Hobby Boss 1/48 A-4M Skyhawk - bomb truck.

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                   It’s a scooter.

 

With my model bench now being clear, it’s time to look at something else , and this is one of two kits that will be filling the space.

 

 

Back around 2018 I think this kit came out, when we could go to model shows, this kit was all the rage on our club stand. Was it pent up demand or the cracking price one trader was offering it for? 
FAUX PAS Pt I.  One of our club member hasn’t been modelling for some time, and “Amos” was heard to say : look what you’re getting for £21 an easy build and lots of weapons. (Lordy-Lordy)

 

FAUX PAS Pt II. Some time later,( 2019) one club night, one of our club members got talking....and then suggested we have a club build, and I got talked into it against my better thoughts.  It had taken me close to 2yrs to build my first Airfix Shackleton, I was well into my second Shackleton and thought two kits end on it would have taken me less time. Only to be expected , firstly the Scooter would get bogged down, secondly it was as I’d suspected, a massive distraction. The Shackleton got done just in time for S.M.W 2019.

 

This model may well be poorly received.

 

THE MAN WITH A PLAN. My modelling for 2020 has been very patchy, my Airfix 1/72 TSR2 got bogged down, then my pick me up G.W.H 1/144 TSR2 got bogged down too.  As we know Dec 2020 it was announced that a Covid-19 vaccine was to be rolled out. At the same time I was in my garage come model shop, I fancied a fondle of the kit, witch led me spending a little time with it. This time around saw me boxing off all of the problems areas. Now the model was ready to go, when I would pick it back up again I could just run with it. Now with a Covid-19 vaccine, this meant that I’m going to need some new models for 2021. The plan, three models, 1) G.W.H 1/144 TSR2 (it’s done) 2) this build 3) THAT Airfix 1/72 TSR2.

 

Becouse this model is not very well received I’ll have to do a comparison, for those modellers that may not have read up on it. 
 

Hasegawa.   Pros:

                      Regarded as an accurate form and very good detail.
                      All (most)photos show the slats down.

                      Most variants catered for. (But, why not the OA-4M, it’s a modellers must have.)

 

                       Cons:

                        Hard to come by.

                        Not an easy build (from experience).

                        No weapons.

                        Not to expensive, no bargains , add in weapons and you’ll be looking at £60.

Hobby Boss   Pros:

                         Readily available.

                         Can be picked up for as little as £21  - £22

                         Fewer parts.

                         Many weapons .

                         Most variants. Still no OA-4M 

 

                         Cons:

                         Those slats - strangely not given.

                         (The build so far) Not an easy build.

                         All those weapons - best give them a wide birth.

                         Would you believe it, lots of parts missing, can’t make a M out of the box.

 

As I’ve already built a Hasegawa kit , the Hobby Boss kit had its plus points, so you don’t see very often a Scooter with the slats up: 

 

          

Whilst not a new project, I’m hoping to keep it moving along.

 

Until next time, stay safe,       😉

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                 It’s a Scooter - it’s a start.

 

The premise of the idea of a club build is relatively simple, the club members would all have the same model to make and as agreed completion being S.M.W 20219. And in theory the club would display of a gaggle of Skyhawks. To date it worked well with the 1/72 Hobby Boss Fw190 kit 13 out of 14 members achieving this. But to date, I think only two modellers have made their Scooters.

What I subsequently did was to take an easy build and make it a lot more difficult.

 

A childhood throwback. Back in the 80’s old school planes were now given new school paint schemes, out went some of the most gaudy schemes that send me cold , in came a plethora of greys. Out went old technology - Bullpups and M117 bombs in came 45 Shrike missile and Mk82 Snake eye bombs.

 

It’s been a long time coming for me to open my account for old planes with new paint schemes, but like many things it was the box art that sold it to me.

 

The wrong box - the wrong model. Hasegawa brought out their boxing of the all important M version with what I consider to be the panicle of gaudy nonsense in their box art. Now, as good as the Hasegawa kit is, to make a grey M version and weapons will set the modeller back close to £90. That is why this modeller only bought just the one kit. Enter the new kit on the block - Hobby Boss, at least the box is very appealing to me. It’s still cost me a lot of money to get what I wanted.

 

The build :

Eduard wheels ( I think ).

Eduard Triple Ejector Launcher ( TER ( now given up on this idea.))

Eduard Multiple Ejector Launcher MER.

Eduard Mk 82 Snake Eye with retarded tails.

Eduard cockpit details - a must for that quick build.

Quick Boost F-105 G antenna - for some of the missing parts.

Quick boost intake covers.

Attack Sqn - Arma Hobby - Douglas 150 gal fuel tanks.

Two Bobs: Lo-vis Mikes PtI

 

What I know so far:

The cockpit is usually the focal point of any kit, it has to be good. One or two weakness of jet A/C are the bang seats and intakes.

For a speedy build I went for the Eduard cockpit upgrade, simply file the kit details away and hope the parts fit as Eduard only do a cockpit for the Hasegawa kit.

The Hobby Boss instrument coaming sadly doesn’t fit well and needs work to remove gaps. The Eduard instrument panel is very good.

The cockpit tub - here Hobby Boss have failed, straight off the bat a hole is given on the left hand side for a throttle and it’s not given on the sprue’s. It’s drawn in the instructions.

The bang seat - it’s reasonably good as is but just the Eduard straps and details really lift it up to a nice level. 
The rear cockpit coaming - nothing added here, I’m not going to any extra length.

 

Trouble straight from the start. One of many missing parts blighting a really nice little tub. The Eduard pre-painted parts fit this kit very well.

 

With some deft painting and some oil pin washes the kit details are quite nice.

Having looked at the photos in my first post - that big blade aerial on the ‘Saddle fairing’ is just wrong - it’s a spare one from the Hasegawa kit. It’s way too big. I’ve added it as it’s another missing part from H.B.

 

That’s all for now, stay safe.    😉

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone,  a recent post by Vulcanisity informed his followers that is been a little while , like wise for me around ten weeks. I’ve been a little bit busy, some of it quite good and  some not so. Some of the highlights have been time spent at aerospace museums , holidays, and an ultra long distance day out at RAF Kelley aero jumble, yes just a 472 mile round trip: St Helens to south London. Some of the negatives are really irksome, my proper camera gave me some jip last time - last year, this year my trip to the Solway aero museum appears to be terminal. I looked at some of the photos I’d taken as I was going around, indoors lovely shots, outdoors there just white noise.  Ggggrrrrr. I only found this out after I’d got back to the holiday let.

