CheshireGap
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Posts posted by CheshireGap
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Told you I slow...this one is within an ace of the finish line now so this post will finish the WiP.
We left it with the primer down and various shades of the light blue, time to follow up with the top colours: this is a RLM17/74 scheme, and not having the wings attached yet makes things a lot easier
After dealing with some overspray, lightened versions of the colours were used to add variation, perhaps a bit too subtle as most of this seem to vanish after the gloss went down
Decals were an issue, the larger ones proved too fragile to use, so I had to source the main insignia from other sheets; I just about got away with the codes and most of the stencils, but all the decals were somewhat too bright and would need toning down.
Finally some main assembly, and there is indeed no gap to worry about - full marks Monogram! A wash follows and then some streaking and weathering
A shot of the underside also shows nothing worth worrying about at the wing roots; more weathering and its nearly done
There is a queue of finished models needing their pictures taken as Ready for Inspection, I will add this to the end and post a bundle when get time!
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I am big believer in keeping the learning curve simple; its hard enough getting paint mixes, air pressures, distance from the model and general technique right without also having to master the double action; I do recommend starting with a continuous double action brush, usually identified by a trigger, such as the Mr Hobby PS-275 Procon Boy. There are others like the Hansa 310 and the H&S Grafo series that use a conventional button but are still continuous double action.
Personally I feel I am still grappling with paint and pressure even after all this time, so am still using my Hansa in preference to the H&S Infinity, and do not feel I am missing out at all.
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Those shots of the cockpit with its fictional seat finish it for me, I'm out!
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On 18/06/2023 at 08:09, Giorgio N said:
The wheel wells were open as on the prrvious MC.200. Later a cover was introduced to keep sand away when operating in the desert but this was not always used as had to be removed for certain maintenance jobs
I can confirm that there is one option provided (option D) for the wheel wells to be open, with no cover; there are number of parts specific for this option, and the instructions cater for them with one major omission: whilst there is a step (13) for fitting the gun deck for options A, B, C, E, F, G & H, there is no equivalent stop for D, unlike all the other steps, so a bit of guesswork may be required.
Given the covers have a couple of nasty ejector pin marks on the inside, this might be a good option; overall the kit looks good, what I am not so keen on is that, unlike say Eduard, Italeri do not provide plastic alternatives to some of the PE parts, e.g. the foot plates, so if you do not like using PE you may not enjoy this kit as much as you should.
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Those are some pretty chunky mounts for exhaust - there do appear to be a number of design details in common with the Hobbyboss 1/32 Vb, despite the difference in scale. Nice to see a decent amount of pipework provided though.
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Whilst I welcome the advent of Border into the aircraft space - who doesn't want more kits to choose from - the scale does put me off somewhat, though I have to say the shot of the wing undersides puts me off more: no ramps on the radiator, and those blisters do not look right to me. Seeing what their other kits retail for, I suspect the upcoming Kotare Vb will not be that much more expensive, albeit without an engine, and may prove more accurate.
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Its been a while since I did WiP, modelling mojo has been lacking so there has been little progress with the 4 kits I have at various stages, but one that is now heading for the paint shop is this old one from Revell-Monogram under their Pro-Modeller badge. It is very much showing its age, with some nice moulding in places
First thing I noticed was damage: I have had this kit in the stash a long, long time, so this may have been caused by me sometime in the past, but I have no memory of doing it (or of a lot of things now it has to be said)
There is some nice detail moulding, and even some slide moulding, innovative for the period (1997)
However on the downside there are some chunky gates...
...and some dodgy spelling...
...which may be why they decided to do this:
Seriously!?! even in 1997 this must have been an obviously bad idea, I know Revell did this a lot in the 60's & 70's, if they even thought about it now...
Anyway, on with the show...the cockpit is the usual Monogram attempt to get as much as possible into a single piece, with varying results but here not bad, so addition were restricted to some wiring behind the instrument panel and the shoulder harnesses, that were missing even though lap belts were moulded in. Otherwise just carful painting and weathering.
