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Revell Douglas X-3 Flying Stiletto and Tractor - Finished


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The camera is more unforgiving (is that good English, I have my doubts) than the naked eye. I suspect it looks exceptional in the plastic.

I guess less forgiving would be considered 'good english' but more unforgiving is somehow more appropriate to your sentiment Tim.

You are correct in thinking it looks exceptional in reality. Hopefully more Britmodeller members will get a chance to see it for real at some shows soon as Nigel's models really are works of art.

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That little tractor looks cracking now Nige. :coolio:

Were it mine, I might boost the wash on the bonnet a bit where it meets the bulkhead, and use a paler dust wash on the wheel-hubs and tyres.....But it's not my model and these are only suggestions, so don't bite my head off! :winkgrin:

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Apologies for the rather late update tonight but I have been out socialising, I still managed to make near to a final push on getting things here finished though.

But first to address some correspondence:

Also Nigel , when you visit George did you eat any:

biscuits and gravy ? No, I didn't but George did and I have had them before (and indeed made them) - very nice too.

Southern grits ? No, George and I discussed the matter and we both agreed they are rather like eating lumpy wallpaper glue.

Texas BBQ? Oh, yes lots, beef and pork ribs and of course lots of steaks - excellent!!

rocky mountain oysters? No, but I am not a squeamish eater and would have been (relatively) happy to try them.

Nigel, are those plank type flaps?

Not sure Vanja, what are those?

Hopefully more Britmodeller members will get a chance to see it for real at some shows soon as Nigel's models really are works of art.

I hope this will be on the AMS tables at Telford but Col you are being too flattering, I am trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear here and it is only coming out as vaguely successful.

So, tonight I glued on all the undercarriage legs and did a dry fit of the wheels to see how things looked:

P1080457_zps053d3d63.jpg

I was quite pleased with how things came out TBH.

This is how it stood on the wheels:

P1080458_zps8ff68b81.jpg

On the tractor I painted up a silvery PE seat belt to act as a retaining strap for the fire extinguisher and glued that on like so:

P1080459_zpsa7eeaeb9.jpg

I know it looks rough but in full size, real life it does not look too bad.

I then took on board KT's suggestion of reworking the wash on the bonnet - I hope I have got his thinking straight here - more wash between the bonnet and bulkhead yes?:

P1080460_zps4b64bb95.jpg

I then dry brushed some yellow on the accelerator pedal in line with Mark T's thinking (and mine to be fair):

P1080461_zps7f133ffe.jpg

I can't help thinking that hand brake looks very naughty, sorry about that.

I dry brushed some lighter grey on the tyre treads of the tractor, I think this is the sort of thing KT was aiming for and I would have done it anyway. I have tried using light pastel chalks for such effects but have found they disappear when a coat of varnish is applied:

P1080463_zps15639bce.jpg

Anyway, I think that roughly matches with the reality of the (basically, now infamous) Texas tractor:

P1070725_zpsff3725b8.jpg

This is how the bonnet wash looked after some cleaning up:

P1080464_zpsfa8adb15.jpg

I then painted up some 0.23mm lead wire and spent about an hour working it into some brake lines on the main undercarriage legs:

P1080465_zps0ce81ebb.jpg

I simplified reality greatly but this is what it should look like:

MainGearFrontPort.jpg

Next I glued on the main undercarriage doors and actuator struts:

P1080466_zpsc28f15f2.jpg

P1080467_zpsee8f9bc7.jpg

I know the doors are different thicknesses but that's Revell's fault not mine - anyway I was quite pleased with how they looked overall.

I also got the front undercarriage door glued on:

P1080468_zps079925cb.jpg

I think this is now ready for a coat of semi-matt varnish and on the tractor and wheels a coat of matt varnish in the morning. After that there is only the glazing to unmask, a job I am not looking forward to. Oh and some sort of base to display it on.

Well, bye for now,

Nigel

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This time the amazing Nigelization process has taken not one, but, two, sow's ears and turned them both into silk purses. Like Hendie, and everyone else who are following along, I can't wait to the final display.

