Clunkmeister

No I haven’t actually. English Color is literally 3 blocks from my shop so PPG is right around the corner. I had a guy try to sell me on Tamco, especially their DTA primer, but I’ve always saw Tamco as marine paint. For a casual painter like me, it’s nice to have a product line that you know works. I’m to the point now where I really don’t want to beat myself up doing it, but again, if you want it done right, do it yourself. Running a buffer is just a bad byproduct of knowing it’s right, I guess.

For white finishes, I’ve alwzys thought you can’t beat Tamiya white primer, or even white Gunze Mr.Surfacer 1000. Just apply 2 or three light coats, let it dry for a day, the rub buff it with a soft cotton cloth. IMHO, it’s 100x better than trying to deal with white paint, so unless you’re aiming for effects paint, primer is all you need.

That’s exactly why I’m glad I wasn’t painting cars back in the old RM Miracryl enamel days. For part time hobby painters like myself, I just LOVE my PPG. DP90 might be stupid expensive, but to me, it’s the car equivalent of Mr Leveling Thinner. It’s saved my ass so many times it ain’t funny. Then PPG base/clear right over the sealer. I love the stuff. At any point when I get my inevitable once per job sag, I can just stop, let it flash, the feather it out and continue along as if nothing happened. Now my only real issues are cleanliness and guessing right for my reducer. I’m doing a color change on my 55 Sunliner, have it lifted off the frame and starting with the underbody, then jambs, floor, and inside engine compartment so I can remember and relearn my techniques. The less I need to use that bloody buffer, the happier I am. Love painting, but your wife is like mine. She comes to the shop, sees me head to toe in dust, looking like a chimney sweep, and says “what are you doing out here, it looks the same as it did last month”. It’s a good thing I really, really love her.

The CAD work was done here, and somehow, changes were made in China. It drove the people here INSANE. Ask Glen or Floyd about that. This build is looking AMAZING, Scott!

This is looking great. And I thought I built SLOW! Carl, the 104 is always a model I intended to buy, both single and two seaters, but I never did figure out which versions I needed to be able to properly do the two versions of the CF-104. I really like the classic original version with highly polished fuselage and anti flash wings for its tactical nuclear strike role.

It’s shiny because even after 20 years, it was still basically a brand new jet.

I found a bit of time for bench time, so I spent a bit of time working on the Helldiver. This is a BIG airframe

Even if you don’t want to go crazy on it, you can just grab the resin canopy from HPH and put that on instead. Nut fixing the kit part doesn’t appear too obnoxious

Oh wow Peter, this is certainly looking the business! I do have this kit, although it’s never been my first choice, the type sure has a Grace all its own. Im happy to see its appears to be one of SH’s more straightforward builds and there isn’t many areas to tempt your razor saw to come out and play.

Yes, I am looking at the same potential fix with mine. The resin piece is very close and it will serve as a good pattern. I WILL finish my resin build when this is done, so I can see the differences side to side

Yeah that looks GREAT. There is a 3D printed exhaust available now through Resin2Detail will make the exhaust problem easily repairable but the canopy will take some skill. Resin2Detail has quite a few bits and pieces for this kit.

Yeah it’s odd. Not a peep on LSP, ARC, Britmodeler, nothing.

Smitty’s building one now and he’s not really one for WIPs. With his permission I’ll post a pic or two, but it’s not my place to just do it. He was at Reno this year and like anyone who was there, is pretty shook up over the L29 crash in the Gold finals. That was by far the fastest crew this year and they were poised to take all the marbles.

Peter, I have no idea how it made it past the QC guys in the packing process, but at least there is a quick and easy fix for those who don’t want to start hacking on clear plastic. The resin parts are beautifully cast and with a dip into the Future, will be amazing. I’m surprised nobody in the modeling world has mentioned this yet. 🤬 There have been several dozen of these built, and it’ll fix the problem. The Infinity Vampire is a great looking kit. I watch one being built by a good friend, and he’s turning out a masterpiece.

Harald, having no time to build is what happens when you decide to fly Things Without Wings as a career…. 24/7/365 on call. Like a preacher, only a bit better paid.

True sentiment there! Mine still sits in its box, all green with envy. My Paasche VL is positively prehistoric, but I feel comfortable with it and it still churns out some decent paint work, so it stays around as of now..

So, you now have two choices: creative customizing on the kit part through sectioning the canopy at the rails, and narrowing the window dimensions, OR, contacting HPH and asking to order their resin clear set for the resin Helldiver. Or, if not doing that, buy and build the complete resin Helldiver kit. It already comes with all your optional items for the IM kit, with the exception of the folding wing option. Either way you do this, I feel HPH should offer the canopy fix parts to Infinity kit owners and builders. This little tidbit SOLVES one of the glaring weaknesses of the Infinity kit.

Now, JohnB mentioned the front windscreen being too deep, and it required a few minutes with a sanding stick. Here’s the resin HPH part, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s a drop fit as well! Not as big a deal, as the kit part is quite easily worked to make it fit like HPH part.

Now let’s look at them on the model. The Infinity part is grossly oversized, while the HPH part is a PERFECT DROP FIT on the Infinity kit. And the fuselage dimensions are identical between the two models, BTW. My job here is not to criticize and complain, instead it is to find the reason and point out the issue along with potential workarounds and/or fixes.

I’ve been doing some looking, measuring, and checking, and I’ve come to the conclusion that Infinity has simply blown it in regards to the rear canopy dimensions. So, then I say to myself: “Self, you were halfway through an HPH resin Helldiver build when you stopped and took a break. So why not have a quick look at the master kit used as a pattern for the IM Infinity release and see how they compare?” Brilliant, right? Yep…. Here is my comparison between the rear hoods of the two kits. As you can see, the Infinity part has had growth spurts in comparison to the parent HPH canopy. This is very interesting, and to me, it’s a simple blown assignment. They’re not even close, actually.

Yes Scott, that is my thought as well, OR, let’s see what the actual problem is, and see if we can find us a workaround.

Yes, the rear hood is waaay too deep, by, like Hubert said, several mm. The bottom row od windows are too deep, and from what I can see, HPH molded a part of the fuselage that is supposed to be solid and part of the side, as part of the sliding hood. . So the proper fix would be to slightly deepen the fuselage and shorten the hood, although the hood is much worse than the fuselage, and cutting and shortening the hood will get the job done. If you fit the rails on the fuselage to the guides on the rear hood, the top of the hood sits about 5 mm above the fuselage,… a very curious look indeed. Plus, I have a nice, prominent diagonal scratch across one entire side of the hood. Not manufacturer error, storage error by me. I’ll try to buff it and Future if, but I may need to buy a new transparency sprue from HPH.

Gaz, despite everyone’s cautions and warnings, I’m so far really enjoying this build. But, I’m not done, not even close. Just proceeding cautiously, finding issues before they find me. I’m still unsure what I’ll do about that rear greenhouse.

Great job so far, Chris. Your work is always a treat to see. It’s interesting to read about your airbrush choices. Believe it or not, I still use my ancient Paasche VL as my go to airbrush. No mods, nothing, just straight OOB. Just like an old pair of shoes, I’m comfortable with it, I guess. I bought that Greg set a couple years ago, and it still sits in its box, untouched. 😵‍💫. I oughta take y’all’s advice and move into the 21st century. But with that Paasche, it makes Gunze rich. The money I spend on cases of leveling thinner is truly spectacular…