WWII Carrier Aircraft Design GB (Starts Now -- Ends November 30, 2006)

Thanks guys for the comments

Scott: nice progress, the pre-shading looks great.

Mike: Sounds like you got a lot done there. Can’t wait to see pictures.

Leon: I’m looking forward to construction of this kit. I know there will be some fit problems since it’s a limited run kit. Here’s a review that might help you. I’m using this review as a guide to building this kit.

Here is the link:

http://m2reviews.cnsi.net/scotts/allies/us/fm2preview.htm

http://m2reviews.cnsi.net/scotts/allies/us/fm2.htm

I hope this helps

Ok, seriously.... I'm sold on Future (first time I've ever used it as a gloss coat before decals).  I just laid down a gloss coat of 3 parts future, 1 part isopropyl alcohol on my Wildcat and I couldn't be more pleased with the results!  (Thanks to the great article on Future on Swanny's website http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html ).  I'm hoping to put decals on in 24 to 48 hours.  It's pretty dry in Reno, so I'm thinking it should be safe to put the decals on tomorrow night. 

I might be in... if I can persuade my mom to let up on the 6-month buying block she placed on me: "You already have too many models" she says as she sees my 10-15 on display and 4-5 in progress, with none in a "to build" stack...

Fuselage is closed and lower wing half has been joined, not too bad so far only a little bit oif filler here and there.  This is my first Italeri kit, not too bad.  The Academy is much better though.

Scott

Did you get any hazing with the alcohol in the Future?

JoeRugby wrote:

Scott Did you get any hazing with the alcohol in the Future?

Not at all, the Future went on totally clear and smooth (3 parts future, 1 part isopropyl alcohol).  Way better than I expected as I was really nervous having never used Future as a gloss coat.  From this point forward, I will always us Future... good stuff.

I got all the decals on tonight.  They went on pretty well, but the star insignia's on the sides of the fuselage are a mother to try to get to lay down because of the complex curves and bends.  Overall I'm happy with the decals, although next time I think I'll mask and spray the red and white stripes on the tail, instead of using the decals.  Heck, I may still do that anyway as I haven't attached the rudder yet.

I have one major mess up to report though, when I glued the cowling on at the end of my session tonight I somehow got glue on my fingers, which put two major fingerprints on each side of the cowling as the liquid cement apparently loves to disolve acrylic..... grrrrrrrr    I have no idea how it got on my fingers.   Thank god for acrylic paint however, I simply removed the cowling and sprayed windex on it, which allowed me to clean off the paint and future in just a few moments.  I sanded out the finger prints very carefully.  I'll have to repaint the cowling tomorrow, which is fine I suppose  because I need to spray the drop tanks and a couple other bits anyway.  Very irritating though, because I'm so close to being done with the Wildcat, this will set me back a couple of days. 

Josh- Feel free to jump in at anytime, I’ll put you down as a maybe for now.

Scott- sounds like the Hellcat is moving along nicely, can’t wait to see progress pictures.

Some great progress going on in here.  I'm finally finished with the build for the Middle Weight GB, so now I can focus on the Dauntless, although there is that pesky FW-190 to finish up.

This is my first GB, although I have joined a couple of others since also.  Now I officially know why these group build time frames are so long.  You never know what's going to get in the way.  All I have to do is put a flat coat on, put a tad bit of paint chipping and a little assembly and I am done.  That's been over a week ago, lol.  I haven't had time to do it, or been too tired to feel like doing it, lol.  I'll get'r done soon though.  :)

I have the tri-color scheme on my Italeri 'Cat.  Now working on the engine.  I should spray Future tonight and will be decalling on Friday night.  I may post some pics tonight of my progress.

One thing for certain, I will be ditching the Italeri wheel for the Academy ones.  Academy's kit is a much stronger option versus the Italeri F6F and some what on par with Hasegawa's.

Took a bit of a break over the weekend to work on my 109.  The Wildcat is just about done, landing gear assembly is complete, just need to paint the tires, fix the cowling, do a wash and flatcoat the whole thing. 

Finally have some progress to share:

Still have the other half to apply-- hope to have it done by week's end...

Jeeves- Great job on the camo, superb progress

 

Looking good Mike.  Gotta love those Catmouth Cats.

Regards,  Rick

 

Mike,

Looks great. 

