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Twin Boom 2010 Official Campaign Thread
AussieReg
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Posted: Thursday, February 04, 2010 - 10:11 PM UTC
Hi all, lots of great work going on still. I haven't posted final pics of my Skymaster duo, I have a little surprise in store (if things work out according to plan at least) for the final unveiling.

Torsten, your P-61 is coming along great, but I can't help but being concerned that you maybe enjoyed "tying up an old Widow in elastic bands"

Greg, that resin set looks very nice. I'm looking forward to more progress pics there for sure.

Brian, that looks like a sweet little Venom kit, especially with the PE goodies.

Andy, if Mrs Torch burns things in the kitchen like Mrs Reg does, she has absolutely NO reason to complain about the sweet fragrance of Lacquer Thinner !!!

And lastly Simon, do you have an account with Photobucket ? You will find loading pics into the forums is a breeze once you are set up there, and organising your pics is SOOOO easy. Go to photobucket.com and do a search for user Reggie3003 (that's me) and take a look at how my shots are set up in folders.

Cheers, all, keep up the great work, and PLEEEEEZ keep posting those progress shots. You have no idea how much I am learning every time you guys drop in here.

Leader OUT . . . tssshhhht.
Tomcat31
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Posted: Friday, February 05, 2010 - 09:14 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Cheers, all, keep up the great work, and PLEEEEEZ keep posting those progress shots. You have no idea how much I am learning every time you guys drop in here.
Sorry I completely forgot to post my progress photos last weekend. (was a bit busy looking after Sam) so here they are, I won't put any in depth explanation as I think they speak for themselves


Booms assembled



Wing halves glued



Quickboost engines assembled and painted



Fuselage halves assembled and the nose attached







Hopefully more will be done this weekend and as always comments, critique and suggestions are welcomed
BlackWidow
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Posted: Friday, February 05, 2010 - 10:14 AM UTC

Quoted Text


.... Torsten, your P-61 is coming along great, but I can't help but being concerned that you maybe enjoyed "tying up an old Widow in elastic bands" ....


Don't worry, Damian, she just wanted it, not to say, she needed it ...
Both of my Widows are going strong towards painting. At the moment I'm masking the canopies and here's a hint for all Monogram "Widow-Makers": For the small window of part 78 there's no mask on EX 075! You have to make it by yourself. The size is about 9,5 x 2,5 mm (same as small window of part 77)
I hope to start painting "The Spook" on next weekend. Maybe I can post some pictures of the masked canopies in the next days.

@Allen
Your Black Widow looks fine so far. I guess you don't have to struggle as much with your Dragon kit as I have with my Monogram oldies, right? How's Sam at the moment, btw?

Happy modelling
Torsten
BlackWidow
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Posted: Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 10:09 AM UTC
Rejoice Widow-Makers !!!! I found another trap gap! Yes!
There's a big, big gap between the pilot's hatch and the rest of the front canopy. But I solved the problem. As you can see on this photo, I have already glued 2 small Evergreen profiles to the front and rear of the hatch, as it doesn't fit at all ....


.... this looks even worse ....


... and here is the solution! I glued Humbrol Clear Fix in these enormous gaps. Haven't used it for years ....


.... and here's the left side. It works! So don't worry, be happy and get these great Blackies together! "Lady Gen" will get a completly closed canopy. It was a bitter cold winter 1944/45 during the "Ardennen-Offensive" (Battle of the Bulge). So where's the heating?


Damian, if you ever build your P-61's, build them all at once, so you have all this trouble only one time.

Have fun
Torsten
AussieReg
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Posted: Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 11:02 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Damian, if you ever build your P-61's, build them all at once, so you have all this trouble only one time.
Have fun
Torsten


Hi Torsten, and thanks for the tutorial. That will be stored in the vault for my Widows for sure. I will be starting on my Revell Widow in just a few weeks for the "Pin-Ups" campaign, but I'm afraid my bench isn't big enough, my patience strong enough or my kids co-operative enough to allow a "triple-build" of these monsters. One at a time my friend, and once again thanks for posting such comprehensive progress, and such neat solutions !!

Allen, your Widow is progressing really well. I have heard good things about the new Dragon 1/72 kit and by the look of your build it is all true. Maybe my LHS will see me soon !!

Cheers, D
Tomcat31
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Posted: Saturday, February 06, 2010 - 10:46 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Your Black Widow looks fine so far. I guess you don't have to struggle as much with your Dragon kit as I have with my Monogram oldies, right? How's Sam at the moment, btw?


Quoted Text

Allen, your Widow is progressing really well. I have heard good things about the new Dragon 1/72 kit and by the look of your build it is all true. Maybe my LHS will see me soon !!


Thanks Guys... but are you looking at the same kit as me ??? I would say that the fit is reasonable I had to clamp the booms to the wings yesterday to try and minimise the gaps but some filler was still needed.









The nose seemed to be narrower than the fuselage, this maybe caused by the cockpit not being installed correctly but it's too late to investigate





The top of the fuselage seem to be concave so a liberal amount of filler has been applied ready for sanding today



Finally the engines have been assembled and some lead shot glued between the engine and the cowl ring





Hopefully some more work will be done today but I need to work on my clients Phantom as well.

