AIRCRAFT - Battle of Britain Group Build (Jan 1st 2005 - May 31st 2005)

QUOTE: Originally posted by bobbaily I'm still debating on the best way to handle the canopy-the framing lines are not raised in the Monogram kit. Difficult to pick them out. I have an E-Z mask but I'm thinking about cutting some masking tape to lay on the frames, then use liquid mask over the whole thing, scribe and remove the tape. I wish outsourcing were an option....

hmmm are the framing lines etched in? as in sunken? if so Tweety's idea of using Bare Metal Foil would work like a champ. If you can get us a pic of it and we'll see what we can come up with!

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 Cossack - we're always berserk! It's Sean's fault though.. he comes in here all hyperactive and stuff and the mood just transfers over to Jules and I! We were innocent lads till he came along and made our aquaintance... now he's drawn us to the bad...

OHHHHHHHHHHHH, thats rich!!!!
Here I was, minding my own beeswax (of which I have alot of, it's a medical thing!), and now this Tom character goes blaming ME for his imbalance.
Tch Tch Tch.
Me and Jules can blame the stuff they put in the water, with Tom, it's hereditary.

Well, got the camo all finished on the 109
Removed the Blu Tak, and noticed a fair bit of overspray that shouldn't be there[:0]
Thats what you get for 9 hours at work, 4 hours playing sport, and then trying to airbrush without zoning out
Ah well, some gentle love with the blade should see her right.
Will post some pics after I Pledge this pidgon in preparation for decaling.

I have to admit I love the Aeromaster decals.
This will be the third set I have used, and I will keep using them.
They just go on so well, snuggle down with some Sol, and don't tear when I trim them with a knife to settle them into panel lines.
I'll stop ranting now.

Got sidetracked finishing up another build, so not as much progress on my 109 as I had planned. Hope to finish the basic painting this week. Will post some pics later.

Regards, Rick

Rick - looking forward to it! I know the feeling --- got industrious decalling my SBD yesterday, then noticed it was 4pm and hadn't done a thing to the Martlet!

Tweety --- I will not dignify such accusations with a reply... It's a conspiracy I tell ya.. all this talk of flouride in the water! It's goverment mind control at work! Good luck on the overspray.. noticed a tiny bit at the trailing edge of the wing root last night but hoping to cover that with the dk sea grey so won't worry about it...

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 QUOTE: Originally posted by bobbaily I'm still debating on the best way to handle the canopy-the framing lines are not raised in the Monogram kit. Difficult to pick them out. I have an E-Z mask but I'm thinking about cutting some masking tape to lay on the frames, then use liquid mask over the whole thing, scribe and remove the tape. I wish outsourcing were an option.... hmmm are the framing lines etched in? as in sunken? if so Tweety's idea of using Bare Metal Foil would work like a champ. If you can get us a pic of it and we'll see what we can come up with!

I need to take a look this pm when I get home. If memory serves me correct, the outer surface if smooth (or close to it) with only a faint line that appears to be in the inside. Again, I confirm and advise tomorrow. Thanks. And fall is wonderful here-unfortunatly, it doesn't last until spring. It's 12 degrees F here today-down to 6 tonight.

I forget who else was looking for reference photos of He111's (it was soooo many posts ago) but here is a link-there are some decent pics and drawings at the bottom of the page. On the web page you can click on the link and get a decent .jpg

http://www.europa1939.com/luftwaffe/bombarderos/he111.html

cool! thanks Bob! I'll check that out from my build when I get ready for it... getting close enough to done on this build I neec to start thinking about the next!

Yeah, in the fall I used to like to open up the windows on my old 260Z and ride down the Blueridge Parkway -- all the way into Kentucky sometimes... THAT was freedom!!! open road, all the colors on the trees... leaves swishing into a little vortex behind you on the road... ::sigh:: Down here we have 2 seasons... hot....and hotter! for 2 weeks every Jan it gets down in to the 20's which to us is cold, as you don't buy a lot of cool weather gear for only 2 weeks of misery... in Feb there is 1 week of even a little colder then it's in the 70's again, hitting in the 80's by march!

