RiotRolo

Thats really useful! Think I'll keep this handy for the next time I build one

Thank you, thats very interesting they're really beautiful planes! Accurate Miniatures were, in my opnion, one of the best for detail. I always keep an eye out for them when im expanding my model stash (all the time) because I always have fun building them.

Thanks mate I watered down some pva glue over some tissues without any pattern on them and used a few browns until i got a worn cover shade. I thought about airbrushing over it for highlights but thought it might make it look a bit out of scale so left it. When its dry its pretty sturdy but can still be manipulated to get the shape you want. Saved me from a huge mess too

The instructions are a bit all over the place, I found it jumped around so I decided to use the instructions as a guide but not follow them in the steps they ask. I do like how Accurate miniatures give you a run down alongside the construction though. Especially telling you what the piece is; I found myself researching all the small parts to see how they would function on the real aircraft. Thanks

Did you drop it in before closing the fuselage together or after? I did mine after closing the fuselage and I think this might have been part of the issue. Thanks

Good morning, I thought i'd share a kit that was completed a couple of weeks ago after a couple of months working on it. I got this kit in 2017 for my 18th birthday off Ebay, its a Return of the Turkeys boxing so it came with two kits in one box and had a lot of PE parts to go along with it; this included a PE cockpit set, landing flaps and bomb bay as well as an aftermarket decal sheet. I opted out of using the bomb bay after deciding to have it closed up and may use it for the second if I get round to building it anytime soon. Due to struggling with painting Insignia white previously and having never used a lot of PE parts in a build, I opted out of builidng the kit for just under 3 years but wanted to give it a go and finish it for my 21st birthday ( I ended up getting it done just a week after my 21st). The model was really enjoyable to build except for a couple of issues around the canopy areas, specifically, the fit of the ball turret and it being moulded in two parts meant getting a proper fit was a struggle. Im guessing there were easier ways to go about it but I might have found the most awkward way as I ended up resorting to Zap CA glue, which despite being the best CA I have used for models, it can be a bit of a pain where it is so thin and flows even with the smallest amount. I resorted to creating a canopy cover for the ball turret; this is something I had wanted to try before on a 1/48th B24J due to the way the clear part of the turret fits together but thought it would be a good opportuity to put the covers to the test to see if they looked any good. I am actually quite happy with the result of this even if it is not entirely accurate. I painted the model with AK interactive model air using the US Navy set and reallly enjoyed airbrushing with them, im trying to improve my airbrushing in general so I am learning and growing my techniques to something I am happier with. The only paint I stuggled with a bit was the Insignia white and am thinking about trying a Tamiya rattle can for the white base next time and building up layers over the top of that first layer, I think the white either always looks too thick or too patchy. Finally, I wanted to test out new some more oil weathering with some post weathering with an airbrush. I have since bought a new needle for one of my airbrushes as I didnt really take enough time or have enough patience to do so which resulted in a few silly mistakes that could have been avoided. Overall I am quite happy with the finished kit, there are a lot of little things that could have gone better all to do with me rushing at the end after taking just under two months on the kit, I had another kit idea in my head, hence why I rushed the build at the last stages which is something I will not do again. If you have any tips or suggestions let me know. Even though I have been making models for around 4 years now I still feel as though there is loads for me to be learning, I think this is due to my lack of consistency between build quality, some I am very happy with and others not so much. Thanks for looking, I hope everyone is doing well with the current situation going on, its kept me from being bored for the whole of pandemic. Ryan

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Good evening everyone, I've been thinking about buying a F14A to add to my stash, its always been an aircraft that I have liked but have never got round to building or buying a kit. Primarily in terms of the fit of both kits, what would you guys recommend, the Italeri or Academy F14A? I plan on buying aftermarket decals so thats not an issue. I just need to know which is probably the better kit, im guessing the Academy one however have seen some mixed reviews for both. Thanks, Ryan

Hi guys, Hope everyone is doing well during this time. Having more time being stuck in at the weekends I have been thinking about restarting my B24J after putting it aside when things were getting worse with the kit. I am only really interested in finishing the kit to use the 'Dragons Tail' decal set I purchased for the kit however since glueing the fuselage halves together things went a little bit sideways as I have managed to sand down a lot of the raised panel lines. I have never really been all that great with rescribing however due to the condition of the kit already I was wondering if anyone could point me towards or shed light on rescribing a whole kit? I feel this would be my only real option if I want to display this kit. My only other thought process was to buy a new kit and start from scratch... Any help would really be appricaiated. I feel the kit could be made to look good if I do it right, its purely the fact past experience of trying to rescribe areas usually result in scratching up a kit. Thanks, Ryan

Aha, well I painted up a pilot for the kit but put it in a safe place and it must have been really safe because I dont actually know where its gone. I have left the canopy spot glued so I can come back once I either find the figure or paint another.