Main construction is not too hard, but everything needs a fettle and I decided to go to lengths to get the fit as good as possible in all areas, adding wedges where necessary to reduce steps and mismatches. Filling was mainly around the wing leading edges and the air intake to the side of the nacelles, 3M Red glazing putty was used as usual
The repair to the damage on the nose underside is looking good, just the merest trave visible under a test coat of paint; again this was the 3M
I wasn't going to rivet originally as I couldn't find any plans online, but in the end thought what the heck and made some up! its only light so won't show too much
The nacelle & wing joints are looking quite good now
Next up was the undercarriage; Monogram actually moulded the brake line in place, it isn't great but I decided to improve it rather than replace it, and do you know what it isn't bad!
That big canopy is next, and it is as fiddly as it looks! there is some heavy internal framing moulded on the inside to paint, but the framing on the outside is a bit poorly defined making the masking tricky, and the undercut on the gunners windows means a multi-piece canopy that doesn't line up easily
It is on, but there is a bit of a step between the two halves, which, thanks to the use of superglue, I ham going to have to live with.
And we are up to painting stage; and yes wings and fuselage are not together yet! I believe that the wing to fuselage joint is good enough, at least on the top, to get away with painting them separately, which will make masking a whole lot easier. So far I have only got down a mix of Vallejo RML 84 and AK RML 76 version 2 over a coat of MRP Grey Primer
TBH I am mixed about the AK Interactive 3rd generation; I have tried so far only their grey primer - it wipes off with light finger pressure making it completely useless and the bottle is going in the bin - which was frankly a waste of 8 quid, and this RLM 76 disagreed with my preferred thinner and retarder, I had to make several mixes with different brands before coming up with a version that looked half decent, and tbh that was probably only because I increased the proportion of Vallejo. I am unlikely to try them again for airbrushing but they do look like they would be good for brush painting detail, so I may try an interior colour or two. For airbrushing I am an MRP convert.
Next up is a 74/75 camo, and there is a Hobbyboss 1/48 Me-262 waiting in the wings for a similar scheme. I did not take enough photos to really warrant a WiP for that, but here is a taster:
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3 hours ago, Bonkin said:
The canopy frame has little pieces at the front which clip to the inside of the cockpit frame. I really don't know what Airfix were thinking with these...
... because as you slide the canopy back the front ends will get squeezed together due to the narrowing of the fuselage
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Which I think I am right in saying is exactly what happened on the real thing! that is not an ordinary bit of frame down the centreline of the canopy, it is a hinge that allowed the front sides to flex inwards as the caopy moved backwards. Airfix have simply modelling the original mechanism (https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/focke-wulf-fw-190-a-8-in-detail-revisited/ third picture down)
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17 hours ago, occa said:
I wonder when the kit makers will stop adhering to that blunt fin root, it looks daft and is aerodynamically wrong.
The real AC had a sharp leading edge from the root on.Not sure I get this? These photos of the A-8 at the Imperial War Museum, London, show the blunt fin root is real: https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/home/focke-wulf-fw-190-a-8-in-detail-revisited/
One photo is even captioned "A peculiar feature of the Fw 190 was the very thick base of the fin."
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That is some stunning airbrush skill there, and you do what you like with your flaps 😁! Especially if that is how they are provided in the kit - if its wrong blame Italeri! 😇
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54 minutes ago, ABeck said:
Fresh from Brett´s What´s New - Hyperscale . This was built by Dieter "Conny" Wiegmann who constructs pre series testshots for the box-photos you find on Revell kits. Dieter does this job since decades now. One of his finest and hardest jobs was the 32nd scale Super Hornet which consistet roughly 50% of putty due to the bad quality of the first testshots.
I note that it has all the guns a IIB needs and in the correct alignment as well, so we needn't have worried
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16 minutes ago, alt-92 said:
Not quite as simple as that.
Notice the barrels protruding from the leading edge.
I was assuming that including barrels to go into the flashed over holes would be part of the plan! What would be useful though is a view of the top wing to see if the panel lines for the access hatches are moulded in place.
And that is a great picture of the world's cleanest gun bay! One for the reference library
19 minutes ago, alt-92 said:If you're marketing a kit as a Mk.IIB ánd blast your pictures of said test build all over your brand's social media channels, do yourself a favour and ensure those test builds are actually representative of the plane you purport to sell a kit of.
It's meant to entice people to buy it, after all
Agreed, it is not good marketing, I am just saying we shouldn't rush to judgement without the complete picture - or just a few dodgy ones!
