Plastic Modelers in the IL-2 Community

[Feathered_IV]

Looking good.  I don't know if it qualifies as a two seater or a three seater.  

[RAY-EU]

Enterprise carrier CVN-65 1:350 :

[STN]

On 1/5/2021 at 11:54 PM, 40plus said:

 

When does the circus tent go on?

 

"Flying circus" would get a new meaning, wouldn´t it? :)
Anyway, it would fit... and I am the circus clown- I am so used to build taildraggers, that I straight forgot to add wieght to the nose... so now I have buildt an ass-sitter.

 

 

On 1/5/2021 at 11:57 PM, Feathered_IV said:

Looking good.  I don't know if it qualifies as a two seater or a three seater.  

 Three seater- definitely. 

 

I am hesitating whether to put on  a final flat varnish coat, since currently it is a bit glossy. It looks nice, but the original surface was canvas.

[FMF*BarracudaCZ]

Avia B-135 from RS Models 1:72 in alternative Czechoslovak camouflage.

[Feathered_IV]

That looks fantastic.  For a brief moment there I thought it was going to be a Spitfire!

 

Was able to add the undercarriage at last and test fitted the wheels. The inside faces need a wash of something before I stick them on permanently.
The decals for the one in the foreground were home printed.  After applying them I discovered a hidden setting on my printer that gets rid of the aliasing around the fuselage emblem... Too late for this one though. Ho hum. I'll just have to live with it.   : (
 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Feathered_IV

[Spectre_Wolf]

This is a neat topic, I like it. A lot of cool builds in here. Some of my latest creations are 2 Eduard 1/144 Spitfire MKIX’s. My first 1/144 planes and I enjoyed it more than I thought!

 

[Feathered_IV]

Welcome brother!!!  

Great to see some more 1/144.  They look excellent too!

[ZachariasX]

Beautiful!!

I won't tackle that scale until I get a good feel controlling the brushes again. But then maybe. One gets twice the collection in the same shelf. ?

 

[Spectre_Wolf]

Thanks! The Eduard ones were excellent. No big problems for me. Did use masks for the camouflage which are very helpful.

 

Is it okay to post some older builds?

[Hoots]

11 minutes ago, Spectre_Wolf said:

Thanks! The Eduard ones were excellent. No big problems for me. Did use masks for the camouflage which are very helpful.

 

Is it okay to post some older builds?

 

You can post any as far as I'm concerned

[Spectre_Wolf]

Here we go then! Builds include Fokker EIII 1/72, HE162 1/32, MC202 1/72, Fokker DVIII 1/72 (one of my favourites), Alfa 155 DTM, Toyota Celica GT4, Bf109E4 1/72 and the ones I forgot.

 

[STN]

Hello gentlemen,

The flying toilet seat is finished. For those who did not research yet:

 

Lee- Richards Annular Monoplane No.3

1914

1:72 Avis

 

 

[Birdman]

3 minutes ago, STN said:

Hello gentlemen,

The flying toilet seat is finished. For those who did not research yet:

 

Lee- Richards Annular Monoplane No.3

1914

1:72 Avis

...

 

 

It's beautiful, really well done!

[Algy-Lacey]

@AKA_Big10 I am wanting to build a 1/32 Spitfire MkXIV and want a bare metal finish to represent a MkXIX (the one in my signature).

 

Please tell me how you got that excellent almost reflective finish on your P-51D's? Way back on page 45 of this thread I believe.

 

Thanks

Algy-Lacey

[40plus]

19 minutes ago, STN said:

Hello gentlemen,

The flying toilet seat is finished. For those who did not research yet:

 

Lee- Richards Annular Monoplane No.3

1914

1:72 Avis

 

Fabulous work as always. I'm curious to look further into this oddity and figure out what aerodynamic problem they were trying to over come with this design.

[STN]

Well, since we are not flying planes of this shape, I believe it was not a breakthrough
Pity that no one produces a kit of the Annular bi-plane. A true monstrosity...

[ViniPompeo]

Hello my friends,

 

Nice to see this thread, hope to contribute with the forum, since I love model making...

 

this is some of my last builds...

