Desk Flyer

Thank you @cpoud117 I know exactly what you mean, I had a couple of close calls myself... Thanks @marvinneko Yes it is but don't tell anyone ☺️

Hello everyone, I have gathered enough material to post another progress update so here it is... After @Tailspin Turtle pointed out this discrepancy on the undersides, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead with the initial primer coat anyway. This will help reveal other areas needing sanding too and anyway I was in a painting mode so I couldn't help it. I used Mr. Surfacer 1500 white from a rattle can and it went on like a dream. The more I use Mr. Surfacer 1500 the more I feel this is the only primer I need. I think the next step for me is to use the stuff in the jars thinned and sprayed through an airbrush. I started by sanding away the primer from the area I wanted to fill... I then added small pieces of styrene rod leftovers and covered them with enough spruegoo: This of course will need days to cure. But I wasn't standing idle. Anyone noticed I didn't mention anything about masking the transparent plastic used for the lights etc? Yes, that was because I didn't mask them. I completely forgot So back to sanding and polishing along with a quick fuselage seamline revisit... Next thing on my list was spraying gloss white (I hate white!) on the intakes, the AIM-9s and hook. I used Mr. Hobby Aqueous gloss white very thoroughly shaken and stirred, thinned 50/50 and sprayed in thin coats. Some 5 days after applying the spruegoo it was time to work on the undersides. Lots of sanding was done using sanding sticks and pieces of wet-and-dry of various grit numbers... Then it was time for scribing the flap panel lines etc... Nothing fancy. I think this will do. Then some masking (don't forget the clear parts again dummy!) and back to the spray booth for a second coat of primer. I think the corrected areas look OK, no further action required. I then went and gave the whole model a light rub with a 3000 and then a 4000 sanding stick. Then the rudder was sprayed with Mr. Hobby Aqueous gloss white (I hate white!). But I think it went down well. I gave it a couple of days to dry and I masked the rudder in preparation for the first colour. This would be my first proper lacquer use and I have decided to use MRP for this project. I played it safe and I first sprayed it on my paint mule. In a rare explosion of foresight I had primed and sanded it the same way I had done with the Banshee. As soon as the spraying was done and the airbrush had been cleaned, the first thing I did was to get me a proper respirator and filters. The cheap one I was wearing at the time did little to protect me. With this sorted it was time to inspect the model. Overall I was happy with the result. The paint was very easy to use straight out of the bottle (as long as you gave it a good shake even between airbrush cap refills). The colour coverage for the medium gray was not great; more than one coat is needed. But that was expected and not considered a negative. What was a negative is the apparent roughness of the surface after the coat has dried... But as I found out from some very helpful advice I got from fellow Twitter modellers and from my own experience with the second coat and the dark grey later on, this was down to user error. I gave the whole surface a gentle rub with a 4000 grit sanding stick and went ahead with the second coat. Much better. Then I masked the model in preparation for the dark grey... First coat and this time I didn't forget the canopy... And a day later came the second coat... And it was smooth and silky! Very pleased with this MRP stuff! Although it comes with all the problems associated with lacquers (odour, airbrush o-ring wear etc) I can see why it may be worthwhile. Next will be the leading edges corruguard and other details. But first some masking is required. I will wrap it up now and will be back with another progress update hopefully soon. As always, thank you for looking and thank you for leaving a comment! TTFN

Thank you @Johnson 🙂 The stand/jig you see in the pictures is a custom mix 'n' match of various bits from the Vertigo Miniatures series of products. It's basically this one here: https://www.vertigominiatures.com/shop/jigs-en/airbrush-ii-with-rotary-base/ but without the rotating function. You may notice mine is in frosted plastic as clear plastic was very difficult to come by back when I placed my order. Something to do with a pandemic and clear screens coming very much into fashion everywhere. I then got their "advanced" jig for biplanes etc. Hope this helps.

Oh my God @Tailspin Turtle talk about the 11th hour! Thank you so much for pointing these out! I guess they should be relatively easy to fix, Just as I was getting into the painting mode...

