Hewy Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 I'm green with envy at your seat belt work, very nice indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 (edited) 9 hours ago, Hewy said: I'm green with envy at your seat belt work, very nice indeed G'day Hewy, Nice of you to say, you must be at a similar stage in your build as you have already completed the cockpit? G'day people, I have been working on the undercarriage today. All the u/c doors have now been painted in their basic colours and some weathering effects added to the interior side. These doors are mostly clean so I have basically kept it to just a basic pin wash for now. I like the positive fit of the main gear doors The nose unit was cleaned up and some PE details added The main u/c legs are at the same stage The main struts each have an additional strut added. I think that the instructions got the part numbers of these struts (G3/G11) mixed up. They are handed and I used some blue-tac to temporarily hold the struts in place while the glue set While that was happening I prepared the arresting hook and bay. A decal is provided for the white/black stripes but I thought it easier to mask and paint, cheers, Pappy Edited October 30, 2018 by Pappy 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Fine work on these various parts and sections Pappy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 (edited) 17 hours ago, Col. said: Fine work on these various parts and sections Pappy. Thanks very much Col. G'day people, I have been working on the intakes. Kinetic provide the inlet compressor faces moulded integrally with the inner inlet duct wall. I separated the inlet compressor face from the duct wall and a PE part was attached to each of the compressor faces The next issue is that the kit inlet duct is too short, I may have to fix that. Meanwhile, I have been painting up the seats, they are not done yet but they are getting close A sneaky test fit just 'coz I wanted to see how they would look installed Then back to the grindstone, literally! The supporting 'shelf' on the inside of the fuselage halves designed to locate the kit part was carved, ground and sanded away to make way for the resin tub Next up test fitting the resin tub Well the good news is that the fuselage closes. In fact the forward fuselage is easier to close now because the Kinetic cockpit is wider than the resin tub. The resin tub is narrower in the 'hips' in the area level with the side consoles but the upper sections of the forward and aft bulkheads match the kit contours very nicely. I think I will probably use the Kinetic cockpit to make a template and then use that to add additional material to the resin tub to achieve a snug fit, cheers, Pappy Edited October 31, 2018 by Pappy 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Seats look great, and that resin cockpit is gorgeous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 I really like the way that this is coming together, and the amount of detail that you have squeezed into each area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 This has to be one of the best cockpits I've seen. The seats look brilliant and I like the way you have done the belts differently for each one. Your work on the undercarriage bays is great too, great detail painting and nice weathering. All round top work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 (edited) On 10/31/2018 at 10:53 AM, Hewy said: Seats look great, and that resin cockpit is gorgeous Thanks Hewy, I do love paintimg cockpits and the details just cry out for a decent paintjob. On 11/1/2018 at 6:38 AM, Jabba said: I really like the way that this is coming together, and the amount of detail that you have squeezed into each area. Thatnks Jabba, that is what modelling is all about for me, I find that the more research I do, the more nuances I can add On 11/1/2018 at 7:19 AM, modelling minion said: This has to be one of the best cockpits I've seen. The seats look brilliant and I like the way you have done the belts differently for each one. Your work on the undercarriage bays is great too, great detail painting and nice weathering. All round top work. G'day MM, thanks very much, it is very nuch appreciated. I have spent a decent amount of time painting the seats. I have just glossed up the headboxes in preparation for the stencil decals which should really make the seats 'pop'. These resin seats are crammed with little details and very well mastered and bear a very close resemblence to my reference pics. The ony real area of difference is in the seat padding, the resin seats have the rectangular block pattern whereas most pictures of GRU-7s do not but I can live with it. In reality, the groundcrews would 'dress' the seat belts so that they would be ready for the crew to strap in prior to a mission, but I think it looks more interesting when the belts are not identical. Edited February 16, 2020 by Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 After having another look at your seats pappy, I've decided what to ask santa for this year, a proper magnifying head visor, I'm off to do some research so mr claus doesn't bring an inferior gift😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) On 11/3/2018 at 5:37 AM, Hewy said: After having another look at your seats pappy, I've decided what to ask santa for this year, a proper magnifying head visor, I'm off to do some research so mr claus doesn't bring an inferior gift😉 I have thought about getting one of these myself, but I think it would just be annoying but if you think it would help. I tend to only paint fine details in daylight, I find overhead lamps tend to cast strong shadows and that the light balance is off at night and do not like the shades I end up with for drybrushing, adding highlights etc. I could try switching to 'natural' light bulbs but daylight is free. G'day people, Today I have been tinkering with the fit of the resin tub. As previously stated, the resin tub is narrower that the kit provided item, which leaves some unsightly gaps along the sides if not addressed. I began by gluing some plastic strips along the console edges. After lots of test fit, sanding/swearing and adjusting I would up with this, Which sits quite snugly within the fuselage The radar was cleaned up and assembled next The resin avionics bays and cockpit are from two different manufacturers. In order for the resin tub to play nice with the resin avionics bays, I needed to thin the tub floor down some more as well as the roof of the avionics bays for good measure. Predictably, the floor of the ECMO1 position disappeared, however the right avionics bay roof will now substitute for the ECMO1 floor after a coat of DGG cheers, Pappy Edited November 7, 2018 by Pappy 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Looking very very