Clunkmeister

Nice to see this build back up and running, Sir!

I never did get the AM resin turrets. One of biggest regrets regarding AM for this thing. I’m trying to convince Brian at Resin2Detail to at least take a look and see what he can do with the wing/fuselage join area so it can at least be viewed from above. I’m also working on him to take a look at the HKM B-17 nose section. That should be an easier job than the B-24, with the only caveat being that a new instrument panel and part of the windshield will need to be scratched.

For y’all’s convenience, I pinned this. For now. I’m mulling making this a separate thread, but I think probably not. I did edit a couple things for clarity.

So for anyone co templating this, let me save you my agony. EVERYTHING here keys off that pass-through spar, so do this: 1. Take the rear bulkhead/rear floor piece and test fit it in the rear opening, shaping the resin as needed. 2. Install the rear bulkhead/rear floor piece with the bulkhead flush inside the rear of the bay opening and so the front rests on the stub molded into the spar. Note that the spar MUST rest on the upper wing opening (bottom of cockpit floor) and that the bomb bay ceiling will not be flat here, but angle up from the rear bulkhead to the spar. 3. After those two pieces are in place, simply build forward in order of appearance until you reach the front of the bomb bay. 4. Then install the side ribs. 5. Detail and paint, then install ordnance if desired. 6. Leave the bay doors and actuators till you’re done the model. Doing it that way should take you a maximum of 60 minutes.

Yes I do. Mike printed me a basic form by blowing up the 1/72 3D stuff out there. I’m still plucking away at my Super Universal, and once that’s done, I’ll be visiting the big Hun…

My Holy Grail kit is on my bench right now: the SB2C Helldiver. For years we’ve had just about every WW2 USN aircraft offered in 1/32 in some form or another, but no Helldiver. And now, thanks to HPH, I’m building my dream. Another Grail kit turned out to be a colossal bust: the B-24 Liberator. Hobby Boss completely borked that one and there it sits, waiting.. I built another Grail kit two years ago: the 1/32 PZL P.11c. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve always loved that little Polish fighter, and first Silver Wings, then IBG gave us two amazing kits. Now give me a decent large scale C-46 and a CF-100 and I’ll die happy and fulfilled.

This really, really sux! Sherman Smoot was one of the best air race pilots in the world and he was pretty much the only pilot for Czech Mate. Rest In Peace, Mr. Smoot! Now you fly without man made wings. Sherman Smoot and Czech Mate were hands on favorites to win at Reno two weeks from now. Just getting the Yak competitive was a many year project which was finally about to pay off. Easily the world’s fastest propeller driven Yak.

What I can say with 100% certainty is that I will absolutely FLY through my next build of this kit. Once you understand the relationship of how these parts fit to each other, it’s child’s play. Imagine trying to build a Tamiya Corsair or Mosquito with no locator tabs, no positive locator slots for the parts, and with an instruction book that might have been drawn by a 5 year old coming off a 10 day drunk. You’d be in the same place…

The entire bomb bay needs to be built in situ, so after figuring out what is up, I did just that, and followed it all up with a quick coat of One Shot Primer. Once I knew how everything was situated and how it all aligned with each other, the entire thing almost fell together. It was literally a half hour operation. A couple of the small side pieces were too short, but I think that was more my fault more than anything else. I’ll lengthen them 1/8” with a bit of styrene and be done. HPH Resin is and has always been amazing stuff, and the scale fidelity is STUNNING!

Thanks Martin! The Dean of the Obscure comes through again! You, Sir, are a World Treasure. I don’t know HOW you do it, but you do. Maybe some of your Eastern European contacts and search Engines have different parameters, no clue, but either way, it’s PERFECT.

