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453rd Museum build....Lightning strikes twice.


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Yes, very sad CC, especially as he was such a highly experienced display pilot  (and, at the time, the 'Flying Legends' display co-ordinator).

 

For anyone interested, here's the accident report.

 

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422fff1ed915d1371000a61/dft_avsafety_pdf_501731.pdf

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Thanks Steve, smoke and mirrors really.

 

Snail's pace, I'm afraid but I did manage to get a few little things sorted out recently,

 

Moving on to the undercarriage bays, I laid down a mixture of AK Xtreme Metals directly to the bare styrene (following a wash with 99% IPA) to add some tonal variety within the bays.

 

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Tamiya did a good job on the main gear bays which are beautifully detailed and composed of many crisply moulded parts. The upper item is a completed bay, minus a sidewall while the other parts are awaiting assembly.

 

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Everything assembled ready for the weathering process to begin.

 

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Weathering started using Abteilung 502 oils thinned with their own Matt Effect thinner which works superbly resulting in an excellent flat finish. I've used these for years now and can't fault them. The oils are applied via 00 paintbrush, allowed to dry for 10 minutes then carefully swabbed using a cotton bud dampened with thinner. The great thing here is that if you're not happy with the result it can easily be removed using just the thinner and a standard brush and reapplied.

 

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The basic weathering completed. Some further detail will be added a bit later after which mud and muck spattering will be added using heavily thinned AMMO MIG products using the standard method of flicking over the surfaces with a cocktail stick knocked against a brush handle.

 

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The nose gear bay gets a similar treatment but restrained for now as some extra detailing will be added due to the Tamiya bay being quite sparse.

 

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I thought of cutting and pasting my previous post, just substituting 'undercarriage bays' for 'cockpit'.  But in the end decided that whilst it would be perfectly true it would be facetious :D

Edited by Fritag
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General, apologies for my late arrival, delayed in traffic! I'll take my place in the back row, maybe stand on a chair. Great looking cockpit and wheel wells, your attention to detail is only bounded by your good looks.

 

Colin in  the rotor wash

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Thanks again Steve, just more smoke and mirrors and lashings of oil paint to hide everything.

 

Hi Colin, long time, no see....of course flattery will get you everywhere, (well, almost everywhere, given the current circumstances). Please drag up a chair and muscle your way to the front, look forward to the time when we can all meet up at Elvington again.

 

A little more progress,

 

 

The oil cooler radiators are quite visible so I decided to go with the Eduard PE items supplied by Jim for this build, an improvement over the kit decals.

 

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At the same time I used the etched brass radiator facings for the glycol engine coolant system , the rear won't really be visible (the rear cowl was often seen closed) but some of the forward ones can be seen. All in all, like the oil coolers, an improvement over the kit decal version.

 

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Finally I replaced the undersized and incorrectly shaped auxiliary air scoops that sit between the turbo-supercharger on the upper surface of the boom. These Brassin resin items, (which aren't perfect and needed reshaping to smooth the transition of the 'hump' across the top), also featured the small airflow ramps visible on the front lower lip, missed by Tamiya (kit part seen resting on the wing). A small amount of filler will be needed to seamlessly blend them in. Included in the set are a pair of drop-in replacement turbo-superchargers featuring crisp casting and extremely fine detail. They're a bit of a faff to slide into place but once in, really look the part.

 

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Thanks for looking, more soon.

 


 

 

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On 26/04/2021 at 12:56, general melchett said:

 

 

3-AGD-1044.jpg

I love the subtlety of the detail in there. 
The office is stunning too. Jim is going to have a great set of miniature additions to the museum. Bravo.

 

Johnny

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Travel General, travel, what is that? Strictly vorboten down here since someone let our our unique strain of the virus!!!

 

Yes a great day at Elvington, seems like another century ago. I miss Telford too...

 

Colin

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True Colin, not knowing what 'new strains' are potentially coming our way doesn't exactly fill us with optimism this year. Have to see what happens.

 

I've managed to knock the radio sets together using the Quinta Studios items and photos from Detail & Scale with a few odds and ends taken from the spares box, hope you approve.

 

 

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Next should be the positively rivetting, rivetting of positive rivets. More to follow.

 

Melchie

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That is one suitably busy cockpit :worthy: I'm impressed by how neat it looks, and by the quality of your pics. You clearly are in a different league :clap:

 

Ciao

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Thanks guys, all credit must go to Tamiya and Quinta Studios really, both great products that can't be praised too highly. As I mentioned earlier, the next job will be applying the HGW rivets, that should happen within the next few weeks, if not sooner.... great fun :drunk: 

 

Thanks for looking

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5 minutes ago, general melchett said:

all credit must go to Tamiya and Quinta Studios really

 

:hmmm:

 

Not sure I agree that all - or even terribly much - credit goes to anyone but you old chap....

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Thanks Steve, appreciated as ever. I'm not really that used to building kits that actually fit (let alone clip together) without a struggle. It almost feels as if something's missing if you don't have to resort to using copious amounts of filler and the need to sand and rescribe everything, to within an inch of its life. The upside is that you can quickly get onto the painting/weathering stage without completely losing the will to live.

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Apologies for missing the start of this Melchie - a true Masterclass.

