AIRCRAFT - Battle of Britain Group Build (Jan 1st 2005 - May 31st 2005) - FineScale Modeler - Essential magazine for scale model builders, model kit reviews, how-to scale modeling, and scale modeling products

razordws

Member since
September 2004
From: Vernon, BC, Canada

Posted by razordws on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 10:55 AM

Jay, your builds are looking great. Hope everything works out for you on that salt chipping.

I asked this question in the general discussion but thought I'd ask here as well. Have any of you ever taken paint bottles with you on an airplane? I took a job in another province (sorry Jay, Vernon BC not Alberta) and want to take some supplies with me to keep myself busy until my family catches up to me. Oh... and NO... I will not be taking any scalpo's or other hobby knives in my carry on! Shock [:O]

Dave

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jboutin

Member since
December 2004
From: 288921 E, 5659868 N UTMz12, NAD83

Posted by jboutin on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 10:18 AM

Madmike, what is it with monogram and wing warping, the typhoon has one too that I couldn't fix and their old p-40B I built a while ago had a really bad one which I sort of corrected but if you look for it you can still see it! Grumpy [|(]

btw, thanks for the comments! all your help has been great!

JAY - fighting evil since 2:15pm, July 8,1976 -

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madmike

Member since
July 2003
From: Perth, Western Australia

Posted by madmike on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 8:29 AM

Nice Spit Darson!

Mine is at prime stage and ready to go for the spray booth Smile [:)]

Mind you, the Monogram one is not a patch compared to the Tamiya one. There is a slight warp in one of the wings that has defied correction!

cheers

Mike

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei

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darson

Member since
February 2003
From: Melbourne, Australia

Posted by darson on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 8:07 AM

Guys thanks very much for the kind words and thanks for the advice with the dry brushing. I gave it a try tonight and it worked a treat. It hasn't solved the problem 100% but it sure looks a heck of a lot better than it did (to my eyes anyway). I've put it all together now including the last bits of Tamiya tape over the gun ports, canopy and fixed the landing gear glued on (did anyone notice it was on backwards in the photo I posted last night Dunce [D)]

, thank heaven I didn't glue it into place.
Jules I learned an important lesson out of this, one thin coat of Future is not enough, I picked up my mistake after doing the top decals, so I re-Futured the bottom and then had no problems. I'll take a couple of photos of the finished kit in the next day or so and post them up.

Cheers
Darren

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 4:43 AM

Jay looking good buddy Thumbs Up [tup]

Paint on both looks nice and smooth from here, and to be quite honest with you mate i can only see a tiny little line on the Hurri near where the spinner goes IMO it's barely noticable and the green, clear coats weathering ect ect ect will probably make it totally unnoticable, i wouldn't worry about it Thumbs Up [tup]

pingy Yeah mate there are more changes, but i think they were all internal something to do with the oilcooler i think, apart from that the only other thing is the stores rack which you get in the E3 kit anyway Thumbs Up [tup]

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pingtang

Member since
April 2003
From: NSW, Australia

Posted by pingtang on Tuesday, April 5, 2005 1:44 AM

Darren Good looking progress on your Spit. It's a shame about the silvering, but I think the dry-brushing idea should fix it up pretty well. Keep up the good work.

Jay Your two builds are looking very nice. The salt chipping should turn out well. It looks a bit rough at the moment though with all that salt under the paint surface. Looking forward to seeing some pics of them finished. And thanks for the compliment on my Spit. Thumbs Up [tup]

Jules I have the Tame E3 kit, and am thinking of doing it as a E4-trop. The Tame kit is good because it gives you the trop sand filter and the E4 prop spinner. I don't think there's many other changes than that, is there?

-Daniel

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jboutin

Member since
December 2004
From: 288921 E, 5659868 N UTMz12, NAD83

Posted by jboutin on Monday, April 4, 2005 10:26 PM

Well, here are some progress pics.

