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

Rick - I apologize, but I guess for all the postings it seems I missed your 109, I noticed when Jules complimented you on it.. I love those yellow nose 109's! Looking good! Although I can't wait to see it dulled down too.. Future has a way of making an AC look silly... My Martlet looks more like an air taxi than a war machine right now haha

Sean... I like that effect... I won't be using it on my Martlet as it was fairly new during the BoB.. but will try it sometime later!

Tanky, the dinner thing made me crack!!!

Rick, Men At Work cd's huh?
You better be eating some vegemite with that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darren, the second wash thing is something I do to my models to give them a shadowed 'reality' thing
Ok, take the belly of my G14...


The streaking isn't from pastels, nor is it pre or post shading.
I applied my first wash as we normally do, to highlight the panel lines etc.
After removing the excess, I get another wash prepared, usually a shade darker than the panel line wash, and go over all the panels, from front to back, and apply it a little heavier at the front of each panel.

When I wipe it off, I get closer to the natural 'streaking' effect that would be seen on these aircraft.
Seems a little odd, but after the application of some smoke, and a flat coat, it looks extremely effective to the naked eye.

The same thing is done to the top of the a/c also.

You can se it mostly trailing from the lump above the wheel well, and some on the aileron, but this pic doesn't do the effect justice.

I'll try and remember to take a pic of my 109 for this GB as I go along with the second wash.
Should have it posted this week.

Well it's taken me about 30 minutes to read all the posts since my last post, and to think i made that post the day before last It's amazing how fast this thread is moving, almost 3 pages in 2 days
I think "Happy Acres" is gonna fill right up at the end of this GB

Anyways i've checked out everyone's progress pics
Darren Your Spit MK1 is coming along nicely mate, i especially like the instrument panel detail which i found hard to get right on mine
BTW i noticed that you ordered the ultracast C/pit door, didn't the Tamiya Spit mk1 come with the pit door
Rick Great looking 109, it looks good all shiny like thatNice work on the mottling as well...Decaling is your favourite part eh....I agree that decaling is where the A/C takes on it's Persona but i don't like decaling i prefer Airbrushing personally

Tom and you, you like masking canopiesI dislike that even more than decalingI guess you could say that my favourite part of modelling are those final coats of Flat Clear where everything just all blends in
Oh Yeah BTW Nice looking job on the Martlett Looking forward to seeing it finished....

Bob Mate, now thats one great looking paint job on your He 111 youv'e turned an old Monogram kit into a pearler, I hope you enjoy masking the Greenhouse nose...
Just out of curiosity is the mask you used to do the spots Blue Tac

Hey Tanky, do I get the impression that you want to join in this build?????

Darren

there is more than enough "wierdness" on this thread already!!! (C'mon, Lunchalot?) But then I suppose I shouldn't expect much from IT people!

Bob: the paint job on the He111 is coming along. I look forward to seeing how it progresses. BTW. Why do you always have food in your pictures? It always makes me so hungry.

Tom: The Martlet is looking good also.

Tom, don't encourage him, PLEEEEEZE.

Regards, Rick

ahhh Tanky... you are such a commodian! er... comedian!




Just give in to it... you know you want to play shuffle board with us inmates residents at Happy Acres Mental Rest home!! All the Future you can drink! honest!

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 QUOTE: Originally posted by Tankmaster7 Maybe my intelligence level is dropping, but the vast majority of this thread seems to be passing over my head like a flightful of geese getting their @$$e$ south for the winter. Would some kind sould care to explain bits and pieces of this conversation? Except the models. I understand the models. I like the models. Yes. Models, yes. hmmmm... Sean we have a new candidate for Happy Acres, you and Jules get the straight jacket... I'll go call for Nurse Lunchalot!!!

Oh dear. This doesn't sound good. Again, my understanding is not complete, but I think I am of getting zee jeest of zis. Lunchalot. Lunch. A lot. I like lunch. A lot of lunch. Except at dinenr time. then I like dinner...

Sean, anxious to see pics of the 109. Hoping it's not better than mine

Bob, Nice job on the Heinkel, looking good.

Tom, The Martlett is coming along very nicely.

On my 109, finished the decals today. Now for a little light weathering & final assembly. Did a wee bit on the Hurricane today, but nothing to brag about.

