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TimT

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Everything posted by TimT

  1. TimT
    Just lovely. Looks so elegant in silver. The picked out panel lines add a lot - very nice job on that.
  2. TimT
    Does indeed look larger than 1/72; your paintwork really gives it a sense of weight and scale. Very impressive.
  3. TimT
    Thanks very much everyone for the encouraging comments - much appreciated! It was a long build so this is a nice reward for all the work. Cheers.
  4. TimT
    This is the 1/48 Academy Dauntless. I chose to interpret an SBD-2 from VMSB-241, based on Midway Atoll in 1942 and, I assume, one of the planes used in the fabled attack on the Japanese fleer in June. Since it was first produced by Accurate Miniatures, this vintage kit has justifiably developed a reputation as the definitive kit of the Dauntless in this scale. It’s well engineered, with great fit and a level of detail that requires no after-market parts. However, having chosen to represent it in-flight, I had to invest in a gunner from PJ Productions and requisition a pilot from a Tamiya Corsair. Also - as one of the distinctive features of the Dauntless was its surface texture - I decided to cover the thing in raised rivets. I initially tried HGW wet transfers, but found these to be useless; all the rivets floated away from the backing film with every attempt. I landed on Archer rivets, which performed excellently. I couldn’t quite get every row with complete accuracy, but they give an impression of the bristling surface of the airframe and provided a good structure to paint and weather. The process of painting it was one of the main attractions of building this plane. Perhaps I went a little overboard given this specific variant, but I was inspired by the many beautiful shots of the Dauntless’ mottled, patched and damaged paintwork - a story in color and texture. I used mostly Mission Model paints; they layer well and lend themselves to subtle effects built over time. Although I recommend the kit wholeheartedly, I think the decals in the original Accurate Miniatures boxing might be better; the big roundels were all out of register.
  5. TimT
    I've never heard of that - I'll track a copy down and read it! Thanks. Thanks! The Valom kit is still available...although I'm not sure if I'd recommend it. If you can track down the AZ Models boxing, at least it comes with clear parts that fit.
  6. TimT
    Thanks for the kind words, Mike! Much appreciated! Thanks! Yes, apart from the undercarriage looking flimsy and awkward to build, I've never seen one built in-flight - and it looks so good in the air! I think the AZ clear parts + the masks are the only way to stay sane with this one.
  7. TimT
    Thanks for your comments, Martin! I used Tamiya paints throughout, heavily diluted. However, Mission Models make a transparent dust paint that is great for some subtle weathering over camouflage. Good luck with you build!
  8. TimT
    Thank you both. And thanks for noticing the photography - still a skill I'm working on. Along with all the other skills I'm working on!
  9. TimT
    and to you too, Gazza!
  10. TimT
    Thanks very much, everyone - and Gazza too! Sorry, forgot to quote you! Your feedback is really appreciated!
  11. TimT
    This is my version of Valom’s 1/72 Handley Page Hampden. An early version of the twin-engine fighter bomber, it was deployed in key missions before being quickly superseded by craft that were less vulnerable to attack. An unlikely looking war plane, it’s broad wings and long-tailed body make it seem like the offspring of a bat and a pregnant seahorse. The Valom model is no shake-n-bake: a limited run kit, it lacks any locating pins or obvious means for one piece to attach to another - beyond a butt joint and a lot of liquid cement. Made from thick, unpleasant plastic, it challenges you to carve and add what you need to make a structure durable enough to handle. After that, the fit of pieces isn't bad; I used very little filler, although perhaps I needed more. I chose it over the Airfix 1/72 because of its bizarrely intense surface detail; row upon row of rivets pepper the surface, and while its certainly inaccurate for the scale, it’s fun to paint nevertheless. There’s a couple of sheets of PE details to figure out, plus a small sheet of misaligned decals. I added canopy transparencies from AZ Models, and a pilot from PJ Productions. Apart from that, I adapted it to in-flight mode, which required shaving the wheels down and some surgery on the wheel bay doors. The black underside hides a load of shaky craft trying to get this to work. A poor crafts-person blames the kit, but I had to take some shortcuts with this one. Some more sanding and filling, and a few more hours with the painting would’ve produced something better. However, I enjoyed trying to wrestle this tough little kit into the unique lines of the Hampden.
