David_in_Fremont Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Greetings! I'm about to undertake the above kit and thought I'd share it with the group here. Not because I expect to get any praise but so I can get some input and help along the way.. I've only returned to the hobby a few months back after 30+ years and have been working mostly in 1/32 so for starters this thing seems so small that I'm already questioning whether I can do it any justice. It was also supposed to be a "quick build" at least until I got the Eduard PE set for the office. I thought it was simply a detailing set for the instrument panels but it is in fact a replacement for the cockpit! So the first question for you all is this: Have any of you used this PE set? (Eduard 49 289) If so, any tips to avoid disaster?? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowan Broadbent Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Greetings!I'm about to undertake the above kit and thought I'd share it with the group here. Not because I expect to get any praise but so I can get some input and help along the way.. So the first question for you all is this: Have any of you used this PE set? (Eduard 49 289) If so, any tips to avoid disaster?? Thanks! I haven't used it, but I want to - after you, Cecil......... Oh, and may I say how nice it is to see the the correct spelling of that little phrase, so beloved of call centre operatives, rather than being invited to accompany you in removing my clothes!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 In the interest of sanity (and time) I made the decision to modify the extent to which the PE set would be used. Bear in mind I thought I was ordering a color PE kit for the instument panel plus belts so all of the other stuff was a plus anyway. Instead of using the entire PE assembly for the floor and cockpit walls which would've probably made me cross-eyed, blind or just a total nutter I decided to see what I could do to blend the two. Turns out most of the PE details for the cockpit interior can be made to work on the kit parts with only minor modifications thus far. If this continues to hold true I should be able to get the office painted and the fuselage closed this weekend thus restoring the "quick build" aspect of this project. Here's how it looks so far... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiSteve Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 The mods look good so far Dave, I'll be keeping a close eye on the build for some hints and tips as I'm sure I've got the same kit in my NZ stash. And to see how the PE set works out too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 The mods look good so far ... Very nice of you to say so Steve... I do try Here's a tip for bending PE.... raw PE, rather than pre-painted. Anneal the part by passing it through a flame - lighter, match, candle, which softens the metal & makes it easier to bend. If you use a match or a candle, you may have to clean off the soot afterwards, so lighter is probably the best option. If you try this on pre-painted PE, you're gonna burn off the paint, so don't Here's anther one for you... when cutting small PE parts from the "sprue", cut on a solid surface (desk, tile, piece of glass), but stick a piece of masking tape to the back before cutting, as it'll stop the parts flying away into the jaws of the carpet monster Looking good so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 Nice tips Mike! The tape tip alone should save me some advanced hair loss... The progress thus far today has been getting the cockpit ready for some detailing. Since some of the PE is color I needed to paint the main components before those can be installed. I am brand new to the world of the airbrush so I thought this would be a nice time to try my hand at pre-shading. This was done with some Tamiya red-brown that I had from a previous build. Then a light coat of interior green was shot over that. The results are pretty subtle and I'm not sure how well they can been seen here, but it does add some depth that should come out more with some detailing and drybrushing. After it cools down a little this evening I'll get a start on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 5, 2007 Author Share Posted August 5, 2007 The front office is pretty well finished now. What remains to be seen is whether I can get the PE instrument panel to fit with the kit side walls, but I think it should with little or no modification. That's for tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 Quick update tonight... I discovered that the problem with adding some of those PE bits to the cockpit walls of the kit is that it makes for a very snug fit when the pit goes together. I had to pull the seat and thin the sides of the seat to get it to fit, then the cockpit was still a bit too wide. Remove, sand, replace, remove, sand, replace. It still almost took a pry-bar to get the fuselage to close up! (pretty sure this was my fault and nothing to do with the kit) No new pics tonight, but the fuse is closed and the wings are on. There is some filling and ssanding to finish up and she should be ready for some paint by the weekend. The finish will all be done with Tamiya acrylics since they are the most readily available