Mikeew Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Tonight I are been mostly scratchbuilding 1/32 WWII US seatbelts .... Seatbelts in place... Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engine assembled...no fewer than 40 parts make up this powerplant, its a model in itself! (not all parts shown in ths assembly) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PapaSmurf630 Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Great work so far, lovely job on those seatbelts. Are they scatchbuilt or eduard/etched? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nev Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Cor, lovely. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie Cheslo Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Those seatbelts are scratchbuilt???? I would swear they are PE. Wow! Mike, if you don't mind, could you explain how you made them? I am assuming the "material" of the belts is Tamiya masking tape, or the equivalent. What paint did you use? Also, how did you accomplish the buckles? That is just phenomenal work. That engine is going to be beautiful once painted up as well. I am really looking forward to seeing more progress on this one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AnthonyWan Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Glad to see you making this kit Mike Got one in the stash that i was going to sell...but I might reconsider after seeing your build Great job scratchbuilding those belts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mikeew Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share Posted March 11, 2007 (edited) Thanks for the feedback guys, its one of the first 1:32 builds I've done in a long while. Glad its up to scratch <_< Those seatbelts are scratchbuilt???? :o I would swear they are PE. Wow! Mike, if you don't mind, could you explain how you made them? I am assuming the "material" of the belts is Tamiya masking tape, or the equivalent. What paint did you use? Also, how did you accomplish the buckles? That is just phenomenal work.That engine is going to be beautiful once painted up as well. I am really looking forward to seeing more progress on this one. :lol: :) Jamie, The buckles and harnesses are scratchbuilt, made from wire and foil. The foil I used is from old scalpel blade packets, I find its perfect as it is thicker and easier to mould around the seats than conventional foil. The "material" parts are strips of foil simply brush painted with Humbrol enamels, in this case H93 Desert Yellow. The buckles on the shoulder straps are made from wire I get from the local florists, they use it to tie bouquets. Also it has magnetic qualities allowing it to be attached using CA, it holds onto the tweezers via the magnetism then as soon as it touches the part I'm attaching it to, the CA grabs it over powering the magnetism. The belts are simply threaded through the harness buckles then all attched using CA. Glad you like 'em and hope this explanation helps! :wacko: The two main engine parts have been painted here; I used Alclad Aluminium for the base colour, the pushrods are painted with Humbrol 201 Metallic Black then the whole thing was given a wash of thinned Tamiya X-19 Smoke to lift some of the fine details. cheers, Mike Edited March 11, 2007 by Mikeew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie Cheslo Posted March 11, 2007 Share Posted March 11, 2007 Thanks for the info, Mike. I am going to have to try the foil and wire method one day, it is clear that outstanding results can be accomplished with this! :lol: The engine looks great. Are you going to add ignition wires? :huh: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mikeew Posted March 11, 2007 Author Share Posted March 11, 2007 Jamie, I'm not adding anything else other than seatbelts as I am building this kit for a magazine review, therefore I want it mostly OOB. Also I may be able to enter this in the Trumpeter Competition at this years UK Nats in Telford, the rules state that it must be OOB - only seatbelts and aerial(s) may be added. I've finished the engines, ready for attaching to the fuselage when the time comes. I painted the exhaust manifold in Humbrol Metal Cote Polished Steel, airbrushed on then buffed with a cotton rag. The gear housing and rear engine components were airbrushed with Tamiya XF-53 Neutral Grey, then given an oil wash of Paynes Grey before being polished with the same cotton rag. cheers, Mike :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CorsairMan Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Check out these Wildcat pics I took last week - this one was fished out of lake Michigan after some 60 years at the bottom: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie Cheslo Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 That engine looks marvelous, Mike, that finish is phenomenal. Good luck with the magazine submission, and the contest, if you decide to enter it. Corsair Man: Any idea if there are plans to restore that Wildcat? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmike Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Mike That looks very impressive! Nice work MikeJ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CorsairMan Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Corsair Man:Any idea if there are plans to restore that Wildcat? Well - it was at the Pima Air and Space museum. I can only imagine it is somewhere in their stash. The funny thing is that I read something about them 'trading' for it with another wreck of an airplane. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
is it windy yet? Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 That engine is terrific, I hope to be able to such a job when I get around to mine. Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mikeew Posted March 13, 2007 Author Share Posted March 13, 2007 Cheers guys, appreciate it :) ---------------------------------- Now, much has been said re: those working flaps etc in the Trumpeter kits. (They are made up from etched parts for the hinges that thread through a steel rod that is CA'd into a recess in the flying surfaces.) I thought I'd give 'em a go. As long as you take your time and only apply CA sparingly and allow it to fully cure before attempting to join the relative flying surfaces halves, it works a treat. Here I have assembled the rudder and tailplanes, The glue needs cleaning up along the leading and trailing edges, but that is an easy job. Best bit is they actaully work! Probably a bit too much travel on the tail elevators, but never the less I'm pleased with them. Hope you can see what I mean Also got the cockpit interior and engine bearers shoehorned in, the fit is not the best , but seems OK now superglued. :D Thanks for looking! regards, Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PapaSmurf630 Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I get really confused with the two mikeew's we have on here! :) Great start to this build, I'm really very envious of your skills. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mikeew Posted March 19, 2007 Author Share Posted March 19, 2007 Fuselage is together! It took some persuading around the nose area where the engine bearers go, hence where there is some filler, not too bad though. Also note the moving rudder! Those metal hinges do work B) Only a light sanding with 1200 wet or dry was needed along the seams, I'll have to scribe back some of the lost details though...ho-hum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie Cheslo Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Looks amazing, Mike! Keep it up! :D :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AnthonyWan Posted March 19, 2007 Share Posted March 19, 2007 Maybe I will have to build mine now Doing a great job on yours Mike :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
smithery Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Looking great Mike. Brings back fond memories, as the Trumpy Wildcat was one of my favorite builds. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmike Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 (edited) Looking great Mike. I look forward to seeing the build unfold <_< :) MikeJ Edited March 20, 2007 by madmike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Firecaptain Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Great work! That sure is a fat bugger of a fuselage.....what the heck was in that big ole thing? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
afterburner Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Nice work on the engine and cockpit, Mike! Great looking build so far, can't wait to see more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mikeew Posted March 22, 2007 Author Share Posted March 22, 2007 Well, the wings are together with minimal fuss and just need a bit of clean up round the leading/trailing edges. The moving surfaces work too, the rudder really flops about whilst handling the model! The wings guns are very simple, but look pretty good considering. Wing to fuselage fit was iffy at front and rear, but filler was no problem there. One observation is the relatively small size considering its 1/32. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PapaSmurf630 Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 Looking good Mike. Are you going to have the gun covers open or not? I especially like the engine! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Firecaptain Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 That will look GREAT next to a -4.......got plans for one of them? Would like to see a side by side of those two 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.