P.S. Sam's doing OK the stitches are out now and all being well the pins will be out in a couple of weeks and the leg put into a cast, so then she be able to get back to the bench.
BlackWidow
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Posted: Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 04:13 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Thanks Guys... but are you looking at the same kit as me ??? I would say that the fit is reasonable I had to clamp the booms to the wings yesterday to try and minimise the gaps but some filler was still needed ....


Yes, I went through the same hard school with the booms, but wings to the fuselage is even worse Looks a bit like the Dragon Widow is the Monogram Widow in small. But why didn't you use clear tape on the booms before putting the filler on? Now you have to sand away so much and maybe even some panel lines are gone.

Meanwhile I have attached the canopies to the fuselage of my monsters and what should I say? Yes, more gaps, if yo want to close the hatches like I do.

Here's "Lady Gen's" rear cockpit where the R/O sits ....


... and here the front cockpit of "The Spook". A little fuzzy because I didn't use a flash but I think you can also see that I glued some Evergreen profiles to the backside of the cockpit because the gap is too big to be filled just with Clear Fix (also needed on the other bird) .... I wonder if I can later get the masks off again when Clear Fix is on them


The next days I will cover the gear housings and engines and hopefully start airbrushing next weekend. "The Spook" also got her external tanks today. She has only 2 of them (not 4) and they are black and not NMF as in Osprey's profile.

Ciao
Torsten
KrisMax
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Posted: Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 11:02 PM UTC
First attempt at uploading update photos, bear with me if it don't look right.



If it worked, this should be a pic of a seat. I'll post to test it before doing any more....
KrisMax
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Posted: Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 11:03 PM UTC
Cracked it!

Not very impressive is it? Looks like this build will take years. Don't worry, there's more to come.
Just thought I'd ask if anyone knows what the contraption bolted to the side of the seat is. When I see something in a kit I haven't seen before I want to know what it does. My guess is it's something to do with the turret.
Tomcat31
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Posted: Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 11:26 PM UTC
Simon - when using photobucket you need to choose the img code for forums the one you have used is for websites.



Copy the code (if it doesn't do it automatically) and then paste it into your post


Quoted Text

But why didn't you use clear tape on the booms before putting the filler on? Now you have to sand away so much and maybe even some panel lines are gone.
Unfortunately I don't have any decent clear tape in the house as the only stuff I could find would leave too much of a sticky mess behind. Also there was that much sanding needed to level out the steps between the boom halves that I needed to re-scribe some of the panel lines anyway.

No update pics (as yet) but all I managed to do this weekend was lots of sanding, scribing and I masked the canopies read for attaching to the fuselage
KrisMax
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Posted: Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 11:51 PM UTC
Allen,

Thanks mate, The first time for most things tends to be a lottery for me. I also learned how to edit posts. Very useful - the others won't see my gaffe!

Simon
AussieReg
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Posted: Sunday, February 07, 2010 - 11:58 PM UTC
Nicely done Simon. It looks to me like they have transplanted a Dentists Chair into your kit. I can hear the high-pitched whine now !!

Cheers, D
BlackWidow
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Posted: Monday, February 08, 2010 - 09:10 AM UTC

Quoted Text


.... Just thought I'd ask if anyone knows what the contraption bolted to the side of the seat is. When I see something in a kit I haven't seen before I want to know what it does. My guess is it's something to do with the turret.


Correct Simon! It's the gunner's seat. On the contraption is his Revi and 2 triggers bolted. There should also be an armour plate in front of the seat, but it's not included in the kit. Surprisingly the R/O seat looks the same in the kit but was different in the real aircraft. If you have this useful book Osprey Combat Aircraft No. 8 "P-61 Black Widow Units of WW2", have a look on pages 12 and 13. There you see all seats "factoryfresh".
Take your time with the Widow. This campaign lasts until end of August. Should be enough time for everybody, even with a Monogram P-61. But until then I want also to build an opponent of "Lady Gen" ....

Happy modelling
Torsten
KrisMax
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Posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 - 09:34 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Nicely done Simon. It looks to me like they have transplanted a Dentists Chair into your kit. I can hear the high-pitched whine now !!

Cheers, D


Hey, you're right, maybe if I repaint it gloss black and chrome....

Thanks to Torsten for the official version.

I said I have more pics and here they are. I've just stuck together the different assemblies, fuselage, booms, wings and the flat thingy at the back between the booms (tailwing?).




Dry fitting the fuselage halves and boom halves showed the seem edges were rounded and irregular in places, so I sanded them on a flat surface just enough to flatten the seems and greatly increase the contact area. Also used Tamiya extra thin cement for the first time. Dries very quickly!



Next step is sanding and smoothing off those seams. I'll leave the 'dentists chair' out until later to avoid catching it while working on the fuselage. Hope I remember to put it in before the canopy goes on.

Cheers

Simon
AussieReg
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Posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 - 10:50 PM UTC
Very nice work there Simon, the detail work in the "office" is great. I can't wait to get started on my Widow now.

Excellent progress by all so far, keep those pics coming.

