US CARRIER AVIATION GROUP BUILD 2013

I know I posted about joining but cant find the post.  Not sure if I posted the sprue shot but I'm going to build a Fujimi F-4B as a Navy F-4G.  

I've started by painting the True Details seats with a black base coat to sea what I'm working with.  Now I have to figure out what to use for the face curtain handles since the True Details seats don't come with them.  I'm going to play with some different wire and see what I come up with.

>>>Greg, the 'smoke' is Tamiya's Clear Smoke X-19.

Ahah! Thank you, Dre.

checkmateking02

I've been behind in checking in, but the progress and artistry of the builds are very impressive.

Eric:  that's great looking weathering on your Wildcat.

SSpartan:  your Wildcat is building up nicely; I like the black and white touch on the landing gear.  Looks sharp.

John:  the S-3 is looking good; looking forward to seeing the paint go on after the sanding

Dre:  that is excellent detail and painting in the bays; very sharp!

MA:  what you're doing with the interior is outstanding; well-done!

Ghostrider:  haven't worked much with PE but what I have done makes me sympathize!  Fiddly is the right word for it

I enjoy seeing everyone's progress.

Now for some of my progress:

here are my Wildcats, with the canopies masked.  I settled on doing 12 of them.

That looks like a petri dish growing micro organisms!!!

Dre

Ah, well...   the dread tweezerpult has no known adversary, only victims.   I've been lucky a few times to find the PE part that goes 'ping' into the air, but more often than not it is listed MIA.

Sharpened toothpicks make great CA applicators.

The tweezerpult has happened to me countless times...it's the carpet monster, that gets me. I know where it landed but it just disappears, just to wind up in a new area!

Greg, the 'smoke' is Tamiya's Clear Smoke X-19. 

Toothpicks, wire, cut up sewing needles..   whatever it takes to get that tiny glob of CA put in the right place.

Dre, very glad to hear I'm not the only one who has the flying parts/tweezer dilemna, thanks for that. Hadn't thought of sharpening a toothpick, thanks, I'll try it.

Also, can you further define the 'smoke' part of smoke + Future? Results look great, would like to try but don't know what "clear smoke" is. TIA

Marty, thanks for the tip. Is my understanding that the commercially available CA applicator is actually just as you describe. (mfg name escapes me right now). It's just to big a glob of glue for many PE apps, but then again it's likely my technique at this stage of the game. :) Appreciate your input.

I can't wait to see pictures of it!

I managed to finish off the Hellcat last night.  Longest delay was getting the fuel tank right.  I sprayed it white, then salted and sprayed with a mix of smoke and heavily diluted burnt umber to give the impression of a dirty fuel tank.  Didn't look as sharp on white as it does when I use the technique on gray tanks, but it's passable.  I'll post some pics this evening.  I've started work on the F-14.  Mainly with the cockpit.  I have built one of the Hobbyboss F-14s before so I know the gotchas and have been reluctant to dive in just yet.  But now that the Hellcat is off the bench I can begin work in full.

Ooooo, a YAK-38 or a YAK-141  Vtol.

Marty: This GB is much more popular than I expected it to be, so the participation is a lot! That's why I am thinking of making this an annual GB! I'm sorry that this wasn't clear from my initial post (I corrected it already)

A big "thank you" to all of you for participating and making this GB as nice as it is! You guys are awesome!

Well, this year is USN/USMC-only, so maybe next year's version could be open to all other nationalities?   I could do up an Italian Harrier for that...

So is participation a lot, or not enough?

With already 23 participants and 28 projects announced (a lot) after only 4 weeks, I decided that I'll probably make this GB annual. I thought about making the following parts of it without a nation restriction, but I leave both decisions to you (annual GB?, all nations or just US?)

Cheers, Clemens

The Future/smoke mix should be dullcoated for some uses and applications, but it's a great sealer/wash combo that cuts time and effort.

Dre: Smoke and Future- brilliant!.  And nice work on the wells. I'm definitely going to need to go to school on you.

I had success combining future and acrylic dull coat to cut the shine; I may use your recipe for cockpit wash.  Easier than spraying the whole shooting match with future just for an oil wash.

CA applicators: I saw a tip somewhere and grabbed a sewing needle from my wife's kit and used my dremel to cut off HALF of the eyelet (horizontally).  Picture the shaft of the needle widening into the eyelet, which is now cut off.  You have a tiny 'fork' that is perfect for picking up a wee bit of CA.

I shoved the sharp end into an old paintbrush handle that had lost it's bristles, and now I have another tool that is big enough it doesn't get lost!

Ah, well...   the dread tweezerpult has no known adversary, only victims.   I've been lucky a few times to find the PE part that goes 'ping' into the air, but more often than not it is listed MIA.

Sharpened toothpicks make great CA applicators.

Dre, thanks for the PE cutting tip, cool idea!

