Bent Winged Bluebird

[Dandie Dinmont]

I want to make it clear right from the outset that this is the fault of Mark (@2996 Victor).

 

In his excellent thread

 

 

(by the way, whatever happened to this Mark? 🙂)

 

He extolled the virtues of Tamiya as a kit manufacturer and the delights to be experienced when constructing one of their kits. Shame faced, I have to confess that I have never built a Tamiya kit, not since my return to the hobby, and certainly not in my formative modelling years when they would have been regarded as foreign exotica well out of my price range. So when I paid a celebratory post-lockdown visit to my local model shop and my eyes fell upon this:

 

 

how could I resist?

 

I'll be buildng it OOB using the box art colour scheme which looks gorgeous to my jaded eye. So far, I have only got as far as getting the bits out of the box

 

 

and puzzling over the lack of malformed, short shot and heavily seamed bits which my experience of building Airfix kits has led me to believe  is an intrinsic part of the hobby.

 

Please follow along if you're interested, and all words of advice and advanced warnings of pitfalls are both solicited and welcome. More soon hopefully!

 

Craig.

 

[2996 Victor]

Hi Craig,

 

59 minutes ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

I want to make it clear right from the outset that this is the fault of Mark (@2996 Victor).

Guilty as charged, m'Lud 

 

I'll definitely be following, if I may? Gotta love a Corsair! At least one of these is on my to-do list, an early birdcage with salmon pink primer, an FAA clipped wing-tips, the list goes on..... I'm sure it'll go together like a breeze :)  I hope so, especially after my raving over the Zero.

 

1 hour ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

(by the way, whatever happened to this Mark? 🙂)

The Zero is currently sitting on the shelf of doom window sill of quiet repose gathering dust while the joints harden. Its had an undercoat of Tamiya rattle can Deck Tan and looks quite spiffing, even if I do say so myself. Another one that I really must get on with 

 

Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the Corsair!

 

Cheers,

Mark

[AliGauld]

Ooh a Tamiya Corsair. I'm in if that's OK.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[bigbadbadge]

Got a Corsair to do myself in the too of the stash will try and tag along if okay.

Chris

[David H]

A kit so good, i built 4 of em*

 

*i only have photos of this one, though...

[Dandie Dinmont]

6 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

I'll definitely be following, if I may?

 

 

4 hours ago, AliGauld said:

Ooh a Tamiya Corsair. I'm in if that's OK.

Mark, Alistair, of course you may follow along! It’s only thanks to the encouragement from the pair of you that the Mustang made it over the line so I’m relying on you providing the same service for this build!

 

4 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Got a Corsair to do myself in the too of the stash will try and tag along if okay.

Glad to have you along Chris! Though I fear all you’re likely to learn from this build is how not to do it. 
 

2 hours ago, David H said:

A kit so good, i built 4 of em*

Ah David, maybe you can provide reassurance on something that’s been worrying me a little since I got this kit. How good are the Tamiya decals? Are they thick enough to provide good coverage over the deep blue paint or do they need assistance? Mind you, I’ve no idea how I might approach this. 
 

Craig. 

[David H]

On 6/24/2021 at 3:27 PM, Dandie Dinmont said:

 

 

Mark, Alistair, of course you may follow along! It’s only thanks to the encouragement from the pair of you that the Mustang made it over the line so I’m relying on you providing the same service for this build!

 

Glad to have you along Chris! Though I fear all you’re likely to learn from this build is how not to do it. 
 

Ah David, maybe you can provide reassurance on something that’s been worrying me a little since I got this kit. How good are the Tamiya decals? Are they thick enough to provide good coverage over the deep blue paint or do they need assistance? Mind you, I’ve no idea how I might approach this. 
 

Craig. 

Tamiya decals are, in a word..... meh.

