HobbyBoss's Super Pershing Pilot (Part 2)

So where am I with the build?  I've managed to paint and weather the engine (which won't be seen at all) and seal up the lower hull and deck. 

Photo below is a shot of the engine before she was sealed in. 

Photo above: the exhausts were painted with a Vallejo rust colour and while still damp, I added some pastel dust, a mix of oranges and browns. Once dry I'm able to handle the exhausts without any of the pastel powder coming off, but just to make sure I can add a few drops of airbrush cleaner which makes the pastels set hard.

Photo below: And here she is, partially in primer.  

Photo below: With great difficulty I installed some photo-etch on the rear fenders (small rails to place stowage) but without the luxury of a photo-etch bending tool the job was not to my liking, and any attempts to straighten the flimsy-looking rails once fitted meant they just broke loose and damaged my paintwork......so, they had to go!  I am not modelling the one and only machine that saw action at the end of World War Two, so let's just say mine was the second machine that was not publicized.......... ;)

Click on the photos below to enlarge - I'll let the captions do the talking.

Photo below: because the weapon is such a large part on this particular kit, I ordered myself an aluminum barrel from eBay - it's a beauty! 

Okay, so that's it for now.  At the time of writing, my Super Pershing is waiting for a final coat of primer before I begin working on a new painting method.  

More soon, comrades! 

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Progress with my 1/48 Tamiya Heinkel He 162 (part 2)

As I mentioned in a previous post, this build is part of the Luftwaffe Group Build that I started over on my YouTube channel.  At the current time there are just ten participants including myself, all in various stages of completion, four of which having been totally completed.  The Luftwaffe GB (1939-45) will continue until the end of September 2015, so anyone with a WWII German aircraft kit is welcome to join. Anyway, enough of this chitter chatter.  

Out of the box the cockpit was reasonably well detailed but I didn't like the decal supplied for seat harnesses, so decided to make my own with Tamiya tape and wire for the buckles - the result is debatable but I think it looks better than the decal - just...........  The ejector seat (one of the first fitted to an aircraft), lacked some details of the real seat, so brass wire was used to add the missing detail.

Below is a photo of when I installed the wings and tail section.  If you click on the photos to enlarge them, you'll see the arrows point to where I needed filler; the air-frame of course needed a small amount of filler where the two fuselage halves join. 

Being a Tamiya kit (circa.1996 I think......) it goes together rather nicely, however, I have plans to have my 162 in a partial natural metal finish, so the fuselage has to be perfectly finished because as you know, silver loves to show up untidy finishes in our builds. Grrrrrrrrr!  So, with an extremely vague, but still apparent seam line on my 162's lower fuselage, I have ordered myself some Mr. Surfacer and will be attempting to make the line disappear, while also filling in some of the panel lines that my Perfect Plastic Putty can't fix. 

But why is this crazy guy removing the panel lines?   Well, the photo below is what I'm aiming to achieve, and I'll readily agree I've probably bitten off way more that I can chew..................

And below is how my 162 stands today looking very clean in primer. 

Sadly she is still not ready for her aluminum coat and if I'm honest, I'm dreading applying it. As my plan is to depict her abandoned at the end of hostilities, this will give me the opportunity to execute some nice weathering techniques I haven't tried before but, this is not something to think about now.

Until next time, comrade!

See part 3 HERE

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Another new build! (PART 1)

I really need to stop starting new kits before finishing current builds. I've lost count on the builds currently in progress, however, I have a good excuse with this one, and that's that I've joined a group build over on YoutTube.  

It's the first time I've attempted such a modern machine, but looking at the quality of this lovely new Meng kit, I'm going to have an enjoyable experience.

(Photo credit - google images)

The photo above is of an M3A3 in Iraq wearing the 'BUSK' armour, and this will be the inspiration for my build.  I would like to break up the desert yellow with NATO camo, and also have some armour skirt sections missing, odd coloured road wheels, and other such points of interest.

See part 2 HERE

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