I noticed a little line on the hurricane where the fuselage halves join on the top of the nose. Sad [:(]

I am tempted to fill and sand it but I am anxious to get this bird done! Tongue [:P]

You can't see it good but there is salt all over the hurricane as I am trying the salt chipping method as described by swanny, so far from what I have seen, it going to be pretty neat. Big Smile [:D]

I guess the ocean grey paint dried okay for the Typhoon, even though it was old paint! go figure!

Maybe tomorrow I'll get the green on both.

JAY - fighting evil since 2:15pm, July 8,1976 -

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tho9900

Member since
July 2004
From: SETX. USA

Posted by tho9900 on Monday, April 4, 2005 7:18 PM

Darren - great looking bird, pity about the silvering though.. Jules' idea might be right on the mark though... it's the only thing I could think of... I've gone back a second or third time with Micro-sol and got decals to settle down that were silvered... but the drybrushing seems the less potentially destructive of the two...

Jay - I used to have a set of those same scissors and whish I still had them!! those things could cut through sheetmetal and leave a crisp edge at the cut!!!

---Tom--- O' brave new world, That has such people in it!

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 4, 2005 6:44 PM

Darren Sweet looking Spit Thumbs Up [tup]

pity about the silvering, strange they should silver with a coat of Future underneath Confused [%-)]

OH yeah the Stuka is still a go but i'm finding it hard to motivate myself to finish it so i figured i'd get a move on with the 109 Thumbs Up [tup]

BTW Pingy I think i'm building the same 109 as you, Tamiya's 48 BF109 E4/7 done as an E3 in Werner Molders markings.........

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jboutin

Member since
December 2004
From: 288921 E, 5659868 N UTMz12, NAD83

Posted by jboutin on Monday, April 4, 2005 5:29 PM

I guess a good thing, when you try something new you kinda go blindly, I cut the canopy out with a bit of the vacuform edge left around it. I used surgical scissors (left over from a univrsity biology class for disecting). Then I read on the back of the instructions to use a no.11 blade and score the canopy edge lightly until it pops out of the plastic. Dunce [D)]

with a little bit of careful trimming and sanding, I think the Canopy is ready for masking now. I'm learning new things everyday and I am so glad I got this vacuform canopy, it is going to look superb as I said it is my first!! Smile [:)]

JAY - fighting evil since 2:15pm, July 8,1976 -

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bobbaily

Member since
November 2003
From: Nashville, TN area

Posted by bobbaily on Monday, April 4, 2005 2:28 PM

QUOTE: Originally posted by jboutin

The canopy is a little interesting, I've never worked with Vacuformed before.

When you say interesting, is that a good interesting or a bad interesting?

Thanks

Bob

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rjkplasticmod

Member since
February 2003
From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State

Posted by rjkplasticmod on Monday, April 4, 2005 12:29 PM

Sounds great Jay. Looking forward to the pics.

Regards, Rick

RICK

At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...

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jboutin

Member since
December 2004
From: 288921 E, 5659868 N UTMz12, NAD83

Posted by jboutin on Monday, April 4, 2005 10:48 AM

Pingtang, nice looking spit, you too Darren, hope you can fix the silvering issue. Well I finally got the camo started, I put the dark earth on the Hurricane and at the same time I also did the ocean grey on my typhoon. I'll tell you guys, don't use old paint! Dunce [D)]

the Typhoon paint is a little thick and while it is acceptable for now, next time I should have just gone out and bought new bottles. I bought the paints about 10 years ago but never opened them so I thought what the heck, I'll try them on the Typhoon. It took a bit of playing with some thinner to get a consisentcy that worked some what reasonably.

Anyway, very soon I'll post some pics. The canopy is a little interesting, I've never worked with Vacuformed before. Big Smile [:D]

I have been having so much fun doing this build but I'm sure I would be done by now if it weren't for doing two at once.

JAY - fighting evil since 2:15pm, July 8,1976 -

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rjkplasticmod

Member since
February 2003
From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State

Posted by rjkplasticmod on Monday, April 4, 2005 10:06 AM

Darren, The Spit looks very good. Shame about the decal silvering. You might be able to hide it with some careful dry brushing of the top color over the silvered areas.

