billn53 Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 (edited) It's been a while since I last posted, trust me I've not been idle but there's little to actually show for my efforts as I've been working primarily on prepping the fuselage and wings for assembly and painting. This includes adding various little PE bits from the Eduard set. The vented panel for the Gatling gun has finally been CA'd in place. You can also see a small circular flange that surrounds what will eventually be the site of a blue position light. There's another position light on the base of the vertical stab: I nearly went crazy bending and assembling this air inlet behind the nose gear: I also decided to see if I could add some detail to the Thud's unique air intakes. What I'm trying to achieve is something like this: Thanks to Mike (72modeler) for this and other pics! I started by putting tape over the outside of the wing and drawing an outline of the movable part of the inlet seen in the above photo. I transferred the resulting pattern to some thin styrene sheet, which gave me these: I think this will work! Note that the longitudinal actuator/guide that runs from the forward lip of the inlet is provided as part of the Eduard PE set. One last thing... I learned that the position light on the F-105's starboard wingtip is, in actuality, blue (not green), so the Quickboost position light set (see previous post) is wrong. I'm hopeful that I can use transparent blue acrylic paint to correct this error. Edited July 21, 2017 by billn53 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 In case you plan to have the canopy open don't forget the indicator, just to the left of the ladder: Jari 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 Very cool, Jari! I would have missed that completely. Many thanks! As I mentioned at the start of this build, one of my goals is to stretch my comfort zone and try out new techniques. Well, here goes! The F-105D featured a pair of large air scoops to provide cooling air to the engine compartment. Here's a great pic: Unfortunately, Trumpeter's version of this item is pretty lame, being too small, the wrong shape, and lacking any hint of an opening at the front. I had purchased a QuickBoost resin replacement, but on inspection it isn't much better than the stock part. Searching through my stash, I found that I have a Monogram kit of the F-105, and it's air scoop parts are much better! Here's a comparison: Not being willing to steal these parts from my Monogram kit (I do plan on building it someday, honest!), I decided to try casting my own from resin. Wish me luck! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 You could always build the Monogram one as an early Thud without the scoop: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mdebock/sets/72157633718479218 Jari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 True. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Interesting scoop comparison. Good luck with the casting! What's the moving thing in the inlet for? An early attempt at changing inlet area in the transsonic region? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booty003 Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 This is turning into an epic build - stunning detail, the wheel bays look fantastic. You are doing a real honour to the Mighty Thud!! I am learning so much about this aircraft as other people drop in bits of personal knowledge. The air inlet behind the nose gear (avionics cooling...?) - I have seen photos of this that suggest it may be offset from the centreline, I don't know if anyone can confirm this at all? Brilliant work Sir. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 (edited) Just a quick update. After returning home from work I got a wee bit of time in before heading off to dinner. I unboxed my rubber mold and mixed up some resin. Doesn't look very promising, does it? But looks can be deceiving! After letting the resin properly cure, I carefully removed my newly molded parts. This is what I got: Except for a couple of small bubbles, the one on the left looks nearly perfect. The one on the right is obviously too short (either a bad mold or entrapped air, probably the latter) but the beauty of this is I can simply cast another lot. Second try: I'm calling this experiment a success! Back to the wings, I painted up the wheel wells with interior green, gave it a good wash of dirty stuff, and detailed some of the interior items. I was tempted to paint the various cabling a contrasting color, but photos I've seen show that when the wells were painted green from their original aluminum color, the ground crew simply sprayed everything in reach that wasn't a moving part. Here's where it stands now: The weekend is upon us and I'm hoping to get some good build time in over the next couple of days. Edited July 21, 2017 by billn53 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 Another milestone achieved -- the bird has wings! Primed with Mr Surfacer 1200. There is a significant gap along the fuselage-wing joint, plus some minor scratches & gaps along the fuselage join. Nothing a bit of putty won't