Battle of Britain GB 2008 - 21 June to 31 Oct 08

Frank, nice start on the Emil.

Darren, I swung past the LHS yesterday and picked up a braille scale Heller Renault Caudron 714. 

Why do I mention this? Because I wanted a quick build to keep me occupied until the 1st!

C'est la vie.

I know what you mean about the lack of photos of the aces mounts in the Osprey book, but it does make up for it with the wealth of good general reference photos.

Karl

 

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Karl, oops sorry about that and btw what the heck is a Renault Caudron 714, I've never heard of that type before?

 

Frank great start there and I really like those homemade belts and I totally agree they sit far more realistically than the etched ones that I most normally use.

 

Cheers

 Hey it's still the 21st here and I have gotten started myself right away. At least I er unpacked the box.

 Actually I intended to go hard and heavy, but as I really got into the zone we had a tornado. No damage or injuries thankfully but the lightening and thunder was followed by the most beautiful double rainbow I have ever seen. I took it as a sign that this will be a cool build. I was in the middle of assembling seats when it hit and somehow during the excitement I managed to superglue the seat I was working on to the wall. Took me forever to find where I had put it. I actually have the cockpit together. It is a doozy so far. Resin parts are ok but construction is a strange mix of resin and plastic which presents a glueing challenge. Also the nose of the plane where the stuff goes has very large unusually shaped ejector pin marks which I was cautious to clean up because of the placement and shapes. The sprue attachment points and resin blocks on the pieces are in bad places and a challenge to clean up. I really wish some photoetch parts were included as I think it would better represent the parts than the plastic. Things such as the mg guns are plastic and I think would have been better in resin as they are kinda soft.

Does anyone have any info on photo-etch or detail sets for this kit. So far my searches have turned up nothing. I cant even find the squadron vacuform canopy for the hobby craft kit anymore. Odd? If you know of a source or something please give me a holler.

Finishing up what I can for the night got it together and painted an initial coat of RLM 02. ( as per the kit all interior parts , bombay and wheel wells are this color) If that is wrong please holler as well.  Good building fellows!

Thanks fellas!  This evening, I managed to clean up the rest of the cockpit bits so I can shoot some paint on them tomorrow.  Aaron- Looks like you are well on your way too, nice job!

Aaron, RLM 02 is spot on for the interior of any Luftwaffe machine pre-mid-1941.

Looks like you've made a great start.

Darren, in answer to your question, small, pre-war and obscure, though they did manage a few kills with Polish pilots at the stick during the Battle of France.

Not to worry, the wings and fuselage will be together by the end of today, and then I can start painting. So it's not as if I'm losing much time on it.

Karl

 

Looking good so far Aaron. Is it fully assembled ?  Seems like painting details & adding any PE goodies will be difficult.

Regards,  Rick

rjkplasticmod wrote:

Looking good so far Aaron. Is it fully assembled ?  Seems like painting details & adding any PE goodies will be difficult. Regards,  Rick

 Thank you Rick. That is my basic put it together and see if it fits method. The seats are just white glued in at the moment to make sure it all goes together so I can pop them right off to paint the details on the side wall panels. Plus it is open through the bottom as well. It didn't look like a bunch of parts but the area does fill up quick as far as room goes. There are some minor fit issues and those ejector pin marks inside the nose where the resin pieces go are a little worrisome. As far as photo-etch I think it could benefit greatly from them but have not been able to find any such set for any Do-17. My real disappointment is that I can't find that squadron vacuform canopy. ( The replacement for the old cloudy one on the hobbycraft kit) I have read this review and it seems the boxart aircraft had the older df loop array atop the canopy as opposed to the blister on top of the kit birdcage.  My have to just be content with an oob build. (there are worse things) http://www.hyperscale.com/2007/reviews/kits/ca4115reviewse_1.htm

 The review link has a great BOB story/ history ogf the AC.

Well I made a start on the Bf 110 on the weekend and man are there a lot of tiny little pieces in this Eduard kit.  Even though I spent a good three hours on the kit so far cleaning and gluing sub-microscopic bits of pieces of styrene it looks like I've done absolutely nothing. 

I'm following the build guide that Brett Green published on Hyperscale even though it's for the 'E' model as far as building the kit goes there is very little difference.

I'll take some snaps when there is actually something reasonable to see.

Aaron, good looking progress on the Do 17 keep those pics coming.

Frank more pics of the 109 please, I want to see how it's coming along

Cheers

Darren- I'll hopefully post some more pics tonight!  I'm gonna try something new on this one, nothing huge but I hope it improves the look a bit.  The spinner nose cone is very thick, and when looking at it through the propeller cutout you can see the unscale thickness.  I'm gonna try to thin it out from the inside, and hope that gives it a more scale appearance.

