PACIFIC CARRIER AVIATION GROUP BUILD

Hi guys.

Thanks for the kind words, those flaps are indeed the first I've ever built from PE.

Welcome Baxter, I too recently got back to modelling.  I discovered the Flexi-file's touch-n-flow and now I don't use anything else for styrene.  I use it with Tenax liquid cement (I preferred it to the liquid cement supplied by Flexi-file).  The Tenax seems a bit "hotter" but it also works faster and bonds better.

I've just finished masking the canopy.  That was a multi-hour adventure and another first.   Way back when I'd paint them free hand!  I started with Tamiya tape and then switched to using Bare-Metal foil.  Vastly prefer using the foil to mask vs. the tape!  I should be getting the canopy finished off today or tomorrow and then I'll pop up a few more pictures.

One thing I could have used was a flexible metal straight edge to help trim the foil.  Does anyone have a recommendation for this?  I started using a scrap piece of annealed PE fret about half-way through the job, but it was a bit tricky to manipulate since it was so narrow.

Regards,

Rob

OK, so the greenhouse canopy complete.  Here is a bit of eye candy, such as it is, for those looking for pics.

This is the Squadron crystal clear canopy, the kit part is far too thick to properly pose open.  I did dip it in Future, which immensely improved the clarity.  I found the frame on the canopy was a little soft on detail in some areas, especially the spine along the top.  Consequently, some of the lines were a bit off, but overall it's a lot better than freehand!  There is an undercoat of Tamiya flat aluminum with a MM Acryl US Navy Blue Gray overtop.  As I've read elsewhere the Acryl is extremely fragile stuff and a few areas peeled a bit as I removed the masks.  Fortunately the Tamiya is much more durable and so I got some unplanned "chips" in the paint job. I'll just pretend it was intentional and call it weathering .  One thing I forgot was to give it a shot of Dullcote while the masks were on.  No way I am going to do it now!

Does anyone know if Tamiya makes a good match for US Navy Blue Gray (M-485)?  I have a few more WWII American Naval aircraft in my little stash and I'd prefer to use a different brand of paint if I can.  Unfortunately I only have access to Testors, Tamiya, and Vallejo here in this part of Canada.

I know I have been in and out of this GB guys... but Rob this Squadron canopy looks great.  Do you plan on displaying them open?  I've only ever bought two and my first experience was less than what I'd hoped for.

Those flaps came out nicely too.  Getting it right the first time is pretty key I think.  =]  Definitely looking forward to seeing this one finished!

Looks nice Rob.  I like it!

Rob: Very nicely done. Right impressive. You are a better man than I. The very first thing I do upon acquiring a new kit is to immediately buy an Eduard mask for it. For someone like myself who has limited bench time these are an absolute godsend.

Steve: Alright. That is good news indeed. Still curious though. Are you using a thin viscosity Zap-a-Gap? The medium or thick Zap-a-Gap doesn't run all over the place  plus it gives you a little bit of time to fiddle with the part before setting up.

Hello everyone...

 

Joe recommended that I post an update on my TBM-3 build, which I am happy to do.  I don’t have a lot to show here yet but below is what I have done thus far.  The fuselage and tail section are not glued together yet.  I positioned them together in this photo as kind of a reference.  My goal is to make this plane with the same markings and color that was used on the ill-fated Flight 19 training mission.  So this will take some work.  I found some aftermarket decals for this kit that matches that flight.  I will buy them.  From what I read on another forum though, the decals are not that great.  The poster said that they were not very white and so they may require painting.   Worst case, I can use them to make stencils and just paint the markings on the plane.  The other issue I will have is that I want this plane in flight.  The kit appears to be made for gear down.   That shouldn’t be a big deal but it will take some brain power to make sure I position things right.   As I get older, brain power comes at a premium. 

 

So what is my next step?  I need to finish the cockpit assembly.  Most of the components are glued onto the flight deck,  I just need to begin spraying it.  Then, paint the instrument panel.  Once that is done, I should be able to glue it into the fuselage halves.  The motor might need to be painted before that too.  I have to look closer.  If I can assembly the fuselage without installing the motor, that would make it easier for painting.  Then I need to figure out the landing gear situation, assemble the main wings, mount the wings to the fuselage, filler, final prep, painting, weathering, whatever.

 

So guys… I need to get 1/48 scale WWII pilot figures to install in the cockpit.  Do you have any leads as to where I can find them?