  12. TimT
    You make it look easy! Great to see; I'm working on one now - from Valom, but with AZ canopies. Obviously a long campaign ahead.
  13. TimT
    Thanks for your supportive comments, everyone. Much appreciated! A while ago, I did a WIP thread here on Tamiya's P-38, which allowed me to experiment with a lot of the approaches I used on the Ventura. I've also got a lot of ideas and inspiration from the builds I see here. I don't really have a streamlined process - just lots of trial and error, pushing things too far then pulling them back again. The nice thing about Mission Model paints is that they are quite transparent when thinned, which allowed me to build successive layers of grime throughout the painting process. I also spent too much time staring at photos of Venturas, wondering how I could imply the kind of wear and tear that inspired this build. Cheers!
  14. TimT
    This is my version of the great Revell Lockheed PV-1 Ventura, the plane that replaced the Hudson. Apparently much reviled by the RAF (unmaneuverable and under-armed) , it was put to wide use by the USAAF (amongst others). This is BuNo 48891, flown by Lt. ‘Butch’ Mason, based in Attu, Alaska, 1944; part of numerous bombing sorties in the Pacific, the plane was finally lost at sea in 1945. Revell’s kit is a fantastic build - large parts that fit together cleanly, unfussy engineering and a decent degree of detail. It was nearly all OOB, with just the addition of an Airfix pilot and a Tamiya navigator as no figures were included. Even though it was not designed for an in-flight option, the gear bay doors fit perfectly anyway - although the tail wheel doors needed a little surgery. Once built, it’s a large canvas. With broad, nearly monochrome areas, it invites some invention in the paint work to provide some variety. These planes were flown to the point of exhaustion, and that was my aim - to convey a well-worn machine near the end of it’s functional life. I used a lot of Mission Model paints, which build in transparent layers pretty well. Masking in different ways (liquid masks, salt, tape, etc.) broke up the surfaces and the weathering across them - a really addictive process. Thanks for looking!
  15. TimT
    Great to see a wheels-up, in-flight version of this. Nicely done; it's fun to see some creativity and risk-taking at work.
  16. TimT
    Martin, it was a mix of browns and black, and layered rather than pre-shaded. The Mission Model paints went on well only when really diluted, which helped me build layers gradually. Thanks for the feedback!
  17. TimT
    From 'an unknown unit' is the only reference I could find. The decals (of iffy quality) are from Iliad - again, the only other source I could find.
  18. TimT
    That's very kind, Mike - thanks! And I completely agree. Mid-stone, Dark Earth and Azur Blue are a handsome combo.
  19. TimT
    That's a fine paint job - a lovely evocation of sea and sun-worn livery. Hard to believe it's 1/72
  20. TimT
    He's from the Tamiya P-38, and is an excellent little figure. Thanks for the feedback!
  21. TimT
    Thanks for your comments, everyone. Much appreciated!
  22. TimT
    This is AK431, a workhorse from the North Africa campaign, based in Fayid, Egypt in 1943. With its battered, leaky exterior, this P-40 looks like the survivor of a tough environment. The Airfix Tomahawk is a nice kit - easy to build with a nicely detailed interior. I added a Master gunsight and replaced the pilot with the one I didn’t use from the Tamiya P-38, a well sculpted figure that deserved to be reassigned. Apart from an unfortunate Me-109 I mauled as a 10-year-old, this is the first desert scheme I’ve attempted in the second phase of my modeling career. Another first was attempting some riveting, as well as using Mission Model paints, which layer nicely when thinned down considerably. Forgive my amateur Photoshop experiment with getting this thing to fly. Well, under the circumstances, you’ve got to keep yourself entertained. Thanks for looking.
  23. TimT
    That's a really pretty build. I'm working on the Airfix one right now, and you set a high standard.
  24. TimT
    Great to see a Hudson - and a handsome one too. Nice clean job on this kit; you can't tell how challenging it is from your results. I tried it a couple of years ago and it was a real test, but the reward was worth it.
  25. TimT
    I echo what everyone else said - that's very, very good. Great combination of solid paintwork applied with skill and wear-n-tear applied with real precision.
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