stevej60 Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) Hi folk's,the timely arrival of this kit from fellow member Jaw has answered the question what to build for this GB.The Skyraider AEW was the mainstay of British carrier operation throughout the fifties finally retiring in 1960 to be replaced eventually by the Gannet.the kit is Esci in origin from the early eighties and is basic to say the least but nicely done raised lines akin to Monogram's kit which I've also had the pleasure of building.hope to get a start soon here's the box art for now I'll post some sprue shot's ASAP,version I plan is the overall blue scheme for one of Ark Royal's aircraft in 1958. Edited January 21, 2019 by stevej60 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 An interesting choice Steve, I do like a Skyraider and having one in FAA markings can only be a bonus. Look forward to seeing what you can do with this one mate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Yip, that works for me, top choice Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 A nice choice Steve. Incredibly, I was completely unaware of these aircraft until just a couple of years ago. When I first saw some artwork, I thought it was a Whif! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 (edited) Hi folk's thought I'd make a start cleaning up the main part's,nice soft plastic help's with the removal from the sprue I've built the radome,fuel tank's and added the insert's for the U/C which needed a little filling and finally assembled the cockpit part's.So far so good.😉 Edited January 23, 2019 by stevej60 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 23, 2019 Share Posted January 23, 2019 Good start Steve. Got this kit in my own stash so watching your progress with interest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 23, 2019 Author Share Posted January 23, 2019 9 minutes ago, Col. said: Good start Steve. Got this kit in my own stash so watching your progress with interest. Thank's Col,been pouring over photo's and an excellent conversion of the Tamiya kit into an AEW 1 here on BM,the painting should be a doddle as everything including wheel well's and U/C were sprayed blue so a bit of shading and dry brushing will need to be done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Good choice Steve. I built this many years ago and seem to recall that the kit fuselage has the cockpit armour moulded on as a left over from a previous version of the kit. This needs to be removed from the AEW version. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadbear Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I remember building an Esci Skyraider when they were first realised. No problems with construction if I remember rightly. As has been mentioned the cockpit side armour needs removing. Otherwise should be an easy build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky boy Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Nice start Steve. I love a Spad. Are the panel lines raised on this kit? James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 13 hours ago, stevej60 said: Thank's Col,been pouring over photo's and an excellent conversion of the Tamiya kit into an AEW 1 here on BM,the painting should be a doddle as everything including wheel well's and U/C were sprayed blue so a bit of shading and dry brushing will need to be done. 6 hours ago, Threadbear said: I remember building an Esci Skyraider when they were first realised. No problems with construction if I remember rightly. As has been mentioned the cockpit side armour needs removing. Otherwise should be an easy build. 3 minutes ago, franky boy said: Nice start Steve. I love a Spad. Are the panel lines raised on this kit? James Thank's for that info Colin and threadbear i'll see how this can be done.James the panel line's are raised but very fine some recessed lines are present also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) Morning folk's,my heart sank when I read Colin and Threadbear's info on the armour plating however with a bit of scraping,sanding and rescribing it look's OK.U/c is fitted and as you can see the panels with the window and door are fitted there are a few gap's to fill but they fit flush with the fuselage which is good news,after five week's of flu and general Mojo loss this kit has got my old enthusiasm back! And here taking a bow is my Monogram Skyraider built about five year's ago I must get round to a Vietnam "Sandy" in the future. Edited January 24, 2019 by stevej60 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Threadbear Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Nice progress on the Spad and glad the removal of the side armour wasn't too painful!! Lovely Monogram Spad too with Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club markings! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 Hi folk's,good progress after another session tonight.Cockpit oob with decal's as supplied not much can be seen once the smallish glazing is added, little of the engine on view once in place so painted then a wash into the detailing and a dry brush before fiting the cowling. and now assembled ready for the seam's to be cleaned up and the radome(which is a terrible fit) fixed in place. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 Very nice work Steve, and very quick too! Glad to see you've got your mojo back, great job removing the armour from the fuselage too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 3 minutes ago, modelling minion said: Very nice work Steve, and very quick too! Glad to see you've got your mojo back, great job removing the armour from the fuselage too. Thank's Craig,hopefully I can gather a bit of enthusiasm to kick start a couple of other GB build's sitting stalled at the moment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Skyraiders looking good 👍 ... I always liked the looks of them except when they're pregnant. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Evening folk's,well a week into the build anyd I'm pleased with the progress.tweaked the radome with a few dry run's and sanding it tended to "see-saw" get a good fit at the front and it's awfull at the back and vice versa so easiest to get a good fit at the front and filler the back end as its easier to access and work on,filled the last odd gap and primed in Tamiya medium blue ready for the top coat. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Good work Steve. The medium blue looks a lot like the Gloss Sea Blue after it's weathered and faded in some photographs I've seen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 Morning folk's,after adding the lumps and bump's including a few I noticed in photo's but are not supplied.two coat's of sea blue(Tamiya) then a few passes with a lighter shade with the airbrush to break the solid colour up. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
franky boy Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 OMG that was quick! Great stuff Steve James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Nice work Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Excellent fast work Steve! You really are making short work of this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 1 minute ago, modelling minion said: Excellent fast work Steve! You really are making short work of this one. Cheer's Craig the all over blue help's and there's not a lot of "fiddly" work on this kit(picked up Airfix's Sea Fury yesterday different story) so about five hour's spent overall.I've just been looking at photo's of FAA Skyraider's and in service they were really well kept and don't seem to show the heavy exhaust staining as their US counterpart's so may not bother to reproduce it on the kit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 Hi folk's,last one before the gallery,only the cockpit to paint and underside decal's to add then I'll go for a satin coat to take the toy like look away just dry brushed the raised lines and along the exhaust flow I'll add some dark staining after finishing. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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