Memorial Build for a Lost Tracker

[11bee]

Your surgery skill are awesome :jaw-dropping:/> Keep up the great work!

Thanks much. The close-ups tend show every flaw but trust me (I think), the end result should look pretty decent.

Regards,

John

[rustywelder]

looking good.

[11bee]

The fuselage is (mostly) complete!

To show off some of the cockpit details and to make the model a bit more unique, I opted to open the overhead cockpit escape hatches. Also, since I'm trying to model this Tracker immediately before it's last flight, I assumed that during their pre-flight work, the ground crew would have opened these up to cool the cockpit a bit that August day.

Before starting, I dipped all the clear parts in future and allowed to dry for a day. This is a mandatory step for me. It not only improves the transparency of the clear plastic but also allows you to strip it off it you get paint on any of the parts.

Very carefully, I drilled out the rough openings in the clear overhead section, used a new x-acto knife to do the fine work and then finished up with some small metal files. I think it came out ok.

I added the PE overhead console, plus scratch built grab handles. Thanks to the ever helpful Tailspin Turtle, http://tailhooktopics.blogspot.com/ I finally had enough information on how these hatches were stowed when opened up. Using a bit a plastic sheet, I replicated them with just the edge showing. I thought about having the hatches a bit further forward and using clear plastic to show a bit of the transparency but opted for the easier approach of being stowed full aft.

Lastly, I added release handles to the undersides of the hatches. The interior of the entire assembly was painted and then glued to fuselage.

Some pics are below but note that the rough paint job will be invisible once I paint the exterior. I'm also still doing some final sanding so everything looks rougher than it will be on the finished model ( hopefully :) ). As I've stated before, I don't really sweat the details that will not be fully visible when complete. So if some of the parts look crude, it's probably intentional. I've got all the respect in the world for those modelers who superdetail everything, visible or not. I just don't have the time!

Edited July 23, 2017 by 11bee

[dekon70]

Wow, I really like to open ditching hatches. Looking real good.

[erikztm]

Very nice work! Those hatches look great. You are a brave man.

[titan8251]

Looking good dude, how was it opening those overhead hatches? I want to do it as well on mine to show off the Eduard interior I am putting into mine. can't wait to see it all done and some paint on it.

Andy

[Barneydhc82]

John: Nice work on the cockpit! I probably will not try to detail my cockpit to the same degree due to my failing eyesight and arthritis in the hands..so much for the "Golden Years". I was just looking at the engines and I may order the Vector versions as the kit engines are not very good...or accurate.

Barney http://www.barneysairforce.com

[11bee]

John: Nice work on the cockpit! I probably will not try to detail my cockpit to the same degree due to my failing eyesight and arthritis in the hands..so much for the "Golden Years". I was just looking at the engines and I may order the Vector versions as the kit engines are not very good...or accurate.

Barney http://www.barneysairforce.com

Thanks Barney, looking forward to seeing an update on your progress. The Vector engines look awesome, I'll be ordering them as well.

Andy, the o/h hatches were actually pretty easy. Used a pin vice to drill a series of holes just inside the edge of the hatch, then used a very sharp x-acto knife to trim the opening close to the edge. Last step was a flat file to get right up to the edge, I used the file at an angle to thin the roof a bit as well. Also used a rat tail file to do the curved corners. Each hatch took about 10 minutes tops....

[11bee]

Fuselage is 90% done. I added the aft tie downs and some antenna mounts on the upper fuselage and then masked off all the windows. Hit the entire fuselage with a base coat of gull grey, figured that would work for a primer and show any flaws. Worked great, I realized that my scribing skills s*ck and the joints of the three sections still need a lot of work. It's amazing how you can think it looks great in bare plastic but once you give it a quick shot of primer, you see multiple issues.