correct. And, in case you were wondering, here are the air scoops in place: 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 My apologies for another post where, while I've been busy working, there's not a lot to show for it as far as pictures go... Mostly I've been getting everything ready to move on to the painting-phase of the build. That includes coming up with a strategy to mask areas I've already worked on and wish to protect, such as the cockpit, wheel wells, air intakes and exhaust. Here's an overview pic of the Thud's bottom, where painting will begin: Since I'm using PE for the landing gear doors, I re-purposed the kit parts as masks for the wheel wells. I also installed the bottom half of each leading edge slat, removed earlier in the build. One area that continues to give me troubles concerns the aftermarket wing tips with position lights. As I mentioned previously, these are thinner than the original kit items and don't fit very well. In fact, they insist on coming loose. Here they are after yet another round of glue and putty: Fortunately, the aftermarket ventral fin (that replaces the too-thick stock fin) went on without any problems. I'm using sponge extensively for masking of areas already worked on. Here is an air intake... note that the sponge doesn't go all the way to the tip of the intake, I expect to be doing some touchup at some point. The cockpit was a problem to mask. Sponge worked well for the interior of the cockpit, but the area forward of the IP (with the HUD) was giving me problems. I tried masking tape, but it kept coming loose. Here's my solution! That's the canopy from the Hasegawa's ancient F-105 kit, which I found hiding in my stash! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 25, 2017 Author Share Posted July 25, 2017 (edited) Now begins the most challenging (for me) part of the build -- painting. For some reason I find airbrushing very difficult to do well. I haven't yet got a feel for proper air pressure, how thin the paint should be, and basic technique. Fortunately, pre-shading is very forgiving... especially since I can't airbrush a straight line no matter how hard I try! Edited July 25, 2017 by billn53 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 28, 2017 Author Share Posted July 28, 2017 (edited) Wow! Thursday already, where has this week gone? I've been tied up with non-modeling stuff so haven't made much progress. Tonight I did get a couple hours free and began painting this bird. First, I finished the pre-shading by painting a few select panels with white to break up the otherwise monotonous primer. I also masked off the black nose and a couple of antennae on the underside. For this build I will be using Hataka paints. I used Mr Color on my previous build (Hasegawa F-4E) and, although they were totally satisfactory, I thought I'd try a different brand for my Thud. First color down, more to follow... The Hataka paints seem to have a lot more pigment than Mr Color and need more thinner for airbrushing. I had some trouble with them... I tried using my smallest nozzle (#1) on my Paasche H but the paint simply wouldn't flow -- it either clogged or dried up in the nozzle as soon as I started airbrushing. I had to switch to a larger nozzle. As I said before, I'm a bit of a newbie with airbrushing so it's probably operator error. In any case, I'm not completely happy with how the underside looks but it may be good enough, considering I'll be adding weathering later on. Hopefully, I'll have more luck with the topside colors. Edited July 28, 2017 by billn53 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 29, 2017 Author Share Posted July 29, 2017 (edited) While thinking over all the things I still need to do on this build, I realized that before I can paint the upper surfaces I have some unfinished business with the cockpit. Namely, I need to add the forward canopy section, and before I can do that I must finish off the HUD, etc. that sits beneath it. The clear pieces with this kit look mighty fine but can only improve with a coating of clear acrylic. Previously, I used Pledge but I recently read a review of this product: and thought I would give it a try. After cleaning the canopy pieces with rubbing alcohol, I dipped them in the Aqua Gloss and and set them aside to dry inside a plastic container, to avoid any possible dust or other contamination. The instructions on the bottle call for 6 hours of drying, I'll let them sit overnight to be safe. Meanwhile, I worked on the area forward of the instrument panel that includes the HUD. I drybrushed everything and followed with a black wash to bring out details and added a clear plastic panel over the HUD projector. I also improvised a cable for the Radar Homing & Warning display, which sits above the IP and to the right of the HUD. Tomorrow's plan is to start painting the upper surfaces; my goal is to have the camo finished this weekend. Edited July 29, 2017 by billn53 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 (edited) Not as much progress so far this weekend as I had hoped. Unless I can dedicate most of Sunday to building, I may miss my target of finishing the