JMan Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 Another amazing build from Chuck! Cant wait to see more of this one, love your attention to detail. I wish my skill was a millionth as good as yours! Keep up the great work! BTW, my ex used to call these things, "plastic toys!" Thanks again! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 Another amazing build from Chuck! Cant wait to see more of this one, love your attention to detail. I wish my skill was a millionth as good as yours! Keep up the great work! BTW, my ex used to call these things, "plastic toys!" Thanks again! Thanks Jeremy. I read about your recent struggles in the General Forum. Keep modeling and Good Luck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Thanks Jeremy. I read about your recent struggles in the General Forum. Keep modeling and Good Luck! Thanks! I am taking it one day at a time. Went to my DR. yesterday to get off of my pain contract and he gave me more, but I guess its to be used as a taper down so Im not going straight into withdrawals, because they suck! Well as soon as I get a model I will start building again, got to get the first one though. I cant wait till then, Im excited to get into modeling again, just wished the drugs wouldnt have become my passion, the modeling was once in my life! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anders_Isaksson Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Actually, you didn't, because the HGW seatbelts are made by Web Garden (http://www.hgw.webgarden.cz/) and I think they are more recognized as HGW anyway. The easiest way to buy these is to check ebay, since they are listed there all the time. Thanks for clearing that up, Chuck! Ebay it is then to get those seatbelts. Got the Mustang on the way now... can't wait to open the lid on that box. Then who knows what happens - and when... ;) I must say that all these aftermarket kits have my head spinning at times. ... I know the feeling, and just hope I can keep things in order for this build when the time comes. Seriously considering all those Barracuda sets. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 (edited) Thanks for clearing that up, Chuck! Ebay it is then to get those seatbelts. Got the Mustang on the way now... can't wait to open the lid on that box. Then who knows what happens - and when... ;) I know the feeling, and just hope I can keep things in order for this build when the time comes. Seriously considering all those Barracuda sets. :) Just get those Barracuda parts and be done with it Buddy! You won't be sorry! Now a bit of actual modeling, which is tough to do these days with the best September weather in memory. It's really hard to glue plastic inside when there's still some golfing and other outdoor activities going on. Soon enough, the snow will be flying, so I'll be spending a lot more time with this build in the not too distant future! Before I can glue to two fuselage halves together, I need to attend to the lower radiator and oil cooler intake. For this kit, this part is a well engineered mini-model all to its own, but I thought I would "kick it up a notch" ( ) to make it better with a few changes. One of the main parts to deal with is the rear door that allows air to flow through the radiator. It utilizes both kit plastic and steel parts, with a control arm that is attached to the rear. That seam line at the rear is way too big, so I sanded it down and then puttied it in. In putting this part and the rest of the intake together, I discovered a few things: 1) DON'T use some the Eduard PE if you plan on this door and other parts to move in and out of the intake assembly. Besides the elimination of necessary clearance for the parts to move, the Eduard stuff is brass and you need the kit steel parts for the supplied magnets to work. 2) DON'T paint the interior aluminum or silver as per the instructions. I did, and sure enough I found out later that the interior is usually chromate green or yellow during WW-II. Most restored Mustangs are now polished aluminum inside, so that's likely why Tamiya has asked for this color inside. Sooooo, after installing this door with Eduard PE on the radiator outlet and painting it with gloss black lacquer, followed by aluminum, I had to rip the Eduard stuff off, re-sand, then paint it chromate green. While I was at it, I installed a cross brace out of 0.02" rod like I've seen in many pics of the real deal. Not all of these doors have the brace, but most do and it won't get in the way of the door operation. All you have to do is drill a few holes up to the metal sides then slip the rod in- no glue required. Here is the door painted with the large panel line gap filled and painted the correct color with the necessary steel sides, followed by a bit of weathering. I painted the cross brace interior green for contrast, just 'cause. The vertical control arm should be painted green as well, but I left it bare metal so that it would not scratch as it moved up and down and had a smoother operation, as I did with the side panels..... For the oil cooler radiators, the Eduard PE is superior to the kit parts as shown below. No worries about Eduard brass (on left) vs. steel for this part.... Unfortunately, when they are installed on a green background, they only look so-so. I used Alclad gun metal to get this dark look.... To make them look more realistic, I added some soda can aluminum to the back and voila! A lot better now.... The Eduard frames for the coolant radiators are really nice, so I painted them aluminum to contrast with the radiator, just