Got my I P taken care of this weekend, now I'm working on the belts for the seat.

Thad

 Whew very slow progress as I am only able to squeeze in an hour here and there. I have pretty well finished the cockpit and glued it together proper now.  Couldn't stand not adding a few things. The foot pedals looked like two tombstones so I replaced them with some photo-etch and stuff. Also added a bit to the control yoke and things that show through the front nose glass. Couldn't find a thing about upgrades or sets specific to the Do-17 Z so I kept it simple so as not to screw up any accuracy thing.

Also did some work on the resin engines and control panel. Here is where I need an expert on the German Bombers. I painted the panel front and back RLM 02 Gray-Green and the boxes that hold the dials on the front side satin black. Added the tiny decal dials and a drop of future in each for the glassed in look. The back side is RLM 02 with metallic gray bumps that I would say is the back of the instrument gauges. The instructions say the whole deal is black with silver details. Please take a look at what I did and tell me if you think it looks right?

Everything else is pretty dull. Clean up of parts and some prepainting..  Looking forward to Franks pics soon? Darson where you at? I'm going to need an escort to protect me from Frank's Spitfire!

Aaron,

Looks like you are making excellent progress mate!  As for needing protection from my Spitfire, don't worry- I've got a 109 on the bench too!   I like your office, but I'm no Luftwaffe bomber expert so I can't comment on accuracy- but it sure looks good to my eyes!

Not a lot of progress, but some.  The Spitfire is shiny now, thanks to a few coats of Future.  I left a couple of (apparently) greasy fingerprints on her belly and the Future didn't cover it as well as the rest of the airframe.  Oh, well...  I also managed to put a couple decals on, but they are not visible in this photo.  Trying to get those roundels to conform over those bumps behind the outermost guns' shell casing slots was very difficult!  My efforts do not look so great, but OK using the four foot rule.

 

I also did some work on my '109.  I took the kit spinner, and used a small round bur to thin out the insides of the spinner cone to get them to appear more scale-like.  Here's a photo of the modified one at left/top and OOB on the right/bottom:

I also added dozens of rivets on the cone but they really aren't visible in this photo.  Hopefully, the wash to come will show them off.

 Looking good Frank! I really need to read the whole post 1st. I was thinking you were going to put that spinner on the Spit? The paint job and letter codes on the spit turned out just perfect from what I see. As far as my 109 escort? Well.... um.... it is a very nice spinner.

Just joking I am dealing with those small but very time consuming parts and fixes as well. Any one else about? I know the boss will have some up when the camera gets fixed. I think it is because everything is upside down down under maybe? Anyways getting set to cast some crew figures. It is just one of my things since I grew up on Monogram and Tamiya kits. I always miss crew figures in kits that don't have them. Looking back I saw a post asking for help on JU-88 profiles in BOB. I may have some if the green gieko fellow is still about.

sfcmac wrote:

Looking good Frank! I really need to read the whole post 1st. I was thinking you were going to put that spinner on the Spit? The paint job and letter codes on the spit turned out just perfect from what I see. As far as my 109 escort? Well.... um.... it is a very nice spinner.

ROTFLMAO!!!

Thanks Aaron, As long as I don't see the bottom decals I am pretty happy with her so far.  Looks like I had better get cracking on that '109 to cover you!

Aaron the front office looks just fine to me and all my references show the IP of Luftwaffe aircraft of this period exactly as you've painted it.  Geez what were CA thinking with black and silver for the IP that would look like A1 Sh1te as far as I'm concerned.

Frank the Spit is looking just great and for getting those decals to conform I usually use Micro Sol decal setting solution which gets the little buggers to snuggle down nicely.

I like your work on the spinner and I admire your patience to do it, the results really should be worthwhile.  I know it's totally cheating but for Emil 109s I always use Ultracast's replacement spinner (because I am lazy ) http://www.ultracast.ca/products/48/128/default.htm

Cheers

Thanks Darren!  For those decals, I used the Micro Set before putting them down and then the Micro Sol a bit later.  Even used some Mr. Mark Softer which usually pulls them right down but for some reason the Aeromasters I have din't want to pull down very well.  Later last night, I put on one of the fuselage roundels from the kit decals and it went down very nicely.  Oh, well...think next time I will paint them on. 

That Ultracast spinner/prop looks amazing!  Looking at the photo of it, I think today I may have to do a bit more shaping to the extreme front and add the tube inside.  Thanks for the photo, makes a great reference photo!

whoaaah. had no idea this got off the ground already. Just got back froma week in london visiting some cool museums and such, and i need to get an fw-190 aoff the bench, but afetr that I'll be raring to go.

