falcon20driver Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Oh man, I'm jealous of this build! The big Cat is gonna be amazing when its finished. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 Thanks for your kind words falcon20driver. I hope when she is finished she will have met everyone's expectations. I'm hoping to have a new update this weekend. I am currently trying to finish up another project for a client ( 2 custom display stands for 2 1/18th Cats ). Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted March 30, 2015 Author Share Posted March 30, 2015 I wanted to post this update over the weekend but, came down with the flu. Still home today, we'll see about tomorrow. Today's update, over the weekend the forward nose section got mated to the main body. I had 2 helpers, thanks Buzz and Ed, to assist me. One person mixed the JB Weld 2 part epoxy for the nose section while the other mixed for the main body. We noted the time on the clock and worked accordingly. Everything went together without a hitch and now the two are one. I will now work on getting rid of the seam where they went together. The bottom seam gets covered mostly by the Phoenix pallets, which is good so, not much of that one is seen. The 2 antennas are not glued in yet I was just checking their fit. You can see I've moved the forward one, from it's original location, more towards the center of the spine as per my reference pics. The white pieces behind the RIO are pieces of cotton balls. I am plugging any openings I can to eliminate overspray from getting into the cockpit area. Besides getting rid of this seam, there are still a few items that will need to be addressed before I can start to prime her. I have some sink holes inside the lip of both intakes that will have to go away, I need to attach the in-flight refueling door, figure out a way to seal the main canopy so no overspray gets in, mask off the wingtip lights and the navigation lights and, plug any other openings to keep the overspray out. Thanks to all who still show interest in this project, til next time. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Keep it coming Steve. I NEED to see this project finished! Really top notch work. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 Will do Chuck and, thanks for the kind words. I too need to see this project finished. I've got a 1/48th A-6E TRAM that I need to get back to and finish as well. Now to go tackle that seam on the Tomcat's spine, pics to follow. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Go Steve Go! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 The seam on the spine is no more. A little gel super glue and about 10 minutes of sanding and everything blends together very well. I just need to slightly rescribe a panel line on each side and clean out some of the dust from the "panel fastener" detail. I'm very happy with how this all worked out. Now to address the sink holes inside the intakes. A little off topic but, keeping with the 1/18th Tomcat theme. These are two stands that I made for a client in Texas. I used my 154 jet as a test for the photos. He has 2 Tomcats, one is a VF-84 jet and the other is a VF-154. I wanted to try falcon20driver's idea for display bases so, I figured these would be a good test. My first time working with the resin epoxy. There are ALOT of hours into these things even though it may not look it. I think they came out really well and I can't wait to see his Cats displayed on them. Enjoy your weekend everyone, Happy Hoildays to those who celebrate and, thanks for still showing interest in this project. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted April 4, 2015 Author Share Posted April 4, 2015 Forgot to add this earlier. I got the scratchbuilt in-flight refueling door glued on. This door was made out of 0.10" sheet plastic and fills the void that was previously there. The door blends in nicely with the area now and, everything is the same height. Til next time ..... Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Wow!!!! Those are beautiful bases, Steve! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 The bases look amazing. I love the contrast of the colored squadron emblems on the wooden background. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Outstanding work!:D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Hello Steve, I hope you have recovered from the flu. This is just looking so good! Interesting the amount of planning and labor it takes to do a fuselarge assembly on a model this size. Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Crackerjazz, falcon20driver, Aigore and, Marcel111, thanks for all the kind words, they are very much appreciated. I'm still under the weather however. This flu just won't go away so, no work has been accomplished on the Tomcat. I need to get something accomplished so I can rekindel my interest in this build. I NEVER thought it would be this long of an endevour. Thanks to all of you who still show interest in this project. Enjoy your weekend. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 Greetings all, I'm gonna have to put this thread on the " back burner " for a while. My oldest son is away, at Lackland AFB for basic training and Tech school, and while he is away I've decided to redo his room for him. This will be a total gut job down to bare studs and roof rafters. This project will require all my attention and leave no time for the Big Cat. I WILL return to the Tomcat and ask for your patience while I tackel this project. Thanks all. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
