P-39 Airacobra Group Build

mucker wrote:

Great stuff there, Jay. The interior looks especially nice, but I like how you weathered the exterior, as well. Is she done? Or do you have a few final touches?

I might redo the exhaust streaks with pastel chalks (they were originally done with watercolors and don't look too good. ), if I can find a cheap set. The cockpit is from the P-400, which also had a couple little bits added last night. It's been mostly sidelined for the moment, though, because I really wanted to get started on my italeri Lysander, which will have a completely scratched interior, and may take awhile. I might be able to get some more done on the P-400 this week though.

wing_nut wrote:

Charles... I was just looking at your last progres pic...EEEWWWWWWWW Please tell me you washed that "shop rag" before use

I call them "Paint and Wear". The nice thing is you get a clean look every few days without wasting money on laundry, plus I'm always ready with the right colors on Christmas, St. Patty's Day, etc.

Come on...I'm sure there's more of us out there who recyle our old skivvies.

Oh, I can hear all the one-liners now: "I naturally airbrush my own exhaust stains", etc...

Geesh...

Looks like everyone got in some bench time but me. 's up to everone

Thad

Thanks Charlie.

Charles... I was just looking at your last progres pic...EEEWWWWWWWW

Please tell me you washed that "shop rag" before use

Great work Marc!

Sadly, no progress on my build over the weekend. Got a little time on a few other projects though.

Charlie 

wing_nut wrote:

Looks real nice Charles. I can scan the decals and instruction sheet from my other kit if it will help you match them up... there are lots of the little stencils. I think AccMin does that for grins... they must since it seems they do that on all the kits.  It is that way with my Helldiver and have read the same thing from so many others.  So... AccMin will rebox an old kit, not say so up front and charge lots more than it originally cost.  Screw up the instruction sheet with parts numbered wrong and other mistakes (I think I found about 15 in the Helldiver sheet) and the decal reference numbers are wrong. And we buy AccMin kits because...?

Marc: If you don't mind, yes please send me a scan of the Eduard instruction stencil placing. What I don't get is Acc Min had to outsource decals specifically for their re-boxing. It's not like they simply forgot to update the eduard decal sheet onto their instructions. Or does it not work that way? Did they outsource the instructions, too? Hmmm...

Anyways, I appreciate your generosity. Some like stencils and some don't. I personally feel it makes a model look all that more convinving.

Thank you.

As for Acc Min...I guess their re-bexings have screw ups. But their original product is top notch. Their SBD's, TBF's, etc. are as good or better than a Tamigawa kit in my opinion. We get used to this level, and then blindly buy a reboxed offering.

Looks real nice Charles. I can scan the decals and instruction sheet from my other kit if it will help you match them up... there are lots of the little stencils.

I think AccMin does that for grins... they must since it seems they do that on all the kits.  It is that way with my Helldiver and have read the same thing from so many others.  So... AccMin will rebox an old kit, not say so up front and charge lots more than it originally cost.  Screw up the instruction sheet with parts numbered wrong and other mistakes (I think I found about 15 in the Helldiver sheet) and the decal reference numbers are wrong.

And we buy AccMin kits because...?

Progress Dog update:

Yes, it's the decal stage, where the plane starts to take on an identity. I am stumped on the stencils, though...the decal sheet numbers do not match the instruction sheet numbers. I'm going to write to AM to see if they've fixed this. I can take a good guess at half of them but I don't want to screw up so I'll see what they say.

Hippy-Ed wrote:

mucker wrote:  jeaton01 wrote: Thanks to everyone, and congratulations to Marc on Daisy Mae, I really like that one.  I hope that I have given back as much to the group build as I got, it was a big help to be a part of it, and to have the resources of the FSM forum really helped me improve the final result.  On the bench now are the Airfix TSR.2, Williams Brothers C-46 ( in paint, struggling with a NMF on this one) and a few others.  Also a Pro-Modeler P-39 with KMC interior.  What the heck, all the paint bottles are already stirred up to do the P-39! Go for it, John (the ProModeler P-39). I don't think anyone will stop you from another entry in the GB (except, maybe the West Coast office...although Ed seems occupied with Dave's leg at the moment).   No worries from the West Coast office... Dave's leg does have it's "appeal" at the moment

