FG2Si

Thanks everyone! I've been plugging away at the model in between clearing a space on my bench so my two sons have somewhere to build their kits. For the gun ports and cockpit glass, I decided to use the clear parts rather than just the framing. I hit these with a base coat of black first before the top coat. The gun ports I hand cut masking tape to fit while for the cockpit section, I used the kit's stickers as masks. Here's the cockpit section after I painted the top coat and installed it. And here's one of the gun ports. For the inner section of the gun ports, I used the PE parts from Green Strawberry. These include some printed stickers that are translucent in places and allow light to shine through. Lastly, here's most of the sub assemblies alongside a Fine Molds Y-Wing I'm building. This is on the side of my bench that I'm clearing for my boys. I'm hoping to be able to finish both kits this month. Carl

That looks great. I always wanted a model of Cain. And a decent ED209. Carl

After a couple nights' work at the bench, I managed to get the two main hull sections completed. Next up, I'm currently working on the various coloured panels/patches. My initial plan was to paint them in suing suitable colour matches. There's a website called mech9 that has paint colour conversion charts posted for many Bandai kits. One tip I read about was to use the kit stickers as a template for cutting paint masks for doing all the panels. I tried this and it seems to work ok. Then I decided to try the kit's decals. Surprisingly, those worked really well. They're conforming over all the small bumps and lumps on the hull. So I think I'll continue with these even though I normally don't do so well with decals. Carl

Ok, this probably won't be your typical Work In Progress thread. This started out as me trying out some pre-shading techniques which I've never really used before. I usually build 1/32 aircraft but thought the Falcon would be a great test subject for pre-shading and for me to see how it works (or not). The kit is the Force Awakens release of the Falcon. For AM, I've got Tyridium's lighting kit and the Green Strawberry PE. I started with the main hull sections. I used Tamiya NATO Black for the pre-shading on the bare plastic. Over this, I started to fill in the panels using Gunze H338 thinned down to about 70/30 thinner to paint. I went back and did the mandibles to match.

It's a decent size. It seems bigger than the 1/144 Fine Molds Falcon that I built a few years ago. That one is buried in the den or I'd take it out and do a comparison.

Same here. Which is why I'm currently building the 1/144 version. It's my first try at pre-shading a build. Carl

I used the Rye Field Model tracks on my Meng Jagdpanther. They go together 5 links at a time so much faster than it seems. If you're careful with the glue application, they'll work after assembly too. The other nice thing is they were about 1/2 the price of anything else available. Carl

I finally took the plunge and masked off the canopy. It's cast in clear resin and the framing is a bit heavy with some rounded corners. I sprayed a base of cockpit interior green. I then decided to sand off the remaining stubs from the prop spinner and just paint it silver. I figured it's sci-fi so I can get away with it. This was the first time I used AK's Extreme Metal and it seems to have worked nicely. Then, back to the canopy I put on the top coat of Nakajima green. Finally I added yhese last couple of parts and the build itself is now done. I'm still debating the addition of markings. But I'm leaning towards leaving it as is. Carl

Thanks! I'm still undecided on any markings. The kit didn't come with any and the only Japanese markings I have are for a 1/32 F-104J. Thanks Pete! The kit box has hinomarus on that part of the arm but I'm not sure about the way it looks. So I'm still undecided.

So I compared the prop to my 1)32 ones and it's considerably smaller, closer to 1/48. I usually don't build 1/48 aircraft Soni didn't have anything usable. I stopped by the LHS and picked up a 1/48 Tamiya Hamp so hopefully that'll work. In the meantime, I attached the legs to the hip section. I then added the pistons. The kit includes vinyl tubing for hydraulic lines but I had some thin spring tubing that I used instead. Next up I assembled the arms. Again, I replaced the vinyl tubing with spring tubing instead. Finally I attached the fuselage/upper body, arms and lower body together. All that's left is to paint and install the canopy. And the prop. Carl

I used the AMS tanks on my Mosquito build from a few years ago along with the Avaieology decals. The 100 gallon tanks in the HK kit are shaped wrong which is how the AMS tanks came about. If you can get the Avaeiology decals, they include some very nice drawings for the tiered rocket setup as well as the droptank guards. As for the Avaeiology rocket rails themselves, I'm still waiting for those to show up one some day. Every time I ask Terry about them, he says it's not much longer. Carl

I've got a couple in the stash so I'll take a look. I think it may be closer to 1/48 which would pose a problem as I have almost no 1/48 kits. I'll find out soon enough. Carl

A small update but I'm definitely making progress. With my initial chipping attempt having failed, I tried my old standby which is a Silver Prismacolor pencil. I started on the hands for the mecha first. The one on the right side is done. Hopefully it shows up in the pic. I then did the inner side of the hands. This I did a bit more of figuring that it'll be picking up stuff so the inside should be a bit more worn. I'm happy with the way it looks so I'll proceed with the other hand. Next up I assembled both leg units. These need to have the hips/pivots added. Lastly is possibly the biggest hurdle. The prop didn't fare too well in my attempt to remove it from its pour block. There was already a small divot in one blade and I didn't help matters. I'm going to see if there's anything suitable in my spares collection. Carl

Thanks Pete! Part of it was the docs set me up thinking I'd be up and about in no time. They kept saying I'm young and in good shape, blah, blah blah. The biggest operation I'd had prior to this was a few stitches as a kid. My dad had the operation but was 8 years my senior when he did. I'm currently on 6 pills at the moment. The docs figure that'll drop to 3 in a few months. Definitely can't sleep on my front which is how I usually sleep so that's been a pain. I pulled a muscle under my ribs cage which didn't help things. Laughing is unbelievably painful and even breathing occasionally. Just have to tough it out there. Like you said, smile every day and I'm glad to be here for my wife and boys still. Carl

I think I should be ok for the deadline. Thanks for the reassurances. Carl