realworkingsailor

For best results this video must be played LOUD:
 

😀
 
Andy
 

For best results this video must be played LOUD:
 

😀
 
Andy
 

For best results this video must be played LOUD:
 

😀
 
Andy
 

Okay, with the Hurricane now occupying a space of honor on the shelf, it's back to Phoenix! Following the instructions, we next darken the openings for the gratings. Exciting stuff, right?
 

 
Then it's time to start applying finish planking. Yay! The process starts at the stern. Before I started gluing anything, I cut out the relevant parts and did some dry fitting. That's when I noticed that the sternpost fascia pieces are not wide enough to cover the width of the post.
 

 
I went back and read through the instructions again. Sure enough, it looks like I overlooked some tapering that needs to be done. I will check some build logs to confirm this, but I'm pretty sure I have some more chisel & sandpaper work in my immediate future.
 
Cheers!

So a bit more bedtime research on the engine and I think I've found some better references images for the engine. And also some stand ideas to display it. 
 
 
 

Meanwhile, I finished the propellers, painting the hubs with gun metal, later pointing out the screws in silver and last adding black panel line wash for accentuation. When dried, I added the propeller brand logos and on they went.
This was followed by two very frustrating hours, where all the guns fell apart, which were only temporarily fitted. The two in the gun rings while adjusting and worse ,the one in the fuselage fell out. After said two hours, I somehow managed to get the one in the fuselage back in place, using different tweezers and a torch, to reach into that now hard to access area. The other guns fixing is for tomorrow, but I used the chance and varnished their stock and grip with transparent orange.

 
 

 
Cheers Rob

After a few days away from the bench doing things around the house and then finishing the Sea King this morning I've finally started.
 
The landing gear has arrived and I'm very pleased with it. Looks robust and good quality. 
 

 
I've also received some figures I ordered, civilians that will be viewing the B-25 in the museum. I got these off eBay, the seller seems to 3D print them himself and even says that they will do bespoke orders. 
 
They look fine to me. They won't all be used in this build, I'll try to pick characters that look interested in war birds!
 

 
So, on to the build. I'm going to display one of the engines so I thought I'd start there. Here's all the parts needed for the 2 engines.
 

 
And so far I've been using some reference photos I found online to try and get the colours right. 
 

 
Here's some progress so far...
 

 
No more updates for a few days as we are going to Cornwall for a bit of a break in the morning. 
 
 

Post One Hundred and Seventy-two
Sphinx and ‘Indy’
I thought members may be interested to see the comparison between Chris’s two premier kits, Sphinx and Indefatigable.
They sort of represent the alpha to omega of British frigates.
Sphinx, the bijou 9 pounder vessel, and ‘Indy’, the pocket battleship of her day, carrying 24 pounders supplemented with 42 pounder carronades.
I recall that when I built Sphinx I thought she was quite large, when ‘Indy’ arrived I thought I’m going to need a bigger bench!

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If a large statement model is required ‘Indy’ is a good choice, but if masted and fully rigged she will take up a lot of room.
Built Navy Board style she is still a heavy model and a glass case even with reduced height and width adds considerably to the weight.
Sphinx is certainly of a size more amenable to a domestic setting; a pretty little frigate that appeals to my deeper affection for the more decorative vessels of the 18thc. before austerity took over as the expensive Napoleonic wars ground on.
 
Indefatigable sort of spans this period, all black and yellow, no decorative topsides, but the stern gallery still looks good to my eye. She is modelled with an open Fo’csle before her bulwarks were built up, and she does have a magnificent Figure at her head.
 
I am more than happy to have both in my collection.
 
 
Thank you, Chris, for providing me with an engrossing thirteen months of work. It is a tribute to your designs, to be able to build a model of this quality and detail in such a short time.
 
Thanks are also due to James, for producing the prototype ‘Indy’ build which provided a very useful reference guide.
 
