Ok, my cunning plan was a success (for a change) ! The rear upper nacelle joins pulled down into place beautifully.





And then on went the clear parts.


(for the eagle-eyed, yes I did clean off that bit of flash!)



The next part was slightly proud at the top leading edge, but 30 seconds work with a sanding stick on the bottom edge settled it down.











The open section of the main hood is blue-tacked in place for these photos.



I will leave this overnight now to fully cure before I get to masking up for primer.
I will be black basing this paint job using MS1500 Black and Grey to get a weathered main paint finish.

As always, any and all comments, suggestions, constructive critiques are very welcome.

Cheers, D

Great work on fitting the clear parts D

Nice work D . One of my modeling pet peeves is the “ plunked down wherever/however “ windscreen treatment. Nothing gives away the fact that this is a model and not the real thing more than this singular detail to me . Thankfully more and more manufacturers are including the fuselage decking around the windscreen as part of the clear sprue. Much easier to deal with seam work ...
Cheers - Richard

Thanks Richard. Very true mate, I love this way of fitting the clear parts. It would be great if more manufacturers caught on!

An hour or so masking, rolled ups strips of Post-it-notes in the nacelles, and foam scraps in the wheel wells



- then shot with primer, MS1500 Black.



It doesn't matter what I'm building, I really love it when it hits this point.

Cheers, D

I hear ya, D! Painting is my favorite part too...

I really like the way you've used post-it notes to mask of the engine nacelles too...

Ok, time to bring this thread up to speed!

July 27 update
Stage 2 of the paint process with RLM65 on the underside (using Gunze Aqueous Hobby Colour H67 thinned with MLT).



I built it up slowly from the black primer base with some heavier and some lighter areas to simulate a light bit of fading.

August 02 update
Stage 3 of the paint process, the light green. I used Tamiya XF-5 acrylic, thinned about 50/50 with MLT and sprayed lightly over the black primer to build the opacity slowly.




I sprayed a light random pattern on the areas where the darker green will go to give some variety to the undercoat and will use the same process to build up the colour and hopefully give a nice varied finish.

August 05 update
Main paint work is complete! I used Gunze Aqueous Hobby Color H423 (RLM83) for the Dark Green, again thinned with about 50% MLT. The fuselage was sprayed freehand, the splinter on the wings I used an old business card held loosely in place to get a harder edge.
The difference in sheen level is interesting between the Tamiya and Gunze products.




Next up is decals.

August 06 update
Markings and stencils on, seriously some of the best decals I have ever applied. Nice and thin, a quick 10 second dunk in warm water then slide into place. I used a drop of Mr Mark Setter on the surface, then a drop of Mr Mark Softer after it was properly positioned. The carrier film is nice and thin and they conformed beautifully to the surface detail.




Ready now for Dullcote then some light weathering.

August 08 update
A couple of thins coats of Dullcote has unified the finish and mostly hidden away the edges of the decal carrier film.




Really nice detail on the undercarriage legs with separate torque links that fit together perfectly.


Locked down and secured for undercarriage assembly.



August 09 update
I went over the whole airframe with a highly dilute shot of Tamiya Smoke, concentrated a bit on the underside panel lines and a few lines across the top of the wings. It isn't really visible in the images, but it ties the whole scheme together and adds a bit more variation across the surfaces. Another shot of Dullcote after that, then it was crunch time, off with the masking!




The upper nose section was a very neat fit when I test dry fitted everything, I must have pushed it slightly out of alignment as it cured.

Ready now for the finishing touches, wheels, bombs, RATO pods, antennae and canopy.

August 10 update
A bit of a late bench session tonight, this one is completed!








A great kit, highly recommended, any errors are from my 10 thumbs, not the kit!

I was planning to build these side-by-side, but as always time got away from me. I will get on to the Dragon kit soon and continue the project.

I've picked up the 1/48 Tamiya Kettenkraftrad kit, and I might just throw it together and put it in front of the HB V555 version, representing a recently arrived aircraft, and give the Dragon V484 version a heavy weathering job with some NMF replacement panels and such, representing a well used and perhaps out-of-service aircraft. I will build a concrete runway base for the display.

Cheers, D

Looks great, D!

Weathering is sure not overdone as those Vorserienmodelle (prototypes/pre production birds) had no chance to grow old, espcially in the last months of the war. You can also try to get Tamiyas Hanomag SS100 heavy tractor for towing. The kit has also a tow bar included.

Looking forward to your other build ....

Torsten

Looks fantastic Damian, inspiring work The carework blending in of the clear parts has payed dividends

Congratulations on a superb finish of V555 Damian

Worthy of celebrating with several

Torsten, Tim, Russell, many thanks for your feedback, always much appreciated!

I have done some work on the sub assemblies for the Dragon kit, so far it is building up very nicely. I will put together some comparative photos of the similar stages soon.

Cheers, D

Being a compulsive assembler, I tend to jump around the build sequence and put together various sub assemblies as the mood takes me. Tonight I decided to drag out the "Bug Hold'n'Fold" which hasn't seen the light of day for several years. In fact, I think the last time it got a run was doing exactly the same PE assembly on the Italeri Me262 for the last Schwalbe Campaign!

So, off we go with Step 9 on the Dragon kit.


Tool kit to get started.


