TommyP

Afternoon all, Here is the Mach 2 1/72nd DC-8-50 that rolled off the production line this very afternoon. Released at the end of last year, I was really keen to get my hands on one of these kits as I love the DC-8 and this is the first injection-moulded kit in 1/72nd scale of an important piece of civil aviation history. Unfortunately Mach 2 kits don't come with the best reputation, but I'd never built one before so threw caution to the wind. I'm used to dealing with 'difficult' kits and I'm pleased to say this one didn't pose too many problems at all - it is just like

Good evening all, Apologies it's been so long since I updated this thread, but I've had a decalling disaster and the whole project ground to a halt whilst I tried to get things sorted. I had an absolute disaster of my own making with the AIM decal sheet, so tried to get a replacement but they are out of print. After contacting various decal manufacturers I struck gold with Juan from 8A decals and he kindly agreed to print me an enlargement of his 1/144th Delta sheet. I cannot recommend 8A decals enough - absolutely superb customer service and he was very happy to help and the price was ve

I have been having a little play with the B-52's flaps of late, although bench-time has been limited due to work which has a habit of getting in the way. I thought I'd start with the easiest flap and therefore have made the left outboard flap first from plastic card. They're actually a lot more complex that I had first realised and there are numerous cut outs and panels present - I haven't tried to replicate every last detail but this will be a good starting point: When on the wing, this looks the part and once primed and in grey I think will do the job nicely

Evening all, There was a bit of delay with this build due to the need for good weather for outside spraying. I'm a big fan of the Halfords paint range as outlined above, but you need warm, sunny and relatively windless days to get results with these paints - thankfully spring has sprung here in Kent and I've been busy getting the Mighty-8 painted. Paints used were Halfords Aluminium as a base for the natural metal areas, and then Citroen Arctic Silver for the the slightly darker metal areas to offer a but of contrast. White was Appliance White which is my 'go to' for wh

HPH do a 1/48th B-36, but it costs way more than I'm willing to pay for a model! Tom

As others have said the NMF is stunning - as is the detail work. A couple of things to consider if you build another: - the stains from behind the wing vents shouldn't come from the vents - hot air came form them when in flight and actually diverted the oil and muck around the vents. If you look closely at real B-17s you'll see thin streaks of oil going between them, but never from them. - wartime B-17s were completely unpainted internally, other than exposed metal on the flight deck which was bronze green. 'Interior green' was not used on wartime Forts. By the tim

It's been a while since I updated this build thread but work has slowly been continuing in the background... The inboard pylons on the wings are not great as they come in the kit: Especially when compared to the actual aircraft: So it was out with the plastic card to make my own replacements: Much better! I've also started making the various lumps and bumps from Milliput: The landing gear has been assembled, painted and installed - although the retraction strut

Hello Simon, I'm glad you are finding the thread useful - overall I've found it to be a nice kit that just needs a little extra tender-loving-care. The cockpit is slightly imbalanced on mine too, but I was able to remedy this by sanding the glazing completely smooth and have since made my own masks which I have ensured are completely level. The nose gear bay is too far forward, but I haven't done anything about this - I am also aware that the nose leg is too short so I'll likely make my own when the time comes to fit the landing gear. The biggest problem I

We've had the first glimpses of spring down here in Kent today so I've given the DC-8 a splash of primer: DSC_0004 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0002 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0006 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr There's a few minor blemishes to address, but overall it's come out ok! If the weather continues to warm, I may be able to start in the main colours... Tom

Howdy all, A little more progress on the cockpit and glazing. I gave the seats a quick lick of dark grey and glued them into the flight deck along with the control columns. It wasn't worth going mad here as not a huge amount will be seen. I then lined the mating surfaces of the clear piece with a black marker to avoid the edges being visible, and glued it to the opening on the fuselage. Here, despite careful filing and test fitting, a nasty lip was left on the upper join, marked by the arrow below: 50950998191_e9889122cc_o by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

A dip in Future was last night's job - the canopy is currently curing in a dust-free Tupperware pot! I'm planning on using the AIM windscreen decals as a guide - I'll trace the outlines onto masking tape before cutting to shape which will hopefully give me some accurate window masks... Tom

Hello guys and gals, Last night I began working on the cockpit. The kit's transparencies are a little cloudy on my example and in my humble opinion the cockpit windows are slightly off shape-wise so I have decided to see if I can improve the situation... First job was to sand off the window outlines and get the basic shape a little more uniform in terms of dips and bumps: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Next up was a lengthy polishing session with a buffing pad - these things work wonders! Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr

