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Monogram 1/48 "Miller SNJ" -- FINISHED


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I've got three boxings of this plastic. The "earliest" I have is the present subject, originally released in 1983.

snj-begin0.jpg

 

I'll build the plastic OOB. I'm ambivalent about the decals. I also have the USAAF and USN markings of the most recent boxing as well as an Iliad sheet with USAAF, RAF, USN, and IDF markings if I decide it isn't Miller time...

snj-begin1.jpg

 

Here's the Box O' Bits

snj-begin2.jpg

 

Just have to love the fabric and rivet detail. Depending on the required filing and filing, the rivets may disappear.

snj-begin3.jpg

 

Somebody should be flogged for this. Hey, at least I know this box was no earlier than 2001, which bodes well for Miller time.

snj-begin4.jpg

 

 

Edited by dnl42
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The cockpit is very green, even with the detail painting. The parts have been keyed so that's it's well nigh impossible to misassemble the cockpit.

snj-cockpit2.jpg

 

I was looking in my AM stash for seat belts when I found I had some PE seats and buckles. They look a lot closer to the prototypes than the above, so this won't be quite an OOB build after all...

snj-cockpit1.jpg

 

 

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1 hour ago, dnl42 said:

The cockpit is very green, even with the detail painting. The parts have been keyed so that's it's well nigh impossible to misassemble the cockpit.

snj-cockpit2.jpg

 

 

Boy that brings back some memories...long time ago I borrowed a modelling buddy's copy of the kit (even that boxing) and used it as a reference to scratch duplicate that cockpit in a Heller 1/72 kit. However even with an open vacuform canopy you couldn't see much when it was done :doh: 

Edited by RCAFFAN
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The cockpit is quite nice considering this is an '83 kit. Those Lion Roar PE seats built up nicely. The "P-51" seat looked good for the front and another looked right for the rear seat. After folding and assembling the seats, I made up seat mounts to match the kit versions, accounting for the much thinner seat bottoms. I decided to use Dull Dark Green for the seats per some P-51 practice. I used WEM's Dull Dark Green enamel, not my usual Mr Color lacquer, so I'll need to wait for the seats to dry fully before I add the seat belts.. 

 

snj-cockpit3.jpg

 

And the fuselage is together and being filled & filed. 

snj-cockpit4.jpg

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Exhaust collector and flying surfaces mounted; this bit is ready for the paint shop. I painted the wheel wells and the wing undersides in the way of the flaps interior green per what I believe was normal NAA practice early on. Still need to do the engine.

 

snj-airframe.jpg

Edited by dnl42
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I have to admit, I was quite surprised by the kit. The detail and engineering are generally quite nice. I've built some much newer kits with far less cockpit detail. There hasn't been a lot of filler. I did need to add some plastic strips between the fuselage and wing to better align the two assemblies.

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It's a little tough to see in the photo, but the rear canopy just doesn't fit--it's way too narrow. I ordered a vac canopy from Squadron to replace the original parts. It is scheduled to arrive on Monday. 

snj-canopy-misfit.jpg

 

With that on hold, I painted the engine semi-gloss black (C92), the center engine gray (C339), and dry-brushed Warpaints Shining Silver. The disc behind the cylinders was painted flat black. The engine bits behind the plate, which will never been seen again, were painted gray and dry-brushed with Shining Silver

snj-engine.jpg

 

And the prop. This was, without doubt, the most complicated prop I've done. Red, white, and blue tips and aluminum blade front surface, aluminum hub, yellow tips and black blade rear surface. After priming with my usual thinned Mr Surfacer, I sprayed the tips with Mr White Base, then gloss white (C1) on the front and yellow (C329) on the rear. Then red (C327) front tips and blue (C328) front inner band. I masked the complete tips and painted the rest of the prop semi-gloss black (C92). I then wrapped the blades with Parafilm M and painted the hub Alclad Aluminum. I finally unwrapped the blades and painted the blade front Aluminum . Whew! 

snj-props0.jpg snj-props1.jpg

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Dang! Squadron and the USPS are on the ball. I ordered the vac canopies from Squadron on Friday morning--first order from them in years. I just received it this morning!

 

It looks quite nice and definitely fixes the width issue. Will start working on this tonight. Of course, I need to redo the masking. :bandhead2:

snj-vac-canopy0.jpg

Edited by dnl42
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Thanks!

 

I tried to get that rear to work. Thought about just gluing it in place and doing some shaping, but it just wouldn't have worked. The front canopy had a good width, but it wasn't quite long enough, that is, it didn't make it all the way down to the rails. The only way it would have been just OK would be to leave the two sliding sections off. That was one of the intended configurations to show both canopies "open".

 

The vac formed will be better. They'll fit, and I can show the 2 sliding section all stacked in the center. That will be a cool effect!

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The canopy sections are cut apart, but not quite finished. I need to separate the front fixed and sliding parts, and then clean up all the edges.

snj-vac-canopy1.jpg

I do like the way the center sections will all stack!

 

Also fixed up the tires. The "tread" didn't cross the center, so I fixed the missing middle with my JLC. 

snj-wheels.jpg

Edited by dnl42
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  • 3 weeks later...

Flaps and MLG are on, so I'm now working on the decals. Tried the stabilizer decals 1st, to see how they've held up. They're a bit sloppy with a lot of adhesive. These are wrap-around decals in 2 parts. It appears I need to install the lower surface 1st and then the upper decals, which wraps around the leading edge and overlaps the lower decals. The wings are the same way, so I'm glad I figured this out on the smaller decals, first. Also, the MSI Micro Set is usually fairly mild, but it's very aggressive on these decals! So much so, that they substantially wrinkled soon after I applied the Micro Set. But, an hour later and they've smoothed out a lot. Hopefully, they'll continue to smooth out.

snj-decal0.jpg

Edited by dnl42
s/Flags/Flaps/
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