Wolfman63

The next build is a de Havilland Vampire jet of the RAF. It was the second jet to be flown by the RAF. It did not become operational until after World War II in 1946, but had a successful history with the RAF until the late 1950’s. I am using the Trumpeter kit with the Eduard detail set. More photos in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-vampire-fb-mk-9/

The Freedom Models F-20A Tigershark in Prototype 2 scheme is now complete! This was a fun kit to build. Instructions have some minor issues but not bad. Also am using a different camera so the completed photos represent the color much better and the photos look better. You can see all the completed photos in my blog gallery: https://davidsscalemodels.com/gallery/1-48-f-20a-tigershark/

Continuing the work on the Freedom Models 1/48 scale F-20A Tigershark. Fuselage assembled, painted, and decals applied. Working on the missiles and the canopy details now. Getting close to completion. All the build photos are on my blog at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-f-20a-tigershark/

Continuing work on the 1/48 Freedom Models F-20A. Cockpit installed, exhaust installed, and now assembling the fuselage. The fit of the parts is very good. Just had a small section on the spine that needed a little putty. Also added a little weight to the nose to keep it from being tail heavy. More photos at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-f-20a-tigershark/

This is the Freedom Models 1/48 scale F-20A Tigershark. Built by Northrop (before they became Northrop Grumman). I started on the cockpit. The dash board was painted to match photos of the actual aircraft. To create the realistic multi-function displays I painted them a chrome silver and use Tamiya clear green on top. The screens look like real displays as the light reflects light from different angles. You can see more photos on my blog at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-f-20a-tigershark/

It is now completed! This is the Glenco 1/48 scale J2F-2 Grumman Duck representing VMF-2 that patrolled the Caribbean Ocean off the Virgin Islands. The Duck’s were used for patrolling areas and performing search and rescue of downed pilots. More photos can be seen in the Gallery page on my blog: https://davidsscalemodels.com/gallery/1-48-j2f-2-grumman-duck/

The fuselage and wings now have their base coat paint on and the rigging of the wings is done. Still have decals, detail painting, and weathering. I also bought the Squadron Vacu-Form canopy as the kit canopy is very thick and it appears the mold was not clean. Looks like some dirt got into the plastic. More photos in the build log https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-j2f-duck/

Work continues on the J2F Duck. The fuselage is now together and the many gaps have been filled. I used clear acetate for the side windows as the kit windows were thicker that the fuselage plastic and obstructed the view inside. I added the duct just under the nose that was in the reference photos. The engine was completed and working on getting the wings assembled and cleaned up. All the build photos can be seen at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-j2f-duck/

I spent last evening scratch building the dash for the J2F Duck. While doing it I took photos to add a brief tutorial on my blog. The dash looks great. I am getting closer to putting the fuselage together. I need to do some minor modifications to the fuselage then some assembly and filling. The tutorial is at https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/making-a-cockpit-dash-from-scratch/ All the build photos are at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-j2f-duck/ The photo below shows the original kit dash on the left, then the photo of the actual dash resized, then the decal and on the right is the final dash. Here is the photo of it installed.

Cold and cloudy with scattered rain means I was able to spend the afternoon adding more details to the J2F. Made the rear gun mount, found better wheels in my stash box, and added details to the interior. Need to make the dash for the pilot next.

The work continues on the interior of the J2F duck. The interior and landing gear are basically installed. Have many more details to add. I drilled out the exhaust pipes to look more realistic. I did watch “Murphy’s War” last night while working on it. Grabbed some screen shots for details of the engine area. Many scenes of the engine without the cowl provided some nice references. All the build photos can be seen at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-j2f-duck/

Starting on the Glenco 1/48 scale J2F Duck. This is an older kit and does not have the level of details that newer kits have. The Duck is a Grumman built amphibious aircraft that was primarily used for search and rescue. It is unique from other single engine float planes in that the main float and fuselage are designed together. This allows room for more crew members. The scheme that I will be doing is the Marine version that was stationed in the Virgin Islands. All of the interior details will be scratch built using styrene stock and remnants of many photo etch extras I have. I located some build photos from Grumman use as a guide for the interior. I started with getting the cockpit area roughed in. The cockpit floor and the rear bulkhead will serve as my reference point. Working on the Radio/Gunner position at the rear of the cockpit now. More photos in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-j2f-duck/

