Well, she’s done. This is AM’s 1/48 Helldiver. A nice kit but not one of AM’s best. There were several fit issues and, IMHO, poorly molded clear parts. This was one of those builds that gave me trouble and didn’t turn out like I had hoped. But, I finished her off. It’s OOB except for the Eduard PE cockpit set. I tried to create a “rusty”, salt corrosion look with the weathering. Comments and crit welcomed…
Andy
shes a beautiful bird, love those helldivers[8-]
Despite the shortcomings of the kit, this is one of your finest, Andy. The finish is awesome.
Very nice Andy That’s a re-issue of the original ProModeler kit & I heard there were some issues with the clear parts. But can’t tell on yours, looks great [tup].
Regards, Rick
How did you get that very nice looking weathering on the wings? Looks great.
Roy
Absolutely superb job Andy.
I agree with wyoroy - the weathering is really nice, particularly the area on top of the wings. Very realistic from what I can see. Detail in the pit is nice too.
The helldiver is one of my favorites.
Chris
excellent job on the weathering. I looks great. I like the weathered,oil stained look of the front. That canopy looks like project in of it’s self to mask and paint. It does look like the real deal.
I used 2 different colored washes and 3 different colored pastels to get the weathering. Stayed with the earthtone/rust colors and just played with it til I was satisfied.
Thanks for the kind words gentlemen…
Rick, I knew the kit was a re-issue of the Revell kit. It sure has some of Revell’s characteristics, that’s for sure.
Andy
Love that paint job!..with the weathering I was expecting a flat tire and shattered glass! She looks like she just landed and is laboring for a breath.
…one of my favorite planes also…
Nice!
Excellent work Andy! I have to agree, your weathering on this bird is first rate. Very effective, truly one to be proud of! I cannot see any evidence of your fit problems, well done indeed! [bow]
Excellent work Andy! I have to agree, your weathering on this bird is first rate. Very effective, truly one to be proud of! I cannot see any evidence of your fit problems, well done indeed! [bow]
Nice job Wulf on one of my favorite airframes. Love your paint, weathering…and photos! She’d look good with a flat tire and some cannon damage. Looks like she’s out of breath after a long mission!
Nice!
Very, very nice job. The weathering is top notch.
Nice one! Builds like this one always make me want to start one myself.
Very nice, I love the weathering. I need to get one of these. Everything looks first-class on this build.
Lovely job and great weathering too.[:)]
She is a beautiful bird, Andy! [tup]
Ya mantioned that the clear parts were poorly moulded. What was the biggest problem? Fit?
WOW Andy… a real nice job on that one. It really turned out great. [tup] You have inspired me to finish mine now.
And if Andy doesn’t mind, I can field Roger’s question. The issues with the clear parts are the soft frame molding. From what I have read/seen it is in various places. On my kit it was the windscreen and one of the back section. The frames look like they melted back into itself leaveing only a slight hump where the frame should be. Too bad since the fit was actuaaly quite good.
Wing nut nailed it about the clear parts. They were warped and not very crisp. Other fit issues were the bomb bay detail. The bombs and doors are too tight of a fit and difficult to get right. All the interior was tight and malaligned which caused the fuselage halves to bulge and not fit properly. Also, the wing root joint was a real treat. Kind of an ackward fit and required a third hand, so to speak.
Andy