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As mentioned in the "Who's in" thread, I will be doing a T-33 from the 101st FIS of the Massachusetts ANG.

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using the 48th Testors kit and 1/72nd Experts Choice decals

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I wanted to size up the decals for the tail as I knew I would have some adjusting and cutting to do, and for once, did it in the very beginning. Too many times I find out issues after painting and getting ready to apply the decals. :D

With the blue/white rudder decal a different shape (because it's for the F-106), I will probably have to cut off some of the bands and apply individually. I was not planning on it, but I cut out the rudder to make it easier to fit, cut and apply them. It took less than 5 minutes to remove the rudder.

The MASSACHUSETTS band will fit fine, and the edges will be trimmed off after applying each decal.

It's the big chevron that will be a challenge, and won't be exactly the same.

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The tank decals are fine, and are just a bit different from the T-33 to the F-106

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The main wheels are molded funky, with one being really bad. I will probably get a resin aftermarket set

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I had a feeling the intakes would be a challenge, and yep....so this is why I applied them to the fuselage halves before assembling the fuselage. I will fill them with putty, and use nail polish remover to smooth out. It is much easier to work with them on a flat surface like this.

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Thanks for looking,

Cheers

Ken

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  • 2 weeks later...

some progress...

the main landing gear gets sandwiched between the 2 wing halves, and must be assembled before the wing halves are closed up

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so the MLG are glued in now, and look Ma! No gear bays come with the kit! Though the model will be on a display base, I think I will close that up with plastic sheet to prevent any creatures from potentially taking up resisdence. The half-circle tabs on the edges of the open wells are for the gear doors.

You can also see the nice seam to fill where the wings join the fuselage. But so far, the kit has fit surprisingly well for its age.

Thanks for looking,

Cheers

Ken

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Wow....this is a pretty spartan kit, to say the least. However, I have full confidence in Ken, and I think that he'll find the diamond in the rough with this one.

P.S. - I think that separating the white from the blue in the chevrons, combined with some careful trimming, will give you the shape that you want on this one, Ken. Looking forward to watching you work your magic on this one. :cop:

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Ken,

If that is what you call a "good" fit, I would certainly hate to see what you call "bad"! Good work so far. I noticed that there are also some nasty ejector pin marks around the gear bay.

Darwin

thanks Darwin - I should have mentioned that with the dry fitting of the fuselage/wings, I have done no trimming or sanding yet to improve the fit - just stuck it there. So I hope to reduce that gap before gluing. And yes, those ejector pin marks will be dealt with as well

Wow....this is a pretty spartan kit, to say the least. However, I have full confidence in Ken, and I think that he'll find the diamond in the rough with this one.

P.S. - I think that separating the white from the blue in the chevrons, combined with some careful trimming, will give you the shape that you want on this one, Ken. Looking forward to watching you work your magic on this one. :cop:

thanks Steve - good point on the chevrons, which I had done the other day. I did trim them, and carefully removed some white from the excess sections, and it should fit in and make the blue come to a point.

It's interesting that the kit comes with a complete engine and stand, but no main gear bays. But like I said, it will be on a display base, so there is no need for detailed bays anyway

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Sure looks like a typical Testors kit. Raised lines, poor fit, poor/clunky detail... But, as you've shown in the past with your Testors Hornet, those kits can be made into little gems. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the assembling work, and curious as to how the decals will look once applied.

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Sure looks like a typical Testors kit. Raised lines, poor fit, poor/clunky detail... But, as you've shown in the past with your Testors Hornet, those kits can be made into little gems. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the assembling work, and curious as to how the decals will look once applied.

thanks a lot Keith - I think the origins of this kit is Hawk from the late 1950s!

Here are the gear bays "blocked in", and the seams in much better shape before filling and sanding

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try to contain your excitement as I show and explain this.... ;)

seeing it will be on a base, I wanted to have a way to secure it so it would not slide off, but could be taken off if needed be.

I drill a small hope in each tire, and insert a section of a paperclip. Then I snip it off to length (easier to insert a longer section and cut down then trying to cut a small section and insert that) and use thin superglue to set.

Corresponding holes will be made in the base once I get to that.

