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Brenhen

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Posts posted by Brenhen

  1. *Thanks to everyone who replied. I am no longer looking

     

     

    If anyone has one of these big boxes and needs to make some room in the stash, I'd be happy to take it off your hands. Looking to either purchase or trade. Possible trades would be a Wingnut Wings D VII (out of production) or Tamiya 1/32 F-16 with some add ons. Please let me know if you're interested.

     

    Thanks!

  2. Not too promising that no one here wants 1/32!

    A guy was kind enough to already mail me his dismembered Roden kit build to help me with making these decals in 1/48. Not sure when/if the 1/48 version of these will come out.

    Put me down for a 1/32 set! I bought the Kittyhawk kit planning to do a trainer, but there are some great schemes on your sheet that would look better. Besides, I'll do a trainer when they release the C version! Please keep the 1/32 sheet coming

  3. NOICE!!!!!!!!! Did you use the Steel Beach stab mechanisms?

    I did! It was my first time using them on the 1/48 A-4. They look great once the process is finished, it's just always a big leap making that first cut! It's too bad the Hasegawa kit has the molded in stab pieces. The Trumpeter 1/32 approach is a lot nicer for making the typical parked look of the Skyhawk.

    I did a build up in the group build section that shows a little of the process I used for adding your stab mechanisms, if you're interested in seeing it. Thanks for the great products!

    http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=287249

  4. Very nicely done! I think the weathering looks just right for a skyhawk. I also like the little detail you got that many of the A-4 models I see don't have: the slightly opened speed brakes when the plane has been on the ground for some time. Nice job!

    Please post more of your skyhawk builds!

  5. Nice idea on that intake fix. Can you see the split when you look the intake?

    The finished product looks great as well

    I tried for many minutes to twist the plane and look at it from every angle, and so far I haven't been able to see the split in the middle of the fan. This was the first time trying this idea, and I think I will use it on all my future skyhawks.

    Thanks for the comments!

  6. Update time!

    I didn't take any pictures during the construction. The TA-4J kit goes together just as the other Hasegawa Skyhawks do. There are a few little areas that need work, but all in all, it is a great kit. I got the main construction finished and smoothed some areas out with a little putty

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    After priming with Vallejo black primer, I started with the undercoat of Dark Ghost Gray

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    I enlarged the decal placement sheet from Afterburner to get the dimensions correct, and then set out to mask the gray areas off

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    I got lucky and had both the camouflage colors in acrylics. I used model master acryl Sand and Dark Tan. After spraying the sand color, I penciled in the camo pattern and sprayed it freehand

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    In my rush, I forgot the order of things that I had planned out in my head. To get the thin black outline between the gray and camo, I originally planned to first paint the entire area that was to get the camo in black, then mask a thin line around the outside before painting the camo. I jumped straight into the camo colors by accident, so I had to mask and paint the black line at the end. All in all, it only added a little time and complexity, but not too much.

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    After the masking was removed, I think it looks pretty good! There are a couple of places where the black line isn't as uniform as I'd like, so I'll see if I can touch them up without too much effort. Of course, after removing most of the masking, I realized that I forgot the black outline on the back of the tail! oops!

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  7. For this in flight project, I decided to use an acrylic rod through the tail pipe. I happened to have a rubber stopped in the tool box that fit the tail pipe perfectly and provided enough resistance to hold the acrylic rod steady, so I glued the stopper on to the tail pipe using gator glue.

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    I have built quite a few Hasegawa A-4's, and one of the biggest problems with them has always been the intakes. I have tried a few methods to make the join between the rear intake portion (the kit piece with the compressor blade on it) and the forward intake parts cleaner and smoother. For this project, I decided to try a method that I had been thinking about for a while.

    I started by cutting the rear intake piece in half

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    Next, the forward intakes were glued together and their internal seams cleaned up. Then, all the intake parts were painted white

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    The forward intakes were glued on to the fuselage sides

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    And finally, the rear portions were glued into the fuselage. Because the part was cut in half, I could adjust each side to match the forward intake part individually, rather than having one piece that has to line up with each side once the fuselage sides are joined together. I think it worked out pretty well, and will probably use it from here on out.

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    While that was drying, I spent some time on the wing. Getting it to represent a flying aircraft wasn't anything difficult, just time consuming. The slats were sanded down and joined to the wing, as were the gear doors. The flaps already come as an option of being raised, so they were easy

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    And this is were is stands now. Thanks for looking!

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  8. In the spirit of Halloween, I thought it would be a perfect time to start on a project that I have been wanting to do for a long while...

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    An A-4 in costume!

    This was a short lived scheme that was meant to make the A-4 look like a Mig-17 in flight. For the project I will be using the Hasegawa 1/48 TA-4J Bicentennial kit and Afterburner decals.