 

Eduard P-51D5 Mustang 1/48

Tamiya F4U1 Birdcage 1/48

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by ViniPompeo

[voncrapenhauser]

On 1/8/2021 at 4:19 AM, Spectre_Wolf said:

Thanks! The Eduard ones were excellent. No big problems for me. Did use masks for the camouflage which are very helpful.

 

Is it okay to post some older builds?

Welcome Spectre.

Post away,The more the merrier.

Very nice indeed.

Welcome Vini.

Nice builds

21 hours ago, Algy-Lacey said:

@AKA_Big10 I am wanting to build a 1/32 Spitfire MkXIV and want a bare metal finish to represent a MkXIX (the one in my signature).

 

Please tell me how you got that excellent almost reflective finish on your P-51D's? Way back on page 45 of this thread I believe.

 

Thanks

Algy-Lacey

My own choice would be Alclad Chrome and a little weathering.

I know sone peoples prefur to use foil too but that won,t be as shiny on the fabric control surfaces.

If The XIX has them ofcourse?

Edited January 9, 2021 by LukeFF

[Spectre_Wolf]

@ViniPompeo Nice builds! How do you achieve the dusty look?

[ViniPompeo]

44 minutes ago, Spectre_Wolf said:

@ViniPompeo Nice builds! How do you achieve the dusty look?

@Spectre_Wolf I did use the AMMO by Mig OilBrushers and Airfield Dust pigment.... I apply the fading technique for oils and dry application for pigments...

[STN]

Time for something more conventional.

 

 

[Spectre_Wolf]

@ViniPompeo Thank you for your answer. I haven't used oils much, only for pinwashes. Did experiment with it but I don't "get them" yet in terms of application.

[ViniPompeo]

2 hours ago, Spectre_Wolf said:

@ViniPompeo Thank you for your answer. I haven't used oils much, only for pinwashes. Did experiment with it but I don't "get them" yet in terms of application.

@Spectre_Wolf I will place some Step by Step here if its interesting for the team...

Tamiya Spitfire I 1/48 scale, built in 2019. Awesome model kit. One of the best that I ever build.

 

Tamiya Spitfire I built in 2019, one of the best kits that I ever built...

13 hours ago, STN said:

Time for something more conventional.

 

 

Nice choice my friend...

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by ViniPompeo

[STN]

Thanks. Not sure about the float struts though. They seem to have incorrect shape. The beams are o- shaped in the cut, whereas from the photos of the real plane it seems like there should be 0- shaped.

Also, the post managed to deliver the 2 strut assemblies broken in 5 pieces. I glued them together best I could, but they are still crooked. I will have to see whether I can salvage some parts from my leftovers box and create new ones.

[Spectre_Wolf]

@ViniPompeo I would certainly be interested in that!

[Birdman]

Started on the Christmas present, the 1/48th Tamiya F4AU-1a :

 

Currently trying to add more color variations using oil paints over the acrylic

 

[ViniPompeo]

1 hour ago, Birdman said:

Started on the Christmas present, the 1/48th Tamiya F4AU-1a :

 

Currently trying to add more color variations using oil paints over the acrylic

 

nice start...

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by ViniPompeo

[Birdman]

21 hours ago, ViniPompeo said:

nice start...

 

 

 

Thanks!

[Feathered_IV]

On 1/10/2021 at 7:05 AM, ViniPompeo said:

@Spectre_Wolf I did use the AMMO by Mig OilBrushers and Airfield Dust pigment.... I apply the fading technique for oils and dry application for pigments...

 

Nice!  I bought some of these recently too and have been using them on the two Pfalz models that I've been doing.  They feel a tiny bit grainy for 1/144, but having ready mix colours like this is incredibly handy.  I just ordered their metallic ones too and it will be interesting to see how they perform. 

[ZachariasX]

Two next models to make with the kids:

 

 

The Revell Fw-190F8 and the P-51D, both being 1/72 kits. Although iPad et.al. offer stiff competition in structuring leisure time, they were rather keen in doing another model. Again, one each. I bought these along with the P-47M and the Ju-52 in Ju-Air markings, both being also 1/72 kits.

 

Whashing and preparing the whole frames with the parts, I remembered that I did exactly this Mustang when I was about 10 years old. I remember this odd mould. The Fw190 is a new mould and FAR more detailed. But this "P-51D" struck me as being weird back then and it is even more weird now, especially since most kits have caught up to what Tamiya was in 1985.

