spartacus2000

Fantastic work😎

Hi Friends I searched my supplier for the 850 liter ventral tank but he didn't have them so I did a quick search on the net and found some photos of the PJ models and Wingman models that produce them, I sat in front of the pc and reproduced them. Another thing that didn't convince me was the camera for which I searched for photos and found answers on this site and found that it is the same model mounted on the Kfir and SR71, and here's what I modeled. Tomorrow I mold everything with my 3D resin printer. Below are the photos of the 3D model of the ventral tank, elettronic bay and the head of the camera Eletronic bay for camera ,The one from the convertion it's very poor in details and the access doors are represented as raisedand non-fluxing AML solution for the head of the camera My solution from reality lents look trough a 45°inclined mirror

Hi guys little update: for now it's all Stay tuned

Or the recce version of the Israeli Mirage. Hi everyone, I'm back with another kit. I started with the Weekend in 48 version of Eduard to which I added the A.M.L. convertion and S.B.S. for cockpit and weel bays. Maybe I'll take in Eduard wheel set but I haven't decided yet. BOX ART and ACCESSORIES PREPARATION FOR CONVERSION The model in addition to receiving the new "nose", will receive a new engine or the ATAR 9C which differs externally for a new shape of the tail and the petals of the afterburner more similar to the J79 instead of the 2 petals (upper and lower) of the Atar 9B. At this point I wanted to see if the model would "sit" as the Mirage and F21 I already built had this flaw. I put all the tail and radome components in bags and simulated the fulcrum of the scale at the point of the main carriages, result: the model hangs towards the front so I don't need ballast. COCKPIT After having scratched to the bone the cockpit and the front landing gear I moved on to the realization of the pit in black not black (that is a very dark gray), drybrush with a mix of Mars Black and Titanium White oil, washing with Lavado Negro from Vallejo with water and then defining the colored areas with the Vallejo. The seat is from the detail set (MK5 if I'm not mistaken) even if some were equipped with MK6 that I took (Pavla) but definitely out of scale (native to the Airfix Buccaneer), I'll try to use the one dedicated to the Kfir from Quick Boost if it is not huge too, however for now it remains the original one. ENGINE AREA The coupling between the terminal section and the fuselage is really precise, I had to intervene the minimum necessary for the alignment of the 2 pieces. The actual motor consists of 2 pieces for the petals (internal and external) to which the tie rods for closing the external ones must be added in the form of copper wire to be baked at 3mm and then glue the appropriate seats, the others pieces are the smoke duct, the grill (in P.E.), the initial part of the smoke duct and the terminal part of the compressor. The pieces are assembled without difficulty and the detachment from the risers is very easy; only precaution, the outer petals are very fragile so you need some attention to avoid them breaking. The only addition is the parachute-saving steel lip protection plate which is smooth in the set and which I reproduced with adhesive aluminum. FUSELAGE AND WINGS I have always maintained that the Weekend versions are not perfect molds, in fact mine were quite slobbering and a little crooked. Eduard's Mirage is in itself a model that is not very easy to assemble as there are no well-marked feedbacks and the decomposition of the model does not facilitate things. I proceeded in stages, once the cockpit was fixed in one half of the fuselage, I began to glue the kit from the nose, paying close attention to the alignment between the various panels, arrived at the air intakes area, I waited for everything to dry before resume gluing the rest. For the wings I followed a different scheme from the instructions, in fact I first glued the upper wings and taking care of the alignment at the root of the wing, I glued the 2 wings, this allowed me to avoid boring and dangerous grouting that would have ruined delicate paneling and details of that area. Any adjustments will be made in the lower part that is less visible but also easier to fix. Now I am dedicating myself to the lower part of the wings where also here the alignment work and step procedure is a must .... but this another story

And now to sleep next to Anton ù Cheers

Good evening everyone here we are at the end of this wip, thanks to a small holiday period for the Republic Day and the immoderate desire to work I managed to finish the kit in a weekend (a bit long to be honest: 4 days). I will not comment much on the various phases which are the classic Gloss, decal , very light washes, Flat, filters and a bit of weathering, little touchs of mistake and assembly of weapons and small details. I let the images speak for themselves, which are more than explanatory.

thanks for the comments, @Dov the color used is the rlm 02 1941 from AK ineractive Real color with scratch in RLM66 plus a drop of dark alu done with brush only to test my manuality after the injury to the hand

I'm back, very good modeling session today. WINGS AND UPPER FUSELAGE SURFACE First I used the Mahogany from Gunze For the frist step of the preshading, darkened for the main panels with dark brown and in the areas of greater light a buff lightened with white in the spot areas in the center of the panels: dilution 80% I then used rlm 79 of AK Real color diluted at 70/80% to a fine control of the coverage. Here is the result. LOWER SURFACES AND FUSELAGE For the lower surfaces I used for the preshading a mix that I had made for an f16, similar to the Intermediate blue of the ww2 but more charged with blue, for the main panels a true blue and for the lights of the panels a light gray, the latter very diluted for fine tone management. Once dry I gave several passes of AK Rael Color RLM 78 very diluted until the result satisfied me MIMETIC Finally I used the AK Real Color RLM 80 for the camouflage spots For now it's all good evening everyone