I feel like the lady at the party when a prettier woman is wearing the same dress!  My 'cat is 1/72...and not near as sharp as yours.  For one, I had a problem with the cockpit rear bulkhead not wanting to match correctly to the fuselage.  I said it and drove on.

JoeRugby wrote:

...I said it and drove on.

Yeah, I've had a few builds that way.  Ok, most of my builds are that way

Looks great Mike. Really nice 'Cat Mouth'
Leon

Okay boys, I've got a kit. I was thinking about rebuilding my Arii F6F as a -5, from the USS Randolph, coded "white 11". I've only seen a picture with it in the background, so any references would be appreciated (sorry it took so long for me to join in)

Okay here she is in mid decal.  There needs to be some brush work around the pit still, forgive the incomplete work.

I looked at an article from FSM in 2004 on using pastels to fade specific panels.  Well I started and then noticed my reference photos.  The fade and wear were uneven, at least to my peepers they looked like they did.  So I tried to get some uneven wear.  It is hard to tell from the photos though...

The deeper I get on this one the less I am pleased with it.  I have the Academy kit in the stash, so this will probably be my warm up.

Still trying to get the hang of the sludge wash

Looks good Joe.  I'm not a fan of the sludge wash technique, it can easily become a smudge wash.  I prefer to use a controlled wash only in the panel lines.  On your model, don't forget to accent the panel lines through the decals, especially the national insignia.

Regards,  Rick

The decals are getting it tonight.  I am going to the local art shop to look for some of the dandy "graphic pens" alot of people are using.  The Italeri decals were very thin and have good register, however they are a bit transparent.

The cowling on my Wildcat has been resprayed and looks good to go.  I removed the red and white striped decal on the rudder, sprayed it white several days ago, masked the stripes and sprayed the red this morning.  Masking those stripes was a tricky job, but even if they turn out a little uneven, they'll still look better than the rudder decal. 

All that's left is to attached the rudder, seal everything up with a flat coat and attach the landing gears.

gwaihir wrote:

Calvin, I have both the hasegawa and arii hellcats. I have built a hasegawa, but haven't done the arii yet. I would say that the hasegawa kit is a little better (however, some people talk about the engine cowl not looking correct and being deformed), but the arii one should also build up into a nice kit. Someone suggested that I put a true details cockpit (actually for the hasegawa kit) in the arii, so I picked one up, but I don't know if there will be fit problems with it. Personally, I kind of hope you do build that kit up, so I can learn from your comments . Kevin, that above joke cracked me up! Nice job. Leon

I've built the Arii kit w/ the TD cockpit, and just as a warning, expect some fit problems with the floor and rear bulkhead. It really ends up looking nice, though. Good luck!

Thanks for the warning Josh. I'll try to be prepared and patient .

Leon

I masked and airbrushed the tail, much better than if I had used the decal.  It was a bit tedious cutting the strips of Tamiya Masking tape, but I'm very happy with the results.  I have just two very tiny spots I need to dab a little white on.  You can probably see it in the photo, just a smidge of red seaped under the tape on a panel line or two, but it's very minor and will be fixed momentarily.

All that's left now is to to another gloss coat of future on the whole plan, an oil wash and a flatcoat. 

Looks good from here Scott.  Looking forward to pics of the finished build.

Regards,  Rick

Looks great Scott. I can't wait to see the rest.

Leon

Finally have some progress to show.  This is the Aires interior that is included in the Grand Phoenix 1/48 Fairey Firefly Mk.I kit.  First the pilots' office.

And then the Navigator/Radio Operator's office.

Hopefully the build can now proceed at a faster pace.

Regards,  Rick

gwaihir wrote:

Thanks for the warning Josh. I'll try to be prepared and patient . Leon

Well: here's the rundown: I was in a hurry when I posted the other day, so I'll try to describe the problems for you:

There is a big problem with the floor. It's too wide, so It'll need some sanding. Also, the rear bulkhead isn't quite the right shape, but some good test fitting and sanding should solve both problems. Also, the sidewalls MAY have a few problems. (I didn't have any problems, but I have heard of people that have). Finally, be careful: the instrument panel is extremely brittle,namely at the spot where the side panels attach to the main one. Be careful, though, and it might not be a problem.

I hope that helps you, and if you need me to clarify anything, let me know.

Looks excellent Rick. I eagerly await more progress.

Leon