Timc

Thanks all: The paint is WEM Colourcoats Kawanishi Green. It is indeed light but It looks good in natural light, not quite as bright in person.

Thanks all. I always try to limit my chipping even though it seems as though some Japanese aircraft shed it in sheets (as it seems but in reality, it was probably bit by bit). Apologies for the crappy photographs, I'm using a 12 year old 2.1 Megapixel camera that I think needs to be replaced or have its lens cleaned.

Hello all: This one's finally done. Here are a few mediocre photos of the finished model. I used WEM Colourcoats Kawanishi Green for the topside and the bottom is alcad. The decals are not the best but are useable with the exception of the yellow commander's stripes. They're not opaque enough to cover the fuselage Hinomaru and since I had already installed those, I was committed to painting the stripes. All in all, a decent kit but the instructions either have a couple parts reversed (the wheel well inner door actuators and the aft canopy portion or I really have a case of dislexia. Here's a link to the build thread http://forum.largescalemodeller.com/topic/1999-first-kit-of-2014-hasegawas-new-132-n1k2-j/ Comments always welcome.

Ambroid Proweld is what I use, almost exclusively. It's very hot and does a great job.

Almost makes me want to buy the Revell Bf109G-10 (Erla) when it arrives here in the States.

Yes indeed! Have a great day. Or, if you prefer, have a mediocre day...LOL

I'm glad that I wasn't the only one who saw the need to remove the landing gear and tail hook details. Good catch. There's one more piece of equipment that may need to be removed from your cockpit. It's been a long time but I think the floatation tube (silver tube with the petcock on it on your left sidewall) does not belong in the A6M2N as the floatation bags weren't installed (again, check my information as it has been a long time since I dabbled in the A6M2-N). I think you also removed the flap handle/actuator (one of the two black handles on the right sidewall). I built this conversion awhile back and never finished it. My castings didn't look as nice as the ones I'm seeing in your photos. My outrigger floats had horrible mismatch seams on both the struts and the floats themselves. I filled, sanded ad nauseum but in the end I just threw in the towel. The main float wasn't real bad and I did manage to use it up until the point where I chucked the entire project but you nailed the "flimsy" part of the beaching dolly right off the bat. Here's a bit of FYI in the event you're interested. The rudder on the A6M2N is taller than the rudder on the A6M2b in the area of the mass balance weight forward of the hinge line at the top of the rudder. MDC got this part spot on the money and it really is a good conversion, pity I couldn't make it work. One word of caution though, check the lower forward wing insert for fit prior to cutting out the wheel well area from the lower wing. My copy and another build I saw online were both short in span and we both needed to build up the ends of the resin part cause we didn't check the fit prior to sawing the lower wing up.

The link you posted tells how the modeler achieved the look. I would (and have) use the same method. That A6M5 is not what I would consider an example of heavy paint chipping. That A6M5 is more accurately chipped than some of the horrid examples I've seen on the internet where huge chunks of paint are missing from gigantic sections of the airframe. There is an historical context that I will not delve into as it's beyond the scope of this post suffice to say that all Japanese aircraft didn't lose sheets of paint over a great majority of their surfaces. However, the extent of paint chipping is a matter of personal taste and what I think is excessive may not be to another so find that zone with which you are happy and chip away.

Are you speaking of the new tool Hasegawa 1/32 P-47D series? If so, you've heard wrong. Between the two (Trumpeter and Hasegawa), the Hasegawa kit is far and away the better kit regarding accuracy and fidelity of detail. Notice I did not say there are no issues with the Hasegawa kit, there are but they are relatively minor and easy to fix.

Hey Tom, great job on the kit. For all the kits shortcomings, you've managed to pull off an exceptionally well rendered miniature. Hats off! Tim

If you're into the American Civil War, there's also Winchester Virginia, Manassas Virginia, Appomatox Courthouse (which is just East of the Blue Ridge), and a whole bunch of other minor battle sites in Virginia. There's not much left of the Fredericksburg Battlefield but last I knew there was a small piece of the stone wall that sheltered the Confederate army as they massacred the Federal troops as they advanced across the open field. If you travel North along the blue ridge, you'll find Antietam battlefield in Sharpsburg, Maryland and if you go just a few more miles North into Pennsylvania, you'll find the greatest battlefield of the Civil War, Gettysburg, Pa.