Regards, Rick

QUOTE: Originally posted by Tankmaster7 Maybe my intelligence level is dropping, but the vast majority of this thread seems to be passing over my head like a flightful of geese getting their @$$e$ south for the winter. Would some kind sould care to explain bits and pieces of this conversation? Except the models. I understand the models. I like the models. Yes. Models, yes.

hmmmm... Sean we have a new candidate for Happy Acres, you and Jules get the straight jacket... I'll go call for Nurse Lunchalot!!!

QUOTE: Originally posted by Tankmaster7 Maybe my intelligence level is dropping, but the vast majority of this thread seems to be passing over my head like a flightful of geese getting their @$$e$ south for the winter. Would some kind sould care to explain bits and pieces of this conversation? Except the models. I understand the models. I like the models. Yes. Models, yes.

Tanky, I think it's an Aussie thing. Great people but a little daft if you get my drift. I spent a few months Down Under on a work assignment a few years ago & loved the Country & it's people. But ever since, all I can play on the stereo is old "Men At Work" CD's. .

Maybe You'll understand as you grow older .

Regards, Rick

Darren, it's not glued in yet.. I just stuck it on for effect... I need to wash it as it has a bit of residue on the inside of the canopy, then the last thing I will do on the Martlet is glue it on.. that way I can make sure everything is painted/weathered/dullcoated without messing up my canopy (masked or not)

BTW: got 3 nice large bottles of Future for you guys but the mail boxes etc. place was closed (arrgghhhh) will mail it tomorrow!

Sean, I don't get what you mean by wash number 2, can you give me a bit of a run down on the technique? Normally I only apply one was to the panel lines then add a few streaks and stains with pastels.

Tom, great looking job on the Martlet but I'm curious, how are you going to apply a flat coat with the canopy unmasked?

Bob, the 111 is looking excellent, with a bit of weathering it should turn out to be a real beauty.

Darren

Maybe my intelligence level is dropping, but the vast majority of this thread seems to be passing over my head like a flightful of geese getting their @$$e$ south for the winter. Would some kind sould care to explain bits and pieces of this conversation? Except the models. I understand the models. I like the models. Yes. Models, yes.

bob... looks good! that tail section looks exactly like you showed us in the pic! I wouldn't beat yourself up... you really fixed her up! I would be more than satisfied with that.. I've heard the Hasegawa He111 goes together real nice.. I have one in my stash and after I finish the Typhoon I want to do for the RAAF build I might break it out just to play with!

I didn't get much accomplished so far today... just a few decals.. hope to have them finished by tonight!







still need to do some work on the SBD hopefully tonight...

Hey all-First off-good work on the Spit cockpit and the Bf109. Pushing me to start using aftermarket components. However, probably the first step would be to move up from the Monogram kits I've been working on. Anyway, progress made on the He111 this weekend. Decided to paint the entire plane flat black, use poster putty to mask the night camo and then paint grey. Almost worked too. However, I didn't make the 'patches' large enough. Talked myself out of redoing the entire process and followed Tom's earlier advise and broke out the paint brush and expanded the existing black patches. 'blotches' too small
After brush touch-up. Overall, I'm ok (not estatic, but I never am) with the outcome so far-especially since it is a 'reasonably priced' Monogram.....

Thanks Karl. I find the foam rubber to be a very easy way to mask open pits. Being a very lazy kinda guy, I go for easy every time .

Regards, Rick

QUOTE: Originally posted by darson I know this is probably a tad sacrilegious but roo meat is quite common here, you can buy it in the supermarket for pet food or in the gourmet section, go figure. BTW it tastes nothing like chicken, it's much more "gamey" if you know what I mean. Also, my daughter has drawn a picture for you to say thanks for the Future, can you send me you postal address please?

yeah I would probably eat it with no problem... but there was a big ruckus here with all the animal rights activist and what not clamoring about widespread massacaring of the harmless roo etc... of course they were being advertised as 100% USDA Beef.... I guess that was part of the ruckus...

And yeah will zip it off to you in a bit... I like pictures!!! Is it one of Nurse Kremps? (hopeful look)

QUOTE: Karl... I know wasn't it horrible? I've been trying not to say anything to Jules but it is hard sometimes... pity too... P.S. twasn't I who short sheeted your bed last night... might want to take a peek in on Sean tho.. something tells me he knows what happend..

Tom It was the bit with the Koala that really shocked me!

As for the 'short sheeting, I never noticed, once I had my sedative that's it lights out for 12 hours!!

Rick The 109 looks great, and the foam rubber idea has to be easier than blutak or tissue.

Karl

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 lol! actually tweety there was a story back in the late 70;s here about jack in the box using roo meat up in the NE (New Jersey area) they say it tastes like chicken...

