Monogram Mafia III

Great progress all around guys!

Here's my latest status.  Fuselage and wings are assembled.

The last bits to finish, before closing everything up, were the pilot and the tailwheel.  I slowed down a bit here, with the painting.  The kit pilot figure is pretty good--what we'd expect from Monogram, though perhaps not as crisp as a resin figure.  For RAF uniforms, I have a single reference, Andrew Mollo's "The Armed Forces of World War II:  Uniforms, Insignia and Organization".  Here's the finished pilot:

There were a couple of options that I could use.  He's wearing his uniform tunic and trousers, lined boots and gloves, leather helmet, and canvas life vest.  The figure is molded with what appears to be a leather jacket with a thick sheepskin collar.  I used a little bit of putty to fill in below the collar and make it the life vest instead.  Mollo notes that these were gray canvas, but some were painted yellow for enhanced visibility for rescue.

The fit is good and seams are pretty minimal.

There's a bit of a gap in front of the cockpit:

and the worst gap is underneath, where the trailing edge of the wing part meets the wing root fillets:

Nothing major, nothing that I can't clean up.  Then it'll be ready for painting, and that's where I'll hit a bit of a wait, while I order some RAF colors.

Everything is looking great! Thanks for the compliments from yuo guys who posted them for me.

I'm loving that F-105 sandstick; The F-105 is one of my all-time favorite aircraft: it's so ugly it's gorgeous! Keep plugging, I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Nice job on the Pilot, Brad! The rest of the plane s looking good too. Those seams look to be easy fixes.

Wow, I missed the latest posts!

Thanks, Duke, and right back at ya for your Bearcat and the F4B-4!  Those are both great little kits and I think they hold up well today.  What did you use for the yellow for the wing?  I use Mr Color Orange Yellow, myself.

Matt-Joachim, great start on the Thud!  I'll second Duke, I always liked it better than its contemporaries.  It was like the Thunderbolt, big powerful and built to take a pounding and give it back, too.

Baron

good job on he pilot. I didn't realize the typhoon was that big as compared to the pilot. that was a big bird.

Hey Duke great job on that Bearcat.

check this out:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw6UWPaTUt0

                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XcI1RCXXJU

Crank up them speakers, just brute radial power

Thanks guys! I appreciate it very much. Nice vid too; that is one mean bird.

I'm afraid I won't be able to finish this Group Build though. I went in today to try and get more progress done on the F-4B4. I clearcoated the upper wing in preparation for applying the decals. While that was drying, I went to get the engine and cowling finished and painted, then add the wheels to this little bird. I opened up the Monogram box that this came in, where I had ALWAYS returned all the parts so they wouldn't get lost...... AND THE BOX WAS EMPTY!!! I am so pissed off right now I could kill! I don't even know where to look for them either! I even dumped out all the trash and went through it to be sure that somehow everything fell out into the garbage can. No joy. I am totally stumped! There's no reason for that stupid box to be empty and it is! Now I cannot finish this model unless A) the parts all suddenly appear again, or B) I find another of the same model just to use a new engine, cowling, and wheels. I don't see that happening anytime soon.

No, I don't have another Monogram model I am ready to tackle yet. I don't see that Space Shuttle I got being taken up for awhile yet. Besides, it really fries me that I have to start all over again with a new model that I shouldn't have to start in the first place because the pieces shouldn't have disappeared in the first place!!!

The Bearcat is done, I'll submit that for consideration  but I'm going no further with this unless this model's parts suddenly appear again.  

I know how you feel Duke. I recently discovered my PE fret had vanished from my workbench. I was going crazy looking for it but discovered my dog had chewed it up in the dining room. Thank God I had another fret.

Look in any other box that you may have taken out and had open and near your build. You just may have dropped them in the wrong box. Good luck buddy and hope you find the dern parts.

Dang Duke!!  Sorry to hear about your misfortune!!! I sure hope the parts show up for you soon!!!

Great builds going on guys!!  Keep at it!

TAD

Mark that really sucks! How do you move stuff back and forth to hobby day over at the place you go for that? Perhaps the parts ended up in that or in one of the other kits you worked on this past weekend. I saw how many that you had going this time... I know I have had parts turn up years later in the damnedest places that I thought I would never see again... And years later at that... I may have some wheels that might work in my spares bin if nothing turns up...

Duke, don't bail!  That kit is pretty common on the second-hand market, from original boxings to the one AM did.  I would look for another one to use as a donor, if you don't find the parts sitting behind something on your bench.

Thanks guys for the encouragement but I have no dog or cat that takes any of my parts or subassemblies. (The engine was assembled and fully painted). I have looked in every possible box that was anywhere near the original box and nothing related to this model is in any of them.  

