1944 Group Build

Eric, Your Mustang and Ju 52 are really outstanding. Your Ju 52 is indeed exceptional. I would like to thank you for taking the time and effort to share your history, analysis and process with us. It is so much more rewarding and helpful when someone takes the time to explain and show what it is exactly that their doing and how they are doing it. Thanks once again. And again, stunning work.

Bish

Joe, RAF aircraft are not my forte, I was just lucky enough to get a visit to the BBMF thanks to one of the RAF WO's at my unit also being the Load master on the BBMF's C-47. But at a guess, I would say yes, at least after the RAF switched to night bombing. And I say that only because it seems to make sense to have a cockpit that's as dark as possible at night, not only to stop it being seen by the enemy, but I think it would also make it easier for the pilot to see in the dark if he didn't have anything bright around.

But its just a guess.

JOE RIX

Bish

Joe, RAF aircraft are not my forte, I was just lucky enough to get a visit to the BBMF thanks to one of the RAF WO's at my unit also being the Load master on the BBMF's C-47. But at a guess, I would say yes, at least after the RAF switched to night bombing. And I say that only because it seems to make sense to have a cockpit that's as dark as possible at night, not only to stop it being seen by the enemy, but I think it would also make it easier for the pilot to see in the dark if he didn't have anything bright around.

But its just a guess.

Yes, that makes absolute sense. You are he who is much filled with wisdom.

Don't let my Mrs hear you say that, you will hear the laughter from there.

EB... Two absolutely GORGEOUS builds... I agree with Bish Tanta Ju is my favorite!

I taught the Longest Day in my history classes yesterday, so I thought I'd make some progress on my LCVP.  After lots and lots of cleanup, I have the deck and ramp done minus the string to hold the ramp.

Next step is going to be removing the molded on rope so I can make some hatches for the rear deck.

By the way, a lot of impressive work on here.  I'm learning a ton just from seeing what you all are doing

Bish

JOE RIX

Bish

Joe, RAF aircraft are not my forte, I was just lucky enough to get a visit to the BBMF thanks to one of the RAF WO's at my unit also being the Load master on the BBMF's C-47. But at a guess, I would say yes, at least after the RAF switched to night bombing. And I say that only because it seems to make sense to have a cockpit that's as dark as possible at night, not only to stop it being seen by the enemy, but I think it would also make it easier for the pilot to see in the dark if he didn't have anything bright around.

But its just a guess.

Yes, that makes absolute sense. You are he who is much filled with wisdom.

Don't let my Mrs hear you say that, you will hear the laughter from there.

i started painting the white on an M1117 4x4 for a MERDC winter scheme. that went south. so decided to freehand airbrush the green camo on my british LCVP (italeri) and that went south too. so i stripped it down and repainted the base color on the bow twice before that looked ok. obviously wasn't my day to paint.

FOLLOWUP- just checked and my recovery base coat paint job looks good. and this is for THE LONGEST DAY GB but i saw ther LCVP

Well, painting is coming along nicely.  All I have left to do is the top-side olive drab and to finish the drop tanks and propeller nose.

Coming on nicely Mike.

Mike, Your P-51 is looking really nice. Sounds like your coming into the home stretch.

Looking forward to seeing that P-51's completion!

Well lets try this again, I've attempted three times to post pictures and Photo %@#&et has been its usual fine site and was being a PITA.

Any way... The decals are all but done and I have most of the fading to the rub ons and water slides done.

Well , thats about all for now, not too much more to do... maybe this weekend she'll be done.

Thanks for looking...

Doug

Bish, Joe and Rob:  Thanks guys.  I hope to show a pre-decal, "finished" pic later this evening.

This being my first build in decades, I am really excited to finish it; even though there are a few things I am not happy with.  But, I just want to get one finished build under my belt.  The flaws on this one will serve as both a learning experience and as a visual reminder of  things I need to do better on in the future.

edit: I also am coming to realize that I am a terrible picture taker!  I will try and improve.

Doug, you are really doing some great work.  And you're almost done!   I am very much looking forward to the finished product!

Gary, Thanks for the balancers. I'm sorry it took me so long to let you know I got them. They came in the mail tuesday then I went to the hospital for a couple of days. I'm feeling better know. I had my blood pressure drop just about out of sight It was 89/59.

I'll have pictures in a day or two. The P-38 is almost finished

Marvellous work, buddy! She's looking simply amazing!

silentbob: For all of the clean up you've described it appears that you have done one heck of a job getting your LCVP looking sharp.

Doug: Oh Yeah, You've got that Corsair looking excellent. The weathering is really coming together very nicely.

Mike: It is indeed well to learn from those shortcomings in our builds but, don't forget to take pride in those things that you did well. Give yourself a pat on the back when something you've tried turns out just as you had hoped. We tend to be harder on ourselves when we make mistakes in our modeling rather than celebrate the small victories.

Boy this GB has come alive with a bunch of very inspiring work!

Eric: thanks for sharing those 2 builds, they are both very impressive.  

Rob: it looks like you have made a great start on the Lancaster... always liked that aircraft.