Hello everyone after the winter period where my laboratory is unusable due to lack of heating and a series of injuries including that to the left hand and since I'm left handed it blocked me for some time, here I am. I have deliberately chosen a fairly simple subject and to do OOB to test the hand movement skills and resume manual skills with the airbrush so don't expect a super fine job. As for the assembly, as mentioned, it will be from the box without aftermarket as I want to represent the plane with all the enclosures closed, I mounted the engine to see if I could close the hood but in the end I had to cut it in half horizontally to close everything so wasted work. Eduard opted for the complete engine to be modified for closing the engine compartment when he could very well make support plates for the exhausts. The cockpit was assembled from the box, I only used the decals on the embossed dashboards and for the first time I used the vinyl seat belts to be glued with white glue, better than the decals, but the final effect no longer convinces me However, better than nothing. Box art Cockpit It's all for now. Cheers

For assembly the wings follow these steps 1 bottom 2 upprer side but start from the root to make a smoot allignement . l Let dry for 1 day then you can glue the rest It's my metod and I forgot the putty

Hi Alan thanks for the compliments but your request seems impossible to satisfy, I have been working on this project for 2 years and more than 400 hours of work. If you are interested you will have to wait for the design, printing and assembly of all the components to be finished to see if everything fits in order to offer a salable product. Cheer Marco

Hello everyone, little update (busy working week so little time to model) Air intake and small finished parts now I have to move to the carburetor and accessory support area. Cheers Marco

Hi Guys here is a small update it is about the anti-vibration coupling between the engine mount and the engine from the Lord corporation now I have to replicate it 6 times around the mount ring. I have arranged some holes for an insertion of a metal rod instead of the resin one to have greater solidity in a very stressed but also very small area measures in fact are only about 5mm in circumference x 4 in depth, the ring is only 2.5mm in diameter . the little pig for this week it's all Cheers Marco

Hi everyone. Small update: the affected area is the blow crankase. Obviously the J6 piece of the kit is very approximate so you absolutely have to put your hand to it. This is how it is represented in the original P&W catalog This instead is the Airfix J6 piece assembled here to check the alignment of the intake manifold of the kit on the resin pieces with positive result apart from the cutting errors in the front Analyzing the piece we can see that the engine supports are very approximate (they are those 45 ° cylinders that protrude to the left). The following are renderings of the pieces so far modeled with some details and final positioning. The work is 80% complete the support needs to be finished, make the manifolds and finish some details of the coupling to the area of the supercharger and carburetor, but this is another piece that brings me closer to the goal. That's all for now See you next update

Hi Chris. As a modeling program I use Rhinoceros vers 7 and especially I model whit surfaces & NURBS Then exported in .stl to print the various parts. Also if available from this release, SUBDs is good for projects that don't need as high a precision as in this case: the tolerance is 0.01mm and the joints must be precise. Some components are modeled in polygonal but are those shapes that had a certain margin of tolerance (the upper deflectors of the cylinders for example). I started with Autodesk's Inventor for the main body parts but then went back to my old love: Rhino which I have been using since its Beta version. A few updates soon Cheers

Hello everyone, since sometimes they come back, here I am to present my "PROJECT". As the title suggests, I am working on one of the latest Airfix products, which for my part was much awaited. It is my wife's gift for Christmas 2019 for which I have been holding the kit for a year. I must admit that I was rather disappointed especially with regard to the level of detail which, given the scale and the price, I find unacceptable, I do not want to get into the usual modeling talk regarding this topic so I will limit myself to exposing the various improvements. First of all here are the various aftermarket that I found for this model, I think I will add something else but I want to design and print the various pieces with my resin 3D printer (Anycubic Photon 3D for those interested). THE KIT AND AFTERMARKET ANYZ upgrade for the engine (power cables, spark plugs and various line connectors) of excellent workmanship, brass pipes from MASTER, seatbelts from HGW (fantastic is an understatement), Decal from AEROCRAFT MODELS to be integrated with those of the kit(maybe cockpit detail fromAIRSCALE. Now the comparison between the various pieces of the kit and the one I printed in resin they are not the definitive pieces as over the past few months I have refined the details, so be satisfied with the quality of the prints and photos made with flash and in hurry Here's what I mean by poor quality of the kit, ok the limits of plastic, but here they are not wasted (even if looking at the presentation videos it seemed that they had done a superlative job. Front and rear cylinders; I gave it a coat of paint as I am using a black resin so the details remain a little more visible The evolution of the main body of the engine, at the bottom the one proposed by the kit completely wrong as a size in fact it does not enter the cylinder ring so you have to reduce it by at least 1.5 mm even here I do not understand how they could have been so wrong. The one on the top right is the semi-final shape as it lacks the housing holes for the cylinders detail absent in the kit Crank case reduction in comparison distributors Bendix magneto Now some renderings of the morore with all the pieces already designed and some images of the pieces ready for resin printing All this is the result of hundreds of photos found on the net, technical drawings, maintenance and overhaul manuals of the Pratt & withney R2800-10W, tests and retries both in 3D and in print to arrive at a more acceptable detail result as the scale 1 : 24 does not forgive and risks making everything very toy. That's all for now, any help with photos, documents etc. is always welcome.

