M_Sinclair

Thanks gents! It's definitely my best 1/72 cockpit ever. Which gets me excited, thinking about when ever I get around to building another 1/48 aircraft. And I completely agree about the green Andy. I was tempted to paint the cockpit with an interior green to contrast against the black exterior. But a green exterior or maybe a green camo pattern would look amazing on an x-wing. -matt

I. Am. Loving. This. The idea for the shorter "guns" is really cool. Like how some Leopard tanks have longer barrels and some have shorter ones. And the comparison between the various metal paints available now was a real treat! Boy aren't we spoiled these days?! Keep it up Andy! -matt

Thanks guys! I had plans to get a post ready for May the Fourth be with you. But I spent most of my waking hours workin at the bench. So instead this post is going up on Cinco De Mayo at around 2am local time. Not sure if anyone will actually notice what's changed since the last post. I'll try to point out the more obvious stuff. Remember that insert piece for the top of the fuselage? Holds the BB unit? Well I painted her up. 20160504-MJS_4150 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr According to three beautiful high res pictures I have of Black Leader, these exposed technical looking areas have an overall warm tone to them. So I finally had a chance to use my brown Mig wash to tint the whole thing. Worked a treat I'd say. The fuselage while also essentially black, will have a cooler tone. Again, this will match the pictures I've chosen as my main guide. 20160504-MJS_4149 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Did a bit of work on the cockpit today. I know last time when I was painting the various bits it was pretty subtle. Anyone actually see a difference? You may have to squint. 20160505-MJS_4174 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Well it's bigger now! 20160504-MJS_4168 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I think I'm calling the cockpit done. And I figured once Poe is added and the canopy goes on this is probably the best chance to have a look. So LOT's of cockpit shots now! And yes I know! I need something other than a white background. Stop yelling! 20160504-MJS_4169 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160504-MJS_4162 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20160504-MJS_4160 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Many many layers of paint went into painting the cockpit. Kept trying to add various highlights and shadows. Trying to imply switches, panels, placards, screens, etc. Not going off of any specific reference here. Just trying to get a feel for a busy cockpit. The kit cockpit only comes with the one, well I'm calling it a multi function display screen. Just the one, right in the middle. But I decided to add two more on either side of the cockpit tub. At least, that's what those little green square things are meant to be. 20160504-MJS_4159 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr So this is what kept me busy for several hours today. 20160505-MJS_4178 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Tomorrow work will resume on teeny tiny Poe Dameron. And I will have to figure out whether to leave everything seperate for painting. Or do something similar to Andy's T-65 and modify the wings so they can be added after the fuselage is assembled. What to do, what to do. -matt

Truly amazing project! -matt

As mentioned already over at Hyperscale, LOVE the restrained panel lines. Superb fighter! -matt

Thanks for the kind words gents! Longest lens I have is a 70-200. Though I was lucky in that if I'd wanted detail shots I could walk right up to her prior to engine start! I have my ticket to the Oshkosh fly in and plan on working my 70-200 pretty hard that week in July. -matt

Happy to say I'm really enjoying my time here on Britmodeller. Thanks for the positive waves everyone. I have to leave for work in ten minutes so a super short update today. Oh man, I can't wait for my next day off. To help add a little dimension to cockpit I decided to emphasize the shadows. Or rather, I masked off areas to remain darker grey and sprayed on a lightened shade of the base grey. untitled by _m_sinclair, on Flickr untitled-2 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr It's a bit more obvious in person. But the effect is supposed to be subtle. Just makes everything look a little less flat. untitled-3 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr untitled-4 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr The intakes got a quick coat of Alclad bright aluminum (I think? something like that). untitled-5 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Till next time! -matt

Thanks guys! Didn't expect to get anything done today. But got a very quick painting session in. And my white balance should be more consistent now. A friend used it recently and it was still in jpeg mode. Got her back shooting Raw files again. Intakes are going to get a couple shades of Alclad so they have received a base coat of acrylic gloss black. They've also been mounted on some wire to make handling during painting much simpler. untitled-17 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Cockpit base colours are on. Various shades of grey. Some warmer, some cooler. untitled-16 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Have a good day! -matt

Thanks gentleman! To be honest Andy, I got the idea while looking over your wonderful Snowspeeder. -matt

Looking good! -matt

Always loved the curves of this fighter. Yours looks spot on! Clever use of forced perspective! -matt

