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I have always liked Tester's Dullcoat, but sometimes it dries to a semi-matte rather than a dead flat finish. I recently read on-line another modeler say that he lets a bottle of Tester's Dullcoat sit until the "flattening agent" (you know what I mean, all that 'stuff' that gathers at the bottom of the bottle) settles to the bottom. Then he draws/pours off a quantity of the solvent. This increases the concentration of the flattening agent and depending on how much you draw off, the finish that can vary all the way up to dead flat. I decided to give this a try. I took a new bottle of Dullcoat which had settled completely and poured off about 1/3 to 1/2 of the carrier/solvent. I was a bit afraid that it might be spotty or have flecks of flattening agent in the finish so I tested it on a scrap piece of plastic with a flat paint on one side and a high gloss black on the other. i thinned the Dullcoat as normal for my airbrush and gave each finish a coat. The matte finish was still matte, no surprise. But the high gloss dried to a DEAD FLAT and there was no flaking or spotting on either finish. I then tried it on my current project that had gloss and matte surfaces plus decals and I got an even dead flat finish over all. 60 some odd years of modeling and I am still learning.

The paint and decals are all on! Just of pic of the overall progress. The black part of the chevron was painted but the white trim stripes are decals. Note the wing walks, which will need individual flat coating. The fuselage codes were cobbled together from spare decals and I was even lucky enough to have the squadron insignia in there! The "T4M-1" was added using water-slide individual letter and number decals. The dash was made by cutting a #1 in half. Pics of the painted engine front and back minus its red cooling cover. The "sealing" gloss coat is on and drying. Next up is rigging! Gil

After messing with this a bit, my advice is to start slowly taking out carrier like maybe only 1/8 to 1/4 at first. Test it out and if necessary take out more or less to find the concentration you like. I have also found that each bottle of this stuff varies in the amount of flattening agent in it so you have to be conscious of that variable as well.

First I'd like to thank you for following this WIP , it's quite appreciated ! LOOCKHEED WV-1 CONSTELLASTION in 1/48 (MAY 29th ) ..Today I continue ingraving the panel lines on the fuselage ! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , juts follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/GZvfX8dsdnYnsQ2W7 Here a pics of both projects Enjoy Jmarc

HI ! I have so many extra parts that I have accumulate true the years and finaly decided it was time to give them a little love , So here it is .. the first BABY step to the project !.. If you like to follow the complete WIP on this project , I have set up an GOOGLE page, just follow this link .. https://photos.app.goo.gl/NtNSgh1zJgx9jRSx5 Here an exemple of the one I have completed so far Enjoy ! Jmarc

