Hi All,

I've taken the Trumpeter Mk II Swordfish to the extreme, by drilling out the ribs that will show up when the wings are folded back.


Almost ready to lay some paint on this bird.

More to follow later.

Simon, good luck with the SBD decals. I struck out on some 1/72 ones last week. My LHS, soon to be out of business had a couple of 1/48, a Super Scale and a few Aeromaster sheets.

Couldn't find an E-mail, here's the physical stuff.
12537 Lake City Way NE
Seattle, WA 98125
(206) 440-8448

I might have gotten the last Super Scale, VB-10? and Operation Torch markings. I want the Torch stuff, you can have the rest.

Hi All,

Progressing with the Trumpeter Mk II Swordfish, applied a little paint and have test fitted the wing sections together.




Deciding to do a weather beaten 'Salt' blasted scheme, the Slate Grey was mixed with 10% RLM 04 to tone it down a bit on the canvas area's, Extra Dark Sea Grey was used on the metal section of the fuselage, while Dark Grey was applied to the canvas area's. Insignia White is used on the metal area's of the fuselage and the canvas will be painted 'Off White', the wooden strut sections will be painted in Matt White.
On the upper part of the lower the black line was painted and covered in some 2mm masking tape, the harness and other belts are made using 2mm masking tape, doubled over and CA glued in place, I'll make the buckles for them in the next day or two.

By a crazy coincidence my trawl of the internet on Monday gave me a LHS in Seattle as having the decals I want. This one was Skyway Models, a different address to the one you have given. I think I'll call the number you have given as I think it's an old sheet and might be out of stock at Skyway - waiting for a reply. Thanks for the tip off!

Yes, totally different shop, different end of town. Fully focused on plastic modeling, no science fair, coins, stamps, RC, railroad or wargaming stuff there. Emil runs the place and knows what's going on. Since it's about 3 miles from where I work, it was the first stop on my search for the 1/72 SBD decals. Sorry, didn't even look in the 1/48 stuff there. BTW, Emil' closed on Monday, opens most days Noon to 7:00 PM Pacific Time (O'Two early your time, I guess )

Good luck!

Progressing on the Trumpeter Swordfish Mk II, the rigging in the wing sections will be done before the wing halves are joined together and touch ups on the struts and rib ends. It's a series of sub-sub assemblies at present.

The metal panels are painted in colours straight from the bottle or tin, while the canvas covered area's are toned down for a weathered appearance. The rockets, bomb rack, flare dispensers, smoke bombs and blast plates are yet to be assembled. Extra Dark Sea Grey / Slate Grey Insignia White has been applied to the metal panels, Off White applied to the canvas and the AEAF Bands {15mm} are Flat White and Matt Black. The AEAF bands on the rear fuselage {10mm} are yet to be applied.

The Italeri boxed Acc Mins Avenger TBF-1c is progressing also as sub assemblies.


Cockpit detail on the instrument panel and other switch boxes is done using a White Graphite pencil and a Sliver pencil was used on the instrument faces. Some touch ups on some minor cables, wires and the like is yet to be done.
A coat of Dull coat will be applied before the fuselage is joined up.

I forgot to post my progress last week so here is a double bill...

I finally got round to fitting and masking the canopies.



On the real thing the rear canopy slide in on its self but due to the thickness of the plastic it won't on the kit.



So instead I fitted the rear most part



And then on the inside of the main canopy I painted the frame of what would be the sliding part and attached that. once masked the plane was primed and the pre-shading done





then the light ghost grey was sprayed on the underside in light coats followed by the intermediate blue for the topside and under side of the wings.









Then I masked this off and sprayed the wheel wells and flap areas with Alclad Aluminium



Lastly according the the instruction the fabric areas were held down with 4"medical tape in areas as they weren't in the best shape when sent to Midway. As there are no decals for these I cut some Tamiya tape to 2mm wide strips and painted them white. Before they had fully dried I then attached them to the model. apparently each plane was different so I opted to just do one stripe as per the box art for aircraft No2





I feel the tape gives a better appearance than a decal would Final job for today was a coat of Klear in preparation for decalling.

As always comments, suggestions and critique is always welcomed

Good progress on the Vindicator, I've also struck some folding canopies that don't sit under each other on a few kits, I also just leave them off.