Viejo: the V2 is coming along nicely... looks like you will be on the home stretch soon.

Rider: that Corsair looks like it has been through hell and back.  Some impressive weathering there.  Looks great.

Silent Bob & Mike: I'm looking forward to seeing your builds come along.  Both of you are off to a great start so far.

I apologize if I have missed anyone; no offense was meant as I have enjoyed all the work shown so far.

Well, its been a while since I posted any progress, but I have been plugging away.  I have hit a period where lots of work results in small amounts of photo-worthy updates.  Here is a quick summary:

So... I have finished the stencils on the fuselage and wings, etc., and given it another coat or two of Aqua gloss to try to hide the carrier film a bit.  Its not terrible at the moment, but at certain angles I can still see the edges of the clear film.  I am hoping that the matte coat will help with that a bit. 

Almost everything is painted at this point (or at least partially so... for example, the prop & wheels still need  Alclad, the door actuators need chromate green, one of the bombs has been primed but not painted, etc.)  Unless I'm forgetting something, the only decals that remain to be done are on the prop & bombs.

Speaking of decals, my reference shot shows a marking that did not come with the Barracuda set, the letter "W" on the cowl lip, so I created one using my laser printer and decal sheets:

Looks a bit narrow from that angle...

I sanded down various spots on the belly drop tank to dent it a bit, and dirtied it up with pigments and an oil wash.  I also dry brushed the edges and dings with silver.  It does not look as dark as it does in that picture.

The canopy and windshield are painted (Eduard masks made it pretty easy), and the main landing gear has been detailed using p/e scissors and placards, wire for the brake lines, and foil to give the oleo struts a more metallic look than the painted components.  Sadly this is hard to capture in an iPhone photo:

I am going to give the gloss a day or two to cure, then I'll start working on weathering the aircraft.  All kinds of opportunities to mess something up there!

Thanks again to all who have contributed to this group build.  It has been fun and educational.

Doug, looking good, look forward to seeing this done.

Mike, I have always struggled with taking pics. have a read through this, it really helped me. I found decent lighting and getting to know how to use the camera were the key.

doogsmodels.com/.../5-tips-to-improving-your-model-photography

Ken, which balances did you get in the end, I take it you were able to get some AM ones.

Blue, great work there, that's looking really nice.

Bish

Doug, looking good, look forward to seeing this done.

Mike, I have always struggled with taking pics. have a read through this, it really helped me. I found decent lighting and getting to know how to use the camera were the key.

doogsmodels.com/.../5-tips-to-improving-your-model-photography

Ken, which balances did you get in the end, I take it you were able to get some AM ones.

Bish I got this posted this here by mistake, It should be in the Longest Day thread. The balancers were fior the P 38 GAF sent me a set

Thanks Joe, every piece requires scraping, filing and sanding...this build is a test of endurance ;)

Ken, well good to hear you have some. I hadn't even noticed the P-38 wasn't in this GB.

Blue: Man she's looking beautiful! Great work! At this rate you'll finish her before I get done on my Jug.

Guys ... Thank you one and all! Several of you  and I have shared GBs in the past and I look forward to seeing how you apply your talents to these and every build you do, Others I am seeing for the first time and MAN... What a great bunch! I'm in awe of the work going on here! This is proving to be a top notch build, and I know it will just keep getting better! Thanks again!

Doug

Blue: Ho, Now that is some very impressive work you have done on your Jug. Just excellent. I really like your landing gear. Very nicely done there. 

 Now you have got me itching to maybe pull out my unfinished Tamiya P-47D and see what I can do about repairing the Alclad paint job on it. On the left side of the fuselage the Alclad developed a blemish that I just cannot get covered or fixed. I finally needed to set her aside and come back to it later. She is pretty much at the same stage as you are at. I'm afraid that in order to get a decent repair job that I may have to fully strip the plane and do it over.

Joe, I'm absolutely positive that if anyone can repair something like that paint damage, it's you. Go for it!

Thank You for the vote of confidence Clemens. I must admit that after my paint repair adventures with my FW 190 that I'm a bit more motivated to tackle the P-47.

Bish

Mike, I have always struggled with taking pics. have a read through this, it really helped me. I found decent lighting and getting to know how to use the camera were the key.

doogsmodels.com/.../5-tips-to-improving-your-model-photography

Thanks for the link Bish.  I will have to use that advice and see if i can improve my pics.  Is the author the Doog that is a member on FSM?

greentracker98

Gary, Thanks for the balancers. I'm sorry it took me so long to let you know I got them. They came in the mail tuesday then I went to the hospital for a couple of days. I'm feeling better know. I had my blood pressure drop just about out of sight It was 89/59.

I'll have pictures in a day or two. The P-38 is almost finished

Ken,

Glad they got there okay, and sorry to hear about the hospital visit.  Hope things are under control now.

The P-38 looks good! (It's in a different thread, guys).

Blue> That is one serious Thunderbolt.  The detail you're putting on it is inspiring.

Joe Rix>  Yeah, go for it!  "Eight Nifties" has been sitting in the closet too long.