Aaron and Frank, very nice progress you guy's have on the Do-17 and Spit. Your off to a flying start on your builds. If all goes well I will be cracking open the box on the He-115 tonight to see what I am in for. If you need a few 109's to protect you 17 can you imagine how many squadrons my 115 would need to protect it against all those spits

Steve

Got as far as breaking the box open and just to let you see what its supposed to look like.

Hope to play with it tonight.

Steve

I just started with Tamiya 1/48 Mk I with conversion to Mk IIa.

I painted the fuselage and few parts with RAF Interior Green (MM) 

I am going to use:

 

 and I am also going to use those:

 

:)

 

 

Steve- Thank you very much!

Greg- Now you have my attention!  Especially with that last photo.   Great pile of goodies you have there.  Any idea on the markings yet?

Daywalker wrote:

Steve- Thank you very much! Greg- Now you have my attention!  Especially with that last photo.   Great pile of goodies you have there.  Any idea on the markings yet?

Yup, it will be a 74 RAF squadrn, however I do not know what is the exact marking for this aircraft.

It was flown by Henryk Szczesny, one of Polish Aces during BoB. Not many Polish fighter flew Spits at that time.  He was one of the few who had marked their planes with a Polish insignia on the left side, near the canopy.

This aircraft was damaged by some British pilot later during the war and one took a picture shown below

 

Greg,

Ah, yes...now I remember you sharing that photo before.  I look forward to seeing her come along!

I added a couple more decals to the Spit today, the fuselage roundels.  I have to admit, I really like working with the Tamiya kit decals.  Although a tad on the thich side, they do pull down into the panel lines very well. 

I also did a little more to the '109 spinner, though I am not sure if you can see the difference in the photo.  I reshaped the front, adding a little more of a depression and thinning it from the inside to make it appear thinner.  I also added the three small holes in the back plate behind the blades.  Can't really see them either!

 

Well gents there are a change of plans for my entry. I was starting my He 115 tonight and found that one of the wing halves was melted. It was in bad shape but I still tried to iorn it out with boiling water and no joy its too far gone, even tried melting but no joy. I will try to get a replacement from Revell. Any idea how to do that besides writing to them. So for now I will be switching my build to a Fw 200 C-4. I think that one is allowed, correct me if I am wrong.

Steve

Darren,

Came across your GB today and would love to be a part of it.  I've got a JU87-B2 that's screaming to be a part of this build...plus I need the added motivation from my peers.

 Here's what I've got so far....

Mark

  

Steve- Bummer about the '115, don't of any way to obtain another wing besides purchasing a new kit or contacting Revell.  Your Condor will work for this GB, as it's listed on page 1 as an eligible aircraft.

Mark- to the GB!  Outstanding work so far, is that cockpit OOB or have added anything to it?  It looks great from here.

Thanks....I've had this kit for the last couple of years including an old Verlinden update kit collecting dust so I jumped back into it and the result was pretty pleasing.  Still working on better painting and weathering skills...should have the wings on today...

Mark

 

Steve that is a major bummer about the 115 because that would have made one impressive looking kit. On the other hand the Fw 200 will make an even more impressive looking kit so bring it on.

Greg that's a great looking bunch of AM goodies you've got there, I'll be really looking forward to this one come together . Btw just as a side note remember that the painting of the crowbar (on the access door) red or red/brown was a post war thing. It should be left interior green for a war time spit.

Frank the Spit is really starting to come alive now it has some roundels on it, keep the progress updates coming. Also I completely agree about Tamiya decals, I have never had a problem with them which is a lot more than I can say for some AM decals I've used.

Mark to the build I've added you to the front page. Wow nice looking Ju 87, I am presuming that's the 1/48 Hasegawa job, if not let me know?

Cheers

Great work so far guys, all looking really good! 

I got started on my first build this weekend, will post some in progress photos soon.

Wow guys theres some serious stuff going on here. Im sorry im late in posting but im in the middle of finishing my Famo in the supply and support GB. PE Crazy lol.

Frank, The spitty is looking grat so far. Nice work on the pit fella. I love your belts.

Aaron, the Do-17s coming along fine mate. Those Classic airframe kits are doozys. Have you tried http://www.hannants.co.uk/ I did and came up with these....

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?CATEGORY=&DIVISION=&MANUFACTURER=&TYPE=&order%5B%5D=arrived+desc&order%5B%5D=code+asc&CODE=&SCALE=1%3A48&KEYWORD=Dornier+Do+17&NUMPERPAGE=25

(Dont know how to insert a link)

Steve, that is a real downer about He 115. Thats a kit thats very high on my wish list. Bummer man. Im sure the Condor will come out sweet though.

Greg, thats some serious hardware you have there? The rivetting tools look amazing. Where did you get those beauts?

Im staying in contact now boys and as soon as i have something built ill post it.

...Guy