Mighty Mini's GB! 1/144 scale

Well, I finished my AAV7 just now. I sprayed a little desert sand on it from so it sprays in a sporatic pattern. I don't really know how to describe it. But here it is before and after:

I have a Revell Eurofighter Typhoon 2000 coming in soon too.

BTW, nice work so far IL2windhawk, kg4kpg, deattilo, Gmorrison and Mikey!

I mentioned that I might be interested on one of the "feeler" threads but I'll make it official and join.  I've got my 1/144 Revell C-17 opened up and ready to go.

Dug out my Dragon Maus and I think I'll give this GB a shot. I did run across a bunch of 1/350 armor "kits" that I think are for shiploads. Don't recall where they are from or what they are really for, maybe beach scenes?

Yeah. I just finished Trumpeter's AAV7A1 in a few days total... I have a feeling that everyone in this build will have accumulated quite a collection of little 1/144 models by the end of this build. Tomorrow, well... today, I'm going to pick up some more 1/144 from my LHS.

And about the SU-33 and the J-15: I've found a resource on a Pakistani defense forum here: www.defence.pk/.../222978-major-differences-between-su-33-j-15-a.html and on an easier to read and understand informational here: www.ausairpower.net/APA-Maritime-Flanker-D.html. According to these, and Wikipedia, the only thing that's the same between the two is the structure. Everything else is domestic. The electronics, flight controls, etc. are all Chinese produced.

Wow. Everyone has a great build going. 

If I may enter, after a trip to the LHS, I've got a "J-15" from Dragon (that I couldn't resist starting and nearly finishing-- these little kits go fast), and Revell's F-18D.

Klik

P.S. from what research I have done, I can't tell, is there a difference between the Chinese J-15 and the Su-33?

Just painted the AAV7:

Wow. Nice metal work there Hawk. It looks like it's coming along pretty nicely.

And yeah this thing is small... You know a regular Testors tube of glue? Everyone here should know what it is...

It's not even half the length of it. So I will be VERY careful with this one. I've already almost lost one or two pieces... out of about 6 or 7. Ha.

Deattilio, I'm pretty sure I built the Minicraft B-47, and it was a really nice kit in 1/144.  You should enjoy the B-52 build.  

Mike, that's a really small model!!   Good luck with that.  Don't drop it into the carpet or it'll be gone forever! LOL

And GMorrison, I'm really looking forward to seeing your build.  When I was considering options for this group build, the Boeing Clipper was on my short list.  I guess I'm kind of building the equivalent, for space flight :)

So on my Falcon, I finally finished all the metal piping work.  Whew... I'm glad that's behind me.  It started pretty slow, then went faster after I got more practice.  Probably 6 hours of work, hope it's worth it.  Next big challenge for me will be a visit to radio shack to figure out lighting.  I probably will work on the cockpit first, though.  Need to scratch build a Han, Chewy, Leia, and C3PO.  

before:

after:

before:

before:

Other pictures:

Gotcha Tony. I'll put you down right now.

Hi Mikey,

Could you put me down for a 1/144 Tornado F.3 please.

Cheers

Tony

Started the Clipper yesterday. This should be a clean little build. It's going to have a NMF/ silver dope finish, so I'm going to expend a little effort on that top seam.

The usual sprue shot, except the parts all were loose in the box.

Put the halves together. I've decided to glaze it with Krystal Klear after painting, rather than use all the thick little windows that came in the box, then mask them etc.

Ehhh who needs a steady when you have a homemade 1mm plastic brush. Heh. But thanks, I'll need the luck. Unfortunately, I might not be able to use the desert sand spray paint that I got because I need it for my Dragon M1A1. So I might just have to brush on light tan if it works.

MikeyBugs95

I have to paint it next. Anybody know if AAV7A1's were painted in a desert tan coloring?

We had tan AAVs in OIF I and OIF II.  I wasn’t brave enough to tackle this little kit and opted for the preassembled/painted offering.  Good luck to you, your eyes and a steady hand on this one sir.

Well I started building my Trumpeter AAV7A1 today.

So I like the packaging and such.

Unfortunately I had to do a little trimming to get some extra sprue plastic off but nothing too bad.

After I assembled the upper hull.

And this is the test fit of all the parts. The upper hull assembly is glued and complete, but the lower hull hasn't been glued yet. I have to paint it next. Anybody know if AAV7A1's were painted in a desert tan coloring?

I'm going to have to order more 1/144 kits... a lot more...

That Millennium Falcon looks impressive, it reminds of the metal toy I had as a kid when the movie came out (the original) many moons ago.

