Secret Santa GB 2018 - Nearing the Finish Line!!

Good start on the Buffalo John!

Hey everyone.  Awesome work here!  I haven't forgotten about the GB.....trying to finish up the C-47 so I can clear the bench for that beautiful P-47!!  I've been reading the instructions and man is she a gorgeous kit!!! I can't wait to jump in on it.

 

TheMongoose

John that pilot does look good. Gotta wonder what the designer was thinking though...pilot - “look ma no hands”!

doesn’t look like Tamiya did you any favors on the seems though? Do they look like they’ll clean up easy? 

Thanks all.  The hands are a bit funky.  Particularly around the neck where there is material bridging hands and neck that is not right.  

The fit is excellent.  What looks like bad seams is actually the black basing on the interior overspray.  It's a nice little kit.

Coming along nicely there, John. I have this same kit in my stash so I am super curious how this one works out. Definately enjoying the show.

BK

John that pilot does look good. Gotta wonder what the designer was thinking though...pilot - “look ma no hands”!

doesn’t look like Tamiya did you any favors on the seems though? Do they look like they’ll clean up easy? 

 

Got started on the Buffalo - will be a nice addition to my fledgling RAF collection (Currently 1 spitfire).  Old kit, but nice Tamiya details.  Not terribly focused on the pit since she will be closed up and I may add the pilot.  Anyhow, got her buttoned up tonight

 

And here's the pilot - Tamiya was great about providing figures back in the day

 

 

That is really coming along nicely, Steve. I can't see any issues now. I don't mind so much working with greenhouse canopies, but I have a real hard time getting the frames to come out even. Painting those is one of the most difficult things I deal with. 

BK

modelcrazy i see what you mean about the mask kit. Dang when it’s all assembled the glass looks intimidating!

I've been working slowly on the Blenheim due to some other builds that moved ahead for everything. With being said I was able to work on the seams left over from the canopy/nose attachment. I need to attach the masks and get on the painting. No..the GBU 12 Paveway II's are not for the Blenheim although they would really have come in handy.

kg4kpg

What is the end date for this GB?

You've got all year on this one. We prefer everyone be done by the time Xmas shows up, but by the end of the year would count.

BK

kg4kpg

What is the end date for this GB?

Dec 31st. 

What is the end date for this GB? I’m not sure when I’ll get to start mine so just want to keep track.

You guys are producing awesome work. 

I'm not an armour guy either, but watching these things come together is making me think about adding some of them to my stash. "Must re...sisssst...."

But seriously, you guys are killing it. It looks great. I can't wait to see it in some color.

BK

I'm not an Armor guy SD but it's looking good.

I began construction last weekend and have completed the hull.

So far the kit has come together quite nicely with no fit issues and very little flash or mold lines. There were a few mistakes in the instructions, but nothing that could not be figured out with a bit of dry-fitting. 

Got the pits and inside of fuselage sprayed in alum. today.  Will post up pics of pits after they are detailed out with some others colors, and of the fuselage buttoned up.  Should go a little faster once I hit that point.

GA, your Stug is looking great! Love the way the zim turned out.

I haven't been able to sign on with my phone for a while so it's been driving me nuts. I see a post but can't respond, then when I get to my computer I forget about it. Today I can.

TheMongoose

GA that's really developing nicely! Dang that zim looks even better painted.

Hey do you spray that Vallejo primer straight or add some reducer and/or thinner to it? I was working with it this weekend and I'm still having trouble getting it to lay down smooth even with reducer in it.

 

Well, for the vallejo primer, I thinned it with vallejo's primer and town bottled water till it was thin thinness of milk, then I sprayed at a little over 20 psi. With my airbrush compressor setup I had to spray above 20 psi to work. You have to thin it to make it spray good. Also you should add flow reducer I think because to make it flow, or was it their brush cleaner. I read somewhere.

GA that's really developing nicely! Dang that zim looks even better painted.

Hey do you spray that Vallejo primer straight or add some reducer and/or thinner to it? I was working with it this weekend and I'm still having trouble getting it to lay down smooth even with reducer in it.

Steve, those roots don't look too bad and your fix is spot on. It will turn out great and I agree that the plane is a super cool AC to look at.

GA, man you went from plastic kit to a ready to drive machine with that paint work. It looks fantastic. I am blown away by how well that turned out.

You two are crushing it. I need to get some more work done so I have something to post.

BK

MC & GA...

You guys are going to to town on the builds.

Have both pits of the Vindicator ready to spray.  The sideframes are fragile and fiddly. Once based in alum., then I'll pick out the details and post up some pics.

Well, i've made progress.

Now I have to seal the model then I'm going to weather it. Then maybe add stowage and figures then to a base it goes.

I primed it with vallego primer then sprayed tamiya tan-yellow white mix. Then went over with red brown and finished with green white tan mix for the green.

Thanks BK, I'm really having a hard time not breaking into the MiG yet. It'll have to wait until I finish one of the other two. I should receive the masks for the Blenheim tomorrow but they will come in when I'll be at work. Tuesday I have clinic which lasts all morning then off to work again. Wednesday morning however, I should be able to get back onto it.

I worked some on the Typhoon today. I attached the lower fuse/wing section and attached the upper half of the wings. It was a little bit of a bugger to keep everything close until the glue dried. I thought I must have something missaligned again but no, it's just the way it fits together.  You can see the visable seams at the wing roots. I filled these with stretched sprue and will finish it will filler after they dry. There has been some flash, nothing to get excited about, but a few anonying sink marks.
I had the Typhoon on my wishlist for sometime but never really looked at it closely. The more I work on it, the more I like it's lines. I'm very excited to see what it looks like when complete. It should go nicely with my Tornado.

Steve, aint it lovely how a small misalign can cause such a problem later on? Good save on that, looks great now. And that Polish paint scheme looks managable; so many Mig-29s have scheme that send shivers up my spine. I too love the framed flag, great gift, better wife. I have a US flag from a cutter from that time frame but it is far too big to frame, it would take up a whole wall.

BK

Good save.

Your wife is a keeper.  That was one heck of a gift in framing the originals.

Your going to have a plane load going back to TX.

Mopar Madness

So despite some minor issues, are you enjoying the Blenheim? 

Yes, very much so. I believe the problems are of my own making. The fit on the rest of the kit is good, not Tamiya good but Airfix good.

I did get the nose to fit with a fillable gap. You can see the gap at the bulkhead in the bomb bay. I think I had it misaligned which caused my initial issue and it just dominoed from there. I'll fill and snad all the gaps and wait for the masks which should arive Monday. I have the engines and dorsal turret complete so it's almost ready to paint. I'll install the bad doors and flaps after painting.

Yeah, I knew she was going to get me the new flags but the old one in the frame was a tolal suprize!

modelcrazy

 

 

Mopar Madness

Now that’s really cool Steve! 

 

 

 

 

Thanks Chad......which part? 

 

The flag of course!  So despite some minor issues, are you enjoying the Blenheim? 

It looks like most of them are. Looking at the instructions some are used for some of the variants while others are use for all of them.

Steve all those decals aren't for 1 plane are they? If so you're going to need some help, a relaxant, a magnifying glass, who knows what else. Dang that looks intimidating!

Like the flag and the frame it's in. At my last job I got to talk to the Coast Guard every once in awhile. We supplied the ship heaters for steam and hot water. It was cool to see them cut a hole in the deck to drop it in there. Thanks for your service!

Mopar Madness

Now that’s really cool Steve! 

 

Thanks Chad......which part?