B.E.
02/05/2024

And here we are, the finished Diorama.
 
Thanks for all the comments and likes along the way

Thanks Alan! Glad that you like it.
 
Thanks Andy! Yes, the Yahu IP was a great addition. After you mentioned it, I got a light bulb switched on.
 
Thanks OC. I also liked this one, with few additions I easily busied it up. However, the Mosquito has a closed canopy, but I am confident that something will be anyway visible.
 
Cheers,
Dan

Evening  all,    the missing pics  from yesterday,   also  I have  started  on the  wall  using Two  thicknesses  of  wood  joined  together, it will  create  a  left angle  wall  stepped  down  on the  long run  -  with  bricks scribed into  it.
 
OC.

@Egilman Your insights and knowledge are most welcome! 
@Dave_E @Canute Welcome! I knew there were P-40 fans around here somewhere!
 
Welcome aboard everyone! I'm glad to see such interest in this build. 
 
For the next part, I thought we'd have a quick look at some of the extras I picked up to help with my build.
 
First up are a couple of CMK resin bits to add a little more detail to the cockpit. Starting with the cockpit sidewalls (and control stick):
 

 
While the kit supplied parts are very good, the resin parts are just that little bit better. The moulded details are crisper and clearer. This is likely due to the inherent limitations of injection moulded styrene. CMK and Special Hobby being the same company, these parts should be a drop in fit, no hacking or sanding needed. 
 
The next bit of resin is a replacement seat:
 

 
In this case it is representative of the seats used in the RAF Kittyhawks. Again, the kit supplies an appropriately shaped seat, but the resin one just features some finely moulded details not found on the basic part. The kit seat lacks the ridges and grooves on the seat sides and back, and the resin seat is just that much thiner and more "metal" like. It also includes the RAF style "Sutton" seatbelt harness moulded in (the kit only has decals for the American style seatbelts)
 
To finish of the cockpit, I've bought a Yahu Models pre-painted PE instrument panel:
 

 
I've used their instrument panels on my Beaufighter and Typhoon builds last year, and they're a great (and fairly inexpensive) addition to any cockpit. If you couldn't tell by now, I'm planning on displaying my model with the canopy open to show off all this great detail. Hopefully some of it will be seen!
 
Moving on to the outside, I'm not planning on doing any reworking of the exterior details, although it's worth noting, if you have a bit of a masochistic streak, CMK offers a litany of resin detail upgrades. Everything from the armament to the correct type of wheels can be found. Even a detailed engine bay complete with the correct Allison V1710 engine.
 
For my model I picked up a set of decals from DKDecals. This was a pricey set (it cost as much as the SH kit!), but there are over 20 different marking options, and unlike Xtradecal, the set should be good for supplying the markings for more than just one!
 

 
The decal set includes markings for a wide array of Kittyhawks used by the RAF, RAAF, and SAAF (as noted clearly on the instruction sheet above). Options for most, if not all, the later P40 variants used are covered.
 

 
It's a long list! In my case, the set includes both squadron code options (GA Q and GA ?) for the plane I wish to build, but doesn't include the correct serial number. From what I understand the GA ? code moved to whatever airplane Billy Drake was flying, and it's possible that FR213 was carrying  different code letters at the time of its crash in late 1943. As I have done in the past, I can easily re-create the correct serial number with some blank decal paper and my laser printer, so there's no problem there. I am planning on painting the plane as it would have appeared earlier in '43, in the RAF desert scheme.
 

 
Getting back to the decals themselves, they appear to be of a very high quality. The registration looks spot on, and the colour separation is sharp and well defined. The decal film looks fairly thin, so with any luck the markings should settle easily onto the surface of the model. My only qualm about the DK set, is they only show the left side of the airplane, along with a smaller view of the upper side to guide decal placement. It would be nice to see both left and right along with another small view of the underside, in order to confirm accurate decal placement (this is particularly important when dealing with nose art, which, for obvious reasons, didn't follow "official" doctrine!). I should also add, they've done a great job with the "shark mouth" decals! If you look closely, each of the five versions differs slightly from the other, so there's no do-overs! Hopefully I don't mess that part up!
 
