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I'll be using the 1 and only boxing of the HAS 1/48th Growler, Afterburner Decals West cost CAG Sheet of VAQ-138. That Black spine and lightning bolt is too hard to pass up... And as folks that know me... I love to Mask over Scott's decals during the painting process and see if they will stay down!! LOL

It will be OOB save some AM seats.. Haven't decided which ones.. Have Aires, True Details and Avionics to choose from. We'll see what happens.

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Thanks for looking!!

Dave

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Well The Instruction call outs for filling and adding lines are for the most part accurate... But there are some things missing.. But nothing to dramatic for me at least. So the filling has begun. Using Mr Surfacer 1200 in multiple coats to ensure good penetration into the lines etc that need to be gone..

Thanks for looking

Dave

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Sanded out the ejector pin marks on the intake (A lot quicker than filling and then sanding)

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Assembled and filled with Mr base white

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Assembled tanks and pylons

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Painted up the Fan blades... Looks like there was some trash on them that i didn't catch before i painted.. They look sorta sorry.. But I'll see what they look like in the trunk before i strip them... Used Alclad Stainless Steel w/ gloss black base

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Glued the wings together and mounted to the upper fuselage.... Best fit I have done on a SH Ever!! I'm pleased.. Just a minor touch up on the fwd corners.. Maybe

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Intakes are done... Not the best but they will do. Not bad for a quick prep

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Thanks for looking!!

Dave

Thanks for looking!

Dave

Edited by Tomcat Tweeker
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So... I usually like to get the tails ready right away to decal to motivate my build... So That's what I have been working on... Only drama is to match the yellow on the trailing edges of the rudders to the decals... Here is what I ended up with.. Using Mr Color Lacquers.. #329 Yellow FS15538 as a base... It looks as if its a spot on match... But I found it is way light after shooting. My guess is that you would have to lay it on way thick to get the desired shade... And that would look like ***... So I darkened it up with a touch of Mr Color #26 Hull Red... Looks pretty good I think..... Maybe a touch dark but it should tone down after the black is on and just the yellow stripe is left... My Guess is that this mix would work on any of the other birds of this sheet as well as others with the same shade of yellow.....

So What say Ya'll???

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Managed to get the pit done, Fwd Fuselage assembled, And decided to re-work the Vents fwd of the engines...

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Thanks for looking!

Dave

Thanks for looking

Dave

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Finally have an update...

OK 1st the Motivational Tails are complete. I am real Happy with how the yellow paint matched the decals.. Not to shabby... The AB decals performed well as always... Only critic is that the lightning bolts on the tail are supposed to run the entire width of the stab... Other than that... Awesome! Looks the part.

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Now most of the week was taken up with fuselage assy... These SH kits from HAS have always been a bit temperamental to align and assemble... But I think in the mold mod to get the growler specific items, things got a bit worse... Nothing really new... Just the old hassles amplified... IE FWD fuselage join, Gaps on the underside wing to fuselage join and the infamous Upper/LWR Aft Fuselage Join.... There the Vertical seam was cavernous! Real Bad.... I took My time dry fitting adjusting etc before laying down the glue. And Glued In sections allowing each major one to cure overnight before gluing the next.. Took some time but it was worth the wait.... An example of that is the Forward Fuselage attachment... Where the lower fuse meets the LEX it seems to be under contoured IE To Narrow to match the Aft fuselage... So I drilled a couple of holes in the top Fuselage so I could stick a toothpick inside to push out the lwr fuselage side to match the contour of the aft part. I just glued the aft join and let it dry.. Then worked my way forward. Those of U that have built the kit understand what I'm talking about... And those that haven't... Well U will LOL

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The only filling required was the afore mentioned gaps in the back.. Used super glue for that and Mr surfacer for everything else... The fit went so well, I was able to sand down the surfacer with 0000 steel wool. That made it almost impossible to erase any detail.. I managed to save most everything and re scribe the unlucky few areas that didn't make it.... Here are some pics of it now with a coat of Tamiya Fine primer.... A couple of minor flaws that will need a touch more surfacer.... But for the most part, the fuselage main assy is done...

Thanks For looking!

Dave

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