Pearl Harbor '13 build thank you

joe

joe

joe

I probably wont finish in time, but I will finish by the end of the weekend. Just too many things going on, cant push the painting process too fast. Right now it's primed white and I will be masking the strips on the fuselage and painting the grey green on.

I'm just about there! Paint done, decals on (there were only a few), and last little pieces glued in. Now I'm working on the rigging. I found some some jewelry making wire at a local Hobby Lobby that looks like it will do the trick. I'm trying like heck to get it done by Saturday.

Fingers crossed,

Pete

Thanks, Clemens!  

Tony:  outstanding results on the Wildcat and the P-40.  They look great.

december 7 1941, a day which will live in infamy.

the "attack" begins at approximately 7:51. at approximately 11:00 the last plane landed on the japanese carriers. the time between is filled with death and destruction and the end of paradise. six carriers. approximately 350 aircraft. a plan designed to be just a distraction for the main thrust into the south pacific by japanese naval and army units. just a distraction, one designed to cripple the united states navy so that the japanese could move freely through the pacific.

in the end 2388 military and civilian dead. 2107 navy and marine as well as 233 army and 48 civilians. 1109 military and civilian wounded. 710 navy and marine as well as 364 army and 35 civilians. 44 states represented, as well as the district of columbia, guam, the phillipines, and hawaii. 16 congressional medal of honors given as well as 51 navy crosses, 53 silver stars, four navy and marine corps medals, one distinguished service medal, and three bronze stars. 8 battleships sunk or heavily damaged, one minelayer sunk, two auxilliaries sunk or capsized and one heavily damaged. 169 aircraft lost, 92 navy and 77 army. 150 damaged, 31 navy and 128 army. all this in 110 minutes of combat.

for this amount of damage the japanese lost nine fighters, 15 dive bombers, and five torpedo planes. one I-class submarine was lost as well as the five midget subs. the casualties; 55 airmen, 121 submarine crewmen, and nine midget sub crewmen.

these facts taken from several sources.

the attack was so quick, so sudden, many of those killed didnt even know they were at war. even after the bombs and bullets started falling people didnt believe that they were being attacked. one report of a young man hunting with a cousin didnt believe there was an attack even after his cousin was killed. after that day the hawaiian islands were torn from being a territory governed by a few families to becoming a true part of the united states becoming a state not long after the war. the us navy was forced to change from a navy of battleship groups to a navy centered on the carrier.

today it is said that the arizona still weeps for her crew.

never to be forgotten.

joe

joe

joe

I tried my best to get it done on time, I've been up all night working on it. Its like 98% done. Just need to attach the canopy, bombs, and a few other small things. I'm getting too tired to do it without messing up. Its almost 5am here. I will finish it before the end of the day today.

ww2psycho it is a hobby.  go to bed.  dont stress over the "end date".

joe

I. AM. DONE!

I've been working like a dog to get this done. I wanted to make the deadline AND my ever obliging wife wants to put up a damn Christmas tree 

I have plenty of photos to share, but I am on my way out for the evening. I'll throw this one up for now and give the gory details tomorrow.

Can I get a badge for this?

 

Wow, Pete. I like this. How about some close up shots of the engine and cockpit?

Nice work, Pete!

very sharp.  very sharp indeed.  and yes.  the end date is dec 7.  a badge you have earned sir.

joe

Nice work Pete!  I've started my P-40 and will finish sometime next week.  Joe, you did a good job with this build.  Keep your eyes peeled for when the Collings Foundation comes to town (if you're in the US).  They just purchased what is believed to be the only flying P-40 that survived the Pearl Harbor attack.  They will be flying it along with the other rare aircraft in their collection.  Will post pics when I'm done.

She's looking damn good, Pete!

Thanks to all for the positive feedback. It means a lot. This is the third model I have finished since getting back into the hobby after a 20 year (or so) lay off. It was a lot of fun to do, even though I rushed it to make the deadline. I'm glad I have another copy of this kit as I'd like to do it again. 

Anyways, I'll include some photos of the build as it progressed. I did have some photos of the interior before it was all closed up, but my last laptop died and took those pics with it. From memory I can say that I painted the interior with Alclad Aluminum and added some Eduard seat belts to the seat. The exterior was primed with Mr. Surfacer 1200. I made my first attempt at pre-shading with a little bit of success. You'll see that I had a shaky hand at times. On my next build I will go deeper with the black and lighter with the top coats. The shading is all but lost except for some that is still visible on the wings. The plane was topcoated with MM Enamel Olive Drab and Neutral gray. I then hit the plane with Future for the decals. The decals themselves didn't go down as cleanly as I hoped. Maybe next time more Future?

After decaling I had to do the rigging. It was more of a PIA than I expected. While I like the look of the jewelry wire I used, I feel it was a bit too thick (.015") and that contributed to a lot of the pain. Where the wire attached to to the plane at the fuselage and the wheels is not my best work and is one of the reasons I want to do this kit again. I used a heavy EZ line for the antenna and really liked how that came out. Finally, while I do have the bomb rack painted and built, I left it off as I;m guessing they may not have been on the plane at the time of the attack.

I had a lot of fun with this and learned  ton. Now I have to get started on my Vietnam group build. I'm going to try and tackle the Encore Edition of the F-102A Delta Dagger.

Finally, can someone tell me how to include the badge in my signature. It'll be my first and I'm kinda proud of that  

More photos. They wouldn't all go through the first time:

 

Nice work Pete, I really like it!

The Val is done, I'll get pics up soon. It's going to sit on my shelf for a bit so I can stare at it and not risk breaking anything. Surprisingly I never broke and of the antennas off or the one of the wing which is a first.

Great work Pete. It's good to see a P-26 in that scheme too. Nice work on the cockpit and rigging too, very neat.

cheers

Tony

Joe,

I'm not much good at this, so I've gone for something simple. This is my submission for a GB Badge, please use it if you like to, or suggest changes.

Cheers

Tony

tony it looks very good to me.  i believe there have been a couple of badges submitted.  

for those who have finished you have your choice.  wear with pride, you earned them.

joe

those who finished today.  this build was never about the badge for me.  in the spirit intended, please display your badge.  you have earned them.    the official part of this build is now complete.  

the completed post has been updated minus ww2psycho's val.  will get that up as soon as pics are posted.

joe

Joe-

Thanks for putting this group build together. I loved researching the P-26. And I'm not done yet. I'm joining other group builds to continue my education. As I tell my students, "Knowledge, in any subject, is power."  And know that besides talking to my children about Nelson Mandela last week, I also talked to them about the remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. I even mentioned the Group Build.

Thanks again,

PeteG

Joe-

Thanks for putting this group build together. I loved researching the P-26. And I'm not done yet. I'm joining other group builds to continue my education. As I tell my students, "Knowledge, in any subject, is power."  And know that besides talking to my children about Nelson Mandela last week, I also talked to them about the remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day. I even mentioned the Group Build.

Thanks again,

pete it was a pleasure to build along with you.  this is exactly the reason i promote this build. 

joe

My Val and Tiger took a dive off the shelf today. So no pictures. I will hopefully be able to repair it.