It's been a slow week for modelling, but a little more progress on the DC-8... I've now committed to the Delta scheme using the AIM sheet so the windows needed filling. They fit quite well actually, and if one was so inclined I think they could be made to work well with a light sanding and a polish: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr There are plenty of windows spare, thankfully, as with no sills they fall in quite easily - this happened to me (four times) with no hope of retrieval so it now sounds like a baby's rattle! Here are the windows af

An interesting further observation to share with those interested regarding the stabiliser issue I found. A fellow modeller, as mentioned above, said that his stabilisers were level in his kit so I asked him to send me a photo. I'm afraid I completely disagree with this claim - see for yourself: Brian's DC-8 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The red lines are the true horizontal/vertical using the position of his wings as a datum point. The green line is the point on the elevators which is closest to the fuselage. The blue lines are the upper/lower sect

Morning all... Not a lot of progress to report this week due to work and family hindering bench-time, but a lovely set of decals arrived in the post: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I was planning to build this using the kit-supplied Iberia decals, but having inspected them more closely I'm not convinced they will do the job properly and key features such as door outlines are missing - a real ball-ache to paint or source independently. Thankfully, Neil Gaunt (aka 'Mr Aircraft in Miniature') does numerous decal sets for his own DC-8 kits so I ordered a

I'm 99% certain the gear is fine, and the wing dihedral also looks about right. When you compare the real deal to the kit, it becomes clear the pylons are too deep, and I also think, when you look at the upper leading edges of the pylon, the angle is too steep - hence they sit too low. Anyway, the engines have been more or less sorted - to a point which is about as good as I get them. As outlined above, the pylons are too deep and therefore needed a portion removing - this has the effect of raising the engines up sufficiently and gives them the necessary ground clearan

Those are great images, @Dutch... but things have suddenly taken a bit of downward turn... I tried to fit the engines last night, but unfortunately have discovered a rather major problem. I trial fitted the landing gear to check for ground clearance of the engines, and the inboard nacelles sat firmly on the ground! The problem, I think, is the fact the pylons are too deep and therefore the engines sit far too low. I wish I'd discovered this before I'd attached the pylons to the wings, as I now have the rather delicate task of removing the lower portion of

A small update for today - the engines have been filled, sanded, panel lines reinstated and are ready for installation when I'm next at the bench: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The small chin intakes needed a bit of reshaping with Milliput, but should look fine under some paint. Time will tell.. Take care all, Tom

Resistance is futile, Fred - get stuck in!

Good man! Make sure you keep us updated on your progress! Milliput and some careful sanding has worked it's magic with the pylons... Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Tail issue has been resolved - swivel plates made from thin plastic card: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Starting to look the part: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr On to the engines themselves next... All the best,

@f5guy and @jenshb I'll be your guinea pig - I'll build mine with the kit parts and we'll see how the plastic holds up. In time there may be some metal legs released and I can always replace he gear in due course if needed. Tom

Yeah I'm inclined to agree - I think the kit parts as they come are workable but there's certainly room for improvement. I'm going to build mine as it comes, but may then replace the gear with metal parts if they become available as it's a heavy old brute! I've begun working on the engines - here they are in their raw form: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr It's useful to have the intakes as single pieces which means you don't need to worry about hiding an unsightly join. The pylons have been assembled and added to the wings - fit isn't great

Afternoon all, I spent some time at the bench last night sanding the wing joins. A pretty successful operation - the leading edge of the port wing has been corrected with Milliput and it now matches the starboard side: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Milliput easily took care of the gaps where the upper wings joined the fuselage fairings: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The underside was a similar story -no drama here other then needing to reinstate some obliterated panel lines: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on

You're too kind, gents - I just throw caution to the wind and don't get hung up on the small details... saying that... see below! Dutch - you're correct about the leading edges, and I've given the left wing a good sanding at the root before applying the filler. This has already significantly removed the added length and the 'kink' is now, more or less, gone. The filler is currently curing so I'm hoping to get at it later with the sandpaper. With the wings securely attached to the fuselage and the Milliput drying, I set have about the horizontal stabilisers. As with the

Hi Dutch, I'm not going to use the kit's cabin windows - they're not particularly clear and I prefer to use Micro Kystal Clear or the like. Saves a lot of faffing with masking too! I've built up the wings over the last few sessions at the bench - you'll be pleased to know that were no dramas here and they build up absolutely fine. Again I was impressed that top and bottom panels lines largely matched up: Untitled by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I've now mated the wings to the fuselage. Being Mach 2, and knowing things were going too well, these didn