 

I shall now be following, from a suitable distance! :) 

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Thanks again chaps, very kind. 

 

Ced

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I shall now be following, from a suitable distance!  

 

No need to apologise old fella and no need to lag...push yer way to the front and grab a chair off Darling for the second-half, he's only too happy to show you his dribbling skills....

 

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Just stumbled across this marvellous piece of work young General, loving the fine weathering and detail that you've added 

 

Cheers my old mucka, glad you approve, lovely job on your P-51 too. This one's still got a way to go before any paint can be sploshed on it, let alone decals . Next step will be black Mr Surfacer primer, HGW rivets, marble coats closely followed by various shades of the top coat, transport tape markings and a fair bit of chipping fluid. Might get there before Christmas...

 

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Makes me want to sit in it and pretend to fly it!

 

 Thanks Terry, not sure if it could handle it but we could give it a bash...:pilot:.........:boom:

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Looking forwards to seeing the weathering approach mate. I've kept the Mustang fairly constrained as it wasn't that old, but will do some oil paint weathering to break it up a bit in line with what I can see in the photo's.

 

Seems like an eternity since we last met up, was it Bolton last year?

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Thanks Colin, well, the Quintas Studios stuff helps a lot here, (that and miles of Plusmodels wire)...

 

Sorry for the late reply Neil, a bit hectic here, yes, it must have been Bolton, as you say, that seems an age ago...:clif:

 

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Looking forwards to seeing the weathering approach mate. I've kept the Mustang fairly constrained as it wasn't that old, but will do some oil paint weathering to break it up a bit in line with what I can see in the photo's.

It's a bit strange with the P-38s as they weren't based over here that long and didn't really see much in the way of action, mostly escort duties. Looking at period photos they seem to have been in pretty good condition although they did suffer from the usual heavy chipping across the center-wing area, courtesy of the driver and erks in their ruddy great hobnail boots. Also quite evident were the transport tape marks, which I'll add.  Only later, in Africa, did they get really beaten up. Might have to use a bit of artistic license to liven things up a tad, ( but then again, it's what we do most of the time I suppose).

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I managed to get a bit more done on this one recently, (I did say it would be a bit sporadic) so for those interested here's what I've been up to.

 

Firstly, the canopies were masked on the inside using Eduard's 'T-Face' masking set, something I do with every model with open canopies, if available as it offers a much more realistic look than just painting the outer surface in the inner colour, (hard to eliminate the gloss clear plastic finish). As can be seen , Mission Models US Interior Green was used as it gives excellent coverage and in conjunction with their Polyurethane additive, a tough durable finish, ideal for weathering.

 

 

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A second coat with a hint of medium grey was added to give a more faded look to the parts.

 

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Next, any seam lines were filled using Perfect Plastic Putty, which works well on fine gaps. Although it's a Tamiya kit and the fit is excellent, there are still areas that need to be dealt with...fortunately, mostly underneath.

 

 

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The nose area, following rough sanding to eliminate any steps and/or raised areas. All panel line/access panel detail will be recovered using a scribing tool and the surface polished, prior to the application of the Mr.Surfacer 1500 Black primer coat.

 

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After this, it was the underwing landing lights. The concave recesses were first sprayed  Mr.Surfacer 1500 Black first follwed by AK Xtreme Metals Chrome. A small metallic disc was fitted to represent the bulb and its holder before the clear lens (coated with AK Gauzy Agent) was fitted into place using Gators Grip PVA glue. 

 

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At the same time the Props and spinners were assembled and painted. 'Maisie' featured white spinners so MRP US Navy White was applied over a Mr.Surfacer black base to give a slightly mottled appearance. The lower section of the spinner consisted of three segments which were painted prior to assembly. These will eventually be weathered appropriately, but looking at a wartime photo of the aircraft they seemed to have been kept in pretty good condition while stationed in the UK. The props were first primed black followed by LP11 silver, chipping fluid applied followed by a mix of MRP Tyre Rubber and NATO Black in preparation for weathering later. 

 

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Brassin resin wheels and Eduard masks were used, (pre-flattened and no seam line). These featured separate wheel hubs and , if needed, PE protective covers, (Maisie was fitted with main gear covers only). Again, MRP Tyre Rubber was used as a base with MRP Gunship Grey, NATO Brown and Eggplant lightly misted over them. Dry brushing with Earth pigments and washes will follow.

 

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Finally, the undercarriage. Following priming with Mr.Surfacer 1500 Black, the legs were sprayed a mixture of Xtreme Metals Matt Aluminium and Duralumin and a 2mm Molotov liquid chrome pen used on the oleo pistons, (brush painted). Black plastic covered Hydraulic lines were added from the Plus Models wire range and 0.4mm Aizu tape painted and used as ties to attach the lines to the gear legs. The unusual cooling radiators were first given a wash of Abteilung502 Starship Filth and Raw Umber and the Eduard PE grills fitted as the mesh pattern was more accurate than the kit parts.

 

 

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Thanks for looking, hope you approve ...next it's onto fitting the canopy parts and the overall priming (Mr.Surfacer 1500 Black with the upper inner wings, Chromate yellow over LP11 silver, ready for the rivets and chipping).

 

Cheers for now.

 

Melchie

 

 

Edited by general melchett
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