The 32 scale Swordfish Mk II is progressing, [sometimes I wish I never decided to do the extra detail on this build], but persistence is the key on this project. Building a folded wing bird so the wing rigging and control cables is all done in stages, deciding NOT to use the PE from the kit, but instead using black cotton treated with PVA {white wood} glue and threaded threw the the wing sections. The AEAF wing bands for the upper and lower wingsare all 15mm, with a 1mm boarder on the lower wing sections.




More later.

@ Allen - The Vindicator is coming along nicely. Great detail in the cockpit. What paint did you use for the topside?

@Rob - Interesting to see two different shades of green applied to the interior of your Avenger. Using those pencils to pick out the interior detail is very effective.

Cheers

Simon

Cheers Simon for the topside I used Gunze H42 'Blue Grey' i got the decalling and panel washes done this weekend

Apparently the meatballs and red and white rudder where hastily painted over before shipping out to Midway. Accurate provide decals separately for this but the instruction were a little misleading as they have you placing the star (without the red bit) and then a white disc over the star to represent this. To me this didn't look right so I applied the separate red discs before the white. the rudder decals were a lot easier though as there was no layering.



This was followed by another coat of Klear and then the panel wash was done with Paynes grey oil paint.

Next will be to get a flat coat applied followed by some more weathering.

Good looking Vindicator.

Having been consigned to build the Tamiya 48 scale Mk I Swordfish and given 3 days notice that it was required for a display on April 3, every other model project was put aside to finish it by the 2nd of April. A few touch ups prior to the dull coat are yet to be done.
Here is the progression so far on the 'Stringbag' {It is made as one of the 'Bismarck Raiders'}.






More to follow after the dullcoat.

Greetings everyone,

Rob- Nice workmanship on the Swordfish. I kind of tempted to build the Float Plane version after watching your build maybe we should have “Floater” Campaign! LOL.
Allen- USMC/USN aircraft have always been my favorites and the Vindicator is looking great!

Update on my OS2U Kingfisher. I have the airframe completed with the exception of canopy, under wing racks and ordinance. It’s now time to gloss coat then apply decals. I have to admit painting and decaling are my favorite parts of model building.

All the best,
Brian

Greetings everyone,

I have applied an oil wash and did some dry brushing. It toned down the white which was very bright in my opinion. Although it’s hard to tell in B/W photos I recall that white often fades to an ivory or light tan sheen. I am thinking of using dry transfers for the squadron codes and Aeromaster Decals for national insignia.

All the best,
Brian

The Kingfisher with fixed wheels is an interesting plane, isnt it? The fading looks good, not too overdone.

Greetings everyone,

Naseby, Thank you for the compliment. I must agree that it is an interesting variant of the Kingfisher of course I am biased LOL.

I applied the markings last night, as normal most Atlantic ASW aircraft had minimal markings. The elaborate squadron codes were adopted by all inshore Patrol Squadrons after March 1st 1943. Some units applied them as directed and others made do with less. 3D10-S-7 simply means its Aircraft 7 of Scouting Squadron 44 formerly VS-44. (The first number (3) was often dropped from the identification code).

I used Aeromaster Stars and Bars sheet for the insignia and the letters and numbers came from Woodland Scenics Dry Transfers. I had a couple frustrating moments with them but I think the end result was worth it.

Next up is to clean the Microset/sol residue, tone down the insignia, seal them and wash/dry brushing, work on canopy, ordinance, formation lights and whatever else I have forgot at this point.

All the best,
Brian

@ Rob: Wonderful work on the Swordfish. And so fast!

@ Allen: The Vindicator is very nice. The interior detail really pops out (visually) from the completed fuselage.

@ Simon: Again, a fantastic interior so far.

@ Brian: The weathering looks good on your Kingfisher - you notice it, but it is restrained.

I'm late to the party, but have started my entry: Trumpeter's 1:72 Tu-22M3 Backfire. 1:72 is not my normal scale, but wouldn't want to figure out how to store a 1:48 Backfire!
Here's the cockpit detail - sans ejection seats. Decals are provided for the two principal instrument panels - other detail is molded and painted. Quite acceptable for the scale, I reckon.

And here's how the forward fuselage is shaping up. It's gonna be BIG!

fantastic models are being made here!
Rob, I'm really enjoying your Super Swordfish
Allen & Brian, great choice of subjects, excellent detailing & painting.