This will be my 2nd stab at scratchbuilding a model. It's seems to be more seldom done these days since there's SO many kits available that weren't out there just 10yrs ago. Still, there ARE still gaps, especially in 1/48, which is my primary scale of choice. This will take more time than my usual builds and it will be easier to post progress as I go along as opposed to trying to post everything at once at the end. This the Martin T4M-1. It's never been made in 1/48 in vacuform or resin to my knowledge. I've seen 2-3 scratchbuilt over the last 40yrs, but no kits have been produced except in 1/72. After finding some suitable plans I had them enlarged to 1/48. You can see the two pieces cut out of the plans laying under and beside them. I started by first gluing two blocks of balsa together with a sheet of copy paper trapped between them, using white glue. This allows the two "halves" to later be pried apart. Then those cut out plans were taped to the top and side of the balsa and it was cut to the rough shape seen above on a scroll saw. Note that I actually forgot the "dip" for the 3rd cockpit opening for the gunner's position and had to add that later! The two rough halves seen above were then glued back together and the fuselage was sanded to shape. I used rough and medium grit sanding sticks for this step. Although I did cut out one of the side view templates (as seen on the left in the first pic above) to check the shape as I went, I actually found it easiest to just use "mark-1 eyeball" for 90% of the work. I'm satisfied the outline matches the drawings close enough for "government work"! The over-arching idea here is to make a fuselage that can be split back apart into 2 halves that will be used to vacuform the fuselage in plastic. Next up were the wings. I decided to use the KISS principle and just carve them from solid balsa. The wing thickness on the plans is 1/4", so I used a sheet of 1/4" balsa. I decided not to vacuform the wing parts, but to simply use them as "cores" and wrap them in very thin sheet plastic (more on that below with the tailplane surfaces). Luckily for me, the top and bottom wing of the T4M is virtually identical, so all I had to do was cut out the top wing plan and use it to cut the 1/4" balsa sheets to shape on the scroll saw. The next step was to give the block balsa wings their airfoil shapes. The first thing to do then was to draw a center line in fine tipped black marker around the edges of each sheet. Since I also had a 1/8" sheet of balsa handy, it was used as a template to draw the lines. Those center lines would help me judge the evenness of my sanding as I progressed, especially on the trailing edge since both the top and bottom rear surfaces had to taper down exactly to that rear center line! The leading edge was easily done as all it needed was simple "rounding", which was done with sanding sticks. I taped a large sheet of 80grit sandpaper to the front edge of my workbench to do the heavy sanding on to work on getting the airfoil shape. Again, I just used "mark-1 eyeball" to sand a tapering surface on the top and bottom. I switched back and forth between them frequently always trying to sand just as much on one as I'd just done on the other; and to also maintain the same angle I was holding the piece at while sanding. Once again, I found this easier than expected and the heavy 80grit paper helped speed the process along. Once both were sanded to shape I only had to add the pilot's cutout in the center to make the "top" wing. One part of scratchbuilding is knowing you have to engineer things that kits give you. I had to figure out HOW I would attach the bottom wing to the fuselage. Again, trying to go the simplest way, I decided to cut the airfoil shape into the fuselage bottom so the wing can be fit up into it. The scroll saw has more than earned its keep on this project! I tackled the tail surfaces next. Since they're smaller I decided to use thick sheet plastic to carve their blanks. After transferring their plan shapes to the sheet plastic heavy scissors was used to cut them out. They were then hand sanded to their airfoil shapes just like the wings. Note the very thin piece of .005 plastic sheet at the top of the pic. This was what I'd use to "skin" them with, so I didn't have to worry about any sanding marks on the plastic blanks. This and the following pics will show the method used to make the ribbed skinning for the horizontal tailplane, but the same method was used for the fin and rudder too. Note that the tailplane plan has been drawn in pencil onto the .005 plastic sheet, including the "rib" lines. Also note that they do not go all the way to the edges of the drawing/part. The .005 sheet was then placed onto a folded piece of paper towel to give it a slightly padded surface under it. A straight edge and a ball point pen was then used to draw in the rib lines (whether or not the ink transfers to the plastic is not important). This method creates an indented line on the inside and a raised "rib" on the outer surface of the thin sheet. Here, the tail plane blank (which had already been used in 2 previous failing attempts at ribbing!) has been superglued to the first half of its "skin". After it set, more superglue was applied to the other half and it was folded over onto the top. This method isn't perfect.... it produces rough edges at the sides and rear, but those can be carved and sanded to shape. On one of my first attempts I tried using contact cement instead of superglue. It worked ok, BUT when it came time to sand it and the .005 was sanded through, the contact cement did NOT sand well. Superglue solved that problem! Here are the rough sanded and primed tail plane parts. I'm very satisfied with the representation of the structural ribbing as being even and visible enough for my purposes. I believe that once they've been fine sanded and painted they'll look the part, pun intended! That's where things stand as of today! My next step will be to try to "skin" the wings. More pics when more progress has been made. Comments, critiques, questions, and suggestions are all welcome as always! Gil

Thanks for following the WIP on this project , it's quite appreciated !, here the latest update AVRO C.102 JETLINER (3D +SCRATCH) (MAY 25th ) Today , I start to repair the iner structure of the nose bay and painted the inner windows black cause of the thincness of the 3D print ! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/uvk6ymGqZHgpWDaR9 If you like to view what I have completed so far on the AVRO CANADA project , I have set up an GOOGLE page for them , here the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FpZs5m3ic3c3eL329 Enjoy and it's an 'rendez-vous' next week for more on this particular project..!. Jmarc

Thanks for following this WIP, it's quite appreciated EDUARD 1/48 DFW-28 FLOH (MAY 26th).. Today I sanded the work done last time and add more putty ! ! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , just follow this GOOGLE link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/oh57EPPNx9Dc3zHY8 If you like to view the other WWI kits I have done just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/FUkTjEgHtdwVHJRcA Enjoy ! Jmarc

First I'd like to thank you for following this WIP , it's quite appreciated ! LOOCKHEED WV-1 CONSTELLASTION in 1/48 (MAY 22nd ) ..Today I continue ingraving the panel lines on the fuselage ! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , juts follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/GZvfX8dsdnYnsQ2W7 Here a pics of both projects Enjoy Jmarc

