75th Anniversary of 1944 Group Build (World at War)

Thank you!

HI Guys,

Well, some months later I have finished the 1/700 Trumpeter HMCS Huron.

I took the advice of EBergerud and added railings and some rigging. I used fine EZ line for rigging but it is still pretty thick.  I added a small proportion of the lines that are visible on the boxart. I used  super glue on a needle applicator and then dipped end of ez line in accelerator. Worked ok but I don't think I'll do another 1/700 scale ship again. Unless it's an aircraft carrier or something. Fun challenge though.

Here are some pics. Notice in one picture it appears as if some rigging has come loose but that is a cat hair on the table I shot the photos!

Notice the cheesy correction on the nameplate. Underneath it says HMS when in fact at this time it was HMCS. The drawing of the nameplate in the instructions has it correct.

 

 

Looks a lot better than without rigging - 1/700 scale destroyer is a tough build - they're small ships. I'd say it looks very nice. Eric

That is excellent, Nuckss.  Good construction and outstanding paintwork.  Great colors, and a very appealing, attractive work.  

I haven't built a Trumpeter destroyer, but did a Tamiya 1/700 Hammond.  Being so small, they make a big challenge--especially with rigging and PE.  You did a great job with it.

Do you have a preference for the finish-photo on the front page?

checkmateking02

Do you have a preference for the finish-photo on the front page?

Hmm. Maybe Ill post another photo that shows  the whole shop including the red ensign on the back

That's a good idea, Nuck.  Temporarily, I posted the photo with the name plate, so that folks know what they're looking at.  I'll change the front page when you get a new picture done.  Thanks.

A recent update on the Lexington.

Hi Nuckss,

Rigging looks fine.  The whole build is fine.  1/700 scale is quite rewarding.  Speaking from experience about aircraft carriers, they are the most challenging in this scale. Many small caliber guns, multiple radars, and all the details to put on the planes.  

Very rewarding indeed.

Excellent work, Scott.  She was one of the shorter hull Essex class?

Love the colors!  Maybe I've asked before, but what paint do you use?

Some more update photos for you guys. The canopy is FINI! 

 

Making good progress, KJV.  Nice, clean work on the canopy.  Those types of framing can be tricky to accomplish.

Thanks, check. The wings/canopy are now on, too; and I even have applied several decals. 

Unfortunately, there was some trouble with the landing gear (the rear landing gear didn’t firmly stay in place and the forward landing gear started falling apart). I pulled them off the plane so I can re-glue them.

I‘ll probably post more photos in the future. Until then! 

I hope it works out well.  I've often had difficulties with that type of landing gear.  

checkmateking02

Excellent work, Scott.  She was one of the shorter hull Essex class?

Love the colors!  Maybe I've asked before, but what paint do you use?

 

Yes, the Lex was the first run of short hulls. for paint on this build, I have been using WEM Colorcoats enamels.   

Ok! Decaling done for now. The first decal got messed up and then disappeared; but, all the other ones needed have been applied. 

There is, though, more to do even yet.

First photo is clearly not the MOST recent one; the landing gear is still off...

scottrc

 checkmateking02

Excellent work, Scott.  She was one of the shorter hull Essex class?

Love the colors!  Maybe I've asked before, but what paint do you use?

Yes, the Lex was the first run of short hulls. for paint on this build, I have been using WEM Colorcoats enamels.   

 

Very nice results, KJV.  Invasion stripes are kind of tricky.  You got them down admirably.

Great shade of OD.  Everything looks smooth and neat.  Good work!

Thanks, check! I didn’t think one of the stripes decals would fit nicely between the supports under the wing; so, I trimmed all the wing-bound invasion stripes decals.

Congrats on getting through the masking of the Iowa, too! :)

Hi there, Checkmate, I haven't been in a group build in quite some time and would love to join your build with an Airfix 1/72nd scale Avro Lancaster B.II. I will most likely finish it OOB to include kit decals, unless I find something else to dress it up with. Many thanks, TAD

Made a start over a couple of weekends on the Finnish Brewster buffalo. Special Hobby include a PE set and a small resin peace for the engine. Instructions can be a bit vague regarding placement, coming together nicely but will have to use a little filler here and there. Overall a nice kit.

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Nice work on the cockpit, est.  Great level of detail.  Good job!

Great, Dave.  Glad to have you join the GB.  I've added your Lanc to the build roster.

That's a great choice.  Looks like a pretty thoroughly equipped kit.  I'll be very interested in seeing things come together.  It's been a while since I built a four-engine bomber, and the Lancaster is a good-looking aircraft.

Hello again, everybody!

So, the gear is now back on (thank goodness for super glue); and I’ve prepared the prop and tail supports.

For the tail supports, I got K&S .025 Music Wire from HL. Some cutting later, I have two pieces (around 2cm each) for the tail supports. I painted them OD.

