1944 Group Build

Very nice job Jamie..great first effort for a GB. Your talent shows!! 

Allen: Wow! Now that is what I call some sweet action! The overall paint job looks excellent. The detail in the gun bays is very well done as well the rockets. The only detail that I might point out is the absence of exhaust staining. But, hey that is simply my . It in no way detracts from the magnificent work you have done. I have to say Allen, your modeling skills have become quite top notch. It's a real pleasure to see your work.

CMK: Marvelous masking and painting. That Measure 32/18d looks very sharp and clean. Well done. I'm certainly taking note of your process for when I tackle my North Carolina and USS Ticonderoga in 33/10a.

Jamie: Congrats on your finish! And what beaut your B-17 is. All of your hard work has certainly paid off in spades. You did a particularly nice job on creating the splotchy OD. That looks the part for sure. It has been a pleasure to share a GB with you and I truly hope to work with you in future ones.

Thanks, Joe.  I've been studying other builders photos around the web, as well as contemporary photos of the ship.  Kind of hard to tell sometimes what's what.

I'll be taking note when you get to yours--especially Ticonderoga.  I've got Hasegawa's 1/700 kit, but I plan to build her as Shangri-la.  One of her few remaining plank owners lives in town here; I've known him twenty years, and he's always full of stories.

Maybe for the 1945 GB, if someone takes it up?  Shangri-la was in Measure 21 by then, and it's a much simpler camouflage scheme.

Guys, thanks very much!

Joe:  Exhaust staining!  (D'oh!)  I knew I had forgotten someting.  I fretted over the wing leading edges so much I forgot about that completely.  

Jamie:  Great Fortress, especially how you faded the OD and the contrast with the big bold colours on the stabs.

CMK:  Your BB is looking fantastic.  Those disruptive patterns are so impressive. That's a lot of finicky masking you've got going on! 

Allen

Chanter: That Typhoon looks great, you put a lot of detail in a 1/72 kit! 

CMK: looking forward to see progress in your project! 

JSmyth: That B-17 looks really good, I love how the paint has that bleached look to it.

Jorge

Thanks, Allen and Jorge.  By the time I'm finished, I'll probably have to go see the optometrist.

Allen:Your little Typhoon looks simply amazing! I love the amount of detail stuffed into that tiny model! Is there any particular pic you'd like to see on the front page?

Jamie: "Chow Hound" looks great too! The weatheringis perfect with the faded, patchy OD and the exhaust streaks across the wings! What pic of her would you like me to add to the wall of fame?

CMK: I'm by far not brave enough to tackle a masking job like that. Looks like you pulled that paint scheme off perfectly!

Thanks, Clemens.  All those little pieces of masking tape get intimidating.

SchattenSpartan

Allen:Your little Typhoon looks simply amazing! I love the amount of detail stuffed into that tiny model! Is there any particular pic you'd like to see on the front page?

Thanks Clemens.

I guess the second pic for the front page would be good.

Allen

Finished masking and painting the last of the sides on the main deck superstructure.  Looks like it'll take minimal touch up.

The next task will be masking all those tiny deck fittings, then painting the deck.  It's liable to take a while.

What can I say CMK but, Immmmmpressive! Dang, that's nice work.

Jamie: "Chow Hound" looks great too! The weatheringis perfect with the faded, patchy OD and the exhaust streaks across the wings! What pic of her would you like me to add to the wall of fame?

Clemens: I like the first one but it doesn't the whole build. I think the second one would be better. I will let you choose which you think would be the better picture. I had a great time with this GB. It kept me interested and wanting to finish. I look forward to more.

Thanks, Joe.  So far it's been going better than I thought it might.

CMK:

You are doing such a great job on that ship. I don't think I could build a 1:700 ship. I had a hard time with my 1:400 Arizona build. Great work and keep posting.

Everyone:

Thank you all for the kind words and help on this build. It was much easier to do this build here with all the support that everyone has given. Once again Thank You

Thanks, Jamie.  I guess it's 1/700 for me because of cost and space to store the finished product.  I appreciate your comment, and "Chowhound" is really a great looking Fortress.