 

Another distraction from the cutting edge of hands on modelling has been some model shopping. ✈️ After my last post I got a little concerned about my work with the bang seat and that I was possibly selling myself short on this area. So I had a look at what Hannants had to offer, and I’ve picked up Quick Boost bang seat. In due time I’ll get around to painting it up and seeing how it compares. 
 

 

As I’ve said before, as a general rule jet A/C models need a resin bang seat and some FOD covers.  I think my last Scooter was made now approaching 18 years ago, why I got my dander up about making an exhaust blank I don’t know, but this time around I’ve opted to blank up the intakes. My reasoning is to add a little colour to this grey/blue finished model. 

 

Sorting out the suckers.  The Hobby Boss intakes are reasonably well done, but they took me a lot of effort to make good as always HB made life a little harder than it should have been. Should you wish to depict the model as stock then you’ll be in for a lot of work paint/glue/paint process , whilst the bell housing and throats are good, how you depict the intake lip and the internal/ external colour demarcation line will be tricky. Problem sorted, just the external colour to deal with. Plugging the intake holes are the Quick Boost intake blank set ‘designed ‘ for the HB kit. As I’ve got older I’m definitely a little cynical/sceptical when things say ‘designed for……’.   And I wasn’t disappointed as the blanks just rattled around the intakes, time for a fix. Firstly I cut some stock plastic and glued it inside the throats, this was to stop at all costs the intake blanks slipping inside the bell housing and for whatever the modelling gods decide never to release them. Next I glued some stock plastic around the outer lip of the intake blanks and started to sand away until they just dropped into position. Yes the metal rod will definitely make it impossible for the blanks not to drop inside the intakes.

 

 

Time to tackle the outer skin of the intake/fuselage and some HB nonsense.  Firstly the fit was fairly hoop. Not withstanding fit issues, there’s a naff scab panel (highlighted in orange) made all the worse by having a joint line right through the middle of it. I’ve not found any photos to support this misdemeanour. The photos I’m using for this build don’t show these scab plates so they had to go. Some filler and a lot of time sanding has sorted this area out.

 

That’s all for now, stay safe.  😉

 

 

 

[2lefthands]

its looking splendid already!

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                       Ah, that wing, causing trouble.

 

Firstly the trouble with history 😛.    As we know Hasegawa took the correct and convoluted route to hobby happiness by making their wing multi-piece affair.  Correctly giving the modeller dropped flaps and slats. As we also know every photo you’ll see the Scooter will have its slats dropped and along the way you’ll also find some active aircraft with everything hanging out as well. Flaps and spoilers.  But I do love a challenge and I just couldn’t help myself by finding a photo or two of A/C with the slats up. 
 

Those rascals at Hobby Boss thought they’d save the company a few Chinese Wuan. But, really they should should have been thinking of their bottom line and their target audience (Americans) the prize being greens $.

 

What Hobby Boss have done is give the modeller just three pieces to use. Just the one piece lwr wing with two half piece uppers. This was a simplified reason to go down down this route. But as always, the moment of truth is when the wing is built. Time saving by lack of parts was lost by some shoddy fitting parts. You know I don’t like filler, if it’s too small - make it bigger, if it’s too big - make it smaller. All in all try and make things fit. Easier said than done.

So, the leading edges were a poor fit needing a lot of finessing to remove the seams. A little filler too. Not enough filler to grumble about and that’s good enough for me.  The trailing edge is separated at the upper spoiler, and this is where the club members have all struggled. Why so? Well, there’s something like a 15 thou gap!  As always I went down the route of adding stock plastic card to fill the gap. And of course a little filler.

Ok, no great shakes so far. That was until I married up the wing to the fuselage. It’s a v.poor fit, with little in the way of fixes no amount of shunting the wing around it is out with the filler.  And some re- scribing.

The orange high lighter shows the problem areas.

This picture shows much filler. 🤨

 

Until next time.   😉

 

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                   Tail pipe troubles.  😵

 

Yup more nonsense from H.B, at least it’s fixable. 
 

Firstly more model filler , some has been applied to the port side of the fin filling in a sink mark. I think that the port side of the rudder has a small blemish too, but it’s a step too far to remove. 

Part D14 and the instructions are very poor. The insert is to enable different versions to be made, but, it’s fit is just lousy and requires a lot of work to make it look good. The horizontal panel lines were lost in the clean up and have been re-scribed.

 

Where the fuselage half’s join together from the arrestor hook post back to part #D14 is non too good, but, the arrestor hook does a good job of hiding it. 🤨 I’ve taken a chance and added said arrestor hook, not sure about how it will be finished as it’s black/white. Also highlighted is H.B’s errors - one of the flare dispenser’s has now mystically moved from the back of the flaps to part #D14 !   Astounding work H.B!!

 

Some primer to highlight any errors. The tail plane is also a weak area, I’m not convinced that the tail planes will be easily placed once painted. So, I’ve added a single metal rod, this is two fold, firstly to aid post paint build by hopefully not getting any form of glue exuding onto the paint. Secondly, the metal rod and pins will align everything correctly. What I really would have liked for H.B to have done is to have given modellers the opportunity to depict the stab offset, this would have been achieved by having that lumpy plate as a separate item.     Also in this photo is the exhaust pipe. A look at the model shows it’s not flush with the airframe, but a look at reference photos shows it should be flush. It’s not clear in my photos but the exhaust has had a 5 thou piece of plastic stock added and shaped and filled.

 

Another thing…. The air brakes in the closed position are a poor fit, but, I don’t want to depict them open. The answer is to depict them just cracked open, that’s for another day…

 

Thanks for looking.       😉

 

 

 

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                     Front end - a little filler - and a lot of work. 
 

