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The Thousand Mile War - Amchitka, Spring 1943


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That's an offer I can't refuse. Thanks.

I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer I gave earlier...:)

See post 446 above.

I will be following O great one.

Jeff

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Absolutely out of this world.

Hello Jim.

Still gonna twist his arm for a Mustang build!!

Regards:

Shaun

I submit! North-American P-51 Mustang. - Serial Unknown, 'WU.B 'of 225 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Algeria, May 1943.

I will be following O great one.

Jeff

Patient you must be. :)

Edited by per ardua ad ostentationem
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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow, today's work was the hardest of the whole project so far. I had to overcome the inertia generated by a 10 day lay off modelling. That's always difficult for me but especially so at this time of year when work is so busy and tiring. Anyway, it's the holidays now and I'm back at the bench.

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The pilot stood on the burning deck

His knees were all a'quiver

He gave a cough

His leg fell off

And floated down the river!

Not the best re-start, perhaps? :)

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Decals on the props. Slightly different ones to the 'new' aircraft. The story is coming together nicely.

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I scraped the spilt glue off. I'll hide it with painted battle damage repairs. Do you like the cracked perspex?

I noticed that I hadn't filled the aerial locating hole. Early model aircraft have the hf aerial wire stretched from fin to wingtips.

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I've filled with CA and baking soda. Not enough enthusiasm right now for anything fancy.

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Exhausts on and the dude in. Probably fall out tomorrow! Remember he was originally a Luftwaffe pilot? He's a G-D saboteur!

It's good to be back.

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Just read all the way from the start of the build and I think its amazing. I really like the variety you have achieved with the 3 P-40s. I can believe they are the same kit!. One small thing that you can have a think about... On the new aircraft, would the tiger heads be free from exhaust stains as the aircraft might not have been flown since painting them on. This could definitely be the case with the one on the right hand side as it is still a WIP.

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Welcome back!

Good save, like the cracked perspex! You could always 'throw' a 'tarpaulin' over the plane to hide the glue mark...

Still watching this build like a hawk!

Thanks, I will undaoubtedly be using the old tarp ploy at some point in this project!

Just read all the way from the start of the build and I think its amazing. I really like the variety you have achieved with the 3 P-40s. I can believe they are the same kit!. One small thing that you can have a think about... On the new aircraft, would the tiger heads be free from exhaust stains as the aircraft might not have been flown since painting them on. This could definitely be the case with the one on the right hand side as it is still a WIP.

Dammit you are right. I was hoping no-one would notice. I thought of it a little too late and consoled myself with the excuse that it's being painted between sorties??? OK. You got me, I'll see what I can do about it. :)

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In that case don't bother with it. I also had that explanation in my mind aswell. I'm not in the business of making more work for people because I know what I'd do if I were in your position...

This isn't work - it's playing with my toys!

And a big welcome to the gang. I didn't notice you were a new poster at first. I'm honoured to have your first post!

Edited by per ardua ad ostentationem
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Today's short session (two hours) doesn't seem to have accomplished much.

I worked the propellers a little. I took the shine off the new prop and then wore the paint down a little on the others.

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I like the effect at the tip where the yellow is abraded to show black and then metal.

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A bit more metal showing on the prop for the crashed a/c.

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I've been working acrylic washes over the silver chipping on the panel fasteners. I'm not there yet but it's interesting work.

I've had a little trouble with acrylics over enamels, the oiliness seems to get in the way a bit. I am learning as I go along

though and that's fun.

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There's that battle damage repair work. Good old Speedtape over a handful of splinter holes. That should pique the curiosity

of the observer.

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The wing, post washes and with a hugely abraded root. I feels waaay overdone, but before you dismiss it, look at the pictures

above showing the effect of volcanic sand on P-40 paint.

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And finally, the underneath. I'm rarely happy with the bottoms of my birds. At least this one won't be very obvious and it's all

good practice. I haven't worked this to a photo, which is why it looks so unreal. I'll see what I can do tomorrow.

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Looking good Don,

Thanks Mish.

Looking excellent Don, you're getting really good with this weathering lark! You can see you've put a lot of thought into all aspects of each aircraft, it's immense.