The Academy 1/48 F-4B is finished. Overall this kit is great. Very good fit and excellent decals. The instructions could use a little better clarity when it comes to missiles and bombs. So I now have four decades of VF-111 aircraft. All build and completed photos are at https://davidsscalemodels.com/2018/05/16/f-4b-phantom-from-vf-111-completed/

The decals are done. The decals are excellent, they conformed to the surface details very well. Next up is the weathering and canopy details. So far this has been a very nice kit to build. I have had no fit issues and everything coming together nicely. You can see all the build photo's at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-academy-f-4b-vf-111/

The base coat painting is done. I also painted the missiles and drop tanks. I used black, brown, and blue pastel chalk to weather the exhaust. They came out very similar to the reference photo's I am using. Should be starting the numerous decals tomorrow. More photo's on my blog under the build logs page.

Working on the undercarriage. Landing gear almost complete. The decal for the nose gear door went on very nicely. Looking more like a phantom now with the fuselage done. Getting ready to paint the basecoat then decals. You can see more photo's at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-academy-f-4b-vf-111/

Working on the fuselage. I have the intake ducts, resin exhaust, and cockpit installed and the rear of the fuselage together. More photo's at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-academy-f-4b-vf-111/

One seat completed. It takes some time to build. Add details, paint add more details. You can see and follow the build on my blog at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-academy-f-4b-vf-111/

You can now read about all the work it took to create my USS Carl Vinson Project. You can see all the build photo's at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-350-uss-carl-vinson/ and all the completed photo's at https://davidsscalemodels.com/gallery/uss-carl-vinson-project/

Starting on Academy's 1/48 F-4B with VF-111 scheme. I am also using Eduard's Cockpit detail set, Eduard's Brassin resin seats, and Eduard's Brassin exhaust cans. The cockpit tub is done and now working on the seats. The seats have over 44 parts themselves! So far all is going good. Only thing I don't like at the moment is the nose gear door link is very fragile and installs early. It is now pinned as it breaks easily. You can see and follow the build on my blog at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-48-academy-f-4b-vf-111/

Many aircraft have lights. On WWII aircraft they used a series of lights for night time recognition and many have various lights for formation flying at night. Many times these are represented on models as mold lines or molded in the plastic. I came up with a tutorial on how to make these more realistic using Acrylic Gel Medium and Tamiya clear paints. You can see the tutorial on my website at https://davidsscalemodels.com/tips-and-tricks/recognition-lights/ Here are some pictures to see how they look:

Yes you can locate them. Here is a link to one place that has it http://www.brookhursthobbies.com/Product-Listing.cfm?C=8&D=2001&N=10&M=KAGERO&S= If your Stuka is 1/72 or 1/32 I have the decals. The sets come with 8 schemes in 3 scales.

Well I must say this kit has been a challenge but it came out pretty good. The Cartigraf decals are awesome. Here are the final photo's. You can see the entire build at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/fw-190a-8/

The fit issues just keep coming with this kit. I attached the wings and there were many gaps to the rear wing root. Lots if filling and sanding. The engine is now together and installed. This is turning into a good/bad. Fit issues but the detail of things appears good. Working on the cowl now. Doing a dry fit of the cowl has revealed that the cowl guns are 1.5mm too high. Need to do some trimming and adjustments to get the cowling to fit properly. More photo's at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/fw-190a-8/

I now have the fuselage together. I would like to state a word of caution. Do not assemble the firewall/gun bay per the instructions. You need to put the fuselage together then assemble the gun bay in pieces to get it to fit. You will need to tape the lower wing so you can align the dump chute from the ammo boxes to the ports on the lower wing. I had to cut the back wall off and do some trimming to fit it properly. Still need to do some sanding and paint touch up. While I was letting the fuselage set I started on the lower wing. It does have some nice details so far. You can see all the build pictures at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/fw-190a-8/