 

This Mustang kit is odd, as it has the elevator as a single part that is tucked through both sides of the fuselage. It also features a function besides the turning prop: a retractable tailwheel. It's just a bummer when the fairing doors are either glued open or shut. ?‍♂️But the wheel and the oleo leg are one part that are just inserted in a hole on either side inside the fuselage and are supposed to pivot around that. Idiotic.

 

But what is worse, this mould is like if the designer never saw a Mustang in his life before and created the mould free hand by just having one newspaper photo as reference. It is not just that the panel lines don't really match the panels on the actual aircraft. or that it contains rivets like it was a hedgehog. A plane known for its perfect finish and flush riveting. In this video, you can see the whole misery. (I also figured that the kids should do better than shown in that video.) The problem is that the whole airframe is out of proportions. You can see on the parts that for instance the cooler is way too small and doesn't have a real intake. The plane is like as if it hadn't been fed for a year and gotten too slim. The upside is, it still has a pilot for the cockpit. Omitting that is a cardinal sin for any manufacturer who wants to have kids adapting this hobby and spend way too much later on. It might not be so important that among the profilic model makers where pilots figures are not important, as they care for the object itself. But not having a pilot at all is about the worst sin you can make when producing a kit. "Where's the pilot?" is about the first question asked when they open a kit.

 

Anyway, I figured we'd make most out of what we have and had the them practise a bit with the airbrush. I wanted to try the "hairspray method" on that paint victim of a Mustang. (If your hair raised when reading this, you know what happened.)

 

Fast drying acrylic paint is a bit of a challenge to add. I had the older one practise on the 190. I figured tracing structure was suitable. He did ok. Still, I removed the needle cap to constantly get rid of the clogs. They are a pain and inevitable if you are not very careful using such paints. And I can't blame an 8 year old for it.

 

Getting the aluminum primer color on the Mustang was easier. Just fire away. A 5 year old can do it. And got me another nice clog.

 

 

"Where's the pilot??" In Kindergarden, they learned how to mix violet. But we need khaki. And there's a limited amount of time with fast drying colors so I ghad to have him stop before adding white and another touch of yellow. That color is still some of the more authentic things on that aircraft. Look at the landing gear doors. They also suggest you have the wheel covers doors open while the flaps are up. Argh.

 

Painting the 190s innards is much easier. And it has decals for about every panel. The older had no problems in painting (it's mostly black) and the smaller of the cockpit decals I did myself.

 

 

Putting the fuselge together was childs play on the 190. He meant well with the tape. On the Mustang, I had to do it, as this step places the cockpit, the propeller axle, the funny tail wheel and the elevator and then matches both fuselage halves.

 

 

Next the wings. I am not particularly fond of Revell's way to include the pitot tube and gun barrels on the large wing parts of the 190. These parts have a very endangered life while the thing is handled while building and painting.

 

These parts have large gaps in the Mustang. This is especially bad on the lower side and the gaps are such that you can look through the model. Putty and sanding... The Revell putty dries way too fast and is not really practical to handle.

 

Then I had the great idea of using hairspray on the Mustang before applying aluminum color. I wanted to practise some weathering on panel lines line magazines etc., movable parts. With my enthusiasm, I didn't check for the presence of meaningful panel markings before using the spray. There aren't. Oh well. Aluminum color then.

 

 

Masking is about the only thing kids cannot do. You can get away with about everything, but a straight line is a straight line. You have those, you are good, no matter what. You don't have those, you're lost. Proper useage of the paintbrush is an art and practise starts at some point.

 

When applying the decals, the whole misery of having added hairspray almost everywhere came to light. Where water touched, the silver paint would shrivel and come off. I must admit, the pattern it made by itself was great, but I wasn't opting for having it uncontrolled manner everywhere. But I managed and had to retouch some of the paint myself.

 

In the end what did we get?

 

 

I finalized the plane with Humbrols satin cote. As it is enamel based, I won't have the kids do it. 50/50 diluted and applied with a broad brush, that's a quick job. I find the satin cote gives the best look for 1/72 scale for the least effort, better then the gloss cote I used before. Comparing with a ready built (I though it was a dye cast when my wife bought them for the kids and now it consists mostly of epoxy due to lots of airtime), one can see that the Revell kit is by no means a scale model but a rather free interpretation of a Mustang. The ready built one certainly not perfect, it features a drainage system instead of panels on the wings. It has a landing gear that actually resembles a Mustang.

