now gone...

and finally I put some assemblies together... with glue!!!

Cockpit and bombardier deck

wings

and the horizontal stablizers

more to follow in the near future...

No, stik.  There's something seriously wrong with you.  

Oh yes Stik, I painted my Sherman probably a half-dozen times while dreaming and half awake. 

Note to self: do not tinker with an in progress build you are considering modifying before bedtime. Last nite after work I did just that. I was mulling over adding the radio compartment detail in my Marauder, so I went thru my spares bin to see what I had to do such a task. Then I went to bed. A few hours later, before first light when I am normally in my deepest sleep ( normally go to bed between 1am and 2am after work), I wake up alert as can be and with ideas on just how to do such things to my Marauder and make it a bit more visible to boot aside from the two very small windows. Eventually I went back to sleep. But now after losing those hours of sleep I suppose I should do it...

Do things like that happen to anyone else here?

Budding Tamiya fans I see. I prefer water based acrylics for a lot of reasons, but Tamiya is the brew of choice for many top modelers because it airbrushes so well especially at very thin mixtures. If you're not doing it, you should use lacquer thinner with either Tamiya or Gunze paints. What defines an acrylic paint is very much in the eye of the beholder, but both Tamiya and Gunze Mr. Color paints are solvent based. (Note the flammable and toxic warnings - getting that stuff on the bottle caused a shortage of both brands a couple years back as they changed their labels.) Unless you're very careless I can't think of any reason to think that either are unsafe. But you will find that both react exceptionally well to lacquer thinner - with the following qualification. Do not use hardware store lacquer thinner on plastic - it's much too strong. (Not bad for roughing up PE before priming though.) There's a "green" lacquer out there, and I use it all the time for airbrush cleaning. But what you want is Tamiya Lacquer Thinner - not their A-20 Acrylic Thinner. The chemical make-up of the two is very different. (A-20 is mostly ISP.) Tamiya's lacquer thinner comes in bottles with a yellow cap. Gunze Mr. Color Thinner is almost the same and either work fine with Tamiya or Gunze paint. But I'd track down some Gunze Mr. Levelling Thinner. You might have to go to eBay, but that stuff does wonders. (If you can't find it, the regular lacquer will do just fine.)  All the branded lacquer thinners interact well with the solvent agent and don't degrade the coherence of the paint seriously. They also come with some drying retarder to help with airbrush tip clogging which will happen very quickly with Tamiya using A-20. (Put some ISP in a little cup and some lacquer thinner - watch how fast the ISP evaporates.) This really shines when you do detailing or camo painting that requires a very thin mixture and low psi. I can see why armor gurus like Mig Jimenez love the stuff.

Eric

I receive no such gratuities... Only the peace of mind from knowing I have helped a fellow modeler ;-)

silentbob, stik made me get that same kit for my M4.  I'm beginning to think he's getting some kind of commission from these sales . . .

They are nice guns though.  The .50s, not your biceps.

If you pick up the Academy MG set for your LCVP, you will need two. Each only comes with two .30's and a different pintle cradle mount for each one. So in order to get a matching pair you will need two sets. But then you will have plenty of very nice .50's to replace any mediocre ones on other kits you may have...

I've been eyeing that Academy set as well...and lots of figure kits much to my wife's dismay.  I keep telling myself all in good time ;)