First Annual USAF Vietnam Group Build

Ken and Tim thanks for sharing those pictures. I really want to go back to the Dayton museum again one day. A few years back I lived twelve miles from there and only went twice. Of course when you're ten years old you don't have a lot of say

Well I actually got the thud finished. Mixed up my witches brew of future and Tamiya flat and made it look dull. The pictures came out kind of shiny. And I need to do some work to make my photo's look better. Just not used to taking pictures of such a large model.

Anyway here it is ready to take off and take out the Fansong rader.

  [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/87208735@N08/]

Anyway this has been a fun build and I've learned a lot from it. Hoping my next model I'm working on turns out even better! And thanks Ken for hosting the group build.

Since the build is going on till next year I might enter another kit. I still have an F-100 and F-4 sitting in my stash. I'll let you know what I come up with.

David

GreySnake

Ken and Tim thanks for sharing those pictures. I really want to go back to the Dayton museum again one day. A few years back I lived twelve miles from there and only went twice. Of course when you're ten years old you don't have a lot of say

Well I actually got the thud finished. Mixed up my witches brew of future and Tamiya flat and made it look dull. The pictures came out kind of shiny. And I need to do some work to make my photo's look better. Just not used to taking pictures of such a large model.

Anyway here it is ready to take off and take out the Fansong rader.

 

  [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/87208735@N08/]

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway this has been a fun build and I've learned a lot from it. Hoping my next model I'm working on turns out even better! And thanks Ken for hosting the group build.

Since the build is going on till next year I might enter another kit. I still have an F-100 and F-4 sitting in my stash. I'll let you know what I come up with.

David

Hi David,

You did a great job!      That is a great looking F-105G!  It looks fantastic!

It was a pleasure having you and you are more than welcome to come back anytime with another project!  So do you have a favorite picture to use for the front page?

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Well we had a marathon local chapter IPMS meeting tonight.  Of course the main topic of discussion was Don's F-84E.  But we also talked about the colors for the cockpit on the SR-71A!  And just as I suspected, the base color is the standard FS 36231 Dark Gull Grey.  I do have that color on my shelf, so I will be painting tomorrow!

I also ordered a couple of reference books.  The first one is called "Aerofax Minigraph 1:  Lockheed SR-71 (A-12 / YF-12 /D-21)".  The second one is "Squadron Signal Publications SR-71 Blackbird in Action".  They both should be arriving some time in the middle of next week.

Ken

Hi, Ken,

All this talk about the Blackbird has had me looking for more information. Here are couple of links that I found that provide some interesting information about starting and maintaining the beast. Click on the Links Page link at the bottom of the page if you want to dig further:

http://www.blackbirds.net/u2/c_bennett/bbird-03.html

http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/ag330_sr.htm

I'll be watching this build with great interest!

Russ 

Wow, nice pictures Tim and Ken! The more I read about this plane, the more amazing it becomes. Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures!

Russ

GreySnake

Ken and Tim thanks for sharing those pictures. I really want to go back to the Dayton museum again one day. A few years back I lived twelve miles from there and only went twice. Of course when you're ten years old you don't have a lot of say

Well I actually got the thud finished. Mixed up my witches brew of future and Tamiya flat and made it look dull. The pictures came out kind of shiny. And I need to do some work to make my photo's look better. Just not used to taking pictures of such a large model.

Anyway here it is ready to take off and take out the Fansong rader.

~

Anyway this has been a fun build and I've learned a lot from it. Hoping my next model I'm working on turns out even better! And thanks Ken for hosting the group build.

Since the build is going on till next year I might enter another kit. I still have an F-100 and F-4 sitting in my stash. I'll let you know what I come up with.

 

David

Awesome job, David! 

Russ

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

Hi Everyone,

Well we had a marathon local chapter IPMS meeting tonight.  Of course the main topic of discussion was Don's F-84E.  But we also talked about the colors for the cockpit on the SR-71A!  And just as I suspected, the base color is the standard FS 36231 Dark Gull Grey.  I do have that color on my shelf, so I will be painting tomorrow!

I also ordered a couple of reference books.  The first one is called "Aerofax Minigraph 1:  Lockheed SR-71 (A-12 / YF-12 /D-21)".  The second one is "Squadron Signal Publications SR-71 Blackbird in Action".  They both should be arriving some time in the middle of next week.

Ken

Hi, Ken,

All this talk about the Blackbird has had me looking for more information. Here are couple of links that I found that provide some interesting information about starting and maintaining the beast. Click on the Links Page link at the bottom of the page if you want to dig further:

http://www.blackbirds.net/u2/c_bennett/bbird-03.html

http://www.wvi.com/~sr71webmaster/ag330_sr.htm

I'll be watching this build with great interest!

