Dutch Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 @ Steve, Beautiful work thus far. You really make it come alive with careful and steady progress. Quick question: Are the resin bits from the Hasegawa boxing, or are they from another aftermarket producer? I only ask, because I want to build a NOAA WP-3D using the Hasegawa JMSDF UP-3C boxing (for the nose boom) with LSM EP-3E parts. I know that I will still have to scratch the tail radome, various antennae and the wing stores, but hope to get a good start with the kit and LSM set. Keep up the terrific work! @ Brother Ray, Terrific work on your AP-3C as well. I left you a note on SCM. I missed the build thread because I have pretty much dropped Britmodeler as I cannot keep up. Between ARC Forum, SCM, and AirlinerCafe I have all I can handle. Occasionally, I check in with 144kampgruppe forum for small scale stuff. You have quite the Lockheed Australia plant going down under! Kind regards, Dutch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 Thanks Trojan Thunder, very much appreciated. Very kind Dutch thanks, yes the resin parts are from the Hasegawa kit. Pretty nice pieces whoever made them for Hasegawa. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted June 15, 2023 Author Share Posted June 15, 2023 Since I'll be using E-Z Line for the antenna wires I watched some videos on how to use it. A good strong connection point is recommended so, I added some small brass wire connections, at certain areas of the fuselage, where the antennas will connect. The same will be done for the top front area of the tail and the edge of each horizontal stab with small, straight pieces. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted June 15, 2023 Share Posted June 15, 2023 On 6/13/2023 at 11:55 AM, Dutch said: @ Steve, Beautiful work thus far. You really make it come alive with careful and steady progress. Quick question: Are the resin bits from the Hasegawa boxing, or are they from another aftermarket producer? I only ask, because I want to build a NOAA WP-3D using the Hasegawa JMSDF UP-3C boxing (for the nose boom) with LSM EP-3E parts. I know that I will still have to scratch the tail radome, various antennae and the wing stores, but hope to get a good start with the kit and LSM set. Keep up the terrific work! @ Brother Ray, Terrific work on your AP-3C as well. I left you a note on SCM. I missed the build thread because I have pretty much dropped Britmodeler as I cannot keep up. Between ARC Forum, SCM, and AirlinerCafe I have all I can handle. Occasionally, I check in with 144kampgruppe forum for small scale stuff. You have quite the Lockheed Australia plant going down under! Kind regards, Dutch My son took a bunch of photos of the NOAA WP-3, I can put them on a disk and send them to you if you want. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted June 16, 2023 Share Posted June 16, 2023 Brett, I would love a set of NOAA WP-3D photos. Do you still have my address? (ARC says you are not accepting PMs.) Kind regards, Dutch Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Da SWO Posted June 17, 2023 Share Posted June 17, 2023 22 hours ago, Dutch said: Brett, I would love a set of NOAA WP-3D photos. Do you still have my address? (ARC says you are not accepting PMs.) Kind regards, Dutch My box was at 102%, I cleaned out old messages, try again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cpoud117 Posted June 19, 2023 Share Posted June 19, 2023 This is mighty impressive! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 On 6/19/2023 at 3:51 AM, cpoud117 said: This is mighty impressive! Thank you. Progress update for the EP-3. I painted the backsides of the various fuselage windows. The three white ones mimic the ones with the shades drawn. The windows were installed using some Testors clear parts cement and, they fit perfectly. Getting closer to putting this fuselage in primer. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted June 26, 2023 Author Share Posted June 26, 2023 Progressing along on the EP-3. The fuselage is almost ready for primer, I still need to make the attachment points, up near the fin cap, for the antenna cables. If anyone has a good closeup of this area please share. The green stuff on the windows is Mr. Masking SOL R, great stuff. The "bodyworked" areas on the wings got some primer to see how they looked and, just as I thought, they will need more attention. I had to sand away a small amount of the raised details around them, on the underside of the wings, to get things to blend in better but, it's on the bottom and won't be seen a lot. Another coat of primer and we'll see how things look then. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RichB63 Posted June 26, 2023 Share Posted June 26, 2023 Fun watching this come together…I love all the extra detailing. 👍 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted June 27, 2023 Author Share Posted June 27, 2023 19 hours ago, RichB63 said: Fun watching this come together…I love all the extra detailing. 👍 Thanks very much Rich. Managed to get some primer sprayed on a few new things while other areas got re-primed to check the "worked" areas. Some will need further attention especially the belly radome, it has a ton of very small pinholes in it. Anyhow, some progress made. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted June 29, 2023 Author Share Posted June 29, 2023 Added the HF aerial cable connections to the tail, again probably too big for the scale but, I couldn't go smaller and hold / work on them. Because I screwed up big time, I spent a lot of yesterday wet sanding the sonobuoy area. To do this again, I would have attached the panel, primed it, wet sanded the area clean, then when everything looked good, added the antennas. Not really sure what I was thinking but, I believe things are finally coming together. This time everything will get a coat of primer, not just certain areas. Thanks to all those who are following along. Steve Top seam sanded in nicely. Some small imperfections on the AMT-50 dome to address yet. I had to sand away more details than I would have liked to on the underside of the wings where I closed up the pylon openings but, now these areas are much flatter and, since everything will be glossy any imperfection will be amplified. The horizontal stabs had a opening on the underside to add a antenna, which is on the P-3C. The EP-3's did not have these so they had to be filled in. The resin parts that Hasegawa included in the kit are nice however, they need to be sanded really well before you prime them, I used 320 grit. All the resin got a soapy bath but, the belly radome and fairing were not thoroughly sanded. When I started to wet sand them the primer wouldn't feather, it just came right off. So