U.S. Naval Aviation GB!

Iv got all major componets assembled!!!!! doing abit of touch up work then comes the tanks, gears, and all of the small stuff such as canopy, sensors and decaling. I should be wraping it up in the next couple of days.

I haven't even touched my Corsair since the last photos I showed you. I've been having too much fun with my FW-190 build, but I'll try to get some work done on it soon.

You guys with the AM SBDs, any problems encountered with the landing gear? I had to cut about an 1/8 inch off the bottom end of the gear door, and lower the strut about 1/16th in order to get it to look strait and level, then cut about a 1/32 off the door support to get it to fit. Kinda a funny charade to go through on such a nice kit.

Speaking of nice kits, my Tamiya F4F is ready to paint. I have built snap togethers that were harder than this kit.

Scott

no I didn't have any probs with my dash-5 Scott, I forget if there was anything in particular I did to get them in, but coming up on putting the gear on my dash-2 this weekend so will be able to tell if there was a trick to it then...

I remember it was a little bit tricky getting them in but they went in though... I seem to also remember them saying that the cant to the gear wasn't what you would expect... not straight up and down, angled toward the centerline if I remember right...

How is everone's build's going? how is everything progress?

Thanks Tom
I did give the gear about 10 deg slant inward. However, if I didn't do the cutting, they would go in at almost 45 deg and the gear door still rubbed on the tire. Anyway, they look scale now.
Scott

I havn't touched the Hellcat in a while either, and if it wasn't for the 4 week extension i would never get it done, but i will hopefully come in at the end

there's an extension??? Cool! I can actually sleep this week!!! won't have to model night and day! almost done anyway... just painting tonight, small bits and weathering tomorrow or Mon. then decals on Tues or Wed!

Then it's time to warm up for the BoB build after I get my dads model built!

Im just about done with the A4 Ill let everyone Know when I finish it. I can't post pics here it won't work so if youd like to see the finished Bird let me kbnow and Ill email pics out.

Well I think its done, more or less. Its still really shiny, I think I need to tone it down a little, but other than that Im pretty happy with it. The kit is 72nd hasegawa F4F-4. The decals sort of wrinkled up a bit in spots, I hope its not too noticeable as I was unable to fix it. theres some sloppy places where putty should have been used, oh well next time.
I tried to highlight the panels with some sludge wash, but didnt go too heavy on it. maybe needs a little more. In any case, here it is. anyone suggest whether it should be gloss or flat, or something in between?

Nice work Matt! the wrinkles are nearly impossible to see. Looks fantastic to me!

that is definitely good stuff matt. i have just finished the base for my tomcat dio, but i cant post pictures yet because my dad has gone overseas for business and he took the camera. so pics will come, but later.

Fighterguru, I would like to see your pics! you can email me from the email button in my profile and I will reply so you have my address.. . (if I post it here the spam-bots will scrub it... I hate that!)

Matt... looks good! a little bit shiny but I have seen pics of the real thing even shinier than yours! I didnt notice any wrinkling of the decals.. must've caught em all! If you're worried about the gloss you could mask off the canopy totally and hit it with some dullcote... it looks fine like it is though, to me!

I promised pics and I will deliver! Had a bit of a mishap today with the SBD, somewhere between airbrushing the cowl and laying it down to dry my finger caught it and left a fingerprint (paranoid look) can't leave any evidence!!!...

right now it is soaking in Castrol Super Clean and has a smidgen of paint left to come off... this is the first time I have used it and Simple Green seems to work better with dissolving the paint than this, but it does work.. it DID exascerbate my asthma when I sprayed it though so I recommend caution to anyone else with reactive airway disease when using this...

I will post pics no matter how far along I am tomorrow... the wife is away so I have been a bit lazy and spent some time riding around town and relaxing in the back yard since there are no "honey-do's" on my list right now... gotta get to modeling and finish this bird!!!

Hey Tho Ill be happy to send you some pics Im kinda busy around the house today I gotta finish christmas lights and then Ill get some modeling time.

Matt, nice F4F, I don't see anything wrong with it. I hope to have my Tamiya one done next week unless I have another paint mishap. I won't get into details, but it involved my dog, some paint thinner, and a lot of dog hair.

I had just painted the F4F, had it sitting in the shoe box on the floor, when Barney broke into my hobby room, grabbed the shoebox in his mouth (he LOVES shoe boxes, and really loves them when there are shoes in them), and flipped the just painted F4F onto his hairy back.