I filled, sanded and re-scribed. Hit it with more primer, still had some flaws. Repeat process again. Thinking it was looking good, I masked and sprayed the upper fuselage flat white. Guess what, white shows up flaws even better than grey primer. Putty, sand, re-scribe. Paint again. I literally went through this series 8-10 more times. Still not happy with everything but I can't go any further. Sure wish I had opted for an early S-2 in overall dark blue, you never would have have seen any of the flaws!

After I was done with the grey / white, I masked and painted the anti-glare panel. I painted it flat black, then added a few drops of white to the mix and went back with a lighter, uneven coating. I still may lighten it further, we'll see.

After I removed all of the masking tape, I've found that I have a ridge of paint built up along the grey/white border. I'll need to lightly sand that down and then go back and do so additional touch up to both colors. I'll have gone through a bottle of each before I even get done with the fuselage! Anyway, here are a few pictures. There are some obvious flaws here and there from poor masking. I'll be cleaning those up as well. While I was at it, I managed to nearly dislodge the left hand passenger window. It's barely hanging on. I'll be doing some delicate surgery to get it back into place.

While on the subject, does anyone know the full details on the color scheme for the utility version? I know it's the reverse of the ASW scheme. White on top, grey bottoms. Sounds like the wings, horizontal stabs and engine nacelles are completely grey. Just want to confirm that the control surfaces are also grey and see if anyone knows what color the walkway should be on the upper wings. The kit decals are for the ASW scheme and I assume the walkways are gull grey. This would not work on my scheme since the wings are already GG. Any info is appreciated.

Regards (and Merry Christmas),

John

Edited July 23, 2017 by 11bee

[TaiidanTomcat]

That is really nice!! well done on the masking. Have to agree with you on white being a nightmare

[dekon70]

Paint is looking real good. I have to ask, what white paint are you using? My Tracker is sitting on the shell of doom right now because of the white paint. I painted it and stripped it twice because I had problems with the white.

Edited December 27, 2012 by dekon70

[11bee]

Paint is looking real good. I have to ask, what white paint are you using? My Tracker is sitting on the shell of doom right now because of the white paint. I painted it and stripped it twice because I had problems with the white.

I'm using Testor's flat white (the stuff in the small bottle). Honestly, if I had done a better job of fixing all the bodywork and then hit it with a nice uniform coat of primer, it probably would not have been the struggle.

The only other trick for white paint is to apply multiple LIGHT coats, making sure they have plenty of time to dry. Never try to just go with one or two heavy coats of paint, it will never work.

[11bee]

While waiting for the Vector engines to arrive from Ultra Cast, I started work on the wings. As others have noted, the early Trackers do not have the longer span, rounded wingtips that the later versions have. I opted to just cut off the tips and use a mix of plastic card and putty to replicate the early version. Add a bit of sanding and I think they came out ok. Still need to add the clear covers for the navigation lights.

While I was at it, I filled in some of the seams, re-scribed the ailerons (the Kinetic scribing is very shallow, looks more like a panel line than a separate control surface). I also cut off the solid aileron actuator and will be replacing it with stretched sprue. Will be adding some extra details to the underwing flap fairings as well, nothing major, just some scribed lines and a lightly drilled hole on each side.

Lastly, since the utility version had the searchlight removed, I filled the gap with laminated plastic card, carved it to get the approximate contours and then applied putty to fair it in.

Here are a couple of in-progress pictures. Sorry for the poor quality.

 

Edited July 23, 2017 by 11bee

[erikztm]

Looking good so far; I will replace the hinges too. As with a lot on this kit, the kit parts are just not "it".

I have taken a look at those engines; they look great; I wonder if they'll fit ok though once you get them. I'll be modifying the kit engines myself. Quite a bit of work but after all, that's half the satisfaction.

[Barneydhc82]

I've been looking at the Vector engines as well and there will need to be a lot of plastic butchery to get them fitting properly. I suspect that the kit engine backing disk could be used to mount the Vector version but then all of tat beautiful detail will be lost.

I finally figured out the reason for the fins list to starboard..the weapons bay..

