Will Vale

Hi all, I bought this kit when I first spotted it at HLJ - it just seemed like a really cool subject, plus the box art is basically irresistable. If you have a weak will, look away now: The box top is even more dramatic (this is just the end) but doesn't show the overall shape as well. Plus it has LEDs for the interior light and spotlight. I dug it out at the end of last week as an antidote to all the fiddly etch-folding I've been doing on the Stuka, and was intending to put it together as a quick build, but as usual I've been getting bogged down in painting details. I was intending to show a finished model but all I've got so far is a pile of parts and some paint The parts are moulded in colour and snap together, which means you need to be really careful about dry fitting since they don't usually want to come apart again. The construction is heavily layered - there's a lot of plastic in a relatively small space, so the model is satisfyingly dense with an interior frame and then plating attached over that. So far I've build the crew space (spherical pressure vessel) which has a complete interior! I rushed the painting a bit so it's not the best (actually it's pretty bad!) Perhaps I should have used the instrument panel decals but they didn't have a transparent backing. The interior is a full 360 degree thing, in three parts, with a cushioned floor for the crew. You can't see much when it's together, although the light does help, but you can remove the front of the sphere after construction if you want. There are also some nice crew figures which I haven't assembled or painted yet. One thing which was really worthwhile was painting the inside of the pressure vessel with two coats of metallic paint (Citadel Boltgun metal) to stop the light leaking through the plastic. This is appropriate too since the inside appears to be bare metal on the real thing. I'm more pleased with the equipment bays - these are hidden behind panels on the model, you can choose a clear one or removable opaque panels. The bottom bay contains detachable diving weights (they look like piles of plate iron) which will add a bit of interest over the silver. I've made up some of the detail colours, but tried to follow what I saw in this useful video from JAMSTEC, who operate the Shinkai: I'm currently waiting for fine weather so I can give the bodywork panels another coat of gloss white. There are some subtle sink marks from the very '3D' moulding, which it's tempting to ignore but they do show under the gloss. What to do...? Comments and tips welcome! So far I'd recommend the kit, it's not cheap but it's very well made, although the snap-together aspect does get in the way of trying to make a proper job of it at times. Will

Thanks guys! It's been a bit of a slow week owing to a lot of work (and also Mass Effect 3!) but I have managed to make the instrument panel and fit some of the levers to the sidewalls. I'll try and finish the cockpit at the weekend and post some pics then. Will

I've always been rather keen on these, it'll be good to see what it's like to build. I bought the Tamiya Tomcat in a sale last year but haven't dared attempt it yet - it also has the partly-screwed construction, and I *think* I've seen it mentioned in one of their other 1/32 jet reviews as well. It sounds like the kind of thing which will be great if it works and everything fits together, and a pain otherwise Cheers, Will

Those are incredibly compelling before & afters. I've been using Dullcote from a rattle can, and I like it but it isn't anything like as matt as your example. Sounds like a trip to the art shop is on the cards. Will

It's certainly a different take on austerity! I'm just as bad, if not worse - the Tamiya Swordfish floatplane "fell into my basket on the internet" last month when I was buying some extra bits for building an NZLAV. It's not even related!

This is one of those "I had no idea this existed, where can I get one?" kind of kits. Looks great - it's such an interesting shape.

Thanks again for the kind comments, it's been fun so far. I hope I manage to make the transition from fiddly cockpit to scary smooth airframe soon. Today's progress was finishing the painting on the pilot's seat, and assembling the seatbelts. They're from the Big Ed set and were mind-blowing-ly fiddly to put together. I lost two buckles in the carpet but had to find them again because there are no spares on the fret. Take that carpet monster! Like much of this build, I haven't done this before, I feel like it's a milestone of sorts I highlighted the seat and then glazed it a couple of times to take the edge off the highlights and restore the sheen, I think it still looks a bit like a Penguin biscuit though. When that was mostly dry I attached the very ends of the belts with CA gel, and weathered them with a mix of GW Devlan Mud and Knarlock Green to try and get a canvas colour. That gave the glue time to set properly. Then I bent them to follow the seat and tacked them in place with more CA. Finally a few shadows with Badab Black under the buckles, which you probably can't see in this picture since it's got a strong directional light in it. Ah well. I think I need a lie down and a stiff drink! Possibly both... Will

That looks great. Very neat and restrained weathering. Is the interior all from the kit?

