crazypoet

Nice! I thoroughly enjoyed watching this in-progress and I love the result

This is a great project - I can't wait to see this on the shelves; it's going into my stash immediately (always loved the Mosquito!)

Welcome! I love that workspace - and you've used it to great effect!

I truly understand that "resonance" one can feel with some aircraft. My wife keeps telling me that it has something to do with reincarnation; I think it's more to do with what first grabbed my attention as a kid... Regardless - follow your bliss, so to speak! I look forward to watching your build, when it happens. I am working my way though my short list of planes that call to me (for whatever reason!). I want to do each of them in 1/32 before I'll move on to other types.

There are two current ship builds active in the non-LSM area. Neither of them are plastic kits, though. My 1/24 Civil War Picket Boat Remcohe's 1/48 Armed sloop I'd love to see others - there are some very interesting naval subjects out there, in scales that align well with the rest of this site. I think the Italeri 1/35 PT Boat kit is still available, and i'd LOVE to see someone take it on in this forum..

I'm watching this with interest! Your work with foil is simply stunning! I'm looking off into my future HKM B-17 build in NMF. So... I'll ask the same question of you that I just asked on Moldmkr's B-17 thread: Between Alclad and foil for large surface areas, which is your preference? I've done smaller pieces with metal finishes out of everything from paint to foil to metal leaf, and all of them have their headaches. What's your preference?

@ Moldmkr... I have a question on this - as I'm preparing to do my own build of this kit, I'm going back and forth between using metal foil vs Alclad for the ship I want to make. It's a huge NMF surface and both approaches carry their own "complications"... Given that you just did this in Alclad - what are your thoughts? Would you use the same approach again?

I am seriously impressed! The amount of work and detail you put into this is just amazing. I have one one these in the stash, and I'm going to do some practice runs on lesser kits before I tackle it

Beautifully done!

Quick update on the Boiler - ah, the pitfalls of kit upgrades and "eyeball metrics" As I mentioned earlier, the main body of the boiler was covered in wood planks to protect the crew from burns. So the largest section of the boiler assembly is wood slats over an internal frame. The planks on the original were held in place by riveted iron bands. In the kit, they specified using heavy paper to represent these. I decided to go with blackened brass strips instead. Basic structure: One of the bands - I added a relief-bend to allow it to lay flat and used double rivets, as was done in-period for these sorts of assemblies: Steam Dome bands complete. I used brass pins for the rivets, after filing down the heads to about half their original depth and diameter: Main boiler bands in-progress: Note the accidental "knot" in one of the planks, caused when I slipped with an awl while marking the brass for one of the rivet holes... I also managed to drill one of the rivet holes 1/32" short, so I cut a shallow groove in the bottom of the assembly to shorten the circumference a bit (just visible on the left): I'm reminded again of the limitation of the eyeball-micrometer...! Fortunately, after I finish staining and weathering this will be all but invisible underneath and behind the firebox.

I just got in a boatload of toys for the 1/32 HKM B-17 and 1/32 Trumpeter P-47 Mostly PE and resin sets from Eduard, but also a few decal goodies, turned blast tubes and metal undercarriage for the P-47 and a set of bomber crew-members (based on the Memphis Belle) Now, all I need to do is finish the Picket Boat, Camel and Signifer 1/48 Goose so I can start on these guys!

Love it! Beautiful job on the paining - it makes all the difference

I'm enjoying this - keep the updates coming!

Watching this process just brings a smile to my face - and is an inspiration as well. Beautifully done

Piddling along - a few more planks and a start on the boiler. The main section of the boiler and steam dome is just wood strips covering a frame - the iron body of the boiler was covered with wood planks to protect the crew from burns in close quarters and so isn't visible except at the ends. The fun will come in the details - the reinforcing bands, valves, plumbing, stack, burner and hood. I'll probably end up opening the firebox. It will add some nice visual interest at the cost of another week or two. I figure the boiler will take three or four weekends, then I'll start on the steam engine. And a new plank or two. The planking will be a bit tedius - it will be ongoing in the background while I work on other assemblies - I'll post planking updates whenever there's something interesting to look at.

I am, as always, in utter awe of both the skill and the creativity I see demonstarted in these builds - thanks so much for posting these!