First I'd like to thank you for following this post ,it's quite appreciated ! BOEING INCITUS MQ-27 / CU-169 SCAN EAGLE 1/48 ( 3dPRINTED +MODIFICATION) (MAY 21st ) Today I contimue adding small details and done the wash/dry-brush on the last work !! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/jrWyBiNZSJHCUknZ9 If you like to view all the DRONES I have done so far in 1/48 , just follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mjGm69hDKYaDuFNX6 Enjoy ! Jmarc

Thanks for following the WIP on this project , it's quite appreciated !, here the latest update AVRO C.102 JETLINER (3D +SCRATCH) (MAY 19th ) Today , I re-inline the nose wheel well , apply some putty and place some clear 3D scoth tapes on the side window ! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/uvk6ymGqZHgpWDaR9 If you like to view what I have completed so far on the AVRO CANADA project , I have set up an GOOGLE page for them , here the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FpZs5m3ic3c3eL329 Enjoy and it's an 'rendez-vous' next week for more on this particular project..!. Jmarc

Well the story is , they show it as a kite to get some sponsor for an engine ,So they tow it it behind a car and it believe or not it crash.. and as the MAXIM aircrafts they move on to something else ..lol

Worked on building and painting some of the fiddly bits today..... I got the side windows and the windshields masked and painted, as well as the scratchbuilt tailhook and the 3D printed Scarf ring for the Lewis gun. You can also see the wires cut to length to be used for the torpedo bracing cables. I usually use split electrical wire insulation to make coaming padding, but didn't have the right size on hand so I rolled some epoxy putty instead. I used Apoxy Sculp as it handles easily, rolling out the "ropes" on top of a paper towel and then tediously draping them around the cockpit edges. They'll be painted leather brown or black eventually. The torpedo came from the spares box, but it needed thinner fins that were more to scale so I made those from sheet plastic cut and sanded to shape. Also of note is the stack of foam padding I have taped to the wings to allow me to work on the bottom fuselage without any danger to the X struts on the fuselage. You can see the torpedo rack braces and the vertical nose stabilizer in this pic, as well as the small disc on the fuselage bottom where the electrical starter cable will exit to be attached to the torpedo. Holes were also drilled in the bottom to accommodate 2 brace cables as well. The double prop is just sitting in the torpedo for the pic and will be painted brass separately. I've also adding the last of the fuselage ribbing on the bottom edges as well as the foot step rungs. There's a few more small details that need added, but painting has begun on some of the smaller assemblies and I think I'm close to starting to paint the top wing yellow! At least it feels like things are finally starting to come together! Gil

The final support struts have been added! The top struts are not cemented to the top wing yet! I'll have to be careful handling it from now on as those struts are glued, but not pinned! Yet another major step and what should be the last "major" components needed for the build. Gil

Got the engine plugged and wired..... As you can see the oil cooler cover covers a multitude of sins of omission around the crankcase! Gil

First I'd like to thank you for following this WIP , it's quite appreciated ! LOOCKHEED WV-1 CONSTELLASTION in 1/48 (MAY 15th ) ..Today I continue ingraving the panel lines on the fuselage ! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , juts follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/GZvfX8dsdnYnsQ2W7 Here a pics of both projects Enjoy Jmarc

This is May, but these were completed last month and so are being shown now. First up are my two German Z-class destroyers whose construction had not been documented in the tours. First is the Tamiya 1/700 scale Z-37: Next is the Tamiya 1/700 scale Z-39: The next ships to launch are the Nichimo 1/500 scale Japanese battle ship IJN Mutsu: Yes, I did forget to glue down the center section, that has been remedied... The final ship to be launched is the Nichimo 1/500 scale Japanese carrier IJN Shokaku: My apologies for the backdrop; I couldn't find a white background big enough for this large ship. Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome.