Hi guys, After not posting much for a little while I thought i'd share my christmas project with you all. I had been building some pretty poor kits in my stash that either had major fit issues or I was not taking my time, making a mistake and losing interest. So I decided to re work my modelling room for a fresh start; switch out the kits I had lost interest in for Airfix new tooling or Tamiya kits and try and start from scratch with better fitting and more straight forward kits. I started with a Tamiya Bf109 e-3 in 1/48th and loved the build process so decided to set a small challenge for myself and build a kit for my dad for christmas. As you can see by the title, I chose the Airfix 1/48 P51- D5 'Louis IV' after spotting it in a Hornby store a week prior. I have always enjoyed building the natural metal style warbird as they can be a bit of a challenge to shade and weather but I always love the look of them at the end (currently have a B24J 'Dragon and his tail' half built so that will really test my metallic skills), but also wanted a kit that would stand out from your usual P51's as it will be on his desk at work. The kit is post D- Day and was stationed in the UK which led to its interesting design of RAF Dark green, olive drab invasion stripe cover up, a bright yellow cowling and nose with the usual metal and lower invasion stripes. The kit went together amazingly, I only used a small amount of acrylic putty to hide seam lines, other than that the kit fell together. The real time went into the painting, more specifically the Invasion stipes as I always seem to struggle with lining them up on the sides but am quite pleased with them overall. The base was made with a lot of colour mixing and a stand I picked up off Amazon which I beleive was actually a tea caddy and was chosen due to the industrial look of it. I added a few spent bullets to the base for a bit more variation, sadly these are not .50 cal as they're not that easy to get hold of and im not quite sure how much of the roundel would have been left by the end. The support to hold it up is temporary, I have not found a piece of clear acrylic the right size yet; but for now am happy with the support. Although not getting it done bang on christmas, it was finished on 27th and overall its a kit im quite pleased with, despite maybe overdoing it on the exhaust stains which I decided not to mess with anymore as it was making the result worse. I dont usually post photos of my finished builds as I still cant get my photos to come out anywhere near what the kit looks like and im a bit meticulous when it comes to things like that. I tried to find the best spot for lighting and change a few settings on my phone but they still never look right. Anyway, this kit has really got me back into the swing of things so I may try and tackle the B24J im stuck with. Hope you all enjoy! Ryan

Hi everyone, I've been working through my stash and have finally got around to my Lib. I have just completed the interior and kept it pretty basic as I wont see much of it when its on my work in progress heavy bomber shelf and in any case have decided to focus more on the exterior finish now im happy with my progression regarding metal finish aircraft. Anyway... I am at the stage of filling gaps and decided to test fit my canopy and clear pieces and noticed that Revell have moulded the front and rear turrets in halves meaning there will be very obvious join marks on two quite noticeable areas of the model. Can anyone suggest a possible fix for this? After browsing the internet I have seen multiple 1/48 kits built up with turrets which look as though they are moulded as one. I am going to continue progression with the kit in the meantime but depending on the options I have, I may end up building the turrets as a cast and somehow attempt to recreate my own. (This is something I have not attempted before but if its the best option I might give it a go). Thanks in advance. Ryan

Hi, I have just finished the cockpit of an Me262 1b, I was about to go ahead and paint the gun bay, fuselage and wheel bay in RLM 02 as this is what I have always believed these areas on Luftwaffe to be. However whilst looking around on other builds and references there seems to be a lot of gun bays and fuselages painted a metal colour. Can anyone give me an idea on if I should go ahead and paint it in a metal colour or to go ahead with the RLM02? I dont really show my models off (mainly cause I only have a phone camera and I can never get the photos to do the model justice) and they tend to just sit on my shelf but if I found out I had done it wrong after painting I would still be disappointed. Thanks guys! Ryan

Thanks for all the replies, I might look at just getting decals for a J variant and build a D at a later date then.

Hi guys, Just picked up an old Monogram B24J off ebay and got it a bit cheaper as it had no decals. The decals that are interesting me follow the B24D variant and was wondering what the main differences were between the two, whether I could attempt to replicate a D from a J and also generally anything to watch out for with this kit? Thanks, Ryan