Fairey Barracuda -- Special Hobby 1/72

[billn53]

I flew home yesterday from my quick business trip and found this in my mailbox:

 

 

 

Naturally, I had to immediately try them out! Here are the instructions that come with the masks:

 

 

 

but there is much more information on the Air One Hobby website ( www.aironehobby.com ), including an excellent "how to" document:

 

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/7f9334_2d55b7b6061744ad9d29aa4bc0977f89.pdf

 

This is what the masks look like on the model:

 

 

 

I followed the guidance in the above tutorial, using a highly-thinned, 50-50 mix of Tamiya rubber black and brown, which yielded these results:

 

 

 

   

 

For not having done this before, I think I did ok.

 

With all my painting done, it was time to unmask the various clear items. I was especially worried about how the wingtip lights would look, but they turned out looking fine:

 

 

 

I next painted up the three recognition lights beneath the left wing. I used transparent orange, red, and green over a base of Molotow chrome, followed by clear UV-activated acrylic gel to give the lights a 3d appearance:

 

 

 

I also used the UV gel to fill in the small windows just forward of the wing root:

 

 

 

I painted the exhausts black, then applied a liberal dose of powdered rust pigment while the black was still tacky:

 

 

 

I finally worked up the courage to tackle the Barracuda's eccentrically-designed landing gear. Getting everything together turned out to be a real PITA (pain-in-the-a**), and Special Hobby's vague instructions and butt joins didn't help. After I finally had everything together and aligned to the best of my ability, I added a layer of thick CA on all the joins for strength.

 

   

 

At long last, this ugly duckling is finally standing on its feet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bigdave22014]

A bit late for you now, but when I assembled mine I drilled the main landing gear struts and put a bit of wire in to act as a pin to give it a bit more security.

I also realised when I took the masking off that the pilots head rest had fallen off.....

[Learstang]

That looks brilliant! That's a kit I've been seriously thinking about purchasing. I know it's a bit of work, but the results are plain to see on your model.

 

Regards,

 

Jason

[billn53]

I'm calling this one finished, with one exception (adding the aerial lines). Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure. I'll do an RFI once I've added the antenna lines and a couple of minor touchups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My selected weapons loadout was most likely never used in reality. I've added four 250-lb depth charges on the wing racks, plus a 600-lb depth bomb on the centerline. The total loadout (1600 lbs) is at the max for the Barracuda, so it's not an impossible one.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the underside of the dive flaps, showing my scratched actuator:

 

 

 

and the propeller, which wasn't immune to my weathering:

 

 

 

Other than the weapons, the only aftermarket on this build are the properly-sized wheels, by Barracuda:

 

 

 

That's it! Not bad for a three-week build. 

[CedB]

Very very nice Bill, great job  

[stevehnz]

That is brilliant Bill, as nice a Barracuda as I've seen I reckon.

Steve.

[RidgeRunner]

Thats a beauty, Bil!!!!!

 

Martin

 

[Brandy]

Beautifully done, or at least, as beautiful as a Barracuda can be!

 

Ian

[AdrianMF]

Looks fantastic. The weathering looks spot on - lived in but not stylised. A reference build that I will be coming back to if and when I ever get my FROG one to the bench...

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Terry1954]

Excellent looking Barracuda. I really like the way those fabric masks came out.

 

Terry

[billn53]

I finally got around to installing the aerial line. I used Uschi "Rig that Thing", highlighted with a silver pen.

 

 

 

 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Fabulous.  

 

[The model’s not bad, either!]

[billn53]

The RFI is up! See it here:

 

 

 

Lots of new pics!