Thanks for following the WIP ..here is the latest advance on the project ! (MAY 14th) Today , I start working on the wings bottoms panel lines ! If you like to view the complete WIP of this project https://photos.app.goo.gl/89TgFWzqzKY6KcjE6 ........You been following this post and like to view all the AVRO CANADA projects I have completed so far .. just follow this Google link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FpZs5m3ic3c3eL329 Hope youl,le enjoy the built Jmarc

With the fuselage and wing in the filling/sanding/priming stages, I turned my attention to the engine and the prop..... For those of you old enough to remember when Saturday Night Live was funny, as Rosanna Rosannadanna said: "if it's notta one thing, it's a somethinga else"! Turns out the engine I had wanted to use (and every other engine on hand) was `1/4" too small in diameter. That's a scale foot too small! Since no one makes a resin P&W R-1690 that meant I'd have to "enlarge" the engine on hand. It was enlarged by first removing every cylinder from the crankcase and then installing thick punched discs at the bottom of each one. This pic shows the plastic sheet used to make the discs and the half round rod used to detail the tops of each cylinder. I used my trusty (and now rusty) old Waldron punch set to do the job! Since the cylinders were now longer, the original push rods had to be cut away from the crankcase cover and individually installed to fit. Since they'll all be covered by the oil cooler cover, those gaps at the bottom of each one won't be seen. Once the engine was the proper size and the front and cylinder tops detailed, I worked on the rear side.... The white intake/exhaust manifold ring was made by first drawing it on paper in order to get its 9-sided design and then copied onto sheet plastic laminated to the proper thickness. Holes were drilled in its top edges and into the rear or each cylinder for the intake and exhaust piping. Solder wire was then bent to shape and cut to length to make each set of pipes. Drops of superglue where pipes join will resemble "welds" after painting (I hope!). By the way.... as for the exhaust pipe arrangement.... I've seen at least 3 different "ways" in various pics and so felt free to make this design with 2 sets of pipes for each side of the plane since I couldn't pin down any "one" accurate design. The 4 pics above show how the finished engine and exhaust piping looks when mounted. I may add a few more small bolt heads here and there for additional detailing, but it's essentially done. I had no prop of the proper size either in my spares box and couldn't find one to order either so I "Frankensteined" one from spare prop hubs and blades. It still needs some cleanup here and there (the blades will be chromed!) and I may also add some counterweights for detail, but it's also essentially done. I have to say I was a little bummed out when I realized I'd have to modify the engine, but it went much smoother and faster than I thought it would in the end, all of the above work (including building the prop) taking about 4-5hrs. Now back to the fuselage! As always, critiques, comments, and questions are welcome! Gil

Thanks for following the WIP on this project , it's quite appreciated !, here the latest update AVRO C.102 JETLINER (3D +SCRATCH) (MAY 11th ) Today , I sanded the work done last week ,and apply another coat of putty and sand it again , then I start to adjust the nose wheel well ! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/uvk6ymGqZHgpWDaR9 If you like to view what I have completed so far on the AVRO CANADA project , I have set up an GOOGLE page for them , here the link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FpZs5m3ic3c3eL329 Enjoy and it's an 'rendez-vous' next week for more on this particular project..!. Jmarc

First I'd like to thank you for following this post ,it's quite appreciated ! BOEING INCITUS MQ-27 / CU-169 SCAN EAGLE 1/48 ( 3dPRINTED +MODIFICATION) (MAY 08th ) Today I painted the various wheels !! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/jrWyBiNZSJHCUknZ9 If you like to view all the DRONES I have done so far in 1/48 , just follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mjGm69hDKYaDuFNX6 Enjoy ! Jmarc

First I'd like to thank you for following this post , it's quite appreciated ! 1/48 BELL UH-1D (ESCI) (MAY 08th ) Today I done the wash/dry-brush on the holding structure, add the doors and the last detail the project is now completed ! If you like to follow the complete WIP on this project , I have set up an GOOGLE page, just follow this link .. https://photos.app.goo.gl/NtNSgh1zJgx9jRSx5 If you like to view the other BELL UH-1 HUEY projects I have done so far .,just follow this link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/DqxAFqjkYiFPMMY47 Enjoy ! Jmarc

First I'd like to thank you for following this post ,it's quite appreciated ! BOEING INCITUS MQ-27 / CU-169 SCAN EAGLE 1/48 ( 3dPRINTED +MODIFICATION) (MAY 07th ) Today I add the various wheels and still working on the last details !! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/jrWyBiNZSJHCUknZ9 If you like to view all the DRONES I have done so far in 1/48 , just follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mjGm69hDKYaDuFNX6 Enjoy ! Jmarc

Piddly, but necessary work continues...... This pic shows the 3D printed Scarf rings bought for this project, the completed engine oil cooler cover (now with back plate). the scratchbuilt tail hook, and though hard to see the 3 windshields made and the tape pattern used to make them. Here's a test "sitting" of the windshields and Scarf ring. Note that 2 vertical posts have been added to the rear cockpit sides to support it. Test fitting the tail hook, which has a small wire post on the underside to serve as a locating pin. Still have a good amount of engine detailing to do too..... but I may just go ahead and get the fuselage glued to the bottom wing just so I can take something resembling an airplane to our model meeting Saturday! More pics then! Gil

