The In My Stash GB

Thanks, Dan.  Your paint looks primo on the Gato.  Does the Nato black have a matt greyish tint to it?  Looks very cool

Bunch of progress this weekend.  Paint touchups are finished, landing gear is nearly fully installed, bomb bay doors are assembled but not installed.  I figure by tomorrow I'll have her Futured for decaling. 

For those who have this kit, one problem or tricky area I ran across is the bomb bay doors.  If you want them open, you'll have to cut the provided doors in half and glue to the supplied hinges.  It's fussy, finicky, and tricky.  And I haven't even installed them on the plane yet.  That could be just as much fun

That looks great, Arki, reminds me that I probably still have an unfinished one of those on the attic, hmm, I guess I haven't got the nerves to go see in what condition it is now

Anyway, I haven't fallen asleep, and yes, I'm still working on the Gato, here's the proof in the shape of two pictures...

Picture 1 :  The lower hull has received it's Dull Red (Tamiya rattle can) coat, and I have just preshaded the welds with Matt Black (Tamiya acryl)

Picture 2 : The upper hull (but not the deck) is now receiving it's color, being Tamiya "Nato Black", darkened with Matt Black

On the picture you can NOT see the preshaded welds, however in real you can still slightly see them. 

 I'll probably work some more on this little cat today, you may (or may not) expect mor pics tomorrow or the day after that...

Dany... 

Couple of quick progress pics.  Sea blue top coat is now painted, which completes the tri-color scheme.  I have a couple of major gaffs in the painting, but I'm not telling where they are.  Next is touch-up painting and then assembling/installing the landing gear. 

Not as much progress to report as I'd like.  Last night I shot some interior green on miscellaneous pieces I had missed the first time around.  The masking for the sea blue is kinda almost finished.  I figure by the weekend that'll be sprayed, and then it's assembly time. 

bbrowniii wrote:

Arki, be forewarned, I want detailed notes on all the tips and tricks for that kit.

Uh oh.  Um, well, crud, I guess I better start taking notes!   Actually, I gotta say the AccMin kit goes together relatively pain free, so I haven't had to resort to any tricks.  Yet.

As always with AccMin, following the directions is actually mostly required.  I was worried with all the interior pieces the fuselage would be difficult to get together, but it wasn't.  Only a couple of minor seam issues.  I have a feeling the true test for this kit lies ahead of me with the turret.  We'll see.  Thanks for kind words!

The intermediate blue has been shot.  I'm now slowly masking off everything for the application of the top sea blue of the tri-color scheme. 

Boyd, I wouldn't stress too much over the wiring in your cockpit.  With most WWII aircraft, you can't see much of the cockpit anyway once it's closed up.  Post pics!

Hey guys,

 Been awhile since I could drop in, but it is exciting to see all the progress folks are making.  I have to admit, I am particularly interested in Arki's Avenger, since I have the same kit.  Arki, be forewarned, I want detailed notes on all the tips and tricks for that kit.  Yours is looking sharp!!

I am making progress on the Stormovik, though it is slow.  I had waffled about getting any aftermarket stuff or just going oob.  At the last minute I settled on a photoetch set from Eduard because I wanted to replace some of the kit details in the cockpit.  Well, I have mixed emotions about the results.  To complicate things, I decided to 'busy' things up a bit by running wires and cabels to and fro in the cockpit.  Unfortunately, I did not have the right size wire (what I had available was a little on the thick side) so I am not entirely pleased and am thinking of redoing it.  Still, I won't complain too much, as it was a first attempt.

So, depending on if I re-wire the cockpit or not will decide when I am ready to put the fuselage together.  As always, I will try to post some pictures, but I make no promises .

As promised, well at least one pic...

Ok, I finally picked up the ol Gato and put in a little work on her today after I came home from work (early shift today).

Her hull is now complete, with exception of the screws, some filling and sanding here and there will be required.

In addition I've been wondering around google looking for color illustrations of the Gato because, frankly I don't exactly favour the all black as given in the instructions.  Unfortunately all gray-schemes I found were for later versions of this class (other, cutdown, towerconfiguration), as a compromise I have decided to go for the MS9 black-scheme, which will be :

- Above waterline : the entire sub goes in black (vertical surfaces) while the horizontal surfaces will be painted dark grey.

_ Under water : dull red...

I know it may not be accurate to a 1941 sub, but it'll look a lot better than a black cigare.

I'll try to post some pics in the morning (for better lighting). 

DanCooper wrote:

....hmm what accident could happen to the gato....

Wait a minute, didn't you already "break" the first pick?  Hmm, I'm beginning to see the workings of a nefarious scheme here

Oh dear, and here I was, thinking the turttle trofee would be mine.  I must admit, it's a geneous move to drop the plane on order to be able to restart , hmm what accident could happen to the gato....

