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1:72 CMR Martin AM-1 Mauler


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9 minutes ago, Marklo said:

It’s the damn autocorrect kicking I I did of course mean to say tinlets.

 

I figured as much, but I never take that for certain. I've heard some rather interesting British slang over the years.   :)

 

Pretty cool how that old paint seems to be OK. That's a big advantage of the tinlet as long as the seal is good - no light or air gets inside. I keep all of my old paints (and I have some from the 70s) in boxes so they stay in the dark, and I try to keep the lids and bottles clean so there is a solid seal. 

 

Was/is Precision Paints a UK or European brand? I don't recall seeing them for sale over here.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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10 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

Thanks Cookie. Are we still planning on getting @CedB over here for Oshkosh and Dayton? Assuming the pandemic becomes anemic at some time.

I'm still game Bill, assuming (as you say) that it's safe - I wouldn't want such a memorable trip to be my last one! :) 

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10 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

Was/is Precision Paints a UK or European brand? I don't recall seeing them for sale over here.

I think uk. I’d have bought them on a visit to the uk. Myself and my Dad used to go to the model engineering exhibition most years. At the time they were head and shoulders above the competition and unlike the rest did specific camouflage colours.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

What say we make some progress on this build?

 

Today was a good day to paint, in addition to making eight truss tubes for my new light bucket (but that's a whole different story). First, some work on the torpedoes. I've painted up the main bodies and the rear "box", and prepared the props (not painted yet). The props were a nightmare to remove from the casting blocks, and in the process one of the blades went "zing!" It has been dutifully replaced with a teeny tiny bit of white styrene (seen on the prop at the left).

 

IMG_5458

 

The bodies of the torpedoes were interesting. I'm used to resin parts that don't have seams, especially when they are one piece. But each one of the torpedoes had seams cast in, just like they were made from two injection moulded pieces. Which, of course, the masters for these parts were. The seams needed putty and more sanding than I expected to clean up. You would think they would have filled, sanded, and cleaned up the seams on the masters before they made the mould!

 

The yellow body with red nose was determined from the Ginter volume, not only in the text but also in the colour photos. These should make a nice contrast against the sea blue.

 

I also finished up the propeller and spinner. I had to go searching through the Island of Misfit Stickers to find Hamilton Standard logos for each blade. I think they're the right ones!

 

IMG_5459

 

The white portion of the spinner is for the scheme I've chosen, which is for NAS Grosse Isle - VA-733 I think. And finally, a nice little International Orange fuselage stripe denoting a Naval Reserve squadron. Of course, I bought a bottle of British International Orange, which is somewhat different than the US version, but no matter. This is what happens when you get old - "BS 592" looks like "FS12197" on the label.

 

IMG_5460

 

There's bit of touch-up to do on the stripe, and then she'll get another coat of clear gloss before stickering.

 

I have the codes for Grosse Isle (single letter "I") along with the national insignia, "NAVY", the carrier landing angle of attack stripes, cockpit markings, and I think I can fake the numbers on the cowling. Remember this kit came with no decals. What I don't have are decals for the aircraft designation (AM-1) and the bureau number - these are quite small and are placed on the side of the fuselage underneath the tail. This may have to be faked with some Skyraider decals, so don't look closely! I'll try to find a small "M" so I can change "AD" to "AM" but no guarantees.

 

At the end of the day, I think she'll turn out OK. This kit is nowhere near the quality and detail of the CMR Firebrand I just finished, but there are not a lot of Mauler kits around. Beggars can't be choosers.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Come to think of it, I painted up the main tyres too. Wonder where I left them...    :confused:

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Very good news to read Bill, more rugrats.

 

Phew two and a half is enough for me.

 

And likewise Very very god news healthwise, win win.

 

Please.

 

This aeroplane.

 

I have studiously avoided getting involved but blimey wot a beast and - - - you win again.

 

Taming the beast, its been a ninteresting catch up, bean counters the bane of my life.

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Looking great Bill and that orange stripe really makes a difference. I really like that scheme. Must pick myself a subject to finish that way sometime. My Squadron/Signal Navy Air Colours vol 2 has a photo of a Banshee in that scheme, and I just happen to have a Sword Banshee in the stash, so there's an idea. There's also a nice illustration of a Piasecki HUP-1 in the same scheme. That would be neat. So many ideas!

 

Looking forward to seeing the Mauler complete with that weapons fit!