First I'd like to thank you for following this post ,it's quite appreciated ! BOEING INCITUS MQ-27 / CU-169 SCAN EAGLE 1/48 ( 3dPRINTED +MODIFICATION) (MAY 06th ) Today I continue working on the last details !! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/jrWyBiNZSJHCUknZ9 If you like to view all the DRONES I have done so far in 1/48 , just follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mjGm69hDKYaDuFNX6 Enjoy ! Jmarc

This is the 1973 release of Airfix's Ju-87 Stuka done in a winter camo scheme. It's OOTB with the exception of the prop disc. I also worked on the stand to make it look like frozen terrain from the air. Very basic kit, of course, but went together well with care. Decals were no good so those are after market ones.

First I'd like to thank you for following this post ,it's quite appreciated ! BOEING INCITUS MQ-27 / CU-169 SCAN EAGLE 1/48 ( 3dPRINTED +MODIFICATION) (MAY 05th ) Today I continue working on the last details !! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/jrWyBiNZSJHCUknZ9 If you like to view all the DRONES I have done so far in 1/48 , just follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mjGm69hDKYaDuFNX6 Enjoy ! Jmarc

First I'd like to thank you for following this post , it's quite appreciated ! 1/48 BELL UH-1D (ESCI) (MAY 05th ) Today I done the last details and started the holding structure ! If you like to follow the complete WIP on this project , I have set up an GOOGLE page, just follow this link .. https://photos.app.goo.gl/NtNSgh1zJgx9jRSx5 If you like to view the other BELL UH-1 HUEY projects I have done so far .,just follow this link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/DqxAFqjkYiFPMMY47 Enjoy ! Jmarc

Did you see the post on the main IPMS/USA FB page? Hopefully it will give you ideas for what to build for 2026 Nationals this year! One of the special categories is The 60th Anniversary of Star Trek: Any vehicle, figure, or diorama from the entire Star Trek franchise. So bring all your non-cloaked builds to the show. And for a list of all the Special Contest Categories, visit https://ipmsnationals.org/2026-special-categories

First I'd like to thank you for following this WIP , it's quite appreciated ! LOOCKHEED WV-1 CONSTELLASTION in 1/48 (MAY 01st ) ..Today I continue ingraving the panel lines on the fuselage ! If you like to view the complete WIP on this project , juts follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/GZvfX8dsdnYnsQ2W7 Here a pics of both projects Enjoy Jmarc

The fuselage is now mostly complete since the nose has finally been added! The main thing that jumps out in the pic is the bracing strip in front of the first cockpit. I used multiple layers of tape wrapped around the nose to do it. You can also see one of the masks for one of the window openings has come off during handling. Note the crawl platform that's been added between the pilot and gunner's cockpit. It's just a plastic sheet bordered by upside down "L" shaped strip. In addition to the nose reinforcing strip, note that I repaired the forward access panel and also added a wire grab handle near the crawl pad. This view shows the scratchbuilt tail wheel and a closer look at the rear sides shows the reinforcing strips added around the areas for the control wire holes and the tail plane underside brace points. Next up is another round of filling and sanding imperfections, but it feels good to seemingly be making faster progress! Comments, questions, and critiques welcome, as always! Gil

Thank you for following my wip on this project , it's quite appreciated ! FUJIMI 1/48 WESTLAND WASP and SCOUT (APR 30th ) Today I continue working on the seats for the 2 versions ! If you like to follow the complete WIP on this project , just follow this link to my personal Goggle page : https://photos.app.goo.gl/g9FmoRJ2xbynscfk6 If you like to view all the other CHOPPER I have done so far , just visit this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/a53KFY5v9WWjf3m8A Hope youl,le enjoy following this project ! Jmarc