Life in general and general modelling thoughts.   From here on in this is the second time I’ll have written this , whilst nearly at the end of the post a stray finger suddenly removed all of the post. I’ve managed to do this several times on this iPad but each time the post has been recovered. So, at over an hours time lost I’m now a little grumpy. 😬

 

I’ve been somewhat off par for the last eight months with very little desirnable modelling done.  I thought the new year would relatively bring some form of normality, but it’s only recently that I think things are going the right way. Whilst I get to work as a team on F35 Lightning this means I get regular friendship conversations but I’m not getting the broad spectrum from life. 
Whilst possible modelling time has been lost recently at least it’s been in a good cause. Two model shows, Avon and Stoke.  Life without model shows has meant that the modelling stuff has been sourced via the internet. One of the down sides of this means that the traders at shows had almost no new stock, but, that’s not to say some good stuff was sought out. FZ6 at the Stoke show had some lovely 3D printed engine stuff for the new Airfix Vulcan.  It was reassuringly nice to see familiar faces/friends, but some of their battles with Covid-19 were somewhat upsetting. 
With the modelling bench having lay vacant for some time this on/off modelling, time has expired some some of my modelling products. A few weeks ago I was having some trouble with my super glues I thought it was just the glue on the day giving me gip. 
The Loctite bottle as you can see just dried up and the ZAP went yellow.  A trip to Tesco has furnished me with new stuff, at £6 the Loctite  is not good value but at £3.50 and sale price I thought I’d give the Gorilla a go.

 

Also, whilst I needed a few other modelling sundries and as I like to do help out traders at shows I picked up this AK glue. My favourite glue is Humbrol liquid poly, but the bottle is Gunzi, I like the Gunzi bottle and it brush is finer. 

 

The front end of the Scooter. ……

Another time consuming piece of modelling, the front end isn’t bad per-say but no where near what I’d expect from a new tooling. Most of the top seam is good with just a little filler. The main problem with the front fuselage is that the panel lines are far too shallow for me, I like nice deep lines as they make it far easier to emphasise and I really don’t like run out. Parts G9 pitot probes have caused me some concern, nothing to say H.B have got it wrong, but, searching through photos hasn’t given me the answers I was after. As you can see there is an engraved square which made me think H.B were wrong. I’ve moved the L/H  pitot fwd, this I hope is correct. The circle I’ve highlighted has just a single dot missing from it, I suspect it was a screw that would release an internal latch. Any-whooo it’s little details like this that rub my rhubarb.  

 

The fwd part of the lwr nose is exceptionally hoop. Lots of the detail required a lot of effort to make good, the moulds should have over exaggerated some details just for the modeller to appreciate.  The stock plastic piece is a replacement for a raised panel detail , for its clean up it was just as easy to remove the panel and make new. The side panel I’ve highlighted is some more nonsense from H.B. The panels left and right come with some very faint screw head details which need to be properly emphasised. That’s not the problem, what H.B have done is to miss off one run of fasters , it’s another lack of quality control and more time spent making good.

 

Thanks for looking.     😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                       All trouble in the “saddle “    🤠

 

Firstly I’ve given some thought to something I said in my last update. I just couldn’t get my head around my logic, so I set out to find a better answer. Whilst most of Hasegawa model is pritty much perfect, a second review of photos shows where Hasegawa went wrong, and that’s where I went wrong.  The home computer has a screen saver of the aircraft I want to depict, I even printed out an A4 photo of the A/C on my screen saver. I’ve sorted out my scooter photos and not a single one of them had the Hasegawa option. 
So, the razor saw will have to be used to remove the L/H pitot static (where the orange arrow is) and accept that H.B got it correct and I’d just over thought it.

 

I’d say hump but it’s correct name is Saddle fairing. Not only did the ’M’ carry one but I think that the ‘E’ also did. This is where I’d describe what H.B offers as no more than a horror show. 😲    The above picture shows all of the H.B deficiencies it’s like H.B have missed out a complete sprue. Missing is the thin blade aerial at the front, not depicted very well is another aerial and at the rear of the fairing H.B give the base of the anti-col light even the attachment lumps, just not the clear part. And we’re not done yet, on both sides also missing is two air scoops evident by their two attachment points.
Again I was mistaken with an earlier attempt to fix one of these many problems. Visible is a light patch, this is my first attempt at that blade aerial. I got it wrong and have removed it. (Now I’m beginning to feel very stupid.) But this can be a fickle hobby at times and this model is very stupid.   Again errors started with the Hasegawa kit, again comparing the kit contents and in this case finding Hasegawa had bits going begging.  A spare blade aerial was robbed (it’s way too wide) and gleefully glued on, only for some research work to reveal my hasty error. 

This photo shows what I’ll be using to try and use. The large blade aerial at the front and maybe the small aerial in the middle will be replaced with stuff from the QB F-105  detail set. And whilst not totally correct two of the Kfir scoops can be cut and shaped to be close enough. 

 

Ah, now years ago, many in fact, this project was meant to be an easy model project, as you can see this kit, if you want an accurate one will will set you back in time and additional money.

Next time I’ll be disappointed……er I mean discussing pylons and stuff to hang off them.   🤨  Thanks for looking. 

 

 

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                            Making my Scooter a bomb truck.

 

A quick step back,  if anyone has built their Hasegawa Scooter they’ll tell you that you’ll need to out source the weapons, this more so with the M version. For me the whole of the Hasegawa boxing is a problem, things to consider being availability, cost,  the kit decal options only being 70’s style gaudy livery’s, and only a set of fuel tanks to liven up a clean airframe. My E version required a set of decals for an aggressor and an aftermarket pod for the center line pylon. With this in mind the stage was set for a competitor to step in.
 

Step up H.B with what appears to be a all in one package, I’ve seen some H.B boxing go for as little as £21. The M boxing comes with a pleasing box art showing an 80’s style grey scheme, and some sprue’s with weapons. Pritty much the polar opposite of Hasegawa, and, it was calling out to my inner chimp. 
As I’ve already said, this build was a calling from the club to do a group build, coming at a point in time when I should just have said NO WAY!  But, I thought I could get this and a Shackleton done for Telford SMW2019. Something had to give, the Shack wone.

AMS - advanced modelling syndrome or another way to put it AMS - “Amos” must super detail has been duly noticed by both Mrs B  and fellow club members. Weather I’m not aware of it or it just creeps  up on me I don’t know, but, for those modellers that know me well know that I like to have an exact model at the end. Where did my model go wrong? Well, it started with buying into the idea that the Eduard cockpit would speed things up, and it jolly well did do that. But…….everything else has come at a price. 
As a child I loved the new look colour schemes of greyish blue and armed with Snake Eye bombs .  For the weapon load out I fancied I only had to trundle into the garage and see what was in my stash, years of preparation paid off nicely.