I got the wings assembled and the fuselage assembled and am now working on cleaning up the seams and steps.  This is not the greatest fitting kit, with wavy edges that align only every so often.  The wings and tail surfaces are very thick that will prove a challenge of their own to blend.  The biggest discrep in the fit department lies in the wing to fuselage join though, as seen in the picture below.  I’m still working a way to fit it better without truly buggering up the join at the upper wing surface to fuselage join.  Also, the cabin windows refused to cooperate; I widened the holes in the fuselage and could still not get the windows to fit from inside or outside and have decided I will be using Kristal Klear when the time comes.

On another note, the B-52s I ordered from Squadron yesterday morning arrived this afternoon – Squadron is awesome!  It looks like an easy kit and if I get my C-47 together quick enough and without eroding my patience for 1/144 I may tackle that kit for this GB as well.

It looks like you have your work cut out for you, Deattilio.  I've built a few kits like where I had to rebuild major pieces, so i know what you mean by needing extra time.  Good luck with the build.

By contrast, I think this FineMolds Falcon is possible the finest model kit I have ever worked on.  Seriously, I am enamored with this kit.  I have built dozens of airplanes, but none of them were built like this.  In these photos, about 90% of the kit is held together with friction alone.  The gun turrets rotate freely, and the upper and lower shells have a snap-fit, which offers me all kinds of flexibility for fitting an internal lights & battery system.  Despite all the moving parts, the seams have very tight tolerances so I may never have to actually glue the upper and lower halves together.

That said, there is a shortcoming that I plan to fix.  I plan to cut away the "walls" that should be "pipes" in the access bays.  See image below and you'll know what I mean.

Also, I added a coffee cup for scale.  It's a fairly small kit: nice desk-top size.  About 8-9" in total length.

I’m making progress on my C-47.  I had initially planned to build a C-47 and C-117 in Marine markings but have been unable to track down my C-47 references that are still packed in a moving box that seems to be eluding me at the moment.  The C-117 will still be completed as a Marine bird but there is too much work at the moment to put it to a deadline.  The tail is way too small so I will have to build an appropriately sized one from scratch and Eastern Express has curiously opted to mold an airline door vice the more prominent cargo door for which I am yet undecided about, whether it will remain or if I will scribe a cargo door into her.  Either way that’s a project for a later date but thought I would include it since there is 1/144 gathering here.

My C-47 will be finished in the markings of the aircraft flown by the 111th FIS 147th FIG; fairly simple with the only real differentiating markings being TEXAS AIR GUARD marked atop the cabin windows, having a white top, shiny bottom split by a black cheat line.

Love the Falcon. Hope to find me a great deal on one one of these days. Looking forward to seeing yours built.

Chris

Here's where I'm at so far...

This bugger isn't as easy as I thought it would be. But, it's coming along.

Yeouch, Cane!  Sorry to hear the bad news, that will certainly make things more challenging.  At least you can use your new cast as a painter's pallet :D

I came home to a parcel waiting for me, my Falcon was waiting at the door.  I popped it open immediately and was really excited by the kit.  It's terrific, and the detail is really good.  Only a small number of parts really, especially if built gear-up like I plan to.  But I'm going to be adding quite a few parts of my own so I might need the whole 143 days :)

Here are some pictures of the kit being unboxed, cleaned, and itemized.  It came with a nice paint diagram, and also weathering diagrams that are not shown.

Ok. This Group Build kicks off today.

Jason, if you are still looking for a B-52, Squadron has the Minicraft B-52H on sale for what is essentially 50% off, I picked up a couple for myself, although not for this GB I will get around to building one of the B-52Ds my father was a tailgunner aboard in Viet Nam.

http://www.squadron.com/1-144-Minicraft-B-52H-Stratofortress-MI14641-p/mi14641.htm

Count me in,

I think I'll go with my Sweet P51B Mustang. I'll probably be doing it in Beeson's 'Boise Bee' markings.

Adrian

Jason, if your looking for really changing the look of a BUFF from the current offerings is Golden Dragon Conversions produced resin sets to produce a B-52D or B-52F.

I ordered a set from Draw Decals for my C-47 to model a Texas Air National Guard Gooney.

Dan

I'd need to make a trip to the LHS, but I'm interested.

Klik

Well the usual sites seem to give the Minicraft one a good grade, the Revell/ Academy maybe a little less so. Decals, landing gears, stuff like that seems to be available.

This will be a good first GB. I'd say there's a fighting chance folks will finish their models because they are manageable, and time can't be wasted.