Official Release from the Gulf Coast Progress Dog office: " No Comment"

mucker wrote:

jeaton01 wrote: Thanks to everyone, and congratulations to Marc on Daisy Mae, I really like that one.  I hope that I have given back as much to the group build as I got, it was a big help to be a part of it, and to have the resources of the FSM forum really helped me improve the final result.  On the bench now are the Airfix TSR.2, Williams Brothers C-46 ( in paint, struggling with a NMF on this one) and a few others.  Also a Pro-Modeler P-39 with KMC interior.  What the heck, all the paint bottles are already stirred up to do the P-39! Go for it, John (the ProModeler P-39). I don't think anyone will stop you from another entry in the GB (except, maybe the West Coast office...although Ed seems occupied with Dave's leg at the moment).

No worries from the West Coast office... Dave's leg does have it's "appeal" at the moment

jeaton01 wrote:

Thanks to everyone, and congratulations to Marc on Daisy Mae, I really like that one.  I hope that I have given back as much to the group build as I got, it was a big help to be a part of it, and to have the resources of the FSM forum really helped me improve the final result.  On the bench now are the Airfix TSR.2, Williams Brothers C-46 ( in paint, struggling with a NMF on this one) and a few others.  Also a Pro-Modeler P-39 with KMC interior.  What the heck, all the paint bottles are already stirred up to do the P-39!

Go for it, John (the ProModeler P-39). I don't think anyone will stop you from another entry in the GB (except, maybe the West Coast office...although Ed seems occupied with Dave's leg at the moment).

Progress Dawg sneaks in, sniffs around likes what he sees!! spies Dave's leg...hmmm....marks territory....

Lookin' good fellas

Marc excellent work on a rare look she sure does look nice in her bare skin, Jeaton nothing but praise for your p-63 looks good. Scottd is that the Hasegawa kit, the canopy on mine gave me fits also the final product is ok from a distance just dont look close as I used alot of testors clear cement to kind of fill the gap in, hang in there it is a great kit otherwise.

Barry

Marc, Daisy Mae is a true beauty. Unique and well done. You really thinned the trailing edge of the wing well, and if I didn't look specifically for it, you found a way to snug the closed door in without standing out. Now I'd better stop watching the History Channel (come on, Dogfights was on last night!) and get back to the bench.

Great pics, too

jeaton01 wrote:

mucker wrote: Very nice, JOhn...now I want one! That would look good sitting next to a P-39! Thanks for the nice comment, "mucker".  Believe it or not, the thought of having the P-63 to sit next to a P-39 is sort of what got me going on the P-63...only now I have to build the P-39! If you do pursue this kit, plan on taking your time, but as the building goes you start to see the shape of the airplane coming out of the plastic.  It does have very nice surface detailing on the major plastic parts.  I glued the upper wing halves to the fuselage halves even before I glued the fuselage halves together or put the cockpit into the fuselage halves, and got rid of the upper wing gaps after a small anount of sanding.  Doing it the other way would be very difficult, as it was easier to sand 1/32 off each wing tip than it would have been to deal with a wing root gap.  The other time consuming part was getting the fuselage together over the interior parts without getting a banana warp in the forward fuselage.  The problem I think is the roof of the nose gear well, a resin part than is very thin and deceptively mishapen where the bulkheads attach to it.  That, and the way the fuselage is so limber in the door area, even with the left door glued in place.  Lots of careful fitting there, and I'm still not too sure that there isn't a slight warp.  Luckily once it is all together, I can't really tell.

I've read that the P-63 is a difficult kit, but being in the GB with you was much more up close and personal...and informative. GB's like this can be better than any on-line review, as the dialogue during the process lets one ask questioins almost in "real time".

With your quest, it would seem you've finished the difficult part. I hear the Hasegawa P-39 kit is a gem, and I can't complain about the Eduard kit, except fort the canopy/door fit, but you're a weathered veteran in that area, as well.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts as you went through the kit. I, for one, found it very useful information.

WOW ! All of y'll are doing a Great job on your builds here, WOW !

