AIRCRAFT - "Prototypes and Paper Projects" Group Build - Still Open.

Jeff, welcome to the GB.

It is very much alive, with new members joining on a regular basis, as well as several of us working on numerous projects.

What prototypes have you got?

I live just up the M40 from you.

Karl

Hi guys is this group still alive?....I have decided to break-out from the world of armour for a change and a few German Prototype Kits have come into my hands ...so looks like this is the ideal place for me to hang out and do some aircraft building ...that is if your still open for business

Wow! sorry to hear that, Matrixone. You have more resolve than I do.. I'd have had as day or two 'off' modeling just to recover!

Lucien,
I had a big problem today when getting ready to spay another coat of AlcladII on the fuselages of my Ta 183s, my airbrush was ready to go and everything else organized for a very easy spray job and as I was shaking the bottle of Alclad when the BB inside the bottle caused the glass bottle to shatter and Alclad went everywhere on my face, hair, table , my new pants, floor, and the wings of the Amtech Ta 183 and the left side of the smaller PM Ta 183 kit fuselage and one wing.
The Amtech kit can be saved but the PM kit is wasted, the AcladII fell on the PM kit so heavy that the Alclad crazed the plastic very badly, it looks really bad now. I will still finish the model because it might look alright in the background of my airfield pictures, otherwise I would trash it.
The wings of the Amtech kit are also damaged but I should be able to lightly sand out where the drops of Alclad fell on it, the plastic is not that badly burned from what I can tell.

I am not at all unhappy with the AlcladII product despite the bottle breaking today.
The Amtech fuselage after it was sprayed with the Alclad really looks like metal now! And I did not really try to go for a smooth aluminium finish, I used semi-gloss RLM 76 as a base coat instead of gloss paint to try and match the poor quality aluminium that the Germans produced in the last months of the war which was not very shiney. The AlcladII really looks great and was easy to work with, my next bottle of this stuff I get will have the BB removed before I try to use it!


Matrixone

3488- Sure, why not? It is true that prototypes often have drab color scemes, and besides, operational scemes that never existed are always cool.

matrixone- The Bv 155 is one of my favorties, too. There's just something about high altitude aircraft that I think is cool. Maybe it's the inordinate wingspan length. I don't know. It's good to hear the kit looks easy to put together.

t3488g,
Welcome to the GB, as far as I know a different paint scheme from the original is allowed and probably encouraged since prototypes often have drab paint and markings.

Matrixone

ok i'm in, like i said i will be building hobbycraft's Avrow Arrow. i will be painting it as if they hadn't canceled the project, is this allowed?

Lucien,
Sorry I misunderstood about you having an airbrush already.
I also have a Paasche VL and it is a very good airbrush, I used mine quite often on a number of my RC planes but for fine detail work I prefer the Badger 150. Late last year I bought a Badger 100G for painting extra fine detail and it works as good as I had hoped it would, it will come in handy when I build my 1/72 scale Mistel and Ju 88 S that will get ''scribble'' camouflage paint jobs.

After the Lippisch P.13 is finished my next model might be the Special Hobby BV 155, I got the kit last week and just opened it up to inspect the contents and was shocked at how well molded the parts were. I dry fitted a few of the larger parts to check the fit and they look very good with no warped parts or mismatched panel lines that I can see. Some of the Special Hobby kits of a few years ago were very crude and not easy to build but this new BV 155 kit is a vast improvement and looks very buildable.

Matrixone

t3488g- It's never too late to join this GB. Welcome aboard! My project is going way slow anyway. At the rate I'm going, it might be done by Christmas. 2005!

Frosty- It's good to hear the 229 is still a go. I really would like to see it finished. I can't get enough of that crazy German luft '46 stuff!

I have good news and bad news for the Zwilling-

The Good News: ALL EIGHT ENGINES ARE FINISHED! Yep, all painted and ready to go. I swear, it's not the size of this project that get's ya- it's the repetition! I'm just glad I don't have to paint yellow warning tips on TWENTY FOUR BLADES!

The Bad News: I unfortunatly lost one of tiny spinners in the black abyss of my basement, most likely never to be seen again. I'll have to post a topic in the AC forum to see how to get a replacement from Revell Germany. It's possible, I hear; it just takes forever. Oh well. I have all the time in the world!

hey is it too late to join this gb? i have a 1/72 hobby craft avrow arrow that i got about a year and a half ago and i haven't started yet.

