Foxbat Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) I really like the triangular black and red markings Mozambique use, but all the ones in my stash are for MiGs that are already well represented in this GB already. So I went back a generation to the 1965-74 War of Independence and looked at some of the Fiat G.91Rs operated as counter insurgency/ground attack aircraft by Portugal during that conflict. There is a set of decals out there that has 'my' scheme on and also an overall dark green aircraft from the early 70s. Meng made it easy for me by including the scheme in one of their boxings, so that's what I've got. Or will have. Sorry postie 😢 This is the box... ...and this is the scheme I'll be doing from it I've been reading up and a Portuguese member of BM built this one back in 2014 and painted it light grey rather than natural metal. I'm going to follow his lead. Hopefully mine will be within touching distance of how good his turned out. Andy Edited February 20, 2021 by Foxbat Smelling korrections 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 As far as I know they were light grey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Nice subject choice Andy An uncommon one and all the more worthy for it. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Great choice Andy, and yes definitely light grey not natural metal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Some decent info on Portuguese aircraft in Africa here Andy; http://worldatwar.net/chandelle/v3/v3n2/portcoin.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Bit more on Ginas in Africa; https://en.difesaonline.it/news-forze-armate/storia/ali-italiane-dei-conflitti-del-dopoguerra-i-g91-portoghesi-nelle-colonie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted March 15, 2021 Author Share Posted March 15, 2021 Cheers MM, it's like you read my mind. Having finished my first Pz. III last night I just broke this out so I have something to show in this GB Planning on a bit of a blitz build with it to gain a bit of momentum with three enties to finish. Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 11 minutes ago, Foxbat said: it's like you read my mind. Obviously a case of great minds thinking alike Andy.😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Great project! I have the ingredients for something similar but in 48 on the to be built pile for years.. did not even think about it until just now... I also think they were painted light grey by the way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted March 20, 2021 Author Share Posted March 20, 2021 Thought I better get my finger out and actually attempt ot build something, now my first Pz III is complete. First job was painting a lot of fiddly bits on the sprue. My love of inkwashes is surely no secret any more,and I discovered a great new one - light grey!! It is intended for Mecha and the like but it works great for bits of aircraft where black would be too stark, so I splashed some around the cockpit as I built. Couple of minutes work with the dry brush and some glue and I was here - part 1 of the instructions completed: Meng have a weird way of making this jigsaw come together. There are lots of big holes in the fuselage halves that you insert big lumps of stuff into. Stage 2 of the instructions incolves the cockpit tub, intake blank, front undercarriage bay and the massive main undercart/airbrake housing being added to one fuselage half: Before adding the other half. This was a bit of a trial because although the plastic is quite soft and easy to work, the sprue gates are huge and not alwats square to the part so there's quite a bit of trimming and fiddling then adjusting, then dismantling, more trimming and re-gluing before it's all done. Lesson learned for later in the build. To celebrate I added the tailplanes which made a mockery of the last sentence by being a perfect fit first time Flushed with success, I added the wings and nosecone and boom!! that was stage 4 of the instructions done. I went round everywhere and did some judicious sanding and applied a tiny smear of filler where necessary. The kit is almost like Tamiya in that if something doesn't fit, first check what you did wrong. It's also completely not Tamiya in that what you did wrong was not spend long enough trimming and filing and checking every milimetre of every mating surface. Spend a little time in prep and this is actually a really nice kit, even if it is a little odd in howit's broken down. I've gone a little off piste now in that I've stuck one of the cheek panels on so I can cram the space round the cockpit with weight as this is promising to be a tail sitter so far. You'll have to wait for the next installment though Andy 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 This looks like a great kit. It's about time we got a decent G91 in 1/48. There are enough markings schemes for a reasonable sales. Maybe Meng will upscale this one! Looking good so far, I like the grey scheme and we dont see many Portugese planes 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted March 20, 2021 Author Share Posted March 20, 2021 5 minutes ago, Colin W said: This looks like a great kit. It's about time we got a decent G91 in 1/48. There are enough markings schemes for a reasonable sales. Maybe Meng will upscale this one! Looking good so far, I like the grey scheme and we dont see many Portugese planes It's not shake and bake but it is actually a nice kit if you take your time and put just a little effort in. I'm not good at that bit and I've been spoilt building Tamiya armour for a while now Andy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted March 27, 2021 Author Share Posted March 27, 2021 (edited) Having filled it full of lead, it was time to add the cheek pieces. Unless you're following the instructions in which case they go on right at the end. I'm a growdy up though so I decide what order things happen!! They're big old chunks of plastic because not only do they cater for the different armament carried by the different versions, they also have all the associated minor panels, vents &c that go with them. Looks odd when you first look at the kit, but makes perfect sense when you're building it. Time to add the wing fences and pylons so that construction is complete enough to allow some paint to be added to the mix. The Portugese use delicate little wing fences and one pair of pylons. The German version is much more robust, with the wing fences being extended to give four weapon stations. You can see the grey ink in this photo too. I should be a continuity announcer or something, the way I tie this photo story together I got adventurous at this point and slapped a coat of white primer on. That came back to bite me as it bled into the first top coat and made some groovy psychedelic patterns. I needed a very pale topcoat. A search through the extensive paint stash came up short - none of the greys I had were as pale as I thought they were. Went with Ghost Grey in the end. That's a Vallejo Game Colour, no connection to the FS mandated paint favoured by the US Navy. Two coats and it was lovely and smooth and not at all patterned. Lovely. It was also obviously and undeniably pale blue instead of grey. Bum I covered it with sky grey which was actually much better over the whole airframe than it looks in the little swatch above. Then I deleted the photo of it. That continuity job just sailed over the horizon 😢 There were about 17 coats of paint at this point and I wanted reassuarance that all the lovely detail hadn't disappeared forever. I normally wait until after the decals but hey, GROWDY UP!! Time for some Flory Wash. Paint on, scrub off. My Miyake would have been proud. Mr Meng not so much. All his lovely detail disappeared as none of the wash stuck in the detail. No problem, we'll just do it again. Got a little bit to stick this time, but it's still not all that. OK, cut my losses and carry on regardless. I'm going to clean it up, paint some details, decal everything, varnish it then drown it in a third coat of wash. That'll fettle it. Andy Edited April 3, 2021 by Foxbat More typos than I could live with 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted March 29, 2021 Share Posted March 29, 2021 Looking good Andy. The Gina is a great looking aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 30, 2021 Share Posted March 30, 2021 I agree, Andy, she is looking good. I was a bit concerned by the layers of paint but it doesn’t seem to have disturbed the detailed product that the Meng is. Keep up the good work. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted March 30, 2021 Author Share Posted March 30, 2021 (edited) On 3/29/2021 at 11:39 AM, modelling minion said: Looking good Andy. The Gina is a great looking aircraft. It is. I have the other boxing in the stash too now. They're both miles ahead of the Matchbox vesion I built as a youth. That had one fuselage half short shot under the rudder - I fixed it with a lump of plasticine 12 hours ago, RidgeRunner said: I agree, Andy, she is looking good. I was a bit concerned by the layers of paint but it doesn’t seem to have disturbed the detailed product that the Meng is. Keep up the good work. Martin Thank you. Fortunately acrylics go on really thin even with a brush so I haven't lost much yet. Alas that goes for the gaps as much as the detail Andy Edited March 30, 2021 by Foxbat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 Decalling has started. Meanwhile, because it's Sunday, the two lovely assistants are taking a break. The brown one is supposed to be all petite because she's only 10 months old and a girl. She got the memo, but she can't read on account of being a cat Andy 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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