I have spent the last couple of weeks working on one of the ancient Williams Brothers1/72 C-46 Commandos. I plan to present it to a good friend who flew 114 missions across the “Hump” from India to China during WW-II. I have the basic construction done, a coat of primer on it and a coat of Model Master Buffing Aluminum Plate. I buffed various panels different amounts to get the tone contrast. The silver tends to rub off on your fingers even after 3 days of curing, so I need to put a coat of sealer on it and then the decals.
You’ve done an absolutely incredible job on cleaning the fuselage seams and keeping the surface clean Yardbird.
I’ve only used MM buffing aluminum once. I found that when you have a seam line that isn’t finished perfectly, or any nick or scratch - they just scream out " Here I am - look at me ! ". Yours looks gorgeous !
I didn’t have much with the MM metalizers.Did you polish after bodywork was complete? I think your friend will very pleased,I know I would be. Very nice so far. Thanks for sharing.
Very nice Darwin. Looks like a great job on an old war horse…both kit and actual plane. The CBI would be a great Group Build…AVG, Air Commandos, Hayabusas, Merrill’s Marauders, Chindits…and the hits keep on coming…
Did you do any pre-shading or are the panel lines a product of the buffing?
Thanks for all the kind remarks. I have sort of “gotten into” NMF finishes recently and have been trying different methods. I hope to try Rick’s suggestion about Alclad very soon. Bossman Yes, the MM metalizers are very unforgiving of blemishes of any sort. There are a few of them on this model, they just don’t show up in the photos. A couple of bad scuff marks underneath, especially. Stickman All of the seam repair and other bodywork was done on the raw plastic and then painted. Kingthad This 1/72 is the only kit that I know about of the C-46. A good quality 1/48 would be strongly welcomed by many modelers. They were used quite a bit by the military during WW-II and Korea and there are still several in civilian use, particularly in Alaska. mucker This kit is typical of those from 20-30 years ago. It has moderately soft plastic, quite a bit of flash, the fit is good except for the center-bottom wing to fuselage joint and the overall accuracy is pretty good. Joerugby I did not do any pre-shading. I used a couple of different shades of paint and then the buffing in varying amounts.
Very convincing panel effects from what my old eyeballs can discern. I once tried to build this kit, but frustration with fit problems caused me to give it to a friend who was not too pleased with it. I think you’ve turned the proverbial sow’s ear into a silk purse.
Can’t wait to see it finished.
It looks great. I didn’t know that the CBI birds served in bare metal. For some reason I thought they were all OD. Great looking build. My Grandfather (never met him) served as a radio operator flying the hump. I don’t know if he served on 46’s, 47’s, or both. My mom and grandma can’t tell the difference. Great looking build, we can’t wait to see completed pics.