Hi guys, unfortunately I close here the adventure with the 109A after having struggled with the model because during the washes, part of the paint on the lower surfaces went away so I had to repaint them the same happened for the upper surfaces so as I say always: "a model is like milk: it has an expiration date", I don't get stuck on a model that feels it is no longer loved. So before breaking it with a hammer for the umpteenth time that a moving surface comes off (I have practically re-attached at least 2 times ALL the flaps, rudder slots etc.), I decided to put it back in the box and wait a bit; the model lo I want to finish well because I'm going to do all versions of the me 109s but I don't want to have a finished model just to finish it. So that's all for now, if the good weather continues I will start another kit (not binding since then I should leave it incomplete until spring) otherwise I will continue with the cad project and then print it with the 3d printer. Cheers

Tnx for comment, AMG and DoraWings share the same plastic,the frist have the option to replic all the pre "E" version of the me 109(with minor intervention by the modeller to respesct the little change betweent version),and the full strencils when DW is poor. I dont know if there are other kit but I thnk not,the frist versions of the me 109 are not so popular

HI to all. This time only photos without comments since the photos are self-explanatory, national insignia,unit and walkaway are painted, I reproduced the decals on vinyl. Only incident the right wing tip broke and I had to redo it with a piece of plasticard, nothing difficult but quite annoying. For the rest all textbook, the model is now waiting for the complete drying of the transparent for the installation of the service decals (few to tell the truth) then I will touch up some smears before giving the second coat of clear to seal the decals and assembly of the most fragile parts. I hope to finish this week to start a new kit, before my laboratory gets too cold and winter season work absorbs all my energy. That's all Cheers

Hello everyone ... to tell the truth to the few aficionados, but let's proceed anyway Phase 3 painting Here we are at the stage that I prefer. I used the ModelMaster colors for the RLM 63 and RLM65 which I find very responsive to my sources and for the green RLM 62 instead I used the color of the AK interactive because strangely it is not present in the ModelMaster range (or maybe it is but not as RLM) However, this mix of various brands allows me to retouch the "62" in case something does not go as it should as with a little alcohol I can correct any errors or smudges but fortunately I did not have to intervene except in a point where the tape does not adhered to a paneling). lower surfaces: preshading with Gunze blue, panels lightened with + white, final coat with RLM 65 (the photo has turned a little towards blue) Preshading rlm 66 Gunze + white for the light of the panels and coverage with many coats of RLM 63 very diluted (70-80%) to better manage transparencies, wet on wet process with dry time of about 10-15 min and left rest all night to resume with the final cover the day after. Long but very satisfying processing as a final result, that is While the color was drying I spent the time preparing and detailing the trolleys, the kit is a bit sparse and the leg covers have been plastered as they have plastic shrinkages, but nothing impossible It's time for RLM 62, after the masking I performed a preshading with RLM70 and + white for the light of the panels, then a coat of flat clear was passed to seal the edges of the masking followed with the passes of "62" also here wet on wet but luckly the color dries faster so the waiting time between coats was 5 min (it took me longer to mask and remove the tape than to paint). Final results Ok that's all for now, I'll get to the PC to draw and cut the masks of the unit code Cheers

CHAPTER 2 We left ourselves at step number 2 of gluing the wings, so in the following pictures we resume with step number 3 and the various phases of gluing the various parts of the engine hood and air intake of the water radiator, also here carried out in steps: first one side and then the other, verifying the fitting and thinning the walls in contact with the fuselage as they form a step that would then need to be smoothed from the outside, losing details that would then be difficult to reproduce . The root of the wing has been re-engraved as from the Kagero drawings the paneling of the kit is wrong REVI It's time to close the cockpit so it's up to the collimator, I used that of the Airs even if it is supplied in resin by the kit and I also added the electrical connection cable to the dashboard, I placed it before gluing the windshield CANOPY here there is a big problem: the various pieces do not coincide there is a difference of 1mm more, so I had to file a little to make sure that the central part fits between the 2 sides, work a bit delicate because : risks to make the frames disappear (low camera battery so be satisfied with the quality) FINAL ASSEMBLY) The model is now ready for painting but this to the next episode. That's all for now cheers