I know this is probably a tad sacrilegious but roo meat is quite common here, you can buy it in the supermarket for pet food or in the gourmet section, go figure. BTW it tastes nothing like chicken, it's much more "gamey" if you know what I mean.

Also, my daughter has drawn a picture for you to say thanks for the Future, can you send me you postal address please?

Cheers
Darren

cool! yeah it's early here still so I have the whole day ahead of me... going to try to finish more decaling on the MArtlet and get some pics this afternoon... and try to finish up as much as possible ont he SBD as I have till Tuesday to finish it..

Got wash number one on the 109 drying
Tomorrow I'll wipe away the excess, then apply wash number 2, and fit the remainding bits.
Thats the plan anyways!

lol! actually tweety there was a story back in the late 70;s here about jack in the box using roo meat up in the NE (New Jersey area) they say it tastes like chicken...

Tom, thanks for the Future, you are da' man!!

Glad you like the Roo, I cant begin to describe how much it took to get that giant mouse past customs!!!
Hope you get many years of enjoyment, and when she gets too old, well,.................

QUOTE: Originally posted by osher Darson - My part completed Spitfire (BoB, but started before the GB), is also a Tamiya 1/48 Mk.1 You've done a beautiful job on the cockpit, especially the instrument panel. Yes, the Cutting Edge seat is much nicer than the standard one. If you see the picture I added of mine to the bit about the Sutton harnesses, you can see that quite clearly! I think the only bit of filler mine has needed so far is on the underside, at rear of where the wing assembly joins the fuselage. That's Tamiya for you!

Thanks for the kind words osher. If I had my choice again I probably would have gone with the new Ultracast spitfire seat which is a huge improvement over their old one as it now has the Sutton harness extending over the top of the seat so that can go through the armor plate the same way the Cutting Edge seat does. Oh well, next Spit maybe.

My only two complaints about the Tamiya Spit Mk.I would have to be the seat and the instrument panel which has basically no detail on the dials at all. But that's really nit picking as it's a great kit

Cheers
Darren

You're very welcome Osher. The great thing about this Forum, and especially Group Builds, is the sharing of knowledge & tips to help make modeling easier, more fun & exciting.

Regards, Rick

QUOTE: Originally posted by rjkplasticmod The pit is "masked" with some foam rubber. I cut it slightly larger than the opening & then stuff it in. Works like a charm & a lot easier than the wet paper towel method.Regards, Rick

Oh wow! This is why Finescale is some useful! Such useful tips. I've used masking tape and paper (and not been too successful) in the past. I will use this method next time. Thanks!

Darren, Osher, Thanks guys. The pit is "masked" with some foam rubber. I cut it slightly larger than the opening & then stuff it in. Works like a charm & a lot easier than the wet paper towel method.

Regards, Rick

Darson - My part completed Spitfire (BoB, but started before the GB), is also a Tamiya 1/48 Mk.1 You've done a beautiful job on the cockpit, especially the instrument panel. Yes, the Cutting Edge seat is much nicer than the standard one. If you see the picture I added of mine to the bit about the Sutton harnesses, you can see that quite clearly! I think the only bit of filler mine has needed so far is on the underside, at rear of where the wing assembly joins the fuselage. That's Tamiya for you!

Hey Rick, that aircraft paint job looks really really good! Anymore people in IT? Well, er, yep, me too, well, sort of. I'm a systems accountant, and investigate IT systems from an accounts perspective. Right now I'm struggling with Oracle (give me SAP anyday!).

I've been a bit slow on my build of my bf-110 as I've got two 'urgent' jobs on, namely a Churchill for my IPMS meet on Tuesday, and my Komet (only 2 weeks so far a 24 hour build!). As for the bf-110, well, a fair bit of PE has been painted, and I'm adding it in bit by bit to the cockpit. So far the instrument panel is finished (although it's slightly below how I expected), and the radiators (are they radiators? the metal slats next to the rear gunner).

This has been a really fun GB to be a part of, even if my build has gone backwards! When the seatbelts are added in, and the tub attached, I'll photograph and upload.

Rick said not to try and build too many kits at once, advice I should have heeded! When I was painting the cockpit of said Komet I used RLM66. Then whilst it was drying I painted the cockpit of the MiG some Humbrol 164. When it was time for the second coat of RLM66, I had forgotten that I'd painted the MiG, took the pot on the desk, and merrily brushed away thinking 'hmm, it looks a different shade, once it has dried it will be OK. Let's just have another look at the lid colour. Uh Oh....!'