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1/48 Italeri A-36 Apache


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I've pulled my A-36 out of the stash for this GB.  Although it's in an Italeri box, it's the Accurate Miniatures kit, which is very nice.  I've built two other versions of the Accurate Miniatures early (Allison-engine) P-51: the F-6A recon version and the P-51A.  I enjoyed both builds but I pitched both in the Great Model Purge of 2015 (i.e. I moved from Iowa to Indiana, and was only able to move about half of the 260 built models I had at the time).

 

Standard "first pictures" of what I'm starting this weekend:

 

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The Italeri kit comes with some very nice decal options: three in USAAF service (based in Corsica 1944, Algeria 1943, and Burma 1944) and one in RAF service (based in Italy 1943).

 

Mike

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ok, so it's been a while since I've been online!  In the meantime I made quite a bit of progress on this.

 

The instrument panel paints up nicely.  The kit comes with decals for it, but I chose to paint and drybrush the details.  The dials each got a dab of clear gloss to represent glass.

 

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Cockpit is rather nicely detailed. 

 

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Inserting everything before closing up the fuselage is tricky.  There are a lot of parts, so keeping everything level and aligned is challenging.  I went part by part, with a small bit of glue to hold the part while I checked alignment with the other fuselage half before fully cementing the part.

 

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All closed up!

 

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Assembling the wings.  They need to be clamped so the lower wing part comes up to the top halves.

 

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All for now!

 

Mike

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Thanks Martin!  I got the wings and nose attached today...after a major screw-up where I attached the wings a bit too far forward.  I was concentrating on getting a good fit at the wing roots and not paying attention to anything else.  Luckily, a re-application of Tamiya Extra-Thin loosened everything up enough for me to slide the wings back into the correct position.  :rolleyes:

 

Once I made the correction, everything fit very well! 

 

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Mike

Edited by mlicari
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  • 2 weeks later...

Not a whole lot of progress over the past couple of weeks.  Just didn't have much time to spend at the bench...

 

As you can see, I had to take care of some sink marks on the top and bottom of the nose.  I don't remember these being an issue in the Accurate Miniatures versions that I built.  I also ran just a bit of putty down the wing roots.  But really, the kit goes together pretty well.

 

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Clear parts masked and attached!  Ready for paint!

 

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Mike

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16 hours ago, Silenoz said:

Looks good, and a sublime cockpit...Which neutral grey do you use, I use tamiya, but that's way to dark....

 

Thanks!  This has been a fun kit to work on.  I use MM Acryl paint with a few exceptions, so that's what this is.

 

Mike

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On 12/4/2016 at 11:20 PM, RKic said:

I'm loving it!

 

Back when AM made these kits, the IP was a clear part, and you could put a decal behind it. Is it solid plastic in this release?

 

It's still the clear part.  On the other two AM P-51s that I've built, the decal was better, in term of it all lining up with the dials and instruments.  The Italeri decal didn't match the facing of the instrument panel, but I think things look better painted anyway.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Back at this one!  I took a break from this Group Build to do the Hasegawa 1/48 Voyager satellite.  Not on-topic, but here's a couple of pics.  Took me about two and half weeks, and then was traveling over the holidays.

 

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Ok, back to the A-36!

 

Got the top coat of Olive Drab on, and the bombs assembled.  All fins were individual parts, which were a paint to align since there are no location aids.

 

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Landing gear next!


Mike

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  • 4 weeks later...

Done!  Final bits attached and painted.  Slight "chipping" done with a silver pencil and a bit of exhaust staining from some Tamiya weathering kits.

 

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Hope you like it!

Mike

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