U.S. Naval Aviation GB!

cool! haven't seen ya in awhile Reg-meister! how ya been?

this is a slow build for me.. I am trying all this stuff I have only read about but so far it's taking shape... I kinda thought I should have started on a personal model but so far it's working out excellent! those tea bag seatbelts are a b**** to get on but they look good! kinda better than PE in my mind... if they get too hard I'll just leave em off, save it for next time...

i just futured the fire truck for my F-14 dio, and i am about to start painting the actual bird. the base is getting soem mroe primer, then it will get white.

yeah my SBD is shaping up nice, even though it's slow going... got the radio equipment detailed last night... making me some seatbelts out of tea bags right now... the paint is dry so I am probably going to put those on later with fine wire for buckles...

this might end up a screwy looking plane but I decided to try a lot of the stuff I have been reading that sounded like a good idea...

well, got some major assembly done on the F4U-5N tonight. i'm very pleased with the progress, hopefully, the engine will be completed and assembled tomorrow, along with some small part painting. nothin' worth takin' a pic and postin' yet, but i got alot accomplished tonight. i'm thinking i can spend a couple of hours tomorrow and be ready to paint next week. the SBD is still collecting dust. one at the time. later.

Jules and Chris,

They are the artist quality pencils. not the ones you get with chidrens schools supplies, but the ones you get in the art supply store or hobby lobby.... just sharpen them up real good and keep them sharp. I just bought individual colors, not a whole pack. They were about 2 to 4 dollars apiece but worth it!

Thaks fellas... will post some more today when I get some better light set up

Ray the end of Jan 05 works for me, i was starting to get a little worried with my lack of progress so an extra few weeks is a godsend to me

Tom your instrument panel looks great i may have to try the pencil method, so what sort of pencils did you use and how do you do it

Salty good to see you back at the bench mate lookin forward to seein some pics.....
.........Jules..........

i used the ol' pencil technique on my corsair pit if you remember and it turned out pretty good. as for the NMF, yes, thats alclad with alclad gloss black base under it. i also use a dark aluminum and chrome for panel highlighting. my IP on the SBD just don't look as sharp as yours IMO. thanks for the compliment on the NMF. maybe i can post up some progress on this GB soon. later.

QUOTE: Originally posted by saltydog and the pencil technique certainly turned out well. keep up the good work. you mentioned better lighting (not that there is anything wrong with your pic). GE Reveal bulbs are the best for photography.

Thanks Chris! coming from you that means somethin... (I dunno what, but something! )

Yeah I sharpened the pencil to a really good point, picked out the details on the IP instruments... sharpened again came back and got the needles etc... trick was to keep it sharp so you could use just the tip on it... on the red and yellow it DEFINITELY had to be a fine point.. as I was picking out individual markers... two yellow, two red, the rest silver.. I might try white next time... and oh yeah, on my new lamps they all have reveal bulbs.. even the overhead magnifier I have had a reveal in it... (can drop it down and open the top to see small parts)

I tried the paint around the instruments scheme they listed in the instructions and got frustrated... decided to try the pencil thing... I've only used it for bezels before. I was just about to try your other idea from way back when, of drilling out the dials but might wait... I am sure the instruments would show up clear but I think they would be too recessed in this case... its a thick panel... plus from my SBD-5 experience you can't see it unless you hang upside down and stick your nose inside the fuselage anyway once it's closed up... actually all you can see are the pilots seat, the wobble pump handles (whatever those are) and the floor... I might post a pic of my SBD-5 so you can see... it was my first model getting back into this...

Beautiful NMF on that bird you had the link to... used Alclad right? what kind of undercoat? black? reason I asked I am doing a set of Grumman Widgeons for my dad and thinking about doing the NMF in Alclad...

Thanks brother! you have a good night!

P.S> you gotta be kidding me that my IP looks better than yours... I just went back and peeked at the old pics here... it looks like a charm!!!

LOL, i do that all the time Tom...........forget something after i post the pic!! you Intrument Panel turned out better than mine did!! i just couldn't get the decal on the back to look right, but yours look cool. and the pencil technique certainly turned out well. keep up the good work.

you mentioned better lighting (not that there is anything wrong with your pic). GE Reveal bulbs are the best for photography. it brings out the truest light of the subject. when i photograph small pieces like cockpit parts and such, i use a plain old piece of typing paper as a background, and let it "roll up" the side of a paint thinner container (or anything handy to hold the paper up) for the backdrop. the pics turn out nice evertime.

BTW, i'd like for you to take a look at my latest build if you haven't viewed it yet. it can be found here.
http://www.finescale.com/fsm/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=30436

ok got it Chris! wierd! I guess all my previous pics were wider than they were tall... never had that happen...

p.s. this is also my "look at that piece I missed" shot haha... just saw like 3 things I gotta go back and fix... but the dash looks decent for pencil I think...

