Battle For Germany 45 GB Starts Now - 08 May 06

Karl - can't wait to see it progress!!!

Well a little more headway tonight, I think this model is the one that has brought me out of my slump.  Got the nose done in aluminum, the engine cowl in dull aluminum and it appears to give enough contrast between the two to look like two different metals or one is more oxidized etc...   I've included a shot of the original for comparison.  I'll have to thnk of a way to darken it.  I might even use pastels to give it a grimy look which is kind of what it looks like in the photo..

-=edit=-  the cowl and side intake are just stuck on for reference... so that's why it looks like the nose is too short etc...

In retrospect, although I am glad to have tried the black under Future for my Alclad.. I wish I had done it on a cheaper model the first time   It looks good but the non black's parts look shinier.  In the photo it's the intake cowl on the side that is not with black underneath.  It just had future on it.

Sorry in advance about the quality of the pic, just wanted to grab a quick shot to show yall what I'm up to...  I've included a shot of the original for comparison.  I'll have to thnk of a way to darken it.  I might even use pastels to give it a grimy look which is kind of what it looks like in the photo..

Looking good Tom.  The NMF looks great in the pics.

Regards,  Rick

hey tom i found a pic of the aircraft youre modeling on flightline

http://www.kotfsc.com/aviation/germany-fighter.htm

http://www.kotfsc.com/aviation/graphics/do335-plate2.jpg

just thought it might be helpful

OK GUYS BEFORE KREMPS GRABS ME AND LOCKES ME UP. I just awoke from a dream or was it a NIGHTMARE????? My friend Michael and I arrive at a campground /trailer park??and wait, shortly all the "USUAL SUSPECTS" arrive. we all have a picnic with each other and talk about our latest projects we each have one of our most recently completed projects with us.After a time goes by KREMPS in a thick russian accent yells at us to stop talking and to build our model. we all go to our vehicles and pull out HUGE modeling tools and get to work we build a gigantic 2/1 scale PanzerThingamabobKampfWagon( it sorta looks like a Tiger I ) we chat and build until the sun begins to fade with kremps doing the heavy lifting ( and a few swift kicks to any Derrierre caught lagging ) . In the end we all step back with arms thrown over each others shoulders and proudly compliment one another on a job well done,we then pack our things and drive off into the evening calling to one another "good seeing you""Take it easy" "see you again Mate" into the darkness. The end

I hope you all enjoy my moment of oddity and take this advice DON'T eat BBQ beans with Franks before bed even if your medication (which i have to take just before bed ) says to TAKE WITH FOOD. "Thats it I'm Sticking to COOKIES & MILK !!!!!!!"

Chris with dreams like that I would be definitely be laying off something if I were you, that medication of yours wasn't the sort that the police would take an interest in was it?

JB your Dora is looking mighty fine, but what is that greenish tinge I can see is it primer?

Marc the Tamiya 1/72 Fw-190D9 is a great little kit overall.  For the most part the fit is excellent and the level of detail is just fine OOB, but there's plenty of room to go nuts with AM if you wish.  The only areas that I had trouble with were the part where the lower wing half joins the fuselage (see photo below) which required a triple fill of putty and this was definitely a prob with the kit.  The only other prob was the decal I used for the Reich Defense band.  This creased badly and required scraping flat with a sharp blade and re-painting the scraped areas by hand, this one was my fault.



Karl, boy you're not mucking around with the He162, it looks great so far.

Tom the 335 is looking excellent.  Tell me what color are you going to do the front engine cowl because it doesn't look bare metal from your photo.  Hang on I just followed Chris's link in another browser tab and the color plate shows the engine cowl as RLM 82 or 83, is that what your other photo research shows?
Also, if you want to grimy up the BMF just give it a flat coat.  Try it out first on a scrap, but I think it's a good technique for grimy and worn bare metal.

jboutin wrote:

Darren and Karl - Fantabulous!  Darren, I hope my dora will look as nice.  And to prove I am making headway on it, have a look! I still have to add the dark green, that's going to go on tonight.

Blackcat - No I didn't see that, Hand drawn maps huh?  How old are you? Are you a teenager?  I make maps for a living (digital cartographer, GIS specialist what ever you want to call it.) for a big Environmental Engineering firm and I love it! 

Darren, the greenish tinge you see is... masking tape!  I added masking tape to the sides to cover the lightblue and the top edge I cut it in a wavy pattern and peeled back the edge to make a 1-2mm gap.  I worked perfect!  I'll take pics of the dark green tonight and post them later.  I still have to add some mottling to the sides and the aircraft I am doing is Gerhard Michalski's which had some additional lighter grey (RLM02?) mottling on the cowling and nose guns.

<< edit >> (see pic in sig for Michalski's ac)

jboutin wrote:

Blackcat - No I didn't see that, Hand drawn maps huh?  How old are you? Are you a teenager?  I make maps for a living (digital cartographer, GIS specialist what ever you want to call it.) for a big Environmental Engineering firm and I love it!  Darren, the greenish tinge you see is... masking tape!  I added masking tape to the sides to cover the lightblue and the top edge I cut it in a wavy pattern and peeled back the edge to make a 1-2mm gap.  I worked perfect!  I'll take pics of the dark green tonight and post them later.  I still have to add some mottling to the sides and the aircraft I am doing is Gerhard Michalski's which had some additional lighter grey (RLM02?) mottling on the cowling and nose guns.

jboutin wrote:

...I make maps for a living (digital cartographer, GIS specialist what ever you want to call it.) for a big Environmental Engineering firm and I love it!

I am guessing that explains the  - 288921 E, 5659868 N UTMz12, NAD83 - under snoopy.  Don't you know your not supposed to put your address on the internet

I had a dream that I finished my Me163B-1 Komet... No, wait that wasn't a dream, I really did finish it .  And here she is.