Hello everyone, time to bore you to sleep with another WIP post. Thank you to all fellow masochists members who took the time to check the previous posts and leave a comment. Yes @Robin-42 I'm not afraid of Milliput anymore; I have only my fat fingers, lack of talent and my naïveté to be afraid of 😇 With the intakes now shaped satisfactory it was time to move on. Next up in the agenda was the wing to fuselage joints. Although at first glance these were almost perfect, the first round of light sanding and re-scribing revealed a string of microscopic holes, due to a less-than-perfect application of glue on my behalf along the length of the joint. It was time for spruegoo. I made some and applied it along the joint/panel line.... Unfortunately this didn't eliminate the problem first time, the process of sanding, scribing and spruegoo application had to be repeated a few times until I was satisfied. While waiting for the spruegoo to cure between sanding and scribing, I turned my attention to the landing gear doors and wells. They were pretty basic: I sanded the doors down to make them thinner and added some detail which when painted, hopefully will give some visual interest: Next up: the tip tanks. In my eyes a major feature of this aircraft and build. However, to achieve what I think is the right angle for the tanks, you get a gap underneath them between the wings and the tanks. The real aircraft in fact had an adapter that allowed for the tanks to be fitted on to the wing which is missing from the kit. So out comes Milliput again... With this area sanded and rescribed, it was time to attach the tail plane surfaces with a 10 degree dihedral,,, There was a hairline gap on both sides... This is a job for Vallejo plastic putty as I wanted to avoid sanding on that flimsy joint: I left it to dry (and shrink) for a day and then reapplied. Last step in the construction was attaching the wing pylons for the AIM-9s Now begins the painting phase of the build 🥁 First I need to touch-up the black paint of the engine compressor and generator domes as they were smeared by the putty shaping and sanding... Then the various lose bits were all gathered together and prepared for priming: Then the spare canopy was attached in place with PVA glue... Engine intake and exhaust holes were masked using foam sponge pieces, Humbrol Maskol and tissue paper strips... Finally the whole think was wiped clean using an IPA dampened cloth and deposited in the spraying booth, ready for primer: And on this cliffhanger note I'll wrap it up for this post. As always, thank you for wasting your time looking and thanks for leaving a comment. 🙂

Hello everyone! Between my own self-doubting, work, airshows, commitments I managed to make enough progress to warrant an update here. @Robin-42 that thing you said about the plastic tubing on the engine compressor face gave me an idea, but lets take things from the beginning... In principle what I did to break the deadlock was to try and divide the seemingly impossible task into smaller tasks I was reasonably confident I could pull through, Baby steps. First the engine itself. I found some resin 1/144 engines lying around and so it happened they were just the right size: The third turbine part could be used as a test piece. Test fit OK I sanded the resin cone and rearranged the vanes to match the picture of the intake posted earlier. Then the intake immediately before the compressor face I noticed it's completely round/cylindrical. So like @Robin-42 said I needed some tubing for this. But not before I wasted an afternoon trying to bend styrene strips into perfect cycles 6mm in diameter only to find they will snap the moment you applied even the tiniest amount of glue. So I got me some Evergreen tubes of about 6mm inside diameter and cut a few 1.5mm long sections. Easier said than done but a few attempts I manged to do it. The resin turbines-turned-compressors were given a coat of Revel acrylic semi-gloss black... ...and then a very discreet light grey wash. The tube sections were then glued in place on the engine parts: ...and then test fitted inside the wings: Symmetry check before I commit them to glue: With the engines and the inner section of the intakes now glued in place, I had a reference point to work with. So far so good. I then did some tests using bluetac... This helped me a lot to appreciate how confined the space was and plan ahead for a staggered approach. Then it was out with the bluetac in comes Milliput Superfine White. Things are about to get real! Working with strips of similar shape and size for left and right intake, I tried to first get the putty in place and then shape it using those silicone "brushes" dipped in water and keeping them wet... Oh and lots of coffee too. Once I was satisfied a piece was in place and shaped OKish I would give it a day to dry before I went in to add and shape the next piece... Slowly building up and shaping the putty layer after layer... Not forgetting the symmetry checks: After a few afternoon sessions... if you squint enough... you begin to see some resemblance with the real thing... maybe? The intake shaping from the splinter plates on to the compressor will have to be sculpted with the wings glued on to the fuselage but before I do that, I went in and sanded the intakes smooth using first Albion Materials sanding needles... and then wet-and-dry sandpaper of various grit rolled around file handles... up to 1500 grit... Then it was time for the wings to meet the fuselage. With a bit of prep work the fit was very good. And for the first time it begun to look like an aeroplane! Woohoo! But back to the intakes now... The area leading from the splinter plates to the compressor was added and shaped/sculpted accordingly: only for another series of sanding sessions to follow this time reaching up to 2500 grit And with this stage done, I consider the construction of the intakes complete. I don't want to keep on messing with them for too long fearing I might go too fat and inadeptly ruin them. After all, I'm please with the way the intakes are now; far from perfect but much better than what the kit was offering. I'll of course need to do some painting in there but that's for a later stage. Thank you for reading this far and checking out the update. And thank you for leaving a comment.