Hey Bob it was me looking for some pics of the HE 111 thanks for the help. Me and my 2yr old son went to the flight museum this weekend here in Dallas to look at the one they have. it helped but they have it stuck in a corner and you really could not see the whole plane, but it still was fun to see all the war birds.

Thad

This must be a recent thing as 10 years ago I never hear of it. I've been reading on tips and stuff and I even heard others in this GB talk about using future floor polish as a clear coat before applying decals and even as a sealant. I was looking at my cleaning supplies cupborard and found some future, how is it used in modelling? Will it work over acrylics which is what I try to stick to.

If I can get some digital pics of my hurricane, who could I send them to for posting? I've just started so there's not much to see.

QUOTE: Originally posted by jboutin This must be a recent thing as 10 years ago I never hear of it. I've been reading on tips and stuff and I even heard others in this GB talk about using future floor polish as a clear coat before applying decals and even as a sealant. I was looking at my cleaning supplies cupborard and found some future, how is it used in modelling? Will it work over acrylics which is what I try to stick to. If I can get some digital pics of my hurricane, who could I send them to for posting? I've just started so there's not much to see.

I use Future to coat clear parts, some times use as a base for decals. However, I'll let the experts give advise on this one. However, for posting photos, I use photobucket. Go to www.photobucket.com and you can set up a free account. Post your pics there, copy the last link in under the photo into your message and you have pictures! Technology is a wonderful thing.

You asked for it Jay, here it is!

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

GREAT for canopies and the like, used to clear coat your model before weathering, seals decals (I even use it for instrument panel decals to make sure they stay)

Great stuff and arguably the cheapest thing you'll buy for your modeling hobby! At $3.50 a bottle that seems like it never runs dry it's a bargain!

---edit---

ditto on the photobucket thing... it's free, easy to use.. and it already puts the correct link in under the photo (the last link out of the 3) so you just copy and paste it here!

Yeah we use Pledge one go here in Aus, apparently it's a little different from Future but i wouldn't know cause we don't have Future here unfortunatlyBut anyway i've all but ditched useing gloss clear in preferance of pledge, it always seems to dry alot smoother and flatter

TOM The smell isn't my fault it's the ointment Nurse Kremp insists on applying......

Tweets Billiard balls, I dunno it kinda just popped in there, makes for an interesting mental picture though eh

yeah, I need to see what shipping would be for me to send you guys a bottle each of Future... I'll look it up on the postal service site tonight... if it's not too bad I will send 2 or 3 bottles to one person and they can divvy it up and send it out to the other guys... a little bit goes a long way! You can order it online at greatmodels.. but they want like $6 for a 4 ounce bottle... the entire 27 ounce bottle is only $4.50 at the store! It's robbery!

Jules, I told you that's not ointment.. It's turpentine, so she can smell you coming next time you try to sneak up on her!

odd... I just went to look to see how much it would cost to send some Future y'alls way and found these prohibitions on what can be sent to Australia..

________________________________________
Country Conditions for Mailing - Australia
Prohibitions (130)

Coins; bank notes; currency notes (paper money); securities of any kind payable to bearer; traveler's checks; platinum, gold, and silver (manufactured or not); precious stones; jewelry; and other valuable articles are prohibited.

Fruit cartons (used or new).

Goods bearing the name "Anzac."

Goods produced wholly or partly in prisons or by convict labor.

Perishable infectious biological substances.

Radioactive materials.

Hedgehogs, Gerbils, Squirrels, Mice and other small rodents.

Registered philatelic articles with fictitious addresses.

Seditious literature.

Silencers for firearms.

Used bedding.

_____________________

Used bedding? hmmm... I was just thinking about shipping "Old Mildred", my favorite pillow to Sean too... they would have got on just great too!

And what do you Aussies have against cute little squirrels and hedgehogs??? (okokokok I added that one myself )

I'll post when I can find out how much it is to ship.. there are about 15 ways to ship it to you and I am trying to balance speed with cost here...

