1944 Group Build

Bish, It is on this page of the GB. 7th post down.

Oops. Sorry Bish. My initial post started a new page. It's on pg. 90.

Thanks Joe. I hadn't spotted it because it wasn't showing green. Will have to have a read through that before doing my next radial. That looks a lot better than PE.

Moving along slowly but surely. I've shot the MM white on the underside, landing gear and gear doors. Everything is going nicely and I will be moving on to the intermediate blue on the sides and tail.

Right on Joe, looks good thus far....

Thanks Jay that was what I was looking for. I need to find my micro bits and just try to drill the small holes and go from there.

Doug

Nice work Joe.

Thanks Rob, Doug and Bish. I appreciate it.

Wee, catch-up time! You guys are pulling off some very nice looking builds in here!

Joe: That tiny Hellcat looks superb, especially the Landing gear PE work!

Matt: It's always nice to see a 262 being build! What a sexy looking aircraft!

Steve: Your T-34 is looking very nice! I love the weathering!

Doug: I use fine copper wire for my engines. I usually take a very fine drill to make a shallow hole in the surfaces the wires attach to, then I use a tiny amount of CA on each end of the wire to glue it in place. Some engines (especially Quickboost's AM ones) don't come with ignition wire harnesses though. In that case I use plastic rod (0,5mm -1mm for 1/48 engines) to scratchbuild the harness. It takes a bit of time but isn't all that hard to do once you get the hang of it.

Here's a pic of my Quickboost Pratt & Whitney R-2800 (my all time favourite radial):

The pushrods and ignition wire harness are scratchbuilt using 0,6mm plastic rod. I painted it with Alclad (metal areas) and Gunze acrylics. the weathering consists of a very heavy Flory wash for that grimy, used look (it's for a German captured P-47 and those birds don't look like they were cleaned a lot in the photos I have)

I hope this helps...

Impressive engine, Clemens!  Great detail.

Your Wildcat is looking good, Joe.  Nice work on the underside paint.

VERY impressive wiring SS!!

Haven't posted any photos in almost a month, but I have been working on the main superstructure parts.

The main gun turrets and barrels.  After I painted them, the barrels still looked rough--not one of Trumpeter's better molding efforts, so I re-sanded them and repainted them.

I worked from photos, since Trumpeter's paint directions are not very accurate.  It was odd that the number three turret on the aft deck was painted in a non-standard manner--20-B Deck Blue was apparently not used on the turret roof.

This little can-like item goes on the front of the "island."  There's a little radar piece that will also go on top, plus a piece I lost and will have to scratch-build.

This is the lower part of the island.  I used a lighter colored filter on raised detail, then a black acrylic pin wash to bring out detail.  After I looked at the photo, I thought I overdid it some, and it looked too "dirty," so I got out a toothpick and water and cleaned up the wash around the liferafts, doors and portholes.  Looks more subtle now.  The little piece will fit in the tub like it's partner on the other side.  I don't know what it is.

The second level for the island, with a couple of ladders and two more of those little unknown pieces for the tubs at the rear.

And last, the third level of the island still wearing it's paint mask.  Because of the complication, I used a combination of masking tape and poster tack.  I still have to flip it over and paint the underside.

Progress is slow because of the complicated paint scheme and tiny parts, but I keep plugging along. My wife and I will be going out of town for a short three-day vacation tomorrow along the Great River Road following the Mississippi, so that'll set things back a bit. 

Looks great checkmate! Love the complexity of these little ships.

Your masking and your patience are simply to be marveled at CMK. That is some terrific skill coming out of your camp there. Awesome stuff.

Nice work check.

Thanks guys! It really means a lot to me coming from you!

CMK: As always, your masking skills are truly amazing!

Joe the Hellcat is looking great, looking forward to the topside work too. Thanks for the engine method link, something new to try on the next radial engine.

Clemens, excellent engine, something to aspire to as the skill builds up.

CMK, I'd need a holiday too to refocus after all that masking and painting on a such a tiny scale. That is amazing to watch - not sure if it is encouraging me to try it at some point or scaring me off.

Thanks, guys.  I always appreciate your comments.

As for masking--after this, I'll be taking a little holiday from ships in Measure 32 camouflage!

But the Mississippi River is in full autumnal splendor:

including these fellas:

Well CMK, I can't match nature, but here is the finished product from me:

White prop cuffs were the thing in the Atlantic apparently.

Aerial is EZ line, CA glued into some brass tube on the tail.

The weathering underneath looks a bit overdone on the model, but better in the photos.

Happy with how it came together.

So thanks to Bish for hosting, thanks to everyone for the kind comments, and I look forward to keeping track of the rest of the builds.

As for me, I am off to the Auto group build to do my first car since I made my wife a model of her Honda Civic in 1992...what could possibly go wrong?

Piers

Outstanding Wildcat, Piers.  Great job with the paint and weathering.  It's a little gem!

Great work Piers, your Hellcat looks great!

Congrats on your completion.Your Wildcat turned out simply fantastic Piers. I really like your Atlantic scheme. You don't seem to see that often enough. I also admire the base you made there. That really compliments your great build. Thank you for sharing build and modeling skills with us. It has been a real pleasure.

Piers, that's a great looking build. Its a really nice paint job, defiantly something we don't see much. It looks greta on the base, do you want that one for the front page.

Thanks everyone.

Bish, please use the photo on the base.

The base is for an Airfix Vampire trainer that I will present to a colleague next week. In the meantime I am using it to photograph a number of my 1/72 planes on!

Thanks again

Piers

Bloody fantastic Piers!! Love PTO aviation!!

I thought this would be the 1st one finished HA HA Well at least its not the last one. Thats what happens when things get pushed to the back burner. I'm calling it done for now. I'm going to try my hand at building a launching ramp for it.

Hey Ken, That looks all good to me. Really sharp work. Congrats on your completion. I have to say I'll be interested in watching you build that big B-52 I see in the background when you get around to it.

Thanks Joe, I plan on the B 52 after I finish the B17s and the B 24

Right on Ken, very cool V1 . I see that GIGANTIC B-52 in the background...I did that one years ago..it needs its own room, it's so huge!! Again, well done on the rocket bomb!!