South Pacific Group Build 7 August 2006 to 7 August 2007

bobbaily wrote:

Well-time to celebrate-the above was my 1,000th post!  Beer for all the modeler's at the Bailey household tonight! (err...uh..that would be me!)

I'll drink a beer and raise my glass to you at 8:00 pm tonight. 

bobbaily wrote:

Well-time to celebrate-the above was my 1,000th post!  Beer for all the modeler's at the Bailey household tonight! (err...uh..that would be me!)

Congrats on your 1000th post my friend!  Here's to you! 

(I just noticed the clock on the background.  It wasn't wound up) 

espins1 wrote:

bobbaily wrote: Joe & Scott-thanks Scott-In my younger days (much younger), after it had gathered dust for a few years, it would have mysterously found itself out in the driveway full of lighter fluid (or plastic cement)....ah, the memories of my youth... I can relate my friend.  In my early teens a B-24 that I had built came to a glorious end with firecrackers attached to the wings.  We lit those babies up, launched the B-24 high up into the air over a cliff where it exploded when hit by "flak" and the remains drifted down to the railroad tracks below.  A Tirpitz also engaged the New Jersey in some water near the North Carolina Coast.  Shelling began at 1100 hours (BB and Pellet guns), followed by several internal explosions.  Flames then engulfed the ship as it sank into the depths..... good times, good times.

Firecrackers... that is for kids.   In my past life (before marrage), I was working at a hobby shop, and I provided the models (and a few from the shop's ceiling), and my co-worker provided the BLACK POWDER   Mutch like the above mentioned B-24 action, only add a B-17, two Me-109, a Zero, a F-86, F-16, and a Star Wars X-Wing.  The X-Wing we rigged up to be launched as an Estes rocket; only we didn't put a strong enough engine in.  That baby went up 50' arched over about 20' and then proceded to explode about 5' above my neighbor's garage.  That ended the July 4th festivities real quick (no damage to the garage, but boy was it LOUD).

But yes, good times, very good times.

NucMedTech wrote:

Alright! I received my order from tower hobbies last night. Got the jeep from hasegawa and some paint, plus a bf109e 4/7 on the side. Well I'm off to work on the P-61.

Did someone say Bf109? 

Yes espins1, a Bf109. Believe it or not this is my first one! I've got a Fw190D-9 in my stash that will be interesting to do the red scheme under the aircraft. But, alas, they will have to wait until I get some of the other builds completed.

NucMedTech wrote:

Yes espins1, a Bf109. Believe it or not this is my first one! I've got a Fw190D-9 in my stash that will be interesting to do the red scheme under the aircraft. But, alas, they will have to wait until I get some of the other builds completed.

I've been holding off on building an FW190 with that red and white underside until I got better at masking.  I think I might be able to handle that now. 

Wow Bob and Stephen, really nice work you guys!! Those engines are really a great addition to that P-61 and the weathering on both look really good. Congrats to Bob on his 1000th post.

I've been focussed on a whimsical WWI era build for the local IPMS group which has to been complete by next Saturday, so the painting never happened on my P-40.  The other project is complete and I am happy with the overall presentation, but the plane itself is in the 'Lessons learned' file as Bob stated in an earlier post.  The plane fought me every step of the way, but in the end I consider it a draw.. The rear half of the fuselage is open trusswork, like the early flying machines were.

Now I  can get back to my P-40.

Thanks JerrynFrog.

Finally made some progress on the canopy.  At least I got started.  The canopy is the weakspot of the Tamiya Zero kit-the frame lines aren't prominent in some areas.  And Eduard doesn't make a mask!  The windscreen section is done in Bare Metal Foil-I'm not happy with it-either my skill set is lacking (and it is) or it doesn't cut as easily as I think it should.  The middle (sliding) section is be done in the Swanny method-nice rectangles-working fine.  The rear section is going to be tricky-many curved frame sections and the framing 'fades away'.  Think I'm going to use masking tape on the frame, coat the canopy section with liquid mask, then trim around the tape and remove.  I used that method on some old Monogram kits and it seemed to work.  I think-that was a couple of years ago and my memory is fading.....

Thanks Jerrynfrog for the compliments!

Now I have been in a modeling slump, but I have accomplished something in the last few days. I got some work done on my figures. I am not good at figures but I'm happy with the way these came out. I still need to do some finishing on them and was not to concerned with the shoulder gaps. Next time I will try to fill the seems better, this time I was more focused on the painting. So here are some group photos.

First up are the officers (of course)

and now the ground crew

I still have to "weather" the skin and officer hats. The spook in the background still has more decaling and weathering to do then she'll be finished. Just liked it in the background as a crew backdrop.