Russ 

Hi Russ,

Thank you for providing those links!  Those are very cool!  I like reading about a crew chief's perspective on any aircraft, and that one you provided was very thorough.  And that start cart was awesome!!  That is just like something my Dad and I would have put together!  Totally cool!

Ken

Hi Everyone,

As I was preparing to paint the cockpit and ejection seats, I was looking closely at the pictures on the Cybermodeler website when I noticed that the ejection seats were not exactly accurate.  Take a look at this picture where the yellow arrow is pointing:

The diamond shape area is meant to be removed from the molding and is very thin.  This I am sure is only there to help fill the mold and release air bubbles.  But if you go to the website and look at the pictures of the real seats, most of this area should really stay:

http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/sr-71/images/frouch_sr-pit_15.jpg 

http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/sr-71/images/frouch_sr-pit_21.jpg

Also the top area just above the arrow should be more narrow.  So I have added epoxy to the area to build it up and add strength.

I have done this on each side and on each ejection seat.  I used 5 minute epoxy but it takes 24 hours to fully cure.  Tomorrow I will shape it to look more like the real seat then proceed with painting it.

Ken 

Wow! Good eyes, Ken!  But is that detail going to show on the model? Those cockpits are pretty restricted. Just wondering.

Russ

Son Of Medicine Man

 

Hi Russ,

Thank you for providing those links!  Those are very cool!  I like reading about a crew chief's perspective on any aircraft, and that one you provided was very thorough.  And that start cart was awesome!!  That is just like something my Dad and I would have put together!  Totally cool!

Ken

Thanks, Ken! Glad you liked the links. I thought of you and your dad when I saw those Buick engines in the start cart. They really do sound like a drag racer - a BIG drag racer - revving up .

Cheers,

Russ

Striker8241

Wow! Good eyes, Ken!  But is that detail going to show on the model? Those cockpits are pretty restricted. Just wondering.

Russ

Hi Russ,

Very good point, but judging from the photos on this build, I think it will show:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/123843.aspx 

If mine can come even half way as nice as that one I will be happy!!   

Ken

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

 

Hi Russ,

Thank you for providing those links!  Those are very cool!  I like reading about a crew chief's perspective on any aircraft, and that one you provided was very thorough.  And that start cart was awesome!!  That is just like something my Dad and I would have put together!  Totally cool!

Ken

Thanks, Ken! Glad you liked the links. I thought of you and your dad when I saw those Buick engines in the start cart. They really do sound like a drag racer - a BIG drag racer - revving up .

Cheers,

Russ

I remember you describing hearing an SR-71 being started on the other side of the runway and how you could hear the start cart engines!  That had to be a awesome sound!

Ken

Son Of Medicine Man

 

Hi Russ,

Very good point, but judging from the photos on this build, I think it will show:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/123843.aspx 

If mine can come even half way as nice as that one I will be happy!!   

Ken

Striker8241

Son Of Medicine Man

 

Hi Russ,

Very good point, but judging from the photos on this build, I think it will show:

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/123843.aspx 

If mine can come even half way as nice as that one I will be happy!!   

Ken

 

Choke! Gasp! That is amazing detail! What scale was it? Had to be 1/48...(grits teeth...)

 

Russ

Yes, same as mine, 1/48.  But it reminded me of the scratch detail you put into your builds!

Ken

Ahh, thanks, bud! But I'm not at that level and probably never will be. I can only slaver with envy. Now cockpit detail - that's your forte. I have no doubt yours will look as good or better.

Russ

Striker8241

Ahh, thanks, bud! But I'm not at that level and probably never will be. I can only slaver with envy. Now cockpit detail - that's your forte. I have no doubt yours will look as good or better.

Russ

Now Russ I will have to disagree with you on that.  I think your scratch building skills are outstanding!

And thank you for the compliment on my cockpits!  But I am on a short timetable on this one so I will not be spending as much time on this cockpit.

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Tonight I got some paint on the cockpit.

I was going to shape the area that I added the epoxy to on the ejection seats first, but realized that since the epoxy was clear, it was throwing me off where the actual outlines should be.  So I decided to paint it first so it would look like a solid piece and color, making it easier to define the area.

I masked off most of the areas that are not supposed to be black to eliminate dealing with the difficulty covering black with other colors.