And he's going through a major shedding cycle right now.

Hey Tom, pass the Castrol Super Clean will ya

QUOTE: Originally posted by j.s.harrison I havn't touched the Hellcat in a while either, and if it wasn't for the 4 week extension i would never get it done, but i will hopefully come in at the end

Does that mean we have till the end of January? I just got my Bearcat re-closed up. I'm getting pics but have'nt been able to post em. I was thinkin' I was really pressed for time.[:0]

tough break Scott... luckily my two dogs know my modeling room is guarded by the "Whistling hand of Death" as I like to call it... my hand got that name the same way the stuka got it... heading down on target (their rump) it's the noise it makes...

here's a shot from last night just before future. The canopy is gapped at the fuselage because it isn't glued on yet... just put it there for effect... as is the top node cover above where the guns will go. I put them in after the pic... the canopy is hazed a little from the pre cut masking, I haven't cleaned it up yet... I posted in another thread about this and now you can see it too.. I imagine some soap and water or some windex will get it off...

It's curing right now, just waiting on weathering... I am putting the dive flaps on after weathering because they always tend to wanna kit the nearest thing to them to knock them off

(this is my 3rd SBD and I have a special bottle of glue reserved just for wayward dive flaps on the completed ones.. (kidding, but it seems like it some times..) it happens once every 3 months or so)

Nice looking wildcat Matti can't see any wrinkles in the decals at all....

Hey Tom that dauntless is coming along nicely mateSo tell me, how much of a pain was it masking that canopy, and is that SDB one of the ones with a red and white tail......

Nice Tom, I would like to build a 1 or 3 model because I do like that color, same with the Wildcat.

Also like your deterent to keep your dog at bay. I tried that solution, however, its usually within earshot of the wife as well, then I must to avoid her whislting hand of death.


Scott

hey Jules! no the SBD-1's woulda fit in that category.. they were either NMF with yellow wings or the blue/grey... both with the red and blue striped rudders.. this little beast has blue and gray rudder stripes oddly enough, some of them could have had the red and blue but I am not sure...... I might just mask the stripes and paint them by hand as the gray in the stripes looks an awful lot like an aircraft gray, and the blue is the same color as the fuselage.. I'll have to see...

the canopy was a chore as you can imagine, especially as the kit supplied the pre cut masks, so like almost everything else I did on the AC it was the first time using them. the end result was a little better than what I do by hand, but I am not sure it is worth the longer times spent lining up masking what is precut, or would it be better to just tape over and cut them on my own while already sitting where they should go...

I decided to do this SBD (it's my 3rd) canopy closed because I haven't seen one modelled like that.. well one but that was an ad for a hobby store... dive brakes are going to be in the landing position with the lower flap lowered and the top one flush with the wing.. haven't seen one done like that either...

SO this plane is a bunch of firsts, and although I know those things I did will get get better with time the plane didn't come out half bad (of course I haven't finished, there's always tomorrow to screw it up)
___________
Firsts for me with this plane:

Instrument panel detail done completely with colored pencils... no paint except the black on the panel itself.. think I will stick to this method from now on!

Masking tape seats with wire buckles (did so-so on that but it holds promise!)

Pastel chalks instead of a wash for most of the weathering... loved it! especially some of the streaking on the wing etc...

Pre-cut canopy masks... jury is still out on these. gotta see what it looks like glued down but all in all the canopy does look real good!

I tried this a little already on the instruement panel of another build with great results... but I am going to try using future instead of micro-set on all the decals... actually dipping them in the future to moisten them, then applying them to the plane.. the decals sucked down to that instrument panel on the other build like you wouldn't believe... and dried wrinkle free and well glued to the plastic from the future!

hopefully I wont blow this, this late in the game.. we'll see... but all in all everything is coming out good for the first time around!

QUOTE: Originally posted by scottrc Nice Tom, I would like to build a 1 or 3 model because I do like that color, same with the Wildcat. Also like your deterent to keep your dog at bay. I tried that solution, however, its usually within earshot of the wife as well, then I must to avoid her whislting hand of death. Scott

lol!!! yeah I got the exact same problem Scott... ironic... I was feeling bold when I posted that because she was out of town.. she came back last night so I have to be on my good behavior again..