Looks like they got the firing and transport modes confused. Either that or that thing doesn't have any suspension when it's moving.

There were 234 made with both the staggered waist guns and the pumpkin (aka Cheyenne) tail turret so there are a few to choose from. I think I can find a serial number range but the the production blocks were, according to my references, Douglas blocks 25 and 30. I prefer Alclad. The shade variations of aluminum I can get with Alclad are far more than any kind of foil treatment. I tried foiling but even with the smoothest of adhesive applications, the foil shows any lumps or bumps underneath and smoothing just adds grainy streaks to the foil.

Sure, it has to do with the forum saying of "dropping a grenade in the room and closing the door". I'm picturing a smiley throwing a grenade through a doorway then closing the door. After a few seconds the door blows off....rinse and repeat.

Well, I'll just have to get some retarder and thinner and give it a go! Thanks guys.

I've got a great idea for one but I haven't a clue on how to make it or have it made.... Anyone know?

The biggies I'd love WnW to do are: Spad XIII Sopwith Camel Fokker Dr. I Those three are the ones I grew up with having fond memories (and frustration) with the 1/28 Revell kits of the same make. If these three were to get the WnW treatment, I'd be sliding everything off the desk to build at least five of the Dr. I's, two Camels and probably three or four Spad XIII's. I know that at least two of the three are already available as 1/32 kits but in one case I'm not keen at hacking and slashing plastic to make parts fit ( I usually end up hacking and slashing fingertips) and another is getting hard to find at a decent price.

I have some of these paints but have never used them and it occurred to me that since these paints are lacquer based, would it be possible to use a paintbrush with Mr. Color paint? In painful past experiences I learned that it is generally not a good thing to hand brush lacquer paint as it destroys the plastic but is Mr. Color any different?

Nige my friend, you are a glutton for punishment. That thing is MASSIVE! At least you won't be lacking for something to do any time now or in the future.

You may not be aware of this but Douglas built two production blocks of OD/NG B-17G forts (234 airframes according to my sources) with staggered waist windows and the pumpkin turret so you do have a small option there if you can find one of these ships in photos. I think Tom Probert is doing Skippy which is one of these ships.

I had a post about Milk Wagon and remembering it had unstaggered waist windows but that was wrong and I also misinterpreted your original post thinking you were looking into Kit's World decals and not the kit decals....Sheesh, see what happens when I respond to posts when I'm not feeling well? I'm attempting to re-do my post.... As far as the kit decals are concerned, Jennings Heilig did the art for them so I am willing to bet that they're pretty accurate if that's important to you. As far as who actually printed them and their use I cannot comment as I don't have this kit any longer. Like you, I have not seen them used yet on any build I've seen but someone out there probably has used them at some point. I also can relate to your dilemma in which scheme you're going to choose. There were so many striking schemes on these forts that choosing just one is very hard. I have the fortunate luck to be drilled down into the 91st BG so if I were to do one, it would only come from the 91st, limiting my choice to just a few.

Boy, all this dental talk makes me cringe as I have a dental appointment next Wednesday. I have no idea what a dental burr is but I'm thinking it has something to do with teeth drilling. I'm fortunate in that I had parents who saw the benefits of regular dental visits and proper tooth care. To date, my mouth only has two fillings although at 52 (this April) my teeth are starting to show some wear. Anyway, that's all well and good, now on to the modifications Nige!

Make no mistake, they're here too, just not as vocal. I've seen quips and quills from one of them but nothing as of late.

Ah yes, I think I remember that Panther. Or, maybe it was the Panther II that you brought to a club meeting in Syracuse so many years ago.... Either way, it's up to your usual standards. Well done!

Show all of it Nige! It's great reference material for those who'd like to take on the challenges that this kit offers.