Hello everyone, here I am back to you with a new project, this time a slightly more hard kit than usual: the Me bf 109 A / B by Dora wings. The kit is a multimedia short run style kit with P.E. parts, resin and film for the dashboard as well as plastic obviously. It is a rebox of the early me 109 series already presented by AMG in 2017, while the Dora wins only have the pieces necessary for the A / B version, the AMGs have the possibility of reproducing versions up to D, externally it changes only a little propellers for the B / C / D which are in metal with variable pitch while they are in wood for the versions A and early B (B0 and B1) and the upper part of the engine cover and internally for the layout of the dashboard as in reality the first versions were equipped with engines other than the C and D. The plastic is quite soft and well workable but not free from smudges, the detail of the surfaces is good but for lovers of rivets if they want them they must reproduce them as the panels are completely free of them. Comparing the sources available to me I would say that the kit is accurate so now we can start with the wip BOX ART The first 109 models have a cockpit very similar to the E so I decided to use parts of an old set of the Aires from which I had taken some parts so unusable for a complete kit and I integrated the pieces of the Dora kit to retrofit the all to the right version. In the following photos the similarities are evident and then the breakdown of the kit helps the exchange as they fit perfectly decidedly more detailed tub Aires parts above, Dora Wings below I decided to use the seat from the kit as it is much more detailed than the Ares, from the latter I only took the support structure of the seat the pedal are that of the kit as in version E the pedals are punctured while up to D the latter are without lightening holes, I decided to thin them and to use the copper wire in place of the P.E. that are flat (then not you see nothing .... anyway). The side walls haven't undergone many changes, just the addition of the suit's heating system (I think) and some electrical cables and a different type of trottle on the other side. The seat received a 0.2mm lead wire edge to accentuate the almost absent profile, and the height adjustment system. COCKPIT PAINTING The photos were taken with the super macro so you will see all the imperfections that are not noticed with the naked eye WINGS Once the cockpit was filed and the fuselage closed, which among other things did not give any particular problems, apart from the usual grouting in the joints but not that important, the problem arises in the union between the fuselage and the wings. As I have already operated in the previous models, I proceed in 3 steps, I start with the gluing of the lower part of the wings paying close attention to the fitting especially in the back part which in this case had to be thinned at the root as it formed a step of 0, 5mm and so I saved myself a lot of sanding work (a bit of putty in the cracks will be enough) in the front part instead I had to touch up a part of the fuselage as the well bay prevented perfect alignment The black area must be eliminated to make the pieces fit together Work finished but .... Unfortunately I had to detach everything, because the wellbay also disturbs the upper part of the wings so that the step that would have been formed would have lost important details in case of sanding of the area between wings and fuselage so armed with Dremell and patience I arrived at this result So I restarted with step Num 1 and waited for the glue to dry completely Step num 2

Hi everyone I had a lot of fun with this kit. The assembly did not reserve any particular surprises, the fitting is very good and in the Profi version there is everything you need to make a great model (not mine of course). I washed with payne gray on the lower surfaces, for the upper ones I added Mars black to the mixture to bring up the main panels while I kept the mixture of the lower areas for the rest of the details. I passed light glazes as a filter in payne gray + a touch of Paris blue for the lower surfaces and payne gray + gray (Lamp black + titanium white) for the upper areas. Chipping is at a minimum. PHOTO See you on your next adventure ... I plan to make a Teutonic aircraft again

Hello Walter, enough but not so much, just the chess area (2-3 hours), the rest it's all freehand

Good evening everyone. Here are the Updates for today. The time has come for the decals and unfortunately as I have already noticed with Eduard's kits this is the weak point of the Czech house, I have found a decisive step backwards since they no longer entrust this task to Cartograph, in fact they are difficult to position, very fragile and the color tends to flake off if the decal undergoes 2 or 3 folds and in this case some out of register. All these problems forced me to design masks to make up for these shortcomings. Here's how I came up with it anyway The upper crosses were painted as the decals crumpled as soon as I tried to place them: -coccio here, on the other hand, the black of the cross has detached due to a fold of the same fortunately the personal crest survived the displacement otherwise it would have been really difficult to reproduce Lucki The Walkaways are out of register, even if just 1mm x1mm the white border is very visible; so .... Custom mask and painting process 1 step flat clear to seal 2 step red Gunze The final result is not excellent but I am satisfied as it remains in the window will not go to any contest This is the end of the spinner on the ogive for which I put my hand to the pc and cut out the mask indeed 4 to be sure (then it will not be the last 190 of my life so it will be used in the future) Result Even here it is not perfect but those who are satisfied enjoy .....