 

The national insignia are certainly dark enough to cover the gloss sea blue paint, and the instrument panel decal works very well, with proper surface prep. The national insignia, being a little on the thick side works okay on the fuselage sides but are sometimes reluctant to bed down onto all the detail on the upper left hand wing. The white in the national insignia is a little bit on the off white, milky side (not as bad as Hasegawa) but for scale effect i like to overpaint the stars with flat white for better contrast.

 

i'm using Barracuda decals on Corsair number 4 and they are thinner, more opaque and lay down well. They had some problems with a batch that used the wrong shade of blue for the insignia but they got over that.

 

-d-

Edited June 26, 2021 by David H

[Jackson Duvalier]

You're going to love this kit, Craig!  I'm excited for you if you've never built a Tamiya kit before.

 

Be careful with the control stick as it's fragile.  Not suicidally so like an Airfix Mustang stick, but still worthy of careful handling.

 

Fill in the rectangular step on the right inboard wing flap for a WWII bird.

 

Tamiya decals like hot water (not boiling hot, but merely painfully hot) and a hot solvent like Mr. Mark Softer; I've had best luck with Solvaset.  Care in aligning the instrument panel decal will be rewarded.

 

You're about to move to the next level, mate.  😎

Edited June 25, 2021 by Jackson Duvalier
someday me learn talk right

[Dandie Dinmont]

8 hours ago, David H said:

the instrument panel decal works very well, with proper surface prep.

 

 

2 hours ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

Care in aligning the instrument panel decal will be rewarded.

See, being a sensitive and easily slighted soul, I’m beginning to feel a little upset now. My boxing of this kit doesn’t actually include an instrument panel decal (though it does include decal seat belts). This is something I was intending ranting about when I finally get around to presenting some evidence of actual modelling having taken place but now I’m just puzzled.

 

Miffed of East Lothian. 

[2996 Victor]

3 hours ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

See, being a sensitive and easily slighted soul, I’m beginning to feel a little upset now. My boxing of this kit doesn’t actually include an instrument panel decal (though it does include decal seat belts). This is something I was intending ranting about when I finally get around to presenting some evidence of actual modelling having taken place but now I’m just puzzled.

 

Miffed of East Lothian. 

No IP decal - hmmmmm, that's a bit schmerr  The IP decals on the Zero bedded amazingly well with MicroSol/Set, and I was very impressed. But, my go-to for IPs now is Yahu, and IMHO their products are top-notch. I think this would fit the bill nicely and for not a lot of wonga.

 

Hopeful of Derbyshire

[AliGauld]

11 hours ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

Miffed of East Lothian.

I would think that Livid would be my reaction.

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Dandie Dinmont]

10 hours ago, 2996 Victor said:

I think this would fit the bill nicely and for not a lot of wonga.

Nice spot Mark! I also see that Hannants stock a matching Yahu cockpit details set with seat belts and the like. Of course you then have to add something else to the order to reach the minimum value and before you know it, you’re having to plot how to intercept the courier at the end of the road so you can smuggle the large package (fnarr fnarr) into the house. I tried marking out the dials with a really sharp white pencil and my optiviser set to scanning electron microscope mode earlier today but it did not go well. I have another idea in the back of my mind which I may give a try before committing to further expenditure.

 

2 hours ago, AliGauld said:

I would think that Livid would be my reaction.

. 
Quite. I had been lead to believe that this kit would practically build itself so finding out that I would have to bring my non-existent  artistic skills into play was a bit of a shock. 
 

Craig. 

[bigbadbadge]

Craig 

I don't know if this will help.  I usually paint the black IP and then with a needle in a pin vice scrape the needles for the gauges in and it gives you a hint of something being there and in this scale with the thickness of the canopy you won't see too much. Even if you have the canopy open it offers the viewer a representation of some gauges and once loads of coats of klear or gloss varnish dropped into each dial it is quite a pleasing effect and it doesn't cost anything too.  