Stephen-looking very good-coming together well.  I've always be afraid to tackle figures.

Darren-thanks

darson wrote:

Hi all, I was wondering if there is room in this build for another member?  I have just picked up Tamiya's 1/72 P-47 Razorback and wanted to do it in the PTO markings of Sleepy Time Gal Bob your Zero looks absolutely awesome by the way, fantastic job on the weathering Cheers

Thanks for the welcome Joe.  The 1/72 P-47 looks like a pretty easy build as it's just a cut down version of the Tamiya 1/48 kit.  It should be a lot of fun and hopefully won't take too long to put together.

Stephen "the Spook" and the ground crew are looking really good, hope to see another update soon.

Cheers

Thanks Bob and Darson. And welcome to the build Darson. Look forward to seeing your P-47.

As for the P-61, it is getting closer to being finished and I look forward to it. This model has really tested my skills and in some areas got the better of me. Alot of learning experience will be credited to this model. I'll post more pics soon.

Hello one and all...

Sorry I have not been in the way very much as of late.  Real world grown up crap you know.

The builds here all look fantastic!  Paint chips, after market and figures!  Most excellent!  I was thinking of trying to put together some sort of gallery here in this thread.  Does anyone have any suggestions or the know how as to how to get this done?

I mean really, this builds should all have one place that everyone can enjoy them.  And even be jealous of them!

JoeRugby wrote:

I was thinking of trying to put together some sort of gallery here in this thread.  Does anyone have any suggestions or the know how as to how to get this done? I mean really, this builds should all have one place that everyone can enjoy them.  And even be jealous of them!

Piece of cake.  Save off the pictures, post them on photobucket, and just keep adding the photo links by editing the post you want them displayed in.  You can keep expanding the post by adding the photo links as people finish their builds.  The alternative would be to take the links we already have linking to the photos on photobucket and do the same thing. 

If you wanted the pics in the first post of the GB, then you'll have to do that as I can't edit the first post.  If you want to put a link to the finished build pics on the first page, then I can set up a post and put the pics in there.  

Finally got the canopy masked & painted-both interior & exterior colors.  Also did an oil wash on the Zero.  Should be able to flat coat it tomorrow and then start attaching the landing gear and other small bits.  Maybe even get it finished this weekend.

Started on the interior of the P-40E (Hasegawa 1/48)-a lot of detail in this kit.  Not crazy about all the 'plugs', but that's the price one pays to get multiple versions from one set of tools.  Also, the 'split' fuselage could be a bit of a bear, but enough others have built & posted so I have been warned.  The build will be of one of the P-40's from the 49th FG.  Not sure which one yet.....

Well, it's a wrap.  Overall, this is a good kit for the $$$$.  On the downside, Eduard doesn't make a canopy mask (yes, I've been spoiled) and the frame lines on the canopy are a little faint.  The landing gear is a bit misaligned, but I'm not going to fret it at this point.  Also, I need to do some exhaust staining and heavy staining underneath, but later...maybe...

Constructive criticism (i.e., helpful tips for future projects) is always welcome

Looks great Bob!  I've never built a Japanese aircraft, much less a heavily weathered one.  Your Zero turned out great! 

Great job Bob!!That's a nice looking Zero. I might have to build mine now. Is the P-40 going to be for this GB or on your own. I'd like to follow that build as it is one of my favorite aircraft and I have yet to do it justice. Although my only two attempts have been the revell 1/32 and 1/48 versions.

Not much done on the P-61 other than decals on the port wing. To much to with house and yard work. Hopefully I will finish decaling this week and then get some washes on this weekend.

Looking forword to everyone's progress.

Great work Bob.

You've done a fantastic job. It looks just like the few color pics I've seen.

Very well done.

Mark

Thanks all. The weathering was a 'mixed emotion' experience-I'm never sure when I've crossed the line. But it was fun and I got to experiment with some new techinques.

Stephen-I'm planning on building the P-40 for this GB.  Also, Scott built an excellent Hasegawa 1/48 P-40E for the CBI Theater GB.  His work is mostly on the last couple of pages and well worth a look.

bobbaily wrote:

Also, Scott built an excellent Hasegawa 1/48 P-40E for the CBI Theater GB.  His work is mostly on the last couple of pages and well worth a look.

Thanks for the plug Bob.    I'm almost done with the complete write up on that P-40E I build, I hope to have that  posted later this afternoon, with all the "gotchas" marked on the directions etc.  Hopefully it will be helpful to others. 

Nice Zeke Bob!

Hey everyone, if you have a completed build that I may have missed or we are now getting the dreaded red x send me the link so I can post it on the first page!