PACIFIC CARRIER AVIATION GROUP BUILD

I got the decals for the forward gear doors applied tonight and had a slight set back with the positioning of hte folded wing on the port side. I will have to cut the wing hinge point and extend it out another 1/8". I cut some styrene stock to add as an "extender". Will have to paint and weather it to make it look decent. We'll see.........................

 I'll be back tomorrow morning to kick off this weekend's  power build surge! I would very much like to finish this weekend but will probably be "married" to this thing for another week or so. lol

Yo Ho Ho! That's what what we're here for dude! Lookin forward to more pics.

Joe--Checkmate--Mustang...thanks for the support!  I do appreciate your input...  

There's really not a whole lot left to this build right now. I have to install the landing gear and related parts, prop, windscreen, gun barrels, folded wing section and touch that up, aerial antenna, pitot tube, drop tank and bombs. It sounds like a lot but it aint. Getting close to the finish line!!!!

Steve, Joe is absolutely correct. Do not bemoan your efforts as they are really first rate. Your engine looks great. The painting and detailing is excellent. I realize that we are our own worst critics but, you honestly need to sit back, pat yourself on the back and tell yourself "You know what? I did a really nice job on this."

Joe, You're welcome. It is interesting to note that for pretty much all aircraft in all air forces, it came down to using what was available, regardless. Maintenance crews were all to often at the whim of availability, logistics and shortages. Crews were constantly having to scavenge from damaged aircraft in order to keep others flying. You can even find pics of aircraft with mismatched tires. 

Yeah Bakster don't cut yourself short. You've got "the look" going on man! Lookin' good from this angle!

Thanks Joe for the pics on the tires. I'm gong to go ahead and go with the smooth tread on this build and save my resin tires for the Hellcat. I do consider even the base Eduard wheel / tire assys an upgrade this ol' Corsair. Anything helps at this point. I have been doing odds and ends on the bird all week. Stuff like a slight amount of weathering by silvering some of the rivet heads around the cockpit, painting landing grear doors and arresting hook, touch up paint on the zinc chromate inside the folded wing that'll be showing, cleaning up and working with the Eduard replacment wheel/ tire assys, installing the main canopy section and dunking the windscreen in future. I'll be ready to mask that sucker tomorrow and hopefully paint the frames on Friday.

  Here's a shot of the wheel/ tire comparison with Eduard on the left and Monogram on the right:

Nice start, Bakster.  Especially good metallic look to the engine.

Hey everyone.  It's been a bit since I posted an update.  So I thought I'd at least post this. Not much to show really but I thought something is better than nothing.  See below.  The engine is not up to the standards as you guys are able to do but for my first whack at it...I am happy with it.  

It is really funny you are talking about tires.  I chose the crosshatch pattern for my TBM.  I did so not for any other reason but because I liked them better.  The kit came with both styles.   I just painted them up this week.

Below:  In case you are wondering where the shaft is, the front portion of the engine is not glued down yet.  

Ah Joe, my dear friend, not all carrier aircraft tires were smooth tread. In fact I actually have a tougher time finding photos of smooth tires in my reference books and on the net.

I really like this photo:

And this is the type of tire I will be using on my Hellcat:

SchattenSpartan

Doesn't the Hellcat Profipack come with some extra resin wheels?

Joe: Damn, now that's simply perfect! You really managed to make an absolute beauty out of that oldill-fitting Monogram kit! Doesn't the Hellcat Profipack come with some extra resin wheels?

Craig: Those panel lines look really nice! I'd be tempted to just leave it like that without any additional paint on top...

I'll keep that in mind buddy. 

And thanks for the other book pal. You're a saint!

mustang1989

Joe Rix:Man thanks for your good word buddy......er is it Reverend? lol

Hmm...The Reverend has been rather quiet lately. That might be because there has been no signs of anyone committing any styrene heresy lately. Say like, someone building an ill fitting model and getting fed up and threatening to toss it the trash. Yet, it seems that such individuals have resisted committing such blasphemous acts and have thusly not flamed The Reverend into necessary sermon. Mind you, He is always on watch.

Man thanks checkmateking! I'm actually starting to "like" how this build is turning out so far. I'm  thinking that I'll actually be proud to give this to my good buddy Pat for a Christmas present. Well........it at least LOOKS like a Corsair. lol

You achieved a very nice-looking paint finish on that, mustang, and the markings blend in perfectly.  Well done!

Thanks checkmateking. I managed to shoot the black on the insides of all the landing gear doors and dry overnight. This morning I got up and was able to shoot the zinc chromate on the inside of all the doors and the blue on the outsides. Next I'll be working on getting some legs on this thing and installing these doors after a nice coat of gloss on the very front main gear doors, decals and then a flat over all the doors. Managed to steal a couple of parts from another kit for the wheel/ tire assys. Look familiar flyerduke? (don't worry I have another profipack on the way). I just couldn't leave the main wheels the way they were from the kit (pictured below next to the Eduard pieces). They looked like oversized tire inner tubes!!

Here she is as of now:

Nice recovery with the Corsair markings, mustang.  It's looking great.

So is the Hellcat, Craig.  Looking forward to seeing how this technique works out.

Dave:I appreciate you confidence in me because I have been second guessing that all the way through this build. I'll be looking foward to seeing that build of yours whenever you start it. PM me when you start it if it's not going to be going on in this GB. I've actually been slave driving myself on this to get through in another week with MORE than enough time to have this thing completed for my mentor/ friend before Christmas.  I have an Italeri 1/24 scale Willys Jeep that I have to get done for another friend before ChristmasIIII Then its off to the 109 GB that kicks off in January and I'll be building two planes for that one!

flyerduke:The lines should hold up good through the intermediate blue and the white. Don't be disappointed if they don't show through the dark blue. Mine didn't. .  But hey cheer up, that's part of what washes are for.

