75th Anniversary of 1943 (World at War)

Really great work going on everybody!

Checkmate - Can I jump in this one with Eduard's 1/48 FW190 A-5? I'm building it for the Pride of the Luftwaffe GB and would like to do a crossover with this GB if possible.

Glad to have you and the FW190, rooster.  I'll update the build roster.  

Welcome to the GB!

Thanks Check! Here's the scheme I'll be going with, Walter Nowotny.

I've managed to finish up the cockpit. I made a cushion out of millput and added some HGW seatbelts. As others have said they were a exercise in patience for sure but I'm pretty happy with how they came out. Better then PE for this scale (1/48)?...not too sure. I had a pretty good system for assemblying them by the end but they still took me awhile. I do like the way they look and maybe the next set will go together easier. Anyway, here is a quick picture...

I've got MRP paints to try on this one so I'm looking forward to that!

Holy cow Andy those seatbelts look real! The finish on them is spot on and the harware, wow. Is that real fabric or what?

Thanks Griffin! HGW calls it a "real textile microfiber", it's basically paper. They take a bit to put together in 1/48th scale and I had a heck of a time getting them glued into place. They constantly wanted to bounce back straight. The directions say not to use CA glue but it was the only thing I could get them to stay in place with.

That's a superb looking cockpit, Andy.  Very realistic!  Outstanding work!

Those harnesses are fantastic. Nice work Andy.

Cheers

Tony

Andy, great work on that pit, those belts came out great and really like the cushion. I keep forgetting about Miliput for stuff like that.

Interested to see how you get on with MRP.

I've been following Adam Wilder's long step by step build (maybe 5 hours altogether). He's doing a KV-1, which is close enough to a T-34. Wilder is very keen on chipping so I went along with it. First off, in the real world I think armor would have been heavily chipped, but not often down to the metal and there would have been few Rooskie tanks that hung around enough to get heavily rusted. Wilder has a better hand than I do (he's one of the best armor modelers on the planet) but in the real world a lot of his stuff is probably over weathered. I certainly did too much chipping (although the light in the photo amplifies the difference in the light color chipping) especially when deciding to add rust. So why do it? First, I want to try these techniques. And Wilder is using dozens of steps. This guarantees an over-weathered model. It certainly won't be the first, and I think I'll pick up things that will help AFV weathering in many future builds. I've also got a detail pic here - from five feet away, it looks actually looks okay.

I'm optimistic for the build. This is a Kursk tank. That means we'll be burying a lot of mistakes with pigments. This model of T-34 would have been built in late 42, early 43. Kursk was unusal in one regard - because Hitler wanted to bring in the Panthers and throw everything available into the offensive it was delayed until about July 4. The Soviets were deploying forces into the salient in a big way by May. Durng this time units were moved around a lot. Both sides conducted serious training exercises. So its likely that a Soviet tank at Kursk was older than in other battles. (They did lose them fast.) There was periodic rain in the summer after the spring mud-bath. The terrain includes a lot of brush, wooded areas and small farms (a few still operating). Anyway, many Soviet vehicles would have quite worn. And this was the steppe. Everything that moved or walked would have been blanketed with dust. There will be a lot of pigments - mostly dry. And if needed I can remove much of the chipping by reapplying shades of the base coat by hand - it looks like fading. We'll see. And I still intend to make a base. And I've promised Bish a Tomahawk for the Commonwealth Build. Busy.

Eric

chip1 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

Eric - Great work on the weathering!

Nice progress, Eric.  That is a well-used tank!

Making some progress on the 190. I decided to drill out the flat moldled in cooling vents and add some strips of styrene to give the area a little depth. I made this same modification to the last 190 I built but last time I used brass sheet which looked a little better because they were thinner but I ended up with CA glue blobs when attaching them. The styrene made for a much cleaner joint. I'm happy with how they turned out...

Some really great builds coming together on this GB.

Hi everyone, over the last week I have made a start on the Tamiya F-4U1 Birdcage Corsair. Been a bit limited on a what I have had time to do, but the main goal was to work on the cockpit tub and the really detailed Pratt & Whitney R-2800 engine. So to help me out with all the fine detail this kit has, a trusty source of info.

The engine was made of 4 parts,including the rear firewall and exhaust stubs. I airbrushed it Flat Aluminium (Alclad) and Humbrol Light Sea Grey. Details with Gunmetal and Aluminium (Humbrol).Then a wash of Flory Models Black finished off with an Alclad Gloss with a touch of Humbrol Aluminium dry brushing.

I also tried out the famous or infamous Salmon Pink primer that early Corsairs had up to 1943, in the wheel bays. Im not sure if this actual aircraft had them, but it was woth having a go. So I used after trial and error, Xtracolour SAS Red/Pink with a mixture of Zinc Chromate and Flat White. This was then towned down a little with a flat coat, Black Wash and dry brushed with Aluminium.

The cockpit went together really well, and with the addition of some Eduard PE for the IP and seat belts,that will be it. Paint for the sidewalls and the cockpit tub was Alclad USAAF Interior Green.

Thats it for now, tomorrow ill try to get the fuselage put together and the wings. Thanks for looking.

I'm enjoying the detailed updates Eric, thanks.

Nice work on the Corsair AG, it's coming along quickly.

Those vent look very good Andy, even and thin.

Cheers

Tony

Andy, those cooling vents look great mate.Nice improvement.

The cooling vents turned out really well, Andy.  I have the same problem with CA often--it can produce blobs where you don't want them.  

Outstanding work all around, Mark.  Great looking engine and cockpit.

I haven't seen one of the D&S books in a looooong time.  I have one on the B-17; it was very useful.

Hadn't heard about the pink color used on Corsairs, so there's something new I learned.

Check, I'm done with the Scharnhorst but I want go get a plaque for it and take better pictures. Here it is complete without the plaque.

Looks great, Steve; very ship-shape and the sea base is a perfect setting.  Outstanding work, as we have come to expect from you!

I'll add it to the finished-build photos after you complete the plaque.

And just for information--I have to be at a convention till Tuesday, and I won't have access to a computer, so I won't be able to look in on things till I get home again.

Excellent work Steve.  

That looks superb Steve. I see what you mean with the way the ripples the directions they're going. Divergent to the path of the ship sort of. Looks more realistic. Great job. 

Well, I think I am starting, at least I opened the box tonight.

Thanks Check, Scott and Griffin.

I'm taling it to EagelQuest and I'll see how it makes out.

Steve, superb work as always. Great model and the base is just outstanding.

Great start Mark, that engine does look nice.

Nice work Andy. It does look much better with those open.

Looking good Eric.

Good luck at Eaglequest Steve.  I know you will really enjoy it.  I can't make it, got a training class I have to partake in that week.  

Scott

Excellent job on that ship, Steve.  Looking forward to your video tutorial.  Let us know how you make out at the convention.