Like no end of models that pass over my model bench, most seem to get harder or  come to be difficult at some point, and this model got to that point post glue stage. So I put it down as another arsey kit.  Now, with my No1 hatred kit on the go, the utterly hoop Airfix TSR2, this also was getting bogged down, I needed a plan. That came in the form of re-starting this kit at Xmas 2020, basically tackling everything that was giving me a mental block. A two week nonstop session saw me finish off the kit to a point where I could just put it down as done as far as I could get and then pick up and paint at another point in time. Well, that pesky TSR2 is slowly-slowly moving along, but I still need to make something to keep my modelling juices flowing. Now with SMW2021 only weeks away it’s time to consider finishing my second kit of the year. Here’s where I came un-stuck , AMS creating metal havoc……..

 

Ah , take an all inclusive model and make a rod for my own back….

Firstly let’s sort out this H.B nonsense, it’s an all too common feature of my post’s…. The orange arrow shows the lower nav light base, but it’s missing the nav lens  , next, the inner pylons - here shows that H.B got the rear notch in the pylons correct but then they would have you fill the space with a sway-brace. Just the fwd two sway-braces are needed. Next the center line pylon is mis-reprinted, this is depicted as having no less than the missle adapter pylon added to it. Now, H.B have seen fit to supply some Sidewinders, but the missle’s and adapter pylons are only for the outer pylons.  all this nonsense from H.B is making an easy project far too difficult.

So, it was a mixture of incorrect weapons and my desire to have a specific look for my model that led me into this mess. I’m not a fan of Mk82 g.p bombs but slap on some retardant tails and I’m a very happy clapper. Eduard have a set for this and they come with weeks of work…… Next I fancied some of those smaller Douglas fuel tanks as the kit ones look massive (nothing wrong with them) but I wanted a specific look, you’ve guessed it, I’m still wrestling them into submission. TER’s and a MER…. For the outer wing pylons I fancied fitting a TER ( triple ejector launcher) this launcher would only have held just two Mk82 bombs and would have looked exceedingly nice had I continued with the utter madness (I’m going to explain everything in a min) then came the MER multiple ejector launcher, if you’ve never built one of Eduards then look away now… Now I’m in a world of pain.

 

There are a couple of companies that have made the smaller Douglas fuel tanks and I’m the very unhappy recipient of a set of Attack offerings. They look very nice at first glance but they’re rubbish. Firstly the front and rear parts don’t have a key, so, you can’t glue the fins on as you’ll struggle to align them, without the fins on you’ll struggle to align the rear part of the tanks. Then there’s the casting block it’s right at the front of the tank and it’s a sod to make it’s removal come good, I’m still wrestling mine into shape. One fuel tank the whole nose now looks wonky. I’m not done yet with these things yet, if I’ve glued those fins on once I’ve done this several times, I’ve pinned the pylons on as an aide to sorting everything out. With the pylons on, I now have a reference point for horizontal and vertical. The small fuel tank was more often seen on the center line pylon with MER’s seen on the inner pylons.

 

MER’s - again I’m after a specific look and fancied one of these rascals on the center line pylon. At this point I’ve now realised how much of a hole I’m in. Not only was my Eduard pylon warped but it’s complicated too.  Straightening it was easy, soak it in some warm water and then manipulate to straight. Next came the throttle cable’s, this requires a lot of hole drilling and making wires to suit the part of the specific MER . And then adding those sway braces, lots and lots of them, tiny fiddly and irritating. A lot of cleanup and alignment. Then wrestling the MER into fitting with the H.B center pylon. At this point it’s time to call it a day and sack off the TER’s , several more days of hassle, just not worth it.
 

Eduard Mk82 Snake Eye bombs, these are the bits that are going to look really superb when finished. And as always a lot of work along the way, I really can’t recommend them to anyone. They come in three pieces, fuse at the front (Eduard give two types of fuses) bomb body and tail unit.  The body and tail don’t come with a key, so, alignment is exceptionally rubbish, you’ll need to align everything as those Eduard clowns have cast the bomb lugs on.  Cutting the bomb parts from the casting block is fraught with problems, if you don’t cut the parts accurately you’re into a world of pain. I know as I tried to square one up with a needle file and it didn’t end well. And as for those attachment lugs they had to go as you simply just can’t fit the bomb to the MER or anything else.  And you’ll also need to drill and pin the bombs to their respective pylons. At this point it’s time to re-think the weapons load out. After all of the above hassle I saw sense and am just adding a bomb to the outer pylons.

 

A lot of hassle for a lovely looking bomb.
 

It was a simple model that I just made very difficult. The plan to get everything as close to being able to stop put the model down and roughly pick it up at another time to paint time wasn’t too far fetched. But it’s worked out being a little wider of the mark that I thought. 
Next time: final details being sorted out before painting. 
 

Thanks for looking. 😉

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                          The wheels have gotta go!!

 

Resin replacement wheels are the norm in my modelling world.   Usually kit wheels just can’t complete with modern resin offerings, they just can’t replicate the details, and the worst part is not having a flat spot on the bottom. That flat spot is the contact patch, so, a round wheel that appears to look ‘on tippy toes’ does cut any slack with me. 
 

Normally replacement wheels only need their hub to be drilled out, but 3D printed stuff takes things further. 
 

As I’ve said before I really made a rod for my back, I should have kept things simple, but I just couldn’t help myself. 
 

What H.B offer in the way of U/C bays and legs is very much perfectly acceptable, again, comparisons with Hasegawa, the Hasegawa kit is a good few steps ahead in terms of the U/C bays details, but, as always once the model is on its wheels very little will be seen. There are just two low points to the H.B details. Firstly the main U/C bay doors have some substantial sink marks that need to be filled, no great shakes. But H/B  have opted to supply the nose U/C leg with the wheel cast integral. 
 

I’ve opted to use ResKit wheels to pimp my ride, as they’re a generic offering for all forms of Scooters. This brings a few problems. The kits main legs need the brake pistons to be removed as they’re cast on the resin wheel hubs, no problem there.

