No_85_Gramps Posted July 20 Posted July 20 F4F-4 update. Sunday, finally dry enough to get a coat of primer on. The plan was to do it this past Wednesday, got up, warm but not so humid. Might as well get the lawn mower out and take care of the yard. Bad idea, some ground bees didn't take kindly to me disturbing them, resulting in 3 bee stings. Thursday didn't pan out either, 5 hour shopping trip with the wife, at our age that's enough to wipe us out. Friday and Saturday were no go's, humidity back up. I did manage to finish off the prop at least, need to touch up the tips. I'll let that primer dry out for a couple of days, humidity levels should be down the next few days. So much for the idea of a quick build! 5 3
Hoots Posted July 20 Posted July 20 3 hours ago, No_85_Gramps said: F4F-4 update. Sunday, finally dry enough to get a coat of primer on. The plan was to do it this past Wednesday, got up, warm but not so humid. Might as well get the lawn mower out and take care of the yard. Bad idea, some ground bees didn't take kindly to me disturbing them, resulting in 3 bee stings. Thursday didn't pan out either, 5 hour shopping trip with the wife, at our age that's enough to wipe us out. Friday and Saturday were no go's, humidity back up. I did manage to finish off the prop at least, need to touch up the tips. I'll let that primer dry out for a couple of days, humidity levels should be down the next few days. So much for the idea of a quick build! Man alive, that was a rollercoaster of a read 2 1
BornToBattle Posted July 21 Posted July 21 (edited) If I had a dollar for every time I planned for a “quick build” that turned out to be the opposite I could buy two or three brand new Magic Factory kits paid in full by now. Seriously. Edited July 21 by BornToBattle 6
BornToBattle Posted July 21 Posted July 21 (edited) Damn the humidity - full speed ahead! Finished the whacky Me262 variant, the HG III by Amusing Hobby in 1/48. Looks better in person than the pics. No honestly. It does. Added scratch built seatbelts, brake lines, brass tubing for pitot and airbrushed all markings. Some people complain the fit wasn’t the greatest but I only used a tiny bit of plastic putty. I had the opposite experience. I started building again after 40+ year hiatus so this is build number 77 since August 2021. Next up is the WW2 Japanese MXY7 Ohka and one big azz USAF drone. Spoiler Insert × Spoiler Insert × Spoiler Edited July 22 by BornToBattle 6 2
RedeyeStorm Posted July 22 Posted July 22 On 7/16/2025 at 10:34 AM, Gavrick said: F-4J, Academy, 1/72. I noticed that decal film is visible (especially with the ‘NC’ on the wing). A tip I employ with decals is to first apply a layer of gloss varnish, apply decal and then apply a varnish layer over the model (gloss, semi-gloss or matt depending on subject and/or preference). The decal shine never shows up. 1
BornToBattle Posted July 22 Posted July 22 (edited) 4 hours ago, RedeyeStorm said: I noticed that decal film is visible (especially with the ‘NC’ on the wing). A tip I employ with decals is to first apply a layer of gloss varnish, apply decal and then apply a varnish layer over the model (gloss, semi-gloss or matt depending on subject and/or preference). The decal shine never shows up. Another thing for me is although I’ve convinced myself that I’ve shot an ample coat of gloss clear before decals is that I don’t shoot enough gloss clear in a specific area which by the time I realize it I’m at a point of no return! Frustrating. Airbrushing (which I try to do at every opportunity) instead of decals I’ve found works best but given a build is at 1/72 I’d never even attempt to try it even if it were physically possible! Edited July 22 by BornToBattle 2 1
BornToBattle Posted July 22 Posted July 22 (edited) On 7/16/2025 at 3:34 AM, Gavrick said: F-4J, Academy, 1/72. OMG…the stencils. So many stencils. And at 1/72 scale? Raises insanity to another level! Seems the US has always had a fascination with stencils on aircraft. It’s as if they printed “The Idiots Guide To Being A Crew Chief” directly on the aircraft. I’m dreading the 1/48 F-4E in my stash because of this. Beautiful build of my all-time favorite jet. Edited July 22 by BornToBattle 5
No_85_Gramps Posted July 24 Posted July 24 (edited) So, got everything set yesterday to get the blue/gray paint on. Accidentally over thinned the paint, so I put it aside and this morning got the paint mix right and managed to get it done. Of course, when I removed the masking I found that some of that thin paint crept up underneath in a few spots. Should be able to fix that with a little bit of brushing. I'll let it dry overnight and it everything looks OK I'll shoot some clear gloss in preparation for the decals. Gavrick, any more pics of that Voodoo? Edited July 24 by No_85_Gramps 8
No_85_Gramps Posted July 30 Posted July 30 Finally got this done, with the exception of the canopy, Sunday. It's been a long time since I had to mask a canopy, tried my patience for the last couple of days. Canopy still needs to be cleaned up some and I forgot the tailhook. Time for a few days off to catch up with the honey do list. Oh, the decals went on nicely using Mirco Set/Sol. 6
RedeyeStorm Posted July 30 Posted July 30 Odd placement of the number 28, partly under the national marking. Is there a story attached to that?