I sanded all the primer off and primed them again, much better this time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted June 30, 2023 Author Share Posted June 30, 2023 Some EP-3 progress for today. I managed to get the wings and the other parts primed this morning. I'm pretty happy with how everything looks so far except for the belly radome. There are still some tiny pinholes that will need filling, again 😡. Hopefully this will be the last go around with it. The engine nacelle's look much better than I thought they would, everything seems to have blended in nicely. The fuselage didn't get primed because I had to re-apply the Mr. Masking Sol R to some of the windows because it peeled off during the wet sanding process. I've decided to paint the wings and fuselage separate, like AWACS-RESIN did with his E-6B Mercury build. This will allow for a more cleaner paint job for those "tight areas". The wings fit really well to the fuselage so the plan is to paint, gloss coat, decal ( which Caracal is supposed to be doing later this year 🤞🤞 ), gloss coat then I'll attach the wings and blend everything in at that point, that's the plan anyway. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday weekend. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 5, 2023 Author Share Posted July 5, 2023 The fuselage, like the wings, got some coats of Mr. Primer Surfacer 1000 sprayed onto the "body worked" areas. This was my first time using this stuff and, it's really a great product, just like their primers. It fills in all those minor imperfections really well. I feel like I'm back at the body shop prepping a car for paint. I had a few trouble spots on the AMT-50 Antenna Dome so I applied some Tamiya White putty. Once that dries I'll sand the entire fuselage and hopefully put on the final primer coat before paint 🤞. We're slowly getting there. Steve The underside, with all the filling and sanding for the sonobuoy holes, looks much better now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted July 6, 2023 Share Posted July 6, 2023 Wow, Steve! You are making tremendous progress of late. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 6, 2023 Author Share Posted July 6, 2023 17 hours ago, Dutch said: Wow, Steve! You are making tremendous progress of late. Thanks very much Dutch, very much appreciated. The fuselage is finally in primer and, everything looks ok. Next up will be some color. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 7, 2023 Author Share Posted July 7, 2023 Managed to get the Gloss Gull Gray on most of the parts today. I found two minor imperfections around the nose area which will need attention before I can spray the fuselage. She's getting there. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RichB63 Posted July 10, 2023 Share Posted July 10, 2023 Looks great Steve! What kind of paint are you using for the Gloss Gull Gray? Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, RichB63 said: Looks great Steve! What kind of paint are you using for the Gloss Gull Gray? Rich Thanks very much Rich. The GGG is Model Master Enamel. Another small step closer to the finish line, I got the Gloss Gull Gray applied to the fuselage this afternoon. I'll give this a couple of days to dry really well before I mask off for the white. No sense of rushing things at this point. Steve Edited July 10, 2023 by A-10 LOADER Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted July 11, 2023 Share Posted July 11, 2023 Wooo! Alright, man this is looking real good. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 23 hours ago, 82Whitey51 said: Wooo! Alright, man this is looking real good. Thanks very much Whitey. You've been a huge help and that is greatly appreciated. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hoops Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 (edited) On 5/16/2023 at 1:41 PM, A-10 LOADER said: Still chugging along on her when I get time. I built up the engine nacelles and decided to close up the small exhausts on the underside of them. In some pics they're open, others closed. Some careful filing and some .030" plastic did the trick, they still need to be sanded. Those are the oil cooler doors, manually controlled by the flight engineer. At low altitude/high temperatures they are all the way open, but if the aircraft is up at altitude or in cold temperatures they are all the way closed to keep the oil temperature in the normal operating range. Somewhere in between? The doors will be somewhere in between. There is a "Oil Hot" annunciator light which may come on if the FE isn't on top of managing the door position. If that illuminates on a junior FE, he usually owes the senior FE a beer. Edited July 12, 2023 by Hoops Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 12, 2023 Author Share Posted July 12, 2023 7 minutes ago, Hoops said: Those are the oil cooler doors, manually controlled by the flight engineer. At low altitude/high temperatures they are all the way open, but if the aircraft is up at altitude or in cold temperatures they are all the way closed to keep the oil temperature in the normal operating range. Somewhere in between? The doors will be somewhere in between. There is a "Oil Hot" annunciator light which may come on if the FE isn't on top of managing the door position. If that illuminates on a junior FE, he usually owes the senior FE a beer. Thanks for the info Hoops. Since she'll be in flight, at altitude, I guess I'm good. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted July 12, 2023 Share Posted July 12, 2023 4 hours ago, Hoops said: Those are the oil cooler doors, manually controlled by the flight engineer. At low altitude/high temperatures they are all the way open, but if the aircraft is up at altitude or in cold temperatures they are all the way closed to keep the oil temperature in the normal operating range. Somewhere in between? The doors will be somewhere in between. There is a "Oil Hot" annunciator light which may come on if the FE isn't on top of managing the door position. If that illuminates on a junior FE, he usually owes the senior FE a beer. Such an a$$ pain maintaining oil temp operating in the desert and Africa, Jacksonville in summer was no picnic either. These birds loved the cold. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted July 21, 2023 Author Share Posted July 21, 2023 (edited) After lot's of masking, I managed to get the gloss white on the fuselage this morning, now she's starting to come together. The prop spinners and, the whip antenna, got a coat of flat black. Work still continues on making the "spinning props" look acceptable. Steve Edited July 21, 2023 by A-10 LOADER Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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