The nose leg is a little more involved, the hardest part is removing the wheel, lots of razor sawing swiftly followed by some needle filing . Basically an un-normally  whole heap of work . 
 

 

Next time it’s one final push with a few extra details then it’s going to be time for some paint. Until next time, stay safe.       😉

 

 

 

 

 

[CharlieNZ]

I'd be interested to know if you have references for Blue Mk82, with HE markings. Blue is training, and not normally HE filled. There are a few notable exceptions, but I don't know of Mk 82s marked this way. I've seen green bombs with yellow bands, green bombs with blue bands, and blue bombs, but no blue bombs with yellow bands, that would be an unusual configuration.

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                     One final airframe update…… before some paint.

 

On 10/7/2021 at 11:05 AM, CharlieNZ said:

I'd be interested to know if you have references for Blue Mk82, with HE markings. Blue is training, and not normally HE filled. There are a few notable exceptions, but I don't know of Mk 82s marked this way. I've seen green bombs with yellow bands, green bombs with blue bands, and blue bombs, but no blue bombs with yellow bands, that would be an unusual configuration.

 

Or-ey 😬  looks like another error I’ve got to sort out…….

CharlieNZ many thanks for pointing this out.  I wasn’t sure about the yellow banding, I’ve seen blue inert/dummy bombs with the stencils on them, but, as always, now I’ve come to model them I’ve not been able to find as many as I would like. In fact dare I say it , photos are very scarce.   As always, when I’ve got troublesome decals to deal with the first thing I reach for, when they have to go is reach for some masking tape in the hope of simply teasing it off. 
 

Back to the build. 

The pitot which is on the leading edge of the fin was always asking to be knocked off, as soon as it showed signs of damage I cut it off. This also helps out when it came to cleaning up the leading edge seam.  Also missing off the top of the fin is some form of antenna, here’s what it looks like from Hasegawa.

 

For a better looking pitot static an electrical pin will be chopped down to size 

Here’s the fin complete, pitot added and the antenna simply made from brass rod.

 

The air brakes  are the last pieces of the kit to be dealt with. One of the three predominant photos that I’m using shows the air brakes partially opened and that’s what I wanted to depict. I thought initially I wouldn’t need the air brake jack, but, I’ve decided to add it even as a back stop for finding a level for its open position. All I’ve done is cut the ram portion off. 

 

This photo shows what can be done with this H.B kit , slats up, air brakes cracked, and arrestor hook down.         This photo shows the missing aerials and air scoops that have been added to the saddle fairing.

One last check of the details and I noticed the nose U/c door is missing an aerial, so back to the detail set I’d picked up and item 3 was chosen. 

 

This is what I’ve done.

 

Getting closer to the painting stage.

 

Thanks for looking     and correcting errors.      😉

 

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                          Scooter colours - three colour conundrum.

 

The last couple of weeks of modelling have been spent applying Gunzi 1000 primer, whilst most of the primer has proven the work under taken to be sound. But as always some re-working was necessary of some panel lines and a couple of gaps. 
 

My thoughts have moved forward towards the bit that makes the model what it is.  From the start I’ve used just two photos for the colour scheme and one photo for the flying control surfaces , now I’ve printed off a fourth photo. This along with one of the other photos is what I’ll be using for the colours and weathering. 
 

They say that some of the great artists of their times could only produce a work if they could imagine/see the final product. Whilst I’m certainly no Picasso nor Rembrandt I do need something from the start in order for me to imagine the final decision. A good starting point is H.B ‘s nice box art, it’s nearly what I’m looking for - a tri colour machine. But, as in so many cases with Trumpeter/H.B model’s not enough attention to detail in the finishing. In this case the art works lacks the lower lighter colour, next the kit painting guide is also a two colour affair, whilst some Marine A/C were two colour affairs most photos that seem to show two colours that are indeed just very weathered machines.

As a whole, kit decals are usually cast aside, so for this modeller after market decals are the norm. In this case, my next source of inspiration is from TwoBobs decals. Here  sadly these don’t help, whilst H.B have exaggerated the colours in there instructions, TwoBobs have replicated the nominal differences in theirs.  TwoBobs to their credit have quoted Xtracolour and FS numbers , but when I put the three tins of Xtracolour paint together their lid colours don’t look correct. Because my recent model builds have all been as different as can be , in this case this colour scheme I’ve never done a model of this scheme.  Thus, I have no reference point in my head for what I’m after, therefore I‘’ve been forced to do a test piece. 

Kicking off the photos is my first test of  Xtracolour paints , X139 FS116495 looks a nice light shade. X136 FS16375 - Light Compass Grey has come out looking like a correct shade of light blue grey, so, two colours I’m happy with. Finally,  X133 FS16270 Neutral Grey, this colour I had concerns…… the lid colour didn’t look correct and it’s description as Neutral Grey didn’t inspire. And my test piece confirmed my suspicions, it’s a dark grey.      
Hannants some 5-6 years ago had some problems in producing some batches of paint, also on top of this was the fact Royal Mail won’t deliver a parcel with paint in it. Also compounding matters was the down sizing of the Xtacolour range of paints, now what they used to be. For those modellers such as myself who love these paints they are still available but Hannants will ship via Parcel Force. 
So far this year I’ve managed to attend and support three model shows. The last one being The Blue Lamp show in Birmingham, one trader had a box full of Xtracolour 

paints, and some of them picked my fancy.  Whilst they’re not colours I’m ever to use for correct modelling they look likely candidates for weathering my base colours.

Some extra work will have to go into finding a colour for FS16270, in this case it’s time to take a look at Gunzi, and if I can’t get any joy with these it will have to be MRP.  These last two brands have found favour with me as they are favourable with their colours and spray lovely.

 

Two different approaches to the colours.

 

The top photo is new to my quest to produce a grey Scooter, but both of them are great references for weathering. The latter being the decal option I’m going with.

 

Final thoughts.  The last two years without a S.M.W have frankly been strange and a struggle, for many a year I’d be ploughing ahead trying to, and always completing my latest build in time for Telford and vowing never to be so stupid and stressed out again.  This year I have a few days off before and after Telford, as you can see my model won’t be ready this week. This is frankly a relief and what I’ve tried to do for the last couple of years, it means one thing - continuity. I can prepare for Telford at a leisurely pace and do as much or as little on my two models on the go as I like, safe in the knowledge they won’t be any where near to being completed. And, I definitely think that it’s a bonus that they’ll be ready for me when Telford is over. 

