Patrick_Nevin Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 (edited) T'beast. Having just bought a copy of Flying Leathernecks - OK movie, great aircraft shots - brand new for 1p (£1.21 shipped) I wouldn't mind asking if anyone knows if the third Minsi is ever likely to have got anywhere near as manky as the 'Cats in said film? Tempted to try and weather it, wonder if this will be realistic... Patrick Edited July 9, 2009 by Patrick_Nevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Kev Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Is that the 1/48 or 1/32 kit Patrick? Kev Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 Is that the 1/48 or 1/32 kit Patrick? 48th, sir. Didn't know they did a 32nd... Hmm...going to visit Wonderland Models in Edinburgh tomorrow. I see they have the Hase 32nd F6F. Might have a look :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimz66 Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Actually Pat they do, do a 1/32 kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted April 19, 2009 Author Share Posted April 19, 2009 Actually Pat they do, do a 1/32 kit. Duly noted, sir. Wonderland was great value but alas, I didn't score said F6F in 32nd while there. They weren't dear by comparison to any other dealer but I see I must show extra respect to the stash, and may in fact insure it. Half the stuff in there I couldn't afford to replace at today's prices... Came back with two Academy 262's half price (some ridiculous number of decal schemes, pretty looking Sturmvogels) and, having discovered that the aircraft we flew back on today has been referred to as a 'Crash-8' , a mild interest in doing a DHC8-400 model... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 I can haz Hellkitteh! Right, time to begin. Well, it would be, only Fate has conspired to stuff me again. Tonight's night of modelling bliss was ruined by the bike indicator falling off. At 80 indicated. Thankfully it stayed with me - by its wires! - but my energy has been sapped for the day by a Heath Robinson solution involving a soldering iron, some ally tube and a skillfully-drilled cork. The wife is now fully aware of our critical need to drink much more wine, in case the problem recurs. Anyway, ripping orf the fairing and swearing it back into place has pretty much sapped my limited energy reserves. Doubt I'll live to be old but progress so far suggests buying a lot of books may be an idea. Or a big chair with a beer cooler built in. Where was I? Ah, yes, the Hellcat. Right, finished some models and we're raring to go. On Wednesday at this rate, as am out tomorrow. But the box is unpacked, and wow, the results are very pleasant indeed. It's gorgeous! This Hasegawa Thing Of Great Beauty deserves awe: the moulding looks excellent and the under-wing (as and when) is just a feat of cunning engineering all by itself. Put it this way, if the model looks crap, it won't be Hasegawa's fault. So, here we will begin: A lot of that rather delicate detail needs to get scraped off so I can fix some of Mr Eduard's finest added etch on to the plastic. Wince - it's not at all bad. That pretty prop may not get used, either, as Obscureco have provided an alternate. Thinking of this, I've also had True Details wheels on order for flipping ages, and I put in a celebratory shop last week for surviving a rather boring work event. This included various Squadron canopies for the Kitteh. It may come with them, stranger things have happened... OK, another shot: This is the Hase F6F-3 version but the sprues are labelled 3/5. The famed McCampbell rear windows are included and as can be seen, the surgery shouldn't (note: I said SHOULDN'T) be too taxing. Still... Welcome aboard, loyal readers [you never know]. Can I ask one thing? If you see me coming close to doing anything really, really stupid (well, besides inflicting myself on this poor unsuspecting svelte model) - can you say so BEFORE I do it? That would be really helpful. I'll even blow the paint over the nearest mule (or cat, if it's too slow) in order to give you a chance to say it's all wrong. I hate the thought of scraping off the beautiful Eduard and/or arty decals due to jumping the gun. And he's....off. (Well, on Wednesday.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted July 9, 2009 Author Share Posted July 9, 2009 (edited) Windows cleared: Various bits of Hasegawa cockpit with the really rather lovely detail microchiselled off them: - used a bit of earth wire for the rudder pedal bracket as the Eduard asks you to to cut off the pedals and replace them. Leaving you an 11mm X 1mm dia rod. Stuff that, the pedals'll be kept intact and used for something else (A Miser Writes) The base 'pit with the dinky Eduard 'wiring loom' attached: Now to preshade... Edit: just shot it all over with scale black as a preshade, Guess you can live without the raw excitement of the pictures... Edited July 9, 2009 by Patrick_Nevin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pkrasna Posted July 11, 2009 Share Posted July 11, 2009 Splendid buiding. Primoz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted July 11, 2009 Author Share Posted July 11, 2009 Splendid buiding. Thankyou! Wrote off all today on Far Cry 2 (weak! Must model!) But I've got things in interior green and things to be drybrushed so the next time may be entertaining Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 Here we go: finished cockpit: Usual mixture of deep joy and vast frustration! Nothing really stopping me closing up the fuselage, once the touch-up paint's dried. (I lost one of the top belts - bottom right on this pic - and had a HUGE panic before the carpet monster relented ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share Posted July 21, 2009 Wings on my cat: Really impressed with the Hasegawa fit in general, and the way the upper wings sit under the fuselage, so the joint should be eased. Sanding after it sets (no doubt for several weeks...) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 Hmm. Sanding continues but as I look at this I feel I ought to ask: are the Dana Bell drawings in D&S vol 26 correct? If so, I need to fill some panel lines on the wings... Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pkrasna Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Simply beautifull! Primoz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 Simply beautifull! Thankyou sir. Much obliged Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 Anyone up for an update? Sanding is coming to an end. So nearly did the model as I parallelled the sanding with that of a Macchi 205 sent part-finished to me by a friend. Things's been on my bench for AGES as the front deck (which is like a jigsaw puzzle piece in a minefield: about ten little vents etc around it) has previously defied me. However, this time round I BEAT IT and, of course, one's thoughts turn to finishing it. Which meant a little bag of goodness containing the landing gear, canopy, propeller - little things like that. Which had disappeared off the the face of the Earth. Took the room apart for this and various tall geologic strata of kits, resin, tools, research of course collapsed in the process. Did we find it? Did we buggery. Anyone else familiar with Robert Sheckley's 'Theory Of Searches'? Found a knife I thought was gone forever and had a sleepless night as the Bin used to (note this) live under the overflow of the bench. I could see myself absently sweeping off the precious bag into this and even I empty bins occasionally (usually when they smell bad, it must be said.) Day after, found the Macchi bits (in an Eggplane Zero box). And the canopy was in my special dust-free Future box at....eighteen inches and eye level. However I surprised myself when the 'Cat was threatened by avalanche and a surprisingly balletic (given age, sex and condition) leap resulted in its salvation. \shaggy dog story. So the cat has had that vent drilled out - seemed like a good idea at the time - covered with a pretty Eduard grille and the whole lot Alcladded. Thinly, hence gunmetal rather than Ally. Also blew over the wheel wells with Humbrol 15 (oops, there's some 14 rather than this in the pics, but close examination will show this hasn't been opened.) Midnight blue. Well, OK, I am colour blind (red/green) but this is a lot more blue than Midnight to me. Panic, panic, discover the quite nice Tom Cleaver one is done in Gunze. Good enough for rockstar supercritic, good enough for spud modeller. Off to the excellent MDC and place order. So, meantime: Tailwheel under modification. It's been drilled. Several times :) Someone cool did this here and monkey see, monkey do. Since the thing (certainly appears to be) hollow I also drilled it vertically and hollowed it out. Then I discovered the Eduard set gives you plates with holes of different diameter. These looked way cool. Affixed with cyano and...the holes didn't line up :( What a girly dog. The only thing I could do was re-drill, and despite some care the tailwheel snapped. Thank Heaven for Tamiya extra thin, used by artists, abused by bodgers. Needs the mud guard (shown here in contact lens vessel almost worth having rubbish eyes for :)) And here are also gunsights and things. Sights are way pretty but are four parts each, in a 5mm working area. Stay tuned to learn exciting new words. Also did the oleos on the main gear using Bare Metal foil for the first time. Gucci stuff: it stays. Engine. Very pretty out of the box, added Eduard loom. Now I lay no claims to great intelligence but (and I have pictures if anyone really wants) the - insert rude word here - carefully positioned ignition wiring didn't fit! I ended up shortening the long rear cylinder wires and using those for the front bank, just threaded the others through the gaps. Need an adult like ChukW to show me how to do it properly. There's an eeeny tiny P&W decal on, set & Futured and how cool are Hasegawa for doing this, eh? (reminds me: the drop tank is currently lacking a leg (oops) and as if by magic a common or garden pin appears exactly the right size :)) And lastly: I've got several Obscureco sets and will buy more as they are a wonderful company. But their prop is no more excellent than this wonderful OOB item. We like. I then went through a round of decisions decisions, flip coin over whose Hamilton Standard Logo to use. I had Hasegawa's OE sheet, a highly desirable Yellow Wings one and the Aeromaster sheet for the Cat that I'm already using. Aeromaster won. The Hase is perfectly usable, the Yellow Wings is metallic (! kudos points!) but the Aeromaster - with a microsope - has the lettering done in readable fashion. Winner. Mr Aeromaster, I salute you sir! Needs #2 Future, matt coat, weathering. And that's about it for now, folks. Hope it weren't too boring! