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Downen Scaled Replicas

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  1. And heeeeeeeere’s the lineup! The basecoat is Model Car World (MCW) 2119 Dark Gull Gray FS36231. Bottom of the aircraft: MCW 2119 Insignia White FS17875 Top of the aircraft: MCW 2120 Gull Gray FS36440 Details: Tamiya TS-12 Orange (decanted for airbrush), MCW 2148 USAF Thunderbirds White (rudder stars), and MCW 2000 Gloss Black (nose anti-glare panel). A1H Build 21 - Paint A by Troy Downen, on Flickr The entire lineup is lacquer which produces a fast-drying and rock-hard finish capable of taking some rough handling and masking, and also capable
  2. Thanks SakisG! I've not known much about Skyraiders prior to doing the research for this build. Turns out, they're great airplanes! While that primer is setting up, a quick look at the helmet. Recall that I 3D printed an APH-6 helmet because the client wanted the helmet displayed in or around the cockpit, but did not want a pilot displayed with the airplane. There is a pilot figure included with the Tamiya kit, but the helmet on the figure did not have much detail. So even though I considered cutting off the little guy’s head and drilling out the face (yuck), instead I went the way
  3. At last I’ve solved (temporarily, at least) my issues with having photo editing software. So onward with the build documentation!! How about we wrap up those landing gear first, since the gear bays are painted? The gear were entirely straightforward; I used SAC’s metal replacements since I wanted to ensure that the struts would be robust in case they got knocked around a bit by the client. I used some 26 gauge copper wire for hydraulic brake lines and, if you can see it in the photo, a Molotow “liquid metal” marker to paint the shiny metal oleos. (Those markers are awesome! Get one
  4. Drifterdon - thank you so much for the offer. I have pushed on ahead with my own decals and masks at this point, but you're extremely kind for making the offer.
  5. Thank you. I appreciate that. Last night I installed the latest OS "Catalina" on my Mac and inadvertently rendered all of my Adobe software inoperative. Catalina does not support the last non-subscription based version of Photoshop and Illustrator, so before I can post anymore update photos here I have to figure out if I'm willing to shell out nearly $60 per month for a version of the Adobe products that works with Catalina (I am not) or if after 25 years I switch to something else. Ugh. Meanwhile, I'm actually working on the Skyraider cockpit... Visualize it in your mi
  6. I am indebted to 82Whitey51 for saving me from a significant and very embarrassing error that would have had me sanding and re-painting tail codes very late in the game. Yuck! I see my error: I’ve been using Ginter’s “Douglas AD/A-1 Skyraider Pt 2” exclusively as reference for the Air Wing Six tail codes. On pp 13-14 it states “A ship and tail code change occurred in late 1962 when VA-65 was assigned to the nuclear powered Enterprise. CVG-6’s new tail code became “AE”. Four A-1H deployments were made aboard CVN-65. They were from: 3 August to 11 October 1962, 19 October to 6 Decemb
  7. Hmmm... I'm glad that you pointed that out. I saw "AF" from the photo above of the S/N I'm modeling when embarked in 1963 on Intrepid, but thought that "AE" was correct for the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis onboard Enterprise. I'll dig deeper so that I get the correct markings. Thanks!!
  8. Phantom, I didn't think to mention, but I did gloss coat the doors with Alclad Aqua Gloss, which is acrylic. No problem with the red color bleeding or running. The Copic markers use an alcohol-based ink which also permits rough edges to be cleaned up by rubbing with a cotton swab (Q-Tip) wetted with Windex (which also has some alcohol in it). I really do like the effect. Steve, I see that you're using a marker intended for Gundam kits. The Copic markers are also Japanese and originally developed for Manga artwork. I'm guessing that the Gundam marker uses a similar ink (?)
  9. Thank you for all of the feedback. I really appreciate it. I'll return to the helmet when I'm ready to spray the orange colors on the airframe. Paints for the cockpit have not yet arrived so I’m breaking tradition and keeping myself busy by starting on something other than the cockpit! Ordnance… Twelve (12) 250 lb bombs under the wings, two drop tanks and a 500 lb bomb on the center pylon. I forgot that the kit does NOT include the 500 lb bomb, but fortunately I had a resin set from True Details in my spares box. I’m sure that a coat of primer will reveal
  10. I've had feedback offline that seems to indicate that if the cowl flaps are open, the nose flaps will also be open, exposing the engine. In my last photo posted above, the cowl flaps to appear to be open. So I'll proceed with having the nose flaps open AND the cowl flaps open, and with the plane sitting on the deck being prepped for takeoff.