 

Thanks again for all your support, kind words, and help.  I have not had a chance to check out what you are working on but I plan to.

 

 

Joe...I believe it is the thin. I see where you are going with this.  Darn.  Time to get some other glue!  Thanks for pointing that out.  I didn't realize they made them in other viscosities. 

Alrighty, time for some progress pics. Shot the first coating of Mr. Surfacer 1200 primer and much to my delight there was only a handful of small areas that required sanding and application of a dab of Mr. Surfacer 1000. With those dressed up the second shot 1200 was applied. What has particularly pleased me was that I managed to sand the fuselage seam without damaging the raised panel lines that represent the overlapping panels of the Hellcat. Trust me that was a bit of a challenge.

Greetings all.  So I noticed some dimples underneath the main wing sections. See the image below.   Greg—you might be able to answer this since you built this kit.  Did you have the same dimples on your kit?  Do you think this was by design?  Maybe as location guides to mount the rockets? Or some other feature like hinges? They just look odd compared to the other markings. Maybe a flaw? Directly on the other side of the wing is some structures that were molded in.  In any event, and for my build, I am not installing the rockets.  Having said that, I may need to fill those dimples with filler.  What do you guys think? 

Excellent looking work Steve. Thanks for posting the pics. Glad to help out with the CA glue issue. Trust me, the thicker glues will make your modeling much more enjoyable. Although I do still manage to glue myself to my kit once in a while regardless.

Looks good Joe.  I like it.  I hope I make it that far in my build.  Thanks for sharing...

Thanks Steve. I appreciate that.

Joe...thanks for the kudos.  I can't believe I forgot that about the glue.  All this stuff I have to learn or relearn. I didn't do too much damage so there is still hope.  I will get some new glue soon.  That should make a big difference.  Yes...I had a few close calls with sticking fingers too.  LOL.

Joe and Steve, both of your builds are looking fantastic! Joe, can't wait to see some paint on that bird she looks good to go to me all that work paid off

Rob: I'm with Joe on this one. I'm using Eduard masks as well all the time, so my hat's off to you for doing it the old-fashioned way! That squadron canopy sure is a big improvement.

Steve: Looking really nice! I prefer "Tamiya extra thin cement" and "Mr.Cement S". They are great, thin plastic glues with pointy brushes for easier application. Try to get your hand on one of them or both, I'm sure you'll like them. Those dimples are sink marks. They appear somethimes when there's a lot of raised detail molded on the other side of a structure. You need to fill those as they are indeed a flaw in the part.

Joe: That tiny Hellcat still looks like 1/48 to me, especially with the primer making all that surface detail pop! You really did y great job on sanding that fuselage spine without smoothing out the panel lines! Are they really old-school raised panel lines on the 1/72 one? I'm just curios because the 1/48 version really has staggered panels instead of panel lines.

SchattenSpartan

Rob: I'm with Joe on this one. I'm using Eduard masks as well all the time, so my hat's off to you for doing it the old-fashioned way! That squadron canopy sure is a big improvement.

I'd like to try the masks, but the only one available is for the GW kit.  I wasn't sure if it would fit either the Monogram or the Squadron canopy properly.  There are a set of masks in the GW kit but the reviews aren't very favourable.

The plan was to model the pilot and gunner positions open.  I started to cut the canopy last night.  So far I have the windshield and the pilot canopy done, but it doesn't look pretty and the process is damaging the paint along the cut.  In hindsight I should have painted after I cut the thing apart.  I think the plan now will be to cut the canopy, strip it, and refinish it (sigh). Lessons learned I guess.  If I wreck the canopy I can always go back to the kits parts.

Thanks Clemens. No, they are staggered just like on the 1/48. I did not describe it well but they are "raised" slightly and thus very easy to sand off and would be a bear to try and repair satisfactorily.

Thanks for the kind words Josiah.

Rob, Sorry you had to acquire a bend in the learning curve the hard way. But, with the patience you have already exhibited I am sure you will nail the canopy. The one draw back of Eduard masks is that, yes, they make them for the kit canopies but, they do not make them for the Squadron replacements. Thus, one may have to some trimming or filling in with the original masks in order to make them work on the  vacuform one.

