Clunkmeister

Are you talking Humbrol? If so, I’m right there with you. The stuff isn’t as it once was. Not even close, which is a shame for those of us who like to model British aircraft, especially FAA and others that aren’t standard fare 1940-41 RAF.

I’ve gone to a cheap etching primer now that I can buy in a spray can at auto parts stores. I’ve used it on resin a lot, but have finally started using it on my short run kits. Overkill? Maybe, but I despise lifted paint. Lifted paint is a mojo killer. This seems to have become more of a problem since environmental laws forced paint manufacturers to change their formulations.

Rob, I’m not even sure this digital scheme needs roundels. There are multiple versions of the various National insignia and fin emblem. I saw a picture of one with the broken border, so I used that. There are even smaller emblems used as well. It’s pretty wide open, so I just chose the one I could surely authenticate. I DO need to dirty it up a bit, yet, and hang some missiles. The nose seems a bit blunt as well. Hmmm. I have the various pitot and static ports, static wicks, LERX, , canopy, etc to install yet, but we’re getting there. The nose gear taxi light took a long ride somewhere out of my tweezers, so it’s looooong gone. I’ll need to hopeful.f find something that looks close enough to substitute. The build could have been done a month ago, but I threw my back out, so I’ve been laid up in dry dock…

Thanks to you, of course. 😀 I simply ripped off your technique.

And the good news for me is that I only need to be perfect down to the waterline. After that, I can do whatever, as long as it’s smooth. I had that second planking close to finished, but I could see the ends starting to be too ide and not follow the flow. Some guys on MSW said I should have started tapering the second planking by the second plank below the main wale. I went 4 before I did, and that calf gt up to me when the bow and stern swooped under. What I WILL do this time is fill the small surface irregularities with my first planking. That’ll help. You’ve given me the bug again, and now I gotta get cracking’ on.

She’s on her gear, so now we do some dirtying up, although according to a certain LSM member who knows many people in the local area and happens to speak a version of the local dialect, the digital birds didn’t get real dirty. They were painted, prepped, and were usually shot down after a short number of missions. But we do see light at the end of the tunnel here.

Just for kicks, I cut out some plastic. Interesting. The plastic is actually quite soft. Much like Kitty Hawk consistency. A bit softer than Wingnuts, but the opposite of Hasegawa. With what you have to work with, John, you’ve done a fine job of interpreting the nuances of the Beast

Here is where I was a couple months back after pulling back my second planking. Just gotta get cracking in her again.

Simple dimple that. A touch of overspray at the front as well, but nothing horrible. I truly DETEST GSB. I have never been able to get a convincing finish, yet yours looked amazing. GSB shows everything, almost as bad as gloss black

Oh crap, John. Even after washing the plastic, this STILL happened?? I wonder if it needs to be prepped more like resin when you remove the release agent.

Don’t count on it, John, I have a regular way of snatching mediocrity from the open jaws of greatness.

I shall. I had to start fresh with my second planking. I hadn’t relieved the ends e ough a d it would have been VERY noticeable farther down the hull. You and are both quite comfortable working with PE, so copper sheathing should be less of an issue for us than it is for those who work in nothing but wood.

Rob, I’m just catching up, and I’m blown away by this! Unbelievable! Looking at this, now I can see why so many people just step the masts and stop. No running rigging to deal with, nothing. Reading through this makes me want to get back on to HMS Speedy, which is still not quite completed her second planking. Speedy has a copper bottom, so that oughta be fun. 😇 I follow this with much interest! Also, I haven’t been over there in a bit, so I should check, but are you cross posting this on MSW as well?

John, you did go strictly OOB, right? But for the seat? I pulled mine out today and looked at the open gunner position, and it’s a VERY easy and quick modification. The separate control surfaces are nice, too. I’m pretty Gung Ho about building one now, and if it comes out half as nice as yours I’ll be thrilled.

Stunning result, Kevin! Those ICM kits are awesome, aren’t they? May I post this on our FB page?

Beautiful finish, Peter! Can I post it on our FB site?

John, which GSB are you using? My kit is calling to me now, although I have the open rear gunner area and bomb bay. I think I’ll forego the folded wings for now as well. Plus, can you possibly drill the plastic flaps to maybe add some relief and detail? It might go a long way towards giving those some “pop”.

That takes cojones, no doubt! I remember cutting that first RCAF rear observer window out of that very expensive HK Lanc plastic a d thinking “well, I ain’t turning back now”. 🤣 Gotta have a little faith, baby!

Awesome build, John! Kit pit, or Aires?

I have two booths.. the first is a 12 ft by 14 ft area that a has a fan.. on the ceiling, and contains my bench. The second is a mobile vent: 5 ft 9 inches, two legs, slow moving, and extremely ugly. It takes the fumes in, then goes outside and vents them out.

My kind of history with the DC-3… Did you know that if you park a DC-3 between the hangars and the parked aircraft at Churchill airport, you could sneak EVERY freighter that operated there except a C-46? And they knew it and STILL did it! Pricks

That’s All Brother. If you attend the Nats next year, it’s based at San Marcos. An absolutely priceless treasure.

Hubert, Kitty Hawk offered a stellar 1820 on their T-28 kits, except that the company is now defunct. Resin2Detail may offer a decent engine plug to be used for the HK B-17, which might make it a bit more date specific than the late 50s when the T-28B was first conceived. Looking at Mirek’s build photos, the HPH passenger internals look promising enough. One thing’s for sure, the Day Plane will be a much easier build than the C-47 in WW2 troop carrier trim. My ULTIMATE dream is a DST. Almost nobody has even heard of a DST. Now, everyone who reads this thread certainly does… Funny thing, there was an article a couple years back about a guy who located a DC-3 that was threatened with turboprop conversion. What made him notice it was the odd placement of the door.. During his examination of it, he then noticed skin riveted on in patches above the passenger windows. Yep, it was an actual DST. He had to find and swap out a similar regular C-47/DC-3 in order to rescue the DST from the modifiers knife, but he got it done with plenty of time to spare and the ultra rare Douglas Sleeper Transport is now on its way to a full, accurate, and flight worthy restoration. They literally have to reconstruct the entire interior from scratch, and source all the early Douglas production components that have long been tossed to bring the airplane up to C-47 standards. And yes, a cargo door had been Mickey Mouse’d into the fuselage side.

Notice the differences between the DST and the DC-3 day plane? DST has one extra window per side plus the distinctive upper eyebrow windows for the upper berth sleepers. Also, American Airlines insisted in right side doors to standardize with their Fords then in service.

THIS is an actual, original, never screwed with, American Airlines DC-3 that was rescued and restored to brand new. Notice the cowls and exhaust. Hamburger door generally stays closed. Another thing. Notice these aircraft always have the flaps UP. They are raised immediately after landing because the props toss gravel and detritus into them, damaging them. NO DC-3 pilot who wants to keep his job dares taxi his airplane off the runway with the flaps down.