  11. This is a build of the 1/48 Tamiya A-1H Skyraider for a client specifying the airplane flown by his father while embarked on the USS Enterprise with the VA-65 Tigers during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1/72 scale Hasegawa has a kit that would have fit the bill perfectly (save for the BuNo and cowl number)… … but 1/48 scale was strongly desired, which points squarely to the Tamiya kit. So, there will be some custom artwork required to replicate BuNo 35322 and other VA-65 specific markings. This is the only p
  12. The panel line wash worked well to highlight the control surfaces and the panel lines on the top and bottom of the fuselage. As I mentioned, I scrounged through my leftovers and found a set of USAF markings that I thought would work well for what a Darkstar might have looked like if it had been placed into service. Overall I’m very happy with the look of the completed model. If you look down the inlet and exhaust nozzle you can just see the engine fan and mixer peeking out! I’ve built two prototypes as I worked through tweaks to im
  13. I’m going to do a hypothetical operational scheme on this model using Light Ghost Grey, similar to what would be seen on a Predator or Reaper UAV. I’m using Model Car World’s military line of lacquer paints for the first time. I really like the way they airbrush easily and dry quickly. A bit later I’ll use a light gray enamel panel line wash from AMMO MiG. I’ve used a black-basing technique for the paint scheme. I painted the entire model a dark gray (but oftentimes black will be used) and then gone back over the dark color with the top coat color (Light Ghost Gray) us
  14. Ernie, the printer is a FormLabs Form 2. It's stereolithography (SLA) which uses a laser to solidify a liquid resin polymer. I did a lot of research before purchasing the printer and so far I'm really happy with the results. --Troy
  15. I gave Blender a shot but turned to Fusion360 after reading a number of positive reviews of the software package. It's free - for those who don't know - and I must say that I'm really happy that I decided to go with Fusion. My recommendation to everyone starting out with CAD: start with something easy to model so that you can learn the basics. I started with JATO bottles. Then go for something a bit more challenging: a wing, perhaps. I appreciate the compliment, Major Walt.
  16. Major, I can say that I did this with a lot of difficulty and trial and error. LOL Mostly lofts that follow rails. Clearly the wings are easiest: two airfoils (splines) that are lofted following leading edge and trailing edge rails. The fuselage is composed of four lofts (and I only draw the left hand side of the UAV - mirror to the right): upper front, upper aft, lower front and lower aft. All follow rails that define the upper and lower surface centerline contours (it's important to have side views of the UAV to follow) as well as a second rail that follows the plan view (top vie
  17. There are a number of UAVs that are not available as commercial kits that I would really like to build. The Lockheed RQ-3 Darkstar is among them. The Lockheed RQ-3 Darkstar was developed as part of DARPA’s High-Altitude Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (HAE UAV) program in the 1990s. This Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program was intended as a means for the rapid, cost-effective demonstration of new capabilities and systems for the military services. Two air vehicles were developed for HAE UAV: a conventional configuration (Tier II+) designed by No
  18. Wings and fuselage are both decaled and ready for flight! The decals perform okay overall. They’re thick enough to withstand some rough handling during application, but not so thick that they don’t settle down well around details and in panel lines. My process includes using Micro Sol and Set, plus Solvaset in stubborn areas. This kit is such a monster (33 inches from wingtip to wingtip!) that it was best for me to pose it in flight. I did not plan to design and print new wings, but it quickly became obvious that th
  19. Thanks dnl42 and CaptainObvious! I do really like the look so far. Some white on the upper surfaces of the wings and gunship gray on the bottoms. I wasn’t sure just where the white and gray intersected on the wings, but several photos I was looking at seemed to indicate that the white might wrap under the leading edge of the wing. It also made things easier to mask while painting! It’s hard to see in the previous photo the different shading that I did on the fuselage parts which are composite. I ended up masking and painting those parts straight dark gray, then
  20. Back on the Global Hawk after taking a short break. The fit of the V-tails is not as positive as one might prefer; they can be installed at different angles so I held them against the grid on my cutting mat to ensure that I got both tails at the same angle. The base of the tails could use some work to blend them in. Lots of interesting details on the top and side of the engine nacelle. I had to replace one of the antennas with a styrene disk because I sanded off the molded detail. I cut a styrene rod to replace the nose gear bay doors; the kit p
  21. Yes, the paints are lacquers. They flow very well and give a great, tough surface for sanding, decals, etc. I use Mr. Color and like them as well. Lacquers are my preferred paint if I can get hold of them to use. It's becoming more and more difficult to get them in the States.
  22. Some really cool progress to report today. First, I’ve mentioned that I’m not happy with the kit wings due to the droop and because I’m planning to pose the Global Hawk in flight. So, I modeled some new “flight” wings showing the 4-foot flex at the wingtip (full scale) designed into the wings for cruise flight. I printed them overnight and here are the first pictures. Top (planform) view (dark gray is the new 3D printed wing, light gray is kit wing): The white lines show where the parts join; I had to print them in three parts due to the size limit of the 3D printer. BTW,
  23. Paints have arrived! This will be my first time using the MCW brand of paints so I’m anxious to get started with them. On the far left are the two colors for the Global Hawk: Gunship Gray and White. The remainder of the paints are for upcoming UAV projects. I’ve been working the wings with a heat gun and there is some improvement, but I’m not overly happy with the result. It was suggested that the wings be made removable for transport. I like that idea AND it will give me the option of replacing them later if opportunity arises (more on that
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