IT'S BACK! Secret Santa 2: Rudolph Strikes Back

Sorry I haven't been around much here..... looking good everyone!

Hope to start my build this weekend.

Wow! Excellent inside to the nozzle you've made! I think it'll look awesome mounted inside!

Azgaron

Looking at the few jet models that I have made so far, the biggest disappointing feature of them (among others) is the look of the exhaust nozzle - the inside.  In the past I've just painted it black. (thanks for the idea Mick Jagger - but it just won't do anymore) 

On the F-16, the nozzle is a pretty big feature that you just can't miss - so I wanted to work on it a bit.  I was a little surprised when I started looking at reference photos that it's quite intricate on the inside - and it's really white !  So how do I paint the inside of a 1/72 jet nozzle to make it look more impressive ?...        I don't...

But I had an idea !     I grabbed some 0.005" thick styrene sheet, cut it into an appropriately sized cone to fit inside the nozzle, then scribed, painted, and gave it some wash and some markings with a pencil.  Here's what I got.  It sure beats a black hole.

James,    I'm with you man ...     "GO NY GIANTS !"    

Chris 

Thank everyone for the input and information, I will try the wine foil for seatbelts next (only from a recent Rioja, hope the, ahem, "seatbelts" still look good ;) ... amazing result with the drybrushing IP, look forward to *trying* that on my own AccMin kit later this year :)  ... finally, I also wrote down the "wood painting" instructions, I will try that out on a "base" I have as part of a ship kit..  amazing, one post, I get THREE great tips! Thank you all! :) James

PS

brain44 - great job so far on the cockpit, look forward to the rest of the build!

GO NY GIANTS !!

Brian, that's a good looking start you have on that F-84.  I'm glad the kit looks like a winner and I can't wait to see the finished build.

Everyone's builds look quite good in fact.  Wish I could get started on mine but ... alas ... my bench is rather crowded right now.

Kudos to everyone!  The quality of the builds here are outstanding!  I feel like a complete novice, looking at the work!  This is a great group build, even better than last year!

Brian 

JMart,

Thanks for your effort! The problem is solved, thanks to Drew!

Brian,

Nice looking pit!

MaxSheridan,

Looking very good!

Very nice to see your progress pics!

John,

Nice tip on painting wooden props!

Cheers,

Azgaron

JMart wrote:

John - Sweet build! I cannot even fathom working in corrugated anything :)  Love the subtle weathering.. is that prop REAL wood? if not.. how did you accomplish that effect? James

Thanks, James.  We kind of had a seminar on wood props in the WW I group build,  I put a first coat of MM Wood, then I masked it with thin strips of Tamiya tape, like 1mm or less.  Then I drybrushed it with MM Leather, any dark brown works.  The last step is to overcoat it with Tamiya Clear Orange, and that gives it the varnished look at the same time as it increases the contrast of the wood and leather.  Try it, you'll like it.  Well, maybe except for cutting all those thin straight pieces of tape.

Got a little more done the last couple days. Not much, but its something.

I'm working on some better picture taking techniques, so please bear with me.

Comments always welcome!

JMart wrote:

MaxSheridan - nice job so far~!  Are those decals for the dials? Azgaron - Dont know about the matching colors :( I just keep looking at tables until I find a correlate... sorry! Bossman - Nice job... are the seatbelts painted or AM? John - Sweet build! I cannot even fathom working in corrugated anything :)  Love the subtle weathering.. is that prop REAL wood? if not.. how did you accomplish that effect? PaPa-John - I hear you... I keep accumulating half build subassemblies waiting for the weather to warm up a bit.. my spray booth is in an attached (and unheated) garage. Which pushes the start of my build until summer :(  In the meantime (in a low voice) I have been building up some armor kits... James

Thanks James!

 The dials aren't decals. First, I painted the IP black. Then, I dry-brushed the dials with white. Then, I touched up all the spots where I went overboard with the dry-brushing. Finally, I added a drop of future to each dial for the sparkley-glass-like look!(cue the oohs and ahhs)

These AccMin kits have such nice detail, it makes it pretty easy to make the IP look good.

Well, everybody, I finally got the A-37 finished off, so I am now officially starting my S.S.G.B. kit from Aggieman, the RoG 1:48 F-84F. 

So far, this kit looks like it is going to be a real winner!  Dry fitting shows little/no seam work should be neede on the fuselage, and the cockpit detailing is great!  Here's a few progress pics, and once again, thanks to Aggieman!

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Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome!  Thanks for looking!