That looks fantastic - so much fine detail. How did you get such a good result rolling the cylindrical mesh cage (oxygen bottle holder?) on the seat? I saw the preserved NX665 at MoTaT recently and was somewhat awestruck - people talk about the "cavernous bomb bay" but you can't really appreciate it until you're right in front of it. Will

Thanks all, my ears are burning I haven't had much time the last three days, but the next things to do are repaint the oxy hose in a darker blue, and highlight the seat leather. Then paint chips, I think. Hopefully I can get it closed up this week.

I was hoping there might end up being a big helicopter in the group build. This definitely fits the bill! I scaled the dimensions from Wikipedia - assuming they're accurate your model is going to be over 2 feet long!

Thanks for the explanation of the materials, always helps to know what the real one is made of!

And yet more cockpit stuff (sorry!) I tried to get some other things in shot this time and use a more realistic exposure to show what the dark (or is it?) grey looks like: Most of the sidewall etch is on now apart from levers and the free-standing dials by the radio which I'll leave until as late as possible. I found some suggestions that oxygen hoses were often blue, so there it is. It's a bit bright though! Probably needs toning down? It turns out GW Adeptus Battlegrey is a very close match to the Tamiya Gunship Grey 2 - just a tiny bit darker. I've been carefully painting this over the bare edges and plain grey areas on the pre-painted etch and I think it looks like it belongs a bit more now. The panel with the breakers has had this treatment and another layer of wash, the others have just been painted. I also had a go with a Taklon brush I bought last year but hadn't used much yet. For this kind of detail work with acrylics it does a nice job - the bristles are slightly more self-supporting than something like sable so it's easier to keep the paint where you want it without going down to a tiny size. My hands were a bit shaky tonight but I don't think that's *too* obvious in the result. I'm quite pleased with how the seat cushion is going - it reminds me of a leather chair we had when I was a kid. I think once this wash has dried really hard I'll add some subtle highlights and start working on the belts. Comments and suggestions most welcome - is there anything I haven't added that really should be in there? Apart from the instrument panel obviously Will

What a great idea, and lovely lines too. I'd like to join in but I want to finish something before starting something new...

That's really impressive - it looks, as my dad would say, "like a bought one". By which I mean you can't tell that it wasn't moulded open. Did you work from the inside on the U-shaped part?

After the washes dried (mostly!) last night I couldn't resist adding some of the coloured etch. There is definitely a colour mismatch but I think I can live with it. I'll probably apply a wash/filter over the etched parts to try and tie things together since they look very clean at the moment. As I suspected, the radios are my favourite bit. Despite having to move them to the right to clear an instrument, then move them back because they hit one on the other side! I also lost one of the tiny needles, but the carpet monster gave it back and it's stuck on firmly now. I did lose a 2x1mm placard though, but I can replace that with paint. The seats and sidewall are loose here, which is why the seat is resting on the bulkhead - the Miliput cushion makes it top heavy. I feel vindicated in my decision not to add the etched seat frame for the pilot because it would be ultra-flimsy and 100% invisible once the cockpit is closed up. Less pleased with the assembly and clean up of the gunner's seat, you can see where the glue has squeezed a bit where the base joins the sides (weld seams??) and there are some mould lines visible in the mesh bit. I could do with help on a couple of issues: How safe is it to paint over Eduard's printing with enamels or acrylics, and what colour should the oxygen hose be? I added it from a line drawing in the Aero Detail book but it isn't there in the photos. Thanks! Will

That looks utterly fantastic! Love the cockpit and the variation in tones on the wings.

