The latest quarterscale jet kit from GWH is a true classic - the T-33 Shooting Star, still going strong after 50 years of service.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Hi again

I've made a start on the cockpit:



The seats are pretty nicely detailed, so it's a shame GWH didn't include harnesses. I'll probably dress them up with some foil straps.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Finally the wait is over. I'm sure that the AM decal boys are burning the midnight oil on this one. While I'm sure that the kit decals are up to standards, I've always struggled with those compound curve full fuselage bands, and wing tip tanks. I'm curious to see how these actually work.

Just knew that you would be starting the T-33A. Hopefully, it will be finished sooner then later.

Joel

Hi Joel

Yep - I want to push the T-33 along to act as a test-bed for the Alclad II paints that arrived the other day.

All the best

Rowan

I agree on the decals. They are no improvemnt over the Academy ones.

I'll be using pilots, so I won't need belts anyway.

General fit is miles ajead of Academy, into which I seems to have put a half a tube of putty, as far as I remember.





There is a little step to be seen in the circle which seems the only line that is off on dry assembly.




The wing root fit is exemplary.




I am very happy so far and I think I will go with the kit's decals. I did not have that many gripes wwith them when I built the TBD.

Cheers,
Guido

Hi Guido

Great to see you won your battle with Germany's customs clearance.

Good catch on the trailing edge wing root - I missed that on my test fit, but you're quite right.

I've been having a play trying to thin down the wings' trailing edges, and it's not as easy as I'd hoped - in fact, it's a bit of a sod! My build will be a fudge. (To be honest, it needs a set or two or wing parts to act as "sacrificial lambs to the slaughter" to find the best approach there - and I want to have decent Shooting Star to show for my chance to build this gem!)

I'm still blown away by the main wheel well. If ever a mainstream kit had the "wow! factor" - this is a pretty good shot. It's going to look sweet with a bit of weathering and highlighting.

All the best

Rowan

Merlin,
any updates as to progress on the T33-A?
Joel

Hi Joel

I've been pottering along quietly, so there should be something to show soon. It's a busy week at Oxfam, but I'll try to post an update before the weekend. No promises though.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again Joel

As it's you asking - and just to show I have actually been doing something :



As you can see, there's a way to go yet on the cockpit, but I'm keen to get it closed up so I can start having fun with the n/m exterior.

One thing I would say is that, while the hollowed-out bezels work well, if I were to build the instrument panels again, I'd thin the front fascias a lot to bring the decal dials closer to the surface. As it is, the detail is so recessed, it's largely hidden.

All the best

Rowan

Nice progress!
I agree with the thickness of the basils. It's OK, but a PE part would have probably done better showing off the dials.
For those who can't make do, I guiess it means waiting for the AM guys to do their tricks.

Cheer,
Guido

Cheers Guido

It's a bit of a Catch 22 really - using styrene offers greater depth for the bezels and buttons than photo-etching, but I think GWH could have moulded the panel fascia itself thinner to get the best of both worlds.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

Just a quick update. It's been more a case of tinkering around the edges, rather than making any major inroads, due to our Oxfam commitments for the IOW Festival.

So - much craziness this weekend and into the beginning of next week! Would you believe it, our Regional Manager is visiting on Tuesday in the thick of the inevitable post-Festival chaos. "Don't worry - it doesn't usually look like this" will seldom have featured so often in a conversation! Hopefully, we'll have LOL!

After that... a couple of clear days (Ohh!... that sounds good...) should see the interior finished and some quick progress to the next stage.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Like you, work has really been taking up even more of my time the last few weeks, and I'm semi retired And I've actually found myself spending more time in the great outdoors then I usually do these last few years.

The "pit" is really coming along quite nicely. You did an exceptional job with the side panels. The overall dry brushing effect is perfect.

Given the choice I'd much prefer the type of IP the kit has, then thin the panel from the back to almost paper thickness, paint and weather. Then use decal on a piece of sheet plastic and the effect is perfect.

Joel

Cheers Joel

The only note of caution I'll add about thinning the instrument panel fascias is that it will effect the fit and cause some gaps to fill. It will throw off the geometry slightly - but, without taking a tape measure to a T-33 office, I've no idea how seriously. In fact, there's a little filler needed between the front and rear parts of the panels anyway - the only slightly sloppy point I've encountered so far in what's proving to live up to test-fit predictions and be a very nicely engineered kit.