 

 

There is no real carb intake on the Revell Mustang, also the water cooler (that is kind of shrunk in size) has no exhaust flap. Lacking a proper intake, little is lost. There's very little detail on that Mustang besides arbitarily placed hedgehog rivets.

 

Next is painting the Fw190. Won't be easy doing the camouflage but at least it is on a good model.

 

[STN]

Once again, thumbs up for getting the kids involved. Hope they will want to continue.
The Revell Mustang is a legendary miscreation, know by many a modeller :) I think the mould is somewhere from the sixties and not even their own.

Meanwhile, my attempt at the cockpit. Once again, I made the colour too red... should be more red-brownish.

 

 

[Birdman]

Finished the cockpit for the Corsair, very happy with the results. Oil paints have been quite forgiving for the weathering. Decided against using the decal for the instrument panel so instead painted tiny specks of white in the dials and dried brush some aluminum to highlight them :

 

Added some unthinned X-22 to try to simulate glass as well

[namhee2]

The new Panzer IV F1 from tamiya (35374). Since the model with the engine cover is for "tropical" use, I am currently building it for the Africa Corps. He is being towed by a Sdkfz 9 famo. I will turn the "VW Kübelwagen" into an ambulance.

[ZachariasX]

Such beautiful models here. It is very inspiring seeing how talented (and dedicated) people are. Seeing that Corsair cockpit makes me wanna try oils as well.

 

17 hours ago, STN said:

Hope they will want to continue.

So far they do. 7 am in the effing (sunday) morning he came today, asking for helping to put on the smaller gear joints as he wasn't sure he placed them correctly. It was correct. Adjusted the angles a bit more precise and off for coffee. I should put up office hours in the future for assistance.

 

They learn fast.

 

 

Mixing something RLM76ish and had him airbrush the first layer. Still masking requires help but the grey and green top colors he then applied as well. The yellow I did myself, as I didn't want to tape over the whole model again "for extra protection". I still made a bit of a mess myself, as I wanted to to camuflage pattern on the side myself. A royal failure from my side. It didn't help that my tiny compressor only has one pressure setting (besides "off"). As for sticker, I do the small ones. Placing stencils for two hours requires a bit more patience than can be expected.

 

 

 

 

In the end, I am ok with how it turned out. It is really a nice kit. If it only had a pilot figure. But having gun barrels and pitot tube on the wing parts in the mould is not a very good idea. Well meant but the opposite of practical.

 

I still need to find a venor for EZ line to make the antenna. hardly anyone sells that. I ran definitely out patience to put on regular (non elastic) thread as I am reattaching those all the time. Once I have that, I'll put it on this one.

 

P-47 and the Ju52 are next.

[ITAF_Rani]

19 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

Such beautiful models here. It is very inspiring seeing how talented (and dedicated) people are. Seeing that Corsair cockpit makes me wanna try oils as well.

 

So far they do. 7 am in the effing (sunday) morning he came today, asking for helping to put on the smaller gear joints as he wasn't sure he placed them correctly. It was correct. Adjusted the angles a bit more precise and off for coffee. I should put up office hours in the future for assistance.

 

They learn fast.

 

 

Mixing something RLM76ish and had him airbrush the first layer. Still masking requires help but the grey and green top colors he then applied as well. The yellow I did myself, as I didn't want to tape over the whole model again "for extra protection". I still made a bit of a mess myself, as I wanted to to camuflage pattern on the side myself. A royal failure from my side. It didn't help that my tiny compressor only has one pressure setting (besides "off"). As for sticker, I do the small ones. Placing stencils for two hours requires a bit more patience than can be expected.

 

 

 

 

In the end, I am ok with how it turned out. It is really a nice kit. If it only had a pilot figure. But having gun barrels and pitot tube on the wing parts in the mould is not a very good idea. Well meant but the opposite of practical.

 

I still need to find a venor for EZ line to make the antenna. hardly anyone sells that. I ran definitely out patience to put on regular (non elastic) thread as I am reattaching those all the time. Once I have that, I'll put it on this one.