Decals are from an old Aeromaster sheet.  The kit pitot tube was badly molded, so I replaced it with some stainless steel tubing.  Now, back to the P-47M !

Regards,  Rick

Really nice Rick, I like your komet.  It almost makes me want to build one... almost.  So what is this, a gas passer and a solid fuel feeder, are you going over to the other dark side on us? (the first dark side being targets, er armour).  I guess you wouldn't classifiy the Komet as a jet would you as it is technically a manned rocket.  But still, two non-propellers! I liked the Mig-21 btw, my favouritest soviet jetskie.

wing_nut, if you can figure it out, kudos to you! but if you're into mapping, and can't find it then shame shame!

Thanks Jay.  Just a momentary relapse, I'm returning to my beloved props.  Course if you look close, the Komet has a tiny little prop on the nose, used to power an internal generator.

Regards,  Rick

Rick what do you mean???  There is a prop on the front.  What's this about gas passin'?  Geat job... love that mottle.

Jay, trust me... I will not be knocking on your door anytime in the near future looking for a hand out..."Excuse me, may I borrow a cup of RLM 83?"

jboutin wrote:

Really nice Rick, I like your komet.  It almost makes me want to build one... almost.  So what is this, a gas passer and a solid fuel feeder, are you going over to the other dark side on us? (the first dark side being targets, er armour).  I guess you wouldn't classifiy the Komet as a jet would you as it is technically a manned rocket.  But still, two non-propellers! I liked the Mig-21 btw, my favouritest soviet jetskie. wing_nut, if you can figure it out, kudos to you! but if you're into mapping, and can't find it then shame shame!

Okay, I think I am confused. 

wing_nut are you referring to my map location? Because it is far away from you, is that why you are not going to come knocking on my door looking for RLM 83? Too bad, you'd have a blast here, there are some amazing modelers here(besides I only have like 8 millilitres left).  We have several modeling clubs (two general modeling and one strictly armour! Not to mention all the other touristy things you can do here.

and Blackcat, I did see that you were 15, I guessed you were in your teens didn't I? When I said if you were into mapping I meant technical mapping, sorry if you took offense, I didn't intend any. I was under the impression that wing_nut (Marc) knew exactly the location of my coordinate information under snoopy. If you like maps blackcat, check out http://earth.google.com/ - pretty neat FREE software!

jboutin wrote:

Okay, I think I am confused.  wing_nut are you referring to my map location? Because it is far away from you, is that why you are not going to come knocking on my door looking for RLM 83? Too bad, you'd have a blast here, there are some amazing modelers here(besides I only have like 8 millilitres left).  We have several modeling clubs (two general modeling and one strictly armour! Not to mention all the other touristy things you can do here. and Blackcat, I did see that you were 15, I guessed you were in your teens didn't I? When I said if you were into mapping I meant technical mapping, sorry if you took offense, I didn't intend any. I was under the impression that wing_nut (Marc) knew exactly the location of my coordinate information under snoopy. If you like maps blackcat, check out http://earth.google.com/ - pretty neat FREE software!

Thanks Marc, Glad you like her.

Regards,  Rick

Sweet looking build Rick, nice job

Thad

Rick:  Awesome looking Komet and unusual mottle too!   One of my favorite aircraft. 

Hmmmm... I still have one of those Academy Komet kits in my stash... lots of time left in this build...  NO NO NO!!!!  BAD BOY!  must finish the Sunderland before I get side tracked again.

Lovely looking Komet Rick, the mottling looks excellent

Cheers

Thad, Dave, Darren,  Thanks guys, appreciate your comments.

Regards,  Rick

wow.. gone away for a day and BAM!!!  almost 2 pages of posts!!

Chris - cool, thanks!!!  reference for these things is hard to find!!!

Darren:  That is Alclad2 dull aluminum on the cowl of the Pfeil, I felt it represented best what I see inthe wartime photos of it... I painted the cowl flaps Alclad2 aluminum but went back over them with dark aluminum tonight, and after a thin enamel "MM Exhaust buffing metalizer" wash (acrylic would not stick no matter how much dish soap I put in) it looks spot on for the pic.  My research shows the cowl to be NMF, although I have seen several references to the contrary, one of the pages I listed earlier on has a close up with a GI posing underneath 112 and it is NMF.  Now, I forget the number but there was another Do335 at the field with a NMF nose and painted cowl, I can't remember the number though, it might have been one of the original prototypes as I think it was V-5 or V-9...

Jay - friiiinge baby, you know it!  haha no... for some reason this aircraft was so ugly it grabbed my attention right away.. (oops, that sounds like some of my Navy days out on the town ) I went to hobby Lobby about 5 times before I finally broke down and got it.. at $41.95 it seemed steep but after getting through 2/3 of the kit so far, worth EVERY penny!  This has gone together better than any kit I have built so far including the 2 Martlets.. (I mean Wildcats) I have done...  I am going to check out some AM for this thing and do another.. although I think AM is scarce...  And ultimately I think it was scarcity of reference, only two of these ever (halfway) completed and flown... okokokokok... it was Fringe..  

Some of the references point to the fact that 112 might have been used a few times as a night fighter... as well as several of the 1 seater numbers... no proof but interesting all the same...

Rick - looks great!  I've really enjoyed the last few Academy 1/72 kits I have done.. decent detail at such a small size!!  I imagine that Komet is about the size of a finger!  The FW-190 wasn't much bigger!

jboutin wrote:

Yep, same thing as mapquest.com or mappoint.com.

jboutin wrote:

Blackcat, if you google "d-day maps" and switch it to search images it should come up with a ton of good maps.