BTW that's a cool scheme. Gotta love those tri-color schemes. They can be a beeyatch to get right but they sure look purdy when they're done. I'll be watchin' this one....................

Joe - I'm doing the VF-6 three color scheme.  I should be getting the Navy Blue, Inter. Blue, and white in next week.  The panel lines should show through the white and hopefully the Inter. blue.  I don't think I'm going to pre-shade with the airbrush.  I'd like to see how the pen shaded panel lines hold up.

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Joe Rix:Man thanks for your good word buddy......er is it Reverend? lol

Bakster:Thanks dude. Yeah we gotta look out for the fellow brutha's you know.

flyerduke:Dude there aint nuthin' wrong with that. The end result through the paint is what really counts. First off, what scheme are you going with?

Mustang,

I actually caught the mistake on the decal placement guide, but then second guessed myself....

'Surely, Monogram/Revell wouldn't have created such a blatant mistake on their decals and instructions????"  Wow......what a crazy oversight on their part........you have done an amazing job with this Corsair......when ever I summons the courage to attempt my build, I will use your notes as a guide.....and a steady stream of deliciously cold and golden beverages!!!!

TAD

Craig--  that looks tedious.  You did an awesome job with it.    I don't think I have seen this done before until Joe and you.  I am really interested so see how this translates in the final build for you guys.  I can't wait!

Mustang--It is looking great.  I still want to climb in and take it for a spin.    BTW--that was a cool story. You saved that guy from one big headache!  

Ooooh! That came out nice. I'll have to remember that there Faber-Castell artist pencil. Produces a much darker effect. Sorry flyerduke but, did I fail to mention that tracing panel lines is tedious and mind numbing? Given that I had to add more coats of white my efforts were for not. Note to self: Use Tamiya white primer when needing to spray white paint.

I decided to take a page out of JR's play book.  I used a black Faber-Castell XS artist pen to go over the panel lines.  What a pain in the ass.  I still think I may pre-shade the panel lines with the airbrush.  I noticed in the pics I missed a couple spots.  Sorry about the grainy photos.  I'm no photographer.  Hopefully the exterior paints arrive next week.  I'll work on the prop, landing gear and doors in the meantime.  I've never pre-shaded before.  I hope I don't screw it up.

Craig

Excellent repair job on the decal and paint Joe. Looks like there was never a problem. The ISO/Gray treatment looks good so far.

 Good mornin' everybody! Well I've put the final push forward for the weekend here. Hopefully I get some decent time in through the week coming up to get the finishing touches put on this bad boy. I got the gear doors all ready for the black primer. On these old Mongram/ Revell builds I do something alot of us more experienced guys don't do. You remember those stupid part numbers that Monogram used to put right in the MIDDLE of the part? You know, the one that you have to friggin sand off every time? I tend to leave stuff like that on as well as the copyright lettering thats right in the centerline on the bottom of the wings on this build. Call it nostalgic reasoning I guess. I built my Monogram Dauntless and installed the bomb release lever (which shows on the bottom of the fuselage-you could actuate it with your finger and it would drop the bomb) for the same reasons. It makes for good conversation when showing the build. The part numbers here are on the inside so I don't have much beef with leaving them there. I guess you could call it Monograms signature and reminds me of when I was a kid building these kinds of kits.

Ok here's the before and after pics of the clear flat. I mix a little 70% ISO and a couple of drops of light grey to my upper surface flat coats to give it a true flat and sunbleached effect.

Before flat:

After flat: (and lets not forget the wing number decal repair...Sheesh!  )

Before flat:

After flat:

Still have the bottom flat clear without the grey added to apply and all the last minute stuff like canopy pieces, prop, landing gear, arresting hook , pitot tube, gun barrels and aerial antenna. I almost forgot: the installation of the folded wing as well. Looks like we're on the home stretch here.............

Looking good flyer!  There's just something about seeing a model in primer that looks cool. To me it signals the beginning of endless possibilites. I'm getting to where I actually enjoy painting and watching others paint their builds as it's a learning experience. So with that , I'm watching......................

Hey guys, thanks for the words of encouragement.  I primered the plane with Tamiya fine surfacer (spray can).  Doesn't work real well when it comes to gettin' in the wheel wells.  Shouldn't take much when spraying the insignia white.  Still waiting for my Mr. Color Navy Blue and Inter. Blue to arrive from China (ebay).  During my paint drying spells, I started on my 1/72 Trumpeter F-107.  Looks like an easy build, but not much detail.

JR- I hand painted the oil cooler intakes white before hand.  Then stuffed tissue in the center intake.  Hope I don't have any issues later on.

Craig

All Right flyerduke! Great to see you have made some sweet progress on your Hellcat. And very fine looking progress it is. Man, you can just see why the Eduard Hellcat in heralded as the most accurate there is.

As for progress on my Hellcat I met with a slight issue. One that I actually felt was there. While masking the underside I removed a small sponge that I had stuffed in the oil cooler as a mask. I had hand painted part of the interior of the cooler prior and when I removed the sponge it  became glaring that the white I had painted on the underside was not enough and thus was actually a light gray. Thus, I had to remove the masking that I had put on so far and respray a few more coats of white on. It looks all good now. Back to masking.

That thing looks Eduard through and through. I just got mine in a few days ago and was noticing the hub and tires being separate pieces. That's a great idea!! Cant wait to see the paint start flying on this thing duke!!