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    I haven't gotten too far yet, just basic cockpit construction and painting. I plan on making this an in flight model, so I am also using the Aerobonus aftermarket seat/pilot combo.

    Thanks for watching

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  9. The final product looks amazing. There are great touches all over, and I learned a lot for when I build my Hasegawa A-4M. The tail in particular was difficult to do and creates a unique effect - it's something you see in sitting aircraft but never in models.

    Which paint colors did you use? The medium grey on the tail looks a little purple compared to Model Master Light Ghost, but it is the effect I want in my particular model. You seem to have done some post painting modulation of color - how did you do this? Where did you get the TER from? How was the Eduard front wheel installed, and what did the wheel set do that the kit wheels did not?

    Hi Spejic. Thanks for the comments and great questions. For the paint colors, I used the following paints:

    bottom layer- Model Master Acryl Light Grey 4765

    mid layer- Mr Hobby Aqueous H308 (fs36375)

    top layer- Mr Hobby Aqueous H307 (fs36320)

    For the color modulation, I used a technique I learned from another modelers site called black basing. Here is a link to his page describing it and showing it better than I ever could: http://doogsmodels.com/2014/07/03/technique-black-basing/

    The TER is from Aerobonus. They also have an MER in 1/48th scale. Both are very detailed and nicely cast.

    The Eduard front wheel is attached simply with super glue. The fork was drilled, as well as the kit landing gear leg, so that a small brass rod could be glued in to provide a stronger attachment point. The Eduard wheel sets biggest plus is that the nose gear no longer has the molded in front tire, so you get a more realistic looking nose gear. The main wheels are slightly nicer than the kit wheels, and have a weighted look to them, but don't offer a huge improvement.

    If you need any other info, please let me know.

  10. First of all, thanks everyone for the very nice comments. I really appreciate the remarks.

    Beautiful build!

    That's the bird I plan to build with my sheet.

    Wow, that is fabulous! Everything looks just perfectly executed.

    I just bought those decals and have a Monogram OA-4M and a Hasegawa A-4M in the stash to use them on. If my builds turn out half as nice as yours I will be thrilled!

    Enjoy the decals guys. They are really great to work with. I look forward to seeing your finished pictures!!

  11. Here are some pictures of my finished A-4M. There is somewhat of a build thread here: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=287249

    The kit is Hasegawa's A-4M

    Add ons:

    Cutting Edge ejection seat

    Brassin mk 20 rockeye cluster bombs

    Brassin LAU-10 rocket pods

    Eduard A-4 photo etch ladder

    Eduard A-4 wheel set

    Paints were Model Master Acryl and Mr. Hobby Aqueous

    Decals were Furball Low Viz Devil Dog Scooters (I think these were just re-issued. If you have not used them, get them! They are incredible decals)

    Hope you enjoy!

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  12. Looking great. The gear work and seat are excellent. And I agree there is no idea for aftermarket exhaust on the A-4. nothing to see

    Thanks Calum! And I love the screen name!

    Well, some pictures of the home stretch. Finished pictures to follow. Thanks to everyone for looking.

    Between paint coats and clear coats on the plane, I started working on the load out. I used the Brassin mk 20 rockeyes and Brassin LAU-10 rockets. Both were great resin add ons.

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    I also started working on a simple base for the model. I used a pre-cut wood base from a hobby store, covered it in multiple pieces of plastic sheet to simulate concrete slabs, and added an Eduard A-4 photo etch ladder for some color!

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    The base was then painted with a mix of colors to try to simulate well used concrete

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    I'll post some final pictures in the next post. Thanks again!

  13. I didn't get a lot of time to work on the skyhawk this week, but I made some good progress when I did find some time.

    I got the major construction of the plane finished and started the painting process with some Vallejo black primer. I did this right before a 5 day work trip, so it got plenty of time to fully cure. On the subject of Vallejo primer, when I first tried it I could not stand the stuff. I've now found that by changing the way I applied it, it works really well.

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    The major painting was next. The three toned camo of the late service scooters went pretty well. I used model master acryl for the light grey on the bottom, and mr. hobby aqueous paints for the two top coats. I wanted to get some color modulation in it. I think it will be toned down slightly after the weathering and flat coats and not look quite so varied.

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    While getting ready to paint, I also worked on the gear. I used some stretched sprue, styrene, and lead wire to add a little depth to the gear legs

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    Next up will be some detail painting, masking and painting the wheel wells, and some more work on the weapons load

    Thanks for looking

  14. Nice work Sean! You're definitely keeping busy with 4 skyhawk builds!

    You might already know, but Blue Angels A-4's had their slats pinned in the retracted position. I saw the slat tracks on the wings in your shot where you mentioned getting ready to prime it, and just wanted to pass that on. Keep up the good work and the pictures!

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