 

Terry

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Nice colorful progress, Bill :clap: :D

 

Looking forward to see those torpedoes hanging down from the wings, they're definitely gonna make for an interesting contrast :winkgrin:

 

Ciao 

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On 9/7/2020 at 8:44 AM, Navy Bird said:

 

Good News Department: My biopsy came back benign. What they found was follicular hyperplasia which mimics follicular lymphoma, but is not malignant. It's an infection of some kind. We discuss treatment this week. Woo hoo!

 

Good News Department Redux: My youngest daughter is expecting. Her first, but it will be grandchild number five for me and that long-haired person I live with.

 

Cheers,

Bill

This pleases me greatly, excellent news all round.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 20/09/2020 at 22:54, NAVY870 said:

This pleases me greatly, excellent news all round.

 

Thanks Steve! Hey, while you're here - I'm thinking I should add a Beaufighter to the collection. Got any good ideas for an Aussie scheme? I seem to recall you might have an actual example in your own personal collection.

 

On 20/09/2020 at 19:23, giemme said:

Looking forward to see those torpedoes hanging down from the wings, they're definitely gonna make for an interesting contrast :winkgrin:

 

See below for an update...

 

On 20/09/2020 at 04:14, Terry1954 said:

Looking forward to seeing the Mauler complete with that weapons fit!

 

Me too. I finally got the torpedoes together, although they look a bit too pristine. They should be covered with hydraulic fluid leaks or something. Bird droppings perhaps.

 

IMG_5464

 

IMG_5465

 

We're getting very close - the stickers are on!    :clap:   Here she is all shiny and stickery:

 

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The decals all came from the spares box as well as a sheet for Skyraiders. The aircraft codes and numbers came from an ancient sheet full of USN letters and numbers. I don't recall where I bought it, and I've never seen it again. Nice sheet - there is no decal film around the letters. I had used up all the letters "I" so I had to improvise and cut and paste. Don't look at the bureau number under the tail - it says "AD-1." Just make believe it says "AM-1."    :)

 

You may notice that in the orange stripe there is a decal "NAVY GROSSE ILE." The actual aircraft just said NAVY but since I had the decal, and the plane was stationed at Grosse Ile, I figured a little modeller's license was in order. Once I had applied the decals, I had a minor heart attack when I noticed that the Ginter book has it spelled GROSSE ISLE. I assumed that the decal company got it wrong. But guess what? They got it right. Whew. Odd that Ginter would make that typo, as a photo of a patch from Grosse Ile is included in the book with the correct spelling of Ile.

 

I'm off right now to have some supper, and then the Mauler gets a nice overcoat. She's too shiny as she sets - I'm a believer in "scale gloss" and all my USN Sea Blue birds have an overcoat of Floquil Flat which, despite its name, gives a really nice egg-shell semi-gloss finish that I like a lot. Once that dries I'll be back with some more photos of the beast.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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She got her overcoat of Floquil Flat, and a trio of yellow submarines. Er, yellow torpedoes.

 

IMG_5467

 

IMG_5468

 

IMG_5469

 

And, as you can see, the pilot can now see out of the windscreen. I forgot to do the navigation lights on the wingtips, so let me add that to the list. I think there is a radio mast as well, maybe an antenna wire. I need to check my references on that.

 

This mess here will be interesting:

 

IMG_5471

 

These little buggers are designed to be butt-joined to the wing. More fun! The graduated "scale" on the right was taken from a 1:72 scale drawing of the undersides of the Mauler's wing that clearly denoted the pylon locations. I will use this, including its straight edge, to help me attach these puppies in the right location, align them, and ensure the right separation. I have no clue what they are - they're awfully small so I suspect they're practice bombs of some type. Most of the photos I have show good old WWII-style 250 pounders, (I think - see below) but these are smaller. 100 pounds maybe?

 

Untitled-1

 

I rummaged through all the spares boxes but couldn't come up with enough 250 pounders. I even went through the applicable kits in my stash. Oh well, I'll try and use these cute little resin bomblets.

 

Since my model is a USN Reserve bird, it has the arresting hook removed (at least in the photos I have). Whew! I won't have to paint those black and white stripes.   :doh:

 

Cheers,

Bill

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What a load out, I don’t even understand how it got airborne! It looks very menacing,

 

congrats on the great news on both counts! Good luck to you and your daughter (sorry I’m a bit late catching up here)

 

Rob

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