Telford S.M.W 2021.  This is what I’m planning on doing, I.P.M.S Warrington club members give back to the society in the form of being part of the set up crew, this yearly ritual has advantages and draw backs. It’s great to setup on the Friday as it gives me a heads up where everything is, but at the same time setting up hundreds of tables and chairs drains me of energy.  On top of the early starts, lousy nights sleep at a BnB and the three days it’s a lot to take on board. This year less is now more, I’m all for Telford but the wife and kids have been (happy) to be told to stay at home, just too complicated - Covid - hotel rooms - Covid passports and so on…… Our club stand is luckily at the end of a row, this is great, it’s nearly a stand alone stand. So , no other society members pressed up against us. (Something I made an argument for each club or S.I.G to be spatially segregated.)  Next I also love judging in the competition and so I’m looking fwd to this, I’ve been told that this year there are 600 entries.  Sadly for the society I’m not in the competition this year as frankly just one model is not enough to bother with, at least next year it will be two or more……. It’s not quite the same for our club stand, the same could be said for not bothering with just one model. But, I’ve deliberately left myself free to walk away from the show post judging, if I don’t like things or feel at ill ease. For me I think this is the best I’ve got to offer.  For some months I’ve been trying to get myself to RAF Cosford, but Cosford have thwarted me every time, so, on the Sunday as I’m now going to be local, I’m now going to Cosford…… and try out my new camera! 

Thanks for looking.      😉

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                      My first post of 2022. I’ve got a ticket to ride an it’s a 🛵 .

 

A quick update, following on from my last post in my other build ( TSR2 ).

 

 I think I miss interpreted what 2021 was all about, and as I said I thought it would be a year of big gains. But sadly I never got that feeling of making ( big) progress in meaningful ways , it was only post / after S.M.W 2021 that my thoughts developed properly. And I realised that I’d made 100 little steps forward and at the end of the year these results looked promising. 
 

Following on from that new thought process is what I plan for 2022. The 100 little steps fwd feeling is continuing to give me some satisfaction, and with a fresh outlook for 2022 I now feel better placed to perform.  
 

MODELLING.  I made every effort last year to see and support every model show I could, knowing full well the potential pitfalls. Well, I had a good time out with friends and model’s. But, this year is a different prospect all together and this is where I’ve made my plans, I can actually see what my efforts will be and what for.
With my two models on my work bench I’ve now got a hunger to tackle them, and the results and my expectations are visible and manageable. My long term TSR2 will continue to tickle along for a little while longer, the nights are drawing out and this will feed my modelling. The plan for the TSR2 is to move this kit forward in the months ahead.

In the here and now is my Scooter.  So, with my first model show going to be Milton Keynes (ModelKraft) and feeling it’s a safe bet this show will be on its something to aim for and making a start for modelling progress.  
One of the problems I have is post S.M.W.  I find it problematic to keep that modelling ball moving in this case I just couldn’t find time to break out my airbrush and continue where I’d left off.

 

I’d give the underside of the base layer of FS16495, even after primer and so on this top layer showed a few flaws which required some more attention. Post S.M.W I also managed to start the process of weathering by spraying a darker layer of paint along the panel lines. I say this is the start of the process as I like to emphasise my panel lines and all details. Whilst I started emphasising the panel lines I ran out of time and my paint started to thin too much, as is visible in this photo, the paint now looking much lighter on the left hand wing.

Also visible in this photo is the refuelling probe that came a cropper some time ago. The model had been placed in its box like this but it seems it really was possible to snap it off. I’ve previously repaired this probe but third time broken made me decide to fix it once and for all. This came in the form of a replacement probe by Quick Boost designed for the Hasegawa kit. Normally Humbrol glue will fix plastic problems but with the medium shade of blue waiting in the wings I wanted it fixed perfectly and permanently. 

 

 

The refuelling probe is not the easiest piece to remove from its casting stub, clean up taking a little time.

 

The underside has received an overall weathering spray. Yesterday saw me find time to airbrush in one sitting, whilst I ran out of time last time, no such problems this time.  Just that I forgot which colour paint I’d used last time out,  and so this time around the weathering is now a little darker.  Further down the road oil washes and oil paints will be used, some brown’s to impart oil stains. If further down the road I feel the weathering is too subtle I can always add to this. 

 

Yesterday really gave me good results, the middle paint colour was applied as well.  😃      Now I know what you’re saying…… really.  As it happens the middle colour is a very good match for the primer coat, it’s the sheen that gives away its application. When the third colour goes on all will be revealed.

 

Like many modellers who’ve come before me, fear of using the paint similar to the decals is always there. This area of the wing  and lower fuselage will need some weathering , in this case at present I’m not sure just yet weather to go with lighter or darker shades of grey.

 

This is now the perfect time to run with this project and keep it moving along nicely, mi dander is up!     😉

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by amos brierley
Pressed save by accident. End now finished.

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                        Any colour you like as long as it’s grey.

 

Unfortunately the last two weeks has seen me a little bit busy, it would be best to describe the time spent as prep work to better my year. Hopefully things like my new glasses will come in had for modelling. And my new camera last year now has some needed accessories for a little road trip….. I’m now the proud owner of a ticket for a forthcoming Airframe Tours of Cobham, something I’ve fancied for a very long time…… Cobham for the un-initiated is the spare hanger for Yeovilton, hopefully it will be chocked full of stuff not seen very often. ….. Just a few things I’ve sorted out.

 

Mean while I’ve done some much needed airbrushing, it took me three sittings to apply the final colour.

 

A quick session with some black primer first, then some Humbrol Crystal clear to hold things in place. Now with some paint on the canopy this has focused my attention to a  problem dodge, I’ m not a fan of closed canopies so it’s not a problem. But firstly H.B have made the canopy a little too short as is apparent by the masking tape between windscreen and canopy…. The gap had to be sealed…. The other problem is that the canopy is a little is a too narrow, not a problem if the canopy is open.

The top colour has now been completed, and the model is now looking close……. Xtracolours Neutral Gray was a lot too grey for me so, it’s been doctored with some…. ney a lot of blue…… I think I’ve got somewhere close to what I think is a close match.  Now, the top of the wings look distinctly contrasting colours, but, the sides of the fuselage less so. Some of the fuselage conundrum is simply over spray, but it may have to be re-sprayed a slightly lighter colour.