Part of scratchbuilding is having to rework and rebuild things along the way. I wasn't satisfied with the original nose I built for the 1/48 T4M-1; so I started over from "scratch" and built what I think is a better one. The back plate matches the front of the vac fuselage, The front octagonal plate establishes the end of each section as well as gives the front measurement for each. Note the engine with tubing glued to its back that will fit into the nose when done. Shot of test fitting the engine.... there's some room to move the engine in or out to allow for the exhaust manifolding on the back to be built up later. As you can see, the original nose had a top panel that was much too wide and each of the other panels weren't as well defined. By building the new nose using flat panels cut to shape I could get the top center panel the correct size and make each one's "match" on the other side of the nose the same size until it was filled in all the way around. Note all of the air louvers on the drawing that will need to be added before I can call the nose "finished". Test fitting the nose to the fuselage. Although it is slightly larger in diameter where they meet, there's a thin "proud" strip that wraps around the nose just in front of the front cockpit that will help even out that difference. It can't be added until after the fuselage has been glued together. With some luck this will be the last major "build" job of this project and I can get the vacuform fuselage halves glued together and the nose added to complete the fuselage. Hopefully, after that, the rest will be simply a matter of normal parts detailing, gluing and aligning, and other such "mundane" work as done to complete any other model. We'll see! Gil

I'm calling the interior work "done"..... These 2 pics focus on the front 2 cockpits from both sides. The Instrument panels are glued in place, but the seats and the control wheels are not. These 2 pics give a view of the rear cockpit with the radio, its sending key on the side, the swivel seat, and the Lewis drum storage racks. What really can't be seen are the 6 3D printed Lewis drums in the racks. Like up front, the rear seat is not glued in yet. These 2 pics show how it all fits relative to the cockpit openings and the side windows. For the "record"....none of this is "accurate", but most of it is what I term as "period authentic"; meaning it's typical of most all of the important items that would be found and/or seen in biplane cockpits from the late '20s and early '30s. There isn't a single Martin T4M torpedo plane left in the world to serve as a reference, only a couple of poor pics of its cockpits and IPs, and most other pics are from longer distances where details are hard to discern. The drawings available do help, but even they have limited "views" and are of no help for the interior. So I'm settling for some generic cockpits that at least look somewhat "busy" for anyone who wants to peek inside! Now on to that pesky octagonal nose section that still needs to be added! Gil

Main IPs are done (or as done as I'm gonna make 'em!).... I started by painting the IPs Tamiya flat black.... I then pried them apart so I could scratch off the markings on each painted black dial..... However! THAT didn't go as well as planned so I switched gears, dug out some Mike Grant instrument decals and punched out each individual instrument and white glued them onto the back of each panel. I then added some spare PE parts and some painted red buttons to finish them up. Interestingly, I believe using the spray can Tamiya flat black may have hindered my initial idea. The scratch-off dial method was originally developed using enamel paint back in the '70s and I think it actually scratches off easier than the Tamiya acrylic/lacquer paint. All I know is I was having more trouble scratching off the paint to make the dials than I have in the past and that's the only difference I could think of. Just file that away for future reference! No pics.... but I also got the interior frame and fuselage interior sides sprayed with their initial coat of metallic aluminum! Perhaps I might have the interior "done" and the fuselage glued together by the end of the week! Gil

Most all of the interior parts are built now.... Overall view of this week's work.... If you look closely you can see (front to back) the PE rudder pedals and cables, both of the throttle quads and their cable, the torpedo drop control console/handles bottom right front, the trim control wheel on the left center of the middle cockpit along with an emergency hydraulic pump on the right side, and the Lewis gun ammo drum racks in the back of the rear cockpit. This is a view from the other side where you can see the radio (with a sending key out of view) on its rack in the front of the rear cockpit. Not seen is the pivoting seat for the rear cockpit. The main IPs are being built using the traditional sandwich method. The holes for the IPs where made using a Waldron punch and die set. These assemblies will be sprayed black and then the fronts pried from the backing sheet so the black instruments can then have their individual markings scribed in place. More pics of that when they're done. Gil

Started making cockpit parts today for the scratchbuilt 1/48 T4M-1; working on getting the resin seats installed at the right heights, installing foot channels evenly at their correct heights, and making up the control wheels with their actuator/torque tubing. All of this was done pretty much by repeated trial and error test fitting. There's still a lot of other details to be added to the interior yet including the entire rear cockpit. The seats and sticks are designed to be able to be added late in the build. Test fitting the assembly to the fuselage for the seat heights and positions compared to the cockpit openings. More pics when the interior is more or less complete! Gil