Predictably, my hoped for clear days have evaporated and I've ended up doing an extra shift tomorrow instead! But the Regional Manager's visit went OK (I hope...) and I got in an hour at the work bench when I got home.

There's definitely a little bit of "I just want to get a move on!" in the air, so I whacked in an old set of Eduard generic US WW2 seatbelts to dress things up. They're not accurate for T-33 seats, but the green matches most pics I've seen and they fill a gap:



While on the topic of the seats, dredging the 'Net pulled up every colour imaginable - well, black, grey and green, at least. GWH suggest black, which I've gone for - but you may want to check more references for your own builds.

I test-fitted the instrument panels and, in retrospect, I think I've probably over-dirtied them - but they'll have to do:



To glaze the bezels, I've gone for my standard fall-back - Protec. It's cloudy when applied, but dries crystal clear and very glossy. I got this tiny little bottle probably the better part of 20 years ago and it's still going strong and (unless it suddenly changes consistency and dries solid) will probably see me out. Whether it's still available, I have no idea - but if you spot some, grab it - it's great stuff.



So, time to slot everything in:



The wheelwell and nose-weight fit neatly, as does the tail-pipe at the other end. The instructions suggest installing the nose-gear and doors at this stage, but I'll leave them off to avoid the chance of damage. Similarly, the rudder - I've checked and it'll pop in later, so I've left it off for now.

So, the fuselage is glued shot and drying. More anon.

All the best

Rowan

Great to see the GWH T-33 being build Rowan. The cockpit looks excellent and I think choosing black for the seats gives some extra color to the pit. At least it contrasts nicely with the red headrests.



Jelger

Looking really great!
Cheers,
Guido

Thanks guys

I'll go see how it's dried in a tick.

Touch wood, it'll be set to move on and should soon start looking much more aeroplane-shaped...

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

A quick update. The fuselage is closed up and looking promising:



The seams are really good, but you're almost bound to get one to clean up at the front of the nosewheel bay. So, rather than mess about with filling and sanding, I simply faced it with thin styrene to smooth things out:



All the best

Rowan

Hi again

I got back to the T-33 today after far too long!

One shot that somehow got missed along the way was the basic colour for the wheelwells - in this case, Alclad's new Mil Spec Interior Green:



I've seen other colours in reference pics too, from what appears to be bare metal (or maybe grey?) through to Zinc Chromate Yellow - but Interior Green seemed a reasonable choice.

Anyway, that was weeks ago. I weathered it and added a few touches of silver and grey today prior to installing it:



Touch wood, I'll get the wings on this evening and start ploughing ahead again.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

Well, I reached my target for the day and the wings are on.



The only hiccup is that I managed to put some of the pieces I was working on a couple of weeks ago "in a safe place"... in other words, I haven't a clue where they've got to!

So - first job tomorrow... a tidy-up / hunt in the workroom to get organised before I manage to mislay anything else! With (at least) four active builds on the go and in danger of getting enough momentum to see them through to finished, it'd be too cruel to miss out on the chance of completing my first models in far too long through sheer untidiness.

More soon.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

Phew! All parts accounted for! But it has convinced me that I really do need to do a total blitz on my workroom. That can be something for this winter, because I'm not going disrupt current projects, but I can see how I could make a much better organised space with more room to actually do things!

Anyway, onwards and downwards...

The jet intakes are a nice neat fit - this is just clipped in with no cement at the moment:



I'll do a bit of quick tidying on the small seams, and then move on to the stabilisers - which I think may need a little more work, because they were quite loose when I test-fitted them for the review.

More later, d.v.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

I got the kit stood on its wheels to check it's not going to be a tail-sitter:



It all seems good. You could put a little weight in the nose if you want to be double sure, but I don't think it'll need it. The wing tanks will add a little more weight ahead of the COG, so I won't bother.

All the best

Rowan

So far so good Rowan, will be nice to see some paint on it.
Andy

Very nice!

Hi Andy and Guido

Many thanks - the target is definitely some paint before I go back to work next week. All being well, it'll be a full-on Alclad-fest.

All the best

Rowan

PS - Maybe not much progress tomorrow... there's an ugly rumour that we might actually have our first proper (hopefully not only!) taste of summer! If so, I'll get out for a country walk to take in a couple of "watering holes".