first update, been a little behind, summer heat is no fun, but managed to get some quality time in at the bench these past few days

bryan your t-34 is incredible, love it. hope my first tank build comes out even half as good, that is when/if i ever get around to making one.

joe

Thomas P.----Beautiful finish on the Wildcat.

Thomas A.---Thanks for the kind words regarding the Phantom.

Bryan----Your 34/85 looks awesome. That is really a nice weathering finish. The 34/85 is such an impressive looking beast and you really have done a nice job with the build.

Best wishes,

Ian

Another update on the Bergstorm F-4D....

All the decals are on and a coat of Acryl Semi-Gloss was applied since these birds had a sheen to their finish. Fluid leaks were made using dots of oil paint which was streaked backwards. The gear bay wash is Pledge Floor Wax with acrylic black paint added to it. I will get the rest of the sub-assemblies on this weekend and work on the gun pod and baggage pod.( Something special for that).

Best wishes,

Ian

Bryan,

T34 Bedspring is awesome! great weathering and usage wear.
Really nice job.

Ian,

The Phantom is still looking great, I like the various shades of metal on the back engines.

Ian,
Great work on the Phantom! I really like the finishes you've given it so far!

Gaz

Ian, your Phantom is fantastic! Can't wait to see the final result.

Only a short update from me today and I apologize for the poor quality. Had to use my phone as my camera has gone awol since coming back from holiday. It will probably turn up now that I've taken this shot.



I made a start on adding the decals to the interior parts. So today I got the radio, back wall fabric and a couple of other dials done. The decals in this kit are fantastic and work well with a spot of microsol and set.

Well, time to knock the sand out of my flip flops and start the autumn season at the work table!

The kit is Hobby-Boss US M4A3 medium tank, better known as a Sherman.
The scale is my favourite for armour: 1:48. and I'm planning to do the "Classy Peg" profile.
I know the kit has some issues, but nothing I worry about.

my entry, a very old Hasegawa kit,





stuning cockpit...

OK!!!!!!!!!!!! FINISHED!!!!!!

Tamiya's 1/48 F4F-4 Wildcat. This build was a learning experence for me in a couple of ways....
1.) For me, It actually worked...."Frosting" It was a process of using a 10x1 mix of thinner to white to frost the paint scheme into looking faded. After the "Frost" coat I also used about a 15x1 mix of the base color to blend in some of the hard edges between original color and the frost... this actually added to the aged look to the paint job.
2.) During the decal process my large National Insignia star had a melt down.... so I had to make a mask for the fuselage sides for the National Insignia. It has a darker blue then the decals but it also breaks up the uniformity of the overall paint scheme.
3.) I am in love with Iwata!!!! I started this build with a Badger Krome...Great A.B. but for some reason during the major paint scheme it literally fell apart... I don't know what happened but to make a long story short, I had to order a replacement A.B. and thus... the Iwata HP-CH.... it is perfect for the mild touch of frosting effect and the smoke stains of the exhaust and power burns from the 'guns'. It really feels more rugged then the Krome but can be very delicate in its performance where the Krome felt delicate and was a little temperamental in operation. Iwata's MAC dial is perfect for the tiny spraying stuff too... It is my new favorite in an A.B...
onto the pic's.....

Factory New Paint
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.. Compete Build!!
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....... Now, onto the next build...

Thomas,
I really love that paint job! It not only looks worn, but worn correctly. Probably the most interesting looking Grumman, ever.

Gaz

Them some nice streaks and panel lines. I'm kinda daunted with tackling aircraft now. They're not like tanks where you can dump a bucket of mud over it and call it a day.

Thomas,

Nice looking Wildcat as others have said great paint and weathering.

BZ!

Ok,

Since I have been off with my build for a bit, here is where I am at.

Since the Whole part of this build was to be SIGN of the FOUR.

I decided to do what I could for the engine of the 5000 Quattrovalvole.

There is a bunch of stuff I added including all piping, hoses and wires present. I added the Oil Thermo and Oil Cooler, Plus Fuel system and filter. The hose clamps are made it wire and connectors made with 15/0 Hex Beads.






I also started the interior. I am trying a friends idea of painting seats silver before I pre-shade them. Supposedly it shows better and his cars look real good.

Jeff,
I forgot you were doing a car! Great looking engine, though! I tried cars when I was a kid. I'm not sure which put me off more: Was it the lack of a gun, or was it my inability to cover bright-orange plastic with nothing more than Testors paint and a little white Testors brush.

