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 peal surface texture in prep for the silver lacquer finish. A very real pain considering all the wonderful surface detail included by Airfix.
spruemeistermodelwerkes.com 