Oh dang, yeah, thats a lot more sophisticated than what i've done. Hmm, I think i'm going to have to do some repairs now. Thanks for the link!

Just a couple quick pics, still slowly trudging along. After the recent talks about stressed skin, and my realization of the damage I had done, the plane has undergone some minor repairs, but a lot of little spots are just going to have to stay the way they are. I'm at the point where I need to make forward progress and get this girl painted and finished. I have learned a few things for next time, and now my interest is definitely piqued for getting one of those "Rosie the Riveter" tools!




Here is a quick close up. It's hard to see the dimpling work down on the surface of the model, but that's probably a good thing.

Ah yes, and here is a pic of the maniac behind the model.


And for those wondering, the answer is: Yes, I am unshowered, unshaved, and I am wearing my jammies.

Well, the point behind my reply wasn't intended to get you off your try... However, we all learn by ruining the models sometimes. It is part of the fun, too!! I might suggest that you search your options for riveters... I think the Rossie is a bit expensive, but it is a nice tool. There are many, many options... Personally, I very much appreciate the Rivet-R, and other Radu's tools as well. This is just a hint, but it is intended to use you modelling money wisely...

All the best,

Subscribed to this, i have 2 in my stash as well as a big ed set and just about every bit of aftermarket i can find .

Just have to wait till my modelling skills match the concept....

@Entoni, no worries! You didn't get me off my try, you helped me see that i was going in the wrong direction. But now i have a better idea of what i need to do for my next attempt. So on this one, i decided to stop where i'm at and just finish her off.

@Mark, thank you. I hope my end result justifies your subscription. I do have a bit of after market left, i got SBS resin prop blades and QuickBoost exhaust, with the obligatory Eduard express masks for the clear parts. I would have liked to source some gun barrels, but i don't know enough about German aircraft to know which ones to buy.

I also got the Squadrion crystal clear canopies, but i realize that vacuum form is not my thing. I was trying to trim off the front canopy and sliced right through it.

I have the squadron canopies as well waiting to be wrecked.....
I have some MG17 from Master as well as True Details wheels, KMC Control Surfaces, S.B.S Propellor set, Scale Aircraft Conversions Metal landing gear, besides the huge Big ed set (The bomb bay is sweet)

Keep building!!!!

Looks like you're making good progress! I'm sure it will look great when you get the paint colors on it.

For rivets, I like this tool better than the "rosie" ones, as you get 4 different size cogs to make the rivets, and you just use your own Xacto handle (and save lots of money):

RB Productions "Rivet R"

I have both this and the "Mini Rivet R", and I find that I like that one even better.

Doug

Another great tool set for rivets is this: Beading Toll

You can use the rivet tool to set your centers and then come back with the beading tool and replicate the outer ring. It's a lot of work but worth it.

Otherwise you're doing a great job and the 111 looks great. The weathering in the interior is very good. Keep up the good work.

TEDIUM!!!

That may be tedious, but it's far cleaner than the canopy I ruined by trying to hand brush it. That bird is going to look pretty fierce when you get it finished.

I need HELP!!

I have the Verlinden resin update set that includes two part machine guns, the barrels are separate from the receivers. All three of the barrels are warped, they curve to the side very obviously and I need help as to how to straighten them.

I have read about dipping the resin bits into boiling water and that will magically straighten them. I tried doing that, holding the piece in boiling water several times for varying amounts of time, and each time the thing cooled off crooked again.

How long do I need to hold it in the boiling water? Am I supposed to hold it while it cools to make it straight? What might I be doing wrong that I need to do different?

Thanks for any help.

Dominic

Most times you need to hold it flat while it cools. You could even hold it against the side of the freezer to get extra cooling power. Failing all of that, you could replace the barrels with Master turned metal barrels. They look really spectacular.

First I want to thank everyone who helped me with my resin problem. Unfortunately, it still didn't seem to work. I tried heating and then rolling, I tried heating and then dipping in cold water, I tried heating and then holding the barrel straight but it still didn't work. Either I have the worst set of resin in the world (this is my second Verlinden update set, and both have been HORRIBLE! How is this company still in business?), or I just have terrible luck. Here are a couple of photos showing the resin next to the kit piece.

Here is a closer shot of the barrel, this is about the best i could get it. The set comes with three replacement pieces, all of them have a very pronounced curve that I cannot get rid of!!


