Nikola Topalov Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) Hi guys, Almost out of the interior! Yey! I am building the kit OOB, so unfortunately no fancy seat belts, harnesses, interior decals, etc., and no time for all that to be honest. Looking to finish the kit as soon as I can. Again, sorry for my awkward phone camera and image quality. I just don't have time for better photos until the model is finished. Thanks for looking! Cheers, Nikola Edited December 29, 2019 by Nikola Topalov 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Your interior is looking mighty fine! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 That is a very attractive cockpit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 19 hours ago, billn53 said: Your interior is looking mighty fine! Thank you Bill! Best, Nikola 15 hours ago, Christer A said: That is a very attractive cockpit! Thanks Christer! Cheers, Nikola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairystick Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Lovely detail work on those sidewalls! On 12/7/2019 at 7:53 PM, f111guru said: It is the old and several reissue Monogram kit. Ahh. That explains a lot! I did this kit a while back (somewhere in sig. link below) and it was an interesting wrestling match to get completed... A word of advice would be to test fit the cockpit glazing quite soon. I had to add layers of strip styrene around the rear and sides to close up some large gaps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 29, 2019 Author Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, hairystick said: Lovely detail work on those sidewalls! Ahh. That explains a lot! I did this kit a while back (somewhere in sig. link below) and it was an interesting wrestling match to get completed... A word of advice would be to test fit the cockpit glazing quite soon. I had to add layers of strip styrene around the rear and sides to close up some large gaps. Hi Hairystick, Thanks for the heads up! Appreciated. I did plan to take a look at the glazing as soon as I close up the cockpit, as couple of guys had problems with it as well. Kind of hesitant to do it but since it has to happen, better sooner than later. Are there any AM glazing parts out there which I could get my hands on in case this turns out to be mission impossible? Best, Nikola Edited December 29, 2019 by Nikola Topalov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Splendid internals Nikola. AW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 9 minutes ago, Andwil said: Splendid internals Nikola. AW Thanks Andwil! Appreciated. Cheers, Nikola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 45 minutes ago, Nikola Topalov said: Hi Hairystick, Thanks for the heads up! Appreciated. I did plan to take a look at the glazing as soon as I close up the cockpit, as couple of guys had problems with it as well. Kind of hesitant to do it but since it has to happen, better sooner than later. Are there any AM glazing parts out there which I could get my hands on in case this turns out to be mission impossible? Best, Nikola P. S. Do you have any photos of your build? I would very much like to see them for inspiration. Thanks in advance, Nikola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 (edited) The dials and gauges could be much better but since the details on this old kit are not that sharp, I will not mess with them. I will save my eyes for a better kit. Best, Nikola Edited December 30, 2019 by Nikola Topalov 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f111guru Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 Just caught up with your build Nikola. WOW!!! Looking great, different perspective on the preshading method. Again simply gorgeous. All The Best Ron VanDerwarker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 54 minutes ago, f111guru said: Just caught up with your build Nikola. WOW!!! Looking great, different perspective on the preshading method. Again simply gorgeous. All The Best Ron VanDerwarker Thank you very much Ron! Appreciated! As I said in one of the previous replies, as for my complementary pre-shading method, if you wish to take a look, here is the link to WIP, my first experiment with a Zeke (did it only on the exterior this first time): And here is the link to RFI: Thanks for looking! Best, Nikola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 1 hour ago, f111guru said: Just caught up with your build Nikola. WOW!!! Looking great, different perspective on the preshading method. Again simply gorgeous. All The Best Ron VanDerwarker Hi Ron, To quote myself from previous posts: You can even go further when doing a "virtual light source" method (I don't know the proper name :)) and introduce "warm" colours for pre-shading "cold" base colors in areas which will be in shade and vice versa, "cold" pre-shading for "warm" ones. This is done in painting. The complementary pre-shading method (pre-shading base color with it's complementary) came to my mind recently and it is more of an artistic than realistic approach to painting models, but I like to mix both in my work and try to be somewhere in between. We'll see how far I can develop the method. Looks promising to me anyway. Best, Nikola 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted December 30, 2019 Author Share Posted December 30, 2019 Hi guys, I thought I could share a couple of more cockpit shots before I close her up. Just very slightly better photos this time Again, thanks for looking! Cheers, Nikola 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted January 5, 2020 Author Share Posted January 5, 2020 (edited) Hi guys, She's all closed up and waiting for me to come back from snowboarding holiday From the dry fit test, I saw that there is going to be a serious war between me and the canopies. Thanks for looking! Happy 2020 to all! Best wishes, Nikola Edited January 5, 2020 by Nikola Topalov 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) Hi guys, An update on the widow after an almost three week break. I did my best on fitting the canopies (even using white glue as a filler) and as you can see, the results are not great. As everyone has said before, they have a terrible, terrible fit (some of the clear parts are even missing "mullions" (don't know the right word )), but I decided not to worry about it and waste too much time on correcting that. Instead, I will make tarps