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

espin - I didn't have too much of a problem.  I just had to keep applying microsol every 5-10 minutes for quite a while.  They slowly, but steadily conformed to the rivets and panel lines.  Here is a close up pic:



Here is what it looks like so far.  Still need to figure something out for that clear piece for the right wing.

Thanks Tryintomodel, I hope your canopy problem comes out ok. I am looking forward to seeing both your's and espin's progress.

Leon

Hey Tryintomodel,

Did you have any problems getting the star insignia to hunker down over the rivets and curves on the sides of the fuselage? 

Looks great Joe!!

I'm just about done with my Wildcat as well, just need to get the gear and drop tanks attached and seal it all up.  Oh, and paint the canopy.  I took a bit of a break last week.  The weather finally got nice so my wife and I did a lot of yard work

Nice work, gwaihir! 

I got out of the gate fast, but I had to take a break for a while on my Wildcat.  I finally got a chance to work on it some more this week.  I didn't have much left to do, but of course it was enough to screw it up.  I got a little bit of flat finish on the inside of my canopy.  Jeff gave me a suggestion on how to clean it up.  Hopefully it will work.  I also seem to have misplaced the clear part for the light on the leading edge of the wing.  Not sure what I'm going to be able to do about that.  Other than that, it's pretty close to being done.  I need to paint the yellow tips on the prop, but I need to buy some yellow paint.  I also need to make some antenne wires and get those on.

Thanks for the comments on the cockpit guys. I will keep the ip and save myself a little $$. Thanks for the opinions.

Joe, Thanks for your thoughts. Maybe someday I'll try the academy hellcat and see how it is...

Leon

Could not agree more.  Leon, the panel looks fantastic so don't change a thing.  You're being much too hard on yourself.  Many of us wish we could do half as well.

Keep posting your great work.

The pit looks great as is Leon.  I really don't think you need to change the IP.

Regards,  Rick

gwaihir wrote:

The hellcat looks great Joe. I agree that the 'cat mouth' cats are really cool. So in the end, what is your final take on that kit? I love the hellcat and could see one day wanting to build multiple ones and 1/72 would probably be the way to go... Thanks, Leon

The Italeri Kit compared to the Academy(in the stash)

Decals - Italeri has the Catmouth, Academy does not and after a quick look at Flight Decs, I did not find 1/72 available.

Engineering - From the looks of the Academy they got it.  The small aft window in the Italeri kit were questionable right off the sprue.  I made my own replacements.

Detail - The Italeri is not to Tamiya standards but certainly above Airfix.  Academy however wins again.  The Italeri cowl does not have the flap detail for example.  Just a heads up, a review I have read says the Academy cowl shape is suspect. (Personally I can never pick up those finite differences)

Fit -  Hard to say...the Academy is in the stash and the Hasegawa I have on the display shelf was built over ten years ago.  On the whole the Italeri went together well, only two small dabs of filler along the wing roots. The windscreen and canopy stank though.

Italeri's grade = B

With some AM parts and pieces it could be a nice kit.  But based on the detail available OOTB the money for AM would be better spent on the Academy or Hasegawa.

For the guys that took a look Thanks! for the kind words...on to the Mustang for the Aces Build!

 

 

Man, that looks fantastic! 

Well, I finally have some progress to share. I am building Tamiya's 1/48 F4U-1D. I am undecided on what it will end up like. Can't decide on GSB or a FAA corsair, but here is step 1 completed.

I fought and fought with the ip decal. I would get it placed correctly with one instrument and notice that it didn't line up with the others, so I would adjust and repeat, adjust and repeat...Finally, I just gave up and figured I would never get it. Originally, I had hoped to more or less go out of box with just the extra pe belts I had, but after the trouble, I am considering ordering the basic pe set to get a 'great' instrument panel. On the other hand, I can't think of a time anyone has ever looked at one of my builds and said "That is a great IP." or "That is a really bad job on the IP." so it would probably just be a waste of time and money. If you are still reading this paragraph - any thoughts?



As for the other half, I did stick with the great kit parts and just added the pe belts. I have an aires cockpit set for a f4u, but the kit parts are really nice and I am planning on doing this one wings up, which will probably hide some cockpit detail.





Anyway, I open to any thought or opinions - good or bad.
Leon

Love the 'Cat, Joe.  Nice job on the exhaust.

The hellcat looks great Joe. I agree that the 'cat mouth' cats are really cool. So in the end, what is your final take on that kit? I love the hellcat and could see one day wanting to build multiple ones and 1/72 would probably be the way to go...
Thanks,
Leon

Beautiful job there Joe on the Cat. I hope my Academy kit turns out as nice as yours when I can get around to it!

Thanks Joe.

Nice build of the Hellcat.  The poor fit of the windscreen/canopy on the Italeri kit is well documented, not your fault.

Regards,  Rick

Rick,

As usual excellent work!

 

I have finished my 'cat.  It is the Italeri 1/72 Scale, more or less OOTB.  I did replace the small aft windows.  The white stripe you see by the windscreen is the white glue, this is fresh off the bench.

The canopy and windscreen did not fit well at all and that is easily seen. Something that was my bust for failing to dry fit them earlier.  The kit, in general, went together fairly well.  There were only two spots that needed any kind of filler at all. The decals were thin and on register, but the white was too close to transparent.

I used Poly Scale paint with a chalk sludge mix to weather and the staining is done with pastel chalk.  The wings may look as if they have dust one them.  It is silver pencil used to pick out the rivet detail.

The cat mouth is cool, this version should be a must for any WWII US Navy collection.

Thanks Mike.

Regards,  Rick

Thanks guys for the comments-- sorry I haven't checked in before now-- but we are nearing the end of the new house project so things are crazy-- I haven't had much time to work on the Cat since I posted....

 

Joe, Scott, and Rick-- some excellent work from you guys!   Joe-- your build is looking just great-- no need to feel outdone-- I certainly have had some issues here and there with mine brother

Thanks Sean.

Regards,  Rick

Joe Rugby- Nice Progress, the Italeri kit seems pretty good

Scott – Great looking progress, keeps us updated

Rick – Superb job cockpit. Nicely done

arki, Dave, Thanks guys.

Regards,  Rick

Thanks for the furthur info Josh. I'll print it and put it in the box.

Leon

Looks absolutely great Rick! I look forward to seeing more pics of the firefly taking shape.

Scott: Looking good! Paint is always better than a decal if you can pull it off. (except maybe when I try it that is)

No progress from me yet and it looks like I'm still a long way off from starting my Hellcat but I'm enjoying seeing what everyone else is doing.

Looks great, Rick!

Thanks Leon.

Regards,  Rick

Looks excellent Rick. I eagerly await more progress.

Leon

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.

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

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

Leon