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrallman Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 looks really nice! I think Mike Grant has HS logos that are readable like Aeromaster but metallic like Yellow Wings on some sheets of his, jsut for future reference. Great looking progress. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted August 3, 2009 Author Share Posted August 3, 2009 looks really nice! I think Mike Grant has HS logos that are readable like Aeromaster but metallic like Yellow Wings on some sheets of his, jsut for future reference. Great looking progress. Why, thankyou sir! :P And noted. Just done the 'defusing a bomb' routine to cut out the canopy. Then realised it doesn't fit properly, due to being intended for the Arii/Otaki kit (what this?) Well, OK, but it has panel lines in the right places and the alternate is badged as a 3/5 canopy, not sure how this can be so unless it has no lines at all on the front. May well try to fair the one I have in: nerves involved but lets have a go once the blue arrives (I was going to do the deck between the IP and inner edge of canopy the main colour - does this sound right?) Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrallman Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 If you have the Squadron/Falcon vac 3/5 canopy, it should come with two different wind screens and one sliding section. I used that canopy on my Hase hellkitteh Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted August 4, 2009 Author Share Posted August 4, 2009 If you have the Squadron/Falcon vac 3/5 canopy, it should come with two different wind screens and one sliding section. I used that canopy on my Hase hellkitteh OK, thanks for that - I ordered one :) Would you know about the front colour, sir? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrallman Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 The front of what? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 The front of what? Between the front edge on the instrument panel and the outer edge of the canopy, sir. Can't find a clear picture, wondering if it's black or midnight blue. Which (Gunze) arrived today, incidentally. Praise to MDC who are truly very very fast Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 Various panel lines filled and others added, as per drawings for the -5: Quite pleased with this next one as it's a formed bit of etch on top of two EXTREMELY tiny etch wedges: Pipes drilled and (currently drying from a cost of Revell Rust) You have to do this staff, haven't you? Man-type thing... Assorted other work on wheel bays, the tail wheel now seems pretty finished, one of the sights is there (would be if I could understand where the reticule goes besides on the floor, in the middle of the overspray etc ) Mainly waiting for the canopy: that'll let me do the major paintwork... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
El pibe vitina Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 Cool! You are adding some interesting details, most of them very useful for my future Hellcats. Im tryin to guess how I will do them in 1/72. Cya. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Patrick_Nevin Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 You are adding some interesting details, most of them very useful for my future Hellcats. Im tryin to guess how I will do them in 1/72. Thankyou, sir Having a great deal of fun with this one. I see the Eduard sets for the F6F-3 are currently half price in Hannants if any use. The belts appear to be as complex, too (pass the headache pills!) I'd really like to see your builds if you decide to put them up here. It's a really charismatic aircraft (I just bought another one) and I'd be intrigued to see how you interpret it. Will do things differently next time: that chunk of metal pretty much completely obscures the grille underneath and if I had the courage I'd file off the wingtip lights and try filing clear sprue to suit. And I still don't know how a human being is meant to attach the delicate replacement aileron hinges without them falling off every time you breathe on them Still, things have been learnt and I can see why people get into a Hasegawa/Tamiya habit: someone really smart was involved with the design of this kit. Best regards! Patrick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pkrasna Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Nice detailing! Primož Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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