QUOTE: Originally posted by lodni_k QUOTE: Originally posted by j.s.harrison I havn't touched the Hellcat in a while either, and if it wasn't for the 4 week extension i would never get it done, but i will hopefully come in at the end Does that mean we have till the end of January? I just got my Bearcat re-closed up. I'm getting pics but have'nt been able to post em. I was thinkin' I was really pressed for time.[:0]

Yeah mate it was decided a few pages ago to extend the time limit

Tom sounds like your having fun with that buildI wouldn't mind building one myself, maybe a Midway one

Jules: that's the one I am building, it's got markings for any one of the 16 USMC SBD's flying from Midway Island during that engagement. I want to build another one, possibly dress it for a warmer climate for the Latin American Group Build...


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By the way... anyone is welcome to join the Latin American group build, I know everyone is strapped for builds right now but it probably won't start until April or May officially... there's some really colorful aircraft flown by the Colombian and Ecuadorian AF's I might tackle... kinda painted up to look like parrots on top of a light gray main coat..

Just a thought, it's something you don't see a lot of...

Hmmmmm, I may have to look at doing a Mexican or Chilean SBD.

funny you should mention it Scott, not sure if you saw it (you probably did) but Manuel, the guy who started the GB's father flew in an A-24 in WWII for the Mexican AF... he has a good article on it from a link on the thread, as well as pics of his A-24 build...

I was thinking about it, but am starting to worry what the neighbors will think with me only buiilding SBD's lately...

Probably going to do an A-37, something I haven't seen much of on here... My wife is pushing for an F-86 in FAC (Colombian colors) since she is from Colombia.. you know who will win I am sure.. I'm a battered husband I tell ya! It's so bad that...

oh wait, I forgot she told me to order my new airbrush when she got home yesterday... I better keep the joking quiet for a bit!

Thats it Tom, when my Wife cracks at me for buying model stuff i'm gonna tell her that Tom's wife doesn't mind not that it will do me any good......
Oh Yeah if your still stuck on the Dauntless obsession thing i have a plate of an SBD in Mexican markings, right next to it is the Dauntless i'd like to do It's from VSB-6 onboard the Enterprise during FEB 42 and it has those red and white stripes on the rudder that i like so much.......Jules......

Cool! if you can find it, the Accurate Miniatures kit is AWESOME! comes with a lot of interior detail (sadly you can't see a lot of it once the fuselage is closed) great engraving on the panels... just enough without being TOO deep! optional bulged or round tires, the SBD-2 also has the canopymasks as well... you'd either have to get aftermarket decals or paint the rudder stripes yourself as this kit is marked for one off the Lexington flown by the USMC. When they got there they painted over the red dot in the middle of the star roundels and overpainted the red and white stripes with the same blue and grey of the main body...

Would love to see yours! I saw a reference the other day of a squadron of SBD's that flew for the RAAF if I am not mistaken I will see if I can find it..

Picked up a 1/72 AT-6 Texan for the Latin build and building it as a Colombian trainer. Looking for a 1/48 A-37 to match the decal set I founf for a Dragonfly of the same country.... that's how I keep my wife happy and buying me things.. everytime I go I buy at least one of something SHE likes the looks of and build it whether I like the plane of not!

QUOTE: Originally posted by j.s.harrison Thats it Tom, when my Wife cracks at me for buying model stuff i'm gonna tell her that Tom's wife doesn't mind not that it will do me any good......

oh yeah forgot to comment on this one Jules...

if your wife is anything like mine she'll probably just look at you and snap "Well then fly to the US and go live with them, maybe she'll let you buy models then"

(Wouldn't advise it, both of my dogs sleep in the other bedroom and they like to lick faces too much... plus it's my modeling room and I would have to kick ya out now everyday)

I'm glad they pushed the date for this build out a bit... I got shanghai'd by the neighbors yesterday evening to go to their house for some Christmas cheer... got back and wanted to get some more on this kit done as I was so close... ends up while patting down a decal I tore it... one of the insignia from the wing so it's not something I can live without..

Ordered some aftermarket decals which should be in Tuesday ro so, so until this happens I am putting this one aside. the only things I have left on it are placing the landing gear, the dive flaps and bombs... dull coat it, secure the canopy and that's it!

Looking forward to finishing this baby.. she's looking pretty good!

Looking forward to seeing the finished build TomI on the other hand havn't touched a model in 3 weeks what with building a house and the whole moving thing plus the mad season coming around but i did manage to open up some holes on my 1/72 U-boat today.....Jules.....