North African GB "All Subjects" (Start NOW - Finish 31st of Oct)

Guys Thanks for the encouragement.

I've just glued the wing seam again, and applied some new putty around the trailing edge joint, both above and below the wing.

All in all not as bad as it could have been.

Should be back on track in a few days.

Karl

Karl, OUCH !! Hope you can make the needed repairs & salvage the build.

Regards, Rick

Karl - sorry to hear that... all that work.. but I know you'll get it right again!

Tony - look one page back, I have a scan of the instruction sheet from the decals. A group of 50 Spits were ferried to Malta by the US on one of her aircraft carriers during Operation Calendar. To camo them the Navy guys painted them deep blue, which some speculate was nothing else but plain deck paint...

Karl:
Tough luck on the Morane. I'd spend the next week cursing if it were me. If you were to look for a bright side, at least the paint wasn't wet when you dropped it.
Good luck fixing it.

Tom:
I think you know what I'm going to advise. You know what you have to do. Make the hard decision, and build another MARTLET, and then another.

Mind you, I love Spitfires too. What is that blue scheme you mention ?

Cheers
Tony

Tom Kremps would do both!

Progress Update

Managed to drop the paintshop ready MS406 last night

Cracked open the entire right hand wing seam, and snapped off a stabiliser as well.

Know what I'll be doing this week!

Karl

ok I am going through an identity crisis right now... I started my Spit, then remembered the Martlet and want to do that one, but I dont wanna stop the Spit... so I am sitting here having an inner discussion... I need to start following what Jules does... he has a little bracelet on his wrist that says: WWKD ("What Would Kremps Do?) that helps in his daily decision making. It's also how he almost ended up in jail last yr!

I hate to stop a kit I have momentum going on, but that Martlet is calling me... of course a Us Naval Deck Blue Spit is kind of uncommon as well!

Thanks for the encouragement Daniel.

The MS406 is no shake and bake, but I'm still enjoying it . It's certainly stretching my limited skill set and forcing me to try a few things that I would never have done before.

There's a lot to be said for the odd complete ****** of a kit, every now and then, most of it unrepeatable, and distinctly Anglo Saxon.

The 109 is another HC number re-boxed by Academy, but in a completely different league in terms of detail etc.

Best of luck with the F14

Karl

Karl, Sounds like good progress. Keep us posted.

Frosty, Welcome to the GB.

Regards, Rick

Ditto what Pingy said... something for a nice rest!

QUOTE: Karl - I don't know how I missed it, but I must have rushed right ast your pics. Looking good! Again, you are more a man than me to go through all that! Right now I am in lazy mode and don't mess with those kind of kits! Looking forward to more....

You deserve an easy one after going through this build mate. I'm going through the same thing with an Academy F-14A. They turn out being as much filler as plastic don't they? Keep plugging away.....

Tom Don't worry about it,

I'm in the mood for something a little less taxing for the next build. Once the Hurri is complete, I'll make a start on my HC 109D.

I used Daniel's method to paint the glazing on a Revell Ar555, works very well, especially on complex canopies.

The new canopy for the BoB GB Hurri just arrived, along with a set of the new Eduard Kabuki tape masks, just to make it that bit easier .

In the same parcel was a set of AM decals for the 109D, as well as an Eduard zoom set for the cockpit, canopy masks and TD resin wheels.

All in all the 109 should prove a straightforward build, much needed after this one.

Since posting the pics of the Ms406 I've added the rear stabilisers, and given the airframe a good wash ready for a coat of primer tomorrow.

Karl

Pingy - thats an idea... I may just buy the masks Karl mentioned. LAziness being the key word...

Karl - I don't know how I missed it, but I must have rushed right ast your pics. Looking good! Again, you are more a man than me to go through all that! Right now I am in lazy mode and don't mess with those kind of kits! Looking forward to more....

Jules I already know who will be whinging on wednesday night. It'll be NSW, but they'll be whinging because they are sick of QLD not giving them a challenge again.

Tom Another way you can do a canopy is to mask each part of the frame seperately. Just mask a line, then brush paint it. That's how I do most of my canopies. Works well for me.

Tweets - yeah it is a bear mate.. the frame is not raised, it is represented by recessed lines in the plastic. So BMF just tears even with a sharp blade, and with tape no matter how much you burnish you can see the lines to cut it. The only option I see is to do it by hand, or like Jules said buy the masks...

Pingy - whingers? Wait till I tell Kremps about your potty mouth!!! I'll let HER deal with you!

Jules - I did see reference tot he PAnther being used at least once in NA as a too little too late thing... So I guess Frosty's build would fit...

interesting artice:

http://www.topedge.com/panels/ww2/na/weapons.html

another:

http://www.topedge.com/panels/ww2/na/panzers.html

Frosty Welcome aboard.

I'm pretty much certain that the Panther wasn't used in N.Africa, as it didn't make it's debut until Kursk, which was after N.Africa I think.