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I for one will be buying this kit without any worries:
- Radu has been on (cough) "another forum" to confirm the kit does indeed have the correct dihedral
- there are clear panels in u/c roof, so that is actually a nice design touch
- the extra guns could be just flashed over holes that need opening up, hardly pushing the limit of modelling skills
- the test shot may be still using some 3D printed parts, and the moulds clearly hadn't been polished at that point, so the texture will disappear in the final version I am sure; remember the 3D printed test shots of the new Zoukei-Mura 109? Who would have bought that kit based on those?
- as for the cockpit, chances are I will be buying a Barracuda seat and snapshot upgrade anyway, but I think it will be better than the test shot
All in all its a new 1/32 Hurricane for barely £40 at the checkout...I am just sad that this, the Kotare & Airfix Spitfires and the Italeri Folgore did not make it in time for Telford, I think the traders missed not having a must-have kit or two to sell this year.
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Have to admit this is my most anticipated release of 2022 (sorry Border/Kotare/GWH etc!). Anyone able to say if November in fact means it will be available at Telford...?
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Count me in, and probably for the first limited edition dual combo...and the second...
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Given your intended use, and if you are as ham-fisted as me, you may find continuous action airbrushes to your liking - these are essential double-action with a trigger, which makes handling a lot easier, and in my case cuts out the spatter caused when you can't quite get the hang of a conventional double-action. Look for models by Iwata, Procyon, Sparmax, and there are also models from Hansa with a button rather than a trigger - the 281 & 381 are great workhorses if you are not trying to do anything fancy. Most have a bigger needle and nozzle combo making them ideal for blocks of colour.
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On 28/08/2022 at 19:27, Shorty84 said:
Nice build. The P-39 is one of my favourites (tricycle landing gear, aft mounted engine, car doors, ... what's not to like?). The Eduard decals are fascinating. If the removal of the carrier film works, they really look like painted.
I hope you don't mind if I add a piece of unnecessary information. If you want to show the 'car doors' open, the most common (and realistic) way would be to just have the starboard door open as only this side was used for entering or leaving the cockpit. The reason was that on the other side there were some items mounted on the floor and you could easily trip over them.
When looking at photos you'll notice that almost always only the starboard door is open.
Cheers
Markus
Thanks Markus, but because of the poor fit on mine both doors will be open, albeit not the same on both sides!
I am actually calling this done now, wheels and associated doors are on, prop on, aerial rigged, looks good to me. First finish in two years, working from home over the last two years killed my mojo only just getting it back and this one has helped (there is a Revell 1/48 Mossie that took up a lot of time and is probably going to end up on the Shelf of Doom as everything around the nacelles is so poor).
Overall a good kit from Eduard, not up to their current standards, it lacks some finesse but presents no real problems aside from the poor fit of the canopy (too narrow on mine).
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Finishing line in sight, all decals on and film peeled off, pastel work and chipping, then sealed with a good layer of gloss. A little oil streaking with thinned Starship Filth, and I am going to call a halt to the weathering and start adding the small bits.
The only wash is a bit a Tamiya black in the ailerons, flaps and elevators, the rest is pre-shading and pastel work.
Up next are the wheels, pitot, centreline tank and gun barrels!
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Seems a long time since I posted a WiP, and indeed it is - I have been very unproductive since the start of the pandemic, for various reasons, but at last one kit (out of the 4 on the go) is coming close to a conclusion. Its Eduard's 2021 Weekend boxing of their Airacobra, and I am going for the box-art scheem, Pat-Riot II
There are no photos of the early stages, suffice to say the cockpit is standard but with a Quickboost seat and a Yahu IP to liven things up. There was a lot of dry fitting and in the end I used a piece of sprue to spread the fuselage and reduce the gaps at the wing roots
Cockpit overall looks good, the after market seat certainly adds to it
Wings on, and as usual its out with the re 3M putty to solve the gaps - love this stuff, quick to dry, and sands so easily to a smooth finish
I decided to fully rivet again - it seems to add something even if strictly the effect is over-scale. All panel line and rivets were washed with black now, before painting
Then it was out with the underside colour, tbh the box art looks so close to RLM76 I decided to use that and broke out an old bottle of Tamiya - no primer, all straight on to the plastic to make the most of that panel line wash
For the topside, I used MRP Sabbia (the Italian Sand colour), with just a slight dash of yellow & red to make it more fleshy, over some pre-shading - this is after the first coat
And this is the final effect, a little lost under the lights
Decal time! 2021 boxing, I hear you muse, does that mean it has the new decals with the removal carrier film? I wondered the same, and turns out it does! Give them 24 hours to dry and be very careful with a cocktail stick and broad grip tweezers and this really does work. Here's the serial number with carrier removed for the painted on look.
