First off i must preface my post with a caveat; i’m posting some pics of my recent builds and know they’re not as good as many i’ve seen here however, they represent the work of a guy who just got back into the hobby after a long hiatus (20 years) so go easy on me all right! Actually, i’m pretty proud of them and feel they’ll only get better with more practice. They’re both 1/48 Tamiya builds. I love the way they go together normally but had some difficulty with the P-47 forward fuselage around the engine cowling, couldn’t seem to get it to fit right and ending up sanding and shaving styrene followed up with a little putty. Not sure why that was but the final result was still okay by my standards. Any comments, criticisms, and advice are welcome. Thanks for looking!
I think we all universally pretty much are our own worse critics when it comes to our work…more examples why I tend to ignore self critical comments because these builds are outstanding…fine job!!!
I actually thought they were 1/32 scale until I read your text. Take that as a complement.[Y]
I like that you photographed the models outdoors, the natural light is the best for model photography.
Look around your community, a paved area with trees as a backdrop could be used for a better photo session. Take the photos at eye level (the height a 1/48 scale person would be standing looking at the plane) About 4 cm or 1.5"
What I am getting at is with these suggestions you can achieve a very realistic photo of your model, Photoshop to B+W for added impact & drama.
Thanks for the encouraging words from all. I agree with you Jason, I think next time I’ll take your advice on the photo set-up. The background and table were a bit cheesy! That said, I had a great time building them and look forward to the next project as it’s all a learning experience and a “work in progress”!
The only thing I see that I can critique is the seams, where the wing halves and fuselage halves join. If you get those filled and sanded smooth on your future builds, you’ll have no problem pulling some awards away from the contest table!
That’s some good work. I’m gonna second fermis about the wing to fuselage seam on the mustang. I’m also gonna add, it looks like your mustangs props are running backwards, and you you should also insert them farther into the hub so that the propellor cuffs are flush to the hub.
I really like the 47, looks like you even added some paint chipping. Got anymore pics?
Nothing to be ashamed of at all with those builds. You did a great job on the canopy of the 'Stang nice and polished. Thanks for posting pictures of them
Mikey - first off, FANTASTIC builds, especially after a 20-year hiatus! It’s funny, my first build back (also a Tamiya P-51) came out WAY ahead of anything I’d built growing up. It’s amazing what an extra decade-and-a-half of patience, as well as all the information, techniques and approaches available over the internet can do!
I imagine you’ll find your skills ramping up pretty substantially over the next few builds.
Just wanted to point out two quick things…
First, on the Jug, are you talking about the cowl-to-fuselage fit, or literally the fuselage halves forward of the cockpit? If the former, I experienced something similar with my P-47. The cowl fit fine, but there isn’t much there to keep it in place. If you’re talking about the fuselage halves, that’s kind of strange. Mine practically locked themselves in place when I was test-fitting the cockpit and wing spar.
Second, on the P-51 - I’m a big fan of the 352nd, and John Meyer in particular (I’ve got markings for “Petie 3rd”, the P-51 he flew at Y-29 during Operation Bodenplatte waiting in the stash), and always love seeing the blue noses. Just wanted to point out, though, that the blue nose actually starts in line with the windscreen, then curves down just aft of the exhaust manifolds.
Don’t mean to rivet count…just that I’ve been stressing about how to mask that friggin’ curve for well on a year now!
Don’t sweat it Doogs! You’ve basically got two straight lines, connected with a semi-circle (more or less). Mask the straight areas with tape edge (obviously), and for the curve, use a piece of plastic, sanded to shape (a little trial-n-error to get the shape you like), and use the plastic as a template to cut your mask for the rounded area. Flip it over and cut your mask for the other side…both sides will be the same!
ing!