Stikpusher

Thanks Mark. This old Monogram kit has its’ faults, but it will look like a P-40 when built, and can really shine with some TLC. I suppose that’s true of most model kits.

Not just two “normal” kits, but a vacuform build as well? Wow! That’s a bold move.

So I guess this is my first completion of 2023. Although it hardly counts as such. This is the old MPC snap together box scale, (1/54 per Scalemates) All Terrain Scout Transport. I had built the basic kit many years ago and started painting it for an April Fools theme at OC IPMS. But my painting skills at the time were not up to what was needed for the end result envisioned, so I just set it aside partially painted. So yesterday at IPMS Phoenix the theme was Star Wars/Star Trek/Battlestar Galactica and I remembered that I had this one sitting around and decided to finish it up. The kit comes with the armored flaps over the vision ports molded shut, so I created some new ones out of sheet plastic to match the shape, then drilled open the ports. Then I glued the new flaps in the open position and proceeded to do a rapid and complete exterior repaint into a standard Imperial look. Once the painting was done, I added some “glass” in the open vision ports using Micro Krystal Klear, and lastly followed up with some slight weathering. Thank goodness for quick drying Tamiya acrylics with lacquer thinner. Not bad for an afternoon’s work.

This is my last completion of 2022, Monogram’s classic 1/48 early P-40. This one has been sidelined on my shelf of doom for so long that I don’t remember when I started it. A rough guess is that I started it sometime around twenty years ago, give or take a couple of years, and finished it up on New Years Eve, my last completion of the year. I used Cutting Edge decals for Tommy Haywood’s mount, American Volunteer Group, 3rd Pursuit Squadron, early 1942. Paints are Vallejo Model Air that are supposed to be close match for Du Pont colors used on export P-40’s. Personally, based on period color photos, I think that the Earth color is too light and has too much contrast with the Dark Green. I did do a bit of work to add some missing details in the wheel wells and cockpit, as well as some drilling out of muzzles and exhaust stacks. It could sure use a bit more work in the cockpit and wheel wells, but I wanted to get it finished by the end of the year. Not to mention going back and opening up the fuselage again. and my 1/48 P-40 family so far… Thanks for looking

This is ICM’s 1/48 Mig-3 kit that I built in the markings of one of the top scoring Soviet aces, Alexander Pokryshkin. He flew several Mig-3s in 1941-1942, before transitioning to the P-39 Airacobra. Between the two ill reputed types, he scored more confirmed kills (59) than any Western Allied ace. I built this with only the addition of a Kits World 3-D decal seat harness and a Cutting Edge instrument panel. Paints were Gunze Aqueous and Tamiya acrylic. The kit decals were translucent, especially over the topside dark colors, so aside from the underwing stars, I cobbled together the rest from my spares. and with the rest of my 1/48 Red Air Force

I had a fairly productive year buildwise for 2022. I was even able to squeeze in one more than last year. My first completion of the year was this Academy 1/35 M51 Sherman Followed by an Italeri Crusader III AA Tank, built in three four hour sessions for completion with 12 hours Next was a “shelf of doom” completion, the Dragon T-72M2, aka T-72B w/ERA and then a Dragon 1/35 M48A1 “Elvis Tank” Then for my wingy thingies First up, a 1/48 Hobbycraft F8F-1B Next was a 1/48 Tamiya F2A-2 And then I was able to finish up these last two on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve…. A 1/48 ICM Mig-3 and another “shelf of doom” project, a 1/48 Monogram P-40B a fine way to close out 2022

Thanks for the kind words Gil! Yeah, I’m a die hard Monogram mafioso when it comes to their 1/48 aircraft. They can indeed be made to shine.

Thanks Gil. The kit itself was great, it was just the finishing process that was so bothersome. And I agree about the black and green scheme. I think that it’s more attractive than the solid green scheme, or later war dark gray with medium gray.

Yeah, the times they are a changing. Too bad I’m not much for change at this point in life. And here is my second final completion of 2022, also with a few hours to spare in the local time zone. This was a build that fought me a bit on the finishing stage for paint and decals, but overall, I think that it turned out pretty well. Sharp looking little fighter me thinks.

So here it is, with a few hours to spare in 2022, all finished up, from the shelf of doom to the display shelf. Not my best work, but not bad, and sure better than languishing partially built for years and years. I’ll get a proper multi view batch of photos up in a day or two.