I am sorry that I have not even started on my kit yet :(

I just wanted to post here and say WOW

2 to all of you

Bud

Very nicely done John.  A fine addition to the GBand to your shelf.

 I too can say, "Stick a fork in me... I'M DONE!"

mucker wrote:

Very nice, JOhn...now I want one! That would look good sitting next to a P-39!

Thanks for the nice comment, "mucker".  Believe it or not, the thought of having the P-63 to sit next to a P-39 is sort of what got me going on the P-63...only now I have to build the P-39!

If you do pursue this kit, plan on taking your time, but as the building goes you start to see the shape of the airplane coming out of the plastic.  It does have very nice surface detailing on the major plastic parts.  I glued the upper wing halves to the fuselage halves even before I glued the fuselage halves together or put the cockpit into the fuselage halves, and got rid of the upper wing gaps after a small anount of sanding.  Doing it the other way would be very difficult, as it was easier to sand 1/32 off each wing tip than it would have been to deal with a wing root gap.  The other time consuming part was getting the fuselage together over the interior parts without getting a banana warp in the forward fuselage.  The problem I think is the roof of the nose gear well, a resin part than is very thin and deceptively mishapen where the bulkheads attach to it.  That, and the way the fuselage is so limber in the door area, even with the left door glued in place.  Lots of careful fitting there, and I'm still not too sure that there isn't a slight warp.  Luckily once it is all together, I can't really tell. 

Looking Good John!

Yeah, this rain is a bit of a bummer!!!! And it's supposed to rain all weekend. No airbrushing for me this weekend.

Charlie 

The MPM P-63A is declared done.  Some will notice the cannon muzzle is absent from the spinner, forgot all about it until I got ready to post the pictures.  The final hurdle, besides forcing the replacement door through paint (6 hours from sprue to model, like a TV dinner is 6 minutes from freezer to fork), was getting a good flat finish after two coats of Future.  Testors flat just wouldn't do it, so I went to the FSM Forum on finishing and read up on Future mixed with Tamiya Flat Base, and tried that.  Anybody need any Testor's flat coat?  I really am happy with how the Future/Tamiya Base combination worked.  Whoopee!

Boy am I glad this thing is ready for the display case.  It was done OOB except for the seat, propeller, and right hand door, which are surplus from a Pro-Modeler P-39 kit which I have a KMC interior and doors for.  Oh, and the Russian stars are from the spares box because the MPM decals tore apart even after a coat of decal film.

I am ready for a shake and baker.  The picture are as good as I can do until it quits raining here in Northern California.

Ouch! That looks like the same fit problem I had with my Eduard canopy. I ended up sanding down the bulkhead (?) right behind the seat to get a better fit with the canopy. Still had some filling to do. It looks fine on the right side, not so good on the left!

No progress this week.....

 Charlie

OUCH!  That really bites. You seem to be in good spirits though.

And I do feel yoru pain.  Trying, and failing miserably, to get Aries resin wheels wells into a P-51 build a while back.  All the hacking, filing, scraping, snading and chopping caused me to have to get a new kit just for the upper wings.

Well took a step back today...so I could move forward with new model

Well I got fed up with the way the canopy was fitting (not to mention I was getting stress cracks in it) and decided to exact some revenge on the model this afternoon...

Here is it is with the canopy not quite fitting right:



Here is surgury started:



Aftermath...I just need to clean up the cockpit sides and repaint and reinstall in the new kit.



To tell you the truth it went better then I expected, and I'll pay more attention to the fit issues with the Blackbox cockpit. Thankfully the LHS is having a sale Sunday, and they should have the kit in stock ;)

 

wing_nut wrote:

Yeah... I have always liked Toronto's uniform.  These are the markings... The bule topside and gray belly is the artist trying to vary the NMF in the drawing.  Too bad... that would have been a cool looking scheme.

Very unique. Are those Cutting Edge decals?

wing_nut wrote:

Yeah... I have always liked Toronto's uniform.  These are the markings... The bule topside and gray belly is the artist trying to vary the NMF in the drawing.  Too bad... that would have been a cool looking scheme.

Did I mention it was Shinny? If not then I just did...........no presure though.