Much easier than masks But don't worry if you don't fancy trying it, even left on these are some of the best decals with a carrier film that very nearly vanishes - here is the other side with the carrier film still on:
Mot of them will come off in one peice, such as this stars and bars piece, the stencils though are getting all a bit small, and the sheer quantity increasing the risk of damage, so I am only removing the more obvious of those
That brings things mostly up to date, there is a Kitty Hawk 1/32 version of the same also under way as a nice comparison, though that will be done in a European or Eastern Front scheme, will get a WiP of that going soon.
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An amazing WiP which must have taken you as long to make as the model! I salute your patience!
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Superb finish, especially the weathering!
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If I am being brutally honest, a P-38 variant that we all knew was on the cards at some point given the two previous P-38 releases, is a bit of a disappointment...I know its a beautiful kit and I may indulge in the -F release sometime, but I was hoping for something genuinely new (and larger!)
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I think this is massive news; if you don't count short run kits (sorry Fly & PCM) there hasn't been a 1/32 Hurricane from a major manufacturer since the first Revell kit in 1969 - that is 53 years, folks. Given any number of Spitfires, 109s, 190s, 262s, P-40s, P-51s & Corsairs from the likes of Tamiya, Hasegawa, Revell, & Trumpyboss in the last 20 years alone, with more to come from the likes of Kotare (Spitfire), Zoukei Mura (109 & 190) & Great Wall Hobby (P-40), the Hurricane is probably the most poorly kitted major WWII fighter in this scale bar none.
Put me down for at least one, and start hoping for a IIC in a desert scheme as the next boxing!
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Setting the bar high there, very well done!
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In praise of the Wingsy 1/48 Bf109 -E-3
in Work in Progress - Aircraft
Posted
Seems a long time since I posted, and it is, and I am behind on putting up some RFI pictures but I wanted to posted the only work in progress photos I took of the Wingsy Kits 1/48 109 E-3, because it is such a great kit they deserve the praise, particularly under the horrible circumstances this small Ukrainian company is working under. I bought this one from the Hannants stand at Telford, I think 3 years ago, I forget such things as dates and years now.
So first off, this kit has some flaws, I won't hide that, but they are very few: the main one for me is that you have no choice in many places but to use PE, there are no plastic alternatives for parts like the pilot's headrest and radiator flaps. In my books there should always be a plastic alternative, but Wingsy are not the only people to do this, Italeri have done the same with their large scale Folgore. The only other real flaw is that the exhausts will not fit at all as they stand, you will have to carve off some chunks to get them in, but once they are in they are great.
Apart from that the detail is first class and the fit of parts is outstanding; I only had to finesse the gun cowl cover a little to improve the fit of the keyhole-shaped section at the front, and some minor work around the flaps around where the radiator area. Aside from that, no problems, to the point that I could do this:
Yup, all the major parts got all their major painting before they were put together! How many kits can you say that about? Was it a problem later? Er, NO!
You see an obvious join there? Or here?
And look at the surface detail, its as good as anyone else you might care to mention.
I will post some RFI pics when I get round to taking them, but I can say the decals are fine, they look a little glossy but they work well. I did buy a Microscale sheet because I wanted to do a different scheme, but ended up using the Wingsy stencils because the Microscale versions were way over the scale - even the squadron and gruppe insignia look too large but will have to do.
I haven't seen many builds of this 109 E- series on here, but I have to highly recommend them, these are genuinely great kits from a tiny company with a small range, and they deserve the praise for no other reason than the great quality of their output. We need companies like this supporting our hobby, so we should support them back by occasionally not buying Hasegawa/Tamiya/Eduard and giving the little guys the rewards they have earned.