Clunkmeister

So I went to my LHS and walked out with several bottles of twos different Manufacturer’s take on IJN Grey-Green. Bith manufacturers are Japanese Companies, so I expect both poured their heart and soul into these homegrown shades. Tamiya’s XF-76 is the tried and true color that was introduced specifically for Tamiya’s 1/32 A6M2. Gunze’s C128 appears to be a fairly new release on IJN grey-green. so we will do a couple test sprays and compare.

I had mixed my RAzf interior green using ratios I got off od Britmodeler, and it was indistinguishable from Modelmaster

Yes, I have the same booklet. It IS informative. But it’s amazing how so very little is actually known about the particulars of this design. And yes, simply be requesting it. No charge at all, but you need to personally request it from Ryan Toews.

What do y’all use for the early war Japanese aircraft? I’ve heard some say Gunze’s interpretation of RLM02 is a really decent starting point. Of course, there’s also Tamiya’s XF-76… What y’all think?

So the age old question… which Grey-green? I’ve heard three possibilities: 1. Tamiya XF-76 2. Gunze’s RLM02 3. Floquil Concrete. Well, Floquil is made of unobtainium, and both of the other two look pretty good. Comments?

The cockpit looks suitably busy. Started with a few oils and dirt to dirty it up a bit. I’d say it’s a bit much, so a mice wash with turpenoid dulls it all up. One thing to remember with Japanese D3A aircraft: up until mid 1941, the aircraft were natural metal with red fins and meatballs with no white band. Mid 1941, they were repainted at the Squadron level with the grey-green and a clear lacquer protection applied over top. Stencils we’re masked and still appeared over bare metal. NO primer was used. Paint applied directly to the skin.

My advice? Just keep adding parts until there are no more to add. Lots of touch ups to do, followed by a decent oil wash.

I believe Brett agreed published a revision of the instructions on Hyperscale several years ago. And it’s available for download if you search Wingtech 1/32 Bf-110 instructions corrections. Matter of fact, here it is: https://www.hyperscale.com/2008/features/bf110c732erratabg_1.htm

This looks great, Kevin! Regarding Dragon’s original boxing of the kit, there were misnumbered parts, vague placement of items in the cockpit, and worst of all, the nacelle pieces are handed, as in they only fit one side of the airplane, and Dragon doesn’t advise on that. As a result, if you accidentally reverse the numbers back, the nacelles won’t fit at all, and you had a major putty and sand adventure ahead of you.

Good LORD, Ron, this is Gorgeous work! I have to live vicariously through y’all when it comes to armor, because I absolutely, truly SUCK with armor. I was ok 30 years ago, but I lost my AFV drive long ago. Just the thought of dealing with those guide horns gives me a migraine!

I’m having a peek… 😄

Dang! I may need to revisit those gun insert gaps!

And then, a bit of paintwork, and drop the wayward part into place. Landing Lights are a very prominent part of the Hurricane, I was unwilling to make something. These a Revell reflectors are exquisite!

Today, I got a little box from Revell, GMBH, and I was thrilled to find this inside. Revell’s Service is second to none!

Back when it was socially acceptable to do so, Martin was such a research hound with unbelievable never before seen pics, especially eastern bloc aircraft, that I jokingly referred to him as “The ex Soviet Spy.” He is second to none with the ability to find stuff.

Thanks, Ron! Good to see you back!

I’m thinking the same thing. The cockpits are a bit tedious, much like the Tamiya Corsair. You CAN blow through it and stick it together, or you can spend a bit of time and doctor it up a bit. Other than Airscale decals, I’m trying to build this kit completely OOB, and document any goofy areas. There are a few spots that require a bit of care, but no more than any typical Czech short run kit, and so far, and difficulty wise, it reminds me of a two seat version on the SH 1/32 Brewster Buffalo, or even their 1/32 Tempest. Tons of detail, and acres of room to go farther if you want.