Finally, the last little extra is a set of masks from SH:
 

 
 
Not much to note about the mask set, other than it was slightly cheaper than the Eduard set.
 
So this brings the introduction to its conclusion. I am looking forward to starting this build, although when that time comes depends on the weather, and how productive I am with the outdoor chores!
 
Thanks to everyone who's joining me on this build and thanks for all the kind comments, likes, and insightful information!
 
Andy

Nice job Chris!
 
Are you sure you want to park it next to your Bf109? You might wake up one morning to find one or the other inexplicably turned into confetti!
 
Andy

Looks great Dan! I’m glad the Yahu IP worked for you!
 
Andy

Looks great Dan! I’m glad the Yahu IP worked for you!
 
Andy

Looks great Dan! I’m glad the Yahu IP worked for you!
 
Andy

Looks great Dan! I’m glad the Yahu IP worked for you!
 
Andy

Looks great Dan! I’m glad the Yahu IP worked for you!
 
Andy

Nice job Chris!
 
Are you sure you want to park it next to your Bf109? You might wake up one morning to find one or the other inexplicably turned into confetti!
 
Andy

Looks great Dan! I’m glad the Yahu IP worked for you!
 
Andy

Looks great Dan! I’m glad the Yahu IP worked for you!
 
Andy

If you just want to replace the IP, try Yahu models. Here’s an example from a Canadian retailer:
 
https://thunderbirdmodels.com/en/132-aircraft-accessories/446-yma3210-yahu-models-132-mosquito-nf-iifb-vi-instrument-panel.html
 
They’re relatively inexpensive, and ready to use.
 
Andy

Nice job Chris!
 
Are you sure you want to park it next to your Bf109? You might wake up one morning to find one or the other inexplicably turned into confetti!
 
Andy

I´m closing in on the finish line. Due to some back spasms, bench time is somewhat limited lately, but I started painting the figures and props.
These were primed and sprayed with Tamiya Buff then.
 


I wanted to try a new technique for the laminated wood and graining with pencils. My AEG has two different propellers, a good opportunity to finish the props a little different. 
Number one was ´laminated´ with AK weathering pencils Dark Chipping for Wood and Dark Rust by hand following the logical ´flow´ of the lamination.



Number two was ´laminated´ with Sand and Sepia for a bit more contrast



The props were varnished differently,
Number one got Tamiya Clear Orange applied by brush, which removed a lot of the laminating effect. Not all propellers of the time had a verry apparent lamination effect, so I let it be.

Number two was varnished with the airbrush using Tamiya Clear Red, which lead the wood layers show through much more.



Cheers Rob

Hi,
I went on with the cockpit parts. I eventually received the super nice Yahu replacement for the instrument panel which is shown here glued to the other kit parts:

I have added three prominent control levers in the center of the panel made of thin aluminum foil to complete the appearance of the IP. These are the cockpit parts that are now basically completed:

Differently from the instrument panel which was a disappointment, the Eduard seat belts worked fine and added a nice level of details to the kit seats. These are the same parts seen from another angle:

This time, I am going to depict a used aircraft, so I added some grime and dirt by brushing on some pastel powder. Now the parts are basically ready to be assembled, but before I will spray a mist of matt clear to uniform the finishes and mute the glint of metallic parts. On the underside of the cockpit, we have the ceiling of the bomb bay which I also started to color. I first sprayed a black primer followed by a light coat of colors that let the black to be seen through (although not very visible in the picture):

I will finish the bay by adding some more weathering effects to it. Presently, I am preparing the fuselage halves that need to have some of their annoying extractor pin marks to be addressed.
That is all for now, thanks for following,
Dan