to me and easiest to clean up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ale85 Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 what kind of interior green you have done?? The right interior green for the italian planes of the WWII is Gunze H-312; the seat is alluminium, not in green... great work!!! ciao Ale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 what kind of interior green you have done?? The right interior green for the italian planes of the WWII is Gunze H-312; the seat is alluminium, not in green...great work!!! ciao Ale I haven't had much luck locating any Gunze products in my area. This is a fairly quick "in-between" build so I used some Tamiya interior green that I had leftover from a previous project. And you're also correct about the seat... totally missed that in the brief research I had done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Looks great so far, I love those Italian warbirds. BTW, you know Mike Grant does a set of smoke ring decals if you don't fancy painting them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted August 9, 2007 Share Posted August 9, 2007 Looking good David The green probably could have stood a black pre-shade, but would have required more paint over it to make it subtle enough to pass muster. Still looks durned good tho! Bloody AM parts always cause fit issues... Aires used to be the worst, but they seem to have addressed it somewhat with newer releases. I always have a job putting the fuselage together if there's a substantial amount of extra bits in there - I had to do exactly the same on the Mossie I'm building at the moment, and the last Spit I did. Keep up the good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 9, 2007 Author Share Posted August 9, 2007 Looks great so far, I love those Italian warbirds.BTW, you know Mike Grant does a set of smoke ring decals if you don't fancy painting them? Thanks Nev. In fact I saw the decals from Mike Grant prior to buying this kit and ordered them at the same time. I'm still a total novice with my airbrush and would never have even tried this bird if I had to paint the rings. Poor thing would have ended up looking like a circus plane! Looking good David The green probably could have stood a black pre-shade, but would have required more paint over it to make it subtle enough to pass muster. Still looks durned good tho! Bloody AM parts always cause fit issues... Aires used to be the worst, but they seem to have addressed it somewhat with newer releases. I always have a job putting the fuselage together if there's a substantial amount of extra bits in there - I had to do exactly the same on the Mossie I'm building at the moment, and the last Spit I did. Keep up the good work Don't I know it! There was a 'ripple effect' from all the fit issues with this cockpit. The fuse ended up being a tiny bit wider as a result wich made the fit of the wings a little bit off, and some of the cowling parts a bit off, etc. Filling and sanding to make those gaps close up.... :shithappens: But the extra details are almost always worth the extra efforts in the end. Thanks for the kind words and tips, lads! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 Ok, some progress that's worth showing. The filling / sanding phase is pretty much complete, or at least as much as it can be until I get some primer on it to see any problem areas more clearly. I also got the radiator built but can't get a good enough picture to show how cool it looks. The Eduard set replaces the molded details with 3 layers of detail on each side which really makes it look like a radioator. Pretty cool looking. My camera is a digital dinosaur however and I can't get decent closeups of the really small bits worth a . Pimer and pre-shading next up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 I like this thread... Italian aircraft don't get that much coverage on the other forums, so lets hope that this is the start of summit, eh? Nice work too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 11, 2007 Author Share Posted August 11, 2007 I like this thread... Italian aircraft don't get that much coverage on the other forums, so lets hope that this is the start of summit, eh? Nice work too Thanks Mike! They are like Italian cars in a way, very sexy... Now if you want to see some Italian art you should check this build over on LSP. Alan is doing an amazing build that's like a master class! It humbles my effort massively.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 (edited) Ever have one of those things that you never thought would mean much, suddenly become cool? For me, today, that is primer. I've been using the standard Tamiya primer. Been happy enough with it though it can be a bit powdery and needs to be knocked down with sand paper before painting. I ran out so off to the hobby shop I went, and they were out also. I picked up a can of the Tamiya Fine primer instead... This stuff is the proverbial dogs man-vegetables!! I almost don't want to paint over it.... Here you can see some of the detail that went into that radiator... Edited August 13, 2007 by David_in_Fremont Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 13, 2007 Author Share Posted August 13, 2007 Yesterday saw the pre-shading completed, and