PACIFIC CARRIER AVIATION GROUP BUILD

It looks like it was a challenge to make it fit right, Joe.  Way to go pulling that off!

I totally hear you.  Sometimes that fear of messing things up can really hold a person back.  I have been there more than once on my build.

As for the Avenger... I have been working on it virtually ever day.  You guys will probably think I am nuts when I tell ya what I have been up to.  You may recall that I mentioned getting some splatter during the color coat painting.  Well, that was bugging me.  So, my only recourse was to wet sand the wings and fuselage.  I might have got away with sanding just the splatter followed with some polish, but in the end I think there would have been a mismatch in finish.  Along with that, I was just not happy with the overall look of the gloss.  It was shiny as all heck but it just didn't look natural.  So....I set out to sand the entire plane.  I worked on that a few hours each day all of last week.  It's a challenge not to sand through around the rivet detail. I finished the sanding up on Saturday.  This week I will start polishing to bring the gloss out again. Fingers crossed.  With luck, I will start applying the decals by this weekend.  

Today, I worked on making replacement exhaust pipes.  The ones that came with the kit are blah.  I will post a picture tomorrow of how they came out.  I will be looking for advice on how to weather them.

By the way Steve, how's the work on the Avenger coming along?

I forgot to add that I made the bending of those small covers much easier by taking my butane torch and annealing them first. this definitely makes bending PE much easier.

LOL! Thanks Steve. This was a perfect example of not doing something because your so afraid your going to mess it up or it just won't come out right. But, when you get over that nonsense you find it wasn't all that bad. Well, it wasn't all that easy. Getting those little buggers bent til they were close was a challenge.

Hey Joe--  Way to go!  That dresses it up nice!  It does really beat just having some holes in there.  I will have to do that on future builds.  

I hope the ammo isn't loaded, Joe?  Don't want to hear about any misfires! 

Glad to report that I have made some progress. Got the gun barrels installed and the wings glued together. In the process of modifying the wing in order to accommodate the new barrels and insert I had to enlarge the holes in the wing with a round file and I got them a bit too large and offset. Fortunately I had opted not to install the PE covers I have on the original wings as I thought I would mess them up and that the slight rise would appear unrealistic. So, I took a deep breath and set to bending them and getting them glued on. Looks substantially better than the gaping holes around the barrels.

Thanks Mustang... I appreciate your input!

Thanks Joe. Much appreciated.

Bakster

I thought I would tackle the glass as I continue wait for the color coat to cure on the fuselage.  

For this time, I think I can live with it.

JOE RIX

Hey There Everyone. Well, Now that spring has given way to winter here in Utah today I've managed a smidgen of bench time. I got the P-47 metal gun barrels cut down to fit in the QB inserts.

I need to do a bit of sanding in order to get the inserts to fit properly in the wings. Hopefully no big deal. Sure hope to get the wings glued together today.

How's everyone else coming along?

Hey Joe...back at you buddy.  Seeing your awesome work encourages me too and keeps me pushing through this.  

Steve, I'm glad to hear that you got a boost of encouragement as I need you hanging in there to help bouy me along. Seeing the absolutely marvelous results your producing sure keeps me motivated. I'm pushing right along with you old pal. Now, if I could just find that cannister of "Free Time"  that seems to be alluding me...

Hey Clemence....thanks for the shot in the arm.  That really encouraged me at just the right time. This build has been starting to weigh on me.  I appreciate it from all of you.

Steve

That masking job looks about as perfect as they get! Fantastic work, Steve!

Thanks Craig and Joe.

I couldn't agree more. Those are some really nice sharp lines you've achieved Steve.

It looks great Steve.  Looks very clean from here.

I thought I would tackle the glass as I continue wait for the color coat to cure on the fuselage.  

This is a do-over from my last go of things.  This time I tried to keep the paint layers thinner.  Also--I removed the masks before the paint fully cured. The end result is sharper lines. There was a downside though.  Since I misted the paint on this time, I ended up with a somewhat grainy finish. Not too happy about that but it's better than a lot of jagged edges.  The graininess is something I will have to work on with future builds.

For this time, I think I can live with it.

Hey Joe...  Those look great..  Those should really look good once installed.

Those gun barrel inserts are looking really nice, buddy!

I have to find me some metal barrels for my 1/48 Hellcat. I plan on building that one as a nightfighter though, so I need two 20mm barrels with flash hiders. Does anyone here know if there are some of those available in metal somewhere? The Quickbost resin ones are way too brittle for my taste...

Hey There Everyone. Well, Now that spring has given way to winter here in Utah today I've managed a smidgen of bench time. I got the P-47 metal gun barrels cut down to fit in the QB inserts.

