AdrianMF Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Heather Kay said: more visible Could be. Although given that the orders to paint only came three days before D day I shouldn't think they painted the Olive Drab with neat masking around the fuselage codes and insignia in the time available. I'm now wondering if I should have left them alone on the underside, as they were ordered to be removed from topsides within a month of the invasion and lots of aircraft had them left on the bottom... Hmm, normally I'd say "don't turn it upside down" but I've got all that bomb bay and undercarriage detail to show off... Regards, Adrian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Generally, the Olive drab was applied on top on the stripes to reduce their effect, it being considered easier to do that than attempt to remove them neatly. Linked to this was the idea that aircraft intended to operate on the Continent would have OD on all uppersurfaces, as seen on other (later?) Marauders and some 8th AF P-51 units. Yes, you will see Mustangs with OD just over the stripes yet Aluminium/NMF elsewhere. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 Thanks @Graham Boak. It sounds like I should have left the underside stripes visible in that case? Regards, Adrian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted October 3, 2018 Share Posted October 3, 2018 Initially the stripes were removed from the uppersurfaces only, by the start of July. Then they were removed from the underside of the wing, then completely in September. However in October the RAF bombers had the fuselage stripes reinstalled, because of "friendly fire" problems. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 The aeroplane I'm building was based in UK until 30 August 1944 and the reference photo (see above) shows it with upper stripes covered, flying over what looks like English countryside, which dates it to July/August. So I will restore the underside stripes. That works for me because I'm not happy with the underside treatment. I am hoping to find something that strips off acrylics but not Halfords rattle can aluminium. If the worst comes to the worst I will end up back at the Halfords grey primer layer, because pretty much nothing strips that. I knew there'd be something to slow me down! [edit] and if I'm wrong I can always stipple over some more colour underneath (or not)... Regards, Adrian 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 5, 2018 Author Share Posted October 5, 2018 So I’ve removed my overpainting from the undersides and I’m about to re-do the underside stripes: Thanks for looking, Adrian 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 Brilliant work again Adrian, and your attention to matching the paint detail is going to be well worth the effort. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 (edited) On 10/3/2018 at 8:43 PM, AdrianMF said: I wanted to see how closely the paint job matches the reference photo here. The wonderful Charles E brown photo, I still have the one I nicked borrowed from the school library copy of Flight Magazine in about 1970. Your call on the lower stripes is correct Adrian, some info here that has a photo of a 397th BG B-26 still with lower stripes in Jan 1945 plus another shot of Dee Feater which shows the lower strips still in place after the upper ones have been obscured rather than removed as @Graham Boak pointed out. Steve. Edited October 6, 2018 by stevehnz 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 Amazing work Adrian - I'm really enjoying this one 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 6, 2018 Author Share Posted October 6, 2018 @stevehnz You are a gentleman and a scholar! Thank you so much for digging those photos out and reassuring me. I painted in the underside stripes yesterday but didn’t leave enough time to grab a photo: This is the second time on the build I dived in without doing enough research and had to repaint. Hopefully there won’t be a third! Regards, Adrian 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawzer Posted October 6, 2018 Share Posted October 6, 2018 Wish i could do invasion stripes that good in 1/48 never mind 1/72! Top job! 👍 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 Moving on to the last few details. Some of the doors have ribs, some don’t, and those that do have some ribs missing because of ejector pins. So I’m using stretched sprue to add them all: Thanks for looking, Adrian 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 A bit of a turret upgrade... Thanks for looking, Adrian 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawzer Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 Racing towards the gallery!! 👍 (is the turret scratch built? - if so I'm mightily impressed!!) 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREG DESTEC Posted October 7, 2018 Share Posted October 7, 2018 More great details added Adrian, I'm looking forward to the final reveal on this one. Cheers Greg 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 34 minutes ago, Lawzer said: is the turret scratch built? Albion Alloys 0.6mm brass tube plus plastic strip and card. I started off by scaling down a 0.5 cal machine gun from a drawing and then found out that the limiting factor in turret size is the size of the gun! So if you are not dealing with (say) 15mm perspex but you have scale four inch thick turret glazing, you have to cut down your breech block a lot to make it fit. Well from 10mm to 8mm, but you know what I mean... [edit: I’m amazed how much bigger the 0.5 is than the .303 Browning, but I guess it’s just scale everything up by 50%.] Regards, Adrian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 8, 2018 Author Share Posted October 8, 2018 I thought I’d better make a base. Down to the garage to find some balsa, stick it together with wood glue tacked at the corners with superglue cos I’m impatient: Card for the top: Ten foot concrete squares: A bit of grass won’t hurt: Edges tomorrow... Thanks for looking, Adrian 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 8, 2018 Author Share Posted October 8, 2018 I suppose I should post one of these: ...and one of these: I will finish the base, realise I’ve missed three or four things and take some pictures for the gallery tomorrow. Thanks for looking, Adrian 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 3 hours ago, AdrianMF said: I suppose I should post one of these: Very much so, well worth the viewing, a super job there Adrian. Steve. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawzer Posted October 8, 2018 Share Posted October 8, 2018 Love it! Top drawer indeed there sir! 👍 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 12, 2018 Author Share Posted October 12, 2018 Finally got around to taking some gallery shots. Since I've only got a quota of five in the gallery, here are the other four: We had a big tidy up in the house this week and so I could take the shots indoors with my wife's craft lamps. A combination of that and me trying out some colour balance buttons on the camera seems to have resulted in slightly better photos than my average! I thoroughly recommend this kit! (with the usual trade off between sharper plastic from earlier pressings and better decals from the current release) [Edit: I would add that this is a tail sitter unless you cram nose weight in everywhere. The undercarriage is fairly thin too, so it almost feels more secure resting upside-down on prop blades and tail fin!] Thanks for looking and the interest along the way, Adrian 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 That looks fantastic, simply fantastic. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyW Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Another stunner! The base sets the beautiful model off perfectly. Tony. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GREG DESTEC Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 Absolutely stunning Adrian! Well done, cheers Greg 😀 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted October 12, 2018 Share Posted October 12, 2018 She turned out a beauty Adrian, nice work Cheers, Stew 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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