Stikpusher

Well, the last few days I’ve been able to get in little bits of work in while prepping for yesterdays holiday and a house full of visitors… First I got the canopy masked and installed. Once again a superb fit of the parts Then I glued the landing gear in place, since doing it after painting did not look like it would be a wise choice due to its configuration. and lastly I was able to get it primed, trying out some rattle can True Color dark primer Since I’m going to be using different light colors on the prop and spinner, I’ll be priming those in light colors to work best there.

Well here is the latest progress. Not much by the past few updates standards, but… First up, armament painted. Seems something of a waste of effort since I’m not leaving the cowling open. This kit really should be done in a dio or vignette with the cowl opened and the engine exposed. Say goodnite to the guns… all closed up now And how this little Mig looks now. I have the canopy drying after its’ dip in Future. So tomorrow I can start to get it masked up then installed for painting. Also, due to the intricate method of landing gear installation, I’ll be getting those glued in place before I start painting.

Nice work Mark. Now there are still a good ten days left in this month. Do you think you will get any more builds completed before the end of the month?

860 armor completions! 🤨 1000 by 2030? 😜

Man does seeing that box and build bring back some memories. Nice work on the classic kit Ron.

Nice build Mark. Personally I’m not a big fan of the Stryker family, but this one has to be the most bad ass of the type. I think you need a family portrait of the Strykers that you’ve completed so far.

They came out nicely Mark! Fine additions to your miniature armies. 👍🏼

Very nicely done! It is something of an irony to see a member of the Bf-109 family in Israeli colors. But truth can be stranger than fiction.

That came out nice! I didn’t realize that Italeri did a F-16 ADF in 1/48.

I am always impressed by those who can make a small scale build look so good! Bravo!

Yesterday’s progress update: First up, I assembled the main landing gear struts. ICM must have brought in someone from AFV Club, or Bronco, or one of the other Chinese model companies to design this kit, as they sure went intricate. Each strut is four separate parts, including some a pair of tiny side rods. Then you add the wheel well cover door. I’m not quite sure why each strut wasn’t molded as a single piece Then I painted and installed the radiator on the belly. I couldn’t get a good view in the camera of the added screening, but it is quite visible in real life. After that I installed the armament. After they had dried a bit I did a test fit of the cowling top, which fit with no problems over the guns. So I’ll paint them up and close it up. They won’t be visible, but I know that they’re in there. Also I cleaned up the prop and did a test fit. Man did they mold everything to fit snug. I could literally use no glue on those parts and they’ll be sitting in place just fine Lastly I had to get an underside view I’m on the home stretch for assembly now. Hopefully I can get the basic paint on next week…

Thanks Gil. Actually the instructions were not very helpful on assembling the wing and leaves it up to the builder. I forgot to add the word not, as in the instructions did not specify any sequence for assembly of those wings. It was daunting to look at, and again for anyone building this kit in the future I’d say leave off the smallest pats until last. But yeah, they do fit really snug, and I am impressed with the kit engineering there. All of the parts meet at actual panel lines, so if you get it to fit right, there is almost zero seam clean up to do afterwards.

Substantial progress on this Mig today! I was able to get most of the basic airframe done, adding the horizontal stabilizers, rudder, ailerons, and slats. I also got the seam clean up taken care of I also prepped the armament for installation, adding the blast tubes and hollowing out the muzzles. Lastly I added some brass screen to the radiator, as I do NOT like a smooth face on those parts. They need some form of texture. Nearing the finish line with assembly soon on this bird…

Go to Scalemates. You can easily create an account and stash database there. The best thing is that if their database does not include an item, any member can add an item.

Today was adding the wings. Normally that would be no big thing, but as you can see from this photo, ICM took a complex multi part approach to get the dihedral correct. The best sequence for assembly, or really any for that matter, is not specified on the instructions sheet. So, after test fitting, I went in this order: add the upper wing rear filets, add the leading edge/forward upper filets, add the center bottom panel, assemble the outer wing panels, then install them. Everything fit really snug, but…. in hindsight, I should have held off installing the upper forward filets until after the outer wing portions were installed.

I miss the OC IPMS raffles, and at least one ticket from entering a model. At Phoenix IPMS ya gotta buy all of your tickets. I was talking with Dave Fredericks last Saturday at Modelzona about various differences between the two clubs.

Some beautiful work there!

After sidelining this one to concentrate on a different build, I have resumed work as of today. Finished up the cockpit, including adding a 3-D decal harness I’m not wowed by the Cutting Edge IP, but it is better than the kit decal IP. and I closed up the fuselage with the cockpit and engine in place This will be my primary project for the next bit so more progress in a few days…

Nice win Mark! Is this a new type for you?

Nice little builds Mark. What’s your Armor scorecard at now? Eight hundred and…..?

And a final post script for this build- 3rd Place in 1/35 Post WWII Tracked AFVs at IPMS Phoenix Modelzona 2022. Not a bad result for a project that had been heavily damaged by a marauding cat then sidelined for years.

Keith and Gil, thank you. These yellow wings are so eye catching and attractive! In the end I am quite pleased with the final results. I was also happily surprised when this won first place in the advanced category for IPMS Phoenix November chapter contest, “Between the Wars”. Ya just never know. 😉

Gorgeous build!

Well, here it is, my first “Yellow Wings” build in well over 40 years. This is the classic Tamiya 1975 vintage kit, in a later rebox, finished in the markings of VF-2 “Flying Chiefs” circa 1940. This was the first monoplane fighter plane taken into service by the USN. Paints are Tamiya for the aluminum lacquer & Lemon Yellow, Model Master Acrylics for the Chrome Yellow wing upper surface, and Testors enamel square bottle for the True Blue 3rd Section markings. Decals are a mix of kit decals, Microscale & SuperScale, and Yellow Wings Decals. Aside from adding a 3-D decal harness in the cockpit, everything else is OOB for assembly. Posed on an Eduard US Carrier Flight Deck base that I painted into pre war colors “Pilots… Man your planes.” Thanks for looking, comments and critiques are welcome.

That turned out beautifully! I like how you have inert ordnance loaded.