Got a couple of major jobs done today.... I got the fuselage windows made. I started by making "rings" to fit on the inside of each window JUST slightly smaller than the opening. This made "seats" that each clear window can later be slid onto which will allow me to add the windows very late in the build. The bottom fuselage has 3 windows sitting in place, and you can see the other 3 windows at the bottom of the pics. They were made with a punch of the appropriate size. I also got the interior tubular frame built. The frame was made using plastic rod and built by fitting parts inside the fuselage and also matching to the plans on hand. It was done partly with measurements and partly by "mark-1 eyeball". There's still more supports to be added for detailing, but this makes up the basic frame. These 2 pics show the test fitting of the tubular frame into the fuselage to be sure it fits ok. There's still a l-o-n-g way to go to build up all of the interior details, but at least I now have a frame to hang everything on and within! Gil

I've started adding details to the fuselage exterior using strip stock for ribbing, half round rod for hinges, and plastic tape (blue) and sheet plastic for access panels. Hand holds/steps have also been opened up and then boxed in. I may throw a coat of primer on it all just to get a sense of how it'll look under paint. Gil

Started working on the fuselage halves... Sanded these out and then added the alternating plastic strips needed inside the seams to keep the thin edges of the plastic from folding over each other when test fitting the halves together. The plans you see were used to mark and then guide cutting out the 3 windows in each side. Here's the fuselage taped together for a test fitting with the nose in place. All of the window and cockpit holes were first opened with a drill bit. Next, I used a router bit in a motor tool to grind out most of the opening, followed with another conical sanding bit to finish out each opening. I used the lower speed on my 2-speed battery powered tool so to avoid melting the plastic while grinding it away. Gil

Still inching along on the torpedo bomber..... Got the nose cut off of the fuselage and glued sheet plastic to it to add the flat panels around it. I felt this would be easier than trying to sand each area of the nose AND keep the panels symmetrical. These 2 pics show the fuselage halves after having been split back apart along the original glued paper divider and also the angles of the nose panels on its sides, top, and bottom. Sometime scratchbuilding a model requires more than just building the model.... in this case I needed to make adjustments to more efficiently use my vac table..... I have a BIG table, measuring 22' wide x 28" long! This will come in very handy for one future project I have in mind, but it's MUCH bigger than needed for this torpedo bomber and would waste a lot of sheet plastic. Note the marked off rectangle in the center..... this is where a smaller raised platen will go to vac my parts. All of the holes outside of that area will have to be sealed with tape. The answer is to vacuform smaller sheets of plastic.... big enough for the parts, but not as big as the table. I found a metal document frame at Walmart that's 11"x14" and took all of the glass, matting, and other stuff out of it to leave the bare frame. The sheet plastic is simply clamped to the frame. This will be popped into the oven to heat the plastic until it sags so I can then throw it on the table and vac my parts (hopefully!). I made a smaller raised "platen" out of peg board to set onto the center of the vac table with holes that match the vac table. I've placed the parts here to give an idea of how they'll look when ready to vac over EXCEPT that they'll each have some material added on their undersides to slightly raise them from the platen so the vacuum can (again, hopefully) circulate a bit under the parts as well as around them. Ain't "do it yourself" fun? Lastly.... you might be wondering where do you get the sheet plastic? You order it from a plastic supply house! This is 5 sheets of styrene (3 of .02 and 2 of .03) rolled up in there, each one 40"x70". Hopefully that'll be enough for anything and everything I might do for years to come! More pics after (AND IF!) I can get this all to work! Gil

Found a boo-boo in my build.... I JUST found a small anomaly in my T4M-1 build.... evidently there should be NO REAR inner vertical wing struts, as seen in the pic above! The lack of a vertical strut at the rear of the wing fold break is something I should have noticed earlier. The plans I have do not have a "rear" view and the rest of the plans imply that the struts would be there like most other biplanes of that time. But after studying pics of the real thing, they're just not there! Luckily it's an easy fix at this point! Just leave them off! It always pays to quadruple check your references! Gil

I'm pronouncing "phase 1" of my scratchbuilt 1/48 Martin T4M-1 torpedo bomber as done! These pics show the wings, empennage, and landing gear mocked up with the balsa fuselage. I went this route reasoning "why bother vacking a fuselage if I couldn't build the rest"? Now I believe it's time for phase 2 and to turn my attention to the fuselage to determine what details need to be added before splitting it apart to be vacked. More pics after THAT's been done! Gil

Got the main landing gear built for the T4M-1 torpedo bomber. Each one consists of 11 pieces of airfoil strut, wire, and a small bit of tubing. More pics after I get the tail wheel built! Gil