Really wanna see how the silver seats go.

Gaz

Good Day all
I am signing up for my first campaign I will enter with a Trumpeter 1/48 P-40B . I want to represent a defending P-40 used at Pearl Harbor by Lt Welch

Rodney,

Welcome!
Glad you are joining.
Great topic also P40 of Lt Welch.

BTW for anyone who may know.
I remember doing a report back in the late 60's early 70's in School on LT Welch and LT Taylor from a book I read about them. For the life of me I can not remember or find the name of the book. But it was only about them at Pearl Harbor. It was probably youth/teen book since it was from the school library.

Regards

Jeff D

Thanks Jeff
So here is the progress I made today


P.E. Can be a real B*#%*^ lol
But I think I will get better with practice

Rodney,
Those cockpit details look great!

Gaz

Quick update on the 109e-4. These are from a week ago, will have more pics later this weekend. Pretty happy with the build so far.

Hi Matt,
Your E4 looks great! My E4 was the same pilot as yours but with an earlier paint job. Great paintwork!

Gaz

@Ian love the Phantom! Great work on a truly classic American aircraft.

@Stephen great work so far on your Rumpler, not really been a fan of WW1 aircraft but a close family friend has asked me to build him one ... a Wingnut Wings kit no less! So I might just fall victim to them soon.

@Erik looking forward to seeing your take on the Sherman.

@Thomas great work with the Wildcat (My eldest child's fav aircraft, they really love it's stubby tubby airframe.) I may possibly try something similar with my Helldiver build.

@Jeff a Lamborghini no less! Great looking engine bay so Jeff can't wait to see what else you do with it.

@Rodney welcome glad to see you join in! I've been wanting to see this particular kit built I look forward to seeing you complete it.

@Matt great looking Bf109E-4 love the camo job, looking forward to seeing her complete.

I personally have made a major departure for this campaign I'm going with an Italeri 1/35 scale PZ Kpfw IV. I am going to add some goodies to the build as well, a metal barrel, Kaizen workable tracks and a set of Tamiya vinyl Zimmerit to replicate a worn zimmerit look. Still working out whether to use the narrow track or get a set of ostketten just because I love the look of them!

The Tamiya vinyl Zimmerit is not for this kit (Panzer IV H versus Panzer IV J as well as Italeri versus Tamiya) but for the Tamiya Panzer IV(J) the tanks are cosmetically the same the main difference between them was a simplification of the manufacturing process to make them easier to produce. I haven't built any armour in ages and I look forward to sinking my teeth into this!

Chris, looking forward to your build. I's sometimes fun to build old armour kits. And good luck with the WNW plane. They are fantastic, you will love it.

Which leads me to my update.
I finally finished the decalling of the interior parts. The instrument panel and radio look fantastic and the reverse fabric inside the fuselage went on like a dream. Perfect fit and only needed a little Microsol to help settle them down over the stitching. They even have a subtle fabric weave printed into them. Everything now just needs to be sealed and the dials glossed.





After that I'll add some weathering to the interior to give it a lived in and used look. It's tempting to leave it pristine, but I have to keep reminding myself that these aircraft operated in what by today's standards are primitive conditions. They're also made from materials that are easily soiled. Period photographs always show dirt and grime on the airframes.

Thomas, your Wildcat is fantastic. The weathered finish is very realistically done.

VERY impressive work going on here by all concerned! I have started decaling the Tamiya F4U and hope to get more done on that today, and maybe some pics.

Michael

Jeff, Gary, Stephen and Chris---Thanks for the kind words regarding the F-4. It is done so I will get the photos taken in the next couple of days and get the pics in the thread and in the gallery.

Stephen----Fantastic work on that interior so far. That really looks great.

Chris----Looking forward to your PZ IV. I am glad the tread faction will be represented in the group build.

Matt---The 109 looks great. Really nicely done.

Rodney----The P-40 cockpit looks awesome.

Jeff----The detail work on that powerplant is really amazing.

Thomas----The F4F looks great. I like your weathering application, especially on the undersides. The exhaust stains really look realistic.

Eirik----Looking forward to the Sherman.

John---That cockpit tub certainly is representative of early Hasegawa kits. They definitely did not incorporate a lot of detail. Looking forward to the completed project.

Best wishes,

Ian