Rob, you did a great job masking and painting that canopy. Shame you have to strip and start over, but as Rix said, compliments on your patience and I think it'll be worth it. I suspect you might have found that the not dull-coated canopy might have looked a bit odd. I have a phobia about forgetting to dull coat before removing masks. Haven't done it, yet.................

Joe Rix, I agree with Clemens, keep having to remind myself this is not a 1/48th. Glad you mentioned your technique with the mr surfacer. I am going to have my first go with it today on a bit of ordnance. Will it clean out of a/b ok with tin can lacquer thinner?

Steve, I cut off my flaps for PE flap replacement, so I'd forgotten about those dimples. Not that I'd have known to fill them 'til Clemens mentioned above they are sink marks. A tip for you, might want to mask that seam forward of the sink mark prior to filling, it'll save you trouble.

Speaking of glue, as I typed this my first order of the year. Yes, I said first order of the year arrived from Sprue Bros as I typed this. Got a jar of Tamiya thin and am excited to try it.

On the CA, you mentioned zap a gap, Steve. I bought a bottle of that stuff last year, and it seemed to dry out in the bottle awfully fast. Wonder if anyone else has had that experience? I find the brand that is rebranded for hobby shops works best for me and is available in lots of viscosities and the shelf life in the bottle seems to be excellent, but the brand name eludes me. Maybe someone can help me out here so Steve can link to the mfg site see what I'm rambling about. In the meantime, if you have a hobby shop avail, they would be the CA with the hobby shop name on them.

Hey Greg, I'm not much help for you concerning shooting Mr. Surfacer from an AB as I have not ventured into that arena yet. I've been rather hesitant to be honest as I have read a number of reports of it "spider webbing" out of the airbrush. So, I am unsure whether lacquer thinner will actually have an effect. Now, with that said, Mr. Thinner or Mr. Leveling Thinner is formulated for it as I understand. This is compounded by the fact that I keep forgetting to test that. If I can remember, I will test the compatability of Mr. surfacer and said thinner. From my FW 190 build I am aware that Mr. color paint only thins well with Mr. Thinner. I am one of those folks that sticks to the formula of using the manufacturer thinners with their paints.

Now, on to glue. Greg you brought up an excellent point concerning the Hobby Shop label glue as I use that very stuff from my nearest LHS as well as Zap-a-Gap.. Here is an interesting tid bit that the owner of  the LHS shared with me when I mentioned that I put my CA glue in the fridge to keep it from hardening. He told that you only do that with thin viscosity CA's and not to do that with the thicker CA as it will actually hasten the hardening. He said to simply place thicker CA in cool place where it would not get any sunlight. I keep my thicker CA in a desk drawer and for the most part it works well. Not sure that I have noticed a time difference between Zap and any other brand. Although over time it's going to harden up on you. And just another note on CA, That is that there is also CA Gel which can be found in most any hardware store. It has a bit longer setting time and I use for things that I need to maneuver around a bit before setting. And lastly, another useful item is CA Bonder. This is for using to instantly cure your CA. You simply take a small brush with this stuff on it and touch it to your glue and it instantly hardens. Great for small PE items that you need to get stuck in place right away.

Let me just comment on the Mr.Surfacer question:

First of all, it's wonderful stuff! It's my go-to primer for aircraft because it sprays so well. I use the 1200 in the jar thinned with, you guessed it, Mr.Leveling Thinner. It's quite easy to get it out of your AB. I use Revell's strong Acrylic solvent (Aqua Color Clean) but I'm not sure what they put in those bottles TBH. Normal Lacquer thinner should get it out with ease too. Mr.surfacer thins well with the normal Mr.Color Thinner, but the Leveling Thinner makes it go on even smoother. So I really encuorage everyone to try to get hold of the Leveling Thinner if you're using Mr.Surfacer or other Gunze paints.

You'll love that Extra Thin. I use it for all the larger assemblies (capillary action is key) and decently sized detail parts. For everything else (all the tiny stuff) I use Mr.Cement S because it dries even faster, leaves even less residue and is slightly "hotter". Those 2 glues are the perfect plastic cemet combination IMO...

I haven't looked in here for a while; been busy trying to finish up a very frustrating B-24 for "The Longest Day" GB.  Still not quite done.

Very impressive work going on here!