Regards, Rick

RICK

At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...

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darson

Member since
February 2003
From: Melbourne, Australia

Posted by darson on Monday, April 4, 2005 9:41 AM

Karl great news on your paint job, it would have been a damn shame if you couldn't bring it back up to scratch.

Nicholas welcome back, I am looking forward to seeing some pics of your Defiant.

Calvin wow [:0], like the man said your a braver man than I am. Great work in such a tiny scale.

Jules what happened to your Stuka, did it bite the bullet or is it still a goer?

I'm convinced that my Spitfire is jinxed, tonight I was putting the canopy on (no I didn't break it again Tongue [:P]

) and I realised the scratchbuilt armor plate, bulkhead and little black electrical thing that all sit behind the pilots head are to tall to fit the rear canopy Sad [:(]

. I could have wept I'm not kidding. Anyway tonight was spent doing some hasty butchering mods so that the canopy will fit on. Anyway, to prove this model is not a figment of my imagination, here are a couple of progress pics. Oh yeah in the top shot you can clearly see the decal silvering that I'm so bummed about.

Cheers
Darren

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pingtang

Member since
April 2003
From: NSW, Australia

Posted by pingtang on Monday, April 4, 2005 6:48 AM

Jules Seems we're working on the same kit at the mo. That's if you're working on the Tamiya kit. Sounds like you're at about the same stage as me too. Interested in seeing how yours goes together. Have fun.....

-Daniel

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 4, 2005 5:00 AM

Looks good lodni_k Thumbs Up [tup]

man you must have a good set of eyes for that scale......................

Well i've made some progress on the 109 E3 for this GB, I've sprayed the RLM 02 on the interior parts and tonight i'll finish off the pit and join the fues together...............
Pics in a couple of days Thumbs Up [tup]

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pingtang

Member since
April 2003
From: NSW, Australia

Posted by pingtang on Monday, April 4, 2005 12:28 AM

Those builds are looking great lodni_k. Very impressive work for such a small scale. Keep up the good work.

-Daniel

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rjkplasticmod

Member since
February 2003
From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State

Posted by rjkplasticmod on Sunday, April 3, 2005 9:43 PM

Yeah, Thumbs are pretty small....But so are 1/144 builds Smile [:)]

. Look good from here. Sorry, I can't help on the 1/144 decals.

Regards, Rick

RICK

At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...

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Tankmaster7

Member since
August 2004
From: Nowhere. (Long Island)

Posted by Tankmaster7 on Sunday, April 3, 2005 9:37 PM

lodni, edit the "th" part out of th url for your images. you posted thubnails. we want big pictures! looks pretty nice though.

-Tanky

Welcome to the United States of America, a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation, in partnership with Halliburton. Security for your constitutional rights provided by Blackwater International.

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tho9900

Member since
July 2004
From: SETX. USA

Posted by tho9900 on Sunday, April 3, 2005 9:36 PM

Calvin you are a better man than I for tackling that small of a build... great paint job on her though!!! Maybe one day I will do one just for fun... (to see how bad I can mess it up haha)

no idea on the 1/144 swastikas tho... sorry!

---Tom--- O' brave new world, That has such people in it!

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Anonymous

Member since
November 2005

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 3, 2005 9:08 PM

Ok everyone. Some really sharp looking a/c have come of this. I'm just now getting settled in the casa and not all my "nice to have" modelling tools have reached me yet. I managed to get the Bf-109 pretty much done, sans the tail insignia. Those 1/144 scale swasticas are a devil to find. The Spit's Future coat over the decals is curing and I'm gonna make an attempt at doing a bit of weathering. As far as the pilot for the Spit, I wish I had a smaller brush! Tongue [:P]

I did try & "make" some Polish "squares"(?) for it but in this was, I fear, a lost cause because one can barely see them. Anyway, here goes:

Sorry that it's a bit blurry!

The antenna turned out perfect, thanks to my fiance Tongue [:P]

The major Spit parts.

The pilot & instrument panel.

