US CARRIER AVIATION GROUP BUILD 2013

Wow, those seatbelts really make a difference. It sounded like they were a bit of a pain but came out really nice!  Looking good...

Don't worry about the struts, an easy fix....just be glad it wasn't on the fuselage halves!

Taps88

Taps88

Clemens,

Take a look at the landing gear assembly.

See the part, that will glue under the wings (looks like a small garden shovel)? I am thinking that should be the same color, as the under carriage, not black.

What do you think? I will try to find some pics on that.

Looks like the same color as the under side will be:

Well, I went back and repainted, the one section of the landing gear, to the correct color (light grey part)

I'm going to make sure everything looks ok and I will airbrush a coat of Future on, before the weathering process starts.

Yes, those seatbelts do make a difference  they are definately worth thee money and effort!

I had some problems assembling them. Firstly, there are no instructions! Just a picture of how they should look when finished. I had no clue how to glue them together, so I decided to just make them look right from the front they are by no means assembled like they are intended to.

Your landing gear looks nice btw!

I just have to figure out how to get the struts in the gear bay... I glued the fuselage parts together already...

Cheers, Clemens

SchattenSpartan

Yes, those seatbelts do make a difference  they are definately worth thee money and effort!

I had some problems assembling them. Firstly, there are no instructions! Just a picture of how they should look when finished. I had no clue how to glue them together, so I decided to just make them look right from the front they are by no means assembled like they are intended to.

Your landing gear looks nice btw!

I just have to figure out how to get the struts in the gear bay... I glued the fuselage parts together already...

Cheers, Clemens

I have also.

I did a test fit, before I painted the fuselage. It takes some time, moving them around, but I got them to fit. I tried again and they seemed to " loosen up".. meaning it was easier to get them in place.the fit was perfect. Just don't force it. I almost did and stopped myself. If you wiggle them back and forth, they get into place. If you have left off the piece, that I had to repaint...good!! It seems it would be better to leave it off, then attach after the gear are in place. I will just have to be EXTRA careful, when attaching them.

Cheers my friend..

Here's an update....

Getting ready, to give my Wildcat, an airbrushed coat of Future & also dip the canopies, in prep for the weather process. This is the part, that I really don't like. I'm always afraid of messing something up. Light coats...light coats!

Will post some pics, when it's done (or show you the disaster, I've created)

No, I'm talking about the struts on page 3 of the Instructions.

I'll just repost one of your pictures to make it easier to explain:

I left them off because i screwed them up as well (I hate gloss paint), so I have to glue them in with the fuselage together already... The locating pins for the larger piece are missing to make things even worse...

Cheers, Clemens

SchattenSpartan

No, I'm talking about the struts on page 3 of the Instructions.

I'll just repost one of your pictures to make it easier to explain:

I left them off because i screwed them up as well (I hate gloss paint), so I have to glue them in with the fuselage together already... The locating pins for the larger piece are missing to make things even worse...

Cheers, Clemens

Ok, I understand now. I didn't notice this until you said something. So, you are missing the locators, that are on the outside of the cockpit bulkhead? Was this pic BEFORE you had the mishap? If so, get the gear close and I would use superglue, so they attach quickly, no time for the part to move.

Where the gear actually attach, inside the fuselage, isn't really visible, once everything is in place. Just make sure it's even, so the gear sit evenly. You've worked through the belts..this should be a piece of cake

I'll try that. Thank you. I should be able to post some pics tomorrow or on Sunday

Future has been airbrushed without incident Canopies dipped and shown in position, just for this pic. I will let it dry, then weathering can begin. Nice & shiny!:

Just a hint. Maybe file down, the struts at an angle, so they meet flush against the bulkhead.

Good luck!

Taps88- that's looking good!

I hate the Wildcat/Hellcat landing gear....  just sayin'.

Dre

Taps88- that's looking good!

I hate the Wildcat/Hellcat landing gear....  just sayin'.

I'll take the Hellcat landing gear any day!

No love for the P-47's landing gear?

Not too crazy about the Jug to start with..  sorry.

Dre

Not too crazy about the Jug to start with..  sorry.

BLASPHEMY! Just kidding

I guess I shouldn't mention the FW109D is my fav? Dora was an awesome gal

(pay no attention to my avatar)

My oils paints of choice, for this wash: Burnt Sienna first (salt air/water rusting), then Lamp Black (grease & grime). I don't want  too rusty of a look:

Wash mix applied. You can see the mix between rust & grime....time for a long dry before removing:

There's nothing wrong with a Wurger, I wish I had the desire to finish my PCM kit..

Wash is done

I'll let dry overnight. I'll try to do some more painting tomorrow, as well as add some of the smaller parts and  weather, with pastels. It has to be dry enough to airbrush another coat of Future, though. 

That's looking real sharp Eric!

68GT

That's looking real sharp Eric!

Thank you, Ed!