And.... While doing the hull planking, I'm also starting the boiler, which will also be a good side project. If I work this right, I'll finish the boiler, steam engine and the spar torpedo all at about the point I finish the hull

I finished up the cannon and carriage this morning. The last bits were finishing the barrel, including a pice of PE for the firing mechanism, adding the (functional) elevating screw and the cross-pin that secures the cannon to the carriage. I'm completely in love with Neolube colloidal graphite for black iron finishes - it dries to a perfect semi-matte iron black on just about any surface. That's particularly useful here, as the various pieces of the gun and carriage used wood, aluminum, brass and epoxy to represent iron components. Now, back to hull planking. This will take a while - each plank has to be cut, steamed, bent, shaped, sanded and glued individually. I can usually do about two a day, and there are about 80-ish of the bloody things to do...

I've always loved the Mossie since I had a toy one as a kid - yours is extraordinary!

Here's the result of some more head-scratching and an "ah-ha!" Moment... The kit instructions have you fabricate the elevation mechanism from a bit of aluminum tube, wrapped with thread to make it look threaded. To this, one adds a small PE brass wheel as a hand crank. They have the right idea, insofar as he original mechanism was pretty much that - a large hand-cranked screw. My puzzlement was in their approach. This is where the good folk at scale hardware come in. A short length of 1.6mm threaded brass rod is exactly in-scale for this application, and looks infinitely better than a thread-wrapped aluminum tube ever could. I still used a tiny bit of tube as a spacer, and I drilled a small hole in the end of the threaded rod to take a short pin which will key into a brass base-plate on the gun carriage. So here's the result, before I hit it with the colloidal graphite: I'll finish the carriage and gun on Saturday - watch for pics of the completed assembly to follow...

Awesome - many thanks!!!

So - I suspect that this topic has been covered *somewhere*, but I'm having a senior moment and can't find a good reference. I tracked down a Trumpeter 1/32 P-47 Razorback kit, and I know the version that I want to build: "Shorty" Rankin's 42-74622 "Wicked Wacker Weegie" (Nick King profile pinned on https://www.pinterest.com/pin/504473595730096675/ ). Why this one? Just a fun thought - Shorty made Ace on a mission on May 12th - my birthday, and I love the squadron color scheme. There are some other AC from the same squadron with very interesting art and histories, but this one just grabbed me. I found a decal set for this AC in 1/48, but sadly the decal selection for the 1/32 P-47 Razorback is razor-thin. Given the cost of the kit and add-ons from Eduard, settling for someone else's idea of which AC to build just doesn't sit right. I wish I had the skill to do the nose art lettering myself - the rest of the paint job is fairly straightforward. A good custom mask set might do the trick, but it seems that Ad Astra Masks is out of business? Any suggestions? I'm drawing a complete blank.

I love this! beautiful job on the steel body in particular

A very quick update - I found the solution to my puzzlement on the gun elevation mechanism (and some future puzzles with the steam plant as well!). The good folk at http://www.scalehardware.com/ have a fairly amazing supply of screws, nuts, bolts, threaded rod and such, in sizes that are useful at the scales we build. When my order arrives, I'll finish the gun mount and post it up

Wellllll.... I've taken the plunge and started planking the hull. I've also got most of the work done on the gun carriage, which is essentially a separate kit unto itself. The gun carriage is a modular design that allows the crew to pivot the gun to fire forward, port or starboard depending on which of three anchor points they use. The carriage has a friction slide to which the gun mounts, which is secured to the main carriage by two large compression screws. This arrangement absorbs the recoil of the gun without requiring run-out as was required for larger guns. So here's the process to-date: The basic components - slide and carriage, formed from basswood and brass, with individually-formed rivets: Slide Carriage (rivets set but not yet blackened): One of the rivets, before setting: Set, blackened: Aligning: Pivot pin - these are built up out of aluminum tubing, brass wire and epoxy, then blacked with colloidal graphite: Before blacking: ...and after: The (almost) current state of the carriage (I'm working through some puzzles on the elevation mechanism at the moment - not yet ready for their close-up!): And, finally, as advertised, the first run of hull planks: The gun itself is almost done - it's a white metal casting that took a boatload of cleanup, plus PE brass components, and some airbrushing - it, along with the elevation mechanisms, will be in the next update.