erikmuntz

Thanks, Steve! The finished article might not be around for a while with finals coming up in college but weekends will definitely see progress. I'll be taking all of my modeling stuff back to school, I believe Thanks! It's a lot of fun. Just be weary about the IP/intake parts being slightly wide and the wing to fuselage fit. Otherwise, its beautifully designed. The cockpit is pretty simple and if you want the canopy open you'll have to buy an aftermarket one due to the thick nature of the canopy plastic but thats one of the reasons why I like it, simple and fun! I look forward to seeing yours underway.

Hello all, I used to post my work quite a bit on this forum a few years ago and then I headed off to college. I haven't built a model in right around 30 months and I'm glad to be back in it. I went to HobbyLobby with the mum and wondered off to the model aisle and doh! got a model. I normally build 1/48 but I really like this scale. It's tough but a lot of fun, too. The kit I grabbed is Academy's 1/72 P-40E, with Aleutian Tiger markings. I set some ground rules down for myself before I even bought the thing. Rules! 1) budget $20 (kit 6, Tamiya tape 5, glue 5, blades 3.5) 2)everything else I need other than the tape, glue, and blades will come from my modelling box! (all my old stuff) 3)OOB, except for Tamiya tape belts made with left over PE 4) have fun, and don't worry about it being perfect. Just chill and build and enjoy it! On with the build, I'll go in as good a order as I can. Box, sprue shots And here is the makeshift workspace with my old tools. I moved my mums sewing machine outta the way (risky) and set up there. She laughed about it and doesn't mind. First, I worked on the cockpit to try and get back into the rhythm. I hate how the seat turned out (looks way too toy like) and I blame that on me not thinning the paint right. It was a little too thin and just did not apply like I would've liked For the instrument panel, I simply sprayed it black and then drybrushed with white acrylic paint to pull out the instrument details. Then sprayed a flat coat. I really like how it turned out. The sidewalls were painted uneventfully. First went green, picking out raised detail with black/red. Then a dark brown wash (not shown in photos, unfortunately) A flat coat followed all of this. With that done, decided to button this beautifully designed model up. There was a little hassle with the intake piece as well as the instrument panel being too wide but after a little sanding both fit as they should. This photo was taken after a few sprays of paint and filling/sanding. Not too many gaps, to be honest. Most of them were my fault and fixed with some Tamiya Extra Thin and then a good sanding. Once again, I'm not worried about perfection for this build. Right now I just have to fix up some small gaps and then tomorrow I'm picking up Future (I know, I might go over my small budget!) but I need it before masking the canopy pieces. Next, the undercarriage was pretty fun to do up. I was worried about matching the yellow of the Tiger but turns out PollyScale's Orange Yellow is perfect (and I just so happened to have a little of that left!) I haven't weathered the gear as I'm waiting for Future so I can do my washes without stressing out about hurting the paint! I may add some dry brushing of some colour as they are pretty stark right now, or may even mist a darker colour to take off the intensity of the yellow. I would use pastels but those always fade with a coat of Future! Worked on the prop a bit too. Primer (then Alclad, thinking I'd use the salt chipping technique but I didn't), then yellow, then black, and finally chipping using a sponge and aluminum paint from Citadel (I cannot remember the name of the colour) Right before posting this I did a little more, painting the pilots leather headrest and adding the cowl flaps. Here is where she stands right now. (the tape is to prevent me from sanding off detail!) This kit has honestly fit really well, and I think I might pick up their 1/72 P-51B to try my hand at that! I'm painting the airplane Olive Green, as I always thought Olive Drab was a little too brown for these airplanes (my opinion). The white markings will be painted and then masked. I'll post up as soon as I get it primed! Thanks for looking. I look forward to hearing all of your opinions on my progress so far. Thanks in advance for any type of comment. Erik, a really happy college student because he got to model!

Looks great! For masking camo patterns like that you could try blue tac. It's almost like Play-do except for office use (and modeling use!) If you go to Staples or Walmart I believe you will find some, or a product much like it. Its just for putting stuff up around the office! With that in mind, you did a superb job on that camouflage pattern! I don't really think you need masks if you can paint like that! Still following this one with much interest! Erik

Looking great, Peter! Fantastic paint work on a less modeled subject and even a less modeled theatre! Can't wait to see the finished product! Erik

Still looking great. Nice detail work in the pit! Can't wait to see this one unfold more. Erik

Good start! Nice save on that paint color, it'll look great underneath the canopy. Hope you are enjoying the hobby again! Erik

Looking forward to this! I've never built a 1/144 scale aircraft as they are too dang small for me! I'm sure you'll make a good product of it, though! Just remember, patience, patience, patience. Will follow this one avidly!

I to am curious as to the state of this build! I really enjoyed following this thread! Happy new year! Erik

Niceeee. That looks awesome!

Mighty fine way to start off the new year! Looks great! Erik

Incredible paint work, wish I had been watching this one from the get go! Simple great work. Simply great work. Erik

Thanks for the interest! I hope I don't disappoint you! Got a little more done before I'm off to bed tonight. Finished the two radio boxes (moved them as I originally placed them too far aft and added wires to them) Although the Revell kit has an inaccurate cockpit, it has some accurate parts. Robbed one of the parts from the kit sidewall and added to my scratchbuilt piece. Looks the part! And how its looking in the fuselage! Any advice on how to scratchbuild switches? Happy New Year! Erik

Thank you! If you'll notice, the piece with the ribbing is different than the piece that is originally shown with the kit part. I did what you suggested the second time around (but before you suggested it) and did in fact get a flat edge! Thanks again for the advice, though! Erik

Hello and happy new year!! My resolution this year was to learn how to scratchbuild, scratchbuild well, and remain patient while scratchbuilding. My wonderful grandparents gave me the Revell P-61 kit so I thought that would be a great place to start. The cockpit is a hodge podge of P-61 A, B, and C cockpits and as I'm building a B I printed out quite a bit of reference and started to hack away. Most, if not all, will be from styrene, copper, aluminum, and tape. Oh, and wire, of course. This is my first go at scratchbuilding an entire cockpit so I'm relatively pleased with how its turning out. Inspiration comes from Dr. Jellyfingers and Nobby. The things they build, wow! So here we go. I started out by tracing the original part onto a piece of styrene sheet that is a little thinner than the original kit part for a better in scale effect. Next, I cut them out. Here they are next to the kit parts. Some cleaning up will be needed! Some styrene strip for ribbing. Much better than the original unrealistically small ribbing of the kit cockpit! A little while later I drilled some holes and added the oxygen pressure gauge panel as well as the recognition light control box. The wire is .005 brass wire from a telephone wire. Good old stuff you can find in the basement! Any comments and criticism is welcome! This last photo is for a size reference so you know how large side wall is. I also added the two radio control boxes before taking this picture. Still some cleaning up to do, mind you! More to come soon, Erik

Yellow Got the F-84 ready for Alclad with a coat of Gloss Black. Pretty happy with how this turned out. There was some plastic eaten but I was able to fix it up with a quick sand and respray. Weird that even though there was primer down one small area still reacted with the plastic. Hmmm Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na...BATMAN! Haha, Erik