nice!! J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) Splendid bays, top job mate, have you found any decent reference photos of the radar assembly pappy regarding colours and wiring, I've not discovered anything off the net, the search continues Cheers Glynn Edited November 4, 2018 by Hewy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Very nice work on the avionics bays, they really do look good. Good job sorting the gaps around the resin cockpit, it never ceases to amaze me hos much work is sometimes needed to get aftermarket parts that are designed for specific kits to actually fit them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) On 11/4/2018 at 3:16 PM, JeffreyK said: GLooking very very nice!! J Thanks Jeffrey On 11/4/2018 at 5:29 PM, Hewy said: USplendid bays, top job mate, have you found any decent reference photos of the radar assembly pappy regarding colours and wiring, I've not discovered anything off the net, the search continues Cheers Glynn G'day Glynn, Thanks very much. Unsure how much commonality the radar units would share as the A-6 was optimized as an attack platform while the EA-6B was an electronic warfare platform, so the search function would not have been required on the EA-6B. I suspect that they were pretty similar outwardly {why reinvent the wheel?) If you can get your hands on a copy of the Squadron Signal Walkaround for the A-6, perhaps that may shed some light?? On 11/4/2018 at 8:22 PM, modelling minion said: Very nice work on the avionics bays, they really do look good. Good job sorting the gaps around the resin cockpit, it never ceases to amaze me hos much work is sometimes needed to get aftermarket parts that are designed for specific kits to actually fit them. G'day MM, Sadly I have to agree with you. Aftermarket does not always mean an easy route to extra detail. If I was to build another EA-6B I would be inclined to use the kit cockpit and substitute the kit seats for resin ones as the kit tub is nice enough and resin seats would be enough to make it pop. To be fair though, the avionics bays and cockpit tub are from two different companies so fit issues were to be expected. If I had only used one of the accessory sets it would have been straightforward installation I suspect, Edited November 7, 2018 by Pappy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Wow this just gets better and better. As with others I like your solution to the fitting of the cockpit, plus the detail in the AV bays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 This really is a fantastic set of additions to what appears to be a pretty nice kit anyway, great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Drover Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 How'd I miss this one? Looks good so far Pappy. Have you chosen a scheme for it? Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 That's some outstanding work! The detail work and painting is truly excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 (edited) On 11/13/2018 at 4:48 PM, Mick Drover said: How'd I miss this one? Looks good so far Pappy. Have you chosen a scheme for it? Mick Yeah, grey! I actually like the boxtop scheme which has a full colour rising sun on the tail (and printed by Cartograph, so they should be good to use) but I also have AM decals for the 'Frankenprowler' which also appeals but with the two avionics bays opened, the two 'neck bolt' decals won't be seen which is an iconic part of the Frankenstein themed markings so I am leaning towards the box art for now. This build was a spur of the moment choice as a certain local hobby shop had kits on sale (25% off across the board) to celebrate opening their new store a few months back. I basically spent the difference in kit price on AM resin and PE (plus more) so when I stumbled across the Grumman GB it seemed like a good fit. On 11/13/2018 at 4:55 PM, dnl42 said: That's some outstanding work! The detail work and painting is truly excellent. Thanks D, much appreciated. Edited February 16, 2020 by Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 24, 2018 Author Share Posted November 24, 2018 (edited) G'day people, Phew, I have returned from a work related trip and finally got some bench time. I have painted up the radar and its bulkhead The radar unit was only dry fitted for the pics so if it looks a little wonky - it is! I have been investigating a solution to the too short intake ducts. I was just going to add a short section of tube behind the kit intake duct and glue the kit compressor faces to the end of the tube sections. My problem is that I need a tube of 14mm ID and the stock sizes end at 12.7mm. I investigated various acrylic tube sizes and while I did find a 14mm ID (18mm OD) product but this was going to cost about $20 and for that price I may as well buy aftermarket resin items, plus it would mean another delay while waiting for these to arrive. I decided that I could live with the shorter intakes after al. l attached the intakes I have a PE set to represent the Extensible Equipment Platform (EEP) commonly referred to as 'the cage'. The EEP is located ventrally aft of the exhausts and this required yet another section of the airframe to be removed. Although the PE set provides a wealth of detail for the EEP itself, it creates another problem as the avionics compartment will need to be scratch built as the resultant fuselage cavity is completely devoid of any detail. I also added the arresting hook bay to one of the fuselage halves as it fits quite well and I will need a landmark to start building the interior of the aft avionics compartment I now have some metal origami ahead of me to turn this into a representation of the EEP cheers, Pappy Edited November 24, 2018 by Pappy 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted November 25, 2018 Share Posted November 25, 2018 "EEP!" is exactly how I'd react to having to build up that PE rack/box. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted November 26, 2018 Author Share Posted November 26, 2018 (edited) On 11/25/2018 at 9:54 PM, gingerbob said: "EEP!" is exactly how I'd react to having to build up that PE rack/box. You are not wrong GB, I made quite a few interesting sounds and invented a few new words as well but prevailed eventually and this was the result It will need some additional wiring but otherwise I am pretty happy with how it turned out, cheers, Pappy Edited February 16, 2020 by Pappy 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 Nice work on the bird cage, it looks great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 Yet again the work that you have produced is absolutely stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 Lovely Sky Pig Pappy! Then again, I may be slightly biased. 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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