yet another lesson learned. Being brand new to the airbrush I'd never tried this and was amazed to discover just how hard it is to make a straight line with the thing! Towards the end of the day I also got some color on the underside and started with the white band around the fuselage. The kit includes a decal for this but I want to paint it to make weathering more uniform later. Pic of that progress should be up in a day or two. In the meantime... squiggly lines Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted August 14, 2007 Share Posted August 14, 2007 Straight lines seem to evade me when I'm preshading too... I suspect your may be a little on the heavy side though - try it with a finer needle setting next time, which should give you more control Nice primer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 15, 2007 Author Share Posted August 15, 2007 Straight lines seem to evade me when I'm preshading too... I suspect your may be a little on the heavy side though - try it with a finer needle setting next time, which should give you more control Nice primer Yes, those lines would be much more at home on a 1/32 build, wouldn't they? Unfortunately my airbrush doesn't really have that option. It's a single action external mix gun so it has more of a 'nozzle' than a needle. After getting color on the underside it seems to look ok, if not perfect. Kinda like most of my work... Thanks for the feedback! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 19, 2007 Author Share Posted August 19, 2007 Real life has managed to get in the way of this being a little two week 'quick build' but there is finally more progress to share. Before anyone looks at the piccies, please note: Since I am using Tamiya paints, and they don't have RLM codes or names that match, I chose the colors that were the closest to the actual aircraft. I think that it's close enough for rock-n-roll, but the purists may disagree. The kit includes a decal for the white stripe around the fuselage but I masked and painted this so it will look better and weather better with the rest of the paint job. Here is the belly And a couple overall views The canopy has been dipped in Future (Kleer), masked and painted as well. That will be installed at the conclusion of this build. Next up will be a coat of Future after the paint cures for a while. Please share any critique! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in Aotearoa Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 Hi David I'd say that's looking pretty darn nice. If the airbrush is as you say, an external mix one, rather than risk that lovely finish you've got there, a set of 'Smoke Ring' decals may provide a simpler solution to the camo (if that's the finish it's going to have). I think it was Mike Grant that produces the decals , but don't quote me on that! The reason I say that is that external mix airbrushes are not renowned for giving a fine, splatter free finish, and it may well be that any form of mottling may be beyond the capabilities of the airbrush - not your capabilities, the airbrushes. Just some food for thought there, I'd hate to see all that lovely work potentially ruined. Another solution would be to make up a set of masks from paper, but I suspect the decals would be easier. Please, post some more pics of it as it progresses! Cheers from NZ Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_in_Fremont Posted August 19, 2007 Author Share Posted August 19, 2007 Hi DavidI'd say that's looking pretty darn nice. If the airbrush is as you say, an external mix one, rather than risk that lovely finish you've got there, a set of 'Smoke Ring' decals may provide a simpler solution to the camo (if that's the finish it's going to have). I think it was Mike Grant that produces the decals , but don't quote me on that! The reason I say that is that external mix airbrushes are not renowned for giving a fine, splatter free finish, and it may well be that any form of mottling may be beyond the capabilities of the airbrush - not your capabilities, the airbrushes. Just some food for thought there, I'd hate to see all that lovely work potentially ruined. Another solution would be to make up a set of masks from paper, but I suspect the decals would be easier. Please, post some more pics of it as it progresses! Cheers from NZ Mike Thanks Mike! I have indeed purchased the Mike Grant decals for this kit. Neither my airbrush or myself are up to that task! If iI were to try that at this stage of my development it would only ever fly for Ringling Brothers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nev Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 That is looking pretty sweet My LHS has this kit and I am soooo tempted to buy it because of this thread.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentalguru Posted August 19, 2007 Share Posted August 19, 2007 (edited) Hi David- lovely stuff- its going to be great when its finished. Im just about to get spraying my 109 F-4 in one of those peculiar Sicily based schemes- so perhaps we could have a little Malta group build- anybody want to raise some Spitfires... I already know of an interesting Beaufort diorama! Edited August 19, 2007 by Mentalguru Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now