Have yet to lose one removing from fret, though. The seem to go flying into never land from my tweezers occasionally is my problem. And yes, I have very good tweezers but starting to think maybe not good enough. Been hesitant to spend upwards of $50 US on a tweezer, but might give it a go. Also rethinking the blu-tac/toothpic applicator idea. Haven't had much luck with it but was probably dabbing on too much adhesive. I'm finding that my definition of a small spot of glue is changing radically regarding PE. :)

Thanks, this is the easy stuff...     I may yet add another, different colored wash to these.  

I couldn't imagine those wheel bays to look even better, but with the washing on, they do! I love your work, mate!

Greg- get a large enough plastic zip-lock type bag to hold the PE fret and cut the parts inside the bag so that if they go flying then they'll be somewhere inside the bag.   That should cut down on missing parts.

update time:

the wheel bays have been washed with a mixture of Future and Tamiya Clear Smoke to simulate oily buildup and residue.   I may go back in and swab some windex-soaked ear buds around to show "cleaning".

After all the years of looking for a good, easy to use wash I have to say that Future mixed with clear Smoke is the best solution to recreate oily aircraft interiors.   It has a slight warm tone when dried that looks a lot like petroleum by-products.

Ghost, that panel looks vaguely familiar (I am building the same kit for the GB) :) Looking good!

This kit represents my first adventure with PE, how about you? How many parts have you lost so far? I think about 4 for me. Brain grinding away at ideas for a PE part loss-resistant work cage of some sort, doubt I'll ever go anywhere with it, though. :)

Checkmate, almost fell off my recliner when I saw your progress pics. Head started spinning a bit considering masking a 1/700th canopy. Built, or shall I say 'worked on' a carrier as a kid, surely don't recall the airplanes having been molded in clear. Reckon Trumpeter has done that to accommodate what you are doing, then? Looking good!

Nice work on the masking, Checkmate! I simply wouldn't be able to build and paint planes in such a small scale...

Checkmateking02- the very idea of masking a 1/700 canopy gives me fits.    Can't wait to see the squadron all finished.

I've been behind in checking in, but the progress and artistry of the builds are very impressive.

Eric:  that's great looking weathering on your Wildcat.

SSpartan:  your Wildcat is building up nicely; I like the black and white touch on the landing gear.  Looks sharp.

John:  the S-3 is looking good; looking forward to seeing the paint go on after the sanding

Dre:  that is excellent detail and painting in the bays; very sharp!

MA:  what you're doing with the interior is outstanding; well-done!

Ghostrider:  haven't worked much with PE but what I have done makes me sympathize!  Fiddly is the right word for it

I enjoy seeing everyone's progress.

Now for some of my progress:

here are my Wildcats, with the canopies masked.  I settled on doing 12 of them.

Here's a close up.  I cut very thin pieces of common, painter-variety, low tack masking tape and outlined the canopy, then filled in with MicroMask.

The first coat of paint is WEM's Bronze Green, used by Grumman for the cockpit.  Even in such a small scale as 1/700, it is possible to see the interior color through the canopy.

 After this dries, I'll start with the exterior colors.  Thanks for looking.

Hey guys, thanks for the encouragement. One technique that I've used to my benefit involves nothing but time. I need to think about a problem for a while to get a good solution. My drawing skills are poor, but I just sketch a simple representation of my issue and then think about it. I've only identified the issue with the crew door and the EW compartment bulkhead a couple of days ago, and have been noodling it since.

The other thing is that I have bought a number of packs of Evergreen and Plastruct styrene ver the years. As you might guess, I buy a lot of stuff long before I need it. E.g. I bought an aires 1/48 F-4C resin pit 2 months ago, even tho I don't have a kit yet. Just know I want to do a SEA bird at some point.  

John, re: visible.

I have made the decision to open the EW crew door, but it is under the wing so it won't be highly visible. There will be windows into the compartment,  so a bit might be visible through those. The aircrew hatch may be much more visible, as the flor of the cockpit is actually the top of the egress slide. The whole idea is that it is just a slide down and out.  

Thank you, Marty! I ordered the Navy Skyraider at Hannants a few seconds ago and it should arrive untill the end of this month. I hope it isn't too difficult to backdate this bird, because I like them best in overall dark blue...

Cheers, Clemens

Clemens,

I've got some stuff at home that will help you.  First make sure you get the Naval version (box art with the Bumblebee on the tail) not the AF Vietnam Camo. (I have both, and while the parts are probably in the AF box, you'll at least end up with some decals you can use).

You will need to back date a bit, not sure exactly what needs to be done, but my sources should have some details.

Go get 'em!

Looks great, Ghosstrider! Those Eduard IPs are fiddly as hell, but really worth the effort (well, most of them at least)

I finally gave up on the desk and took over the dining room table as a temporary workspace.

I started with the Eduard Photoetch IP.  For less then ten parts, it has to be the most complicated and fiddly bit of modeling I have ever done.

I have a question to you guys:

I am thinking of buying me Tamiya's Skyraider kit. What do I have to change so I can paint it up in blue?

Cheers, Clemens