from a Kleenex and water/white glue mixture, cover the problematic parts, paint the tarps and "das is it" I will also leave all the openable parts of the canopies open of course, since the dry fit showed an impossible task to make it look OK. This will also show some of the interior which I put effort in. Cleaning up and fitting the rest of the parts was a time consuming task, but not as bad as the canopies. Still got a little sanding and filling to do, and then on to masking and priming. Thanks for looking guys! Cheers, Nikola Edited January 17, 2020 by Nikola Topalov 6 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 That's some step. Could you partly sand the fuselage behind the canopy and add a bit of packing to lift the rear canopy up a little to meet the fuselage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 18 minutes ago, woody37 said: That's some step. Could you partly sand the fuselage behind the canopy and add a bit of packing to lift the rear canopy up a little to meet the fuselage? Hi Woody, Your suggestions are good, but too late for that now. I can't lift the canopy any more and sanding the fuselage to meet the canopy would leave no canopy at all, as the step is as deep as the fuselage ceiling. I thought about building up the cockpit sides to raise the canopy as some of the guys have done and suggested, but I have to admit that I was lazy to do it since I have very little free time and that would prolong the whole process, so I was impatient and decided to go the route of less resistance, or to call it the "cheat route" Cheers, Nikola 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VT Red Sox Fan Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 This is awesome work--following with interest! Best, Erwin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 37 minutes ago, Nikola Topalov said: Hi Woody, Your suggestions are good, but too late for that now. I can't lift the canopy any more and sanding the fuselage to meet the canopy would leave no canopy at all, as the step is as deep as the fuselage ceiling. I thought about building up the cockpit sides to raise the canopy as some of the guys have done and suggested, but I have to admit that I was lazy to do it since I have very little free time and that would prolong the whole process, so I was impatient and decided to go the route of less resistance, or to call it the "cheat route" Cheers, Nikola Maybe if it was the only problem with the canopies I would have put some effort, but since every piece had at least one problem, I just decided not to bother with them much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, VT Red Sox Fan said: This is awesome work--following with interest! Best, Erwin Hi Erwin, Thank you very much! Will try not to mess it up any more than necessary. Best, Nikola Edited January 17, 2020 by Nikola Topalov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 Hi guys, Priming and complementary pre-shading finished: 1. Primer - Vallejo German Dark Yellow Surface Primer 73.604 2. Complementary pre-shading - Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red (and darker shade of it made by mixing with XF-1 Flat Black) and X-16 Purple. 3. Highlights - Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan Next step: Base colors - Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab and XF-53 Neutral Gray. Thanks for looking. Cheers, Nikola 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairystick Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 On 12/29/2019 at 3:53 PM, Nikola Topalov said: I did plan to take a look at the glazing as soon as I close up the cockpit, as couple of guys had problems with it as well. Kind of hesitant to do it but since it has to happen, better sooner than later. Sorry for the late reply. For some reaon the site didn't alert me of the quote reply. I believe there is/was an aftermarket glazing set (difficult to obtain nowadays) so I went down the pathway of having to add sheet card onto the edges to build up theclear parts. These end up getting painted so are not too much of a hassle. Sadly there is also the sanding down of the fuselage plactic so the parts meet "somewhere in the middle" as it were. My only photos are in the "completed builds" thread I have. Looking forward to your painting technique! It looks fascinating indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikola Topalov Posted January 23, 2020 Author Share Posted January 23, 2020 (edited) 3 hours ago, hairystick said: Sorry for the late reply. For some reaon the site didn't alert me of the quote reply. I believe there is/was an aftermarket glazing set (difficult to obtain nowadays) so I went down the pathway of having to add sheet card onto the edges to build up theclear parts. These end up getting painted so are not too much of a hassle. Sadly there is also the sanding down of the fuselage plactic so the parts meet "somewhere in the middle" as it were. My only photos are in the "completed builds" thread I have. Looking forward to your painting technique! It looks fascinating indeed. Hi Hairystick, Thanks for your reply! I looked for an aftermarket canopy but with no luck. Apparently they don't make them any more, so it is what it is unfortunately. As I said in one of the previous replies, since all clear pieces had problems, I just couldn't bother fixing them and decided to cheat by covering problematic areas with tarps. We'll see how it turns out. Could you share the link to your build? I would like to see it for inspiration. Cheers, Nikola Edited January 23, 2020 by Nikola Topalov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f111guru Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Nikola, I'm miffed as to the shrinkage (if that's the word to use) on the front canopy. I haven't bought a new release in ages. I'm guessing around 1990 the last time I bought the P-61. I do know the 3 that I built for other folks had zero problems with the canopies. I should have bought up a few vacuform sets when they were available. But then again I saw no need. So here I am wishing and wanting. Anyway, the paint is looking great. I'm liking the shading your doing and the hues generated from those tones on the final colors should and would be different from the black preshading. All The Best, Ron VanDerwarker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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