Well, here we go. Finally have enough done to warrant my first post in my first WIP here. This is also my first time back at the bench in over a year. And this is my first personal project since... my Tamiya P-47 many many years ago. Time to shake off a lot of rust. This is a little out of my comfort zone. I don't do much sci-fi. And I've only dabbled in 1/72 maybe a half dozen times in my life. It's so much smaller than 1/48! I mean, look how tiny BB-8 is! FYI, the body detail was sanded off as I want to position his head on an angle. And since his body is on a sphere, all I need to do is adjust the placement of the decals on his body when the time comes. Seemed silly to cut off his head an re attach it. untitled by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Since this is a Star Wars kit, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to add my own "greeblies" to this X-wing. A great way to add a little extra detail and help make it my own. I went looking through old kits. But due to the small scale I quickly realized that my collection of photo etched detail sets was the way to go. I even found a supply of fine solder wire I probably purchased ten years ago and never touched. Till today. I also drilled out a vent (maybe, who knows) and added some very fine etched screen. Why? Because it looked right. untitled-2 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr More random etched pieces added where it looked appropriate. Some came from an Aber King Tiger set. Other pieces are from an old Verlinden Humvee set. I also used a fine drill and added the appearance of fasteners all over the ship. Just another way to add a little more visual appeal. This is the bottom of the fuselage.I had planned on adding some antennas like what you see on current aircraft. I was thrilled to discover the kit already has two! They just needed a little sanding to thin them down to make them look just right. untitled-3 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I removed Poe's head and angled it to make it appear he is looking at something. Likely need to add a little filler to clean up the neck area. untitled-4 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I made a small pitot tube and attached it inside one of the intakes. I figure since the ship flies in atmosphere frequently it might make sense to have one. And if you don't like that, just call it a random sensor. untitled-5 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Same as the fuselage. Various bits of PE. Fine solder wire and a fine drill used to replicate fasteners on different parts of the S foils and engines. I expect the lower engines will be more visible so I added a little more detail on them. untitled-6 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr One of the "top" engines detailed on the right. untitled-7 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr This time it's one of the "bottom" engines on the right side. untitled-8 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Oh how I missed you. untitled-9 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Got some primer on just to see if anything needs cleaning up. untitled-10 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr untitled-11 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Looking pretty good so far. Still early days though. And I am immensely rusty! untitled-12 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr This kit is amazing. By far the best 1/72 kit I've ever seen! The cockpit detail is better than many 1/48 aircraft kits!These intakes are fabulous. untitled-13 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr So this is where she stands as of now. untitled-14 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I do apologize for the blinding white background. Haven't done this in a while and need to pick up some coloured paper to put in the photo booth I threw together today. Oh and if you haven't seen Andy's X-wings, get your butt over there now! Stunning work. Thanks for looking. -matt

Thanks Andy! I was worried you applied each and every bit of mask with a tooth pick. I kinda chuckled when I saw the last photo with the extra detailing on the top panel. I was doing the very same earlier today. Good idea about spliting the wings to allow the fuselage to be built up. Thinking of doing the same with mine. She's looking sharp! -matt

Too big and too expensive for me. But oh boy, I can't wait to see her built up! She will be magnificent! -matt

While some of you already noticed in my recent Herc post, I also got a real treat last summer. We had a visit for one week by bombers from the Commemorative Air Force. B-17G Sentimental Journey. I saw her the last time she was in Winnipeg. Though that was almost twenty years ago! Unlike me, the B-17 does not look a day older. And for her first time in The 'Peg, B-25J Mitchell: Maid in the Shade. This B-17 arrived in the PTO too late to see action and was used largely for photo mapping after hostilities had ended. The B-25 however was a real honour to see. She is a genuine combat veteran. She flew 15 combat missions over Italy in late 1944. Including one mission where she was the only ship out of four to return home. You can still see where bullet holes were patched. And I'm told a fair bit of flak was taken out of the tail during restoration. She wore Battle Number 18 in World War II and she still wears that number today. I brought my camera to work the day these two were expected to depart. The B-25 had a minor technical issue so she stayed in our hangar for a few extra days. I was thrilled! There was a combat veteran B-25 parked four feet from my locker! Trevor is in the tug as Brandon wing walks a legend. 20150706-DSC_5682 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20150706-DSC_5689 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Why yes, I did have just the best day ever at work! 20150706-DSC_5696 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Dan enjoying the day. 20150706-DSC_5702 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20150706-DSC_5712 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20150706-DSC_5722 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Trevor admires the legend. 20150706-DSC_5723 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr I was tempted to get much closer with engines running. But I didn't want to alarm the crew so I kept a respectable distance. Next time, closer! 20150706-DSC_5746 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20150706-DSC_5758 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20150706-DSC_5767-2 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Such a glorious sound! 20150706-DSC_5774 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Volunteer from the CAF ground crew walks past. 20150706-DSC_5790 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20150706-DSC_5791 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20150706-DSC_5822 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Till we meet again. 20150706-DSC_5855 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr Thanks for looking. -matt

Hi Andy! Quick question. Do you have a preferred masking fluid? Also, a preferred method of application? -matt

Fantastic

That looks fantastic! Great catch!

Excellent stuff! Want to visit Lakenheath someday!

Oh man I gotta visit England. So jealous of all the fantastic aircraft you guys get to see!

Thanks for the kind words everyone! YWG is a small international airport. But we get some interesting stuff every now and again. The Antonov 124 was here just the other day getting fuelled up by our guys. Took 118,000 Litres! For our little trucks, that's a lot! This was the first of two former RAF Hercs to pass our way. Two weeks later, C-FNUM also stopped by for fuel and crew rest. -matt

Never really ventured into this part of the website before. I'm still relatively new here. Anyhoo, I took a few photos of a C-130K that I got to refuel a little while ago here in Winnipeg, Canada. I'll post a few photos here. The rest can be seen in my album up on Flickr. Just click on the photo to get there. Thanks for looking. -matt 20151123-MJS_3469-2 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20151123-MJS_3470-2 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20151123-MJS_3479-2 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20151123-MJS_3481 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20151123-MJS_3525 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20151123-MJS_3513 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20151123-MJS_3528-2 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr 20151123-MJS_3504 by _m_sinclair, on Flickr

The saga continues!

Love the fine scratches on the IP. Just enough. -matt

Very cool. Always great to see another F-15. -mat