Cheers, D
discordian
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Posted: Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 12:18 AM UTC


Just popping in to say I've begun my Widow. Working on the interior and doing some shading.
Kind of glad I'm lagging so I can see the fixes that you guys are using!!! Thank you!

I got the Eduard exterior detail kit and it looks pretty cool, So I'll be putting more time into the exterior than interior.

I'll try to get some pics up over the weekend, but my son broke my point and shoot so they'll be off my phone.
JMartine
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Posted: Friday, February 12, 2010 - 06:08 AM UTC
Late joiner here - Will join in with the old Revell P-38, night fighter configuration. Will be building another copy as Richard Bong's P-38 for the Aces High 2 GB. Will post more later, lots of great stuff here! Cheers
AussieReg
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#007
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Posted: Friday, February 12, 2010 - 12:34 PM UTC
Hi again James, man when you come back to the bench you pop up everywhere !!

Never too late to join up, and we have plenty of time left here so thanks for joining us. I have marked you down in the Roll Call with your P-38, is it 1/48 ??

Cheers, D
Tomcat31
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Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 05:56 AM UTC
Despite being a busy day i did manage to get a little time at the bench. I finished masking the transparencies and glued them in place and decided to do a test fit of the wings.



The eagle eyed among you may notice that something is not quite right... I pondered and realise that the starboard boom is at an angle. I'm not sure if it's me or the kit that has caused this as everything between the boom and the wing is lined up. I've tried warming and twisting straight but it won't budge. My next idea is to cut the fin and boom at a panel line and to re-glue it straight.



What do you guys and gals think or do you have any other ideas?
AussieReg
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Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 11:04 AM UTC
Allen, that's a definite moment in anybody's book. Do you think that the tail fin would pull into line if you fit the tailplane with CA and clamp it nice and tight while it dries? If not, you should find the point in the boom where the profile is "roundest" and cut so that the rotation is least visible and means less work to hide it.

Good luck, D
JMartine
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Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 12:07 PM UTC
Damian - Yes, Revell old 1:48 P-38

Allen - I am a newbie of sorts, but I found this P-38 build blog with the following info which may be of help:

"The second problem turned out to be the most troublesome: the alignment of the right boom was decidedly off from vertical, as much as 15 degrees. I checked for warpage, and there didn’t appear to be any. My only conclusion is that there is a flaw in Hasegawa’s engineering of the parts. This has been corroborated by other modelers' comments in various forums, as well as in Bert Kinzey’s P-38 Lightning in Detail and Scale. I corrected the alignment by dipping the aft end of the boom in very hot (not boiling) water and gently twisted it back to the proper orientation. This operation was successful and I was able to proceed with the rest of the construction."
http://www.hyperscale.com/features/2000/p38flk_1.htm

good luck!
James
Bungal
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Posted: Saturday, February 13, 2010 - 09:54 PM UTC
Hi all
Progress on the Venom is slow (work getting in the way) but here are a few progress shots.



Yes that is a HUGE gap between the fuselage half's 1.4mm. I knew I would use that evergreen sheet I had laying around.



Top view showing how small it is in 1/72.



The bang seat, It is tiny.



Close up of the nose.

that's all for now.

Brian
BlackWidow
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Posted: Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 09:51 AM UTC
Are you still out there, guys? No comment since days here, so I hope you're all busy working on your twin boomers like I am ....
Here are some process pics from my workbench in the past few days. The Spook has got her black skirt ....


....for which I used Revell Aqua Silk Matt Black 302. This looks great I think .....


.... while the Lady is still in the paint shop. Ladies always need some time for painting, right?


.... I paint the fighter in 3 steps because I need to hold it in my hands somewhere while airbrushing. As you can see there are still some spots left to be painted. Here I use again Revell Aqua Nato Olive 46, which I think fits quite well ....


.... here a quick look at the underside. I hope to have finished with both beauties within the next 2-3 weeks.


More photos soon. What about your processes, folks?

Happy modelling!
Torsten
Tomcat31
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Posted: Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 11:55 AM UTC
Not much progress for me during the week as Sam and I are staying at her parents throughout the week while her leg is mending which puts a damper on either of us making progress. That and the twisted boom put me off a little but I did get some work done today.

First I chose a panel line on the boom and with my razor saw I cut it off



then I glued a piece of plasti-card to the end of the boom to make up the the 1mm lost during cutting



once dried i cut and sanded to shape



meanwhile I glued the tailplane to the fin and ensured it was level



as I was test fitting my modification I came to realise that the starboard fin toed inward slightly so it got the same treatment as the port boom. Finally the new tail fins and tailplane assembly was attached to the booms.



just a little filler and sanding will be needed around the joins and hopefully i can get on with the rest of the kit

As always comments, suggestions and critique is welcomed.
AussieReg
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Posted: Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 01:04 AM UTC
Torsten, your big Widows are looking great. I get to start mine next week (after I move house ) and I only hope I can do as good a job as you !!

Allen, a really neat fix on your twisted booms, it all came up beautifully. Speaking of repairs, how is Sam, I hope her recovery is going as planned ???

Cheers, D
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