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try to contain your excitement as I show and explain this.... :wub:

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

smileyparty.gifsmileyparty.gifsmileyparty.gif

thewave.gifthewave.gifthewave.gif

Just kidding, Ken. I've done that a few times myself, and it's a nice easy way to pin the model to a base. However, I have a thought (that does happen every once in a while). I almost wonder if it's a better idea to mount the pins into the base, and leave the socket holes in the wheels? The reason I say this is because this way, if you want to put the model on your shelf, you don't have to worry about it sitting 1/8" off of the shelf because of the pins. Again, not knocking what you're doing at all....just a thought that I was having as I read your post. :banana:

Oh, and the other reason: I had pinned my Hasegawa F-4E to a base, and the pins were very secure. I know this because I tried to lift it off one time to dust the model, and both MLG legs were still securely pinned to the base.....even after the rest of the model wasn't. Again, just throwing it out there as food for thought. Keep in mind that my wife tells me that if I had to survive on my 'food for thought', I'd starve to death in mere hours.........

Back to paper clips!

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Ken,

In that case, it makes perfect sense. One suggestion that I would make is that if there's any way to do so (I know that the gear legs are already attached), it might not be a bad idea to reinforce the gear leg attachment point with some five minute epoxy. Of course, the way your MLG legs seem to be sandwiched into the wing, that might not even be a problem. Sure wish I did that with my Phantom; I was kind of mad at first, and then I couldn't help but laugh at that display base with the two MLG legs sticking out of it, and nothing else. :lol:

Speaking of which, I need to get off the computer and get to work on my model for a while. I tried to get some stuff done earlier this morning, but a mild case of frostbite drove me out of the workshop and back up the stairs. Man, it's cold all of a sudden! :whistle:

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Ken,

In that case, it makes perfect sense. One suggestion that I would make is that if there's any way to do so (I know that the gear legs are already attached), it might not be a bad idea to reinforce the gear leg attachment point with some five minute epoxy. Of course, the way your MLG legs seem to be sandwiched into the wing, that might not even be a problem. Sure wish I did that with my Phantom; I was kind of mad at first, and then I couldn't help but laugh at that display base with the two MLG legs sticking out of it, and nothing else. :rofl:

Speaking of which, I need to get off the computer and get to work on my model for a while. I tried to get some stuff done earlier this morning, but a mild case of frostbite drove me out of the workshop and back up the stairs. Man, it's cold all of a sudden! :)

Steve, yes - the gear are sandwiched and the top of them make a "T" and go into notches. There's no way they would come out without ripping out the bottom of the wing. But once again, thanks for the suggestions

Your basement sounds like mine :blink:

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It's one thing to watch someone throw together a top-of-the-line kit and make it look good (sure, they're great to view), but I really enjoy watching someone take a bare-bones/basic/BAD kit and turn it into something you're proud of! I'm going through a lot of the same issues Ken is facing with a non-GB related build I'm doing on the side (it's my "just for me build"). I can really appreciate what he's up to with this, and I'll enjoy watching him make it happen :)

Keep up the good work and post more photos! :stupid:

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It's one thing to watch someone throw together a top-of-the-line kit and make it look good (sure, they're great to view), but I really enjoy watching someone take a bare-bones/basic/BAD kit and turn it into something you're proud of! I'm going through a lot of the same issues Ken is facing with a non-GB related build I'm doing on the side (it's my "just for me build"). I can really appreciate what he's up to with this, and I'll enjoy watching him make it happen :)

Keep up the good work and post more photos! <_<

Thanks Jeremy - hope to get more updates soon

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It's one thing to watch someone throw together a top-of-the-line kit and make it look good (sure, they're great to view), but I really enjoy watching someone take a bare-bones/basic/BAD kit and turn it into something you're proud of!

Ken likes to breathe stale air or else he wouldn't bother with building Academy F-15s (inside joke :thumbsup: ).

Ken,

Looks good so far compadre! Look forward to the next update. I gotta get back to my MI ANG Viper (after I get my Defense of the Reich Heinkel 219 built. Too many GB builds, not enough time!).

Cheers,

Alby

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Your T-bird is really looking good. An amazing change from the initial photos. :)

Darwin

Thanks Darwin - selective photography helps :beer4:

Ken likes to breathe stale air or else he wouldn't bother with building Academy F-15s (inside joke :D ).

Ken,

Looks good so far compadre! Look forward to the next update. I gotta get back to my MI ANG Viper (after I get my Defense of the Reich Heinkel 219 built. Too many GB builds, not enough time!).

Cheers,

Alby

Thanks Alby - I usually don't do too many shake and bake kits - had enough of Shake N Bake growing up :thumbsup: I still am shocked you are doing a Luftwaffe model :bandhead2:

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