Just Finished

Too often I blog about projects that are stalled or in the middle stages of building. So here is something that's actually been finished in the last ten days or so. Both have been mentioned on here in their earlier stages so it seem only fair to display the completed models.

The Classic Airframes Martin Baltimore was first. It gave me the usual CA difficulties; a very dusty enclosed cockpit area, which I overcame by cutting out the pilot's canopy hatch to clean inside. The engines were a poor fit due to the over-thick plastic of the engine cowlings, and rather than alter them I reduced the thickness. Still, the results overall were lovely, because it's such a detailed kit and you can't go far wrong.


The other project, by complete contrast, is the MiG 19s from Trumpeter. Surprisingly this offered very few fit problems, and those were dealt with quite easily. Detail was excellent, the cockpit being particularly good.

I'd love to build their 1/32 scale version of this aircraft, but this scale doesn't seem to be popular amongst collectors.

Moving On

With the destroyer project now in the closing stages of the build, I am able to move on with new projects.

One of them is the Meteor NFII in French markings, of which more on here later.

The other is the Arado 234 from Hasegawa. Most of the internal parts are being replaced with Aires and Eduard items. A couple of photos here will illustrate the current stage. As you can see, much of the paint is already up to top coat, and in some cases ready for weathering.

You can see how much detail the resin parts have to offer.

The nature of the canopy means than most of its detail will be easily seen, and the same goes for the cockpit and the landing gear. And me, I'm just a sucker for all that...

Back to the boat

Yes, I weakened. With the destroyer showing such promise, I knew that one more big effort would see the hard work out of the way. So, with the Arado project just started and in its undercoat, it was 'all hands to the pumps'. Actually, the railings.

I realised that fitting the railings would be a long, tedious and frustrating job. I recently read a build article on this kit, wanting to see how someone else had resolved this one. The modeller had simply added stretched sprue to the stanchions. From a distance it looked very effective, but on closer inspection, the sprue looked heavy and unconvincing. So it's back to the fluffy twine from the kit. Is it awkward? Time-consuming? Fiddly? Damn right it is. But I did develop a system; after tying off a length of furry twine to the first stanchion, I ran it along the next four or five and then superglued it in place. The glue takes a minute to set so I attached a small bulldog clip to the loose end to keep it under tension. While that was drying, I started the process again, one tier up.

Did I hear someone say that sounds too easy? It's just easier. Later I'll have to varnish the twine to get rid of the fuzz and make the railings look finer. A bit monotonous but worth it for the final look.

Back to airplanes soon. Hmmm.

Destroyer Vs. Night Fighter

If you've been looking at the last blog entry, then you know I've been working on a Revell 1/144 Fletcher Class destroyer. Yes, yes, it's a ship - I'm a heretic.

It's been a fortnight of really intensive work. I think knowing that time was finite, because of other work coming in, really drove me on. Whilst I've made a lot of progress, I'm happy now to leave it for a while to start something new.

Here are a few photos of the three-quarters-finished warship.


Also, I've included a few pictures of the new project just getting under way. As you can see, Hasegawa's Arado AR234 is beautifully accessorised with resin and photo-etched sets from Aires, Eduard and Aeroclub, and decals from Aeromaster.


This has all the makings of a terrific project and will be featured here during the next few weeks. Got to go and sort my references.

Fletcher Class DD 449 Re-started

After completing a few pressing projects, I was able to steal a couple of hours to spend on my 1/144 scale destroyer. This is a project I began many months ago when I had a gap in my diary. You know how it is - you come home with your current favourite kit, go through the box, caress the parts lovingly, and after ten minutes you close the lid and put it on the shelf for when you have a few minutes together. Excellent room insulation when you do it a lot...
I was determined this was a fate that wouldn't befall this kit. It's been coming along so nicely.

Anyway, six months later I'm getting back to the varnishing, weathering and minor painting. The small parts such as railings and AA guns will be next.


Soon, other work will arrive and once again, this project will go to the back of the queue, so I'm making the most of the time. Will I be eating my meals in my workroom? Of course not. But it's worth thinking about.

More on the MiG

On the previous posting I included a single photo of a MiG 19, from Trumpeter. Since then, the project has moved on to the assembly of the major parts. Before I say anything about that, a word or twenty on the cockpit; the detail here is some of the best I've seen. Even the ejector seat isn't bad - and that's the part people usually replace. The raised detail on the bulkheads and side panels responds beautifully to some careful hand painting. A film is provided for the clear instrument panel; this item, strangely, shows no raised detail at all. The gunsight is superb and the canopy has its own release levers. As a bonus, the fit of the parts is great.

The parts fit elsewhere in this kit is not consistent. The cockpit tub, nose gear bay and the intake ring end up as a single assembly. The entire thing has to have have the fuselage assembled around it. After many dry runs I left the intake ring off, which eased the fit.


Taking care to line up the air splitter, I eased the intake ring on to the assembled fuselage. Careful as I was to do this, it still needed plenty of rubbing down to achieve a flush fit.

The rest of the assembly still warranted careful fitting, and I rather enjoyed this. But adding the wings was something that really kept me on my toes. There is no tab or slot, but instead a raised fairing on the fuselage for the trailing edge of the wing to butt up against. So the angle of both wings must be handled with great care to get the right anhedral.


That's the end of my rambling before I put myself to sleep. I'll be doing the bare metal finish on this model next - always a love-hate thing for me.

Multiple MiGs

I feel in the mood for a MiG. Actually, three MiGs. I've previously talked about a 1/32 MiG 21 I had rediscovered, but what really started this run of models was a Trumpeter MiG 3 I had found languishing in my room a while ago, half started. What a shame, a perfectly decent model just lying there, forgotten and neglected.

I decided right away to strip the existing paint off. It was pretty disgusting and mucky and I felt suitably ashamed, so I gave it a plonk in the wash and then into the Modelstrip. This is a highly corrosive medium that leaves the plastic beneath quite unscathed, very handy stuff. After a few hours it can simply be washed away (in the bathroom, when my wife is not looking...).

The camo scheme I had decided on was from an aircraft with the VVS during 'Barbarossa' in 1941. I did the requisite research and here are the results.


This leads me on to the aforementioned MiG 21. I described the paint scheme on an earlier blog, and here are some photos of the completed model.

That just leaves some bits in a box - MiG number three. This is one of the new MiG toolings from Trumpeter - the 19S 'Farmer' C is in 1/48 scale. It'll be making a few appearances in the next week or two.


Just as a footnote, I was very excited to find that Trumpeter will be releasing the Sukhoi Su 24 in 1/48 scale - excellent for those of us fascinated by Soviet aircraft from the Cold War.