Carlos; when I take everything to Hobby Day, I pack everything in their respective boxes and place them in a milk crate in such a way that nothing can open up. If a model is too big to fit in the original box, I have a metal "Red Baron" tin that I place those models in. I have checked every possible box, tin, or any other container that came in remote contact with the original box. Believe me I searched for four freakin' hours!!! That damned Black Hole that keeps sucking things out of my Hobby Room is getting bigger and invading my boxes now! It might take me a year or five to find these stupid parts so that is why I need to bail. I have no other Monogram model to start for this except the 1/72 scale Space Shuttle and I am NOT ready to tackle that just yet. As for finding a donor kit; I don't know if that will be possible in time to finish this Group Build. Yeah, they may be out there in quantity, but that doesn't mean I'll have the funds to pick it up when I see it.

So, I shall post my Bearcat soon so everyone can see it and then I'll keep following along with this so I can see all the rest of then great work being done here.

Just before I retired I took the patches from my dept. going back to the 1950's to work to show some of the guys in the squad.

About a week later I went to the place where I kept them and  guess what? Yep, they magically disappeared! I looked all over for the small box for two days.  I tore down that office, my police car, my personal car and the house looking for them.

After a week or so I gave up and accepted the vanishing of the collection I had been working on for 30 years. About a month later I went to the garage looking for my .303 reloading dies and guess what? The small box with the patches was sitting on top of the RCBS .303 dies! How in the hell did they get there??

To this day, I still don't have any recollection how that box got to the garage and on top of my reloading dies!

I hear ya... and you have six months from the date of the start of your first kit. Who knows what will happen between now and then...

Here's an update on my F104.

Need to sand some seems. They aren't too bad though.

plasticjunkie

Just before I retired I took the patches from my dept. going back to the 1950's to work to show some of the guys in the squad.

About a week later I went to the place where I kept them and  guess what? Yep, they magically disappeared! I looked all over for the small box for two days.  I tore down that office, my police car, my personal car and the house looking for them.

After a week or so I gave up and accepted the vanishing of the collection I had been working on for 30 years. About a month later I went to the garage looking for my .303 reloading dies and guess what? The small box with the patches was sitting on top of the RCBS .303 dies! How in the hell did they get there??

To this day, I still don't have any recollection how that box got to the garage and on top of my reloading dies!

Oh man, I can't tell you how many times I've had that happen! Some time back I lost my eyeglasses in my Hobby Room. seven hours of searching later, still no eyeglasses. My wife took me to Lenscrafter's the next day to buy a new pair. Three days after that, I found them in a tool tray I had tucked under a shelf on my desk. No idea how they got there!

stikpusher

I hear ya... and you have six months from the date of the start of your first kit. Who knows what will happen between now and then...

Who knows indeed! All I can say is: there IS a God! I finally did find them earlier today! I now have everything packed away to finish this model at Hobby Day Friday. Carlos, if your patrol area is anywhere near 1127 N Anaheim Blvd, stop into the Hall and check it out.

And guess what? I found them all in the same tool tray I had lost my glasses in! I'm beginning to think that Black Hole I mentioned earlier is actually a wormhole that opens up in that stinkin' tray!

Okay people! Stay tuned for more. I should be posting some finished models soon to this Group Build and finally becoming a Made Man in the Monogram Mafia!

Hey, maybe we should all get T-shirts!

Modelcrazy, great job on the F-104! That's looking good, I can't wait to see more.

Good show Duke!

Modelcrazy, that 104 brings back some memories.

As for me, that F-4 is becoming a putty bomb.  Seems I glued a step into every seam. It's nearly ready for some paint.

Modelcrazy, I can't wait to see how your F-104 turns out.  I got that exact same kit a few months ago at my local mom-n-pop hobby store.  It went together rather quickly and I love how the wings and upper fuselage are all one piece.  No wing seams!  Woo-hoo!

I had to apply some putty to the fuse where the upper and lower halves met.  Like you said, there was a seam but it wasn't very bad at all.  In fact, I used some masking tape to mask off either side of the seam and then I applied the putty between the two strips.  That kept my sanding down to the bare minimum.

Otherwise, the rest of the kit went together great!  Don't do what I did though.  I didn't pay attention to the "handedness" of the tip tanks.  There's a horizontal strake on each tank that faces inboard.  I wasn't thinking of this as I glued the tank halves together.  As a result, my plane ended up with the strake being BELOW the wing rather than the correct ABOVE the wing placement.  I don't know if this is making any sense but I think you'll get a better idea of what I'm trying to say once you take a look at the parts.

Best wishes,

Eric

Modelcrazy

I discovered that by using Tenax or Platic Weld in a Touch n Flow  applicator and gluing sections at a time, I can sometimes eliminate putty completely as I did with the Monogram F-101B. Just takes a lot of patience , clamps and four hands to do this.

Thanks PJ,

I really don't enjoy the whole putty process.

Hey Duke, don't feel bad. I'm in the process of finishing up a Polar Lights guillotine and the small name plate must be with your missing parts! I too had everything together and that sucker is GONE!!