 

I’ve now finished my shift pattern for the week,so, I’m hoping to weather the top surfaces. Not sure how I’m going to go, spray lighter colour for weathering effects or something of a darker shade.  Post shading of the lighter lower surfaces  has only one way to go and that’s to to Dk Grey (which I did) or a medium brown to depict oil stains. The top surfaces need to depict both fading from the sun , wear from foot fall , and darker colours for oils.    Whilst three sittings of spraying is the norm for this modeller and this time scale is very normal, what will be different in this model is the three shades of grey/blue . Since my heart op some 10 yrs ago I’ve been building my bucket list of models or there about’s and this has ment that the latest model is every bit as different as the last. The three greys is as very different from a Sea Harrier FRS2 (yes correct-not FA2 ) to a Royal Navy marked Shackleton to a Shackleton MR2C crew trainer, this will be my first 80’s style cammo , and I look forward to the challenge…….

 

Thanks for looking.     😉

 

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                    Weathering process - making it a little bit used.

 

First order of the day was to correct the two upper fuselage colours, with some over spray and incorrect demarcation lines. As I’ve already said, the medium colour along the mid fuselage seemed to disappear, it’s not  helped by the fact it sits at the lower curve of the intake flanks.  Between the intake and the trailing edge of the wing the medium grey colour was adjusted to be somewhat lighter than it should be, with the wing masked off the lighter colour can be tapered out at the air brake. Even now the demarcation lines still don’t look very distinct. But, things look very pleasing so far.

 

For the upper surfaces I’ve started to weather the both the colours with a lighter shade predominantly along the panel lines, but the upper wing weathering  has had to be applied around the plethora of access panels.

Looking a little stark I’m hoping this will tone down further down the line. With two of my latest aircraft magazines providing a cracking read they’ve also supplied some interesting photos for my collection. Whilst a completely different subject this USM Marines UH-1Y helicopter appears to wear the very same colours and this photo is a guide for what I could go for.

With modelling ideas abound.  How to finish your model - like the real thing - in this case it’s a little too stark for me  - or something more akin to a scale model. 

 

Just the first step of weathering is a lighter shade, like other models that have come before as many as five shades could well go into giving this rascal some patina.     ….. At some time soon I’ll get around to spraying the inner bits and pieces of white, this will promote the model to final throws….

 

Thanks for looking.      😉

 

 

[jcchow66]

Looking good !

[phildagreek]

Looking very smart!

[exdraken]

Nice wip!

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                  Continuing the weathering process. With some trials and               tribulations along the way. 
 

Well, the last couple of weeks had been hard going, yet again I just couldn’t find time for some airbrushing, and, well, when I did I gotta things wrong. I picked a fight I should have just let slide.  I was frustrated at very little modelling in the last few weeks and with my head just not in the zone I pressed on regardless…….

And I gotta things wrong spectacularly, firstly I was in a bad mood, and then I loaded up my airbrush to continue where I’d left off weathering. I’ve learned the hard way recently that I should force out quite a lot of paint mix before even thinking about picking up the model….. there should be an observation of the spray pattern, and then pick up the model….. 

That observation of the spray pattern is important, what I’ve been seeing is the initial paint flow is far too speckled, that’s because the cellulose goes in first then the paint and even when it’s mixed in the airbrush cup the heavy paint sinks and forms a gloup and comes out first. …… More preparation. So, the mix should be like the milk , not like red top, far too watery and not like full fat blue top,, far to thick. Green top…. Just right.

So, bad mood + poor preparation led me to starting just a start of a mess. Whilst sewearing away to myself Mrs B took humbridge and the air turned from blue to black. That’s because when I moved my model I could now see that some how some cellulose had dropped on my model and the paint was kippered well and truely. With ten minutes of mayhem it was time to just STOP.

The next day some polishing was need before making a fresh start……. 
 

Having thoughts about where I had gone wrong it was time to make amends. With the lighter and medium colours around the tail pipe destroyed, from destroyed to things shaped up nicely, I got into a stride kept going…..  One of the problems I’ve encountered in the past is when a little bit of the model is sprayed/weathered doing the rest of the model is just difficult. You could say a game of two half’s…..hopefully not.

 

The back end shows what I’ve gone for , full on fading of the top colours, now all over.

 

Even the bombs have been weathered.

Starting to take shape, it throws its shapes and moves much much better in normal lighting.

 

Having had it rightly pointed out that this’numpty’ had made the bombs as inert (blue) but with live yellow nose rings. Thank you CharlieNZ. Just a little extra work.

 

I’ve had a little play around with some weathering products just to see what looked good…….

 

This shows some ‘run out’ of the panel lines and details which need to be kept on top of.

The left air brake has had a sympathetic blue wash , that’s for another time……

Thanks for looking.           😀

 

 

 

[Vultures1]

Just come across the WIP for your Scooter, which is full of really great info. It's looking really good and I'm enjoying the evolving work on the weathering

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                    It will be all white on the night.

 

All things modelling related.  I’m presently working at Salmesbury and have enjoyed being on shift for a good few years, but, in the forthcoming weeks this will all change and it’s back to a day shift. It’s taken me some time to get my head around things and it’s implications, then out of the blue I get a swipe right. In the form of going back to Warton , whilst at the moment I don’t want to talk about the new project (for me) it may be a boost for me moving forward. It’s come out of the blue and I’m thinking of running with it. 

As to be expected at club night we got onto the subject of forthcoming model shows. But, I pointed out that there will be a fly in the ointment to this idea, that being that the price of fuel is going up , and this is going to be a massive hurdle to overcome. And so having gone to a good few model shows last year, this year is the polar opposite, I just can’t get motivated, so, just for now the only show I’ve got the urge to go to will be the Milton Keynes (MK) show. How the rest of the year pan’s out is to be seen…..

With thoughts of model shows and stuff to put on model tables, I’ve got to start making some modelling moves…..