camo pattern on schedule. Nonetheless, I have accomplished a few things in preparation and am nearly ready to fire up the airbrush. First, I thought I'd show you how the position lights on the aftermarket wingtips (molded in transparent red and green plastic) look. Not too bad, although I do need to sand down the rough paint edge where I had masked off around the light. I'll use liquid masking to protect the light when I do the camo. I installed the forward canopy, applied Eduard canopy masks (my first time using pre-cut canopy masks... very nice!), and painted the framework Aircraft Interior Black prior to starting the camo. (You can see I'm getting good use out of that old Hasegawa canopy lol! ) The underside needs to be completely masked before doing the upper camo surfaces. I started by delineating the upper-lower boundary using the 'blue tack' sausage method. One item of note regarding the F-105... the boundary between the upper and lower paint colors varies considerably from aircraft to aircraft, especially near the air intake. On some aircraft (including the one I'm modeling), the topside colors begin immediately at the inlet and drop almost vertically, before curving horizontally toward the nose. On others, the pattern has a shallow slope at the inlet and curves gently toward the nose. Photos of the individual aircraft being modeled are essential to get this correct. After I was happy with the boundary line, I finished off by masking the lower fuselage, wings, and assorted piece parts with low-tack masking tape. I now have a decision to make: for the upper camo pattern, should I use the blue tack method (I was very happy with how it turned out on my last build)? ...or instead I can try this product: which are pre-cut camo patterns available for a variety of different aircraft in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale. A downside of the Gator masks is they create a hard edge, where I'm looking for something softer. I'm considering using the masks to get the correct pattern shape, but blue tacking them a small distance above the painting surface so the colors feather together. Edited July 30, 2017 by billn53 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finn Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Coming all pretty nicely, yes an airbrush does at time not work the way you want it too, but have faith. As for the camo scheme, some times at the wing trailing edge the very end it starts as you can see in two of the ones here: while the one in the middle the tan is further forward. Jari 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 (edited) Yes, amazing how non-uniform the Operation Lookalike Thuds could be. I have seen many pics of aircraft where the tan and one of the greens in the camo pattern were interchanged. :-; Edited July 30, 2017 by billn53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 Here's an example of what I was talking about in the above post. Notice the tan on the forward fuselage is replaced with green on the rightmost Thud. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 More trials to try my patience! I've more or less got the first camo color on, but it was a struggle the whole way. To add insult to injury, one of the wingtips came off (again), which must be re-glued and puttied up before I can proceed with the greens. Arrggghhh!!! It's looking less and less likely that I'll have all the camo colors done before Monday. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 With the tan in place, the next step was to mask off the tan areas and paint the first green color, which on this plane FS 34079 (dark green) was the next logical color because it abuts the tan areas, whereas the medium green does not. My first thought was to place the Gator masks on paper, cut them out, and install them slightly above the painting surface with small pieces of blue tack. To my astonishment, I discovered that the Gator masks are too small! For example, the left wing's tan area mask, which covers most of the wing and stretches from leading to trailing edge, is nearly one half inch too short! Ultimately, I gave up on the Gator masks and went back to the tried and true bluetack sausage method. Here it is with the tans masked for the first green: You can see in the above pic how the Gator mask on the left wing doesn't fit, leaving a gap at the leading edge that I filled with extra blue tack. At least the painting went without incident (for a change). Dark green finished, waiting to be masked for the medium green final color: 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intruder503 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 I learned the trick a few years ago where you cut out the camo masks out of construction paper and use blue tac to secure in place. Leaves a nice soft edge. I see you did something very similar. Sorry the Gator masks didn't work out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted August 2, 2017 Author Share Posted August 2, 2017 Well, it's a couple days later than I had hoped but I got the final color masked off and airbrushed: While waiting for the paint to dry, I took a look at