1944 Group Build

Joe: Damn, how can something like this happen to the same guy twice in a row. And on the same model as well! Looks like youd found out what the issue was though.

John: Some lovely work on that Jug! I'll get her onto the front page right away!

That's a very peculiar phenomenon you're experiencing, Joe.  Hope it can be sorted out.  Hellcat looks great otherwise!

And a very attractive Thunderbolt, TJ.  I've always like the looks of the red surround.  Nice work!

tempest, You have turned an excellent Jug. The paint and weathering is extremely well done. You have definitely captured the essence of the big fighter. Congratulations on your completion. Thank you for being a part of the GB and sharing your excellent skills with us.

I'm calling this done Hasegawa P-47D backdated to a C.   Wing racks removed and cowling flaps changed. Name of plane is BEVOAPAAM Birds Eye View of a Pigs Ass at Moonlight.

Bish

Ken, can't wait to see the pics.

Joe, damn, not getting a break with that and its looking so good. But my hat off to you for sticking with it.

tempest, looking very nice, nearly there.

Ken, can't wait to see the pics.

Hi everyone,

Johnny The Jug is looking great

Joe That bites, I know what its like, I've been there, as we all have

Anyway, I ordered Strawberry B. decals today. I also have to wait now for propeller shafts for it too. I went and lost 2 of them.

Ah, Things were moving along just splendidly. I applied Tamiya medium blue highly thinned with iso alcohol to simulate fading on the wings and stabilizers. Good. And then the moment of truth as I sprayed on the gloss coat with Mr. Super Clear. It came out fantastic!

And then I flipped the Hellcat over to gloss coat the bottom as I had not got to that once the initial episode occurred. All good until it began to dry and then, WHAMO! There was the orange peel effect again. You gotta be kidding me!!!

So, the best that I can figure is neither Tamiya gloss coat nor Mr. Super Clear reacts well to being applied over glossy paint. This came to me due to the fact that when I applied the iso thinned Tamiya to the upper surface it flattened the sheen. Here we go again. This time though, i am going to see if I can sand it smooth as the effect is not as wide spread as the last incident.

Underside

We are getting close

Thanks buddy. I will leave it to you as to which one goes on the front page. And thanks for Co-hosting.

Bish: You absolutely naild the wet, muddy look on the base! The weathering on the 251 and especially the figure painting look truly amazing as well!

John: The color modulation on your Jug turned out great! It's very nice to see a C for a change!

William: The camo on that Pz. IV looks very nice! The camo pattern on the skirts sure is something else!

Zvezda: I really like the look of your Yak. Definitely makes me want to try my hand at some Soviet aircraft as well. Is there any particular pic you want to see on the front page?

Joe: Now that's what I call a great save! She looks as good as new again!

Nice work G-J. I know what you mean about decal instruments, I am not keen either.

I won't go quietly into the night.....

I had some time to get the the instrument panel painted and put together.  (One drawback to digital photography is I see all the spots I missed.  Time for some touch-up.)

I'm not a fan of decals for instrument panels...I think my next build I'll attempt PE.  We'll see.  I didn't have gunmetal for the guns, so I painted the guns black and dry brushed some aluminum, and I'm pleased with how they turned out.

On to the next couple of steps.

Looking good there guys. Johnny, I know some C's were flying as Assembly Ships for some bomber units quite late, but not with fighter units as late as 44. Nice to see a c variant for a change. Looking nice.

Thank you Joe. Aeromaster set. Debden jugs. From what I understand this aircraft was one of the last C' s flying. January 44

Tempest, The P-47 is really shaping up very nicely. Some fine work on your part for sure. What decals are you using there/

For my part, everything is progressing nicely so far on the repaint. I applied a primer coat followed by the dark sea blue today. The fading effect will come next and then the dreaded gloss coat.

Great work Zvezda.  As for me I'm going to be a smidgen late. Here is progress so far.