Just kidding, sorry to hear about your crash, mate.  On the other hand, I'm a sucker for that kind of ugly helicopters

Agh, Paul!  Bummer about the unexpected crash!   It's Murphy's Law that pieces would fall down into difficult places to reach.  The cockpit looks even better close up.  Hopefully you get the chance to finish the entire thing, since it looked great.

Well, at least you kept your spirits up.  #2 looks quite interesting  

I did a bit more at the weekend and here's the update photo. The props are just pushed in place and not secured.

Then I had an accident. Whilst putting it on top of the TV unit, to keep it out of the way of the cat, I dropped it! I caught it half way down, but the 2 main u/c legs broke off and the fuselage has cracked open from the front to about half way back. I retrieved most of the u/c parts but one wheel and half an undercarriage fell down the back of the TV unit. Were moving house in a few weeks so they will have to stay there until then. Our TV unit has a lot of stuff in it, on it and next to it. Retrieving these parts will not be an easy job until we move house.

So, in the mean time I will be starting work on my #2 kit...

 I was also very suprised at how calm I was when it fell - although I did have to sit down for a while and think rude words to myself. 

Arki, here's a couple of earlier photos of the cockpit before it was closed up.

Paul 

Primed the plane over the weekend, and just finished shooting the white underside color.  I've decided to go with the kit markings for former President Bush's Avenger he was shot down in, which means a tri-color paint scheme. 

Once the underside is cured, I begin the dreaded phase of masking.  Ugh.

Dan - I'm hoping to get that turtle award myself!

Seriously tho, I'm still monitoring this build and I'd like to compliment those who've posted photos of their progress. Everything I've seen so far has been most excellent.

I've been busy with work (mandatory overtime) and my grass cutting service and my vegetable garden, as well as other GB's. If work would slow down a notch or two, I could devote more time to modeling...I think I'll crack open the Hummel next. I'm still not sure how I want to approach the Tiger I. I've dry fit a lot of the pieces so far. Academy has designed the kit to have removable panels (turret roof, hull top, front hull plates...) and none of them will stay in place very well. I don't want to dress out the interior and then have to seal up the hull and turret to get a good fit! I'll keep turning it over in my mind  and eventually the lightbulb will come on over my head .

-John

DanCooper wrote:

Hehe, for those who thought I've quitted... I haven't, but that turttle award just has to be mine

Sheesh.  I imagine the last couple months (weeks?) of this GB will be humorous Dan, glad to see you checking in

Kenny, thanks!

Arkii,

Well... after the intitial dive in and getting the hull assembled things kinda came to a screeching halt.  Not sure if it was the size of the thing or what that intimidated me or if other projects just got in the way but not much is happening.  Hope to get back at it after I finish what's on my bench but this will most likely be a carry over into next year.

Not sure where the others have gone but with year long builds often some people will procrastinate until the end (turtle award anyone?)  Hopefully this is the case and most of them will come back.  I was certainly hoping to see Results may vary's finished locomotive though.  Wonder where he got to. 

Thanks, Dave!  How's your progress?

You know, I miss some of the others who haven't checked in awhile.  Particulary those who had some really interesting builds going.  Like Results May Vary and his Kreigslocomotive, Dan Cooper and his Gato, TGregory and his Fireball, and others. 

A lot of great potentials who just disappeared.  It happens a lot here in the GB forums and it's a shame.

Anyhoo, I'll post some progress pics once I get some paint down.

Progress update.

She's looking like a plane now!  All the main parts are assembled, now it's time for filling and sanding.  Thankfully, not too many seam problems.  I hope to have her primed by end of the weekend.

It's amazing how large the Avenger is.  With wingspan of 54 feet 2 inches, length of 40 feet, height of 16 feet 5 inches, and an empty weight of 10,080 pounds, the Avenger was one of the largest single engine aircraft of the war.  I've placed my Bf-109E in the last shot for scale.  The total wingspan of the 109 is just slightly longer than one wing of the Avenger.  Cripes!

Enjoy.

Thanks for the comments guys. The cockpit is Verlinden resin, but to be honest I don't think it adds much more detail than was in the box anyway. The major difference the resin adds is the port engine and gun bay. The resin cockpit is not a perfect fit either, although the engine and gun bay were straight forward enough.

Paul 

Thanks, NucMedTech.

Fuselage is now closed up.  She's starting to resemble a plane   Engine is in the detail painting stages.  Next I'll be assembling and attaching wings, elevators, rudder and cowling. 

Arki- The TBM is looking good. I had built one awhile back and remember all the detail in the cockpit. It's alot of work but your's is turning out quite well.

Paul- Your build is going well also. I'm interested to see how it turns out.

As for me I have finally started on the schnellboot. I've got the hull together and finished putting the bridge together today. Hopefully I'll have something worth while to take pics of this weekend. Unfortunately I think this puts me out of the running for the turtle award.