giemme Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 She's just beautiful, Bill - impressive paint job and well balanced weathering! Ciao 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Totally agree with Giorgio. Everything about this A-4 looks the part. Great job Bill, well done! I wonder what we'll get to watch next? Terry 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Absolutely stunning result Bill as usual outstanding workmanship together with superb paintwork. Stay safe Roger 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev67 Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Another extremely well built model 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Proper job Bill, every inch an early Skooter. Be justly proud of your efforts and keeping us royally enteryained... Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Absolutely splendid! Congrats. JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 I'm always amazed what a difference it makes when the canopy goes on. PING!! and there it is finished and to be admired. And the little details (mirrors) make all the difference. Perfect! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 9 hours ago, Brandy said: Lovely. I really like the subtle shading on her. Thanks Ian. I'm always mad with myself when I overdo any weathering, so I really hoped for subtlety on this one. It came out a little less weathered than the photos of the real thing, but it must have been clean once. 7 hours ago, Heather Kay said: What panel lines? They look okay to me, Bill. She’s a doozy! Thanks Heather. You're right, of course. I just keep fixating on what it was like before I filled them with Mr. Surfacer. Can't get that out of my mind. I have other Airfix kits that will probably require the same treatment, so the work done here will help me there. 7 hours ago, giemme said: She's just beautiful, Bill - impressive paint job and well balanced weathering! Thanks Giorgio. I learned one thing when painting her - MRP's Semi-matte Clear is virtually identical to their Matte Clear. I was hoping for a little shine, but didn't get any. I guess I'll try their Semi-gloss Clear next time. I do like their clear lacquers - they dry super fast and can be handled without suffering any issues. 6 hours ago, Terry1954 said: Totally agree with Giorgio. Everything about this A-4 looks the part. Great job Bill, well done! I wonder what we'll get to watch next? Thanks Terry. Let's see, what's next - oh right, I have a Group Build coming up, the one for the A-7 and F-8. Contrarian that I am, I'll be doing the Anigrand (gasp!) resin kit of the XF8U-3 Crusader III in glorious 1:72 1:78 or thereabouts scale (depends on which aspect you look at). Wish me luck - the parts don't look the best and some are missing. Anigrand refuses to answer any emails and I ain't going to Hong Kong to meet them in person. 😬 3 hours ago, heloman1 said: Proper job Bill, every inch an early Skooter. Be justly proud of your efforts and keeping us royally enteryained... Thanks Colin. At the end of the day, I think the Airfix kit makes into a nice replica of the Skyhawk. It's too bad that they made some boo-boos, or else it could have been a standard for the mark. But what fun would that be? I think folks on here that follow my work notice a singular lack of shake and bake kits... 2 hours ago, Johnson said: I'm always amazed what a difference it makes when the canopy goes on. PING!! and there it is finished and to be admired. And the little details (mirrors) make all the difference. Thanks. I agree that the final fiddly bits really help with any model. And they wouldn't be so fiddly if I didn't build in 1:72 scale! I thought when I built my 1:32 Spitfire that the detailing would be easier - it wasn't and there was a lot more of it that had to be done! Took forever... Cheers, Bill 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 The finished model looks rather splendid, as usual, and it hasn't helped me deal with current obsession with post-war US jets - I'm planning a trip to my LMS on Saturday and hope they haven't got any Skyhawks on the shelves. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 12 minutes ago, Navy Bird said: But what fun would that be? I think folks on here that follow my work notice a singular lack of shake and bake kits... I couldn't agree more. Where's the "modelling" in just gluing it together and painting it? Ian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpoud117 Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 6 hours ago, Navy Bird said: Thanks Terry. Let's see, what's next - oh right, I have a Group Build coming up, the one for the A-7 and F-8. Contrarian that I am, I'll be doing the Anigrand (gasp!) resin kit of the XF8U-3 Crusader III in glorious 1:72 1:78 or thereabouts scale (depends on which aspect you look at). Wish me luck - the parts don't look the best and some are missing. Anigrand refuses to answer any emails and I ain't going to Hong Kong to meet them in person. This ought to make you look back fondly on Airfix Skyhawk -all of a sudden very minor- issues. Well done on your Skyhawk, it's another stunner in your collection 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 On 09/03/2023 at 10:01, Navy Bird said: Let's see, what's next - oh right, I have a Group Build coming up, the one for the A-7 and F-8. Contrarian that I am, I'll be doing the Anigrand (gasp!) resin kit of the XF8U-3 Crusader III in glorious 1:72 1:78 or thereabouts scale (depends on which aspect you look at). Wish me luck - the parts don't look the best and some are missing. Anigrand refuses to answer any emails and I ain't going to Hong Kong to meet them in person. 😬 OK, so this won't be happening. I removed all the bits from the casting blocks and this is what I noted: The ventral strakes are missing The landing gear doors are missing One of the fuselage halves is banana-shaped and does not align with the other Wing has no anhedral The sugar scoop is incorrectly shaped and does not align with the forward fuselage The windscreen/canopy (one piece clear resin) is full of air bubbles and about 8mm too short and 3mm too wide. I well acquainted with dipping resin into boiling water in order to reform it, but not stretching it! The front/top surface of the windscreen is nearly horizontal - how is the pilot supposed to see out? Wrong ejection seat Many voids in the resin casting The model is underscale, but not always by the same amount in all areas I've tried contacting Anigrand and they are content to be aloof in Hong Kong. To heck with them - this kit is a colossal fail. I know they can do better as I've seen photos of this kit built up and it looks pretty good. I've got a really bad copy and it wasn't cheap. I'm pushing 70 years old and I don't need to waste my time on such a mess. Which is really too bad, because the Crusader III is such a cool bird. Please, someone like Special Hobby, Clear