Barney

[erikztm]

I finally figured out the reason for the fins list to starboard..the weapons bay..

Yep; opening that up for the first time will offset it nicely.

[11bee]

I have taken a look at those engines; they look great; I wonder if they'll fit ok though once you get them. I'll be modifying the kit engines myself. Quite a bit of work but after all, that's half the satisfaction.

I'm a bit concerned about how they will fit but those Vector engines look so nice, I want to give it a try. Typically I like to do most of the work myself rather than resort to aftermarket pieces but at times, I opt for the easier path :)/> We'll see if this path is actually worth it or not.

I've been looking at the Vector engines as well and there will need to be a lot of plastic butchery to get them fitting properly. I suspect that the kit engine backing disk could be used to mount the Vector version but then all of tat beautiful detail will be lost.

I finally figured out the reason for the fins list to starboard..the weapons bay..

Barney

Barney - I'm glad you figured out what the issue is. I had some problems with the weapons bay as well, especially since it was shortened to fit the new fuselage. The entire process has been a bit of a pain, really wish Kinetic had followed up with the early version.

[POMPEO]

very nice progress my friend...

cheers

[Heloman]

Very nice build thread/log, you've done some good work there. I've always like the Tracker family, wonder why I han't got one in my collection?

[USMC6094]

Same here Heloman, I'm starting to get the urge to squirrel a Kinetic Tracker away for the future

I've been watching this build with interest and I havent been disappointed one bit. To say I'm impressed would be a grand understatement........

[11bee]

Same here Heloman, I'm starting to get the urge to squirrel a Kinetic Tracker away for the future

I've been watching this build with interest and I havent been disappointed one bit. To say I'm impressed would be a grand understatement........

Thanks USMC and Heloman, appreciate the kind words. To be honest, there are a couple of other Tracker builds currently ongoing that put mine to shame. Regardless, I've enjoyed this quite a bit. It's slow going but fun nonetheless. Hope you guys give it a shot, even without a lot of extra work, the base kit builds up quite nicely and there are some pretty nice aftermarket decals out there for both USN and foreign S-2's.

Regards,

John

[titan8251]

John, I picked up those vector engines and I think they can fit the kit with little modification.

Andy

[11bee]

John, I picked up those vector engines and I think they can fit the kit with little modification.

Andy

Good news! Mine just shipped from Ultra Cast and I should have them in a few days.

Thanks for the info.

[11bee]

Outer wings are 90% completed. I painted them overall gull grey, then masked and shot the deicer boots. I used an initial coat of semi-gloss black to replicate the rubber of the original. I then went back and hit a few areas with flat black with a few drops of white added to show some weathering. Did the same for the vertical stabilizer.

While I had the airbrush fired up, I also touched up the lower fuselage. I know there are still some spots that need to be cleaned up on both the wings and the fuselage. I usually just add them to the "punch list" and address them down the road.

Wings:

 

Added the aileron control rods on the wing undersurface.  

Fuselage is coming along..

 

Also, I received the Vector engines today. To be honest, the kit ones with some extra details would have been fine but I've seen pictures of the Vector ones online and was curious to see what they looked like in person. I have to say that they are simply outstanding. I can't figure out how they can cast in such fine detail, these are truly state of the art resin. With regard to mounting them, a test fit shows that they will fit snugly in the Kinetic cowling. I had to sand a very small bit off the ends of the cylinders but nothing that would have been visible anyway. After I get a complete engine test-fitted, I may opt to open up the cooling flaps aft of the engine in hopes that a small bit of detail might be visible through the openings.

Edited July 23, 2017 by 11bee

[erikztm]

I can't figure out how they can cast in such fine detail

Vacumising rubber and resin and subsequently pressure casting. As long as the master is nicely detailed, you should have no problem replicating it perpectly.

Are you planning on providing a look at the back of the engine? If so, there are engine mounts and lots of plumbing/wiring to replicate. I wouldn't touch it myself but I would really like to see you do it if you feel confident enough.