P2V-7 Neptune Blue, Blue and Blue; Finished

[georgeusa]

This is the Hasegawa/Minicraft 1/72 P2V-7 Neptune boxing from 1972 or 1973. I bought this second hand along with the Eduard PE and Mask set for it. Other than adding the PE, this will be an OOB build of the generic post WWII U. S. version in Navy Blue. I am hoping this to be an easy build as I need one after a couple of trying ones. Here is the box art and collection of sprues loose in the box

It appears the fuselage halves have been taken off of the sprues and for some reason the locating pins have been sanded flush. I wonder if original owner didn’t realize what they were and thought they were sanding off sprue attachments? So, the prior owner has turned this into a short run kit without locating tabs, wonderful. So work begins with the cockpit. The kit is very basic with 2 seats, a floor and 2 bulkheads. There are also the pilot figures to help jazz it up, but I am totally rubbish at figure painting. So, I am hoping the Eduard PE set will help jazz this area up. I am not sure how much can be seen once the canopies are on, but looks to be very barren inside.

First step is to locate the minimal floor console instrument panel and sand the detail down so the Eduard PE part can be attached.

Next looking at the seats, there are some quite lovely and large injection marks that need to be dealt with.

Next up the base coat of grey for the interior parts including the nose gear bay housing. I tried to come close to the colour on the PE and think it will blend in nice once a weather finish has been applied.

A little bit of dirtying up and scuffing . . .

Now to work on the PE stuff. There is a little box that sets at the rear of the seats on the rear bulkhead that has to be painted and bent into place. That fuzzy thing above it is the tip of a microbrush to give a sense of scale of this huge item. Why at my advanced age am I doing PE work on a 1/72 plane? I need magnifiers for my magnifier.

Onto constructing the two control columns out of the PE. It consists of two pieces, the control column that has to be folded and the circular yoke. I have completed one and you can tell the size by the tweezer tip in the picture.

Next up are the rudder pedals. Here is the PE part after painting, but prior to being folded.

And here it is all folded up; only 3 more to go, yippee!!

And all four looking somewhat uniform

Now this is what the kit cockpit would look like if built straight out of the box. (Please ignore the center control PE part and imagine a really crappy, raised, blobby, plastic detail area.) No wonder there were figures to put in here. Otherwise, there would be nothing to see.

I put the PE control panel in the starboard fuselage half and it fit quite nicely and jazzes the area up a bit.

Now here is where I ran into problems. There are two PE side instrument columns that run between the fuselage wall and the cockpit seats. When I dry fit them, there is not enough room between the seats and the fuselage wall for them to fit. My choices are to cut down the instrument panel and lose some of its detail, or sand down the chunky seats to allow more room for the side control column. I decided on the latter. Did I dry fit prior to installing the seats and begin work on the seat belt placement; of course not. I didn’t get the prudent idea of checking the fit until the seats were firmly in place. So, I pried off the port seat and sanded both sides of it down, trying to not mess up the seat belts. I then placed the seat back and you can compare the size of the sanded seat to the original kit seat. The seat appearance is improved I think. The side console will now fit. I just have to pry up the other side and do that seat too. But, it is time to go to work to pay for my plastic addiction, so I must stop.

All comments always welcome.

[Vanja #66]

Nice one, George... That's some fin...

​

[Smudge]

Nice work George, good start on the cockpit. I will be watching the PE come together with interest.

Welcome to the Buddy Build.

[Pete in Lincs]

Built one of these years ago.

It's now in a display case in Oz.

An easy build, And yes, a bit crude.

I'm sure I read somewhere that the

origin was FROG. So that would be 60's.

[Max Headroom]

Built one of these years ago.

It's now in a display case in Oz.

An easy build, And yes, a bit crude.

I'm sure I read somewhere that the

origin was FROG. So that would be 60's.

It is a Hasegawa original that was reboxed in the 70's by FROG. See here...

http://www.scalemates.com/products/product.php?id=133981

Good start George!

Trevor

[georgeusa]

Update. When I quit working, I had begun to redo the kit seats to allow the Eduard side consoles to fit between the seats and the side cockpit walls. These little buggers are wider than the space left after the kit seats are installed.