---edit---

wonder about the prohibition against goods labeled Anzac? can anyone help me out with that one?

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 yeah, I need to see what shipping would be for me to send you guys a bottle each of Future... I'll look it up on the postal service site tonight... if it's not too bad I will send 2 or 3 bottles to one person and they can divvy it up and send it out to the other guys... a little bit goes a long way! You can order it online at greatmodels.. but they want like $6 for a 4 ounce bottle... the entire 27 ounce bottle is only $4.50 at the store! It's robbery!

OK I'll admit it, I'm the fool that has ordered the 4 ounce bottle of Future from GM. I did as a bit of a test so that I could see if there is any practical difference between our Pledge One-Go and Future. Bottom line is that there is a difference and that I now use my little bottle of Future instead of One-Go.

Tom thanks very much for the offer but if the postage cost is a hassle for you then I would be more than happy to help cover the costs of sending a few bottles of Future to Aus. Let me know what you want to do.

Cheers
Darren

naww I don't mind. I figure 2 bottle divided between a few of you will get you on a couple of months until I can send some more...

I wouldn't call you a fool for ordering it... I would have done the same thing to see if it was better. It's that people HERE order it from them and it is in the cleaners section at the supermarket for about 200% less.

Will let you guys know when I get the Future and a box for it this week... I guess too, how many Aussies do we have here? Jules and Sean I know of because they talk too much... you... If it's not too expensive I can put one more bottle in. If it's just you three though I can send 2 bottles ever 4 or 5 months if it runs out that fast... shouldnt though!

there's 800ml in a bottle so 1600ml/3 = 533ml each... about 2/3 of a bottle each.. should last you all a decent time! I've had the same bottle for about 9 months now and it's still over 4/5 full! I keep a little in a spray jar with a lid for brushing, and the rest I pour to coat windshields and just pour it back in the bottle when done.

I personally use www.myonlineimages.com I find it better than photobucket, but then, where would the world be without choice?

OK, as an update: my bf-110C-4 finally has decals (yippee), but I'll only get the PE to finish the cockpit next Saturday. Which leaves me with the choice of either starting the bf-109e-4 or working on the bf-110 engine nancelles in the meantime. What modeller cannot resist starting a new kit though...

Spent the last 2 hours checking various references for Humbrol paints to RLM colours (as I am without enough supplies of Xtracolor until Saturday). OK, so H.65 is RLM 65, H.154 is RLM 04. After that things get hairy! Is RLM 71 H.30 or H.116 (most say 116, and some say 30 is RLM 83)? RLM 02 seems to be 92 (mostly). Then of course, different factories in Germany produced different variations, and in the field things changed too. I suppose, in short, if it approximates to a colour, then it probably is it. The colour schemes for the bf-109 and the bf-110 are 71/02/65

Osher... here's one of the charts touted to be one of the best... I'll let you make your mind up on its accuracy.

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_humbrolauthentic.htm

I understand your dillema, I hate waiting to get something and would rather order it any day! And usually (if not always) I always forget something I needed... luckily there's a hobby shop near with almost everything I could ask for... incuding PE for a lot of the more popular builds! It's a 1.5 hour drive there but worth every second! Plus there is a Colombian restaraunt across the street so my wife doesn't mind me going as long as I take her so she can eat!!! (She is from Colombia)

Thanks Tom! Yep, I used that one, and the SMAKR one, and a few others! The problem of course is that sometimes opinion is divided, and, due to variations, all could be right! I remember seeing this picture of a US bomber (I forget which one) in 3 strong variations of olive drab.

Actually, I live a 5 minute drive from Hannants London branch, so normally most things are in stock, but in this instance, the PE kit I need is only at their other (main) branch, a 3 hour drive away. No nice restaurants, but there is a greasy spoon cafe next door, and the RAF museum and restaurant a 5 minute walk away.

What is typical Columbian food?

Well typical Colombian food.. very Mediterranean in style... thing a cross between Spanish and Greek or even farther east style food.