Brian 

JMart wrote:

MaxSheridan - nice job so far~!  Are those decals for the dials? Azgaron - Dont know about the matching colors :( I just keep looking at tables until I find a correlate... sorry! Bossman - Nice job... are the seatbelts painted or AM? John - Sweet build! I cannot even fathom working in corrugated anything :)  Love the subtle weathering.. is that prop REAL wood? if not.. how did you accomplish that effect? PaPa-John - I hear you... I keep accumulating half build subassemblies waiting for the weather to warm up a bit.. my spray booth is in an attached (and unheated) garage. Which pushes the start of my build until summer :(  In the meantime (in a low voice) I have been building up some armor kits... James

 James

Have the same problem, unheated garage.  My Avro Arrow is partially done.  To keep going, I have a 1989 Dodge Super Bee that have started.  I think I will prime the Arrow and Super Bee with a brush for practice.  I might even brush paint the car for practice.  Also trying future on the clear parts for practice.  So I am not sitting idle.

I saee a lot of fantastic builds going on.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not getting away from aircraft.  I feel like doing these two areas. 

Going to have to cover thins for a short while as renos are commencing in the basement (my dungeon) in the next week or two.  Oh about five days of dust and a mess, then clean up.  This is just the start of a mess.

John

James,

Thanks man !

The seatbelts are slit foil from a wine bottle    (Blackstone Merlot - 2006 if I remember correctly - a good year for seatbelts)    They were painted - up to the point where the buckle begins - the buckle area was left without paint.  I mashed some texture into the buckle area by pressing the foil against a hard surface with a hard metal tool.  This made the buckle area a little wider than the belt part. 

Chris

MaxSheridan - nice job so far~!  Are those decals for the dials?

Azgaron - Dont know about the matching colors :( I just keep looking at tables until I find a correlate... sorry!

Bossman - Nice job... are the seatbelts painted or AM?

John - Sweet build! I cannot even fathom working in corrugated anything :)  Love the subtle weathering.. is that prop REAL wood? if not.. how did you accomplish that effect?

PaPa-John - I hear you... I keep accumulating half build subassemblies waiting for the weather to warm up a bit.. my spray booth is in an attached (and unheated) garage. Which pushes the start of my build until summer :(  In the meantime (in a low voice) I have been building up some armor kits...

James

Thanks, everyone.  As usual you are all too kind.  There are a few angles from which the photos could be less charitable, but then that's no fun!

Someone asked the scale, it is 1/72.  The corrugations were not too difficult as for fit as long as care is taken while assembling each seam, but the way the parts are made it is not bad so long as you plan ahead.  Left side, top, right side. But they do make the decals harder to do.

That plane is so ugly it's beautiful. You did a great job on it and I am sure all that corrigation must have ben a pain to deal with. Nice work.

Steve

Man that is one cool looking plane friend! Good job John!

Zip

Very nice work John The decals look good and look as if you had no problems. Very well done.

Nice work John! It turned out a real beauty for being a plane with corrugations!  Sorry to hear about the decals, but you did a nice work with the new ones you printed! I'm glad to see it turned out so nice!

Cheers,

Azgaron

John,

REALLY NICE job on such a unique plane.  It has those artistic lines of the 20's & 30's - Even the lettering !   I can picture it right at home flying past some huge art deco skyscraper.

When I saw your first pics I thought that there would be a regular wind screen - not an essentially open cockpit.  That is so cool !

Chris 

Nice model, John!

Hare Award goes to you, I vote; Jon?

I know what you mean about the decals and I need to get up to speed to make my own. I am doing battle with a Frog F-7 and the decals combined with Future to produce snail snot. On the airframe...

She's a beauty. Forgive me, what scale?

Looking at the builds taking place.  Boy are they ever looking good.  to everyone, your builds are progressing nicely.  I am taking lessons from reading and looking at your work.

Looks like mine build will commence around spring time when the weather warms up and I can get outside to the garage to do some spray painting.  Between now and then, hope to add an airsprayer and compressor.

Also remodeling the basement and plans are to put in a combination workshop for my wife (she loves woodworking)and a work area for me complete with proper booth for painting/varnishing etc.  Talk about make work projects. 

PaPa-John

OK, am I first to post completed photos?  Here is the Junkers F.13 Azgaron gave me.  It was an easy build right up to the decals, and they jumped on me like a nasty spider.  Brittle, silvering, non-reactive to any setting solution known to man or beast.  I have heard that others have had the same result with the kit decals.  I drew new ones in Corel and printed them on my ALPS printer, and they worked much better.  I do have new respect for the difficulties of putting decals on corrugated surfaces.  Here we go, and there are more photos on my website here:

http://yolo.net/~jeaton/mymodels/junkersf13/junkersf13.htm

Thanks, for the link, Chris!

I already knew about that one

Nice work btw.

Azgaron

Azgaron,

I think this link will tell you what you're looking for:

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/05/stuff_eng_interior_colours_us_part3.htm

...And here's an update on my SSGB Airframes. 

Go figure !  The P-51's wingspan is bigger than the F-16's !

Chris