PACIFIC CARRIER AVIATION GROUP BUILD

Nice!  I don't want to sound totally like a novice, but how do you plan on using the Future.

Painting is all done - up next some future and decals

Drew: That preshading turned out very nicely! I also really like the engine with all the wiring you added!

Rob: It's nice to see an update on the Devastator! I woul've never assumed there was a gap anywhere if you hadn't mentioned it! Great work on getting it filled so flawlessly!

Hey Drew and Rob--very nice work. I love it.

Drew, Very excellent looking engine. The painting and wiring are impressive. The pre shading is well done  also. I'm currently getting ready to attach the PE wires on my engine. I have yet to try PE ignition wires over copper wire ones. Looks like I'm in for a bit of an adventure.

A couple shots of the engine.  I'm going to put the mags and gearbox etc. piece on after painting the exterior so the cowling will be easier to mask.

Forgot to take a picture before I started painting the exterior colors, but I've still got the pre-shading on top and the completed bottom color.

Very fun and simple build!  Need to get it done by early October.  (This one's going to be a birthday gift)

Hey Rob, Really glad to see an update from you. You have made some really sweet progress. The paint job and decals look great. Yea, that seam filling and sanding stuff just takes practice. But, before you know you'll be a master at it. Looking forward to your weathering.

Great looking Devastator, Rob.    Well-painted!

Hi guys.  I've not posted any pics for a while but I have been making steady progress. All I have left is some minor stuff (canopy, a few cockpit details, flaps, and the landing gear) and then I can try my hand at weathering. At the moment its still wearing an overcoat of Future so it's quite shiny. Despite the Future the MM Acryl Navy Blue is still fragile and today I had it back in the "shop" for some touch-ups.

Say Joe, Rob, and Craig-- thanks.  Both wings fit really nice now.  I am glad Jack suggested it.  It is a simple idea but one I didn't think of.  Something learned.

Steve

Bakster: That sshim seems to have fixed your gap very nicely!

Craig: Your Hellcat's looking great!

Nicely done with the shim fix there Bakster.  I'll be sure to add that technique to my bag of tricks.

Ah Yes! Much better Bakster. That extra bit of work you did with the shims made a heck of a difference. A little white glue treatment ought to do the trick. After which you'll be golden. Nice job pulling that off by the way.

Craig--you are moving along nicely.  Looking Good!

Joe-- engines look good with the Alcad paint...

I thought I would update you on my wing issue.  I was able to cut open the glued joins with my hobby knife and then cut open gaps large enough that I could insert a shim. It took some futzing but I got to where its a pretty nice fit.  I will still need to use some filler but it won't take that much.   I think Checkmate's white glue suggestion will work well for that process. These were simple solutions to a headachy problem.

Thanks again everyone!

Below:  Not a great picture but the join is much tighter now.

Hey Flyerduke, Here's a pic just after I sprayed the case halves. Not a terrific pic but, it'll give you an idea. I'll have better pics when I get a little further along.

JR - I used Tamiya aluminum.  It looks OK I guess.  I'm really interested to see how the Alclad  turns out on your engine.

Hey There Craig, Nice to see some progress from you. And very nice progress indeed. The engine looks great. Sweet work there. I'm currently working on my engine also. I've got the Alclad aluminum on the case and about ready to glue on the PE plug wires. Oh Joy!

I'm sure you'll like the Optivisor, Craig.  Very helpful!

Nice work on the engine, too!

hey gang, I'm still here.  Work and family seem to take up most of my time.  I did find a few minutes to squeeze in a little work on the Hellcat.  I removed some of the control surfaces for cleaning up and test fitting.  Also I'm still working on the engine.  Hope to get the fuselage and wings put together soon.  I also received the 2.5X Optivisor in ordered from Amazon.  It's nothing fancy, but works great.  Should make modeling much easier.  I think I'm still on track to finish this year. 

Craig 

Hey Clemens!