Arroz con Pollo: braised seasoned chicken pieces in a bed of saffron rice, celery, carrots, peas and olives mixed throughout.

Bandeja Paisa (paisa is a term for people from the mountains of Colombia like my wife) a marinated steak with rice, a fried egg on TOP of the rice (it took me a bit to adjust to that sight, but once you stir the yolk in with the rice it is DELICIOUS!!! With a Colombian style bacon called chicharrones(instead of being in strips it is a deep cut of meat from the pigs back with stripes of meat in between the fat stripes, hard to describe) Fried Yucca ( a cactus from mexico and south, tastes a lot like a very light french fry) and seasoned beans..

Paella - same saffron rice base but with every type of seafood imaginable in it.. clams, lobster, shrimp, squid... etc... same olive, carrot. pea type mix in with it.. DELICIOUS again!

Anyway you get the picture... top this with some wonderful desserts (Tres Leches, a light white cake with condensed sweet milk, half and half and cream over it... with fresh whipped cream on top and strawberries or some type of fresh fruit adorning it) and their fruit juices, from fruits only found int he amazon and S. America and you leave a VERY full person!!! It's not spicy, just flavorful... a hint of the Middle Eastern/Greek type foods is recognizable...

Anyway a bit off topic.. back to the RLM colors... basically I look up a few either war time photos of even builds of kits, if I can get a bit of consensus then I go for that color... if it comes down to it I pull in the "there could have been some painted this way" rule and do it like I can... of course with RLM colors there was a stricter limit but US and UK colors had some variation....

Well, I had a good modeling weekend. Was able to rescribe all my panel lines and scratchbuild the exhausts and some of the other detail I sanded off with the raised panel lines and rivets





Have now moved onto doing some pre-shading with a fine tipped Gundam Marker and then camo on the horizontle stabalizers (testing some techniques).

And speaking of testing techniques, instead of doing all the difficult masking of the fuselage codes by hand, I took a page from an issue of Millitary in Scale and picked up some Woodland Scenic Dry transfers to use as masks for the code letters. FYI, MG744 is the product number for the sheet I'm using. It's 45 degree USA Gothic Black--and the 3/8 size is a perfect match for my fuselage codes. I'm painting the section of the fuselage I'm masking vodoo grey (yes, it maynot be authentic to the BoB camo, but every model I paint has a touch of voodoo grey on it somewhere ) and then putting the dry transfer over. Over the transfers I'll spray my camo green and brown, and then peel off the transfers, and voila--I should have my code letters. I'll show some pics as I proceed.

This weekend, I also orders my AM from GreatModels and await with bated breath their arrival so I can start on my cockpit (which strangely enough, save for some seam and touch-ups when I close this little beast up will be the last major bit of work).

So things are trucking along quite nicely. Needless to say, I've been quite enjoying the tales of the asylum over the last couple of days--not to mention the progress reports too. Thanks for the moral boost folks--makes a busy life seem less hectic in comparison!

Sean

I beg your pardon? ASYLUM???? We at Happy Acres like to call it a "Rest Home for the Mentally Weary" ... just mind your tongue, and you'll not be the wiser!

Hurrrrmmmppphh! If Old Billiard Ball Kremp heard this she's have her panties in a knot for sure!!!

Well forgot to tell yall... the old blue tak (white tak in this case) left a slight residue when I tried to mask with it... so making my mind up to do the masking tape thing but only burnish down the edge and try to not let it touch elsewhere... even if it pulls a bit of paint up I can hand paint it back... after future and dull coat no one will be the wiser!!! Will let you know the outcome!

LOL Tom. Can I sign up for an all inclusive vacation there in the near future? I think I fit the bill ::pulls out mental health certificate stamped 'insane':: I got this after spending $100 US on a Yak-141 resin kit from Hong Kong (including after market stuff for it too). After building it, I let my 18 month old daughter play with it--but not to worry, she's very gentle

Sean -- Oh the pain! ::grasps temple a la Monty Python::

On Edit: I'm actually masking my camo with blue tac now, and finding no issues with residue. I am spraying with gloss paint though, so maybe that makes a difference....

whytwolf, I am fairly certain that the residue problem happened when a combo of Maskol and Blu Tack on Acrylic paint.

