Monogram Mafia IV Group Build

cbaltrin

Don Stik,  These issues with my P-47 are not an issue for a rusty old modeler. They are minor annoyances that I will swat like so many flies.  I have extra engines in the stash and have already perfected a CRRS (Cockpit Retrieval and Reattachment System... AKA Chops sticks and a big hole in the firewall). 

THAT is hilarious!! Mr. Miyagi would be proud of you!

stikpusher

DD, you're off to a fine start on your TBD. You're pretty braver to use the old  sniff proof glue. Lord I hated that stuff. For clean up of the wing leading edges, I suggest using needle files. That's what I used on my TBD build a few years back. 

I actually love the smell of that glue (and the toxic stuff, too!). Too bad Glade doesn't make an air freshener with that scent - I'd buy it in a heartbeat! And, being the Marine that I am, I also like the smell of gasoline, cordite, and sulphur. Really.....

Didn't think about needle files - great idea - gonna give that a try. I was trying to use my X-Acto knife, and it got some of the seam, but just not good enough for my low, low standards. If all else fails, and the files don't work, sanding & stretched sprue will be my last resort.

PJ. Ditto on the Don's comments. Your figure painting is excellent!

Don Stik,  These issues with my P-47 are not an issue for a rusty old modeler. They are minor annoyances that I will swat like so many flies.  I have extra engines in the stash and have already perfected a CRRS (Cockpit Retrieval and Reattachment System... AKA Chops sticks and a big hole in the firewall).

Capn Napalm

Finally got started on the P-51.  Still a lot to do... 

 

Welcome to the party Capn! looking good so far. Nice detailing there.

Thanks stik, GM  and bob.  This one is done and on with the 17Z for the second part. Click on the images for closeups.

CB, your P-47 must be jinxed.... what is going on there? Modeling gremlins? First the cockpit and then the engine....

68, the Tigercat is looking sweet in the Sea Blue. 

PJ, those figures look awesome! Man you did great work on them!

DD, you're off to a fine start on your TBD. You're pretty braver to use the old  sniff proof glue. Lord I hated that stuff. For clean up of the wing leading edges, I suggest using needle files. That's what I used on my TBD build a few years back.

Stunning figures! Really, he came with those flares (?) around his boots?

Gary, yeah those folds were probably meant to work. Stretched sprue is a good idea. I did that to clean uo the joins (not meant to be folding) on the Airfix Ford Tri Motor. 

Got a little sidetracked building an extension on my back deck for my grill, but back at it soon. It's "car week" here- the Concours of course, but also a gazillion car shows. Maybe I'll find a kit at a sale table.

Finally made some progress on my Devastator this weekend. Started by doing what I always do when starting a build - assembling the parts that don't need painting first!

The outer wing halves went together first. I started by test-fitting the outer starboard wing panels, and they looked ok (or so I thought). I glued the pitot tube in place, then glued the halves together using the old Testors tube glue that comes in the blue tube - has that great citrus smell to it. I figured I would go back to the old days with this build - the way I built when I was a kid, using the same stuff that I used as a kid. Do you know that if you DON'T use that stuff for a while (as in years), you get outa practice with it? I didn't, either.

Anyways, once I joined the two halves together, I discovered that the trailing edge had a decent-sized gap in it. I then applied some Tenax-7R, thinking that would help fuse the plastic together a bit and close the gap, but I was wrong. Didn't help a bit. Didn't hurt anything, but didn't help, either. So, ok, I figure I'll just have to use a little putty on the trailing edge, and accept the fact that I'm gonna have a thick trailing edge on one wing. Below is a view of both outer wings before sanding the squished-out glue off:

Here's a view of the trailing edge of the port starboard wing panel showing the gap:

The trailing edge of the port wing is next:

You can see the difference. I attribute this to me not paying close-enough attention to what I'm doing......

Below is a front view of both wing panels.....

I kinda wish that Monogram had molded the wings as one-piece affairs (so there would be no seam in the corrugated areas), as the corrugation on all the wings' leading edges are gonna make cleaning up the seams a bear. What I'm considering is sanding the leading edges as I would any other wing to get them nice-n-smooth to eliminate the seams, then use some stretched sprue to replace the corrugation that's lost in doing so. What do you folks think? Is there a better way to get around this? Take a look below:

That's all I have for now. Hope to have more done before the week is out.

Also, I have something in common with Toshi. I have always used flickr for my photo posting, but, since my last use of it (sometime in late July 2017 to start posting on this group build - been using flickr for many years), something has changed to where I can't obtain the link to post photos here, so I have switched over to Fotki tonight. It seems to work ok; just gotta get used to it's user interface.

Gary Mason

CB

I like what you did to the windscreen. Looks like a much better fit.

GT

Your cat looks very good.

I have 2 AMT cats in the stash, the 2N and 3N that look super detailed. I got them at a show a while back for a song.

Finished painting both figures. I had forgotten about the great looking figures Monogram used to include in their kits. I just hit them with an oil wash so i will shoot some clear flat tomorrow and then will be mounted on the base.

Was going to build a 1/48 P-47D after the Tigercat but I think I'm going to build a few 1/72 F-4Js instead.

Tigercat progress with gaps in the wing roots being filled and a fresh coat of blue.

Ok, I seem to have lost my engine face for my P-47. All I can figure is it fell on the floor and bounced off somewhere, a mouse ran away with it, or one of my boys walked off with it...  Well, it's not a total loss as I have a few in my spares box and I also managed to clean and organize my shop while looking for it so good things can come from bad...

Howdy, fellow Group Build members! WOW, all of the builds posted so far are looking GREAT!! Very impressive what can be done with a Monogram/Revell kit and good, old-fashioned modeling skills. 