 

P-47 and the Ju52 are next.

Did you have apply same weathering?.

Edited January 25, 2021 by ITAF_Rani

[ZachariasX]

5 minutes ago, ITAF_Rani said:

Did you have apply same weathering?.

Only panelling with a pencil. This time I didn't do any scratches. I figured an 190F8 wouldn't last long enough in 1945 to accumulate scratches besides instant total destruction. But I used more or less strokes with the pencil to create the look of less fitting panels. We did apply some makeup for engine exhaust and gun soot.

 

How we did it, they just applied it dry, else you risk to cover the model with something like water color and you have to remove a ton. Especially when you have not much of an idea what you are doing. (Our case.). We're using the Tamiya weathering set for that, just applying it dry with the sponge, then even out with the brush and removing excess with a wet cotton tip. This is really easy and produces suprisingly fast results that file under "good enough" and since it is essentially subtractive work, it is easy to learn and the kids are good at it as well. All you have to do is work in the direction that dirt is sprayed on the real thing. I got "soot" and "oil stain" on the exposed surfaces. As soon as one is finished, then I fingerproofed the whole thing with Humbrol satin cote. I dilute that a lot. I just take one small dip from the cup with a broad brush and dip that in a bit of thinner that I put ready in a color palette. That is enough to cover the whole model. Starting with the parts that have the stains on them, as you can only touch these parts lightly with a brush and thus you need more cote on the brush for that. Else, you'd peel off your weathering with one stoke and cover the rest of the model with that. But having done that there is enogh to cover the rest of the model in one go. It is very quick and the cote dries fast. Very fast. You gotta be quick.

 

As said above in the thread, the main strategy in building with kids is how to get acceptable resulty fastest. If I was alone building it, I would have tried to get a more detailed look by having a primer color coat underneath in places where I would want to leave scratches from boarding the aircraft or loading ammo.

 

But with different models, I'd try different tricks. It is very inspiring what people who know what they are doing (like above in the thread) achive. I have to find a model for that which has a look that is unattractive enough for the kids leaving me to build it alone.

 

[Feathered_IV]

The 190 looks great.  I think Hobbyboss do some nice 1/72 starter kits for younger builders.  They have some clever mouldings that require very few parts and would get the kids the paint and play stage very quickly.

 

Finally got the first Pfalz attached to its upper wing.  I had to make a very careful jig for the assembly, but even so it was quite the challenge in 1/144.  The conjoined struts are much more problematic to locate than individual ones, but they went in eventually.

 

 

Once the struts were glued in place I was able to pop the thing out of the jig and take a look.  I was worried that the wing was going to be nothing if not precarious, as each strut in itself is very flimsy.  However all together the attachment is surprisingly solid.  Here's a shot with a 1917 "RoF" 2 franc coin.  Pretty much the same size as a modern 10c piece.  Next up is the radiator and upper wing details.

 

[Tyberan]

Hats off to you Feathered, i built an Eduard 1/144 A-4 skyhawk the other day, its a good little kit but I decided to do the Israeli camo and I had the hardest time ever trying to mask that thing. So much so that its not worth showing. I'll stick to 1/48, 1/32 and 1/35, but appreciate the 1/144 scale guys. 

 

Went on a model buying bender and got, AMK 1/48 F-14, Meng Rolls Royce Armoured car, Tamiya 1/48 T-55, Takom, FT-17 2 for 1 kits (cant remember from whom). But bought the AMK 1/48 F-14 for $60Aud which is a steal from Hobby easy but took 3 weeks to get here. 

 

 

[namhee2]

The new Panzer IV F1 from tamiya (35374) part2 I'm making slow progress ... I'm not quite satisfied with the white crosses yet. The VW is not ready yet. The Famo is already primed.

[ZachariasX]

@Feathered_IV, I might have a little intermezzo below the 1/72 scale, 1/87 for starters. Or H0 as some would put it:

 

 

What a beautiful kit. All parts absolutely straight and hardly any visible flash, even on the tiny parts. The instructions are very manly though. Those two pages, that's it. Back side is just suggestions for stickers. We have the whole set:

 

 

You can buy used for very good prices. And this "used" never had the seal broken.