I don't blame you there Zvezda. It certainly doesn't detract from the build. Glad you enjoyed taking part, its all part of the fun of the GB's.

Happy 1945, eehhh I mean 2015, to everybody with good  health and plenty of time available for quality modelling.

Bish I agree totally for the upper surfaces.

I had set as an imperative rule of my own  not to exceed the deadline and there was no more time so I decided to call it an end for the build as it was (no exhaust stains, no further camo  fading, no radio antenna, I even ommited the navigation lights).

Nevertheless it was really very enjoyable participating in this GB.

See ya all in 1945

Thanks, Bish.  It was a great GB.  Had great fun with it and all the participants.

Happy New Year to y'all, and much modeling in 2015.

Again, guys, been a pleasure...great bunch of builders. To those that finished, congrats and well done, to those almost done, 'git 'er done!!, to those who couldn't make it...see ya in 1945!! Happy new year all (Eastern time here, so, I got 3 hrs to go!!) ...see ya next yr!

Oh... Man I've been working like nuts trying to FINISH it before midnight. OK.... calm down.... totally botched the weathering.... just go back and do a dark wash to cover it up...... ugh.

Its now 2015 GMT and so an declaring this GB now closed to all new entries and un started builds. All those already under way are of course still counted.

Thanks to all of you who took part or are still building. Once again its been a real pleasure with some great builds and some great fun along the way.

And many thanks to Spartan for helping out. Its been a pleasure buddy. See you all in 2015. And for those who have not had enough of 70th anniversary builds, don't forget the 1945 GB is now open and up and running.

cs.finescale.com/.../163030.aspx

happy new year and happy modelling to all.

Thanks for the info Z. I was wondering if that was it, but wasn't sure. And its a really nice looking build, and finished just under the wire, less than 6 hours before the end, god going. Been a pleasure having you and your yak on board.

The only thing I would suggest is that maybe the top wash should be a bit darker and exhaust stain's would be a really great addition in future builds. The underside looks dirty but the top looks very clean.

Look forward to seeing more of your work in the coming year. I am sure SS will add it to the front page soon, I know he has been a bit busy the last day or so.

More great work, Z!

Axeman: WOW was the first thing that came to mind when I saw your finished paintwork. Excellent and very vivid.

Bish: These are indeed kill marks. The Soviets used stars for all their kills (perhaps it was a directive, indicating  collective honor to the motherland and communist ideals).

After a race the small Yak is announced finished.

Summary of todays work:

Resin exhausts were cleaned, painted steel and left to dry.

Various bits (wheels, propeller + hub, etc) were given final paint and assembled.

Oil wash was applied with black for the upper surfaces and dark brown/mud for the lower.

Various minor corrections not worth mentioning.

The clear coat was not even given time to dry properly. A heater was used to accelerate drying (it is also too cold today so that was dual purpose).

Some ligh dry brushing to everything.

A new pitot was made from brass tubing and stretched sprue (the kit's is too thick).

Just in time to go celebrating new years eve.

Comments and criticism are more than welcomed.

That was fun in a hurry

Happy new year to all fellows.

Fantastic work guys!

Admirable work, Zvezda and Axeman.  Beautiful results and flawless finishes on your kits.  Extremely nice to look at.

Zvezda1980

After some hours of placing decals the results are as per below pics.

Decals were rather bad. Once placed on the kit they had the behavior of a stiff. Only after each one was individually taken care of with soft brushes pushing down, small drops of Gunze decal solvent, patience and a glass of single malt whisky did they all decide to settle. Many of them broke off and had to be reassembled from their various pieces .

Then some blending/fading of the markings with the camo and a heavy coat of gloss clear was applied.

Hope to have it finished by tomorrow, even though it;s a bit difficult.

Just been having a good look through the pics and was wondering what those stars are for on the engine. My first thought was kill markings, but these are usually done with the insignia of the nation the destroyed aircraft comes from.