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Nationals Themed Group Build 1: The Great War


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Done:

 

- Major turret construction. Not painted. Added blast bags to forward guns (clear stuff)

- Installed small AA guns around bridge

- Funnel stays and pulleys.

- Main mast scratch built (broke.. ugh.)

- Scratch built funnel piping.

- Oil and pin washes + some dry brushing.

 

ED950499-1745-47C5-B8B4-21DB73396397_zps

 

4B1BF453-93E3-4D8C-BE3E-BD56D4C5E267_zps

 

11ACC928-F115-4C21-8564-B8590AFDE8D8_zps

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Bruce,

I have that kit. The decals appear to be in much better shape - they are yours if you want them.

I have other options available if/when I ever get to it.

Thanks, John. I might take you up on that.

 

If you've ever built a Pegasus / Blue Max / Silver Cloud kit, you know what this feels like for me. I'm not going to complain, but suffice to say that I can get the Revell kit for less than I could get this for, and it has all the parts of the Eduard (Weekend Edition, I presume). Still, this has the Arab cowling, so that's something. I've actually been enjoying fettling this thing together.

 

I didn't start with the cockpit!

 

I glued both nose halves and radiators together. I will not use the Eagle III nose, but it's nice to have it to hand. The nose sections have big seams to fill. Additionally, they will need putty to fair them into the white metal radiators. Both nacelles have some fairly large openings, but no engine or engine bay detail was provided for either version. Choosing the Arab, which looks similar to a Hispano-Suiza 8 (although different in key mechanical areas) may be a happy result - as the HS isn't a difficult engine to scratch, and its mounting is fairly simple, too. However, some black blanking pieces may be all that's really needed to prevent the see-through possibilities. The radiators have depressions for a prop shaft, but neither have open holes. The Eagle's radiator has circular depressions on the front and back, while the Arab's only has one on the front. The detail of the radiator is nice. You won't see it once the prop is in place - so a removable prop makes sense. The provision of two and 4-bladed props is handy. These could be interchanged on any particular machine, I'm fairly sure. The suggestions are to use the 4-bladed one for the Eagle, and the 2-bladed one for the Arab.

 

t tried supergluing (butt joints) the wing pieces together. Apart from the centre-sections, the wings are identical. The centre-sections don't fit the outer wings in profile. They might, if the wings didn't have dihedral, but even after sanding the outer wing edges down to an angle, they don't fit anywhere near closely. I don't know how this can happen. Isn't a kit is built from the parts to test that they fit? If so, am I doing something wrong? I'm settling for the eventuality of a session with Milliput at a later date. At this point, a decision had to be made as to which surface fitted flush - the underside of the upper side. My decision was made for me quite accidentally, as it turned out. I drilled holes for pins in matching halves of the centre section and outer wings. On the lower wing, the upper surface mated better. On the upper wing, the lower surface mated better. That's not the way I would have preferred it, but it's the way it turned out. It means that I'm going to lose all the moulded surface detail on the most visible parts of each centre-section, but at least the final product should look ok.

 

My next task will be to paint the insides of the fuselages in clear doped linen. I might use Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan or Deck Tan (the paler of the two). Xtracolour's CDL is nice, but takes days to dry. The timber structure is provided in white metal. I'll paint that in varnished wood colours. I think I'll use a Humbrol enamel for those - somehow I don't trust Tamiya paints to adhere well to metal - but it's worth a try. Painting these things is something I can do with a brush while watching TV with the beloved tonight.

 

Here is the book that contains my reference drawings:

 

IMG_1915_zps4bcd001c.jpg

 

 

 

Sample drawing:

 

IMG_1916_zps7b9749fd.jpg

 

 

I made a crude jig out of a piece of stout sprue.

IMG_1914_zps14882a82.jpg

 

View of the dihedral on the main planes.

IMG_1911_zps617d8a93.jpg

 

View of the fit between the radiator and the Arab's nose. Note the large holes!

IMG_1913_zps46133ed7.jpg

 

Comparison of the Eagle's nose (left) with the slightly less-aesthetic Arab's nose (no pun or offense intended) on the right. Remember, when the Blue Max kits came out, they were the only game in town for virtually the entire range - at least as far as injection-moulded kits go. Eduard and Roden have really raised the bar in 1:48 scale, let alone what Wingnut Wings has done for these birds, and the hobby.

