HistnScale

For thicker decals or especially Eduard decals, I go straight to solvaset. It's fairly hot but I have never had it damage a decal (inclusing thin ones) nor has it affected a clear coat or a metal finish. The guideline is do not put on a heavy wash of solvaset. A light coat usually does it. Footnote, on the new ICM decals (B-26) solvaset makes the decal lay down like a coat of paint. HTH, Dave

Looks like a nice addition to that era. However, if the pricing on Hobby Search is correct, it may be a tad expensive. Cheers, Dave.

I just finished using the set being asked about. As Dave note, the extra 4 pieces are the barrels and slide into the jackets. The larger end of the barrel part anchors against the jacket and provides the base for mounting. If you look closely, you should see that the end of the barrel is bored out a bit. Overall, it makes a nice effect. HTH, Dave.

Regarding the unfinished floor in the radio compartment, I was experimenting with different wood grain decals and am not real happy with the results. I decided to leave it alone since not a lot of the area shows after the fuselage is closed up. I did change over to to shaved wood veneer in some other areas that turned out better. In doing research, some notes came up that a number of crews stripped out the rubber mats and fabric insulating material due to fire hazard. At any rate, the fuselage is now closed up and most of what is in the photos is gone forever. Cheers, Dave. PS

Something in one of the sites is preventing my posting a direct link. If you can manage to get a link to post, by all means feel free. Otherwise, check hyperscale's theme pics section. The last time I looked, the B-17 post was very near the top. Cheers, Dave.

The WIP thread is finally up on HyperScale. Look in the Theme Pics section. Cheers, Dave

Aviaeology decals has some pretty extensive discussion on this aircraft on their instruction sheet. Six pages worth. Reference is made to an article Model Aircraft Monthly, July, 2009 covering the shark mouth colors. The conclusion is non-conclusive. Could be red, could be the camo color. The decal sheet gives decals for both versions, leaving it up to the modeler to decide. Personally, I would put in the red just cause it looks good and no one can prove right or wrong. As to the camo colors, they are the standard RAF day fighter scheme with yellow wing id markings. Note that the blue

Guys, as I mentioned above, I am still in the detail painting phase, and there is a lot of prep painting before assembling. I will try to start a thread on HyperScale around midweek. At that time, I will be sure to post a link. The build thread will be in the Theme Pics area on HS. Wing Warning. There has been a lot of discussion about the wing having too much diheadral out board of the engine nacelles or being warped. HKM molded a reinforcing framework on the inner surfaces of the wing panels along with a series of posts that interlock like locating pins. It appears, after

Anyone know if I can link from photos posted on HyperScale? Build up date. The wings will go together with very little fit issue if you pay attention to the locating pins. Like the very old Monogram kits, some of the pins are a tad to long or slightly out of place. Identifying and removing them solves the wing fit. Cheers, Dave.

Sorry, Niels, I do not have a third party hosting service to post from. Cheers, Dave.

Three days into building and still doing detail painting, For a kit with not a lot of parts, there is a lot of detail work. Fit so far looks to be pretty good, the only potential problem might be the leading edge seam on the wings. The fit seems good enough that I am seriously considering natural metal for the finish. If planning to use the instrument decal, scrape off the molded dials on the instrument panel. The decal really does not fit the mold pattern very well. There is a fair amount of natural wood finish on the interior, a good chance to practice wood grain painting, or use of wo

I found the Hasegawa photo-etched dive brakes to be pretty fiddly on assembly and installation. Once you get them together and on, they look good. Overall, while not as detailed as Accurate Miniatures, the Hasegawa is much simpler to build and does make up into a very nice rendition of a Dauntless. Definitely something to consider. HTH, Dave.

The Academy and Italeri kits are both re-releases of the Accurate Miniatures SBD-5. There are some cowl changes from the -3 to the -5 which you would need to research Also plan of deleting all radar parts from the -5. The -5 kit will give you the twin .30 cal. gun mount needed for a Midway bird. Not a too hard conversion from this kit. You could also consider the Hasegawa SBD-3 depending on how picky you are bout the dive flaps being drilled out. There are after market dive flaps for the Hasegawa kit or you can tediously drill out the kit flaps if you want to open look. Just checked Eb

I use 1/2 pound test monofilament fishing line for antenna wires. For the fuselage entry, I drill a @80 hole then start to feed a piece of line into the hole. After getting the line started, I use a piece of fine wire to put a small drop of super glue on the line. The feed the line into the hole until the drop of super glue hits the hole and fills the hole with the line in it. After giving the super glue time to set, I then run the line to the main antenna line and tie it off there and then trip the excess flush to the knot. If the antenna needs insulators, I use a small drop of paint for

Based on what you presented, I would opt for fabric elevators and a regular gun sight. Of course you can always go the other direction making the assumption that the aircraft was up graded sometime in it's career. Cheers, Dave.

Check the metal elevators closely, preferably a photo of the aircraft. A long discussion on one of the other sites seemed to conclude that the metal elevators did not appear as a field mod until sometime in early 1945. Field modification for the dorsal fin did not include the metal elevators as part of the package. Agreed that there is a LOT of research out there, but you might want to do a little more digging. HTH, Dave.

My guess would be that the primer is at fault. You might want to get a new bottle and maybe give the primer a little more cure time. HTH, Dave.

The main instrument panels should be same. The difference would show up in the small, rectangular auxiliary panel that hangs down from the lower main panel. There should be some differences on the way the switches and selector are set up. Overall, unless you have a real expert looking at it, you really will not see a difference. HTH, Dave

Overall it is a very nice kit. It has some areas of Airfix engineering which causes some of the assembly to get a bit fiddly. II takes a little longer to build than the Hasegawa kit but in the end it makes a very nice Hurricane. I've built two of them and have another one on the shelf. HTH, Dave.

Add the Italians. Some very interesting markings and paint schemes.

Looking at the sneak peek photos I think it is definitely a P-38. Just which scale and version?

Thank you, Sir. If you search the model pix section on HyperScale for Suzy G, you will find the rest of the gallery.

I was 20 and listened to the event on Armed Forces Radio while sitting on a Lima Site wishing I could have been on the moon instead of where I was. Fun memories. Cheers, Dave.

Here is my version of Suzy G based on Dana Bell's findings. Cheers, Dave

There was a discussion on HyperScale awhile back that indicated that Tamiya was getting ready to do a 1/48 scale P-38. Based on what they have done with their Tony and Bf 109G kit, a P-38 from them should be outstanding. Cheers, Dave.