QUOTE: Originally posted by matrixone Frosty, I'm still looking forward to seeing pics of your Ho 229 nightfighter, I hope you did not give up on it. Matrixone

Matrixone:
i haven't given up on the 229, in fact i was just looking at it longingly this AM
& thinking about how much i want 2 work on it... had a little side trip back 2
1917 (Mad Fokker Day), & i'm trying 2 finish up a couple of other group build
projects w/ deadlines...
but i promise u will see that 229 completed !

frosty

matrixone- I actually have an airbrush, a Paasche VL. My problem is that I can't hook it straight up to my compressor without a regulator. (Yes, 80 psi on a dual action airbush doesn't work too well. )

All the remaining engines got their base coat of gloss black last night. The silver should get on them by tonight, and then all the engines will be done!)

I'm looking forward to that monster seam on the upper surfaces of the center wing. Can you say gallon of putty and a few acres of sandpaper?

QUOTE: Originally posted by djmodels1999 Engraving is not as easy and straightforward as first thought! Need practice... I think the Rafale A is ready for another coat of primer just to check the quality (or lack of!) of the re-engraving... I'm practicing some more on an old Vostok soviet launcher...

DJ, welcome to my world!!

I've spent the last few weeks off and on re-scribing the panel lines on my Italeri/Revell Do217K. For every 5 lines that I scribe I end up going back and filling at least one because it is in the wrong place, or wobbly, or both! I'm still concerned that I have overscribed, but like yourself I won't know that until I primer the bird.

Matrixone, looking forward to seeing those Ta183s.

Lucien, both my builds would fit under 1 wing of the 290, so it's no wonder mine have progressed faster. Just keep plugging away.

Karl

Engraving is not as easy and straightforward as first thought! Need practice... I think the Rafale A is ready for another coat of primer just to check the quality (or lack of!) of the re-engraving... I'm practicing some more on an old Vostok soviet launcher...

Arsenal still awaiting info on the color scheme.

The Floh has been weathered yesterday (lightly!), with oils and pastels. I should be able to do the rigging over the week end.

Karl,
Both of my Ta 183s will have metal fuselages with a thin camouflage paint at the top near the spine, I decided against the putty on the panel joints because it would not look right painting on the putty lines if the panel lines were still visable.
The rest of the aircraft will be painted in a ''patchwork'' finish like the very late war Fw 190s had.

Thad,
Thanks for posting pics of your Do 335, it looks great.

Frosty,
I'm still looking forward to seeing pics of your Ho 229 nightfighter, I hope you did not give up on it.

Lucien,
My Amtech Ta 183 kit might just be a ''lemon'', were it not for the unusual problems I've had this kit could be built in a very short time, the fit is as good or maybe better than your Ju 290 kit(s).
That Lippisch P13 is a very neat aircraft, even in 1/48 scale its not all that big which is good since it won't take up too much shelf space!

If you don't as yet have an airbrush I hope you will consider the Badger 150, it is a good all around airbrush and if you want to paint the Luftwaffe camouflage styles like mottling and scribbles you can use the XF needle and head assembly. It works great! I have been using my Badger 150 for years with no trouble at all except for bending the needle once(my fault), I was able to get a new needle with no problems at all. As long as you clean it properly it will give you many years of trouble free operation.
HTH


Matrixone

Looks real nice, Thad! I may have to think about getting a Pfiel one of these days... (1/72, of course.)

For your second question- what do you mean? Getting the badge for this GB, or making one of your own?

matrixone- Sounds like that Ta 183 is a real pain in the rear. Glad to hear progress, though. The Lippisch P13 is a cool little aircraft, too. Can't wait for you to start!

Karl- I hope the paint mistake is fixable. (Geeze, here you are talking about shading mixups, and I still have yet to use my airbrush at all!)

A little more work on the Zwilling, more specificly the upper decking of the Me 328 bearing fuselage. The turret mounting holes are filled in with some plastic stock (just need to be puttied and sanded later), two little raised vents where the 328 trolly will go have been cut off, (the holes being used to mount the rings allowing the trolly to slide and act as the switch for the motors) the astrodome filled with a kit part, and another clear vent piece, curcular, used to fill in that void. All of this will eventually be painted over, including the clear circular vent.

I hope to get a pic, but right now my modem at home exploded, so that's a no-go right now. (All this is from school. Which is a benefit, because they have a DSL connection, verses a dial-up at home.)

KINGTHAD:
sweet pfiel !
as 4 the badge thing, right click on the badge in someone else's sig,
then right click on 'properties'...
copy the URL into ur sig in between the [img] brackets...
check 'preview' 2 see if u did it rite...
u should then show the selected badge as part of ur sig...
HTH,

frosty

Here is my finished Tamiya 1/48 DO 335




Can anyone help me with a badge?

Thad

Hi guys, sorry to be out of it for so long, life got in the way. I have finally moved, so I can resume building. First a trip to China for a week. I will try and keep out of Trumpeters way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Matrixone, I'm not sure that I want to post pictures after my overly enthusiastic application of panel shading!