Styrene parts (x3) assembled and PE parts (x4) trimmed and folded.


A few minutes later with the help of some thin CA we have a completed sub assembly! Very nice material to work with and beautiful detail and fit, absolutely no complaints.


While we're on a roll, let's get Step 10 done!




Cheers, D

Step 11 completed, upper wing halves added to lower full wing assembly.




A couple of slight alignment issues, port wing tip and starboard wing inner leading edge.


Nothing that can't be easily rectified.

Looking forward to getting some primer and paint on the wheel bay assembly now.


Cheers, D

nice progress on the PE, D

Thanks Russ! I don't use PE often, but I really like what it added to this build.

Working through this stage really brought back memories of the first Schwalbe Campaign, and I couldn't help but drag the Italeri B-1a/U1 for a look. It is just in need of a bit of a tidy up then it's ready for primer.




Being a sucker for punishment, but also on a mission to slash my WIP list this year, I'm going to finish this one off here in this thread as well.

Cheers, D

yes, a triple build!

I'd say 2.5 at best Russ, the Italeri kit is at least 50% done!

I shot some MS1500 Black primer on the Dragon kit today (while I was priming a couple of car builds). The wheel bay, fuselage areas, and about 20 smaller sub assemblies and parts got primed as required.




There was a bit of primer left in the cup, so I emptied it onto the Italeri kit rather than decant it back into the jar. I still need to fit off the canopies and mask up before I prime the rest of the Nightfighter.



Cheers, D

remembering what I was taught at school: you should round up, so I say claim 3 builds!

Well who am I to argue with your teachers? Let's go with 3 then!

Lets take a look at the joins around the main assembly now that the wings are on.









Nothing disastrous, but certainly nothing like the fit on the Hobby Boss kit. My biggest headaches will be the starboard upper wing root and the sink mark around the locating pin on the underside of the tail.

Next up will be fitting off the engine nacelles to see what troubles are in store for me there.

Cheers, D

Damian! Really like your take on V555, it looks beautiful!

Ever since reading "Jet Warplanes of the Third Reich" 35 years ago I've been fascinated by all the strange contraptions the Germans managed to get from the 262. I like the V555 the same way I like the P-38 with the perspex nose, it's just so odd adding an extra crew member to a fighter that way!

MPM did one in the 1990s in 1/72, based on the Heller night fighter 262 I think, sadly the transparent parts (the main point with the kit so to speak...) were rather crude so I passed that one over with no regrets.



Magnus

Thanks Magnus! Your feedback is very much appreciated.

I got the glass all installed on the Italeri Nightfighter. There was a 1mm gap between the front and centre parts that I shimmed with styrene stock and then shaped to match the join. It still needs a little touching up but it will look like part of the frame once it gets masked and painted.




I'm still working on filling and sanding the joins on the Dragon A-2a kit, the age of the old Trimaster moulds really shows on this one.

Cheers, D

...a 1mm gap! Tut, Tut, Italeri, Tut tut!

but nicely handled, D

Russ, I know, outrageous fit issues!

I filled the remaining gaps on the Italeri kit tonight, it's now ready for masking and priming.

I also got some work done on the Dragon kit. As I said in the previous post, the old Trimaster moulds are really showing their age.
There is a large gap between the rear cockpit deck and the fuselage.

Once the glass is installed, masked and painted this will be hidden by the framework, so I'm not even going to try to address it!

The alignment issues and gaps, mostly on the underside, have been filled, cured and sanded.


The 3 clear parts installed on the cockpit.


The fit of the clear parts was quite good, with just a couple of minor adjustments needed, but there is a small short-shot on the rear section which will need a bit of work to neatly fill before I get to masking and painting.

Onwards and upwards my friends, I hope you are all staying safe and well.

Cheers, D

Masking done on both the Dragon and Italeri kits, time to get the primer coats finished.




Cheers, D

I need to buy shares in the MS1500 factory!

Dragon kit



Italeri kit



Time to decide on some colour schemes

I'm planning to do the Dragon kit as a bit of a war-weary (what-if) airframe with some mismatched panels and bare metal to display beside the new Hobby Boss build.
The cover art on the Dragon kit shows V555 in what looks like RLM 81 red/brown, but the instructions call for Gunze H304 which is Olive drab!


There is no colour call out or decal placement guide in the instructions for V484, even though the markings are on the decal sheet.

Time for some artistic license, I'm going for the box art colours with the V484 markings. Underside will be Gunze H67 for the RLM65, topside will be version of RLM81 mixed with Tamiya XF acrylics, probably XF64 and XF49 to start with.

For the Italeri, I'm liking the box art scheme with the fine lines all over (a bit scary, never attempted this type of pattern ) but interestingly the instructions don't show this scheme.

In the instructions the #11 airframe has a flat black underside with RLM76/81/82 splinter on the upper wings and stabilizers, and "worms" on the fuselage.

Once again, my artistic license comes out of the wallet and onto the table. Box art it shall be with top sides all RLM65 (Gunze H67) and RLM "Grey" (Tamiya XF-22) squiggles. The MS1500 will remain and get a flat coat for the undersides.

Sorry for the long-winded post, and as always I'm open to all comments, advice and constructive critique.

Cheers, D

That lozenge pattern makes even me nervous, and I'm not the one doing it