The majority of the remaining cockpit is the default FS36231 Dark Gull Gray.  Here it is:

Since this is enamel, I like to let it dry for 3 days before handling it.  My airbrush started acting up anyway, so I will be spending tomorrow night taking it apart and thoroughly cleaning it.

Ken 

Looks like a good start, Ken!   3 days? I'm lucky if I can wait 3 hours lol!

Keep those pictures coming!

Russ

Striker8241

Looks like a good start, Ken!   3 days? I'm lucky if I can wait 3 hours lol!

Keep those pictures coming!

Russ

I hear you Russ!  I am anxious to get this rolling!

I took the airbrush apart and gave it a thorough cleaning.  It really did need it.  I had trouble getting the needle out because of all the paint that had gummed up on it!  It is all clean and back together again.  I tested it with a cup of lacquer thinner and it is working like brand new again!

So I am all set and ready to go.

Ken

Looking good Ken!

Foggy day here in Seattle and bored of applying for jobs so Tuesday morning turned into a monster build session on the Starfighter! Thanks for all the tips on dry brushing and weathering you guys! I did some more work on the cockpit and then put the pre-assemble internal bays and wings together. I like to get the plane basically built and then paint everything. Still need to put together and separately paint the undercarriage and a few more parts on the cockpit but she's coming along! Lots of sanding and filing to do on the joins but the kit went together nicely. Usually a lot of alterations and brute force with hasegawa in my limited experience but this one required little.

Kiwi

Looking good Ken!

Foggy day here in Seattle and bored of applying for jobs so Tuesday morning turned into a monster build session on the Starfighter! Thanks for all the tips on dry brushing and weathering you guys! I did some more work on the cockpit and then put the pre-assemble internal bays and wings together. I like to get the plane basically built and then paint everything. Still need to put together and separately paint the undercarriage and a few more parts on the cockpit but she's coming along! Lots of sanding and filing to do on the joins but the kit went together nicely. Usually a lot of alterations and brute force with hasegawa in my limited experience but this one required little.

Hi Tim,

Awesome job on the cockpit!  It looks great!  For someone asking for advice I think I should be asking you!    The rest of the plane looks awesome as well!   

Ken

Kiwi

Looking good Ken!

Foggy day here in Seattle and bored of applying for jobs so Tuesday morning turned into a monster build session on the Starfighter! Thanks for all the tips on dry brushing and weathering you guys! I did some more work on the cockpit and then put the pre-assemble internal bays and wings together. I like to get the plane basically built and then paint everything. Still need to put together and separately paint the undercarriage and a few more parts on the cockpit but she's coming along! Lots of sanding and filing to do on the joins but the kit went together nicely. Usually a lot of alterations and brute force with hasegawa in my limited experience but this one required little.

~

Wow nice job on that cockpit, Tim! The rest of the plane is looking good too!

Cheers,

Russ

Hi Everyone,

A little bit of progress tonight.  I masked off the black that I had sprayed earlier on the ejection seats and sprayed the rails gray.  The darn tape leaked some of the gray and also pulled up some of the black when I took it off.  Oh well, I usually do the whole seat by hand anyway.

Ken 

Nice work, Ken! I'm taking notes from all you guys with hopes I'll have my spray paint system up and running soon.

Cheers,

Russ

Kiwi

Finally painted the Starfighter this morning. Now I'm standing in the kitchen eating chips waiting for it to dry! Guess I'll try and leave it for a few days and work on something else. First time painting a metallic finish, quite like it!

Nice work Tim!  Looks great!      What kind of paint did you use?

Ken

Hi Everyone,

Well tonight I took a giant step backwards.  I was in the middle of painting the flat black on the front cockpit, looking at the reference pictures on the Cybermodeler website as I was doing so.  I started on the right instrument panel and noticed that there was something missing.  Then I looked closer and realized that my cockpit apparently didn't get filled all the way during the production process.  I have it pointed out with the yellow arrow in the picture below:

If you follow this link, you will see what is supposed to be there:

 http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/sr-71/images/frouch_sr-pit_02.jpg 

I have no idea how long ago I purchased this cockpit or from where.  It has been sitting in my stash for some time now.  My only choice is to purchase another one.  Fortunately they are not very expensive and are still readily available.

Ken

Wow, what a bummer! And after all that work! Sorry to hear that, Ken. The good news is - there are still more available. Let's drink to the good news!

Cheers

Russ

Striker8241

Wow, what a bummer! And after all that work! Sorry to hear that, Ken. The good news is - there are still more available. Let's drink to the good news!

Cheers

Russ

Ken

Beautiful job, Tim! That really is impressive!

Russ