Prop, or Modelsvit - please do this aircraft in 1:72 scale injection moulded styrene! Significantly depressed in NY, Bill 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Do an A3D instead. It'll be relaxing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 13, 2023 Author Share Posted March 13, 2023 2 hours ago, David H said: Do an A3D instead. It'll be relaxing. Ain't got one. Besides, I think Brenden Fraser has cornered the market on whales. Cheers, Bill 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin-42 Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 You made me pull my Anigrand Crusader III kit out. It suffers none of the issues yours has aside from the shape/scale. I trial fitted the canopy and it fit. The windscreen angle appears about right as well. It even came with a second wing, so I could build the biplane version! Their packing department clearly do not suffer from OCD! Clear Prop has a penchant for the uncommon kit, send them a message. It flew, it looks totally badass, I would buy one. You never know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 14, 2023 Author Share Posted March 14, 2023 20 minutes ago, Robin-42 said: It even came with a second wing, so I could build the biplane version! Their packing department clearly do not suffer from OCD! Do either of the wings have the correct 5 degree anhedral? My wing is perfectly flat. I think the issue with my resin canopy (some kits have vacuform canopies) is that it shrunk big time, and also spread width-wise. Probably not cured fully when it was removed from the mould. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin-42 Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 11 minutes ago, Navy Bird said: Do either of the wings have the correct 5 degree anhedral? My wing is perfectly flat. I think the issue with my resin canopy (some kits have vacuform canopies) is that it shrunk big time, and also spread width-wise. Probably not cured fully when it was removed from the mould. Cheers, Bill Both more or less flat one with added waviness. Either hot water or saw partly through the roots to get the dihedral. Good news is I am not letting myself start any new models, shelf of doom is too crowded! Otherwise, I would pull out my book and start “correcting”! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 2 hours ago, Navy Bird said: Ain't got one. Besides, I think Brenden Fraser has cornered the market on whales. Cheers, Bill Oooo. BURNNNNN!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 My Super Crusader was a real good kit. All I did was open the side gills and changed the nose wheel to a fatter looking one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 14, 2023 Author Share Posted March 14, 2023 18 hours ago, Robin-42 said: Both more or less flat one with added waviness. Either hot water or saw partly through the roots to get the dihedral. Good news is I am not letting myself start any new models, shelf of doom is too crowded! Otherwise, I would pull out my book and start “correcting”! Yeah, I was planning on the hot water trick, and I was going to make a small jig so I would get the anhedral angle correct. I was also going to drop the flaps and the leading edge slats since the wing would be raised. I just got a really bad sample from Anigrand, and I ordered directly from them not a dealer. Too bad they won't acknowledge my emails. 16 hours ago, busnproplinerfan said: My Super Crusader was a real good kit. All I did was open the side gills and changed the nose wheel to a fatter looking one. Lucky dog! I was also planning on opening the side inlets as they were usually in that state on the ground. I'm not giving up completely on building this kit - I just need some time to think it all through. I think I can fix the banana shaped fuselage half with some strategic cuts, and I will have to make a new canopy mule so I can vacuform a new one. The missing ventral strakes and gear doors shouldn't be too difficult to make. I'm just so disgusted that I don't want to do any of this right now. Instead, I'll build a nice shake and bake Kikka! Of course, there is no such thing. Cheers, Bill PS. But AZ makes one in my scale, and I actually have a nice PE set to go with it. What a glutton for punishment. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 You should treat yourself with a (modern) Tamiya kit sometimes.... or even an Eduard one... Ciao 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 2 hours ago, Navy Bird said: Yeah, I was planning on the hot water trick, and I was going to make a small jig so I would get the anhedral angle correct. I was also going to drop the flaps and the leading edge slats since the wing would be raised. I just got a really bad sample from Anigrand, and I ordered directly from them not a dealer. Too bad they won't acknowledge my emails. Lucky dog! I was also planning on opening the side inlets as they were usually in that state on the ground. I'm not giving up completely on building this kit - I just need some time to think it all through. I think I can fix the banana shaped fuselage half with some strategic cuts, and I will have to make a new canopy mule so I can vacuform a new one. The missing ventral strakes and gear doors shouldn't be too difficult to make. I'm just so disgusted that I don't want to do any of this right now. Instead, I'll build a nice shake and bake Kikka! Of course, there is no such thing. Cheers, Bill PS. But AZ makes one in my scale, and I actually have a nice PE set to go with it. What a glutton for punishment. Maybe try using warm water on the fuse. I ran hoods under warm to hot water, then twisted it and right away run under cold water. Might take a couple of trys and some burnt fingers. I'd try that before cutting it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 Brilliant job on the Scooter, Bill! Instead of the Super-Crusader, maybe you could try the new AJ-1 Savage from Roden. I have one, and it looks like a very nice kit. Besides, I want to see one built up properly before I try my hand at it. Best Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tailspin Turtle Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 31 minutes ago, Learstang said: Brilliant job on the Scooter, Bill! Instead of the Super-Crusader, maybe you could try the new AJ-1 Savage from Roden. I have one, and it looks like a very nice kit. Besides, I want to see one built up properly before I try my hand at it. Best Regards, Jason Here is a link to a link to a Roden AJ-1 review: https://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2023/01/roden-172-aj-1-savage-review.html 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 15, 2023 Author Share Posted March 15, 2023 Thanks guys. I actually have one of the new Savage kits on order. I saw Paul Boyer's build and it looks sweet. And big. Cheers, Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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