Lots of thought and not much technique! It never goes the way I want it, but I guess we all think that.

This just gets better and better.

Cheers Jim

Looking ace mate.

Thanks Moofles

The prop is really a beauty, Don.

Thanks Antoine, it's one part of this a/c that I'm reasonably pleased with.

Some nice touches and techniques on display here, nice work Don.

Si.

Thanks Si.

Got to agree with what folks have said. I've been watching this take shape and I'm always impressed by anybody who paints markings!

Well thanks Nobby. Remember, it just might be that I am not good at decaling! lol.

Now I have the attention of the experts, can I ask for a little advice. What's the deal with these weathering pigments then? In particular:

Tamiya/MiG productions vs. ground up pastels?

Application methods?

How are they sealed afterwards?

I'm thinking that a selection of greys applied to everything on the dio will unify the project artistically, BUT might just make it look horribly dusty. Should I - shouldn't I?

Edited by per ardua ad ostentationem
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Hi Don

For the cheaper option to start with, the art shop in St. Peters Church Yard in Derby sell individual pastel sticks, easily ground up to experiment with. I just scrape a bit off with a scalpel blade.

For a really heavy dusting, I 'scrub' it on dry with a short bristled brush, or for a 'grubby' look, mix it into a 'slurry' with water, slop it on then wipe it off with a damp cloth after it's dry. If you do it on an unvarnished matt surface it leaves a 'ground in' kind of dirty look that worked well on some desert vehicles. It's well worth having a play with to see if you like the effect.

Damon

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Damon is right about the cheapest option, Don.

But the best lazy one is tamiya, for those reasons:

- You got three tone in each box

- There's a little brush with swab at the other end, useful totreat any parts very precisely.

- As aircraft doesn't recquire the same amout of pigment as the AFV, there is more than enough in a box for dozen of aircraft

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Post Christmas odds and ends. The houseguests have left and taken my resident family with them. I'm alone at last. I love my family but socializing is such a trial of strength to me and I'm really appreciating the silence here today. So back to the job in hand...

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Sliding canopy attached. You notice it's a different colour? It was replaced at the same time the splinter holes were patched. You can see the damages quarter-light panels too.

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The HF aerial runs from wingtip to wingtip via the fin leading edge. I stared by knotting a piece of 1lb fishing line and threading a wingtip. Don't worry about the big clumsy knot, it's not staying long.

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Through the fin and the other wingtip and tensioned by a pair of self locking tweezers. ith the tweezers keeping it all tight, I turned her over and applied a tiny drop of CA to the hole with one of these.

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Needles with the top of the eye filed off, mounted in sprue handles. They hold exactly the same amount of CA each time and capillary action pulls the fluid into the hole. Nice and tidy and more predictable than a brush, cocktail stick, bit of wire etc. When they clog, clean them by passing through a flame.

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Left for ten minutes for the CA to cure.

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Result!

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Trimmed with a slash of the scalpel, the glue's all in the hole, the surface ready for a touch up. Tidy!

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The whip aerial, courtesy of the dog. It's a whisker too long, and so I'll trim it to match the other aircraft in due course.

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I've also fitted the wheels and the prop so she's now too tall to hide in the drawer any more. New hangarage on the bookcase will encourage me to get on with it.

Thanks for the suggestions on the use of pigments guys. I still want to know if you seal the results with any varnish though. If so does it affect the colour?

That's it for today. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday as much as me, now get back to work! Build kits! Post threads! Have fun! And don't forget to boogie!

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Thanks for the suggestions on the use of pigments guys. I still want to know if you seal the results with any varnish though. If so does it affect the colour?

It does need sealing, especially if put on as dry powder, otherwise it rubs off every time it gets touched. I used spray matt varnish from a can straight over the pigment wash and it did 'knock back' the colour tones to a degree, helping them to blend. Again it's probably best to experiment to see what effect you can achieve and whether you like it or not.

Just remembered, I've also got some pastel pencils that I've tried; You can 'scribble' some pigment into an area and then give it a flick over with a damp brush to blend it.

Damon

Edited by Nomad
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