Thanks, that's very kind of you! Not a very exciting update follows: I've not done anything this week, mainly because I've been waiting for my LMS to get the paint I wanted back in stock. I primed the cockpit parts in black and was intending to use that as a pre-shade for a TS-4 (German Grey) base coat. In the interests of progress I went hunting around in the garage for more paint and decided that I'd try Gunship Grey 2 as it appeared to match various cockpit elements (such as the radios) in the Aero Detail book. I sprayed diagonally from the top of the cockpit and then again straight onto the side walls to try and keep some black in the recesses. Unfortunately the cold weather (I assume) has meant the finish over the pre-shade is a bit splattery and dithered-looking. Luckily the solid areas are pretty smooth, and the dark bits are either in recesses or hidden below protruding instruments and the like. It's also a bit lighter than I thought it'd be, but hopefully that'll provide a basis for washes and so on. Dark washes and detail painting are probably the next steps, then adding the coloured etch and more washes and weathering. [edit] Having looked at this a bit more I think it's maybe much too light? I've applied a dark pin wash and started scrubbing some black pigment into the floor - it looks nice and grubby but it does seem v. light even with the sidewalls on. Mind you, the Eduard etch which should match is both lighter and bluer than my too-light-too-blue grey... I dunno. Will see what it looks like in the a.m. Will

That's beautiful. The dark-on-light drybrushing is very effective. The highlights for me are the close-ups of the scratched, maybe corroding, front and rear mud/track guards, and the way the track edges are cleaner leaving the sprocket than they are entering it. Awesome attention to detail.

It's great to see the big one, makes me want one even more. I love the work you've done on the chain oilers and brake system, that adds a great deal to an already excellent kit. Will

Thanks Bruce, that's actually the video that gave me the diorama idea! Hopefully the above picture makes the layout clearer - the Sherman will be in front of the tree line and accessible from the road. I've done some experimental 'parking' moves on the base (while trying not to make brum brum noises) and I think the reverse is possible. If not, then artistic license will have to do It'd be more difficult to show the tractor towing the tank with the Academy kit than the Tamiya one, since the folded A-frame is all one piece and can't be raised without some chopping and scratchbuilding of the rams. I'd like to do a towing diorama in 1/35th though, it'd take less space and be cheaper than the full tractor/trailer combination. Maybe next year... Will

Thanks for the kind words. A Panther is a really appealing load though - huge, interesting-looking, and there's some good photographic evidence. I've also seen 1/35th models with mini-subs, aircraft wrecks (Fw 190?) and LCMs on the back. I haven't done much this week, lots of work happening, but I did spend some time yesterday researching the terrain around Foy with Google Maps and carving up the foam layer. Today I added some filler - it's a bit hard to see what's going on since the picture is rather white-on-white, but there's a road on the RHS leaving the edge of a pine plantation. The tree-line runs along the back at right-angles to the road, behind the wee ditch separating that from the field. The field itself slopes down to the front left-hand corner. When the filler's a bit drier (it doesn't take long) I'll go over it with a brush and stipple away the spatula marks. I suspect I'll end up using DAS clay on the road, possibly over a sheet of plastic or cardboard to give a smooth surface. Will

Not a Pacific 'plane, but I was extremely impressed with the fit and finish of the Tamiya Do335A Pfeil. I don't think I'd built a 1/48 scale plane before and it went together very nicely. The wing-to-fuselage joint was particularly good, and it was basically impossible to mess up the dihedral or indeed anything else. It shows up in HLJ sales from time to time, often with a Kettenkrad in the box if you like dioramas. Will

I just spotted and caught up with this whole thread, it's been really inspirational. I was lucky enough to be given the Soya 1st and 3rd corps kits for Christmas (OK, I spotted them at a bargain price and my wife took them away again until Christmas...) but I've been holding off on building them until my etched brass confidence is a bit higher. I've been attempting Trumpeter's LCS-2 to help with that, it has etch but there's not so much of it. Your wartime conversion is a great idea, and looks like it's progressing really well, should make a great display alongside the other three. Thanks, Will

You're right of course. But I do wonder if the prospect of shiny new might put people off the old ones, hence the discount? I'm happy either way.