I gently unattached the starboard seat that needed to be redone. (At least that is what I would like to think if you call getting a pair of pliers and breaking it off of the base.) I then sanded it down and reattached it to the cockpit floor and let it dry overnight. Since my gentle handling removing the seats was so delicate, I ended up having to redo the paint around the seats and the seats themselves.

I then had to blend in the new paint to match the scruffiness of the existing cockpit paint with these results.

While that dried, I then worked on installing the rest of the Eduard seat belts. Here is the nose seat fully installed

And here are the pilot and co-pilot seats with all of their seatbelts in place.

The control columns are next

And finally the rudder pedals.

And this is what the new cockpit looks like with the Eduard set installed.

I then began work on the IP panel and top console. The IP panel is a two part affair placed on top of the kit part. I removed the kit surface detail noticing how the kit part is not symmetrical or proportionate. It is also quit smaller than the Eduard parts that will go over it. So, I matched the top apex of the kit part with the apex of the Eduard part and will make it work when I attach it to the kit fuselage somehow.

While I let the IP panel dry, I begin work on the Eduard top console that will be attached to the canopy. It is a two part affair with each part needing to be bent into shape. Here is the main console.

I then bent the second part which should have some lever coming out of the slots, but oddly enough, Eduard did not provide them

I guess I will have to find some small wire and then make them once I install this in the canopy. I think if I install them first, they will be lost or knocked off when I manhandle the console panel into the canopy. Next step is to glue the two canopy pieces together. Now why this comes in two parts, I do not know. Luckily, where the glue seam is will be hidden by the frame painting. It’s a good thing because I really botched the glue job. I am glad I just botched it up within the frame outlines.

Here is the top console assembled and ready to be installed in the canopy

And it is installed.

All of the parts to put inside of the fuselage prior to joining the two halves is complete. The only thing I need to do is place all of the fuselage clear windows in place. When last at my local hobby shop, I found this item and thought they might come in handy with small parts. (Having fat stubby fingers is not conducive to handling 1/72 PE and teeny parts.) They are called Stix and consist of a very sticky blob of something or other attached to a thin plastic handle. Now contrary to the packaging, releasing the part from the sticky thing wasn’t easy or quick. Once it is stuck, it is stuck there pretty good. But it does help in placing the windows to insure glue does not get on the wrong parts of the piece.

All of the assembled subsections were put in the starboard fuselage and then the port side was attached. This was a little challenging for two reasons. As mentioned at the beginning of the build, the prior owner for some reason had sanded off all of the locating pins essentially turning this into a limited run type of build. Second, after I started to put it together, the fuselage halves were warped and twisted and had to be persuaded to go together. After a little cajoling and very slight cursing, the two halves were joined with minimal steps or misalignments.

I do know there will be a fun time had by all as these seams will require filling and sanding. I also know the finish will be a glossy sea blue and the seam job needs to be done right or it will be glaringly apparent. So as the glue dries, I will close for now. All comments always welcome.

[Smudge]

Looking good.

[Max Headroom]

Plugging away nicely there!

Re the canopy. Maybe it was moulded in two parts because of moulding limitations at the time?

Trevor

[hendie]

just found this one George.

it's fun when there's no positive locations points isn't it?

Lucky escape there with the canopy, not so lucky with the seats though. Don't you just love it when you take three steps forward and then four steps back!

[georgeusa]

Hendie,

Good to have you looking in. Now, that you are here, you reminded me of something. I am looking over at the fuselage halves nicely put together and realizing, guess what, I haven't put any weights in the nose yet. And, I just glued in the front nose seat blocking that entrance. ARGGGHHHHH!!! Why can't I remember to add nose weight to nose wheeled planes. I will contemplate my alternatives. Haven't done the wings yet, maybe I could put enough weight in the engines. Oh well, I will keep building subsections while the putty dries on the fuselage halves and try and think of a solution. Open to any suggestions though.

[hgbn]

Looking good George. I think you got two options to add weight. 1 cut the bomb bay doors open or 2 carefully remove the radome with a scribing tool or a razor saw. then it will be easy to add a couple of thin strips to replace the missing plastic when rejoining the part/s.

Looks to be the most gentle way to sort it out. That's how I would do it if it was me.