like the real deal. The rad was first painted Alclad aluminum as well, followed by gun metal sprayed at an angle to retain a little of the aluminum color in each tiny square of the rad. It turned out real well I think..... The front.... And the rear...... Make sure you sand the brass parts flush at the top or they will crush when you add the top part of the assembly! Here it is with everything put together. You can see how that oil cooler rad at the top really stands out now with the aluminum backing, although the little door doesn't open as much as I'd like.... Dry fitted into the fuselage, everything comes together. Here the doors are open..... Now closed in a perfect fit..... Edited September 21, 2012 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted September 21, 2012 Author Share Posted September 21, 2012 (edited) A few more angles.... Too bad once you install the front intake, most of this detail will be lost. Bring on the contest judge flashlights! Now some modeling tips that I'd like to share. For many of you these tips are old news, but I'm often shocked how a few master modelers that I know had no idea that these items existed. First tip is to buy these Microbrushes. They come in a variety of sizes and I use them a LOT, to: - Brush crap and dust off the model - Apply solvents or CA accelerator - Apply and remove weathering washes - Apply weathering pastels - Apply glue when you need lots of it - Clean my air brush interior parts And the best part is that when the brush is tired or contaminated with dried glue or paint, I pluck the brush end off and use it like a plastic toothpick to apply CA and other glues. I also use the little plastic sticks to glue parts to for painting small parts and they are great stir sticks that won't melt with lacquer thinner. If you aren't using them yet, BUY THEM!...... The other modeling item that I just learned about 8 months ago is the UMM sanding sticks by master modeler John Vojtech. They come in a variety of grits and come with a rigid plastic core to keep them stiff. They are terrific at sanding those hard to reach spots and those little curved tips get into the tightest spots you could never sand before. The Tamiya P-51D kit is fantastic, but almost every part is full of seam or pin marks so you need sanding sticks like this to make your clean-up a lot easier. Again, BUY THEM!...... Now a little "invention" of my own, although it's so simple I'm sure that others are doing the same thing right now. I use MM enamels paints almost exclusively with almost no spray problems, but now that I'm using a lot more lacquers I've noticed that my air brush is sputtering a lot more than usual, occasionally creating a real mess that's hard to repair. The reason? Fast drying lacquer paint creates a lot of hard crap on the lip of the jar and other areas that get into your air brush. In order to get the paint into the air brush and keep the crap out, you need a screen filter, but where do you get one that's fine enough? Metallic coffee filters! I just tear one apart and use it as a screen into a small funnel..... Then pour the gritty paint right in, which keeps all the crap out..... I then just toss it into my solvent pot for a minute and it comes out perfectly clean and ready for the next batch of paint. These coffee filters can also used for whenever very fine screens are required, like on the gun door of my F-4E build. Just the right size! Now on to the front of the fuselage again where I need to get some more parts together before I can put this baby together. Eduard PE in this case, really adds some nice detail. As you can see, I have to sand just about every part to get rid of pin marks and seam lines...... Thanks for checking in. Edited September 21, 2012 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 How is it you the Master of all, can mask something like this off. Inquiring minds want to know. Chuck you do some of the best work I have seen yet and I still cant see how you pull stuff like this off. The seam lines being filled and the masking that are sure to come is what I am most looking forward to. Great Job cant wait for the Fuse to be together. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Oh one other thing Mr. how do you get such an elegant glue join with the PE. I have tried needles and pins till I am blue in the face and all I get is crap coming out of the sides or a piece that comes off on my finger when I pull away. As always Chuck you are the Man and everyone loves the work you do keep up the great job and looking forward to more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Budman Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 Your work on the radiators really makes them pop but at the same time they look very realistic. Thanks for shareing the technique. I have to agree with you that there are several "mini kits" within this kit. I find that my patience lasts much better if I build this kit as a series of mini kits. ;) ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted September 21, 2012 Share Posted September 21, 2012 WOW, Im sorry that all I can say! Awestruck! Cant wait for the next one! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Santtu Pikkarainen Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Great work Chuck! I'm almost going to like propbirds.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nimrod77 Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Truly inspirational work Chuck. Do you have one of ZM's P-51's in the closet too? How would you rate ZM vs Tamiya? I have a plan to build this bird once I have the parts together... I Just need to get someone to draw me the nose art for it (oh and the tail number is wrong!!) :) Keep it coming Chuck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