Darren

OK seein as though we're on the blue tac topic i have to say that i have noticed a little bit of residue on the Hellcat when i pulled it off to make the sausage longerI stuck it over a coat of pledge that i had let dry for 24 hours so i don't know what happened.....
Do any of you learned gentlemen know of a nice gentle way of rubbing it off without damaging the underlying paint

Tom thanks a Whole bunch for offering to send us Aussies some Future, And i don't care what Kremp says about you i think your a real champ

Darren i have A FAVOUR to ask, as you know my digital camera is a real piece of s- -t that can't take a decent closeup shot to save it's self so i was wondering if i sent you some good pics of the completed Stuka pit taken with my Pentax could you scan them into your system and send them to me via email or upload them so i can copy them into my computer

Psssst... Jules, don't say anything bad about Kremp... I think Sean has a thing for her, if ya know what I mean!

Well nothing new to report... just gotta go back to work today... bummer a 3 day weekend is always nice! Of course that makes THIS a 4 day week!

Will update yall when I get something done tonight...

QUOTE: Originally posted by j.s.harrison OK seein as though we're on the blue tac topic i have to say that i have noticed a little bit of residue on the Hellcat when i pulled it off to make the sausage longerI stuck it over a coat of pledge that i had let dry for 24 hours so i don't know what happened..... Do any of you learned gentlemen know of a nice gentle way of rubbing it off without damaging the underlying paint Tom thanks a Whole bunch for offering to send us Aussies some Future, And i don't care what Kremp says about you i think your a real champ Darren i have A FAVOUR to ask, as you know my digital camera is a real piece of s- -t that can't take a decent closeup shot to save it's self so i was wondering if i sent you some good pics of the completed Stuka pit taken with my Pentax could you scan them into your system and send them to me via email or upload them so i can copy them into my computer

Jules are you kidding, that's not a favor!!! It would be my pleasure to scan your photos for you. Consider it a little payback for the some of the favors you've done for other people on this forum, me included. If you've lost my address I'll send it again when you're ready.

OK, with the Blu Tack issue are you seeing a bit of Blu Tack left on the aircraft or is it some other oily residue stain thing? If its little bits of BT just get a big ball of the stuff in your fingers and tap at the residue until the bits come off. If it's the oily stain then Bosticks web site recommends
"On some surfaces BLU TACK may leave an oily mark but this can sometimes be removed by lighter fuel or dry cleaning fluid (White Spirits)"
and
"Remove as much as possible mechanically and then use mineral turps to remove residue"

If you have an acrylic coat like One-Go down it should protect the paint.

Cheers
Darren

Thanks for the info on the blue tac Darren. I've not used it before, and although it's working good on my paints now, knowing its limitations and fixes for them is mighty helpful. This is the number one reason I choose this group build as my first--you guys are talented, hilarious and above all, helpful.

Thanks again all for making this one hell of an enjoyable experience.

Sean

On Edit: Damn, I wish I could spell

Hey all. After reviewing the canopy(s) last night (He111), I not in quite the state of panic I was prior. The upper canopy (directly over the pilot) has nice raised panel lines-eazy to mark off. The nose canopy is a little toughter-no raised lines. However, they are easier to see if the piece is held up to a light. I plan on taking some old address label scraps, cutting down to width and then laying that over the lines/frame. Then I will either use the E-Z mask (at least I hope its eazy) or liquid mask. Of course, work won't start until the weekend, so I've got time to review suggestions/input/offers to have someone else do the work...just kidding on the last one.

Hey everyone I got the fuse of my HE 111 stuck together last nite, but I had to stop because my heater was in a losing battle with the cold so I had to call it a nite and go back in the house. For you guys down under it does get cold in Texas sometimes. I'll post pics soon.

Thad