Raven:  that's a nice looking cockpit;  keep plugging away at the Corsair; despite the problems, the photos show it looking good

RobH:  the sharp frames you got on the Devastator canopy are certainly impressive; I think they're a neat looking plane, although I've only built Airfix's ancient offering in 1/72

Bakster:  the Avenger looks like it's coming along; you chose an interesting subject with Flight 19; there's a fascinating subject; I wonder if those dimples you mentioned are somehow supposed to represent fabric covered ailerons?  Did the Avenger have fabric covered ailerons?  Just a thought, cuz I don't know the answer myself

Joe:  the Hellcat is still looking great; nice work

Greg:  I've almost never been able to use up a whole bottle of Zap a Gap without it hardening in the bottle; I think I've actually only emptied one in over fifteen years of using the stuff exclusively.

I have 12 more 1/700 Dauntlesses I want to finish for the flight deck of the USS Enterprise I completed back in the spring; since I already posted photos of the ones I used on the hanger deck, I don't think I'll bore you with progress pics; I started cleaning up and sanding the seams on this batch a couple of days ago

Joe, I'm with you concerning thinning products with their own thinners. I am rather anal about that too. But when it comes to airbrush cleaning, I like to go the cheapest possible route, hence my question about tin can lacquer thinner (which Clemens seems to have answered with a 'yea'. I'll be trying it in a bit.

Interesting info re the glue. The name of the company I forgot just popped in my brain. BSI (Bob Smith Industries. In case you are interested, Steve, here's a link. The bottles are unmistakeable, they just might have a local hobby shop's name at the top instead of BSI.

http://www.bsi-inc.com/Pages/hobby/ca.html

Maybe I didn't get the zap a gap cap on right, reason it dried out so fast.

On the gel, I love that stuff and again, I use BSI CA gel. I use it same reasons as you, it is forgiving and leaves some 'move around' time. I've taken to using Gator's Grip glue for most PE, though. It is 100% forgiving!

Rest assured I always have my spray bottle of Instaset handy, and the de-bonder even more handy, for emergencies like getting my #5 blade glued to my cheek, or something. :)

Thanks for all the neat tips, Joe!

Clemens, thanks for the info on cleaning the a/b. I'll try lacquer thinner first and move on from there if need be. I hope I have a bottle of Mr Leveling Thinner. I think I do as you told me before to get it!

Would prefer to use Vallejo primer tonight, but it won't sand as I recall, and there will be some sanding to do.

So get this, my first go with the Tamiya extra thin was a bomb (pun just happened by itself). Tried attaching two fiddly bits to a bomb this afternoon with two tiny gluing points. That didn't work.

Follow up. This will be shorter, promise.

I think I'm in love. Mr Surfacer thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner sprays like a dream. Hope it wasn't beginners luck. Dries fast, sands great.

Thanks gents. And Clemens, now I'm going to HAVE to try some Gunze paints. Darn you!

Clemens, You've peaked my interest about Mr. Cement S. I may very well have to add that to my glue arsenal. Thanks for the info.

Checkmate, Glad to see you back in here and back to tackling those little SBD's.

That is indeed great news Greg. Thanks for taking the plunge. You will love Gunze paints Greg. With that it got me doing some remembering stuff. They also make a product called Mr. Tool Cleaner. This stuff is absolute dynamite for cleaning your AB after using Gunze paints. Much better than lacquer thinner or Testors AB cleaner. Thus, I'm guessing that that right there is the best way to clean an AB after using Mr. Surfacer.

Hi Greg... Thanks for the info on the BSI glue.  I am pretty sure I have seen that around here in one of the local stores. I just need to figure where.  I will look for it locally or order it online.  I think the gel will work very well for me.  Others here have suggested Tamiya extra thin.  I will get that too.  I can see situations where that will work well.  What should work well with the Tamiya is the applicator brush. I have watched some You Tube videos where a modeler used it.  It's amazing the control he had using the brush and how you can control the amount applied and precisely where you want it. To me, that is key with those thin glues.

i just read your post about Mr Surfacer and how well that worked for you.  You and the others here have convinced me to try it.  I will try it with this build.

Thanks too for your tip and input about the dimples.

Schattenspartan...that makes complete sense about the dimples being sink marks.  There are some rather tall moldings in those exact areas and on the other side of the wings.  So.....time to get the putty out.  Thanks for settling that issue for me.  Thanks to everyone for their advice, suggestions, comments, and input.

Steve, different glues for different purposes. I'm still getting my head around it. Seems like yesterday I was using tube glue for everything, and that was 40+ yrs ago. Shhhh!