Tom & Jules Can't you just use the Eduard masks for the Hasa kit? I know I would, being lazy and all.

Progress Update

Still sorting out the panel under the fuselage, should have that done by tomorrow.

Here are some pics though, starting with the horizontal stab.s:



The one on the right has been corrected in shape and rescribed.

Now for that wing seam:



As you can see I used a fair bit of putty, and you can also just about see the hollowed out front air scoops. The seam itself now has a section of styrene strip about 1mm in cross section over, replacing the one I ended up sanding off.

Next up is the underside:



The white panel toward the rear of the wing centre section is the bit I'm still working on. Just shows you mow much HC got it wrong. The black pencil marks on the right hand wing show all the additional scribing I had to do when compared to the left wing.

It's getting there slowly at the moment.

I think next month I'll pick up the 1/48 Semovente as a little light relief!

Karl

BTW Frosty check your references cause i can't recall the DAK using the Panther in the North African theatre, they did use the Tiger 1 in Tunisia but

Frosty to the GB i've added your name and build to page one

Tweets you can't use BMF on the Revell canopy cause the framing isn't raised, the only way is to either use Pre cut AM masks (which i couldn't find) or use tape, not heaps hard just far to lazy..........

Pingy, Whingers eh, we'll see who's whinging on wednesday night

They are just a bunch of whingers mate. Can't be any harder to mask than a Zero or SBD canopy......

Tom & Jules, whats with the Stuka masking????????????
I haven't built one (yet), so is it heaps difficult or something??

Tom, that would make an interesting build. Something quite different.

Regards, Rick

Frosty - welcome aboard!!! just be careful of Nurse Kremps... she's very territorial here and won't have you talking nice to us... if you haven't seen a pic of her maybe Darren or Rick can provide one as they have posted them in the past

On another note here is the spit I am building... actually the kit is a USAAC Spit from North Africa which is unique unto itself, (me being Mr. fringe builder and all) but the blue RAF spit really caught my eye... it was an emergency resupply mission to Malta, the Germans were intent on destroying the air defenses there and prohibiting the resupply of N Africa through that route. Chruchill contacted Roosevelt and before you know it 50 Spitfire Mk.V's were on their way to Malta... along the way they were painted a similar to the deck to camo them. Perhaps the same paint as deck blue... here are the pics:

Jules:
i was just looking over a kit of a Bf-109 which would work 4 this,
italeri's 1/72 kit can b done as a North African 'Trop'...
& w/ the end date not until late Sept., i think i can manage 2
get it built in time (no promises, tho'... i build really slow...)
so, if u'll have me, i'm in 4 this one !
maybe i'll even do some armor 4 this, too.
a nice DAK vehicle, Panther perhaps...also 1/72 most likely...
thanx,

frosty

Jules - yeah I will conquer the canopy!!! Even though there isn't a kit to put it on... actually I just bought another AM set of decals for the same ST.G craft I was modeling... so we will see if it gets the better of me...

somehow I forgot about the Martlet and decided I needed to get another build for this GB and got a Spit Mk V... this is one of the ones ferried aboard the USS Wasp in support of Operation Torch. They were painted an odd color blue (gonna have to work on that) some feel it was actually the deck blue paint for the ship... definitely an odd looking spit in those colors!!

OOPS . Now that Kremps is off my lap ( and I put on my reading glasses ), I can see the goggles. Great work on the figure & goggles .

Regards, Rick

Yeah Quintin i saw the goggles in the pic
The old girl Kremps must be sitting on Ricks lap again obscuring his view.........
She throws one hell of a shadow ya know

Tom welcome to the vanquished Stuka club I couldn't face the canopy masking so mine that i was gonna do for the BoB GB is now a paint hack too, pity though yours was looking quite nice.........

QUOTE: Originally posted by rjkplasticmod Quinten, Very nice painting of the Foxy General. But where are the famous goggles .

Hey Rick.

I don't know what pics you've been looking at, but the goggles are there. Honestly

Cheers
Quintin

Tom Bad luck with the Stuka, and you were so close to finishing it!

Tony Good work on the Daimler, don't let it get you down.

Progress Update

Still sorting out the panel under the cockpit where I've had to extend it over the fabric section. Must post some pics, as you'de be able to see what I meant then. Maybe tomorrow.

I'm hoping I'll get this sorted this weekend ready for at least a coat of primer, then probably back to the bench to sort out all those little niggles, which I know there will be.

Karl

Tom, ixnay on the velcro on chest solution. Raises Heck with chest hair. Just ask Kremps.

Regards, Rick

QUOTE: Originally posted by rjkplasticmod Sorry to hear that Tom. I had the same thing happen long ago & it does frustrate. I took a small piece of 2X4 & drilled 2 appropriate sized holes & use that as a holder for the Microl Sol & Set bottles. Otherwise, they are easily tipped. Regards, Rick

Rick you get the gold star tonight!!! I am going to look into something similar! if not that then I will put velcro on the sides and velcro it to my chest so I know where they are at all times!