Still it is almost complete, I just have to stay focussed enough to actually finish it properly, not my usual rush job, because I have another kit to start!

Glad yours are going well, the Alcald should look excellent on one of these. Are you going for a NMF underside with camo top and filler stripes?

I saw a review of the this kit online a while back, and it should prove a real eyecatcher.

Karl

Karl,

Looking forward to seeing your pics of the Ta 183.

My two Ta 183s are getting prepped for getting the fuselages sprayed with AlcladII aluminium, I've never used this product before and can't wait to try it.

On the Amtech kit I managed to straighten the warped main gear but will have to resort to using stretched sprue to make a replacement retraction strut, why Amtech decided to mold the main gear with the flimsy retraction strut attached instead of them being two parts I will never know.
I bought another Amtech Ta 183 kit this past week in case the kit I am working on is beyond saving.

My next model for this GB will be the Lippisch P13, a Revell 1/48 scale kit that looks like a quick build mainly because of the low number of parts. At least thats my plan, but I thought the Amtech Ta 183 would be a quick build as well but turned out to be quite different!

Matrixone

Cool!!! Now, where did I put that F-35 kit????

I've actually manged to do some work on the Ta183!!!

I've post shaded the panels, managed to overdo things on the underside a bit. I got carried away, it doesn't take much! I've also polished the canopy and re-Futured it, as well as sticking on the main undercarriage struts.

Having said all that, the PZL's fuselage is together, so focus will probably be on that bird for the next week or so.

Karl

Welcome, Lodni! Like DJ said, this GB is open ended, so hop in, hop out, build what you want and HAVE FUN!

Though not my absolute favorite, the XB-70 is nevertheless near the top of my list. It's really kind of sad, what happened to one of the two prototypes. The only remaining example of the Valkyrie is at the USAF museum in Dayton, OH. And I've had the privlige to drive down there twice to see it. It's really quite an impressive aircraft. If I ever go back again (I'm sure I will) I make sure and get some pics!

Things moving at a snail's pace for the Zwilling. Just testing things to plug the turret holes on the top fuselage of the Me 328 bearing side.

Lodni, this is an open-ended GB, so you can drop in - drop out anytime you want! A XB-70..! My very favourite aircraft!!!

Is it too late to join this gb? I've got an XB-70 somewhere. Or even a JASDF F-35, since I've got wind that the Japanese may be interested in becoming partners also. Let me know! - Calvin

DJ, I've just posted a thread on the AC forum. about progress with a few pics, however things are going very well.

The cockpit is almost complete, it all just needs a coat of matt varnish to seal the wash, then I'll be able to close up the fuselage. I'm leaving the very substantial wing off, as I don't fancy masking around that and it's supporting struts. Based upon the article in SAM the other month, I'm going for a somewhat battered look, so it'll be a coat of overall aluminium, followed by a heathy application of salt, before the main camo goes on. It promises to be both an interesting and enjoyable build based upon experience so far.

Karl

karl, are you doing a Greek P.24? (I know I'm off topic but I'd like to know how things are going!)

Mike, that 290Z looks to be coming on beautifully.

I hadn't spotted the fact that the plane in the picture had a twin tail!

From what I have read and seen the Bv222 is a another stunning kit. There is a great article on building the Revell kit on Hyperscale.

Again I have done absolutely nothing on the Ta, it's still hiding in the cupboard.

Karl

QUOTE: Originally posted by djmodels1999 Thanks for the update, Mike. Interesting site too! Thanks for sharing. Found in that site a pic of an aircraft you may consider for your next project... Scratchbuilt, though! As far as I know, thee's no kit of this huge beast... But that should not stop you!

Yeah. Right. I talk big, but my scratchbuilding skills are practically nonexistant. My problem is that my ambition is huge, much larger than my skills. (That's one of the reasons the B version plans tanked.)

KJ- No, the BV 222 looks similar, but it aint the same plane. The 222 had a single tailplane, for one. I wondered what it was, too. So I looked it up, and it turns out it was a French design captured and evaluated by the Germans after they surrendered. I'll look up the designation now-



Okay, it's a Sud-Est SE.200. Link here:
http://www.luftwaffe-experten.co.uk/sud.html

As for the BV 222, I might get that one eventually. (If I can find the room!) I hear that many of the plusses of the Ju 290 kit translate to that one, also.

As for me- since the B conversion fell through, it's back to OOB. A scratchbuilt A7 nose isn't out of the question yet, though any attempts won't be serious. (More like something to kill time instead of improving the kit.) And see, look. I'm talking again! I said it before, I'll say it again- we shall see.