AX 365 Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Greetings moderators and fellow GB participants. Thanks for letting me play. Here's my entry to this GB. I started it yesterday (15 Sep) after finishing off my Lancaster in the Big Plane / Small Scale GB. I've only built a handful of Tamiya kits previously (Lancaster, Dornier Pfeil, Me-262 and Corsair - all 48th and a pair of 35th scale Tiger tanks). All those kits went together very easily and without much muss or fuss. So far, I think this one will go together easier and better than those noted above. This kit will be straight out of the box, including decals. No aftermarket whatsoever. I'll be using EZ Masks for the glass parts. That's it. Paints will be Model Master enamels. Paint call outs on the instructions are for Tamiya paints. Go figure. Should be pretty simple though; interior green, black, copper, grey and silver. I plan to paint the exterior gloss black to facilitate good decal adhesion. I'll then apply Model Master Dull Coat once the decals have set and dried. Here's the box top, decals and EZ Masks. The contents of the box are moulded in black plastic. And some progress shots. Most of the wings have been glued together as have the vertical and horizontal stabilizers. The horizontal stabilizers have a very pronounced dihedral and Tamiya has moulded the parts so there is no guess work. The kit is moulded so that the pilot's and radar operator's entry hatches can swivel open and closed. I have opted to model them in the closed position. Here's the pilot's hatch glued closed. Next step is to prime, with light grey, the areas that will be RAF Interior Green. Thanks for looking in. I'll post more photos as I move along. As usual, comments and constructive criticism is always in order. Play well everyone! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Looking good so far. I have built the anti shipping version of this kit and it goes together super easily. Nothing major sticks out in my memory. Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CorsairMan Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 I did a tan and brown finish on my beaufighter - went together beautifully. The cockpit is a beaut OOB. And the box I had contained a lot of various parts to do a lot of different variants. Cool model and I still have one untouched in the stash. The only issue was the crappy decals but I think the previous owner left them out tooooo long. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
worldslaziestbusker Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I love that airframe. I love that kit. I've built two and have ideas for more. I look forward to following your progress. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Banana11000 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Looks great! I love the paint scheme. Also, how did you get the clear parts to look so damn good? What's your secret? Cheers, Colin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Friends, Thanks for your support, comments and insight. CM - your model is fantastic. Nicely finished. I managed to do a fair but yesterday. I sprayed the light grey primer yesterday morning and then sprayed the interior green yesterday afternoon. After the interior green dried for a few hours, I painted the cockpit parts gloss black and let them dry overnight. First thing this morning, I gave the interior green a bit of a wash to knock down the brightness. I then applied a drybrushed aluminum on select areas. I used the decal seatbelt harnesses. Remember; OOB. Not as nice as etched or scratched belts but better than a kick in the butt with a frozen boot. I then finished assembling the flight deck. After things dried for a couple of hours, I installed the flight deck into the fuselage and glued the fuselage halves together. No glue required for the flight deck. It just fell into place and the two fuselage halves keep the piece in place with no rattling around. With any luck, there should be no fuselage seams to fill and sand. It looks like I'll merely have to scrape the joint clean and give a quick run with a 2000 grit pad. I've also masked the main canopy glass with the EZ Masks. So far, I am very impressed with the way this kit is going together. Photos of what's been done since my first post. Thin vinyl EZ Masks and canopy glass Painted fuselage innards, assembled and installed flight deck Cockpit and seams Once the seams have cured, I'll clean up the exterior of the fuselage to prepare for the light grey primer. On looking at the instructions, it would appear that I can assemble the landing gear bays and struts and leave them out of the wings until after painting the exterior. Coolio! That's it for now. As usual, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome. Thanks for looking in. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CorsairMan Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 The interior: I found that once it was all buttoned up - its pretty much impossible to see anything behind the pilot seat! The dome of the gunner does not allow for an easy peek inside. Question for you: what is the best way to remove the ez masks once you are finished painting? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted September 18, 2015 Author Share Posted September 18, 2015 The interior: I found that once it was all buttoned up - its pretty much impossible to see anything behind the pilot seat! The dome of the gunner does not allow for an easy peek inside. Question for you: what is the best way to remove the ez masks once you are finished painting? CM - I found that out when I glued the fuselage together last evening. Oh well... At least the bits you can see have a wash to tone it down a bit. As for the EZ Masks, I simply use a new #11 blade and lightly score the paint at the frame / mask edge. I then use a toothpick to lift up one of the corners and slowly remove the mask. No photos but I got the wings completely assembled last night and I have glued one of the landing gear assemblies together. More work today and more photos when a bit more progress has been accomplished. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 No new photos yet but I'm almost done. I got into such a groove while off last week that I just built and painted and didn't take any photos. Sorry. The only thing left to do is paint the wingtip lights. I used the kit decals (OOB remember) and they went on really nicely. They were sturdy without being overly thick. They moved around quite nicely on the gloss paint and settled down well with a slight application of Solvaset. The rest of the assembly was amazing. Did I mention previously that I am amazed with the engineering / fit / finish of this kit? Yes, I did. For the most part, the thing that took the longest was masking the cowlings to spray the copper Alclad. With any luck, the wing lights will be dry by tomorrow so I can paint the lenses then. Once I get that done, I post some photos. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 More photos in the After Action Report thread. Thanks for letting me play. On to the Viet Nam War GB! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CorsairMan Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 One of the few perfect fitting kits out there....even for tamiya. I built one and I'll never get rid of the one still in the stash. Well done Mike! Hope to see it in person one of these days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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