My new scores came in yesterday in no particular order. First up is the new Tamiya A-34 Comet. I had placed a pre order with Brookhurst Hobbies a couple months ago for this kit then heard nothing and started to wonder. Then I found out that they had gotten the kits in and not contacted me regarding my pre order, so I contacted them and got the problem straightened out. I am quite happy to have gotten the screw up corrected and the kit sent to me at the pre order price. Then I found this decal set for Korean War AD Skyraider. It has markings for an AD-3 from VA-35, USS Leyte Air Wing in Korea 1950/1951. After seeing Devotion and reading about the USN strikes at the Yalu River bridges, it was a natural inspiration to get this set.

Gil & Mark, thank you. Gil, it’s not that I was unhappy with the pattern, I just didn’t get enough green in there on the first go around. I’ve been plucking away at this one as well as my Mig-3. Just had the usuall holiday interruptions to slow me down. I went back and touched up the paint, enlarging the green areas. I really do like using the Vallejo Model Air paints due to their no fuss. At least minimal fuss in my experience anyways. One thing that I did have to go back and do afterwards though was paint the red squadron stripe around the rear fuselage, as I did not realize that there was no decal on the sheet I’m using for that. It would have been much easier for me to paint that area red first then mask off the stripe before the camouflage paint afterwards. Anyways no big deal doing it afterwards. I also gave this a nice coat of Tamiya Gloss getting her all ready for decals. Decals will be applied tomorrow. With a little luck and no interruptions, I should hopefully have this across the finish line before New Years strikes.

Well this one has been fighting me a bit, so I had to overcome some problems. Everything was going smooth until it was time to put on the gloss coat. I decided to try out the Micro Gloss. Not a good idea. Yes, I had used the stuff back in the 90’s, but that was over different paints. Long story short, the Micro Gloss started to crack as it dried over the Gunze paint. Which had been doing for a day or two. I emailed Micro Scale, but they weren’t too helpful in suggestions, telling me to try mineral spirits or sanding to get the cracked stuff off. Mineral spirits had zero effect (as did Windex and Simple Green), and sanding with fine sand paper started to remove paint quickly before smoothing out the cracks. As a last resort I tried 91% isopropyl alcohol. That stuff removed the Micro Gloss double quick, but it also attacked the Gunze Paint underneath. I tried 75% isopropyl alcohol and had less drastic results. Notice the two wings after clean up After the holiday interruptions, I resumed work, repainting the affected areas, and decided to go with Tamiya Gloss for my clear gloss prior to decals. Zero problems now… All ready for decals now. Lesson learned in that I need a new paint mule. I’m using paints and thinners now that I did not use back in the 90’s… Next update will be markings. I’m trying to get this one finished before the end of New Years Eve…

Very nice Gil! Is the floral wire round in profile or flattened like flying wire?

Bravo!!! That is one magnificent looking big bird! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Now I am most curious as how you will display this fine looking build. 🤔

Thanks Bob. No, I actually did not intentionally sand down any of the raised detail. Aside from seam clean up areas, I’m trying to preserve as much of the raised detail as possible. When you see a lot of those early warbirds in museums, many had overlapping panels and raised rivets, and I think that the raised detail captures that look better.

Wow, I didn’t realize it had been so long since I had updated this thread. Last week I primed up the surface in preparation for painting with Vallejo Model Air. De to the hard edge camouflage used on Hawk 81’s I had to paint the colors in stages, let the color dry, then mask before adding the next color. Today in finished up the base colors I’m going to need to go back and enlarge the green in a few areas, but overall, not too bad.

Thanks Gil. I’m still working on this,one, but the Micro Gloss that I used over the paint is giving me some problems.

Mark and Keith, you guys have some great new acquisitions there!

So over the past several days I’ve started painting. I used Gunze Aqueos RLM 78 for the undersides. Which turned out ok over the dark primer Then Gunze Aqueous FA 34102 for the topside base green… which had minimal tonal contrast over the dark gray primer in the lighting of my work area. It really doesn’t show up in the photos The speckling is there in sunlight to the Mk.I eyeball, but not so visible here. And in the meantime, research turned up that the kit markings for Pokryshkin’s mount, White 5, was an early production Mig-3, while this kit is a late production Mig-3. So a bit more research turned up another Mig-3 that he flew, White 67, which was a late production model. And it was also in a two tone Green & Black scheme, so I used Tamiya Semi Gloss Black, masked with Silly Putty for the hard edge pattern. Not too much farther to go now…

Olive Drab 41 and Neutral Gray 43 for the exterior colors. Crew space interiors should be Bronze Green.

Looks real good. Is the green stuff on the suspension supposed to be seaweed?

Very nice build!

Very sharp looking clean build!

Beautiful and shiny! 😎