falcon20driver Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Steve no worries. We'll be here when you get back to it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted June 30, 2015 Author Share Posted June 30, 2015 (edited) Thank you sir, much appreciated. Work on the room continues, about halfway finished but, still a lot to do. I will be making all custom trim for the room. The room has to be finished by August 18th when he returns. Steve Edited December 8, 2016 by A-10 LOADER Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Greetings all, Brief update for today. Work on my son's room is about 95% finished. I have a couple of pieces of trim to machine yet and the baseboards received their last coat of clear yesterday. They will be installed tomorrow. I've been itching to get back on the Tomcat so today I masked off the wing walk areas and sprayed them with the Rust-Oleum multicolored textured paint. This is a great idea, thanks Marcel and Chuck, it really looks the part. So I guess I'm officially back on the Big Cat, just not 100% quite yet but, progress anyway. I wish I had a bigger update for you all. Thanks to all who still are interested in this never ending project, til next time. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 I want to check all my "panel fastener" detail, scribing, etc. before primimg so I ordered the Tamiya panel line accent colors. My question is can I use my enamel paint over these or will there be some kind of reaction ?? Hopefully Chuck will see this and chime in, thanks boys. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 I want to check all my "panel fastener" detail, scribing, etc. before primimg so I ordered the Tamiya panel line accent colors. My question is can I use my enamel paint over these or will there be some kind of reaction ?? Hopefully Chuck will see this and chime in, thanks boys. Steve Looking really good Steve! Love those walkways. Yes, you can use the Tamiya wash before enamel, because it is enamel "paint" already. There is a warning that it may cause the plastic to become brittle, but that has never happened to me. Also, don't use it over your enamel paint job without an acrylic coat like Future, because it will eat the paint since it's mostly solvent. Cheers, Chuck Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jarda Hajecek Posted September 3, 2015 Share Posted September 3, 2015 This is one fine build! I have one JSI big cat in the stash. It is one of my future projects. Plans are big, but finding the time is a challenge. Please keep the posts coming. As Chuck already nioted, before you use any enamel based wash/weathering liquid, you must protect your base paintjob by a coat of acrylic gloss coat such as future or any acrylic clear gloss varnish. Make sure the gloss coat is well cured before applying the washes. (Generally for Future i wait 24-48 hours). If you are unsure about reaction, try this out on a scrap plastic or a test model if you have one. Cheers! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted September 4, 2015 Author Share Posted September 4, 2015 Great news, thanks Chuck for the quick reply, I knew I could count on you. Jarda, thanks for the kind words and showing an interest in this WIP. No water based paints used around here boys, I'm not sold on them. I prefer good ole laquer based products, I know they'll "bite" into the plastic and it's what I'm use to using. Kinda like if it ain't broke don't fix it kinda thing. Hopefully I'll have something worth posting in a few days. I know I say this all the time but, Thanks to everyone who still shows an interest in this project, I appreciate it alot. Enjoy your weekend all. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Good afternoon all, Today's update, I've been dying to try the Tamiya panel line wash I ordered so, the Big Cat got " washed." There are many hours of adding details, filling seams, adding seams, etc. and I wanted to see if it was all worth it or not. I have to admit I'm happy with how things look so far. I've never deleated seams or added so much surface detail to a model before especially since my scale normally is 1/48th. For starters I added the gun gas reinforcement plates around the gun gas exhaust ports. These were made with my punch set, to get the proper inside diameter hole and, .010" sheet plastic. The areas inside the plates should be opened up but, I didn't want to create more openings for overspray to enter the cockpit area. I may open them up once all the painting is done or, just paint them black, we'll see. BEFORE AFTER Next came the wash, this is my first time using this product and I like the way it works. Very handy for checking things before the primer stage, thanks Chuck plus, it's already mixed so there's no waste. It does stain the plastic and I can not get it off but, that dosen't matter because it will be covered by primer. Notice the scribing template, it's taped in place because I have to add the hinge detail for the "daily" and "weekly" doors that was lost during sanding. This thing has alot of surface detail to start with and everything I added I tried to match what was already there. With the wash applied everything really pops now. All that out of scale and horrible raised detail around the wingtip light and slime lights looks much better sanded down and rescribed with the panel fastener detail added IMO. So that's it for today. It may not seem like much but, it took quite a while to get to this stage and I'm happy with the effort so far. Thanks to all who are still interested in this WIP and for your support. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted September 14, 2015 Author Share Posted September 14, 2015 I wanted to share this as well. I received this in the mail the other day from a good friend of mine, Thanks Janos Carpenter !! You can never have enough reference material. For those of you who are old enough to remember the books put out by KOKU FAN, it's along that format. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Steve. That dark wash really shows off all your hard work and the results are stunning! I bet the wash revealed a boo-boo or two as well, which is why I use it all the time before painting. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted September 14, 2015 Share Posted September 14, 2015 Steve, it's all just looking so impressive, cannot wait to see more. Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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