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Thanks, janman- once the oil wash has had a few days to cure I'm going to spray some fade areas to lighten things up, as well as some pale streaks and rust stains. You know, add a little color! probably some more Future and then some color filters like the armor guys use- little dabs of blue and green and so forth to give a subtle variety to the overall effect. Once I get the inner areas of the conning tower painted I'll glue the assembly together and add the circular railings. One bit at a time...

Thanks, Nimrod! Coleman markets a handy cordless soldering pen that must use capaciters combined with a graphite tip that heats up immediately upon contact with two pieces of metal. It cools jsut as quickly and runs on 4 AA cells. About twenty bucks US- sheesh, people are going to think I work for Coleman or something, but I highly recommend this gadget. Cheers!

Fantastic! Your painting skills set a new standard. Are those placards decals or hand-painted? Hope you have lots of modeling time (so we can get lots of updates... )

This is an awesome build- cheers! Overspray on the insignia makes it that much more realistic- well done!

Beautifil work- man, that cannon looks savage!

Mmmm... grimy! I'll add some warm wood tones on the planking lining the con. It was there to keep the sailors from freezing to the steel. I'll keep my ice in a glass, thank you! I used more burnt umber in the mix when washing the decks. The blue sheen in the photos is from the sunny southern California skies. Blow it out yer hawse-hole! Rust spots are burnt sienna oil paint, straight from the thirty-year-old tube! Dark grey chips are Tamiya- the oils are much easier to brush-paint. She's coming along! Stay tuned for more.... :lol:

More painting! I've given her a coat of Future and let it cure for 6 days- that's the last time I could do any modeling! I decided to go with an oil wash. There's greater control possible, and the Future will protect the acrylic base colors. For my base wash I thinned a mixture of black and burnt umber with Humbrol thinners. Here's a shot of the mix being brushed over the rivets and various details of the stern. After letting it dry for a few minutes (fussing around with another subassembly) I then blended the was around using a Q-Tip (or cotton bud, if you will). A dry one generally

Sorry to bump this post, but I do need to thank youse guys for all the compliments! She's currently all Futured up and shiney, ready for washes, rust, scrapes, scum and sludge. I doubt if these sleek demons of the deep stayed still long enough to gather barnacles- but I'm SOOO tempted...

So far, so good! Keep us posted. Cheers!

I've had excellent luck using a Coleman Cold Heat soldering pencil- twenty buck US most anywhere. I apply a little flux paste with a pin and use very fine solder- Radio shack stuff. Here's a pic or two of itty-bitty eyes soldered to brass wire: Not hard at all! The Cold Heat thingie has a delicate tip, so don't press hard. I just pinned the parts down over a piece of paper on a ceiling tile- the paper gets a bit scorched, but the that's about it- so easy! I've always been pathetic at soldering- up to now! Hope it works for you, too.

It's time to begin painting. I've touched up all the wear and tear on the hull- I had some dark gray left over and before I knew was adding shading. It's coming to life! Here's a shot of the stern- smudges, steraked grime and exhaust fumes were sprayed freehand over the details of the hul and running gear. Bear in mind that there's much more to come- fading, rust, algae, scratches and chips. All in good time! More of the same up front- note the PE bits and diving planes- so easily smooshed and/or knocked off! ;) The conning tower is painted up but no weathering as of yet. How plai

The rule as I understand it is if i could be seen through a window. like a turret, drak grey, If not RLM 02- that would be the flaps. Inside the rear fuselage- probably 02, as you really couldn't see much through those little windows. Hope this helps!

Now, why did they name that plane, "***** Sure?" Certainly it couldn't have anything to do with it's proud profile.... Here's the scan of that long-out-of-print decal data material- it is indeed the previously-mentioned sheet- enjoy! Please don't shoot me, AeroMaster- if this post proves popular, it means you need to reprint this gem! Oh, and please- do a 1/48 sheet for "***** Sure"- I've got a Monogram kit that will not be done in bare metal. Why? I think airplanes look better under a coat of paint- a bare aluminum plane looks incomplete to my eye!

I have a sheet with an OD super fort- can't remeber if it's Ding Hao. Drop me an email (to remind my slack butt to scan it) and I'll post it here.

The cylinders are cargo drop units, the long, lumpy thing is the gunners' recumbent pad, spinner backplates, and the other is.. i dunno. Looks like he includes parts of a keyboard, too!

News flash: I just got back from The Military Shop and am holding a set in my hot little hands! What an awesome inmprovement over the kit engines and gills! Detail is sharp and the cylinders are a lot chunkier than the kit parts. Looks like they'll drop in after sanding off the backing plugs (which is something I was under the impression you didn't have to do, but it's no biggie.) You'll have to add the pushrods- holes are indeed ready at the rocker arms and at the crankcase. You're on your own for wiring, but the collector ring is there- undrilled. You could easliy do an exposed en

I looked on their site for these yesterday- no mention! I'll happily pick up a set...

Beautuful job- gonna make it harder to not scarf one of these babies up!

I don't do a lot of weathering with pastels, but my bet is that any dry chalk pastels will do. To find the proper color, try drawing on a piece of scrap paper first and blending the colors with you finger. A suitably dark grey would be the foundation, with a bit of brown thrown in. If it's too bright, add a bit of green to dull it down. Got the shade you want? Great! Now mix up the equilvalent in ground chalks and apply with a soft brush. It may sound daunting at first, but by varying the mix and adding lighter and darker hues you'll get that varicolored effect seen on a well-seasone

More progress: time to add all the fiddly bits. Here's the running gear: I've decided to replace as much railing and tubing with brass rod as possible. The Coleman Cold Heat soldering pencil makes it easy, and works on PE, too. Here are the forward railings- got them built yesterday. Note the PE arms for the hatch- 6 parts per hatch These are the rearmost rails- Note the soldered-on Eduard bits, as well as a pice of 1/32 OD brass tubing at the top to take the rigginng. Those bases are floppy as they're just pinned with swaged iron wire (except for the one that has slipped off-grr)

Very nice- an excellent choice!

Giggety giggety! yOU ARE the MOST AWESOME!!!

Thanks for the info- that's the very plane. A sad ending to it, indeed...

It's featured on the "Marauding Invaders" decal sheet from Albatros.

What? Start before all the aftermarket goodies come out? ARE YOU MAD??!! Kidding aside, I've got one, and it looks great! Other projects are in line before it, though- so I will be waiting a while to build it.