Saturday, 25 September 2010
An odd mixture
A while ago I was asked to build the A-7D Corsair in 1/48 scale. The kit would include the Aires wheel bays and cockpit set. Are they nice or what? Oh, did I mention the kit? It's the old Esci offering, going back to when Adam were a lad. Are you interested to see how it'll work out? Me too. I'll leave you with these photos for now.
I haven't built one of these since......
One of my recent projects is the rather lovely FW 190 in 1/32 scale from Hasegawa. It builds up slowly but surely and offers some nice out-of-the-box detail. It has a convincing cockpit, a good BMW radial engine, landing gear, wheel wells and doors - even lowered flaps. All these increase the interest. At the same time though there's scope to add whatever you fancy. Take a look at the photos to see what I mean. More on this later, of course.
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
Timeless TBM
A couple of months ago I was asked to build the rather lovely TBF-1c Avenger from Accurate Miniatures. For those of you who have built it before, you'll know what I mean by lovely - if you haven't, you need to find out! It is one of my favourite modelling subjects, just straight from the box.
The fuselage offers untold opportunities for greatness. It's in four stages: the engine compartment; the cockpit, electronics compartment and turret; then on the lower floor the bomb bay and the rear radio room and ventral gun position. All these have exquisite detail. The crowning glory to all this is not just the engraved panel detail or the satisfying shape and proportions, no. It's that the parts actually go together - well! In 2005 Italeri sold this kit in their box for wait for it, £12.99! I bought quite a few...It costs a bit more now but it's not extortionate (unlike a lot of other kit prices currently) and there is scope for a certain amount of conversion, so do your research.
To my build I added Moskit exhausts, resin weighted wheels and a resin pilot, and that was all.
Check out the photos to see what I mean.
I'd not long finished it when I was asked to build another one - this time the TBM-3 Avenger.
Ok then.
The fuselage offers untold opportunities for greatness. It's in four stages: the engine compartment; the cockpit, electronics compartment and turret; then on the lower floor the bomb bay and the rear radio room and ventral gun position. All these have exquisite detail. The crowning glory to all this is not just the engraved panel detail or the satisfying shape and proportions, no. It's that the parts actually go together - well! In 2005 Italeri sold this kit in their box for wait for it, £12.99! I bought quite a few...It costs a bit more now but it's not extortionate (unlike a lot of other kit prices currently) and there is scope for a certain amount of conversion, so do your research.
To my build I added Moskit exhausts, resin weighted wheels and a resin pilot, and that was all.
Check out the photos to see what I mean.
I'd not long finished it when I was asked to build another one - this time the TBM-3 Avenger.
Ok then.
Friday, 3 September 2010
The Tojo has Mojo
The Ki44 'Shoki' or Tojo is an unusual beast. It can look disproportionate and bulky, but those chunky wings and bulbous nose give it a unique look amongst aircraft.
This is the first one I have built, and I am just beginning to appreciate its unusual aspects. It's hard not to enjoy the excellent Hasegawa kit. By today's standards, the engine may seem a little basic, but you can do plenty with it. Careful attention with a paint brush and a good wiring job can give you a lovely and convincing unit to be proud of.
The cockpit looks better for the addition of some of Mr Eduard's parts. The seat, seat belts, instrument panel, rudder pedal straps, and assorted levers really make a difference, especially with some appropriate toning and washes. All these went on with the minimum of grief.
The fuselage was assembled ahead of the cockpit. This kept out the dust from rubbing down the fuselage. Next came the wings. Again, incident free-fitting here, but I was left with a sizable gap in the wing root, so the filler will have to come out, though it will be the first time. Not bad.
A head-on view of the model revealed that both mainplane and tailplane were symmetrically matched. None of that annoying twisted fuselage look.
And that's it for now. There'll be more on this promising build later.
This is the first one I have built, and I am just beginning to appreciate its unusual aspects. It's hard not to enjoy the excellent Hasegawa kit. By today's standards, the engine may seem a little basic, but you can do plenty with it. Careful attention with a paint brush and a good wiring job can give you a lovely and convincing unit to be proud of.
The cockpit looks better for the addition of some of Mr Eduard's parts. The seat, seat belts, instrument panel, rudder pedal straps, and assorted levers really make a difference, especially with some appropriate toning and washes. All these went on with the minimum of grief.
The fuselage was assembled ahead of the cockpit. This kept out the dust from rubbing down the fuselage. Next came the wings. Again, incident free-fitting here, but I was left with a sizable gap in the wing root, so the filler will have to come out, though it will be the first time. Not bad.
A head-on view of the model revealed that both mainplane and tailplane were symmetrically matched. None of that annoying twisted fuselage look.
And that's it for now. There'll be more on this promising build later.
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