Clunkmeister

This Saskatchewan boy kinda likes to know that a Manitoba boy is THE Japanese aircraft guru out there. A bit of homeland pride, maybe?

A bit of an update here. I’ve been pulling a “Martin” and have gotten deeper into reading up on these aircraft than I ever have on any aircraft, other than my FM-104 Lanc and Helldiver builds. Also, I’m Blessed in that world renowned and respected a Japanese aircraft expert Ryan Toews and I have exchanged a few emails, and he’s pointed out a few things to me. Apparently the kit is generally accurate but the wing fold is representative of one of the first 46 Vals produced. After 46, it was modified. Plus, I have a big issue with the green scheme as shown in the instructions. Apparently, that scheme is accurate for that exact aircraft, but not until 1942. At Pearl Harbor, that aircraft was the “flamed Val”, which sported a rather wild scheme… maybe an assembly ship? And finally, what I consider one of the earliest takes on Bl-231 and her mystery flame scheme. This famous aircraft sure got around.

Haha Carl. That engine looks like it was merrily alight. But, I fixed it and it looks much better now. 😂

Seems this Val had an engine fire!

Ya know,… sometimes taking pics is a good thing the grime isn’t extreme in person, but on a screen, it sure looks like it had an overheated gearbox or a front seal leak. We’ll back it down ALOT. I’m liking this kit. It’s NOT a tough build, but a bit of a tedious build. I used the resin engine with resin exhaust, and everything fits the kit perfectly. The engine is even keyed to only mount one direction. You can’t screw this up.

Kevin, this time I went against my best judgement, and actually followed the instructions. I was worried enough about the bottom alignment to where I just said “screw it” and did it. It actually worked out OK, as the upper wing panels needed trimming down a bit, unlike Special Hobby’s stuff, which is often too short. I’ve got the top seams all worked out, now aim simply fixing the seam at the bottom rear

let me guess…. FW-190 stuff in 1/24? You’ve only moaned about that for decades it seems. But his Spitfire control columns are freakin’ amazing!

https://barracudacals.com

I want to now take this opportunity to welcome BarracudaCals onboard as our newest Sponsor, and they will be given a dedicated area in our Vendor’s area. They, or we will, upon notification, post any new upcoming product releases here as well. I think Roy’s Company will be a fine fit here ar LSM, especially with our broadening our scale range to include 1/48, and being friendly to all scales. Feel free to welcome Roy when you interact with him next.

Very nice Simon! This will be very popular! Do you foresee a 1/32 version in the future as well? Most of my WW1 stuff is in 1/32 already

Yes, there are some things done in 3D I believe. The one thing that he has are the good old parts we always seem to need: stuff for the top 10 1/32 scale WW2 fighters we never seem to tire of. 109, 190, Spitfire, Mosquito, P-51, P-47, P-40, P-38, Zero, Ju-88, etc… Other than the two huge Czech companies: CMK and Eduard, we basically have Barracuda, Eagle, Resin2Detail, and ResKit for good, reliable 1/32 output. Yeah we have others, but they’re mostly mom and pop Eastern European companies that you need to read the Czech Model Forum to find out about.

Guys, I don’t normally sing the praises of a Company on the open forum, but I have used Barracuda Products on almost every one of my builds now, for a long, long time. Their stuff is often a direct drop in, and if you want to build a 1/48 KittyHawk MiG-25, they offer a line of parts that fixes all the issues on the kit Their decals, and especially their line of 1/32 resin for popular subjects in 1/48, 1/32, and 1/24 is truly spectacular. They JUST released some truly EXQUISITE Spitfire control columns, and they are truly a sight to behold.

Oh there’s going to be putty involved, just not as much as it could have been. 🤣

Nice work so far! I love those “imitation seats”. I have a 1/48 Hobbycraft CF-100 interceptor, and I kid you not, the two seats looked like La-Z-Boy reclining easy chairs. It was pretty darn sad, actually, at least after I stopped laughing.

Hahaha, yep. Smitty told me Sprue got a few in on a Monday, I immediately ordered it, got it two days later, and here, a week after that, I’m close. Someone’s gotta build one!

Wing is attached. A bit of fuss, but did some sanding and scraping and it went on relatively painlessly.

This is a bit better fit than the Helldiver, simply because this kit boasts that massive spar which sets the wing thickness and dihedral.

Now we check the wings. Careful checking along the way assured us that there will be no major surprises here. The ARE some fairly major gaps at the wing root to fuselage leading edges. But these are compound curve joints, so filling and sanding will be easier to accomplish and hide from Capt. Obvious.

As you can see, the canopy fits well. When you build this model, or any short run model, use “Resin Model recommended best procedures and practices” when you proceed. Verify that all major assemblies continue to fit together as you proceed in adding little pieces. Otherwise, you could get to this point, and lo and behold, the canopy isn’t wide enough or vice versa, depending how much you sand the fuselage join areas. Continually sight down the fuselage moment by moment to ensure you’re not creating a banana. We’ve all done that a d it’s no fun, especially when you’re dealing with a long out of production, Holy Grail resin kit.

So here we are with a fuselage in, more or less, one piece.

I need to re orient one of the spotlights. Right now it’s be shining in the pilot’s eyes.

Thanks Steve. I’m one of those guys who actually enjoy working in resin, and HPH kits are some of the best out there. The Walrus is a rough build in places, and the Tigercat is a real project, but still, they’re decent, solid kits. The Infinity line give us a break from the resin dust, and that’s never a bad thing. The Val is really an awesome kit in so many ways, but those with little patience may find it a chore. So far, I’ve tried to verify airframe fit before any glue is applied, to avoid any nasty surprises down the road. This kit is a long time coming, and HPH appears to have taken the extra effort needed to ensure everything lines up. Stay tuned! 😄

Tonight I started easing the fuselage halves together. The interior is gloriously detailed and complicated, but every single solitary part has to be added individually. I don’t have any problems with that, matter of fact, I prefer it so I can paint parts individually. I’m sure there’s going to be people who will loudly complain about that, but as far as I’m concerned, this is exactly how I wish more manufacturers would do it. Trying to pick out molded on boxes and stuff is absolutely tedious to me.

Thanks Peter. It’s a fun build so far.