I need to do a bit of sanding in order to get the inserts to fit properly in the wings. Hopefully no big deal. Sure hope to get the wings glued together today.

How's everyone else coming along?

Craig--  thanks for checking that. Now I know its not just with the Academy process. You might be interested to know that there are aftermarket flaps you can get that would eliminate most of that.  They look really cool installed, and you would be cutting away much of that section that has the defects.  I didn't take the time to do that but Greg did.  It REALLY dresses up the plane nice.  BTW... I had a tough time filling those dimples because they are so close to panel lines and rivet details.  Sadly--I didn't do that great a job with it.  After paint you can still see them, just not as bad as they would have been.   

When I get home tonight I will find the Academy instructions for you.

Will be in touch.

Steve

Bakster

Say Craig...congrats on the kit.   It has some beautiful detail indeed. 

You are so right about the instructions.  They are really bad.  It's been mentioned in this GB that a person needs both the Accurate as well as the Academy instruction sheets. Between the two of them a person can kind of make sense of things.  Let me know if you don't have access to the Academy sheets.  I can send them to you.  I believe links were posted in this GB as well.  

By all means I will help you as much as I can.  If I can't answer a question, I know a few people that can.

BTW.  I am curious how well the plastic was molded.  My Academy kit had some serious sink marks throughout the assemblies.  Take a look at the rear underside areas of the main wings.  My kit had a series of them all along that trailing edge.  I am just curious if Accurate did a better job than with mine.

Steve 

My kit seems to be like yours.  The trailing edge looks like rippled metal.  It don't look too bad though.  The wing surface is pretty scratched up do to the way the kit was packaged.  Do you have a link for the Academy instructions?  Thanks.

Craig

I look forward to seeing your work on the Avenger Craig. Clemens posted that the next Carrier GB will start this summer sometime.

Say Craig...congrats on the kit.   It has some beautiful detail indeed. 

You are so right about the instructions.  They are really bad.  It's been mentioned in this GB that a person needs both the Accurate as well as the Academy instruction sheets. Between the two of them a person can kind of make sense of things.  Let me know if you don't have access to the Academy sheets.  I can send them to you.  I believe links were posted in this GB as well.  

By all means I will help you as much as I can.  If I can't answer a question, I know a few people that can.

BTW.  I am curious how well the plastic was molded.  My Academy kit had some serious sink marks throughout the assemblies.  Take a look at the rear underside areas of the main wings.  My kit had a series of them all along that trailing edge.  I am just curious if Accurate did a better job than with mine.

Steve 

I picked up my AM TBM-3 kit from the PO yesterday.  I looked through the contents and it looks like a very detailed kit.  With that said, the instructions suck compared to Tamiya or Eduard.  So Steve, I may need your guidance when I get started.

Clem- Any idea when the next carrier GB will kick off?

Craig

Craig...thanks.  Overall I am happy with how it came out.

Looking forward to what you build next.

Steve

Looking good Steve.  Looks like the paint went on nicely.

I haven't worked on my models much lately.  The weather has been too nice to not get work done outside.  The other day I was working out in my vineyard and got sunburn.  I was out there again today, but it was nice and overcast.  Gonna be in the 70's this week.  Haven't had much of a Winter so far.  Damn global warming!

My Avenger is sittin' at the local PO.  Looking forward to picking it up on Tuesday.  I hope to build it for the next carrier build.  Or maybe my Wildcat.  Or maybe my F-18.  I have so many Navy planes to choose from.

Anyways...  Keep on truckin' along with the builds.

Craig

I do feel for you all back east. So much so that I forced myself to put on shorts and a t-shirt and plant peas while getting a sunburn.. Seriously though, as nice as it has been, if we don't start getting some moisture soon it's going to be a rough go in these parts.

Joe...64 degrees in your area.  What the heck.  Single digits here and it was snowing not long ago. I don't blame you.  If it was that warm here I wouldn't be doing much on my build either.  That's why I am on a mission to get this build done.  Once the weather turns...forget about it.

It sounds like you have have some cool stuff for your build.  Nice!

Thanks for the tip about the blow dryer. I don't have one of those, unfortunately.  I have a heat gun but I'd probably melt the darn plane if I used it.

Excellent finish Steve. Looks fabulous. Not sure if you are in any rush or not but, should you wish to expedite the drying/curing process a blow dryer works wonders. I have one handy next to my paint booth for just such occasions.

This gorgeous weather we're having is just killing me as far as getting much in the way of bench time. Really hard for me to justify sitting inside. But, I am making some progress. The QB resin gun barrels arrived as well as the Master Model metal P-47 gun barrels. I'm cutting the metal gun barrels to length in order to fit into the QB insert. These will look much better than the resin barrels as well as being able to glue these in place and be able to handle the wings without fear of breaking a barrel off.