Tom, the trick to getting your pic to enlarge is, it has to be oriented so that the width of the pic is greater than the hieght. for some odd reason, the pics that are taller than they are wider want expand!! who knows, some sort of glitch. try cropping the pic and reloading it.

yes, i'm doing an SBD-3.

thank Chris! wierd thing, it wont enlarge when ya click it! I posted it, it wouldnt enlarge so went and resized it... same.. this was the third try so yall are outta luck if you wanna see it better...

looking forward to yours too Chris, didnt ya do a SBD-3 on this? Mines gonna be in the old blue/grey and light grey scheme... not sure if I am ordering AM markings as actually there is only one set I have seen... I did find a website with some SBD nose-art so might try my hand at that testors decal system.... who knows?

Looks great from my house Tom!! i just finished my stang for the NMF Group Build a couple of days ago and now i'm gonna concentrate on my F4U-5N & SBD-3 for this build now. i'm about ready to detail the engines on both kits..............i've been "about to" for 3 days now!!LOL if i can just get over the engine hump, i'm gonna be gettin' to my favorite part of any build.........the painting and weathering!! and to pump me up even more, i just watched wings over the Pacific on Discovery Wings!! oh yeah babe!! can't wait to see the rest my friend. later.

Jan works for me! I might have a little time to model another since I am picking up steam on this one...



here's a pic of the unfinished cockpit on my SBD-2 (I did let yall know I changed my build didn't I? lost a few parts on the F4U so that is going aside until I call Tamiya) got most of the instrument panel done, just need to fix up some over brushes from the weathering stage and dot my I's etc and it will be done. well a few more pieces to attach but this is the best stage to freshen it up a bit before it gets crowded...

interesting note, I am trying a few new things on the instrument panel... all the silver red and yellow are done with artist's pencils... (except larget knobs) I was surprised how good they got in the bezels and picked out some detail... with a little practice I think I may stick with this technique. tomorrow I am setting up my lighting so you can see better... I did a light burnt umber/black wash on the floor. when this squadron arrived in the pacific the planes were still rather new before the battle of midway so not a lot of weathering to do. some paint scratching on the pilot foot trays (running through the rudder pedals) some scratching of the grating under the rear gunners seat, and a light black wash to accent the grating... when I get more light on the subject you can see it...


anyway I'll post those tomorrow... this might not be my best build but I am trying some new things I think might really help me out... like the artists pencils...

a superb idea as I have some commitments with the LHS I have to build as well.

Oh, I'm SOOO for moving the completion date, that way I won't have to worry about dropping out.

Alright I am finally into my new house, but now my wife has many a chore for me. Sounds like everyone is having a very eventful month. Are you guys OK with moving the completion date to the end of Jan. 05? There is just no way I will have the time to meet my GB "obligation" at present.

Let me know your thoughts.

Ray

Thanks for the info mate. I'll have to have a look for that decal sheet. Now that I can see the scheme though, I might be able to piece together something from other decals. I can use the Jolly Rogers symbol from Tamiyas decal sheet, I've got plenty of insignias and I'll use some other codes put together to make the fuselage codes.
I might be able to stay in this thing after all.

scottrc- Vf-17 was the first to take delivery of the F4U-1 corsairs. They were used on the USS Bunker Hill and the USS Charger. But, before VF-17 was deployed over seas, they conerted to the raised canopy F-4U1. But tehy used the birdcage corsairs prior to their deployment over seas and I want to do one of these birds.

Pingtang, I just found a decal set for a birdcage corsair if you are interested. it's by Eagle Strike, you can see it on greatmodels.com search for: eg48085 Best Sellers - Corsair F4U1 Collection Part 1

there were more on there but I notcied this had a VF-17 set for a birdcage corsair included...

Thanks Tom for the reply. She will never allow me to rent Ol Yeller, she hates to see dogs suffer. However, I do threaten our Labrador with watching it so he'll have an idea what might happen to him if he doesn't stay out of my model shop

Daniel, I'm going to miss you here. I cannot remember, and don't have time to look, but was wondering what squadron was the first to have F4U-1A Corsairs on the Enterprise.

QUOTE: Originally posted by pingtang Sorry to say this, but I might have to pull out of this GB.

no prob Pingtang... I am about to pull out of a GB myself (not this one) ... sometimes real life, or lack of what you need gets in the way... I'll see what I can find for ya but if nothing else we enjoy your company and conversation so feel free to stick around and ooooh and ahhhh at our wonderful builds! (you better oooh and ahh at mine no matter how bad it looks!!! hahaha)

good to have you with us, even if it's just as a spectator... I'll try and get back to you by tomorrow and see what I can find...