No_85_Gramps Posted July 30 Posted July 30 1 hour ago, RedeyeStorm said: Odd placement of the number 28, partly under the national marking. Is there a story attached to that? According to this site: F4FColors The reason: With Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa in November of 1942, the concern of Allied aircraft being fired on by friendly troops once again arose. To better identify Allied aircraft a yellow ring was placed around the outside of the U.S. national insignia. This was only called for on the fuselage and lower wings, but it was sometimes applied to the upper wing also. The Airfix kit only provided the two with the yellow ring for the fuselage. 2 1
BornToBattle Posted August 3 Posted August 3 On 7/30/2025 at 8:37 AM, No_85_Gramps said: Finally got this done, with the exception of the canopy, Sunday. It's been a long time since I had to mask a canopy, tried my patience for the last couple of days. Canopy still needs to be cleaned up some and I forgot the tailhook. Time for a few days off to catch up with the honey do list. Oh, the decals went on nicely using Mirco Set/Sol. Gotta hand it to all those who can do 1/72. Age has taken its toll with me. Yeah, I do builds in 1/350 but they’re submarines and THAT with the PE really tries my limitations. Used to have surgeons hands. Not any more. In fact, we’re right down the road from Mayo Clinic and it was because of this William or Charles (can’t remember which one) gave up operating because of this very fact. So good people - enjoy the gifts you have. 2 2
No_85_Gramps Posted August 8 Posted August 8 On 8/7/2025 at 6:58 AM, SARFlytitus said: WIP Ok, I give up. What aircraft is it? Also, started on the Airfix 1/72 Mosquito. Waiting on some paint for the interior but at least I could get the landing gear assembled. You use the bottom half of the wing as a jig then take it out to be glued in at the finish. Lots of clean up needed and only 2 parts have locator pins, the rest are butt joints. 4
SARFlytitus Posted August 8 Posted August 8 It’s a Hasegawa Macchi MC 202 in 1/48 scale . Just started but still so much work ahead…😉 1 1
BornToBattle Posted August 9 Posted August 9 4 hours ago, SARFlytitus said: It’s a Hasegawa Macchi MC 202 in 1/48 scale . Just started but still so much work ahead…😉 Okay was wondering too. The wingtips threw me for a loop! Looking forward to the completion. 1
BornToBattle Posted August 12 Posted August 12 (edited) United States Air Force Global Hawk. It is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that can fly up to 60,000 feet in altitude and over 30 hours in duration. It is used for reconnaissance, intelligence and surveillance and provides real-time data to ground units. In 1994 the initial cost per aircraft was to be $10 million USD. By 2001 this had risen to $60.9 million USD and in 2013 it had grown to $131.4 million per aircraft. The USAF plans to retire it’s fleet of Global Hawks in 2027. The kit is by Kinetic and like all my aircraft is 1/48 scale. This means that the real life wingspan of 130 feet translates to a 32” wingspan in 1/48 scale, making in hard to photograph correctly and airbrushing even more so. Scratch made static wicks and front camera lens assembly added. Typical Kinetic kit with mislabeled parts and absolutely terrible decals compared to the other kit I made by them. It didn’t turn out as I had envisioned it but like I say, this is a constant ongoing learning process for me as I pick up new skill sets and refine current ones. Edited August 12 by BornToBattle 8
SARFlytitus Posted August 13 Posted August 13 Decal work is done and now my “Folgore” need some weathering… 9
SARFlytitus Posted August 17 Posted August 17 (edited) I call it COMPLETED 😅 Edited August 17 by SARFlytitus 10 1 1
ITAF_Rani Posted August 19 Posted August 19 (edited) On 8/17/2025 at 11:30 PM, SARFlytitus said: I call it COMPLETED 😅 Wonderfull job as always Sarflytitus !! One question regarding the camo of Mc 205 veltro ( my future project).. had it in your opinion a base coating more like green Kaki instead " nocciola chiaro" ? I saw some pics where to me the Mc 205 appared more green Kaky with the smoke rings painted dark olive green.... Edited August 19 by ITAF_Rani 1
SARFlytitus Posted August 19 Posted August 19 @ITAF_Rani Hi m8 ! Glad you like it. The sand base color in continental scheme applied by Macchi factory for the 205 Veltro is the same used on the 202 Folgore, Nocciola Chiaro, AFAIK. Rest assured a great amount of weathering variations existed ( sun faded colors , dust, grim, field repaintings etc. ). Wartime color photos, if not B&W colorized are practically nonexistent, and if they do exist, the colors are deteriorated. Again, Very often, they are colorized black and white photos. This results in a total unreliability of the color tones used. Painting WW2 model airplanes is (almost) always a work of deduction and interpretation. 2 2
SARFlytitus Posted August 22 Posted August 22 I have to admit, this yellow mess didn't particularly inspire me... ...but I've always had a soft spot for yellow wings! 4
geraki9 Posted August 26 Posted August 26 2 hours ago, SARFlytitus said: Almost ready to rigging…😅 😉☺️ 7
SARFlytitus Posted August 26 Posted August 26 DAMN...! These riggings are always a nightmare for me. Maybe it's time to try something different from the usual guitar string pieces. Any suggestions besides the usual stretched sprue? Anyway, even if the final result isn't the best, the Stearman is ready to be showcased. 7 1
No_85_Gramps Posted August 26 Posted August 26 Rigging looks great! Beautiful plane. There are some other products on the market designed for use as rigging. EZ-Line comes to mind, and some of the sewing shops have a stretchable thread that some modelers use. I haven't done anything requiring rigging in a long time. I was partial to using monofilament fishing line back then. 1
paul_smeyers Posted August 27 Posted August 27 (edited) Hello, I make plastic models since I was 8 year old and now i am 71 and still make some ! Once one begin you never stop even if it is very slow and in between one and the next. It began with Airfix little 20 piece 1960's 10 pieces models and one of my latest model is a 1/48 Astrolabe ship a full wood model. It is a work, I sold models, It is a hobby, it is a passion! But most of all it is something you build for you! And all try to do it the best they can! Edited August 27 by paul_smeyers 6
SARFlytitus Posted August 27 Posted August 27 @paul_smeyers AMAZING GREAT MODEL ! I also built the Astrolabe...My first and last wooden sailing ship model. It was a very challenging build for my limited modeling skills...well done M8 , I know how much work goes into a model of that kind. 5
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