 

For a week or so I’ve been tinkering with white paint……. That’s easy to say, but not so easy to pull off. First off came some masking, with most models there’s two choices of routes to take, spray the inner parts first then mask them, or the other route that I almost always take spray the exterior first and then face the gauntlet of masking the innards off and , well, hoping nothing goes wrong. 
I’ve spent some time de- takyfying the tape, a few hours of fingering Tamiya tape has hopefully given the tape enough tacky to mask the paint job and yet not enough grab to pull off the finish. Some sore fingers ensued. 🤞  🙌  

 

Not showing in clearly in this is the difficulty of applying GSI gloss white, it goes on very opakeness, and requires a fair amount of layers to build up a lovely finish. That application of thinner layers takes time, but at least it dries fast. 

This photo shows a fully finished white air brake bay, and of course……. Just a little bit of pulled paint in front of the bay.  As I’ve said white is time consuming and not to be rushed.

 

More for another day…… thanks for looking.     😉

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                     It’s all white + de-masking. 
 

Having found time and enthusiasm to press on with the difficult white a relatively quick airbrushing session last night has now got me to another milestone - that of all of the basic spraying done. 😃 Whilst the white has simply just eaten up time in it’s application, de-masking was over in a flash. Whilst I wasted no time in the big reveal, the de-tacky tape was gently removed, no rushing nor ripping it off. I didn’t want to test the paints adhesive properties, and have been rewarded with just the one small blemish around the air brake. 
The smaller Douglas fuel tanks have been test fitted to give me a feel of what my finished look is going to be. Paint build up in the wing holes and on the pylons locating lug’s has been removed to just a snug fit. 

Whilst sunny days are good for the sole, my iPad hates them and just can’t give me the level of quality I’m looking for  for my photos.  Whilst spraying the U/C legs and bays last my seem illogical in why tempt fate with pulled off top coat, the model may look good now, there’s several areas of paint that are bugging me. And that’s the logic in my madness. Having looked at the leading edges today they look rough, I haven’t used masking tape but it seems I’m having to resort to this method for a sharper look. How I originally sprayed the leading edges was to hold the model and airbrush at 90 degrees and every other time it works. I suspect that there is some ware going on as well, extra colour is fairly resistant to handling but not too much….. 

So, with some final airbrush touch up sessions, my thoughts are moving to getting this over the finishing line. I’m thinking it’s time for me to brake out a pen and paper and scribe all of the jobs that need to be done. It’s a tried and tested method, I never remember everything in one session and have to add something later on. The list is also good when time is at a premium as knocking of a little job here and there can go a long way.  The list is also beneficial in that it now focuses my mind on the fact that it’s time to close this modelling chapter and I really don’t want to forget anything nor work out of any sequence only to trip myself up. 

 

Thanks for looking.       😃

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                       US navy U/C doors ggggrrrrr. 😬

 

I don’t always make it to club night because of the shift pattern (I used to work) , but when I go I like to think that people could at least put some effort into taking a WIP project along.    ………. So this month I practiced what I preach and took my long suffering WIP along. Whilst some club members don’t like the idea that people can see their potential and future bag of nails, errr I mean next stunner, I’m all for it. Why? It’s nice to have someone else’s perspective. And that’s what I got this time around, it got people to open up, and release some interesting information previously locked away. 😲 As I’ve already said, this project was to be a club built, but it’s bombed spectacularly. To date our Polish member has built his and it’s very nice too, but it’s the hidden gems of information that were coming my way that pepped me up. So, most modellers have given their problem project to land fill, and that brings me to today’s post header. One said modeller’s Scooter went into the bin after tackling the red of the U/C doors. It’s a bit drastic me thinks, but now it’s my turn to tackle said problem. 
 

I don’t know why US navy doors were painted red on there outer edges, but my best guess is that it’s a visible warning for head accidents. At 1:1 scale I’m sure it’s easy enough to to create, but at 1/48 it’s testing, and that’s what it’s done in the past. 

 

Not looking to bad s far. Some tips : pipe cleaner and cotton buds dipped in white spirits go some way to create a sharp edge.  Another is to use a paint brush dipped in spirits then paint and try to let the extra thin paint flow along the edges…. 

 

Next on my list of things to do is to pin the eight bombs I’m going to use, drill and pin everything in the same place means everything should all line up and stay in place once the model is done, especially that Multiple Ejector Launcher, I don’t want six wonky bombs.

Starting to tackle some of the other jobs….. that shiney fresh looking set of steps has been toned down with some Xtracolour natural steel as always it looks better in the flesh. It’s time to tackle panel lines and details, as the lower pylon has been emphasised with this MIG blue wash . This blue has to and appears to be a good match for all of the shades of grey it’s go to tackle. The small paint brush is how I’m applying the wash, slow and steady, a pin wash. The point of the brush flowing wash into just the panel lines and not everywhere. Just letting capillary action to do it’s work.

 

Thanks for looking.        😉

 

 

 

[amos brierley]

Hello everyone.                           Panel lining my scooter. 
 

As the last post shows, I’m moving forward and this post isn’t going to show much in the way of the wider path I’m travelling. But, there is one area that is unique to this model, that is how I’m tackling emphasising it’s panel lines. Whilst my general go to wash is for a model is a brown wash, but my thinking is that for this lighter paint colour is that this can’t take it. It would just be too dark. I just don’t get any form of pre-shading as that means everything has to be set in stone well before the finishing process, and well, why are modellers obsessed with all things black these days? I have a theory in that when I’ve seen competition models in particular the winners, non of them have any of the modern trates promoted by model mags. Black panel lines are making a come back, but this was something I did 30 years ago, times have changed.

 

This photo is what I’ve used as a reference for people in the past, all of the panels on this ageing paint work are no more than dark green. And , there’s no black (basing) going on here, no black showing on the top surfaces. It’s just dark green.

 

This photo shows that the left hand side now , front to rear has a wash of Tamiya dark grey. This wash is more sympathetic to the blue-grey paint finish. I tried to get the Mig wash to work for me, but for the blue-grey I just couldn’t get on with it, and so ran with the Tamiya wash. The problem I’ve encountered with the Mig wash is that it’s not got enough pigment in it, whilst I’ve been in the garage today I’ve found my tube of Paynes grey oil paint. But am not sure enough about adding a little bit to thicken up the MIG Cold Grey Wash. The underside will receive the Mig wash nicely and some areas will receive some brow washing first then some oil paint for oils and fluids that are leaching out.

 

 

Thanks for looking.    😉