I just realized that I'm still a "TBD" and I need to fix that.  Since the build is decidedly American/Allied I will build from the other perspective: the Japanese.  I will be building either an Airfix Zero or an Airfix Val.  Both are in 1/72nd scale.

Nice work being done all the way around; very impressive gentlemen!  Thanks for sharing your builds!

TAD

Thanks again, guys! SS, I guess the first pic is the best, the 3/4 front/side view. I really need to work on getting a better background set up for finished pics.

Thanks Clemens. Good to hear that the 1/48 version includes a bit more detail. Here is a cool site with some good detail pics of the cockpit and tail wheel:

www.thescale.info/.../Hellcat-Cockpit-photos.shtml

Raven: That Corsair put up a tough fight but it looks like you beat it! Nice work! What pic do you want me to put on the front page?

Steve: Shimming the inside of the wing like Jack suggested is probably the easiest way of getting that gap to disappear if the white glue trick doesn't work. The wing does fit in there seamlessly at two points so I thik it's just a matter of getting the area in between beefed up a wee bit.

Joe: Damnit buddy, you've done it again! You keep amazing me with your attention for detail and the precise paint jobs you pull of in that small scale! I didn't even notice those panels before but you really pulled that one off perfectly! My Hellcat kit includes a bit more PE to mess around with including those black panels for the cockpit. The red levers are molded in place on the styrene parts but there is no way of knowing how they should be painted without having good reference pics of the area in question. Same story with the black panels they are mounted on (but those are not molded in place). Thanks for that info, mate! I'm finally going to make a start on the Hellcat, but progress will be slow with all the other projects on my bench ATM. Those PE gear bays (literally nothing except PE in there) look like they are going to be fun to assemble! Well at least they hide the gear bay seams...

Hey Raven,

Kudos on a great job on the vintage Monogram kit!  I've only built it once as a kid and know all of the 'challenges' that come with the kit.  You've done an outstanding job making that old jewel shine!

I've got one on ice somewheres around here...one day I'll take another stab at it.  Thanks for the inspiration.

Dave

Hey Raven, You have done a marvelous job on your Corsair. Nicely done in taking an ill fitting and ill detailed kit and turning it into a very fine finished model. That is certainly what modeling is all about and you have done very well. Very well indeed. Congratulations on finishing and Thank You very much for sharing with us.

Thanks kindly, fellas. She had me down, but not out, and I came out on top.

Hey Raven--

I agree with Checkmate.  It looks really sharp!  Congratulations!  You did it!  

Steve

Well, despite the difficulties, I think the Corsair still turned out looking pretty good!  Nice work.  Well-painted and detailed.  Really sharp!

Well, I finished up the Corsair F4U-4 today! I had figured on it going much more quickly after painting, but there were a bunch of little jobs to do, plus quite a bit of decaling (took me two sessions to complete). First, the basic coat of Sea Blue with Future for the gloss:

Not perfect, but by far the best results I've gotten from Future to date. I sprayed straight from the bottle at 8psi, I think three coats. Unfortunately, the underside doesn't look nearly as good - not nearly as uniform a shine, plus I had some drips that accumulated near the backs of the wings. I think in hindsight I would have sprayed each side independently of the other and made more of an effort to keep the plane level while it was drying. Live and learn.

Finished pics:

The markings I chose are described in the instructions as VMF-214 "Black Sheep" squadron, USS Sicily (CVE-118) Korea, 1951. I had intended on doing late WWII markings, but I realized belatedly that the 'WE' tail marking is, I believe, the ship code and not the plane's individual code. Oops. Overall, I'm happy with how the model turned out, despite my teeth-grinding frustration with the build. I'll be happy to display it on my shelf. Thanks for reading, and for having me in the GB.

Thanks, Bakster.  White glue is an option to choose among many.  I think I first read about it in the pages of FSM back in the '90's sometime.

I could see where it would be a problem with huge gaping gaps.  

As for weathering and panel lines, I seem to remember years ago, people would put a contrasting white or light colored wash in the lines of dark colored aircraft.  Not sure how that would look, so I've always stuck with a dark wash.