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my mistake Nigel, I should have written split flap type (it's shorter to call it plank in Serbian :D)...

SplitFlap.jpg

I can't see any actuators on the underside of X-3's wings (for it to be a fowler type), so I'm guessing it's a split one.

Anyway, I've stumbled on this little picture right now, hope this is a good place to show it...

4406-040.jpg

Awesome stuff there...

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That's pretty much exactly what I had in mind Nige, although I was actually thinking of a paler wash on the tyre faces and hubs.....If you look at the photo:

P1070725_zpsff3725b8.jpg

There is a faint but noticeable patina of paler dust on the hubs and rims.....I'm suggesting exaggerating it slightly, in order to help pop the detail

The scratches, dinks and bashes on the front plate of the tractor in the photo might be fun to attempt too. IIRC oz! made a thread detailing his chipping technique in the AFV section that might prove useful.....In his Kingtiger thread maybe? :hmmm:

PS - I notice you had some trouble getting the oil-wash to take on the shiny smooth curve at the top of the bonnet.....I've begun experimenting with selectively adding tiny dots of raw oil paint to areas like this using a needle....These can then be teased into the desired effect with a fine brush, ever so slightly moistened with thinners.

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The first job this morning was to get on a coat of Alclad Klear Kote Semi-Matte varnish (those people at Alclad really need some spelling lessons):

P1080472_zpsbea2bc33.jpg

I then glued on the wheels which had been matt varnished:

P1080477_zps29f323b1.jpg

I removed the masking from the glazing which was a nightmare, some of the filler broke off to reveal this appalling hole:

P1080476_zps3a78b930.jpg

I think I will have to fill that with white Milliput but am open to other ideas.

It was much happier story on the plucky little tractor. After matt varnishing all its parts I glued on the headlight lenses:

P1080470_zps2c6a30f0.jpg

The varnish made my pervious metallising vanish so I used KT's idea and highlighted the nameplate lettering with a 6B pencil.

I could now almost complete its assembly by gluing on the front shield and wheels:

P1080471_zps76498e5b.jpg

The last job was to punch out some red painted clear sheet left over from previous projects to make the rear reflectors:

P1080473_zps928d20ee.jpg

I glued the best of those on with some Gator glue:

P1080474_zps1715da94.jpg

I did try to apply some light pastel chalk to the wheels after KT's clarification:

P1080475_zps947c5537.jpg

Well here is the plane with the glazing still to sort and just the nose probe to be glued on:

P1080478_zps6e1abe4c.jpg

I could not resist doing a full tractor tow set up:

P1080479_zps12a23bf9.jpg

I think I will just fill that gap on the windscreen and then call it a night.

Bye for now,

Nigel

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Thanks very much guys, you are being most generous with your praise.

I tidied up the glazing as best as I could including a bit of a repolish with some Micromesh but what helped the most was a brushed-on coat of Klear:

P1080480_zps9e9fcf61.jpg

I know the glazing is a weak spot on this build but at least some of the interior is visible:

P1080481_zps00164644.jpg

P1080482_zps7452a112.jpg

P1080483_zps7bd55644.jpg

The last job was to glue on the nose probe and retouch the varnish:

P1080484_zpsfe3b4141.jpg

Here it is with the full tractor set up:

P1080485_zpsbd8c375f.jpg

Hendie is right about that nose being a bit dangerous:

P1080486_zps1c259b8c.jpg

I thought Vanja might like to see how the exhaust area came out with the minimal weathering:

P1080487_zps09e8ed7c.jpg

and I am pretty sure it does have the sort of flaps he was enquiring about.

I am thinking of making a base with a cover so I won't do an RFI until that is done. It is too long to go in my display cabinets so I might put it here when its got a case:

P1080488_zps6d55b476.jpg

Well, this build is now finished, time for the next project. I have already made a start and I'll put a link here later. Thanks for all the support and input.

Bye,

Nigel

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