Future postings here will include In Progress as well as Completed projects from my workbench. An occasional kit review is also possible.
Beginning work on the Hasegawa 1/48 TA-4J Skyhawk. Kit instrument panels have pretty good detail.
Quickboost resin Skyhawk seats with belts and custom mixed colors. Much improved over the kit seats. I have since improved the black stripes on the face curtain pulls with Fine Line Faber Castel India ink markers. Great tool for this application.
All together makes up a nice cockpit!
And now, to prove that I actually do occasionally finish models:
Monogram 1/48 F-105D Thunderchief finished as “My Karma” using Two Bobs decals and Model Master enamels. The entire kit was rescribed and a few bits of Eduard photo etch added to the exterior. The cockpit was replaced with the True Details resin set. The wheels are Royale Resin. The finishing touch was a pair of Eduard BRASSIN resin AGM-12C Bullpup missiles.
I love the “old” Monogram kits. Some of them are still the best available option for the subject and scale. And if you are inclined, your imagination can really get a workout. Such as with the iconic Monogram 1/48 F-19 Stealth fighter:
Sometimes you need a straight up, out of the box, low intensity, high enjoyment build. I used some decals scrounged from the leftovers box, and Alclad II paints to simulate the heat effect on the exhaust. The kit was built for a Monogram Models Memorial contest celebrating the long glorious history of an iconic American model company that is now gone but not forgotten. Ah, the memories.
Airfix 1/48 F.8 Meteor
Finished in Alclad II High Speed Silver, with Xtradecals markings for No.222 Squadron. Shimmed all the open doors for a smooth closed up look. Some weathering in the wheel wells with MiG Oil Brusher Motor oil. This kit had multiple sink areas in hard to deal with locations, and required shimming in the wing roots, as well as sprue pieces as spreaders glued inside the fuselage. It also required sanding of every exterior surface to knock down the orange peel surface texture in prep for the silver lacquer finish. A very real pain considering all the wonderful surface detail included by Airfix.
More Contest Results
Just a couple recent entries at our local club show in March 2024 that also have helped me to renew my efforts at cleaning up the unfinished business which has been lounging about the model werkes over the last um, several years…. bad form all ’round I know. This is now a year long theme that has developed in the workshop, and I hope to continue it into the foreseeable future before I break down and dig into a new kit on the bench. The pressure is mounting, but i think it can be resisted for a while yet. #4 rescue build for 2024 is on the bench at the moment. Model pictures:
Rescue #1
So in collecting 35mm slides years ago I came across a number of original shots taken at Johnson Airbase Japan in about 1951. This North American F-82G Twin Mustang 46-395 from the 339th FIS(AW) was among them and I was immediately stirred down deep in my old aircraft soul. In the many years since I have gathered every reference there is on the F-82 and have scored a number of original photos and published material which allowed me build a semi complete roster of the plane names and serials from the 339th. In 2021 Modelsvit released its long awaited 1/48 F-82G kit and I was off and running. I worked with Caracal Decals and bundled up everything I had on the 339th aircraft, sending them the references needed and in 2023 they released sheet CD48146 with my “Beast Of The Far East”. One of the coolest plane names ever. I wrapped up the build in January of 2024 utilizing ResKit 3D printed wheels, and Aerocraft 3D printed exhausts. Paint is Tamiya acrylic gloss black over AK chipping fluid. The exhaust staining is multi layers of pastel chalk. It sits on an old Eduard injection molded base of PSP with a reproduction 339th FIS patch. The kit is really quite good with a few challenging moments, but loads of excellent detail such as cowl fasteners and the North American logo molded on each rudder pedal. Kit photo etch for the instruments and seatbelts brings the cockpit alive. The innumerable stencil decals work to make the overall look complete. All combined with my meager efforts to gain a second place in it’s category.
Rescue #2
Some airplane enthusiast have their favorite particular plane. As do I. But sometimes it goes further, at least where military aircraft are concerned. I have my favorite camouflage schemes. At the top of the list would be the 1943 USN combination of Dark Sea Blue over Intermediate Blue over white with Insignia Red surround on the national marking. I’ve done that in modeling before so on to the second scheme on the list: WWII RAF desert camo of Dark Earth over Middlestone over Azure Blue. And just to change it up lets throw it on an American aircraft in British service, the Curtiss Tomahawk IIb. The Airfix 1/48 P-40B kit is quite nice, presenting no real issues in construction. To change it to a Tomahawk IIb I filled in the fuselage side position lights, added a Quickboost resin British seat and reflector gun sight, and Master .30 cal. brass wing gun barrels set. I finished it with BarracudaCal decals for Neville Duke’s GA*F in Egypt over Hataka acrylic paints. Again AK chipping fluid was used under the topcoats. MiG panel line washes and pastel chalk exhaust streaks with more light tan pastel overall for paint fade and dust residue. EZ line for the antenna rigging. The underside got some oils and Vallejo mud effects.
The display base is a Hobby Lobby wood plaque that I covered in Ammo brand Vignettes acrylic Sand paste, reserving an area on the side to paint with Ammo Scortched Sand crackle paint. The border between the two areas was populated with some Ammo Desert Stone thin ground cork rock. I lightly airbrushed Tamiya Buff and Desert Yellow over all in random patterns. The camera data on the first photo I took of the build progress tells me it was March of 2018 when I began this kit. Should have been done much sooner, but you know maybe like fine wine some models just need time to age. The Tomahawk placed first in its category.
Rescue #3
There isn’t much to show on this one. Too late for the contest and well beyond the three footer threshold for a contest entry from me, I pushed this model over the finish line just so it wouldn’t sit in the display case mocking me anymore. I have done better work. I don’t know when I started building the 1/48 Tamiya F4D-1 Skyray, but it is probably well past 10 years. Or more. Tamiya’s decals were difficult to work with and I did a poor job on the dark blue of the vertical and drop tanks. I am also a better painter now than back then. Love the kit and another one is on the list to do again some day with some long out of production aftermarket resin. This build was entirely out of the box only with literally no weathering expended on the effort. It’s still a keeper.
Bonus
As I mentioned earlier, #4 rescue build for the year is now on the bench. But while that one remains classified I thought I would show you a real deviation from the norm around here. A paper model. Of sorts.
John Deere is getting clever in its mass advertising mailers lately. This is their latest effort in promoting the new S7 series of combine which showed up in my mailbox awhile back. Having never really given much thought to the growing paper model craze until I saw this, I decided why not. Looks too nice to just toss it. After about 15 minutes of angst I did the proper thing and used the QR code to download a short set of instructions. Which by the way still required a good deal of brain power to interpret. Never the less, I prevailed and successfully finished the card model and now it sits on my farm office desk next to the diecast 1/64 toys implement displays. Ladies and Gentlemen, the John Deere S7 combine:
OK that’s enough. Back to high priced plastic.
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