Popular Post CMSCHLOM Posted May 9, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted May 9, 2021 (edited) This is a deceptively difficult kit by Trumpeter. DO NOT use the Eduard photo etch cockpit interior as it does not fit, and cannot be seen. The canopy is too narrow, so you must build it in the open position. Trumpeter couldn't decide whether to have the kit split in two, in order to see the splendid turbojet, but no stand comes with it. If you want to close up the panels, for flight, PUT THEM IN FIRST, before sealing the fuselage up, and put in some weight. If you don't, you can sink the panel hatches too deep into the fuselage with no way to fix them in place. Finally, the most difficult part, the forward fuselage and rear fuselage are a butt fit on a seam line. No mounting tabs! And of course the forward fuselage is a different diameter than the rear! So lots of sanding and careful application of glue is needed. Press, glue, hold. Repeat. Then sand down the proud edges and fill the sunken areas and carefully re scribe! And watch where you put your paint jar. I hit my jar of Tamiya black and as it somersaulted gracefully in the air, spraying the freshly painted insignia white bottom of the plane, in black droplets. Fortunately I was able to use some alcohol and blend it in as weathering as the bottom of carrier jets were pretty dirty. After four+ months, completed! I was originally going to build John S. McCain's aircraft, but stumbled on these amazing photos of his squadron mate making a barrier landing, while badly wounded. Incredible bit of airmanship! LT Earl survived the war and became a contract pilot for the Navy, flying Naval Flight Officers for training. Special thanks to Joe Mazzerella for designing and printing the custom decals. The kit decals are tissue paper thin, so they tear super easy or curl immediately. The stars and bars are incorrect too. So do yourself a favor and get the AOA A-4 Skyhawk set. They are easy to handle and go down beautifully with a little decal setting solution. Added Modern U.S. Tankmen in Afghanistan from Master Box and converted into medical corpsman. Added 1:32 Late Cold War U.S.-NATO pilot PJ Production resin pilot figure. On to the pics! Edited May 9, 2021 by CMSCHLOM add picture 77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmerboy Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Wow! Super impressive, love everything about this, good job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Keg Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 An outstanding presentation!!!!! Well done!!!!! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Outstanding work again, Charles. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Excellent job! A really dynamic diorama. Good solution for the canopy problem to depict the immediate aftermath as well. Alan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Outstanding just scratches the superlative surface but I have to agree, outstanding! Quite superb! To be honest, words fail me to describe my admiration of this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Superb, dramatic diorama! Just a thought – if Lt Earl's legs were shattered by AA fire – where's the shrapnel (?) damage to the cockpit area? Amazing work. Kind regards, Joachim 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fensman Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 The best model I have seen on here this year I love how you have done the barrier mesh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Great work, that's awesome 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col Walter E Kurtz Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Excellent stuff! A really unusual take on a model ! I like it very much! Thanks for showing it. Sounds like it was a struggle to get the kit made! Well Done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 For all the trouble the kit gave you, the end result is absolutely wonderful! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hook Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 You would never know your struggles considering the superb end result! How did you create the crash barrier? Cheers, Andre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Great work all round! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Impressive. The setting looks very convincing to me. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMSCHLOM Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 (edited) 6 hours ago, Spitfire31 said: Superb, dramatic diorama! Just a thought – if Lt Earl's legs were shattered by AA fire – where's the shrapnel (?) damage to the cockpit area? Amazing work. Kind regards, Joachim Thank you! I believe that Lt. Earl was probably hit by a 23mm or 37mm gun. Looking at the actual photos, you can't see any obvious damage. My suspicion is the round may have exploded or entered underneath the aircraft at an oblique angle exploding beneath the cockpit. (I used two holes in place for the TER rack and coated with Tamiya smoke). So any damage came up under the cockpit floor near the rudder pedals. In an interview he said the pain was so great, he was flying the plane with one hand and banging on the canopy with his other hand. Interesting the shrapnel