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PacAir 3! I would be remiss if I didn't get in on this one :thumbsup:

I've started building all the Japanese aircraft in the stash in January and here's another excuse to build this one:

SantaCruz001.jpg

Picked this one up along with a Hi-Grade Grace at a shop in Fond du Lac some years ago. I painted the interior bits on the sprues a couple months ago and became distracted by a couple other PacAir builds. They're too far along for participation here (and scheduled to be documented elsewhere) so when they're done I'll get back to this:

SantaCruz003.jpg

The kit comes with the original release decals for a Pearl Harbor Val. Seems model and decal manufacturers think the Val (and the Kate, for that matter) only served at Pearl Harbor as there are few if any at all alternatives available. I finished up a Santa Cruz Shokaku Kate just before starting this and this will also be Santa Cruz-likely Shokaku (as depicted on the profile) but maybe Junyo:

SantaCruz004.jpg

The photo etch set, as provided by Hasegawa:

SantaCruz005.jpg

Hopefully I can tear into this in a few weeks.

Ken

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  • 1 month later...

Well, while the pile headed to the paint booth starts to grow I decided to get started with this one. Construction begins with the...wings (because I want to). They were molded with the cutaway lines inside the wings and it wasn't too tough to cut them apart with repeated scribes from the #11 blade:

D3A003.jpg

Also picking out colored bits on the cockpit sidewalls, so some construction started with the cockpit ;)

Ken

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  • 1 month later...

This finally made it downstage center on the bench last weekend and the majority of assembly is done:

D3A005.jpg

The photo etch cowl flaps were a nice addition as they're done open. Cutting the old ones off the cowl with a plastic cutter left just a bit of a shelf to glue them to. The wing folds were pretty easy work but it doesn't look like there's much by way of a 'hinge' on this to hold them in place so this will either be rather delicate when it's done, or I'll have to find something of substance to replace/reinforce them with.

'bout time for some color, I think.

Ken

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Paint is underway. I started with the ID stripes and drift lines. I haven't seen a photo of a Val with the drift lines on it yet but since it seems most if not all contemporary 2 (or 3) seaters had them I went with it:

D3A012.jpg

I'm going with a Junyo Val, who pasted the Enterprise pretty good at Santa Cruz. Not a very often covered subject either.

Ken

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  • 1 month later...

Final assembly is underway:

D3A015.jpg

D3A014.jpg

It fought me, too and I can't hold the kit responsible for most of it. One issue I did come across is the wing fold hinges. The Hasegawa way was to make legs come off the photo etch inner wing structure, but they didn't last long. One broke off right away and another held out for about a week. I cut the other two off with the intent of coming up with something else, which is pretty much where I'm at with final. That and the bomb, rear gun and research into the dye pods carried under the wings at Santa Cruz. I do rather like the photo etch cowl flaps.

The other issue was my bad. I've been trying to find a suitable replacement for the Testors Glosscoat that I usually use for decal work-tough stuff to find in my neighborhood. I've been hoping to find a suitable automotive lacquer clear I can use and I picked up a quart of Duplicolor clear at a local O'Reillys parts store. But it's pre-reduced and as it turns out, too hot. It lifted in a whole lot of places (look in front of the left wing insignia near the fold to see a spot I missed) and I had to do a lot of sanding and respraying. I let the can sit open in the cupboard for a few days to dry off, but that made it too dry and it gave me stringy overspray: I had to spray a section and let it flash off enough to run a tack rag over the rest before I moved on. I got through it, but I still look for a suitable substitute. Meanwhile the local R/C shop is ordering me some of the Testors stuff and as I'm off to the west coast next weekend I'll take opportunities to scare up some more on the way.

Hopefully I'll get it off the bench this weekend.

Ken

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Can't stand the stuff. Runs, pooling, dry spots, takes forever to dry, sucks all the dust out of the air. Never have any of those issues with lacquer and I'm rarely if ever desperate enough to use future.

Ken

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  • 3 weeks later...

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