Some more progress pics of scratchbuilding my 1/48 T-4M torpedo bomber. Made a big step forward in getting the outer wing struts made and test fitted. Looks like I might just be able to make a model out of this after all! Test fit of the struts and the wings with the fuselage in place for reference. I'm pleased with the "look" overall. This rear view seems to confirm that the struts have been placed evenly and symmetrically. A close look at the wing surfaces shows the pencil lines drawn on and used to mark the exact strut placement points. The struts are airfoil strip stock cut to identical lengths and drilled and pinned with thin floral wire. The 3 thicker wires on the bottom wing center line are used to temporarily anchor the wooden fuselage in place for test fitting. You can also see some more of the filling that's been done on uneven scribe lines and minor imperfections that have since been sanded and primered over yet one more time. Anyway, this feels like a major step forward in the project and is a great motivator to move on to building the landing gear struts. More pics when they're done! Comments, questions, and critiques welcome, as always! Gil Gil

Ok.... after the debacle of diverting to build the RF-84F, I'm back to work on this 1/48 Martin T4M torpedo bomber. I started by making a 3rd tailplane, as the first 2 just didn't cut it. I tried to "carve" the ribs on the far left one and that was too rough looking. I used the skinning method on the center one, but it had some gunk under the skin when I folded it over that resulted in having to try to sand the ribbing which ruined a section. It seems the 3rd time was the charm! The far right shows the 3rd tailplane I've built by sanding thicker sheet plastic to airfoil shape and skinning it with with "drawn ribbed" .005 sheet plastic (as seen in the post above). This one has much more consistent ribbing. Since I'd had trouble before trying to scribe the elevon hinge line, this time I sawed the elevons off of the tailplanes, glued some half-round to their leading edges, and carved a groove in the rear edge of the tailplane so that the elevons fit snuggly into that groove when I reattached them. I also realized that according to the scale plans the tail fin does NOT sit on top of the tailplane; instead, the tail plane is mounted on either side of the tail fin just below the lowest rib. So, that meant cutting out the center section of the tail plane (the thickness of the tail fin) and drilling holes so I could use thick wire for mounting pins. This pic shows test fitting each tailplane half to the fin. Not absolutely perfect, but certainly workable! Front and rear views of test fitting the tail fin and tail planes to the balsa fuselage (which will be vacuformed in the end). Moving to the wings.... I realized the wings AND the ailerons would be easier to skin if they were separate, so I sawed them apart. I also reasoned that the center of the bottom wing, where it's attached to the fuselage, the landing gear, and where the torpedo hangs would probably be the most heavily reinforced wing area so I used .010 sheet plastic with no ribbing to skin it. I used "ribbed" .005 sheet for the upper wing section, but note that I had to leave a space for a wing tank (the blue rectangle) when drawing in the ribbing. All that's left now is to use the .005 sheet to skin the rest of the wings and also skin the ailerons! By the way.... I'm using Gorrilla brand contact cement to attach all of the skinning. It only takes 2-3 minutes after applying before it's ready to use. BUT, it is NOT designed for "polystyrene", so it has to be used only in thin coats, which is exactly what's called for in this build. It seems to sand better than the regular "wood working" contact cement I first tried and gives me slightly more working time than using superglue. Critiques, questions, and comments welcome as I stumble forward with this project! 😁 Gil

Thanks for following the WIP ..here is the latest advance on the project ! (JAN 27th) Today , I completed the rudder section scribbling and started the fuselage ! If you like to view the complete WIP of this project https://photos.app.goo.gl/89TgFWzqzKY6KcjE6 ........You been following this post and like to view all the AVRO CANADA projects I have completed so far .. just follow this Google link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FpZs5m3ic3c3eL329 Hope youl,le enjoy the built Jmarc

ÉOLE D'ADER gathering 1/48 (SEPT 01st ) Today I done the last details and this sectioin is completed ! If you like to follow the complete WIP on this project , I have set up an GOOGLE page, just follow this link .. https://photos.app.goo.gl/NtNSgh1zJgx9jRSx5 Enjoy ! Jmarc

My 1/10 scale bust of Frankenstein's Creature and his bride from Insomnia Miniatures. These are based on the 1931 an2 32 movies more that the original source. (The movie we all know bears very little resemblance to Mary Shelley's book.) Painted in black and white to give homage to the movies, they are displayed in photo frame in front of a photo I took of the stonework at a Springfield MA church. Like Comment Send

I had fun with this resin kit, loved painting the chair. I 3d printed the gym bag, Qbert & Coily. Her hoodie is all painted and took way too long. LOL