Hey There Guys, I've got a bit of progress to share with you all on the Lil' Hellcat. I've found that I need more  practice in order to airbrush nice straight lines for pre-shading. Given that I had to keep moving forward. Although in itself a bit time consuming, I highlighted all the panel lines prior to painting using a black Prisma pencil mostly and a normal mechanical pencil on the intricate lines and access hatches. This assists in accenting the panel lines after the paint is on. The effect will not though be quite apparent on the upper surfaces where the dark sea blue will be. I tried this on my FW 190 I just finished and as expected it works well under lighter colors. It also works well when you don't lay the paint on too heavy.. I wish I was making better progress but, here lately it seems that for every fire I put out, two more pop up. Oh well, it's stuff that is out of my control and I'll get on the Hellcat when time avails itself.

That's very subtle work, Joe.  It looks good; obvious but not overpowering.

Those are good looking panel lines Joe! Neat trick!

Very cool technique Joe.

Your Hellcat looks very nice, Joe! I really like the idea of using a pencil for the panel line pre-shading!

Allen, that's an awesome looking build, some great detail in there. Thanks for bringing it to the GB.

Nice work check. Certainly would not want to put the vertical stabilisers on the wrong way with this build. And don't worry, the 45 GB is in hand, we certainly aren't stopping now.

Jamie, nice, I like it. And congrats on your fist GB. I am sure there will be plenty more. I only popped in for a quick visit and 6 years later I can't get away.

Joe, looking nice there.

Thanks Everyone. Curious to see the results myself.

Thanks, Bish; good to know.

Didn't accomplish anything yesterday; had to work late.  So today I started on the main deck, painted in the Navy's 20-B Deck Blue.  Thought I'd paint it in sections, rather than face the tedium of masking everything at once.  As it is, it took me three hours to get done this far.

I started at the bow and worked back toward the first gun turret.  Again used little bits of tape, then covered it over with poster tack.  

I'll let it sit to be sure it's dried then remove the mask and tomorrow carry on.

Well, I have finally made my subject selection (alternate) for here. Since my projects earlier in this year have taken longer and been more involved than I intended, I have had to adjust fire. My original choice was to build a 1/350 Fletcher Class destroyer (the Trumpeter kit) in the guise of USS Heerman at Leyte Gulf as she appeared during the Battle off Samar as part of Taffy 3. But with the year rapidly draying to a close, and wanting to do this vessel proper justice I will hold off for now. I still wanted to do a war at sea subject for this GB so after going thru my stash I will build another suitable notable warship from 1944, U-505, using the Hobbyboss 1/350 Type IX U-Boat kit of this subject. I ought to be able to get it done in time... I know the build will go quick enough and if I dont get sidetracked too badly the finish should be not too difficult to get done by New Years. With all my other projects...

Nice choice stik, looking forward to that. I have the Revell 72nd Type IX, which has the markings for 505.

JR: Very nice job on the pannel lines. I like how clean and tight they are. Well done

CMK: That ship is coming along very nice. It must be hard to paint such a small subject.

Bish: Can you post my second photo of my B-17 on the wall of fame please.

Jamie, no worries. I have added your pic to the temp roster for now, sorry for the delay. Allen, I have added one of yours to that as well.

Nomad, do you want to wait until the dio is done before adding a pic to the front page.

Bish

Nomad, do you want to wait until the dio is done before adding a pic to the front page.

No Bish. Go ahead and place a photo on the front page. It's going to be awhile on the do.

Doug

Thanks, Jamie.  It's not really the painting that's so hard--it's the masking; and the touch-up, cuz usually masking doesn't always tightly fit, and sometimes pulls loose.  Then ya have to get out the paint brush.

Spent all day yesterday masking, and I'm still at it.

The bow turned out OK, but plenty of places will require some touch-up attention.

CMK:  All I have to say is WOW. Nicely done! I hope my Indy comes out half as good.