I hoping to have an update for the forums either today or tomorrow for my TBD-1 Devastator. Work got really busy as soon as I signed up for this project, which just goes to show that someone/something doesn't want me building models!! But I'll show 'em/it!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Gary Mason

cbaltrin

Looking good PJ!

 

Agreed! I love those two figures that come with that kit! 

Looking good PJ!

Got sidelined by other things but finally got some work done. I used some very thin wire wrapped around a mini drill bit to make the spring for the canopy hold open wire.

EZ line was inserted into the tiny spring and super glued in place. The HF extra hands jig are a great help in aligning things.

Hold open wire in place along with some scratched out belts made from wine foil and left over pe parts. Aerial wire is EZ line and a pleasure to work with.

Got the wheels pinned and glued down to the plank surface. The flash reflected off the Floquil Silver and looks lighter than how it actually is.

The figures are next. Got them cleaned up and shot them with Floquil Engine Black enamel as a primer/pre shading coat.

Well I had my windscreen looking good yeserday; howeverr, I was less than impressed with the fit. I decided to fix it  with the help of some baremetal foil and slo-zap. Now I have to polish and buff the windscreen again but I should be able to install the windscreen after final painting/assembly now, which will greatly simplify the painting process.

Understood about the cockpit tub. I do like the idea of polishing the canopy with the micro mesh and rag wheel. I've never tried that before. I just wipe them down with a good micro fiber lens cloth before a dip in Future.

Moring report:

Morning started off with giving the Jug a coffee bath. Once that was cleaned up I started painting the pilot figure (experimented using tamiya paint with their retarder -- worked pretty well).  Next I micro-meshed the inside and outside of the windscreen and polished it with a rag wheel in my dremel. Looks almost as good as Tamiya kit part now. Sorry, no time for pictures right now!

stikpusher

Lots of great progress guys and gal. Plenty of fine builds.

CB, I gotta ask as to how the cockpit tub came loose? That really is a bit of a ggrevation.

 

Well it stayed in place pretty well without glue when I was dry fitting and consequently I guess I forgot to glue it before joining the fuselage... 

Lots of great progress guys and gal. Plenty of fine builds.

CB, I gotta ask as to how the cockpit tub came loose? That really is a bit of a ggrevation.

This is where I am at. Scribing of lost detail has been completed I think. Debating on attaching the windscreen now or after painting. Cockpit tub has fallen out of place and is currently rattling around inside the fuselage--I think this has happened to me before...

I got the nose weight in and some more assembly this weekend.

Thanks stik. Go ahead and emulate to your hearts content. Glad to pass on ideas.

Finally got a chance to get the Avanti going. 

First gloss black undercoat (eventually metallic gold).

Sanded, and polished with Micromesh.

Here's the second coat. Should be ready to polish by about Wednesday.

Looks very good Kayda. Looks like paint and decals very soon for you plane.

I finished the base by adding vegetation and some oil stains on the planks.

Mixed up some dark brown oil paint and thinner for the oil stains.

stikpusher

PJ and Keyda, nice progress on your builds!

I really like that plank base PJ. I may need to emulate (army decoration term for copy) your technique to build one for my 1/4 scale Luftwaffe. 

Keyda, Flak Bait is coming along nicely. But you are correct, the instructions have you using the wrong colors on most of the interior. No biggy, as most people won't see it, and fewer still will know. Just curious as to why you use tape instead of clamps or rubber bands for keeping parts aligned and tight while the glue sets....

 

Thanks, yea I figured as much too.  I keep meaning to pick up clamps or a bag of rubber bands, and I keep forgetting!  One of these days I might remember.

Did a little bit more this evening.  Painted the engines and tried to make them look a little beat up. 

Some of the fiddly bits, tires, engine covers, bombs, and props. 

Where I left off for the day.  Next step is going to be a lot of putty, and a lot of sanding. 

PJ and Keyda, nice progress on your builds!

I really like that plank base PJ. I may need to emulate (army decoration term for copy) your technique to build one for my 1/4 scale Luftwaffe. 

Keyda, Flak Bait is coming along nicely. But you are correct, the instructions have you using the wrong colors on most of the interior. No biggy, as most people won't see it, and fewer still will know. Just curious as to why you use tape instead of clamps or rubber bands for keeping parts aligned and tight while the glue sets....

Looks good plasticjunkie!  I haven't dived into dio's yet.  I suppose I will eventually, I have done some habitat on my taxidermy pieces, kind of the same thing.

Worked on the Marauder a bit this afternoon.  I got a bit carried away too, I landed up gluing on the 2 engine nacelle halves, before putting the landing gear in place.  I realized I wouldn't be able to get the gear in place like that, and took everything apart before the glue dried. 

The wing roots are going to need a lot of work, the gaps are more like canyons.

I taped the crap out of the nacelles, so hopefully I don't need to do a lot of putty work there.

CN

Sorry buddy but can't see the pictures.

Beave

Another oldie from my younger years! Looking great!

Kayda

Off to a great start.

Bob

Thanks . Hey just smear some PPP on the scribed panel lines and wipe off when dry with a damp paper towel.

The base  was started. I have several made of wood scraps from previous woodworking projects. A while back I bought lots of wood strips at HL which I use as paint stirrers and planking.

Sliced up a buch of strips and began to lay down the planking with Elmers glue.

Planks are down and glued. Craft acrylics were ued to tint the planking alternating colors. Next will be Woodland Scenics dirt and vegetation and weeds between the planks.

I also applied the decals and landing gears.Once the 262 is completed, it will be mounted to the plaking by pinning the wheels. I just may use the included German figures as part of the dio.