Kostucha Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 (edited) The key to the whole operation is organization. These parts are small, and it's easy to get them messed up, or lose them. I use excess paper, or white carboard, and lay them out according to part numbers: From here, the insides were sprayed a light colour. Why? Well, the pastel chalks that will be used to age/weather/dirty this box up will sit in the corners easily, but I don't want the box turning black there. So, just to add some depth, the inside is sprayed a light colour when all the parts are seperate: The box is then completely assembled, having one side a little more open than the other to avoid a "predictable" look... and airbrushed the overall colour. For this, to add a bit of a darker green than the regular OD, I used Imperial Japanese Army Green by MM: Next up I selected all the tools from the two sets I wanted to use, and cut them off the trees. Once cleaned up, they were taped to a spare box of a really shotty kit... (but only slightly to prevent bending them when trying to pry them off the tape): They were all initially airbrushed MM's Aluminum, and then once dry, shot with dullcoat. From there, various colours were painted, be it "wood" for handles, or red, or black... but once those were all dry, a quick dry brushing with a paintbrush dipped in dark gray (80% black) pastel chalk, then another shot of dullcoat, and they were then added to the tool box, in an attempt to give it the "been used, and still being used" look: As the box was made of wood, but the hinges were metal, the hinges themselves were dry brushed with a bit of silver to give some depth: as for the size of the whole thing... here it is inside the second bottlecap of the night: Thanks for looking, and hope this answered a few questions. And now that I've got the right tools - all be it in 1/48 - it's back to work! Cheers! Mark. Edited June 10, 2011 by Kostucha Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 I hate you. carry on Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sdelia63 Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 new here.. but just wanted to say that i love how detailed you are making this.... inspirational i i must say Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shawn M Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 wow man, you just continue to excel with this build! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 That is just not right!!! where are all the little boeing workers you have working for you!! Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eastern Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Cheers! Mark. Wow! Just awesome! Two thumbs up with my hat off for you! Cheers and happy modeling! Alexander Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Army_Air_Force Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 My wife thought the tool box was a lovely little model, then I showed her the picture of it in the bottle top and she was really surprised! Can't wait to see this whole model come together. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 (edited) Mark GREAT tutorial in How To... I lOVE THE STEP by step of it all and the tool box is simply OUT OF THIS WORLD..Great ideas and tips FANTASTIC job and so SMALL too... I guess you have to drink that beer or else how can you portray how small your little gems are... ... AMAZING detail to your work as always.. HOLMES Edited June 28, 2011 by HOLMES Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kid Charlemagne Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 This build is getting better and better!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kostucha Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) Thank you very much guys! I must admit something did take my attention away for a few nights... sure, it's not the Fortress, but... it was a lot of fun A quick application of Aires in the cockpit, Eduard under the wings, Masters 20mm barrels, Montex Masks for the markings, and some scratch building in the wings and here's Tamiya's Spit Vb from 315 Polish Fighter Squadron. All I'm waiting on is the HobbyDecal dry transfers... and have been waiting for almost 9 weeks now... thank you Canada Post for not only losing the first order, but going on Strike while I wait on the second one... once they're here there'll be some weathering going on and alas, a quick motivational build... Cheers, Mark. Edited July 6, 2011 by Kostucha Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kostucha Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) Not to take away from the Spit in the last post, but allow me to get back on topic, Managed to get some work done on the actual bomber... the engines rather... I do have 4 of the Quickboost engines, however, I must say, after starting one of the Vector Engines, I'll be ordering enough for both wings... these are AMAZING!!! Here's a shot of the QB engines... not bad at all... And here's what you get with the Vector 1820... Ya, I was really happy with these. Some close up shots of the amount of CRISP detail on these engines: 9 Cylinders needed, but you're given 10. I'm not complaining at all. Everything is here (minus the ignition wires & push rods) to make a complete 1820. The only thing missing though, on the 17, there's a small cone between two of the cylinders for air - it'll be added later on, and the metal plate between the cylinders as well (also will be added later on). That being said though, the two resin parts for the ignition wires are a real PITA to work with, so I just tossed them and used my trusty ole 20 gauge solder instead. Much easier to form into place. The added details though like the seperate prop governer for example, more than makes up for all this. Alls done except for the couple of items mentioned, and the other 7 cylinders wires... ya... By first spraying the cylinders a nice smooth chrome, and allowing them to be smooth once dried, the application of pastel chalk onto them allowed me to keep the black dust between the cooling fins, and after a shot of dull coat, I was really, REALLY happy with how these turned out (all the credit must be given to the folks at Vector for the superd quality of these parts): THAT BEING SAID... they made an ACCURATE 1820, not one for the Monogram B-17. What do I mean by that? Well, the outter diameter of the engine is pretty much spot on for the engine in this scale. The 1/48 Cowling, isn't a scale thickness... its much thicker (not a slam at all... we all know that if the outter dimensions match, the inner ones wont - can't mold a 16 or 18 gauge sheet of aluminum for the cowlings in plastic). SO, after a lot of sanding inside the cowl where the cylnders sit, and a heart breaking need to sand the detail of the tops of the cylinders off... she barely fits. It's really, really tight here: But, it does end up looking pretty good: So, do I have any vested interest in promoting the Vector product for any other gain other than detail? Nope... I'll simply say that given some resin AM engines I've worked with in the past (be it QB, Aires, E&T, and others), I've never been more happy with one than I am with these. I really do recommend these to anyone who really wants their engines to pop. Bring a lot of patience though as there's quite a bit of detail on these and it does take up a bit of work bench time. Tomorrow I'm hoping to have the cowl polished, sprayed with the OD in the right place, and weathered, along with a complete engine and prop. Cheers, Mark. Edited July 6, 2011 by Kostucha Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Sweet engines. If you don't plan to use the Qb anymore.... (you know where I'm going there!) Also on the Spit that is very nice too. It seems we have common tastes as I have had the 32nd Hase Spit on the bench for roughly 9 months also. I'm about to throw some paint at it this weekend as I got a set of Lifelike decals not too long ago finally. I'll be doing it as an American Spit since I don't have any in my collection. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lancman Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Wow great work Mark, just a query shouldn't the oxygen hose/reg be under the other window in the radio shack alongside the table?? Other than that an incredable build. Graham. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kostucha Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 Graham, in most (if not all) Forts (including LMM), they had the oxygen system on both port and starboard side in the Radio Room. The R/O would have his next to his seat - the one you mention - and the others would be for crew members who may be injured above that magical 10,000 ft mark, so they could be plugged in, or other passengers, etc., etc., etc... no matter the reason, they had typically the one for the R/O, and the other two on the Starboard side of the Radio Room. Thank you for the compliments!! Cheers, Mark. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lancman Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Thanks Mark, I never knew that and it's very helpfull indeed I will install it on my fort. (you learn something new every day) Cheers Graham. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kostucha Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 Why, oh why isn't there anything out there for the Fortress wheel wells in 1/48? Theres stuff for everything else... just nothing in the wheel wells... guess I'm bustin out the old scratch building... Work is slowly progressing. The Engine cowl for the No. 3 engine is complete (yaaaaa, I know... an engine cowl is an engine cowl, but they are all different in some slight slim way from one another from all the reference pics I can find of LMM). It was fun, shot with chrome, dried, applied the OD section, then pulled some of the paint off with masking tape to simulate the paint chips as best as possible, then a shot of dull coat on the chrome, pulled most of it off except for some sections on the very front, applied the chalks, and a mix of semi-gloss coat on the metal: As for the wing, well, it's progressing as well. Managed to get all the superchargers out of the wing, open up the air scoops/vents on the bottom, and clean off the framing along the air intakes in the leading edge where applicable: As for the top of the wing, the one engine hot air vents are removed, and later on tonight I hope, the other side as well: So, work is slowly progressing. Next step is going to be the scratch building of the hot air vents (no Tokyo tank vents), jack points underneath, and the wheel well. Normally I wouldn't be overly concnerned, but as she'll be sitting on a mirror, gotta make sure she's got a purdy set of legs and wheel wells. Cheers! Mark. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Army_Air_Force Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Something that you might want to try for the paint chipping, is what I did on the 1/6 scale B-26 seen below. I was using a two inch brush, but the same technique could work using a very small one. The model was sprayed silver and dried, then everywhere I wanted the paint to chip, I stippled Vaseline with a very stiff brush. The OD was then sprayed over and left to dry. Once fully dry, the model was wiped down and cleaned, and the OD paint chipped very convincingly everywhere it was over the vaseline. Your method seems to work pretty well, but with the vaseline, you can control precisely what paint stays and what paint comes off. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kostucha Posted July 15, 2011 Author Share Posted July 15, 2011 as the two cartoon guys from the Gueniss commercials would say... "BRILLIANT!!" The No. 3 cowl was the most chipped of the cowls, the rest are fairly descent. However, the replacement outer wing section on the port side was heavily chipped with faded paint (much like 'A Bit O' Lace'. I really think I'm going to use your method for that section there, for sure! Thank you very much. Cheers, Mark. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dirkpitt289 Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Those engines and cowlings are looking sharp. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
B-17 guy Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Those vector engines look great....dont get me wrong. But for the cost of them, I'll stick with the monogram G kit engines. I've seen the vector engines on sprue brothers for about $14.99, per engine, the cost of the engines is double the kit cost. Besides, with equal amounts of work, the kit engines can be made to look damn near as good as the vectors. Go look at my thread, I posted pics of my nearly completed engines. Hamm, I've got a set of the quickboost engines you can have. Which, again we will have to set a time to meet up. Mark, what are you replacing the wing vents with? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kostucha Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Ah yes, that little voice in the back of my head that loves to scratch build gave me the proverbial slap in the back of the head... you're absolutely right about turning out some nice engines with the stock kit pieces. Awesome work by the way. I liked these engines though as they do offer the complete 1820, front and back. Turns out that rather than just using them for the 'replacement' of the No. 1 engine, I'll be using them for everything. As for the wings: Hot air vents - scratch built Wing leading edge intakes - internals & external frames from Eduards "Exterior" PE set Wheel wells - scratch built Jack points - scratch built Landing gear - Verlinden + Eduard + scratch building + B-17G wheel hubs + B-17F "rubber" Anywho, once I finish rearranging the hobby spot & rest of the basement, I'll be heading back at 'er. Till then though, thanks for looking, Cheers! Mark. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kostucha Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 Between house sitting and watching three kids (and my own) for a friend who's out of town for a bit, needless to say, the work bench has been collecting dust. NONE THE LESS (I say), a few months ago, one of those three showed some interest in building models. Well, before you could say "superglueing your fingers is bad data", we've got ourselves a new model builder. This weekend we're goin to share some time at my work bench. Me working on LMM, she's working on her Zero... so hopefully theres some good pictures to post up. Cheers, Mark. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigasshammm Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 click ---> DUDE Also it's been over a month since you last updated!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HOLMES Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Mark, the engine and the cowling detail is EXTRAORDINARY.. Phenomenal work Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tbell Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Hi Mark, I've been following your thread (I plan to do LMM some day before I die), and came across the following pic that may give you some diorama inspiration/ideas: The Flickr photostream it came from is a goldmine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/18532986@N07/with/4533289004/ Cheers, Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.