geedubelyer Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Very neat work Chuck. Will you bother to fill inside the opening where the little plastic finger locates the metal stay in the larger radiator exhaust outlet or can you let that lie? :unsure: Knowing the importance that you place on competition is that particular seam visible on the finished article? If you do have to fill it, it looks like it will be a "bee-atch" to fill and sand in there..... :( Enjoy the fine weather on the fairways while it lasts, there'll be plenty of time during winter to tinker with your 'Stang. ;) Cheers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 (edited) Thanks Guys. Oh one other thing Mr. how do you get such an elegant glue join with the PE. I have tried needles and pins till I am blue in the face and all I get is crap coming out of the sides or a piece that comes off on my finger when I pull away. Well Josh, I wish I had an easy answer, but the truth is I have the same difficulties gluing fine PE bits to plastic as well. I have learned a few things though to make it a bit easier to do. First of all, don't use thin CA glue unless you don't need to move the part around for a second or two. Medium viscosity CA glue works for me, so I dab a small amount of glue on either the PE part or the plastic part where it's going to go, then carefully move it into position and press it down. Don't use too much glue and always have one of those Microbrushes above to wipe off the excess in a hurry. You usually only have a few seconds before you make a big mess. If you can work from the edge of the PE part and things won't show like on the radiators above, I place the PE part against the plastic then I apply thin CA glue with a Microbrush to the edge which gets sucked underneath the PE part by capillary action. This method works very well and you almost never have glue showing on the front, but forget about moving the PE part around if it isn't aligned perfectly to begin with. Truly inspirational work Chuck. Do you have one of ZM's P-51's in the closet too? How would you rate ZM vs Tamiya? No I don't, but thanks to "BIG"'s build of the ZM kit, I don't think I ever will. It seems that the ZM kit has sacrificed fine detail for lots of open panels, etc., but the huge panel line gaps are a deal killer for me. Check out the panel line just under the cockpit opening. That gap has to be over an inch at 1:1 scale. The other opened features of the kit do look nice, however, so maybe a bit of a kit-bash between the two kits is in order next time! Will you bother to fill inside the opening where the little plastic finger locates the metal stay in the larger radiator exhaust outlet or can you let that lie? :unsure: Knowing the importance that you place on competition is that particular seam visible on the finished article? If you do have to fill it, it looks like it will be a "bee-atch" to fill and sand in there..... :( Enjoy the fine weather on the fairways while it lasts, there 'll be plenty of time during winter to tinker with your 'Stang. ;) Cheers. Hi Guy! Yes, no sooner did I dry fit that little panel with finger insert into the opening I started to wonder if I should. I was recently a contest judge working under some very experienced judges and I learned what I pretty much already knew: Contest judging is all about mistakes as deductions, so accuracy only comes into play if you have two or more models that are pretty close to the same in terms of build quality. Using this example, if the finger is left alone unfilled, it is not a deduction because it's not an error. If, however, you were to fill it in and maybe left a very tiny putty or glue mark, it's a clear deduction, so the unaltered model wins, even if it's really inaccurate. Bottom line is that if you fill it in, it better be good!! :lol: If you follow the kit instructions and pop the rear door into the attachment pins after the fuselage halves are together, then attach the panel with the finger, fixing this slightly unsightly gap is, as you pointed out, is a real "bee-atch", because you can't get much in the way of access for sanding and painting in the small cavity . HOWEVER, when checking other alternatives for repairing this gap, I've found that I can attach the rear door and panel with the intake off the fuselage, allowing almost perfect access under the rear door as it is pushed forward out of the way. Once repaired, the rear door can be positioned so that the pins it attaches to are slid into the sides of the door instead. I'll show how in a subsequent post, although it's pretty straight forward. Speaking of not modeling while the good weather lasts, this is what I saw yesterday on a hike with my wife to Moraine Lake near Lake Louise, Alberta. The larch are in their full yellow color before the needles fall off: Moraine Lake isn't bad either! Photography was tough due to everything being backlit, so you go with the angles that are available to you..... Sorry for the "Copyright" signature, but I've had my photos stolen twice in the past for commercial purposes and I'm getting kind of tired of it. I'll take most of them down after a few days so that this thread is less polluted by non-build pics. Edited October 9, 2012 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trekracer20 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Great photos, Chuck! If you live anywhere near there, then it's almost a shame that you make models! What a beautiful area. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted September 24, 2012 Author Share Posted September 24, 2012 Great photos, Chuck! If you live anywhere near there, then it's almost a shame that you make models! What a beautiful area. Thanks. 2 hour drive from Calgary where I live. If you live in a cold climate like Canada, there has to be some reason to do so! :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