Admit that my Kondor has been idle, but the Citroen Staff car is almost done. Here are 2 pics (and yes, that strange topping is house dust

DSC03687 por rochaped38

DSC03686 por rochaped38

Hope to restart the FW200 soon

Cheers
Pedro

Hello there everyone

I have enjoyed watching the tremendous builds that having been going on in this campain, and finally I have begun my entry.
1/48 (YES) Accurate Miniatures SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber.

I have made some progress so far, and here are some pictures so far.
Instrument Panel in place

Cokpit and Gunners Station


Floor

Seat and Radio Station


I will be following all the builds being competed.
I hope I can finish mine in time.

Ted

Wow, doesn't time just fly ! It's been about 6 weeks since my last post here (don't worry, I've still been watching), and you guys are doing some awesome work !

Ted, welcome to the party. Beautiful work on the office there as well. I have updated your details in the Roll Call and Build Status.

Pedro, that little Citroen looks great, it will really show off the size of the Condor.

Tom, the interior of the Tupolev is stunning. Awesome detailing and really neat work.

Brian, you are almost there mate ! Excellent work on a really unique subject, I really like the weathering you have done as well. Like Naseby said earlier it's not overdone at all.

Rob, you never cease to amaze me with the consistent quality and speed of your builds, That Tamiya Swordfish looks superb, and the sub-assemblies on the Trumpy are coming along really well also.

Allen, I really like the panel line effect you have achieved on your Vindicator, it's looking great with the markings in place.

Simon, sorry to hear you are having problems with your build. I hope you get things back on track soon mate.

Thanks for posting so much progress and info, it makes these Campaigns really interesting and useful, as well as a lot of fun.

Cheers, D

Thanks for the kind words Damian.

Enjoying it immensely thanks Damien. Nothing that couldn't be sorted with a little patience. I have painted the SBD and will apply the gloss coat tomorrow. About time I posted some photos too.

Simon

All,

Having finished the consignment builds, of a 48 Tamiya Swordfish Mk I and the Tamiya PR IV Mosquito, it's time too get back to my 32 Trumpeter Swordfish Mk II, having test fitted all the sub assemblies, rigging and other extra detail added to this bird and but some paint on the 32 Trumpeter A24b Banshee, {pix added at end}.
The canvas area's of the Swordfish have been toned down with Off White for the fuselage and lower wing sections, the metal covering area is Insignia White, while the wooden struts and cross braces are Flat White, Extra Dark Sea Grey and Slate Grey, have been toned down with yellow, where that cover the canvas coverings of the wing surfaces.

The test fitting of the Sub-Assemblies.





The AEAF Bands on this bird are all individually painted, 10mm on the rear fuselage and 15mm on the wing surfaces.



The Off-Topic A24b Banshee {Works in progress}.

I'd say Rob was leading the way at the moment with his masterclass in 'stringbag' construction (looks like there is a string bag in the background there Rob )

My last post was of the interior of my SBD-3, so a posting is well overdue. Construction finished, I have applied a gloss coat and a wash to the recesses.





And some of the smaller parts:



I will seal this with more gloss, then decals etc. I know the panel lines should have been done after the decaling, but I'm trying a new type of gloss and I didn't want to risk it filling in the lines so that the wash wouldn't stay. I'll be applying more wash later too.

Now I can see the spinner is missing, where could that have gone?......

Simon

Greetings everyone,

I been slowly working on the "Teeth" of the Kingfisher. No tiny 100 lb. bombs on this one. The bird will be carrying two Mk.14 Depth Bombs. I used the brackets from the kit and removed the molded on 100 pounders. attached the Mk.14 and added sway braces. I have little work to do fixing them up but its getting closer! Ordinance will be painted in light grey (which was fairly common in the USN). More to come soon!

All the best,
Brian

Brian,

Your Kingfisher is progressing along nicely.
Thanks for the kind words on the Swordfish {as the 48 scale Mk I was a consignment build that was required for an exhibition}, progress on the 32 scale Mk II and the Avenger, had to be put aside due too the urgency requested by owner of the 48 scale bird.

Having got back to my own builds for this campaign I got the paint on the Avenger and a few minor bits to touch up, the under surface is Model Master Insignia White enamel, the upper surface is Gunze Acrylic, the Insignia White is a gloss finish and the Gunze is a Semi Gloss so the decals should adhere to this easily.



This is the progress so far on the TBF 1c

More on the Mk II Swordfish later..