Hi Steve,
Holy cow that is small!! I don’t know if you have heard of this before, so if you have, forgive me. There are several tools available for bending photo etch. One of my favorites is called “The Bug”. It may be worth the price for the number of photo etch you are planning to bend. Here is a link:
Ken
Thanks Ken, I had no idea something like that existed, I can;t swing it now, but I got it on my wish list. In the mean time, I will go about it the old fashioned way.
OK here’s crazy man’s update for tonight. [proplr]
The life boats, davits, aft gun tubs, and whatever those barrel racks are?? (maybe someone else knows, I never have) were completed tonight. The instructions call out for me to install the davits and life boats now. Are they nuts? They would break off and get lost if I looked at them wrong, let alone the whole building and painting process. Duh.
Check out the life boat propellers. I believe they are the smallest I have to fiddle with on this PE set. A whole lot of good they did in the end though.
Steve
Propellers? I can’t even SEE them except in the close-up photo… [:|]
AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! [:XX]
I hope it doesn’t take you over the edge from Modelcrazy to just plane crazy…
Yeah, I was thinking last night, “what in the world am I doing. you probably won’t even notice the life boats let alone the propellers”. Oh well, I plunked good money for this set, so by gosh I’m going to put them on. Believe it or not, the platforms in the aft gun tubs were more difficult than the props.
Holy Cow!!! Steve that is just nuts. I have a hard enough time doing 1/48 PE. What an awesome jop you have done. I can’t wait to see more.
Makes me not want to post my photos. LOL.
Okay here goes. I am not done but here is the progress that I have made. I hope that what weathering I have done is good so far. I am going to darken the mud a bit and I still have to dull coat everything.
Please tell me what you thing and what I need to do to make it better.
Thanks All.
Doug
PS. Keep up all the great work.
Doug,
Great work on the Pz IV. May favorite German AFV. I don’t know why, just classic lines.
Here’s tonight progress. I built up some life rafts, watertight doors and installed the PE to the #2 turret.
Tomorrow night I think I’m going to build up the AA guns and finish turret #1 and #3. Wait till you see the AA guns. I’m going crosseyed. Thank goodness for the Optivisor.
Steve
Doug: She’s coming right along. I like the mud and the figures look cool. I think a tank with figures looks much better than one buttoned up with none.
Steve: Wow, that turret looks great! What is it, about the size of your fingernail?
Maybe twice the size.
Thanks Gamera.
Steve that is amazing work. It is giving me the fuel to start my P-47 that has PE. Not a lot of it like yours but enough to give me a run for my money. I may need you to give me some tips on working with it.
It also has resin parts that I have never worked with. Any help on resin parts is welcome.
Going to dull coat the Pz IV today and call the kit done. The base will come later.
Thanks,
Doug
That’s still pretty dang impressive though!
Doug: Cool, looking forward to the finished photos.
Thank you Doug
That’s about it for tips on PE. I’m sure others have different methods, but that’s mine.
Hi Steve,
Wow! Just the thought of cutting those propellers loose from the fret without losing them makes my head spin! Then trying to attach them to the plastic parts is insane!
Excellent work so far! [Y] [Y]
Ken
Hi Doug,
Nice work! Your Panzer looks awesome! [Y] [Y]
Ken
OK, I may have been a little too ambitious with the amount I could do in an evening. This AA gun took me 2 hours, and I have 5 more to complete. I also have numerous other guns to complete.
I broke off the muzzles of 2 guns and they are almost impossible to reattach.
Does anyone know how Academy’s customer service is?
You looking at seats, sites, ammo racks, elevation cranks, and tracks
Steve - That is just… OMG! I can barely handle the 1:72 PE work I do. I have barely enough patience to do maybe 2 or 3 parts in a sitting!
Doug, nice job on the Panzer!
I finally finished the decals on the A-10, sealed it all with some Testors Glosscoat, and started on the panel line pin wash. I am using artist oils and turpinoid thinner. I applied a drop here and there along the line and it flowed along the line. I wait a bit then wipe it away with old t-shirt rags.
The deeper recesses may require multiple applications as the paint tends to clump up a little in the larger gaps.
Mistakes can usually be rubbed away and sometimes I may need to hit some spots with a swab and a bit of the turpinoid thinner.
Also hit the upper wing of the F-8 - I have to be more careful here as the turpinoid can soften the paint. I can’t let it pool too long.
Inside the gear bay - the thinner did start to soften the paint here and it could have worse. I should lay down a coat of the lacquer first. The thinner doesn’t affect it.
I know that top side of the bay looks a little rough here (plane is actually upside down) but it wont matter because the other door mounts there.
Jim
Hi Steve,
Nice work on the turret! Nice detail. [Y] [Y]
Ken
Yow Steve, those are awesome! How many AA guns does she have? I swear I’d go blind before i finished them all.
Jim: Very nice work there on the wash. You’re moving right along on her.
Wow agsin Steve. I too would go blind.
Jim those panel lines look sharp. Great job.
Okay Ken here are two photos of the finished Pz IV. The panzer is from the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend (“Hitler Youth”) a German Waffen-SS armored division.
Doug
PS Ken you pick the one you want to use for the completed page.
Nice work Steve! That looks great! [Y] [Y]
Ken
Great job on the wash Jim! You always do such a good job applying your wash.
I think I mentioned the Flory Models wash here before. I have not yet had a chance to use it, but it will not harm paint. Looking forward to trying it out.
Ken