I’ve been trying to piece together how on Earth the bomb bay is supposed to fit into the model. It’s a true Chinese Puzzle with an instruction sheet with what appear at first glance, to be straightforward line drawings. But once reality is exchanged for fantasy, then an extra helping of Fairy Dust mixed with Unicorn breath would be beneficial. Reality bears nothing more than a passing resemblance to the instructions. Like comparing an RD180 rocket motor to a bottle rocket. Eventually, I found these two pics on Britmodeler, and these two pics alone have probably saved this build from doom. Notice the downslope (or up, depending on perspective) of the rear bomb bay ceiling? That isn't mentioned or shown anywhere, and trying to get everything to line up was becoming an exercise in idiocy. So after a suitable cooling down period of a couple hours, I’ll jump back on it.

Well, in other news, I’m looking into a better “bronze green” to highlight what is visible. Old pics are always a bit suspect, but the interior on my build certainly needs a little more something in it. We’ll figure it out. And along the same path, the add-on open bomb bay kit supplies some gorgeous resin castings, but once again, their fit is more of a good humor suggestion than an actual fit. So I feel that tacking each piece in place and filling in myriad gaps is the new battle plan. The biggest issue is the lack of period photos. I don’t trust restoration pictures, and originals are kinda scarce.

How do you guys feel about them? Our “All of Ukraine” group build is wrapping up soon and I’d like some feedback regarding group builds. A good idea or not? Other sites do them, and we had a modicum of interest with this, and it even brought a few new members onboard. It’s the first group build we’ve had in years, and one of the criticisms from the past ones is the lack of a formal end date. Well, we have one for this and it’s coming right quick. IF you guys want another, I’m open to the idea, but understand, I’d like some ideas, we need participation, and also understand that I’m just one guy and It’s a boatload of work, so I’d like to hope that if we keep doing them, y’all will participate in them and make them a success. The floor is yours and we’re open for comments and suggestions.

We’ve given it till Sept 10 to wrap it all up, so everyone had another week and a half. Myself included. Even though I’m just doing it “because”.

What I NEED to do is figure out a decent color for the canvas screen behind the pilot’s seat. It’s canvas, so either khaki or OD green.. I think.

I’ve been away from the bench a couple of days as I’ve been kinda sick. No, matter of fact, I’ve been deathly ill with the flu. BUT, here I am, I’ve surfaced just long enough to recharge my batteries and get fresh air in, and then then back down I go, into the depths of restful sleep. In the meantime I had a chance to spend a bit of time on the bench, and I’ve been working on seams, making sure the basic fuselage was securely together. A bit of industrial help is needed around the rear gun emplacement, and once dry, I’ll start piecing together the bomb bay and main spar. Yes it kinda looks like crap right now, but quite honestly, I’m thrilled with this. And better yet, just after these pics were taken, I masked off the portside wing fabric area on my Corsair! It’s a miracle I say! I did have to get the half inch of dust off it, but I sure got it masked OK.

Finally I bought a ZM Rai Den kit. Been meaning to forever, but finally did. I managed to goober up the paint on my Hasegawa build, so rather than attempting to strip and repaint it, here I am…. Didn’t throw the Hasegawa away, though.

I’m actually closer to Chicago than I am to El Paso. Texas is HUGE

It was a long, long time ago, closer to 2014? Way back when we all hung out on TOS. It was a fun build, and I’d like to do another

Is that 1/72, John? Great looking build, btw.

Joy wanted me to post this for y’all regarding the humidity. This was this year on one of our humid days. BIG Texas hair. It’s twice as bad there, so warn y’all’s ladies to bring plenty of ponytail holders, or they’ll look like a triangle with their hair down…

If you got a south wind, you can literally cut the air with a knife. So humid a bullet might even leave ripples in the air….

Peter, they’re doing some amazing things over there. Like completely fixing ALL the issues on the HB A-26 and giving us an A-26K Counter Invader conversion as well. I’m trying to talk him into being the guy who FINALLY fixes the nose shape issues on the 1/32 B-17

It IS a hot time of the year, imagine Phoenix with humidity.

It’s an awesome piece, Peter. All I did was paint it, nothing else