[georgeusa]

hgbn,

I took your advice and cut out one of the bomb bay doors. Then stuffed the radome with blu tack and weights. I think this is the best solution. Thanks.

[Graeme H]

George I note that your heading is Neptune Blue, Blue and more Blue
Are you sure about that?, my memories were of Dark Gray

http://p2vneptune.com/c01a.shtml

[georgeusa]

Just doing the one option that is on the box art and it is one of the old blue schemes.

[hendie]

Okay, let's change that to:

Lucky escape there with the canopy,

not so lucky with the seats

Even worse luck with the weights

Look at it from this perspective George... (taking the average build and average number of issues....) if you're having this much trouble up front in the build, then you must be getting them all behind you and the paint job will go like a well oiled machine.

your humble and obedient servant

The Harbinger of Doom

[hgbn]

Pre 1956-57 all Neptunes were Gloss Sea Blue with a few exceptions. Sea Plane Grey was introduced on all land based aircrafts simultaneously with the white/ gull grey scheme for shipborne aircrafts.

[georgeusa]

Small update. After my last post, Hendie made a brief appearance and it made me think. In another post we were commenting about my common mistakes I make when building kits. One of them is forgetting to add weight for a plane with front nose gear. Guess who forgot that essential little step in this build. After weighing some suggestions on how to fix it, I went with the suggestion to open the bomb bay doors and put weight in through that area. I went with this suggestion as it would serve two purposes: 1. It would allow me enough room to put weight in the radome area and 2. It would let me fix the error I was about to commit by puttying up and filling the bomb bay door seam! Out came the scriber, scalpel and model saw and I was able to do this. . .

I took fishing weights and wrapped them in blu tack and then stuck them in the radome hollow and in back of the cockpit bulkhead. Then taking a pencil placed through the bomb bay door area, I added enough weight to tilt the center of gravity of the kit forward so it should not be a tail sitter. I am seriously considering not gluing back the bomb bay door until the entire kit is built and I am 100% sure there is enough weight in there.

I also thought I was being smart and waiting to put in the nose section after I sealed up the fuselage halves. It was a great plan until I discovered I had just underestimated the width of the floor of the nose section. Which meant anyway I tried to sneak it through the nose opening, it would not go. As I think once it is installed, you will be able to see very little past the seat, out came the snippers and a section of the rear flooring was nipped off allowing me to place the nose section through the nose opening. I know this solution lacks a bit of finesse and refinement, but it worked. I doubt anyone will ever notice I butchered the kit part to make it fit.

I then decided to build up some of the easy sub-assemblies while waiting for the filler for the fuselage to dry. Here are the wings;

Tail planes;

Jet pods;

Wheels;

And wing tanks.

I then began work on painting the engines and wheels. I gave the hubs a base coat in steel. While that dried, I put a base coat of grey on the housings and steel on the cylinders

And there is a little weathering of the hubs.

And that is where I am stopping for today while everything dries. As always, all comments welcome.

[hendie]

it's taking shape George.

It sounds like you need to start writing a check list or a build plan before you build anything.

Y'know - open box, put weights in, put wings on, put wheels on, paint it etc. That sort of thing!

I'm glad it's not just me that's going doolally these days

I like how you have an interesting choice of subject material. I can only look at so many spitfires and hurricanes, so it's nice to see other subjects being brought to the fore.

[Winenut]

Love the Neptune.

Absolutely butchered one in my younger days

Looking forward to seeing yours and might have to look for one for the stash.....rock on!

[georgeusa]

Hendie,

You would think I could manage to remember as a matter of course, it the darned thing has nose gear, put some weight in it. I can remember that if it has a canopy, probably should mask it before I spray paint it. I just have some sort of self-imposed mental block along these lines. And on another thread, I will finish the F-104 today and will put it away before I do something else to it. The landing gear covers are drying and the only thing left is to unmask the canopy and glue the long pointy thing at the end of the nose cone, what could go wrong??? I know, tempting the plastic gods again. Hope you are having a good day and I believe you have friends either in town or on their way. Enjoy their company so you can get back to the helo with a fresh view. That, and decide on a color scheme for the dalek!!!