didn't blow the front tire. Edited May 9, 2021 by CMSCHLOM 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMSCHLOM Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 1 hour ago, Hook said: You would never know your struggles considering the superb end result! How did you create the crash barrier? Cheers, Andre The barrier was made with cotton twine, about the scale thickens for the main cables which I believe were made from rope or canvas. I also carefully trimmed medical tape, which came in the correct color, and has a texture similar to canvas. Then tapped the strips back to back. Here was my template of another barrier landing: 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMSCHLOM Posted May 9, 2021 Author Share Posted May 9, 2021 15 hours ago, Spitfire31 said: Superb, dramatic diorama! Just a thought – if Lt Earl's legs were shattered by AA fire – where's the shrapnel (?) damage to the cockpit area? Amazing work. Kind regards, Joachim Used 1:32 Late Cold War U.S.-NATO pilot, PJ Production resin pilot figure, for LT JG Earl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightningboy2000 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Fantastic, very impressive representation of the event. That last first medical corpsman definitely reminds me of Tommy Cooper! 😆 Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Great diorama, and a well built model. I am doing this kit at the moment, using Aires cockpit and wheel wells. So far they fit perfectly with no adjustments, but I have heard bad things about the wing wells. I plan to join the fuselage ends first and a trial fit has shown the joint to be pretty near perfect, but it will need strengthening inside. My only issue so far is that the plastic is hard and doesn't take well to Tamiya extra thin cement. Which glue did you use? Thanks Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim R-T-C Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Just a great idea for a scene and superbly realised. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 Unusual dio, well executed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 12 hours ago, CMSCHLOM said: Used 1:32 Late Cold War U.S.-NATO pilot, PJ Production resin pilot figure, for LT JG Earl What I meant is – where on the outside of the cockpit area is the damage where the shrapnel entered through the aluminium skin? 😉 Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMSCHLOM Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 7 hours ago, Red Dot said: Great diorama, and a well built model. I am doing this kit at the moment, using Aires cockpit and wheel wells. So far they fit perfectly with no adjustments, but I have heard bad things about the wing wells. I plan to join the fuselage ends first and a trial fit has shown the joint to be pretty near perfect, but it will need strengthening inside. My only issue so far is that the plastic is hard and doesn't take well to Tamiya extra thin cement. Which glue did you use? Thanks Andy Andy, glad yours is going well. At first I thought the rear and forward fuselages fit up too, but then they didn't. I would advise leaving the inner bulkhead supports off so you can squeeze the plastic to fit more precisely. I left mine off and used Tamiya extra thin glue that gave perfect strength. BUT, I would advise using soap and water to clean the plastic, their is a slight coat of release agent on the plastic that is hard to see. Hope to see yours soon! Oh, the wheel wheels are very detailed so no worries. Put the guns in last AFTER you paint the wheel wells. Don't forget to paint the small tie down hooks yellow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMSCHLOM Posted May 10, 2021 Author Share Posted May 10, 2021 2 hours ago, Spitfire31 said: What I meant is – where on the outside of the cockpit area is the damage where the shrapnel entered through the aluminium skin? 😉 Kind regards, Joachim Unfortunately, You can see no damage from the outside of the aircraft using the original photos. My suspicion is the shell entered beneath the aircraft. Or it could have hit the left side of the aircraft which can't be seen. A little artistic licence! Thanks Joachim! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted May 10, 2021 Share Posted May 10, 2021 5 minutes ago, CMSCHLOM said: Andy, glad yours is going well. At first I thought the rear and forward fuselages fit up too, but then they didn't. I would advise leaving the inner bulkhead supports off so you can squeeze the plastic to fit more precisely. I left mine off and used Tamiya extra thin glue that gave perfect strength. BUT, I would advise using soap and water to clean the plastic, their is a slight coat of release agent on the plastic that is hard to see. Hope to see yours soon! Oh, the wheel wheels are very detailed so no worries. Put the guns in last AFTER you paint the wheel wells. Don't forget to paint the small tie down hooks yellow. Thanks for the tips, My fuselage ends have joined up perfectly, but i intend to use plastic card instead of the bulkheads to support the joint, after your tip-off. I will be using the resin main wheel wells from Aires! Thanks too for the other tips cheers Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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