Life in Plastic (Styrene, specifically)

SNJ/T-6 tubs

You simply wouldn't believe how I had to psyche myself up to do these. Having convinced myself I hate doing interiors, the Monogram T-6/SNJ represented the worst case scenario: complicated times two. Amazingly (to me) once I forced myself to the bench and began the work, I sort of got into it.

I may have forgotten what it's like to see plastic airplane front office kind of come to life under a paint brush. It's neat.

Replaced the kit seats with True Detail P-47 seats just so I wouldn't have to make belts. Way easier to paint molded ones than make your own then paint them. Though not nearly as accurate as it could be, the Monogram cockpit is busy enough for a convincing quick look under the canopy.

Another set of twins

While waiting for paint to dry, glue to cure, I went back to a "normal" kit. Two of the same, actually. Hasegawa F4U-5s in 1/48. Decent kits which will be largely OOB, except for resin seats with those nice molded belts. In truth, these cockpits have been on the to-do list for a very long time, but I've developed a serious mental block to this detail stuff. I find any excuse to avoid it. Can't remember off-hand the last time I did this sort of "normal" modeling. Happy to see I haven't lost the ability completely.

Kind of like a trip to the dentist -- thinking about it is worse than the actual event. (For me, anyhow. I've got a great dentist.)

With this bit behind me, the actual Corsairs should be a breeze, right? Hope so.....

YF-102

This is the ancient Allyn kit boxed and decalled by Microscale. At this point the tail has been given a proper point (it comes quite rounded) and the outer surfaces of the air intakes have been cut back some. They should also be fattened out horizontally a bit, but that's way more work than I want to get involved with. When finished, this will be a simple gear-up desk model.

The big concern is not allowing any debris inside the model to make its way to the cockpit, and then of course, onto the canopy. This is one of those subjects that will allow no access to the cockpit once the fuselage two halves are connected (boy I hate that scenario), therefore I've added bulkheads that should isolate the front end from evil dust and cat hair and the rest of the invading things that seek to decorate the sealed up inside surfaces of clear parts. Also with the air intake modification, I had to Dremel out the intake backing surfaces and provide new blanking pieces. The pilot is coming from a Revell X-3 which was in the same odd 1/60th scale. The canopy glass, thick as a Coke bottle, fits surprisingly well into the molded framing on top of it.

The fun continues.

Mini-Fort -- 1/144th B-17

Started this one for myself many years ago (Eight? Nine?) when the notion of a 1/144th personal collection bit hard. Got to have a B-17 in there, right? Then as now, the only choice is the very old Crown kit (now in a Minicraft box, I think.) It's not one of Crown's better efforts, so sad to say.

The original plan was for her to be in-flight, of course. The cowlings come with crudely open flaps that would not do at all, so I smoothed one out, put a prop hub on it and made a mold to cast a quartet. The raised flight deck on the fuselage is asymmetric, so I built up some missing fuselage with epoxy putty. Same story with the nose, though I decided I didn't want to do a G.

I've got a client who's become a fan of this small scale and he sent me a nice decal sheet with markings for My Devotion (an F) so "my" B-17 has been transferred to the buyer's pile. Mostly that means she'll be sitting on wheels and showing prop blades. Those prop blades will be from Minicraft DC-3s as those in the B-17 are oddly shaped.

Love holding this one at arm's length and tilting it this way and that. What amazing lines that airplane had.

No one asks me, but one of the "kits I'd like to see" on the top of my list is an accurate and easy to build 1/144th B-17. What are the odds? Instead we get another one in 1/72nd (Revell Germany) that hasn't impressed me with its die-cast look and full interior. *Yawn* That's alright. One more I can avoid and save my allowance for something more appealing.

Or may this be the better starting point? http://www.flyingmule.com/products/DM-51007

A $30 plus shipping starting point. Hmmmm. It's just not fair.

Here's what you get if you just glue the Crown pieces together. What an insult to a classic machine.

(Of course another on my wish list was an accurate and easy to build 1/144th C-130. Somewhere on this blog you can see my experience with Minicraft's effort which should have been the answer to my prayer. Gotta say, if I do another 1/144th C-130, I'd want to use the ancient Revell offering as the starting point.)

Must...finish...this...pig...must...

Inching ever closer.

The further I go, the less my expectations become. I'm at the "just end the misery" stage.

Stay tuned...

Another Dart

I've been messing with this Hasegawa kit for awhile. I've always got an F-106 of some description in the works. Can't seem to help myself.

This one is different from any of the 72nd jobs that have come before in that I've cut the wings free of the belly center section and will attach them separately. Why? On both their '106 and '102, Hasegawa's way leads to slightly drooping wings. (As seen below on another Dart model that's been with me a long, long time.)

Go ahead and lay a straightedge on that trailing edge and see where the tips end up. (Below the horizon, folks.) It's a flaw in the kit (not one of those fatal flaws) and not dramatic, but enough for a Delta Dart purist like me to want to fix.

Eventually she'll be on a stand in-flight, so that means closing up holes on the bottom. I've got one of those Aeroclub closed missile bay door pieces created to fill the hole here. I did some trimming and test-fitting and decided to cut my own piece of thick styrene. I didn't think this would take any more time than making the Aeroclub piece work to my satisfaction. (Don't ever let someone tell you aftermarket items are quick-fix time savers. Pure bullhooey.)

As has become my habit in this scale, I've sanded off all the raised surface detail and don't plan on replacing any of it. I may suggest some panel lines with paint way up the road. Oh and the numbers you may have noticed? Those are my time notes. I keep track of the time that goes into these jobs. Unlike those happy, carefree hobbyists, I'm always working against the clock. However, in the case of this one, I stopped tracking after the brass rod into wing effort was done. I realized there was a faster way, and I'll attempt that on the next one of these that I do. There will be another.

Two more Saabs

Put a paint job on these two last night.

Don't know the FS numbers for the grays on these Swedes, but the Gripens look slightly darker (newer/fresher?) than the Viggens. So I just added a bit of white to the Viggen grays. And boy-oh-boy did the gloss paint show off some serious scratches. They will require some damage control.

They shouldn't take long now...

Voodoo twins

The guy who requested this pair has departed from the radar. Temporarily, I'm hoping.

Regardless, this is the time of year when Hawx Planes/Art virtually shuts down. The week before Christmas I generally acknowledge there's something going on other than work that I should pay attention to. Happens every year. Must force myself to shop. Must.

'nother short-tail Deuce

Couple teaser shots of another one of those Revell oldies...

Awaiting a verdict

Sent the client this image for her stamp of approval...or not. The photo I was supplied with was your standard flash-in-the-face kind of portrait, which makes for dreadful lighting to do a drawing from. I tried to change the light source from in the face to above somewhere, and darken all the highlights down some. Tricky. I so much prefer working from my own photos.

Hopefully all that's missing now is a signature. Stand by.