oortiz10 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 (edited) I started a Testors 1/48 Mustang for this GB, but it's on hold while I finalize some "modern" paint and markings for it. In the meantime, I think I'll get in with an AM 1/48 A-36. ChernayaAkula threw out the idea of a Peashooter scheme for my Testors Mustang, but since I decided to use a modern pilot for that build, I figured the paint and markings should go in the same direction. However, ChernayaAkula got me thinking that a Mustang WOULD look cool painted up like a Peashooter. So, I figured why not build up a Mustang and paint it up like a Peashooter? And what better Mustang to paint in an old school scheme than an old school Mustang, like the A-36? Seeing as I had one in the stash, I decided this would be a good opportunity to blow off the dust and build it up. So, some time ago I bought a bunch of unbuilt kits off of a guy I found on craigslist. He said he was an armor guy and was selling off his aircraft kits. All the kit boxes were opened but all the bags were sealed, except for one. This AM A-36 had been started...and poorly. Some of the interior had been glued together and painted... The wings had been assembled, the nose and prop assembly had been built, and there were glue blobs, glue drips, and some kind of weird overspray all over the major parts... The nose and prop assembly had been put together, but it wasn't done very well. One of the prop blades was missing, the prop assembly had been glued to the nose, and a big chunk of one of the nose halves had been replaced with a putty blob... Looking at the state of things right out of the box, I knew I had my work cut out for me. con't... Edited August 12, 2013 by oortiz10 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oortiz10 Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 Part 2... After doing as much "disassembly" as I could and soaking the part in some SuperClean, I was able to get things to the point where I could start over. Fortunately, it seems that the paint on the parts was acrylic, and the degreaser made quick work of it... The first task was to repaint the interior... Since the focus of this build will be the exterior paint, I didn't spend a lot of time on the interior. Besides, the canopy's gonna be build closed, so much of the inside won't be visible anyway. I glued the fuselage halves together, then attached the wing and nose assemblies... Unfortunately, the nose assembly is a disaster. There are some serious gaps and a hole in the port side that looks like a result of having some plastic melted away... I'm gonna have to spend some time paying attention to the nose joint and the wing roots, in addition to figuring out how I'm going to reattach the spinner and prop assembly (that I had to literally saw off). The good thing is that since this kit's going to be covered in thick gloss paint, I don't have to worry as much about the seems as I would if I were building a NMF Mustang. Anyway, work on this one will continue while I experiment with my other Mustang's paint. Feel free to drop you two cents in the bucket on your way out the door. Thanks for lookin'! Stay tuned! -O Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hornet97 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Double post gone, looks good by the way. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 (edited) <...> ChernayaAkula threw out the idea of a Peashooter scheme for my Testors Mustang, but since I decided to use a modern pilot for that build, I figured the paint and markings should go in the same direction. However, ChernayaAkula got me thinking that a Mustang WOULD look cool painted up like a Peashooter. So, I figured why not build up a Mustang and paint it up like a Peashooter? <...> *cue-evil-laughter* It's going to look great, I'm sure! Edited July 21, 2013 by ChernayaAkula Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oortiz10 Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 Listening to other people's hair-brained ideas...that's how I get myself into trouble! :P Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oortiz10 Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) OK everyone, I have an itsy-bitsy bit of progress to share. In an effort to get away from the seam and sanding on the fuselage, I decided to tackle the prop assembly. If you remember, the prop assembly was missing a prop blade and the whole thing was glued to the nose assembly. After I used my razor saw to cut it free, I had to figure out a way to replace or repair the missing blade. I decided it'd be better to just replace all three blades. So... I found a three bladed prop in my junk box. (I have no idea where it came from.) Then I had to "disassemble" (read: break apart) the spinner and prop assembly. The prop assembly consisted of three parts. The spinner, its base, and the prop. The props were molded as an insert that slid onto a shaft protruding from the spinner base. After getting the parts separated from each other, the first thing I did was cut off the two remaining prop blades. Once I did that, I drilled some countersunk holes into the prop blade insert. The holes were to accept the new prop blades. These were cut off the spare prop I had, and drilled out to accept some small diameter wire. This will allow me to rebuild the prop assembly with the original three parts, then slide the blades back into the spinner after assembly and painting. With the spinner problem solved, I rescribed it and decided to spray a little paint to see how things are looking. I also laid a little paint on the stabilizers to see how the color looked. This yellow is Testors' little square bottle yellow. I'm sure it's not accurate for a Peashooter scheme, but I'm making do with what I have. I'd always heard and read about how much people hated spraying yellow. Never knew why. I'd never sprayed large amounts of yellow before this (just prop tips), but now I know why people hate it so much. I'm not looking forward to spraying yellow on the fuselage and wings. Anyway, thanks for looking. Feel free to drop you two cents in the bucket on your way out. Cheers! -O Edited July 31, 2013 by oortiz10 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oortiz10 Posted August 5, 2013 Author Share Posted August 5, 2013 I officially hate spraying yellow. -O Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted August 5, 2013 Share Posted August 5, 2013 What's the problem? Opacity? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oortiz10 Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 What's the problem? Opacity? Pretty much. I'm even spraying it over a light colored primer. I'm just having problems with coverage and getting the paint to lay down smoothly. It's coming along... -O Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oortiz10 Posted August 12, 2013 Author Share Posted August 12, 2013 While I'm still working on getting the fuse and wings' paint to a point I'm happy with, I thought I'd play with laying a second color on the spinner and stabilizers. Here's where they're at: Unfortunately I didn't get perfect arches. There are some minor glitches in the paint. The masks weren't as cleanly cut as I would've liked, and some paint lifted off when the masks were removed. Oh well, I'm not trying to win any contests here. I can live with it. Tell me what you think. Feel free to share your thoughts or criticisms. Thanks for lookin'! -O Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hornet97 Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 Looks really good man. 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.