spitfire23bc Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 (edited) I'm in with one of these, and some PE/decal bling from Paragraphix. Dan Edited February 16, 2012 by spitfire23bc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It'sAllGoneHorriblyWrong Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Very nice, but shouldn't he have taken off his helmet before answering the phone? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire23bc Posted October 5, 2011 Author Share Posted October 5, 2011 Here's the progress so far: I've sanded off the raised detail, installed some of the PE and done some priming of the tub and the rest of the cockpit PE. I've also glued the wing sections and vertical tail together and dryfitted most of the larger parts to get a sense of how cool this will look when finished. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 Looking good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the South African Posted October 6, 2011 Share Posted October 6, 2011 Really nice work there watching with intrest! Regards: Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire23bc Posted October 15, 2011 Author Share Posted October 15, 2011 Thanks for the comments I think I'm just about done with the cockpit. Lots of PE installed, decals+Klear for the controls and displays, and some guitar string on the top of the seat for the hoses there. The photos have shown up some bits of paint that need touching up, but I'm very pleased with the overall effect. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmonk Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Great looking cockpit, the PE really sets it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Superb! Very busy and interesting cockpit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire23bc Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 Thanks folks. I'm really enjoying this one! In a way, it's nice to not have lots of historical photos to use as references. Usually, I build WWII aircraft and go for accuracy, but I think I'm enjoying giving myself a bit more freedom with this one. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Is that a windscreen wiper on a spaceship? lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 They were supposed to be atmosphere capable so it wouldn't be totally out of place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Kesterton Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Very impressive - the cockpit does look very good with the decal screens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham77 Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 That cockpit looks great, you've probably seen it but its also in Airfix Model World this month with some nice little tips on weathering and painting the Viper if you are after the worn look. Looking forward to seeing this one progress Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 Is that a windscreen wiper on a spaceship? lol. Nope, no Viper wiper here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire23bc Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 Is that a windscreen wiper on a spaceship? lol. Not sure where you're looking; I can't see a windscreen wiper! Very impressive - the cockpit does look very good with the decal screens. Thanks very much! The Paragraphix bits are great. That cockpit looks great, you've probably seen it but its also in Airfix Model World this month with some nice little tips on weathering and painting the Viper if you are after the worn look. Looking forward to seeing this one progress Graham Thanks Graham. I hadn't seen that; I may have to try and pick up a copy. I do have a few ideas about the sort of weathering I want to do. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
It'sAllGoneHorriblyWrong Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 The build in Airfix Model World is interesting but a bit too heavily weathered for my taste. I could scan the article for you if you're interested, just PM me. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire23bc Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Some time later... The pilot is painted up: I've done some more painting (I really do love Alclad!): And the fuselage is glued up: The fuselage has had a bit of the putty-sand-repeat treatment and is nearly ready for a coat of primer. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrvr6 Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Very nice, but shouldn't he have taken off his helmet before answering the phone? Andy its hands free technically he isnt holding it lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 This is looking good, the cockpit especially looks great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire23bc Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 Thanks again for the kind words folks. Progress is slow, and I seem to have spend the last week or two doing nothing but putty-sand-repeat, but it's starting to look like a Viper now... Here it is with some primer. I've modified the tabs on the wings so that I'll be able to leave them off until the end, rather than attaching them at this point. And a bit more of the aft fuselage has been stuck on. The nozzles aren't glued, but are just there to guide the rest as the glue sets. I've made a start at excavating a lot of the plastic inside the nozzles to make way for some more photoetch (I'm not entirely convinced of the wisdom of this, but I've already started, so I don't have much choice now ). On the one hand, the way the model fits together is quite clever (The bits snap together in such a way that they keep each other in the right place - it is possible to dry fit the whole thing together and swoosh it around), but it will make painting very awkward (it does leave some rather huge gaps to fill as well, and the join between the bottom/aft fuselage/cowling pieces is pretty unimpressive). I've painted up the exposed engine components here, and will mask this off for the white, but I'm pretty sure there are going to be some bits that I'll struggle to get at (the top intake, for example, had to be painted before I stuck the upper bits on). The eagle-eyed among you might have spotted that the pilot sitting behind the Viper is a new one. I bought the MkVII this week (which comes with the option for a female pilot) and decided to swap the pilots, so the MkII will be Starbuck's (I just have to remember which paints I used for the first pilot so they match...). Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Very nice work! Looking good so far! Cheers, Håkan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smiffy Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I hope you're gonna do it nice 'n' beat up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) I hope you're gonna do it nice 'n' beat If you are I recommend using maskol to chip the paint, as per the viper build article in the airfix magazine last year. It's worked really well on my snowspeeder. Edited January 20, 2012 by Neal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire23bc Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 I'm not planning on doing it too battered, but it'll certainly get a bit of salt-masking and be dirtied up a bit. I'm struggling on with the rear fuselage at the moment - the gaps are really quite huge... And I'm not quite sure how I'm going to sand down some of the filler I've had to apply in awkward places. The butchering of the nozzles also continues Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMChladek Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 (edited) Do you plan to cut the stick in the cockpit away when you mount the figure? If so, there is going to be a bit of a disconnect between the stick molded in the pilot's hand and the stem in the cockpit with the figure's arm and stick looking like it is floating above the floor. I encountered that problem when I built my Viper a little over a year ago. In my case, I drilled a hole through the base of the stick in the hand and one in the floor and used a piece of music wire to join them and a small piece of brass rod to act as a thick stem. So when the pilot got slotted into the pit, the stick grip with the hole in it aligned on the base perfectly and made the join look seamless: These images are not intended as a thread hijack, just an illustration of the modification I did in case you want to try something similar. Edited January 28, 2012 by JMChladek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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