IMG_1912_zpsedfa3c5d.jpg

Edited by Brews
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....... I don't know how this can happen. Isn't a kit is built from the parts to test that they fit?

 

You know better than that, just like you know the guy who writes the instructions never builds it either ....

That's what you, the consumer, are for .....

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I'll continue with the "didn't they ever build their own kits" complaints....

 

I spent most of this evening drilling and pinning struts on the Glencoe Albatross DIII. BUT, and here's the kicker.....FIRST I had to drill and fill EVERY socket on the wings! That's right, the sockets on the wings were TWICE as big as the pins on the struts (where there were pins). There's NO WAY you could sit a strut in any socket and have it stay put due to the size difference. So, I had to drill out each socket, superglue a short piece of rod in each hole, and then sand the nubs down even with the wing surfaces. Only THEN could I drill small holes to act as sockets for the floral wire pins installed in all of the struts!

 

As old as this kit is, I can't imagine ever being able to build it (successfully or well) with slow drying tube glue. I'll get it done, but only with the aid of superglue, sanding sticks, and modern hobby drill bits! This POS kit really makes you appreciate a company like Aurora! They may have had less detail, but you could at least assemble them as per the instructions!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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This POS kit really makes you appreciate a company like Aurora! They may have had less detail, but you could at least assemble them as per the instructions!

 

 

 

I thought that the Glencoe kit was a repop of Aurora's. i'll dig out my Aurora DIII and take some comparison pics.

 

Edit: I don't know if pics are going to help - the plastic is fairly featureless on the underside of the wings. The struts fit snugly, though.

Edited by Brews
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Here's my small update for this Group Build.

 

To start out with, I painted the Mack Truck. After painting it, I found out how many more pieces I have to add to it!

WIP_IPMSGB_Mack_AC_Bulldog_III.jpg

Next I also painted the Mark IV Male tank I'm doing for this Group Build as well:

WIP_IPMSGB_Mk_IV_Male_IX.jpg

Later I clearcoated this Mark IV and then added the decals. Meet "Flypaper":

WIP_IPMSGB_Mk_IV_Male_X.jpg

WIP_IPMSGB_Mk_IV_Male_XI.jpg

Now it's time to dullcoat this and weather it up.

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Back at work on the 6in Howitzer ....

 

I attached something to the right side of the cradle, the elevating mechanism to the left side of the carriage, the two brake shafts, and made grab handles for the trail. It was not made easier by the instructions, although I own part of it.

 

First, the elevating mechanism and left side brake parts. There is no positive location for the elev-mech and if placed where it looks like it should go, it interferes with the elevation gear, so I adjusted accordingly.

 

ps35-6inblhow_14-partslhs1.jpg

 

ps35-6inblhow_14-partslhs2.jpg

 

On the right side of the cradle, the long arm should have been put onto the trunnion when I mounted it. I should have spotted the problem ahead of time, but with no assembly sequence or notes, it just flew right by. I did some deft whittling of parts and found a way to get it slipped over and hardly noticeable.

 

ps35-6inblhow_14-partsrhs1.jpg

 

ps35-6inblhow_14-partsrhs2.jpg

 

The brake gear shaft problem is mutual to both sides. The instructions do not give a clear view of the little arm that attaches to the carriage and supports each shaft. I played around and all I ended up with was the shaft, and gear wheel when mounted, sticking into the wheel spokes. I finally made my own supports that looked about right. Again, unclear instructions, and you might note there is no picture in the instructions of this gun with the wheels on ....

 

And last, I made two lifting handles for the trail, as the instructions told me to ...

 

ps35-6inblhow_14-trail.jpg

 

There are a couple more well-hidden parts I have to deal with, but we're moving right along now. I have cleaned almost every remaining part so there is little left other than glue & paint ....

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Guest PetrolGator

Good news: We're FINALLY moving to New Orleans! Wife got her job and now we have to find the house.

 

Bad news: Building is going to be significantly slowed and will halt once moving commences. I'll be shocked if I finish this by April 1st.

 

Done: Made a little scratch built dock for a loading diorama. I also added the rangefinder to the aft turret which was scratch built.

