Battle of Midway Aircraft Group Build

Great job Daniel!!

Tom-- I believe that Jules is also doing an Avenger for this build....and despite the terrible debut- they turned out to be pretty effective attack aircraft, didn't they?? Although more so as level bombers than torpedo bombers...

How about a AM TBF Avenger, done in MIdway markings?

I got two George Bush models on special at the local Hobby Lobby stores, and I just got a set of MIdway era decals just with that in mind.

Little is generaly said about their use then because of the general loss of the TBD's but it was the TBF's debut.

Tom

Nice work on the engine Dan, I just got my wings glued on last night bench time has been hard to come by lately.

Thad

Thanks Jules and Bob;

You might see the rest of it in a few days. I'm not far off having it all glued together.

Tom-thanks for the info. Very helpful.

Daniel-great job on the engine. Can't wait to see the rest of the plane.

Looks good DanielNow lets see the rest of it

Here's a pic of my SBD's engine after much fiddling. Don't know if it was really worth it in the end, but it's done now and didn't really take too long:



Hope you like it.

Bob -- the 155 has a single needle/nozzle for everything.. one of the nice things about it. Other brushes that do this that are well made are Omni and some other Badger brushes. Iwata does too but on the CS you have to buy the .5mm needle combo because it comes with a .35 which is a tad small...

I love my 155 and it does wonderful all the way from about a 2" spray down to small lines. It is very easy to clean, breakdown time for major cleaning is a scant minute or so... the Badger 360 which is a tad more expensive (10 dollars more or so I believe) also does gravity fed painting, meaning you can get closer in at a lower air pressure to get even finer detail. The gravity fed cup on the 360 is a tad small so the bottle would be the best bet for large area spraying. And best of all it is the sister brush to the 155 so identical in its spraying traits...


Two things I recommend to get when you order it is needle lube (Regdab needle juice by Badger is avaiable through Dixie Art) and an extra needle. You never know when the needle will get bent on a Sunday night when Michaels or other stores are closed, for only $5 or so it is worthwhile to get one now. Oh yeah the needle juice is only about $5 as well and lasts FOREVER... I've had my bottle about a year and it is still only a fraction from the top.

Needle lube helps keep paint from sticking and especially drying to the needle which is a plague of acrylics especially. This changes the flow of air over the needle and therefore the spray pattern. It also helps keep some of the spattering and spluttering you get with acrylics especially from happening. (It also helps with enamels)

Check out www.dixieart.com and think about ordering from them. excellent service, free shipping on orders over $45.00... the 155 combo with the braided hose and bottles and such is around $59.95 I believe.

Have you thought about your air source? If you already have a construction type compressor you can use that.. if not you can get one at Wal Mart for about $60.00. Then a water trap for about 11.00 and an extra 1/4" male to male connector for about $1.00 and you are set for good! Hobby compressors are quiter but also more expensive. If noise is an issue you can get a reconditioned Thayer and Chandler Air Star on www.badger-airbrush.com for about $99.99 in the garage sale section and it is quiet!!! I use a construction type compressor with a 2 gal tank and am happy with it. The wife says she hardly notices it come on (in the daytime haha... dont use it at night with family in the house, they want to move out after waking to that at 3am)

Good luck to ya and ask more questions if ya have them!

Tom,
Knowing that you can be readily found here (or where ever Kremps may be), thanks for the response over in the Painting forum. I found the article very informative. I think what I'm sensing from the group is to go ahead and start with an internal mix double action AB. My thought after discounting the Aztek was to go external/single for ease of cleaning & skill building.
Does the Badger 155 give the user the ability to do overall coverage & camoflage (basic) type work without changing tips or does that require a tip change?

Thanks again.

I got some good work done on my Dauntless today. I glued the top of the wings on, and glued the cowls together. It's all going together nicely so far. The problems started when I decided that those wires on the engine front were too thick for my liking. So I started cutting them off, Then I decided that the push rods were also too thick.......So, off they came too. I've now replaced the pushrods with some styrene rod, and I'm gonna start on the wires soon. I think it should be worth it though (I hope).

Yeah Tom, that sounds good for the winter time blues, an all dive bomber GB. With this group it would be one big SBD feast !! I say lets keep that in mind.
The Kate cockpit is underway! The kit has pretty good detail. Hope to have some photos by next week.

Phil

QUOTE: Originally posted by j.s.harrison Thats not the only suprise you'll be getting on your birthday Tom We've talked old Kremps into doing something special for you............

not her famous all nude rendition of "Swan Lake"????? I'll have to make sure I charge my camera...

Thats not the only suprise you'll be getting on your birthday Tom
We've talked old Kremps into doing something special for you............