Chris

[Jackson Duvalier]

I've taken a look at my sample of this kit.  Decal #35 represents the instrument faces.  It's in white ink only, so it's not immediately obvious, unlike say a bold-black Hasegawa IP decal.  It would be very easy for anyone to miss.

 

Give your decal sheet a second look before resorting to drastic measures, but if there's really no IP decal there the Yahu panels are most acceptable.  

[Dandie Dinmont]

7 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

I usually paint the black IP and then with a needle in a pin vice scrape the needles for the gauges in

Thanks Chris. This was the cunning plan I alluded to in my previous post but...

 

1 hour ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

Decal #35 represents the instrument faces.  It's in white ink only, so it's not immediately obvious, unlike say a bold-black Hasegawa IP decal

(Gazes myopically at decal sheet)

 

Well I’ll be... you are absolutely right Jackson. It’s there in all it’s non-too-obvious glory and to make things worse, it’s even called out in the instructions. Clearly my unfamiliarity with the Tamiya symbology let me down. Thanks a lot Jackson, you have saved my from disaster, or at least from spending money I didn’t need to which, for an Aberdonian, amounts to pretty much the same thing. 
 

Stand down chaps, I clearly don’t know what I’m talking about. 
 

Craig. 

[Jackson Duvalier]

They're a subtle folk, those Japanese.  🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

[2996 Victor]

48 minutes ago, Jackson Duvalier said:

They're a subtle folk, those Japanese.  🙂

 

Inscrutable, I've heard

[AliGauld]

Glad you've found it.

 

Onwards and upwards.

Cheers,

Alistair

[David H]

14 hours ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

Thanks Chris. This was the cunning plan I alluded to in my previous post but...

 

(Gazes myopically at decal sheet)

 

Well I’ll be... you are absolutely right Jackson. It’s there in all it’s non-too-obvious glory and to make things worse, it’s even called out in the instructions. Clearly my unfamiliarity with the Tamiya symbology let me down. Thanks a lot Jackson, you have saved my from disaster, or at least from spending money I didn’t need to which, for an Aberdonian, amounts to pretty much the same thing. 
 

Stand down chaps, I clearly don’t know what I’m talking about. 
 

Craig. 

Told You.

[Dandie Dinmont]

Jings, where did the last 6 weeks go? With a build of this glacial pace, it would be madness to start another, and one with a deadline at that. And yet, here we are:

 

 

Doing some idle research on the subject of the present build invariably leads to an interest in its great Pacific comrade, the Grumman F6F Hellcat. Inevitably you start thinking "Hmm, be nice to build one of these as well", then you notice that a group build is about to start and before you know where you are, you have yet more bits scattered across your workbench. I won't contaminate the STGB with remarks about the Hellcat's great rival but I may make some comparisons between the two types and the two kits here if that's of interest?

 

The Corsair's story is a fascinating one so I'm going to test your patience by waffling on about it for a bit. The Corsair's genesis was in a 1938 requirement from the US Navy for a single engined carrier based fighter equipped with three or four machine guns and offering the maximum possible top speed. Vought came up with a proposal which would use the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine, the first airframe designed from the off to use this engine. This mighty engine required an equally mighty propellor to translate its power into thrust which in turn required a mighty amount of ground clearance. To avoid having an undercarriage like a flamingo (feathered, not DeHavilland),  the decision was taken to use an inverted gull wing on the new fighter. This had the added advantage of allowing an exceptionally clean join between wing and fuselage (and, as we will see later contributed to the solution of one of its greatest failings as a carrier based aircraft) though this was offset somewhat by the heavier structure this type of wing required. The new aircraft first flew in 1940 and had soon broken the 400MPH barrier, an impressive achievement. Less impressive was the view ahead from the pilot's seat which was obscured by an impressively long nose. Aspects of its handling also gave cause for concern. During its development, reports from the war in Europe indicated that the proposed armament was going to be inadequate for a modern war and the decision was taken to upgun the new aircraft to have 6 50 cal machine guns, three in each wing. The new location for these guns had previously contained fuel tanks. To meet the navy's range requirements, that fuel had to go somewhere and the only possible place was in the fuselage, close to the centre of gravity, and the current location of the cockpit. To make room, the cockpit had to be moved towards the tail making the view over the nose even worse! Development of the new aircraft was protracted, and when the time came for the newly named Corsair to undergo its deck landing trials, several issues emerged  which made touching down on a carrier deck a very tricky prospect for the average pilot fresh out of training. Luckily for the US Navy, Grumman had developed their own Double Wasp powered fighter, the F6F Hellcat in parallel with the Corsair and this was also ready to go to sea. In comparison to its rival, the Hellcat had had a relatively trouble-free gestation, and made carrier landings about as easy as that immensely testing endeavor  was likely to get and so the Admirals decided that they would put the Hellcat on their flightdecks, and pass the Corsair on to the Marine Corps who, by and large, didn't operate from carriers, and the Royal Navy who were in dire need of a new carrier borne fighter.