some of the stores I intend to add later on. First, I invested in resin wing tanks Compared to the stock kit's tanks, these seem to have better detail, not to mention lack of a seam to deal with. The downside is that two of the three fins must be glued on, and there are no mounting pins. The resulting buttjoint will be fragile. Also, Trumpeter does not provide a centerline MER, so I picked up these from Eduard: Compare to the MER from the Monogram F-105 kit, which I'm using as a model for the centerline pylon, which I will scratchbuild from plastic stock. Finally, an AIM-9B Sidewinder from a Hasegawa weapon's set, plus a launch rail I'm modifying from the same set: With the paint dry, it's finally time for the unveiling! Overall, I'm quite satisfied, although there are some areas that need touch up, such as: and a few others. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qn30jEkPz7 Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 All coming togehter nicely - already looking like a handsome model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 That's coming along nicely! I'm sure you'll touch up those little areas with no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 (edited) Paint corrections are done, at least to my satisfaction. Next step is the panel wash. But before I began that, I had a little unfinished business to attend to concerning the strike camera... namely, it had to be glued into place. Since it's just a butt joint, I had problems getting it to stay in place long enough for my glues to set (I tried CA, Tamiya Green, and Gator glue). Eventually, good old fashioned Testor's tube glue did the trick For the wash, I used the following products after first airbrushing a gloss coat to protect the camo: Wash going on... And the final result after careful cleaning with enamel thinner: Some select detail shots: Lastly, major panel lines (i.e., leading edge slats and rudder) were highlighted with India ink: I'm need to put in some good build time this weekend if I'm going to be ready for the local model show on August 26. Monday I travel to Boston for a two week business trip, and will have little hobby opportunity while I'm there. So, time is running out. I'm still hopeful to make the date, however. Wish me luck! Finally, another wildlife shot. This little guy was waiting for me when I got home today: As tree frogs go, this one is pretty big, nearly 2 inches long! Edited August 5, 2017 by billn53 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted August 6, 2017 Author Share Posted August 6, 2017 (edited) Good progress today -- Decals are on! It turns out I had three different versions of decals for the Thud I am modeling, "Hanoi Special". First, the Trumpeter kit includes Hanoi Special as one of its decal options. I also have a set from Print Scale, and some old Microscale decals. There are significant differences among the three, see below (kit on the left, Microscale upper right, Print Scale lower right): First off, none of the three agree on what the marking "Hanoi Special" looks like. Microscale's uses stenciled text, Print Scale's is solid and bold, and Trumpeter doesn't even include it on the sheet! The only wide angle photo I have of Hanoi Special is this one, which was taken before she was re-marked following her MiG kills and has a number of differences from her post-kill markings. In particular, the words "Hanoi Special" are very much different from what are on any of the decal sheets; the tail markings are before the high-visibility, large-font "132" and "JJ" code were added; the canopy rail lacks the pilot's name (Lt Waldrop); and (obviously) there are no kill markings present. Without a later photo to go on, I decided to use the Print Scale version of the "Hanoi Special" marking. The tail code markings gave me a different issue. Trumpeter's are much too large and Print Scale's "JJ" marking use the wrong font. Microscale's "JJ" is best of the three. On the other hand, Print Scale's stenciled tail numbers "132" appear to be more accurate than the non-stenciled text used on the Microscale sheet (based on photos of other JJ birds). I decided to mix and match among the best, but ran into a potential disaster in that the Microscale "JJ" decal immediately disintegrated when I tried to remove it from the paper backing. Fortunately, the Microscale sheet includes more than one JJ aircraft, and with an application of Microscale decal film liquid I was able to obtain usable tail codes. Here's the final result of my day's decaling fest: I have a few paint touch-ups to do to repair handling wear, the bare metal gun muzzle area is yet to be painted, and a couple of decals yet to added on the nose. Then I'll be ready to give this build a final matt coat, finish off the cockpit & canopy, and get on to the odds and ends of installing landing gear, various pylons & stores, the tail nozzle "tulip" petals (also bare metal), and the fragile details (e.g., PE antenna blades, pitot tube) that I've deferred for the very end. Edited August 6, 2017 by billn53 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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