Bob - I actually like the SBD-5 build a little better than the dash-2 even though they are almost identical... maybe the kit had time to mature and they fixed some of the small issues I noticed with this one.. (the trailing surface of the wing not wanting to mate up good to the fuselage etc...) Maybe sometime this coming winter we'll have to do a dive bomber GB... give us time to finish some of the others...

Darren --- maybe for my birthday at the end of the month I'll get a surprise in the mail (especially if I am the one who ordered it haha)

Phil - good to hear about the Kate nearing a start! Looking forward to seeing your work!

Thanks all. Overall, the Accurate Min. SBD-2 has been a fun build. Detail I have not experienced up to this point (Monogram products up to now & one Polar Lights funny car which was an effort in futility). Looking forward to the Accurate Min F-6A for the NA build.

Bob I agree with the other guys, Looking Good, Engine came out great

Tom I have the Iwata HP-CS and I love it[ tup]. When I bought it through Dixieart I got the .5MM needle and nozzle at the same time for an extra $20. I couldn't be happier with my choice as now I just change needle and nozzle depending on what I'm wanting to spray.

Bob WOW, your SBD engine looks great, you're right it is a shame to cover it up.

Cheers
Darren

I feel for ya Bob, hate to see that engine disappear. Looks like your going to leave us rattle can guys behind here down the road. I've enjoyed the tips from the group on A/B. There is also a pretty good supplement issue included in the May FSM on the basics of A/B, if you get the chance check it out. Never tried it myself, maybe one of these days, for now I'll just keep shaking & dipping. My paint order from Great Models arrived, & I've gathered the remaining colors I needed. Got the Kate all washed down, time to get serious on the interior.

Phil

As always, thanks. Looking forward to finishing this one so I can move on to North Africa.....

looks great Bob!!! Looks like it went together fairly well in the end... the paint looks great from my angle... the dull coat and whatnot will help level out any high or low spots (or reduce the noticability of them anyway)

Looking forward to see this one finished!!

Made little progress the last week-polished the wings with toothpaste to smooth out the paint a little. Still not what I would like it to be, but should be ok after the chalk weathering. Did a little touch up via brush and installed the engine. Major work is done-just a lot of little detail things to do.




Just hate to cover that engine up. Almost as bad as having most of the interior detail not visable....oh bother...

Pete - yup that's it... here's a pic of an early NMF one...

Quick question about the Dauntless. The AM instructions call for the pre-war tricolor prop tips but don't list what colors. I looked at a couple of the on line builds but am having trouble making it out. Is it red, yellow , blue?

Sounds good Jules...I actually have three of the AM kits on the pile

Tom-- I only say that as opposed to using the 360 for one reason-- easier cleanup....I can fill the cup of the 100 up and easily finish spraying without having to stop. If I use the 360, I either am constantly pouring more Alclad into the tiny cup OR I have to clean not only the brush, but also the jar and siphon tube if I go with the siphon route....so really I prefer the 100 for lacquers and enamels out of sheer laziness LOL

Mike --- why is the 100 your brush for Alclad? just curious... I am about to embark on my first Alclad experience with a P-47 for the LAtin American AF GB... was wondering if my 175 or the 155 would be better... would like to hear your ideas on the 100... actually I am wanting to purchase an Iwata HP-CS so may wait on that to come to do it... have seen several people do spectacular effects with that brush and Alclad...

Once again, thanks for all the input on the airbrush selection. Definatly some options.

Thanks again.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jeeves Pete--- Jules-- Looking forward to seeing pics of your interior-- I can't wait to get some of these GB's out of the way so I can try my hand at an Avenger kit!

Jeeves It might take me a few weeks to get the interior all done due to other builds but i'll make sure i take plenty of pics of this puppy when done
BTW If your going to do an Avenger I fully recommend the A M kit it's a great kit with fantastic detail

Pete---

I hear you-- I love my 360 and use it most of all. The 100 is perfect for doing enamels and NMF using Alclad though so that's when I break it out. It also does the lines a bit finer than the 360...although I imagine if I practiced, I could get along with the 360.

Jules-- Looking forward to seeing pics of your interior-- I can't wait to get some of these GB's out of the way so I can try my hand at an Avenger kit!

Jules - just like the Dauntless... it is the biggest part of contructions...

I have a 155 (sister brush to the 360, doesnt do gravity feed but optherise the same) and LOOOOOVE it!!!!!!

The 175 is Kremps' brush as Jules let on... I use it for bigger overage and for all over painitng with Vallejo Acrylics (for some reason I get a better coverage with that paint with the 175)

I imagine the 360 would be just that much better.. any fine detail I would want to do would be small areas anyway...

I use the Badger 175 crescendo which cost me $400:00 AU, It's a siphon feed but it can spray a pretty fine line.....
Tom Has 2 A/B's And i know one of them is the 175 but i'm not sure whether he or Kremps uses it

BTW I'm still in the process of C/Pit construction, the interior of this Accurrate Minatures avenger is a model unto it'self................