[hendie]

yup. they're here. Picked them up at Philly airport yesterday and went out for a meal last night. It must have been a hard day 'cos they're still unconscious upstairs. It's really humid and pretty hot here today so they better get acclimatized fast!

I had a quick look at the Dauphin yesterday - I finally got the fuselage closed up the other night (yes.... rushed) - needs a bit of work on the seams etc... nothing unexpected. However, after all the care I took putting the windows in to ensure that no stray glue got anywhere..... I must have had some on a finger when I was closing up the fuselage as one window has a nice gluey fingerprint on it. However, I think I should be able to polish it out, and I have a plan B just in case.

Are you going to use the old hand paint method to paint the tires or use the pre-wet and flood method?

[Pete in Lincs]

Wheel painting 101 (Outer face of tyre (tire))

1/ Place wheel on tight fitting cocktail stick or similar.

2/ Practice (practise?) twirling stick between thumb & forefinger

With outer face of tyre uppermost. And keeping it level.

3/ Place preloaded brush above wheel.

4/ Raise wheel or lower brush until JUST in contact & rotate gently.

This way you control precisely where the paint goes in regard to the hub.

The back & treads can be painted as normal, Usually before the above bit.

Works for me, Don't know if you guys have tried it though.

I hate Humid. Desert dry. me like. Mongo like. mmmmm

[georgeusa]

Update. When I last left, I had put the fuselage halves together trapping the cockpit and things seemed to go fairly easy; except for that pesky no nose weight situation. Once the glue had dried, it was time to add the wings and things. I was successful and didn’t even mess up the cockpit, except for knocking one of the control columns off. So I reattached that and here are the results.

Next came the tail section

Then the jet pods

Then the nacelles

INSERT wingtip on 2

For the starboard wingtip, I installed the searchlight and glued on the cover.

Next up are the engines. I finished weathering the engines

Then installed them on their inner support.

And watched most of the detail becomes completely lost to view when I put on the engine cover.

Next up, I installed the exhausts and the vents

And cleaned them up a bit

They were then attached to the wings

While the main body glue was drying, I went back to the small bits and pieces and started work on the wheels. They got a further round of weathering and the tires were painted.

Then placed on their respective struts

And in the interest of placing small parts that will never be noticed after I put them on and only you and I will know they exist, I inserted the Eduard bits for the undercarriage consisting of a brake line and an attachment point.

Since I was already in placing unseen parts on I decided to tackle these unknown parts that fit on the back of the radome. Don’t know what they are for, but I got some parts with instructions and might as well put them there

To better tease my failing eyesight, I found the handle that goes inside the canopy and attached that also. The likelihood of this being seen is also slim to none once the canopy is installed and the frame painted.

And, as long as I had the canopy I installed it on the kit in preparation for priming.

The first two pictures really hit home just how long the wings on this plane were. It is kinda amazing. The next two pictures do indicate that even after the canopy frame is painted, there will be some detail that will be seen. All is not lost!! Next up is the nose glazing.

Now this bird is ready for masking.

I purchased the Eduard mask set and it went on fairly well and without problems. There were a few places I had to adjust with my trusty scalpel, but I think it might have been my misalignment not the fault of the mask set.

I then sprayed the entire plane with Tamiya Fine White Primer

As I waited for the primer to dry, I tackled the propellers. I had already painted a base coat of white. Now, the fun of masking for the red.

And here is where I stop. I have no red to paint the propellers and I discovered I have no Navy blue to paint the plane. Since it is Sunday, the LHS does not open until after 12:00 so I am waiting for them to open to go spend some money. I know, it is a terrible task in front of me, but it has to be done. As always, comments always welcome.

[hendie]

wow - you seem to have got a lot done since the last installment. - and it is a BIG bird!!!

It's on kits like this where an airbrush comes into it's own. It should be relatively easy to get a nice even coverage, whereas if I had to use a brush, I'd end up with lumps and bare spots all over the place.

[georgeusa]

The kit is really not that complex and the Eduard bits I added were not difficult either. (Or, I am finally getting the hang of PE). I have since put the first coat on. Lo and behold, a small place on the port upper wing reacted and bubbled. Witchcraft and devil play that airbrushing be!! Pictures to follow later.