 

58C91534-5D4B-4080-B8DF-B511BCCE7F54_zps

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Nice work John! That gun is looking good; especially considering the difficulty you're having. Keep pluggin' man!

 

That;s a great idea adding the loading dock. That thing is cool!

Good luck on the move and I hope you find a house soon. Don't forget to stop in occasionally between packing up so we don't forget you! LOL!

 

 

Now for my latest progress on one of my models for this Group Build.

 

First, I gave this little beastie a dark wash:

 

WIP_IPMSGB_Mk_IV_Male_XII.jpg

 

WIP_IPMSGB_Mk_IV_Male_XIII.jpg

 

 

Next up, I wet down some weathering powders and splattered them on this little guy:

 

WIP_IPMSGB_Mk_IV_Male_XIV.jpg

 

WIP_IPMSGB_Mk_IV_Male_XV.jpg

 

 

 

 

After all this dried, I took a lighter powder and brushed it all over this little guy to finish it up. I am now declaring this 1/72 scale Emhar British Mark IV Male tank completed:

 

British_Mk_IV_Male_Flypaper_I.jpg

British_Mk_IV_Male_Flypaper_II.jpg

Some top shots:

British_Mk_IV_Male_Flypaper_III.jpg

British_Mk_IV_Male_Flypaper_IV.jpg

 

This one is Number 647 in my Completed Ground Vehicles collection. I'm also posting this and one other finished model in the Armor Forum so feel free to check them out over there as well. As always, comments are welcome; thanks for looking in.

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Making progress on my two....

002-32.jpg

Priming has been done with Tamiya Fine White primer (rattle can). If you look closely you can see the floral wire pins for the struts. The fuselage for the DIII has been scribed for the plywood panels. The exhaust pipe also needed to be rebent at a straighter angle so it would fit behind the cabane strut. Also, the machine gun mounts for the DIII needed to be filled and built up so that the guns would actually fit around everything when mounted. But, the good news is that after a little more sanding, I'm ready to start painting!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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Got the "wood grain" painted....

001-25.jpg

The fuselage was first painted with clear doped linen (a light tan-yellow), and the each panel was dry brushed with tan and dark brown. I varied the direction of the grain from panel to panel. All of the "wood" was then brushed with a mixed coat of Tamiya clear Orange and Future.

 

The DIII prop (on the left) was done in the same way, except it was simply brushed with Future to seal it. The Nieuport prop was painted tan and the dry brushed with dark brown before getting its coat of Future. The prop bosses are from spare WWI pe sets.

 

This prepares the fuselage for the color coats. The DIII wings will get lozenge decal, so I'll simply gloss them with Future before decalling them, after painting the fuselage colors. As always, questions, comments, and critiques are welcome!

 

GIL :smiley16:

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I needed to do some work on the water before proceeding with the ship itself. I used blown plaster to form the water itself, which initially looked like Play Doh. Further work was done by adding additional plaster for the bases of her wakes.

I painted the water using a dark blue/green/black base. I then cleaned up any messes on the hull side and began lightening areas around the hull to show turbulence and underwater foam. She dried overnight and will have teased cotton added to give the ocean some life.

Additional work will be done to vary the surface and add an illusion of depth. However, I don't want to overdo it. WWI battlecruisers weren't known for giant wakes.

Significant work remains for the ship itself. The main mast is scratch built and seems to CONSTANTLY break. I've also got to add its cranes, railing, crew, rigging, boats, and small bits. The turrets also need paint. I have some cool custom decals that represent the demarcation lines added in 1919.

This has been a LONG build, partly due to my available time and significant scratch building.

 

Pictures:

 

Plaster doesn't look much like water, eh?

5ED3BBAB-6F93-4D67-B3A7-3F9EC6609E73_zps

 

Adding color. Hull needs cleaned up.

B40BCD64-9111-4F96-9FE2-639728489275_zps

 

You can see the color variation here. These old battlewagons weren't particularly fast, so a HUGE wake is unnecessary.

A0376C6D-4B87-4C15-9775-492FD6ECF20C_zps

 

 

This is a picture with the turrets fitted. Note that I'm cleaning and mess off the hull. I'll touch up anything that remains when I get home.

2476797D-4EB9-48DE-AE45-B7B6CCD1260B_zps

 

0AF53523-955C-40B2-AC36-709D73490206_zps

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