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Hello,

I will build this baby in USN markings, although I am not sure which yet. I have the nice Authentic Decals markings sheet for Atlantic fleet birds but I would rather do it in VAW-115 markings if I can find them (hint ;)/>).

The wings will be straight as this is the first time I build this kit, the second one might be a bit fancier :)/>

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Arnaud

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Make sure you coat those decals before you use them. The other AD E-2 sheet feel apart on me.

Thanks for the tip, I have read similar stories on the internet but the schemes are so nice I wanted to take my chances :)

Arnaud

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Make sure you coat those decals before you use them. The other AD E-2 sheet feel apart on me.

Thanks for the tip, I have read similar stories on the internet but the schemes are so nice I wanted to take my chances :)/>

Arnaud

Gawd yes, give them a coat of Microscale Clear Decal Film before anything else. You'll have to trim your decals close after you do it, but at least the added film pretty much disappears on Future. I've been talking with Microscale about that liquid film, and they recommend that you thin it roughly 70-30 with 90% isopropyl alcohol to shoot it through an airbrush, and clean the airbrush with lacquer thinner.

I just noticed something about the 1/72 Pacific Fleet sheet, too: the back card shows VAW-115, but those markings aren't present on the sheet.

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Some progress :)/>/>

First, minor modification in the cockpit, inspired by this fantastic build. The seat cushions are too high, 2mm were removed. Left: Original seat with a line showing the actual upper limit of the cushion. Right the seat finished with the headrest (provided in the kit)

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Next the rotodome mount handles (antennae?) were re-done using 0.3mm wire. First, the molded parts were cut off, 0.3mm holes were drilled and finally the handles were glued in position using CA.

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It does not take that long and is a nice improvement. Upon checking again my references the wire should have been thinner. Oh well, next time...

Thanks for watching,

Arnaud

Edited by arnobiz
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  • 1 month later...

This build is moving forward! I have been away for a month but in the meantime I ordered small electric motors to make the propellers spin :)/> This is my first venture into the world of electronics, so far so good.

I ordered the motors from this chinese company on ebay. They are dirt cheap and delivery was fast (2 weeks from China to Austria). I simply connected them with a 1.5V LR06 battery and off they went. The main difficulty will be to align the motor shaft and the propeller so that the propeller spinner remains still (no vibrations) when the motor is on. In order to achieve this I ordered some brass tubing of the required diameters.

I'll post pictures as soon as I get the brass tubing!

I also requested a spare sheet from the hasegawa VAW-115 boxing and to my delight it arrived two weeks later in the post :) I will then build this Hawkeye as this bird:

web_060917-N-6106R-118.jpg

Arnaud

Edited by arnobiz
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  • 2 months later...

Wow it's been a while since I last posted! Some progress to report though :)

The engine intake were slightly improved, very much like the build I cited earlier.

Original part:

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Bit of 6mm ID platic tube inserted

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Transition smoothed out with putty and spare PE grill fitted to the lower intake:

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Result:

9686186459_41e0af0c61.jpg

Cheers,

Arnaud

Edited by arnobiz
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Next, the tinted windows. I tried to replicate the multicoloured reflections. For this I used Hasegawa's Hologram effect sheet. It is a very thin adhesive film, pretty tricky to use as it easily wraps onto itself but gives great results.

First, paint the main colour with the airbrush (mix of Tamiya smoke and clear yellow):

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Next, apply the film:

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The same procedure was followed for the overhead windows:

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Cheers,

Arnaud

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Then I turned my attention to the fuselage. The cockpit went together without fuss, not much will be visible after assembly so I did not do much there apart from adding the pilots.

I used the same approach as described here for the in-flight support.

In order to strengthen the joint I usually pour resin around the inner tubing. To avoid filling the entire fuselage I fitted inner walls in the fuselage halves:

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Fuselage halves assembled and resin poured. Some leakage around the inner walls but nothing too dramatic :) Note that the electric cables are stuck in the resin to make sure they don't move once assembly is complete!

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Cheers,

Arnaud

Edited by arnobiz
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This is coming along nicely! :thumbsup:

Have you decided the specific attitude you're going to place the aircraft in? The banking turn from the marking photo above? Or perhaps just after a catapult launch or coming in for a trap?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Quite a bit of progress recently, I want to meet the deadline!

Nose and canopy are now in place as are the engines nacelles.

The motors wires were soldered to the fuselage wires:

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And after electrical testing the wing was assembled to the fuselage:

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Small test just for pleasure :)/>

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All comments welcome,

Arnaud

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Thanks for the kind words guys!

Massive grey spraying operations have begun using Vallejo 46 ("Light blue grey") diluted with about 50% Future.

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Hopefully a couple more coats will be enough and the decalling operations will start soon :)/>

Arnaud

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Painting is basically over. Some touch-ups to do but I could not wait any longer to see the VAW-115 scheme so the most amusing part has started: decalling! :)/>

The Hasegawa decals are pretty thick and require large amounts of MicroSol but I'm so glad I got them that I won't complain ;)/>

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More coming soon, still on track to complete the GB on time!

Arnaud

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Hello there!

The build is now pretty much finished, I still had to weather the Hawkeye and complete the base. I'm not 100% happy with it but I really wanted to meet the GB's deadline and an imperfect build is better than an unfinished build :)/> I have way too many partially built aircraft in my closet...

The rigging was done with stretched sprue, glued with liquid cement and tensed up with a heated screwdriver.

Bad picture with the flash, I'll take better pics this week:

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Props spinning :)/>

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Cheers,

Arnaud

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Thanks! The base is pretty much complete. Here is the guts of the beast, very simple circuit, the battery is directly connected to the motors (mounted in series) with a switch.

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Spinning props :)

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The next step is to take pictures in daylight and post them in the GB gallery :)

Thanks for the support during this build, the first one I finish in over a year!

Arnaud

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