jRatz

For the record, I've grown tired of wire rigging -- for one reason, with a solid wing, my method doesn't work as well and it is far harder to get the wires on straight & taut. For that I'm back to fishing line.

Here is my CA Walrus, rigged with steel wire. I borrowed a technique from the Tamiya Swordfish Photo-etch Set which sounds very much like what Barney did above, except that I only glue in one end of the wire and allow the other end to ride free in the hole until I have done them all. Only then do I start to anchor the opposite ends, generally working on the same wire on each side. This approach seems to let the airplane and the rigging settle in, so to speak, and is very strong when done.

It is probably easiest to select a subject, then find what's available to make it up. Coastal Command gets somewhat short shrift from manufacturers direct so you have to be creative. First figure out what is the base B-24 model -- D or J. The D model is easy, no nose turret. Then look at what the Lib has on it and where -- ASR, Leigh Light, rockets, etc. Then look for a kit to fit, and baring that, a base kit and a conversion set. It is a lot easier to match to pictures than worry about which GR.? it is because there wer inconsistencies in/among them -- such as presence/absence of ASR, rockets, etc -- and lots of documentation issues. It doesn't help to be the 'Cinderella Service' .... Here's my Hasegawa D-model (Formatting Monitor kit) with the Pavla GR.V conversion set. Note I did not use the nose ASR from the Pavla set as my refs indicated it was not on this aircraft, which was Lloyd Triggs VC aircraft. The good thing about the Hasegawa kit is that it had both US & British turrets and that made it easier.

The WEM color chart (linked above) suggests "No apparent boot topping." Is that specific to a period/refit or in general. I ask because having seen that statement the going back through the AOTS, some photos sem to show a boot topping, others do not, so I'm a bit confused. I'm at the point of either putting it on or not and want to move on.

Model Alliance 489033 is 1/48 Wings of Silver, Roundels & Flashes.

Model Alliance has a sheet of roundels and flashes -- # 489033.

I have one, under the Phoenix label.

Good review -- Thanks !!!

Oh, that is sooooo tempting !!! Nice review -- thanks !!

I haven't disappeared, it's just been a bit hectic so I've been getting time on it as best I can. The weather turned good, so I got outside for the final sanding of the hull -- now I can start with the little on-deck details that I need to get mounted before I start painting. Meanwhile I've been doing some detailing of the structures -- the bow and stern mounts are mostly done, except the weapons. The deck house is started, as are all 3 derrick houses. I should be able to move along a bit better now …

Oh, good, that conversion is on my to-do list -- thanks for the links !!

Very good, and an interesting build thread -- Thanks !

I have been hung up on another project, a review, and that is now done so I can get back to work. I have scribed the hull a bit, sanded it down some, then put on primer while I was finishing the above project. Now it is too darn cold to take this outside and finish sanding the hull/primer. My spray booth is in barely-conditioned space, so it's also a bit cold to do that either right now. So today I started on deckhouse details. As I noted, I do have several aftermarket sets and it is amazing how they can differ -- with the Eduard set being one to watch out for -- for example their mods to the aft 5-inch platform and adjacent deck gear don't match what I have seen, not that I'm an expert. I'll get some pictures up this week ....

The Inpact instructions have a rigging diagram and are, IIRC, the only kit (of the Inpact/Pyro/Lindberg/Lifelike chain) that also provide rigging thread. I haven't looked at them in a while, so it is possible they do not show the doubled flying wires.

Interesting, it almost appears to be silver with roundels underwing and a full fin flash. Must have been one retained for testing radar or maybe de-icing gear ... Although being put into silver is somewhat counter to everything else being camoflaged a couple years prior ???