This old thread just popped up again, folks, thanks to a hacker. We certainly get hacked on occasion, so i cleaned it up and, I think, got rid of all the rules breaking stuff. 🤬🤬🤬 Thanks for reporting this, Hubert, although now I’m glad you did, because now I’m going to finish this build. 😄😄😄 Let’s keep it clean and between the lines, y’all, and have fun. We can laugh at ourselves, which is exactly why I started this post way, way back in 2020, when Covid had us all freaking out.

Martin had a brainstorm, where we would set up a new Sub Forum on LSM to post documentation, research, pictures, etc. We’ve set up three areas where we have Aircraft, Armor, and Ships. We can add others as well, if the need arises and members want it. Right now, there has been some action regarding the various F4U versions, and it’ll only grow from there. So, 109, 190, Spitfire, P-40, P-47, P-39, P-63, P-38, whatever would hearts desire, add to the information as you feel. Ships, armor, whatever, just post under the heading that best suits your material. I expect we will take the large areas and break them off into their specific makes and models, but for now, post what you feel will help others. Be aware of copyright laws, but generally speaking, WW2 pictures are public domain now, and besides, nobody’s making money off this. I’d there is any question, give photo credit where due. It should grow into quite the impressive library. Discussion, heated or otherwise, can be up on the discussion pages, but when posting here, be relatively sure that what you’re posting is correct to the best of everyone’s knowledge. If something is proven wrong, or slightly off, either let us know or better yet, edit it yourselves. This is more or less gonna be Martin’s baby to run, and I’m sure nobody here will argue his knowledge and ability with research. I call him the “Dean of the Obscure”. This, folks, is your area to make, and if everyone grows it, you’ll get out way, way more than you put in. Maybe Martin will post up some of his basements full of old ComBloc documentation that he has at his fingertips. This is y’all’s time to SHINE.

Great information here! Awesome! I’m no huge Corsair fanboy, as blue and grey are morning to me, BUT, the FAA birds interest me greatly. I assume the FAA and the RNZAF scrapped all theirs to avoid having to buy them all postwar? What a waste!

Thanks, Carl. Yes, it’s a pretty big improvement so far, with nothing bad occurring yet at all. I actually ordered another Helldiver yesterday, this time it’ll be an Atlantic Bird with folded wings. I’m quite psyched about the D3A so far. It’s been quite nice. No issues, no oops moments, just fairly decent fit with little trimming needed here and there. These short run kits are never “exact”, but close gets You in the ballpark, then simply fiddle with it a bit.

A bit of an update, y’all. Didn’t get much building done yesterday, as I had a car show to attend, but this afternoon, I got a couple hours bench time in. I’ve been doing a bit of work assembling the optional resin radial engine, and also tarting up the various radios and black boxes scattered all throughout the cockpits. Airscale decals do wonders for the instrument board. As always, I should buy Tamiya stock! I easily go through three rolls of tape per build.

Of all the Nations who fought the Nazis to the death, Poland and her people are the ones I admire most of all. Poland literally fought like demons, right to the very last man. Anything, anywhere, anytime that honors Poland’s fallen warriors is a worthy cause for me, and a must visit site. Oh how I love the hearts of the people of Poland.

I’m late to the party, John, and it may have been stated already, but the changing of the “A” to “B” was purely political. The various Governments (Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, etc) didn’t want “attack) airceft, so the USAF just changed it to “B” bomber which was cool..

She’s gonna be a big girl. Her wings are as big as the Helldiver, but her fuselage is much slimmer. The wing is held together by this absolutely massive spar. The correct dihedral I’d molded into place, and it all fits beautifully so far. For every major component that goes on, I check the fit before, during, and after cementing the component in place. That way, if we run into a fit up issue, we’re not scratching our heads at the end, wondering where we screwed up. Quite honestly, if more people followed this method, there would be so much less frustration happening during a short run kit build. Special Hobby kits would get BUILT, and not end up on the SOD. With this kit, I have yet to have to adjust anything. Literally everything fits so far.