This is one piece after about a dozen attempts to heat and straighten it. I'm loosing my mind! I thought it was good enough to go ahead and glue together, but it still bothers me.

It sucks when your aftermarket parts are worse than the kit parts they're supposed to replace. A set of these would be superior in every way.

Definitely, the Master barrels are works of art (can be expensive if you're doing, say, a bomber bristling with machine guns everywhere, though). Especially in the larger scales, they're game-changers. Look up a pic of their 1/24 German MG131 barrels-truly mind-blowing.

Oh, and on the topic of rivetting? Some people love it and some hate it, but I personally think that if done well it adds something to a model. The downside is the time and tedium factor it brings to a build. It'll make you go blind and crazy at the same time, so be warned.

Regards;

Automaton

See, thats where my lack of knowledge kicks in. I don't know the type of gun they mounted, so i'm trying to compare versus the jackets on the kit and verlinden pieces, they don't seem to match. then again, a quick internet search just now looks like H versions' armaments were upgraded from MG 15 to MG 17s whenever possible, so perhaps these are the correct barrels? The reciever shown in the sample pick doesn't match the ones i have, but it sounds like MG17s were mag fed, which is what i have, vs MG131 which were belt fed. Anyhow, maybe i'm looking for MG15 barrels? I dont know. whaaah!

Ooops, belay my last. I took two seconds out of my busy schedule to do an image search for MG 15 and what do you know, thats the gun i'm looking for. Now, can i find a replacement barrel, and do i want to spend the money? hmmm

Perhaps your aircraft was one of the ones that got upgraded to all new armament?

Ok, got the canopies on, threw down some interior grey, and noticed that I have some work to do on the joints. The fit was off to begin with, leaving some pretty nasty gaps that had to be filled with a combo of styrene strips, Mr. Surfacer, and Aves epoxie sculpt. Throwing down the grey showed off the spots I missed. Now I'm trying to refine the look while not destroying the window masks. Hopefully it'll look good when it's done.


I didn't take a photo of it, but I spend a little time adding wires to the rear of the instrument panel and running them forward to the second panel. There is a lot of canopy detail that I just can't do, because it would mean framing out the whole thing, and I just don't have it in me. Besides, how much of that would even be visible??

The MGs you were working on are definitely 7.9mm MG15s being fed from a double drum and used in flex mounts. MG17s are belt fed 7.9mm, usually mounted fixed such as in fighter aircraft. I'm not familiar with any flex mount applications for them but Im no expert either. I think the flex mount belt fed 7.9mm guns were MG81s or MG81z(dual mount) fount in the back of Ju87s and Bf110s. MG131 was a much larger weapon firing 13mm cartridge, more like a short .50cal I believe they were fitted in a variety of applications. And the list goes on. The germans certainly had a bewildering assortment of aircraft weapons in general use. You are right about verlinden. When I was a kid 25 years ago they were kept behind glass and made of unobtanium, nearly legendary. Now that I have bought a couple sets, they have some worth but no where near in line with their prices. Almost the butt of a joke.

Mike, thanks for the info. You are very right, what i'm finding out is that there are no end to the weapons the Germans put in their aircraft. Hmmm, perhaps a little standardization would do the body good. Anywho, I'm going to push through with the Verlinden guns, although i've seen that Quickboost makes resin barrels, maybe i'll break down and spend yet MORE money on this kit, although they are not expensive.

And thank you for confirming my opinion of Verlinden, I totally agree about its legendary status, but man is it not living up to the hype. Maybe i'm just getting older moldings?

If anything it is my understanding that with verlinden the older the better, but how to tell? Somewhere along the line I think the name and rights got sold off and production methods and materials cheapened. Most of the product line is fairly dated as well and no matter what wont stand up to the quality common today. Ive read quite a bit of griping about it here and elsewhere. There are still some worthwhile bits but I make sure to look around and check for other options. Ive used a couple Quickboost pieces and theyve been excellent and not too expensive. If they make some guns for your application I highly recommend. Your He111 is looking good by the way, keep it up

Great work so far. Keep up the good work.

Yup, Quickboost makes MG barrels for the kit, item number QB 48 270: http://quickboost.net/148.htm


In case you'd prefer to replace the whole MGs, there's at least a couple of options I'm aware of.
Aires has a set, #4024.
Vector also makes complete MG15s: http://www.neomega-resin.com/vector/guns.htm