Yep, really nice work on the Wildcat, Eric!

i just glued the wings on and repainted the gear struts. They are in another off-white color now to add some difference in colors to the gear bay.and make painting easier (this one is in a semi-gloss color instead of high-gloss). I'll apply some heavy washing to the gear bay when everything is painted and glued in place.

My "Flying Barrel" (F3F-1) arrived this week at my LHS so I went there and picked her up. I got me some bottles of Alclad'sclear coat as well (flat, gloss, light sheen).

I'm not too sure on the color of the early Wildcats, but I think Gunze's "Intermediate Blue" mixed with a bit of white color should do the job. Please correct me if I'm wrong (yes, I'm talking to you, Rex!)

Cheers, Clemens

Hey, fellas!

Just some pics on how my Wildcat looks atm:

I hope I don't get any overspray into the pit...

Gear legs (they will get a coat of Alclad "light sheen"):

And some pics for you, Eric!

The engine Tamiya supplies in the kit is a nice replica of the real one, but compare it to this one:

I have to add some pushrods and wiring to that beauty, but it's a massive improvement compared to the kit parts.

As those nice engines from Quickboost is only 8€, I decided to pick one up for the Wildcat... YOu should check them out! Their products simply replace the kit parts and look much better. All of that at a fair price as well!

Cheers, Clemens

The F3F-1 by Accurate Miniatures is an awesome kit btw. It's a shame that they don't exist anymore. They made some nice kits...

I'll do a in-box review of this kit at some time. It is really lovely! I love the instructions. You can tell that the guy who made them built the model himself actually!

Dang, you guys are fast!   Nice work on the paint and weathering so far, Taps88.   That grey looks great.

Looking good Clemens.   Those Quickboost sets are nice, oh yes.  

Dre

Dang, you guys are fast!   Nice work on the paint and weathering so far, Taps88.   That grey looks great.

Looking good Clemens.   Those Quickboost sets are nice, oh yes.  

Comon' Dre...we're waiting on you

Just kidding. I've been off of work..hurt my back about a month ago and it's been nothing but doctors and tests and therapy. I finally had a week, all to myself. Wife at work, daughter in school. I had modeling bliss, EVERY DAY!  That's why I completed so much.

Well, now wife is home and off next week, on vacation and my daughter is out of school for the summer. I will have to model when I can...usually get up EARLY, like 4:00am and have coffee and get stuff done.

Not much going on today, for me. The wifey and daughter wanted the pool open, so I had to get all the pumps and stuff ready. Now, I'm grilling so, I won't have a chance to work on anything until late or in the morning.

I have slipped in my hobby room and was working on the Darth Vader figure, for my other GB. Shhh don't tell my wife, or else.... 

SchattenSpartan

Yep, really nice work on the Wildcat, Eric!

i just glued the wings on and repainted the gear struts. They are in another off-white color now to add some difference in colors to the gear bay.and make painting easier (this one is in a semi-gloss color instead of high-gloss). I'll apply some heavy washing to the gear bay when everything is painted and glued in place.

My "Flying Barrel" (F3F-1) arrived this week at my LHS so I went there and picked her up. I got me some bottles of Alclad'sclear coat as well (flat, gloss, light sheen).

I'm not too sure on the color of the early Wildcats, but I think Gunze's "Intermediate Blue" mixed with a bit of white color should do the job. Please correct me if I'm wrong (yes, I'm talking to you, Rex!)

Cheers, Clemens

that might work, I still can't find any reliable conversions charts that list the Gunze paints though, so I can't be sure.  The actual color in question is FS 35189 Blue Grey.

I have two different M-485 Blue Gray paints here in the plastic ruination shop,,,,,,,my favorite is the Color of Eagles #3048, it matches the FS 350189 chip,,,,,,,but, it is OOP now, and I only have two bottles,,,,,,,,so, I have 2 bottles of Model Master Acrylic #4847 Blue Gray M-485,,,,,,,,,it is a little lighter and a bit bluer than the FS chip

I only need less than a dozen 1/72 scale prop planes for my planned theme,,,,,,,so, I think I have enough blue-gray to do the topsides of those

Dre: I'm so fast with building this kit, because it consists of a rather small amount of parts and is a blast to build! I just can't help it but keep on working on it everytime i sit down at my bench!

Rex: Thank you for the info. I have no access to MM paints sadly. Bad luck I guess...

I just finished sanding down the wing seams and I'm now working on filling any gaps.

Cheers, Clemens

As promised, here is a quick update.  Big weekend as my daughter graduates from university, parents in etc.  

These are the initial results of my molding process.  It turns out the 2 part resin sets w/in 90 seconds, so it is mix pour and no fooling around. The canoe came out ok, .will need some filler and sanding, but you can see the damage when trying to get the nacelles out of the mold. As always, a learning experience. Seats are a bit rough, but they can be fixed.

I also have made some decent progress on the EW station in back.  Lots of fiddly work, but starting to come together.  It will definitely be a facsimile rather than an accurate reproduction, but in 1/72 their aren't a lot of tiny options, and my scratch skills are pretty suspect.

FalconMod,

Yes, just west of Uptown. You?