Good morning everyone. Have you ever been in a situation where you don't know how to best proceed with a project? When you have a problem or a challenge for which you have no previous experience and no solution? Have you ever bit more than you could chew causing irreversible change/damage to your model? If the answer is 'Yes' to all the above then you'll know where I found myself after joining the wing halves together. The wings themselves came together nicely with no problems and with only need for a light sanding along the leading & trailing edges to remove the seam... Dry fitting the kit's engine intake, this is what you would be expecting to get: Before gluing... after gluing... To be fair to them, the fit is very good, the piece slides in smugly and also fits well when the splinter plate is glued on the fuselage to complete the intake. But... this is what the real thing looks like: Photo by Bill Spidle found here: https://www.primeportal.net/hangar/bill_spidle2/f2h_126419/index.php?Page=3 This picture haunted my dreams. I tried to ignore it but you know what they say, once you see it you can't unsee it. So I begun to think of possible ways to replicate this for my project without ruining everything, after all the work I've put into it. Leaving it as is was not an option. Covering the intakes with some sort of FOD covers is my safety net if all goes pear shaped. I went through many phases with this problem; thinking about it, planning around it, trying to avoid facing it, again and again in cycles. I couldn't think of a solution I could pull through within my abilities. So I procrastinated... I didn't want to abandon the project or shelve it so I thought if I kept working on it I would eventually find the courage to face the challenge. So I decided to add the wingtip nav lights... After cutting the tips, I picked up the canopy's transparent sprue, cut two pieces, drilled a tiny hole in each one and filled it with some green and red paint: Then I glued the transparent pieces in place... ...sanded them in shape and polished them using sanding/polishing sticks of various grit until I was satisfied with the result. But the intakes were still there taunting me... Then I had a sort of a 'Eureka' moment: could I find something with a shape and size resembling that of the intake? I could then modify it to math? hmmm 🤔 That's when I noticed the pipettes used for paint transfer have a conical section... Could this be it? The answer to my prayers? Close but no, not really. I would still have to deal with the seam and the areas around it. It looks like Milliput is the only realistic solution. But I have never actually worked with milliput to produce anything three-dimensional, it was for me just a putty for large gaps or steps. And now I had to sculpt not one but two identical intakes? I started sweating and shivering at the thought so I put the kit down for days, But the intakes' yawning gap is taunting me... Days became weeks, I was walking past the bench, I would look at it but still very afraid to commit to it. So, again, I thought maybe I could work on another bit? So I did a little bit of detailing on the landing gear... ...adding hydraulic line and brake actuators... ...and then adding the spring on the arresting hook: And the intake, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the cutting mat just next to my chamber door; And its eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o’er them streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted—nevermore! (with apologies to E. A. Poe) I hope I'll have another update soon, make or break, for better or for worse. Until then, thank you for looking and thanks for leaving a comment.

Hello everyone, time for an update. The project is galloping in... glacier pace. Anyway. The plastic that was added just forward the windshield cured allowing to be worked on... For the purpose of test fitting, measuring and trimming I used the second vacuformed canopy that cam with the set. Just so I don't damage the proper one. After the test fitting, the flimsy vacuform windshield was attached using primarily black thin cement... This took many attempts and many applications as the thin vacuform presents a very small area to be glued enough to withstand the sanding that followed. 3M tape was used to protect it and sandpaper & sanding sticks to shape the area removing all traces of glue/acrylic putty around it. When I was happy with the result it was time to properly mask the windshield. The downside to the vacuform canopies is there is no frame and when there is, it isn't so prominent or well defined. I decided to use the second canopy that was provided with the vacuform set (the one I've been using for the test fits) as a template for the masking tape to be cut into shape... Then the mask was transferred on to the model. And the scalpel never touched it 😉 Then the outside of the canopy was also masked... And everything was treated to a coat of semi-gloss black (Revell aqua)... When this dried I dry-brushed some neutral grey on the canopy frame & mechanism and then removed the interior masking... Thus binging the canopy saga to a conclusion. Hopefully. Next up: the wings. But before I stick the two halves together, I decided to change the kit's flat turbine disks... ...for a pair of 1/144 compressor disks from an Airfix kit. Black was spayed on these and the exhaust pipes... (Revell Aqua) And then Humbrol acrylic Gun metal... I decided that the whole thing is too small, too deep and too dark to deserve any special treatment so... bring up the pegs! And that's all for today's update. I will soon have to face the next make or break item: the intakes. But until then, thank you for looking and thank you for leaving a comment!