 

 

It took great force of will to get over the embarrassment of the affair known as ip-decal-gate but I managed it in the end and got back to work. The cockpit is a real jewel of an assembly accurately reflecting the lack of a cockpit floor and containing a lot of detail in its 8 or so parts. Regular readers will be relieved to hear that in the finest traditions of my builds, I managed to remove the spindly control column assembly from its spue attachments intact, but then broke it while affixing it in the cockpit. The kit came with a decal to represent the seat harness. I thought this might look a little two dimensional so decided to stick the decal to a masking tape/tin foil/masking tape sandwich to produce something that had a bit more depth to it and could be positioned easily. The results of this bright idea were...uninspiring... making me glad this this kit doesn't come with an open canopy options

 

 

 

It was definitely worth tracking down that ip decal. I could never have produced anything like that.

 

Next the completed cockpit was glued into one fuselage side 

 

 

Once this has all set, we will see if the fuselage goes together as well as Tamiya's reputation suggests that it should.

 

You will note that I have painted the interior of the tailwheel bay (and the undercarriage bays) Yellow Zinc Chromate. This is in spite of my believe that at this stage in the war, practically everything on these aircraft, including the interior bays should be painted ANA623 gloss sea blue (if this isn't the case, now would be a great time to tell me). I thought I might be able to do some light chipping and weathering in these areas and expose the underlying primer. Or not, we shall see.

 

One last thing, I am impressed by the Tamiya moulding techniques which can produce something like this

 

 

Pretty good, I think for a kit which, if Scalemates is to be believed, has just celebrated its 21st birthday. I've painted the interior of this Yellow Zinc Chromate as well but I'm not sure about it, I may repaint it black or, as the instructions suggest, interior green. Anyone know for sure what colour it should be?

 

Anyway, enough for now, Hopefully progress will be a little quicker henceforth. 

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Craig.

[AliGauld]

Can't help with the colours Craig but it's all looking particularly good.

But what was that you mentioned on another thread about having more than one build on the go at once.

Ahem I rest my case M'Lud.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Dandie Dinmont]

41 minutes ago, AliGauld said:

But what was that you mentioned on another thread about having more than one build on the go at once.

 

Curses, rumbled! I did realise I was on shaky ground when I made those remarks but assumed my charm and loveable nature would let me get away with it. 
 

Craig. 

[AliGauld]

2 minutes ago, Dandie Dinmont said:

 

Curses, rumbled! I did realise I was on shaky ground when I made those remarks but assumed my charm and loveable nature would let me get away with it. 
 

Craig. 

Oh it absolutely allows you to get away with it but as I've said I'm the unreliable one. 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[2996 Victor]

Looking fab, Craig! Tamiya really do know their business, but its the building that makes any model a gem. I confidently forecast that this will be an absolute sparkler  

 

Cheers,

Mark

[bigbadbadge]

Great progress,  glad you found the IP decal.  Looking very nice indeed.

Chris