Hi y’all[;)] Wanted to show you guys my latest AC build. The kit itself was really easy to build like you expect from academy and the decals were horrible, like you expect from academy[:D] So i used some AMD decals alongside to depict the jet of Joseph McConnell, USA’s highest scoring Korean war ace. Still needs a semi gloss coat…
More pics and info can be found in the Natural Metal Group Build.
Hope you like my work and feel free to share your comments. Thanks for watching
Richard
looks nice great work[bow]
[:O] Kermit… Wow!
You’ve done a beautiful job on the Sabre. The engine looks (looked [;)]) great too.
I’m definitely impressed. [tup][tup][tup]
Very nice!! Me like!!..Harv
Very nice work on one of my all time favorites.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
Its another fine job Kermit
WOW!! [bow] [:D] Great job on that Sabre!! I remember reading a book on McConnell when I was in the 6th grade (I’m 45 now, so that shows you how long ago that was), and was impressed that he was a navigator (if I remember correctly) on B-17s during WWII, but always wanted to be a fighter pilot, so, as soon as he was able, he applied for pilot training, and got his dream job just after WWII ended. He was remarkable pilot.
Thank you all my friends. It isn’t flawless but i am really pleased with it myself. Especially the canopy. Also sprayed the fuselage and wing stripes myself for the first time.[:)]
Yes, a lot of the sabre pilots were WW2 veterans. Probably one of the reasons why the USAF racked up more than 700 mig kills as opposed to the koreans score of about 80 sabres. The korean pilots often had less than 1 year of flying experience and no combat training whatsoever.
Richard
Very nice work Richard! Love that NMF, what did you use? It really has that worn look about it. Well done! [:D]
Nicely done Richard. Thanks for sharing.
Regards, Rick
Thank you both, thank you[:)]
Funny you should mention that… At first i wanted it as shiny as i could so i went out of my way with a gloss black base and future coat, much like you would use the high glossy shiny alclads. Then i sprayed the metal using my revell paints. Enamel this time…
This paint is a delight to work with but has a bit of “grainy” nature to it, always making it look used. Bigger pigment particles or something…i’m no expert…
So it’s no alclad but what do you expect for $2 per 14ml bottle[:D]. Still went on smoothly and without problem.
Richard
Nice Build [tup]
Beautifull Sabre and a great NMF. I love the last pic too. With the selotape. Very nice.
…Guy
True, but McConnell wasn’t even a pilot until the Korean conflict (remember, it wasn’t a “war”, but a “police action” [:D]), so his story is even more astounding. He was the leading Air Force ace, or maybe the leading US ace, of the Korean conflict, correct?
I think it looks great. I have a question about your puttying stage. What do you use and how do you use it? I use squadron putty and have such a hard time working with it. My plane looks like crap. There were huge gaps where the wings attach to the body and the putty didn’t do a great job of filling it in. Any tips?
Sure thing![;)]
Lemme see… apply masking tape as close to the gaps as you can (less putty means less chance of things showing up), then apply your brand of putty. I use a toothpick to lay it on and my pinky to smear it smoothly over the seam so there will be less sanding to do.
I use Revells Plasto putty myself because it is very widely available here. Some consider it to be crap but i have no complaints about it other than the fact you need to work fast because it dries very quickly.
After say, half an hour i remove the masking at right angles because sometimes the tape would tear if i left it on the entire drying time.
After drying (just a few hours for most seams) You use VERY fine sanding paper to get the surface smooth again. Finer is better. I start up with grit 600 for the rough work and move on to finer grits as i go along. Continue sanding untill you only have a thin line left where the seam used to be. Be careful not to loose too many rivet detail and things in the process.
Takes a bit of practice but you’ll get there. I used to get remarks about seams being still visible and that caused me to pay special attention to this stage. Take your time.
Good luck mate![tup]
EDIT: If the gaps are really ridiculous, apply and sand the putty in stages. You can’t build half a model with putty[:D]
Richard
Beautiful build showing the aircraft of one of my favorite pilots.[tup]
Every now and then you can catch the McConnell story on one of the classic movie channels.
Mike
AWESOME!!! Beautiful work.
Buckeye and Painklr, thank you both for your compliment and comment. Always appreciate it.[;)]
Would love to see that docu… I found the entire Joseph McConnell story extensively documented on the internet but never saw any footage of the man himself. Did however watch a very interesting F86 Sabre Vs. Mig 15 documentary from either history channel or discovery during the “research” stage of my build (cough). Made me wanna do a Mig 15 as well in the future. Kinda have my eye on trumpeters 1/48 kit…
Richard
with all this talk of Joe McConnell you forget Francis “Gabby” Gabreski who was also in the same squadron as McConnell but also was a Ace in both the Korean War and WWII.