Great news there, Duke! Glad to hear that your missing parts emerged from the worm hole intact......Maybe it was the power of Morgan Freeman!??...........Wow, getting a little uncomfortable in here; I didn't realize that PJ and Stick were law dawgs......I guess I should move over to the Woodstock/Free Love Group Build..........just kidding, I feel safe with the po-po here protecting the GB!!!!

Modelcrazy, you gotta love that 104.  So sleek and deadly.....a great kit if I remember right; you'll have a great time with it!

TAD

Mark that is outstanding news! I am glad to hear that the wormhole dumped your missing parts in a convienient location. And I really am looking forward to that F4B. Those little bipes are so uncommon on model websites nowadays... Now if I could stretch my patrol area to the hobbyday Hall I would be there. But lets just say I took alittle good natured ribbing at work tonite for my hook just outside my city and in lovely Compton, so  no Anaheim for me tomorrow... but tonite's work is a good tale for next AMPS or IPMS...

Baron, that is some outstanding work on your Typhoon's pilot. i love the attention to detail such as the fur lining on the flight boots. Just a suggestion, but I believe that the wheel wells should most likely be either aluminum in color or the lower surface color such as Sea Grey Medium. I dont think that Interior Grey Green was often found on fighter wheel wells. But I could be mistaken, I am not too well versed on RAF stuff.

Model Crazy, your F-104 is progressing  nicely. I have the same kit on hold at about the 95% mark right  now, but I dont recall the forward fuselage seam being too terrible. I'll have another look at it when I resume work to finish it up later in the year here...

AHHH! Missed the line where you found the parts Duke.  Great news and on with the mission. My guillotine plate is gone but no worries.

TAD, don't fee threatened none about my LEO past as I'm about to soon become a "Made" member of the Monogram Mob. LOL.

plasticjunkie

AHHH! Missed the line where you found the parts Duke.  Great news and on with the mission. My guillotine plate is gone but no worries.

TAD, don't fee threatened none about my LEO past as I'm about to soon become a "Made" member of the Monogram Mob. LOL.

I'm definitely gonna finish this build in style.........hopefully, I'll get started very soon!!!

TAD

Alright,  I'm gonna call the first one done. I don't think I ever want to build this kit again. I did, however experiment with it. This was the first model that I did not use the kit decals and opted to spray the national insignias and the US ARMY along the lower wings. Learned a lot and it is easy to tell how bad I messed up those insignias. Anyhow, here she is. Thanks for looking

Looks great Woody!

Looks very good woody. I like the presentation.

I want to try the Prop Blurs when I do A Super Connie in flight. Those brass prop blurs look like the real thing.

That looks great Woody!  I've got that same kit sitting in my stash and the only reason I haven't started it yet is because I don't think I'll be able to make mine look as good as yours.  I'm going to guess that the last time I tried my hand at the Revellogram P-40 was maybe 10 years ago.  I don't know if my skills have gotten any better since then.  LOL!  I'll be happy if mine comes out looking like yours.  I say "Great job!" on your kit!

Eric

HI guys!  Well, I got my first one done.  It's the 1/48 F-89C Scorpion.  This is probably my second favorite plane behind the P-61.  I guess I have a thing for Northrop planes.

Anyway, the kit was a dream to build.  I couldn't have asked for more.  Little to no seams at all and, for the most part, it pretty much just fell together.  I think the only place I used any putty was on the tip tanks and even then my "putty" was nothing more than a couple of dabs of Liquid Paper.

The entire model was painted using Model Master stainless steel.  In order to highlight some of the individual panels, I mixed some other metalizer colors in with the stainless steel such as burnt iron, steel, gun metal, etc.  It was all very unscientific.  I just added a few drops here and there and eyeballed it.  VERY much to my surprise, the paint held up perfectly to masking.  I just used regular old masking tape but I made sure to reduce the stickyness of it by tacking it to my fingers a few times before applying it lightly to the surface.  Not a single bit of paint came off and not a single bit of residue was left behind.

Markings are from the Aeromaster "F-89C Scorpions, Pt 1" sheet #48-519.  Originally I wanted to do the Michigan ANG plane with all its red flash on it (since red is my favorite colors) but my daughters liked the blue of the Montana ANG better so that's what I went with.  Everything was then given a clear top  coat of MM metalizer sealer.

On a side note, I do have the pilot figures for them but I still need to paint them up yet.  Does anyone know what the standard flight suit color would be for an Air National Guard pilot from this time frame would be?  I also forgot to apply a light wash to the landing gear.  Hmmm...I also see that I forgot to add the landing gear retraction struts.  Grrr!

I still have the Michigan ANG markings and I'd LOVE to get my hands on another F-89C but that might be impossible until the kit is (hopefully) re-released once again.  I hope it's sooner rather than later.

Enjoy!

Beautiful Scorpion echolmberg,

I hope I can become as good as you guys someday.

Steve