I understand the "ship being put to the torch" thing Scott... re: my post on the ship topic... I had an old 1969 Chevelle SS396 when I went in the Navy, the 2 summers before I worked at a couple of places that allowed me to rack up unbelievable overtime... as in one place as much as 20 hours of overtime per week! (at 9 dollars and hour in 1983 that was serious money! like 16 bucks an hour!) anyway... I spent every last dime on that car... my mother reupholstered the interior, I rebuilt the engine with everything Holley, Thrustmaster etc.. could provide... my dad conviced me that after my A school (combat medic school) I would go straight out to a ship... being he was in the Navy as well I took his word.. I sold it to a biker who's nick-name was "Satan" and within a week he twisted the camshaft on it ... actually broke it in half!!! the engine had 300 miles on it when he bought it... I warned him to go easy...

Anyway long story short it was many years before I got over that... being talked into selling it.. then because I had only a week or so left selling it to a dubious buyer... and see 2 yrs of sweat and blood (lots of blood from cracked knuckes, cracked head etc...) end up in a junk yard...

maybe not the same as your wifes car but I empathize... maybe you should rent Old Yeller or something and get her used to the idea sometimes its better to let them pass along...


on a birghter note... congrats on getting back into the build! I was doing good until this weekend with family visiting and all... and today was the day to end all days at work... actually had a server lose a harddrive.... which is ok... then it lost a second one.. then a third... before it was all over it was dead so I have a day ahead of me tomorrow... I dont like to see em go like that...

Glad to see everyone's alright.

Sorry to say this, but I might have to pull out of this GB. I can't find good decals to do a
VF-17 birdcage corsair. There were only a few birdcages' used by the navy, so there's not a great choice for schemes. There are a set in the Tamiya kit but I don't really want to use them, because they are not very good. I've been looking for photos of VF-17 corsairs, so I might be able to put something together, but can't find anything. If anyone can help me out, I might be able to continue with this thing.

If not, I have an Aeromaster set for a Marines bird, so I might do it in that scheme. I'll still check back and see how everyone is going though. I'm sorry to drop out like this. Good luck to everyone else with their builds (and cars).

Thanks guys for the support, man, what a month it has been for everyone, I am glad everyone's wife and daughter are ok. We got a rental this weekend and my wife cried the whole time we were unloading her old car. The insurance company called her and said we needed to have it cleaned out so they can take it to the wreckers. She really hoped they could fix it. She looked at me with teary eyes asked me if I could try to fix it, like I do with my models? I really felt bad because there is really nothing that could be done. We hadn't felt this bad since we had to put our Beagle to sleep. You see, we bought the car new when we were married and it has survived a turmulous 12 years with us. And to see it go was kinda hard on us. Kinda like seeing your old ship being sent to the cutting tourch.

Well, I am ready to put the fuselage together on the Wildcat, it sure is nice to be able to do something to take one's mind off of all other problems for a few minutes.
Scott

Geez Tom you have had a couple of bad weeks, it'll all work out though my little girl was in hospital for the last week or so with a mouthfull of ulcers, she didn't eat for over a week so they had to feed her through a tube, but she's out now and eating like a horse so life is returning to normal so i'm lookin forward to getting some time to make models and spending some time on the forums........
just be patient my freind you'll get the urge to build soon enough
Cheers Jules.......

glad to hear she's ok scott!

My wife got in a wreck monday before last in a storm... I was sitting here in the AM getting ready for work procrastinating... when the wife called and she was crying... she said she had hydroplaned through a red light and hit a school bus, and her door was crushed in and she couldn't get out.. what a fright! ends up she meant it was dented so wouldnt open all the way and she had to crawl out the passenger side... it was like my worst fear come true! Sometimes her south american/english grammar (she grew up in a dual language house, mom from Louisiana, dad from Colombia, so sometimes she mixes it up into BOTH languages) gets the best of me and causes me grey hairs .. no one was hurt and she didn't get a ticket but I am paying out the nose for a rental car till it gets fixed... (when we bought her new car the insurance people didn't transfer over the rental insurance as well)

Talk about a bad two weeks I've had!

On top of that I am getting sick and the very thought of paint fumes makes my head throb!

I hope this finds everyone & everything all right!! I wasn't able to finish up the cockpit like I wanted but did get the rest of the parts cleaned up & the wing done:) I gotta get to that photobucket thingy & post some pics soon! - Calvin

Hey scott, glad to here the wife's OK. On the corsair front, all seems to be alright. The only problem now is that the conrol column and rudder pedals are loose in the cockpit. I'm back on track.

Calvin,
Good choice on the airbrush and venture with the PE. I love to use PE and yeah, you're right it is a bit tricky to work with, for sure! I used an Aztek for 10 years and got excellent results from mine back in the day. Todays offerings from Testors seem to be more refined, as I'm sure yours is. Today I use the Iwata HP-CR(Revolution) for general work and the HP-C for camo, weathering and all things detail

jeez, scott- I'm glad she's ok! I'll echo the others words- thank goodness for seat belts and airbags.
Daniel! You know that plastic gods strike in threes- It has happened to me three times in one day. All three involved the wife trying to clean up my desk... I think it was the only time she saw me cry.