coneheadff Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 What a beautiful, peaceful place on earth!!!! WOW!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 (edited) I agree Chuck Its almost a shame that it gets as cold out up there as it does. I spent 2 years in Denali Pk Alaska and most of it was indoors. North of the border is such a beautiful majestic place. I truly want to live out my remaining years up there. Maybe someday soon. Those pictures really show your expertise in photography. No wonder people try to steal them. Keep up the great work Chuck. PS hope you don't mind me borrowing the bottom one for my desktop. That picture reminds me of Horseshoe Lake in Denali. Edited September 24, 2012 by Devilleader501 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Daddy Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Thanks for the memory, Chuck!! I worked with the Warden Service in Lake Louise from 1973-75 and was sent up to Morraine Lake in the fall of '75 to look for an overdue hiker. It was a snowy, foggy day and as I hiked up to the treeline, I passed through a stand of larch trees in full golden bloom, shrouded in fog and snow. There was a magical moment when the sun came through the clouds, shone through the larch needles, bounced off the snow on the ground and bathed me in an almost heavenly golden light. It literally stopped me in my tracks and I could do nothing but just look around me in amazement. Then just as suddenly, the clouds and fog rolled back in and the moment was over. To this day, it gives me chills to remember it. Thanks for posting those awesome pics and giving me such a great flashback! BD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted September 27, 2012 Author Share Posted September 27, 2012 (edited) Hey BD, glad I could be of some assistance! :P I know these non-modeling pics are likely a PITA for some to scroll through, so I'll take most of them down when I do my next update- this time with real plastic! Right now I'm plodding along with the major pipes that go into the front engine area. Like a lot of parts in this kit, they are FULL of seam lines and pin marks that are a pain to remove, but I'm also adding some really nice Eduard pipe clamp detail and other bits to the engine area. I'm also going to paint the exterior of the fuselage next to the engine, so that I can mask off everything when I get to painting the rest of the model rather than worry about over-spray inside. Once that is done, I'll button everything up with the fuselage halves glued together so that I can add the finishing touches to the engine wiring, etc.. At this stage I have to make some decisions on what magnets I'm going to be using and how I want the landing gear doors to look. I've decided that I'll have the wheels down permanently front and back, with the inner doors down as well. Although they are usually parked in the up position, I have plenty of pics to show that they were often down as well (including Thunder Bird), which will reveal a lot of detail I plan for this area in the future using a lot of Eduard bits. In the mean time, the weather is still great and the big rainbow trout should now be in my small "secret creek" to feed on Kokanee salmon eggs. I'm afraid my progress will continue to be slow until the snow flies, which will be soon enough! Edited September 27, 2012 by chuck540z3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Canuck63 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Getting better and better! And thanks for the pictures...they bring back old,cherished memories that will never fade! :wub: Cheers Lou Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted September 29, 2012 Share Posted September 29, 2012 Beautiful hiking there, Chuck! I just showed them to my wife, we need to head there some time. Mustang is also coming along great Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Budman Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Man, you got a really good write up on your F-4EJ in FSM. Beautiful work as always. I may have to go over to the dark side and build one of these. Nice going chuck... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Anders_Isaksson Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 (edited) Just get those Barracuda parts and be done with it Buddy! You won't be sorry! Ok, Chuck! :) Ordered all the Barracuda sets for the cockpit plus the HGW seatbelt set. Still no sign of the Tamiya P-51 but hope to get it this week. Also, thanks for sharing the scenery photos - just beautiful! Edited October 1, 2012 by Anders_Isaksson Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tonal Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 It's always a treat to see a master at what he does best, and sharing those awesome photos of the Canadian wildlife is also a treat, I'll have to show these to my wife as well. When I get back to modeling your skills are teaching moments, thank you for sharing. Peace Tonal 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.