The prop I had painted Testors Flat Brown in the past; however I have only recently worked more on it. I used Testors Flat Rust to give it ”grain”. I also put clear gloss on it.

Est.1961 - Good engine!

  Tal Afar Dave!

Thanks Guys, I've traditionally been an oob modeler. Seeing the effort and results of members on this Forum has been an inspiration to try different methods and I did enjoy the PE that comes with this kit.

Joe

Good looking effect with the prop, KJV.  Glad to hear the tailskid is working out, too.

Joe:  That is indeed a great look to the engine.  Nicely done, along with the cockpit.

Est.1961

Thanks Guys, I've traditionally been an oob modeler. Seeing the effort and results of members on this Forum has been an inspiration to try different methods and I did enjoy the PE that comes with this kit.

Joe

 

No problem, Joe! It is good to expand one’s skills!  

Thank you, check!

 

 

scottrc

Speaking from experience about aircraft carriers, they are the most challenging in this scale. Many small caliber guns, multiple radars, and all the details to put on the planes.

 

Good point!

 

As threatened I'm building the new Tamiya 1/48 Ki-61d. This is a 1944 rendition of the Tony with twin canon - one of the few planes that had some success against B-29s (until Mustangs started flying from Iwo anyway). It's new Tamiya - Tamiya makes the world's best models - I like it. It's not a simple build though and I've found you have to watch what you're doing and not expect everything to build itself. (Andy at Andy's Hobby Shop on YouTube got his mits on the spanking new Tamiya 1/48 P-38F/G: he says he often wouldn't need glue. About time someone made a good P-38 - a real challenge for a model maker.)

 

This proves that I bought the kit - doubt that's needed although I've been on GBs that required it.

 

kit by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

 

I've spent a week or so building the cockpit - it wouldn't take that long but there's a lot of small parts and a lot of painting to do. Should note that I obsessed over the interior color and leaned on uber-meister Japanese color guru Nick Millman who runs the terrific web site "Aviation of Japan." Tamiya calls for an interior of "Desert Yellow" - Millman say that's out. He forwarded color chips of the three candidates (all would have been used in 1944). One looks a lot like Olive Drab. A second is kind of a dark green/yellow: I'm sure this was the color Tamiya hinted at. I had what Millman thought was a perfect match - Vallejo Dark Yellow: okay, but it's a dorky color. The third choice is a kind of light green gray with just a hint of blue. Nick was an adviser to the AK Real Color project and claims their paint Hairyokushoku (Grey-Green) Real Color RC238 is "spot on." (Look up this color or any of the other AK Real Color line on Scale Hobbyist - the best online site in the US. The colors are very good) The problem is that AK Real Color are lacquers and I don't use lacquers. However I was able to use the online color samples as a guide to my brew. I used Vallejo's rendition (they call it Interior Grey Green) and cut it with Vallejo Model Color Green Gray (much darker and less blue/green) and some Golden High Flow White. My brew will do just nicely, and I do like the color.

 

Interiors bore me: this pic is the done deal (minus a wash) under strong light.

 

cockpit by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

 

I took another couple of pics under a lesser but cool light and got a much better rendition of the color - although not perfect. I'll do better when the kit nears completion. The other pic shows the interior color sprayed onto the fuselage halves:

 

cockpit2 by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

 

color by Eric Bergerud, on Flickr

 

More later

 

Eric

 

 

 

I've added your Tony to the build roster, Eric.

Sleek looking craft!  

Great job on the cockpit.

Thanks for the information about AK paint.  I hadn't known about acrylic lacquer paint.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strictly speaking acrylic/lacquer and lacquer paints are not (necessarily) the same. They are both solvent based - but a true lacquer may have a different solvent than an acrylic lacquer. The best example of acrylic lacquer is regular Tamiya. Check on the bottle - it's flammable and poisonous - sure sign of a solvent base. However Tamiya is just now bringing in a line of "lacquer" paints. These could have a more aggressive solvent of the kind you'd run into with Alclad. Lacquers have a big advantage - they slightly bond to the plastic which makes them extremely durable. (Metallic paints are different birds because of their odd pigments - no metallic paint can be masked roughly without paint loss. You must get some sticky off the tape and apply it very carefully and remove it slowly. That might work, but metallics are their own world.) I haven't received any of the AK Real Color paints yet, so I don't know if they will be closer to standard Tamiya (pretty easy on the odor) or Alclad (very pungent stuff). On almost all aircraft I use a rattlecan of Duplicolor 1698 Black Hot Rod lacquer primer - and I do it outside. It's sandable and covers scratches like no other - it's great stuff. However, it's not gloss so I won't be using it on the Natural Metal Finish I intend here - although I probably could. This stuff means nothing to some people, a lot to others like yours truly - I will never use an enamel product and acrylic lacquers only very rarely. Luckily good water based acrylics are available and have advantages beyond not having any odor. BTW: I do not consider any modeling paint unsafe - unless you drink it. Eric