Keeping myself busy

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
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I’m finally over a cold, which pretty much stopped production for the month of January. I can’t take decongestants (they contain a stimulant), which is not recommended for someone who’s had a heart attack. The paint a glue fumes were just too much to handle.

Here are a couple pics of the 1/48 Classic Airframes SBC-3 Helldiver that I’m building for a customer. The interiors of these aircraft were unpainted, and I’ve used a few different shades of Alcad. Having the Squadron “In Action” book helps a lot, since it has some cockpit shots.

Dryfitting shows that the cockpit floor doesn’t span the fuselage width. Time for some creativity !

Next is Tamiya’s 1/72 F4U-1 Corsair, which I’m building for a customer. I got the airframe together, and it was easy enough to do in my sleep. The only part that took some work was bending the Eduard PE ignition wires. Landing gear is next.

As you can see, the panel lines are absolutely HUGE for 1/72. The wash will have to be very subtle, or this will look like a jigsaw puzzle surface!

Another build for a customer is ProModeler’s 1/48 Bf 110G-4 with Verlinden detail set. The AreoMaster decals went on fine. It took three days to apply them all, since the ones on the tail are multi-part. The “kill” markings are three layers, and the swastika two. There were also a lot of stencils (the Germans were verbose !).

Time to apply the washes !

I’ve been doing some work on Eduard’s 1/48 Fw 190A-8. Eduard’s additional PE set has lots of goodies, and the placard set is nice to have. There are items for the gunbays (I won’t add the PE to the wingroot bays until after painting - masking could damage some of the parts).

Wheel wells:

Instrument panel

And engine

There are still a lot of items to be added to the engine. It may take a few more days to add them all. I won’t be able to add the exhausts until the engine is mounted. This will ensure proper alignment.

I also have Eduard’s Fw 190 tool set and Luftwaffe ground personnel. This will eventually be an engine maintenance scene - my most ambitious project to date. This one is for myself.

I think it’s time to take a nap now.

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[wow]very good

how many models do you make for yourself

,david

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Got a shot of a restored SB2C wing fold if your interested, Pix.

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Thanks david and wayne !

Many have looked, yet you are the only two who took the time to respond. I appreciate that. It doesn’t seem worth the effort to share my work here any more.

david - about half of my average 25-30 builds a year are for myself.

wayne - I appreciate the offer, but this is an SBC-3 Helldiver, the yellow-winged biplane. The wheel wells in the fuselage are the giveaway.

Thanks again !

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Yup, you have been busy. Glad you are feeling better.

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Beautiful work Pix! Simply stunning.

Keep us posted on those builds. They all look great.

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Doooh. Should have looked closer. But it looks typical Pix.

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Glad to hear you’re feeling better. Great looking work as always!

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Thanks Marc, Jon, Wayne, and Karl !

Wayne - an easy mistake to make. Before posting the pics, I had to look at the box to get the designation correct. “SB2C” is in my head when I think Helldiver, I need to remind myself that it’s an SBC-3 ! I have another Helldiver to build (SBC-4), and more yellow wing bipes for this customer:

Going to be a lot of fun building these little jewels.

Thanks again !

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very,very nice builds.

i really like the 190.

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well glad your doing better

now i cant’ help my self here so… here it comes

sex must be out of the question too, that is too much of a stimulant for a person with a heart condition[(-D]

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Some very impressive builds in progress. [tup]

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OMG Pix…

I’ll tell you, you are one of my HERO’s

Looking GOOD

Bud

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Glad to hear you are back at the bench, Pix! We’ve missed you, but I know what you mean about a cold and the fumes! You got some nice projects going there, I’ll be watching avidly!

Brian [C):-)]

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Hey Pix, I really like the 110.

Its on my to do list. Looks great.

May I ask how you applied the camo and are the 3 layer decals hard to work with? I have never worked 3 layer decals before.

Thanks for posting, I like looking at other modelers work.

Mike

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I have a question for DURR: your CBI Group Build pictures show a Zero that was used in the CBI, but actually that picture is of a 1942 Rabaul-based Zero, according to my 1966 (threadbare) paperback copy of Martin Caidin’s “The Ragged, Rugged Warriors”. I just have a thing about WW2 trivia and remembered it.

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Very nice, Pix. The 110 had me goggling at it. I can’t imagine multi-piece decals. I’ve got a zero with 2 part nat. insig. and was driven to pick a scheme that didn’t need the white rims. It is easier to do my 1/48 Zero with the white rims and the 1/32 with the one piece ones. You’ll have to do a how-to thread on multi-piece decals.

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rich26 i guess i never paid close enough attention to it

you will see that on any one that did the china-burma g/b

/forums/612643/ShowPost.aspx check it out

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Thanks invertman, DURR, Sean, Bud, Brian, Mike, and cassibill !

DURR - any kind of stimulation is risky. It all depends on how dangeriously I want to live ! [8D]

Mike and cassibill - In order to apply multiple-layer decals, the one underneath has to be completely dry and conformed to the surface without silvering. With these markings, the first layer is a series of white vertical bars. The next layer, which is a small sliver of a decal, contained the outside circles of the roundels. I applied them to a tiny bit of Micro Set, then touched a Q-Tip to the liquid to remove the majority of it. It’s difficult to position the decal if it’s floating, and dangerous to try moving it on a dry surface. I moved it into position with a #000 brush, and kept removing liquid as I aligned it. When I was satisfied with the position, I lightly rolled the Q-Tip over the decal. After Micro Sol and drying, I applied the final layer (dots in the centers of the roundels) in the same manner. It’s not very difficult, it just takes patience and determination. The results are worth it (IMHO), since the registration is much closer to true than the optional one-piece decals.

Thanks again !

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Everything looks splendid Pix-- you are truly a master builder…and it is good to see you getting compensation for it now!

I always can differentiate between the two Helldiver’s by the aviator’s acronym for the WWII dive bomber-- the Son of a B*&%& Second Class…funny stuff!