If anyone has any idea where I might be able to find some small swasticas please let me know! Hopefully the Hurricane & Stuka will be done by the end of this week. Happy Modelling! - Calvin

Hope that's better! Cool [8D]

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tho9900

Member since
July 2004
From: SETX. USA

Posted by tho9900 on Sunday, April 3, 2005 3:01 PM

Nicholas... I seem to remember seeing a pic of it.. will try to find it for ya.,..

---Tom--- O' brave new world, That has such people in it!

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rjkplasticmod

Member since
February 2003
From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State

Posted by rjkplasticmod on Sunday, April 3, 2005 1:10 PM

Nicholas, You are correct. That panel could be dropped to allow traverse of the Turret guns.

Regards, Rick

RICK

At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...

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nmayhew

Member since
July 2003
From: Kent, England

Posted by nmayhew on Sunday, April 3, 2005 12:31 PM

hi guys,

i've been keeping up with evrything but have been too ashamed to post as i i only started my Defiant a week ago!![:0]

the kit is a real b*tch if you are used to tamiya shake'n'bake etc... lots of sanding (and swearing!)...

i have been very impressed by all the work i've seen here this past couple of months; i only hope i have something to contribute soon!

one question about the defiant: along the spine of the fuselage behind the turret, there is what looks like a piece which is lowered to allow a full traverse of the turret.
am i right here? was this lowered during combat?
if so, does anyone have any pics of it in this position, as i haven't been able to find any.

kind regards,

Nicholas

Kind regards, Nicholas

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pingtang

Member since
April 2003
From: NSW, Australia

Posted by pingtang on Sunday, April 3, 2005 11:37 AM

Thanks Dave;

If you want to have a go at it in photoshop, go ahead. I've got no idea what I'm doing with with it just yet. I'm still learning what all the different functions do.

-Daniel

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rjkplasticmod

Member since
February 2003
From: A Spartan in the Wolverine State

Posted by rjkplasticmod on Sunday, April 3, 2005 11:01 AM

Micro Sol ia an alcohol based solvent & can react with Future. You want to keep the solvent only on the decal & not slopped on the paint. In my experience, the Future will turn cloudy with a whiteish cast. Let it recure & spray another top coat of Future & 99% of the blemish goes away. But I've never seen it eaten away like Karls.

Regards, Rick

RICK

At My Age, I've Seen It All, Done It All, But I Don't Remember It All...

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razordws

Member since
September 2004
From: Vernon, BC, Canada

Posted by razordws on Sunday, April 3, 2005 10:53 AM

Joe: The camo looks great. Thumbs Up [tup]

Can't wait to see it finished.

Daniel: Awesome looking Spit. If you need help with the photo shop let me know. I spend a lot of time with it at work. I'd love to see those two birds together too.

Karl: I just had a similar thing happen to me with a pair of Me 163's I've been working on. fortunately it wan't nearly as bad as yours but the micro sol started to react to the future. I guess I didn't let the future cure long enough and then put on too much micro sol. I just let it cure for another day and then top coated with another layer of future and it covered up the problem (wheww!!!!). I look forward to seeing your finished model.

Dave

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pingtang

Member since
April 2003
From: NSW, Australia

Posted by pingtang on Saturday, April 2, 2005 7:13 PM

Thanks Darren, Rick and Karl;

Rick That would look rather cool. I'll see what I can do with photoshop, if I can work out how to use it.

-Daniel

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KJ200

Member since
July 2003
From: Bicester, England

Posted by KJ200 on Saturday, April 2, 2005 10:48 AM

Tom It pays to remember that decal sol is just a weak acid...........

........I just remebered too late!

Daniel The flaps look great. I admire anyone who has sufficent patience to assemble PE flaps.I'm just too clumsy for such delicacies. maybe that's why I like resin so much?

Darren In between my last post and this one the paint work has been restored, including both light and dark post shading. I'll let it harden off overnight and then give it a once over, just to check that it matches what is already there.

Then it'll be Future at some point next week, followed by decals whenever they turn up.

Karl

Currently on the bench: AZ Models 1/72 Mig 17PF