This is exactly what's been bugging me and subconsciously trying to avoid! Thanks for the suggestion, I am not very confident with Milliput especially knowing I have to do it twice but yes this is one to consider. Thank you @cpoud117 😊

Good afternoon all, some progress was made but still a long way to go. Not as much procrastinating as delaying reaching the problems I haven't figured a way out yet. Anyway... This is the starting point i.e. the kit's canopy and windshield: The windshield was surgically separated from the canopy. But then, the windshield was found to be waaaaay to small for the new instrument panel hood. The Obscureco resin piece has completely altered the cockpit proportions (instrument hood vs. cockpit tub vs. the area behind the seat). So if you tried the kit's windshield it only cover only about half the space it should. I had no choice but to give in to the vacform canopies. Luckily by now I have some previous experience with vacform canopies so separating the canopy from the plastic sheet went without problems: But alas... I added styrene strips and a liberal dose of glue... While waiting for the whole thing to cure, I attacked the wingtip fuel tanks. I noticed the real one has a seam/flange running the whole length of the tank. So instead of sanding the seam I added a styrene strip around it... The styrene is thin enough for the glue to soften it and shape it around the curves... And when it dries, a little bit of sanding will hopefully scale it down. Back to the canopy now, the vacform piece is transparent and very thin. IMHO too thin and too simple. So I tried to add the canopy frame on the inside... Flimsy canopy and I found the hard way that TETC (Tamiya Extra Thin Cement) is too strong if you are not careful. Still, slowly and cursing all the way, some progress was made: I masked the inside to protect it and because it will not be easy to do that after the canopy operating mechanism has been added. (Thanks again @Tailspin Turtle) Finally, I splashed some Future/Pledge on the outside and left it to dry in a closed box. I hope you find this interesting. thank you for looking and thank you for leaving a comment. Ta ta for now.

Hello everyone, my interest with the Banshee started a couple few many some years ago when I visited Canada's national aviation history museum in Ottawa, ON. Basically I want to build at least one model of each and every aircraft on display there but lets focus on the Banshee for now. Here are some photos I took that bloody freezing chilly cold day. Who knows, someone might find these useful. Please note I haven't corrected the white balance, these are pretty much straight out of the camera. Hope these are of interest. Thank you for looking and thank you for leaving a comment. Ta ta for now!

Had no problem getting mine. Please see earlier post above for the link. Easy to order, great communication with the guy making and selling them. I got a few different 1/72 set and I think I'll be going back for a couple of the 1/48 sets as well. Having said that, fit and proportions are less than perfect. I will address the issue with my next post but you can get an early idea of what I'm talking about by looking at the last picture I posted.

Hello there, usually aircraft kit builds begin with the cockpit. So I will start with removing the kit's NLG wheel well in order to replace it with the Obscureco resin one... I then removed any cockpit tub alignment guides from the inside of the fuselage. Syringe needles were painted gun metal to make them look more like gun barrels. Cliché, I know... While doing that I noticed the gun ports/bays have no depth at all, you can see through them on to the other side. Not good. So I cut a piece of styrene tubing in half and created half-cylinder channels which I then painted black and stuck them on the inside of the fuselage... Then the resin NLG wheel well was glued in place. This will later serve as a guide for the resin cockpit tub. First I noticed something was not quite right was when I dry fitted the instrument panel on the panel hood/gun sight base. I had to deepen the recess where the instrument panel sits... But at least the detail is good. Instrument panel was painted semi-gloss black, dry brushed with light grey and given some gloss varnish for the instruments Rest of the cockpit and seat received the same treatment with a neutral grey oil wash as well... And some earth colour pigment on the floor. The seat harnesses were already moulded on the seat but the ejection handle was made of lead wire and painted red. Getting the resin cockpit tub to fit in there took hours of dry fitting, sanding, testing, scraping etc etc but it all went in at the end And that's all for tonight. I hope this wasn't too boring. As always, thank you for looking and thank you for leaving a comment. Ta ta for now.

I love you @Tailspin Turtle You are my hero! Thank you so much!

Oh yes, you are of course correct @Mike Apologies, my bad. Resin indeed. Obscureco 1:72 OBS72010 F2H-3/4 Banshee Detail Set Trading one problem for another... 🙄