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rkranias

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  1. rkranias
    Locator holes for main float spars. Locate center of inside lower wing and tape a card following the center line. Then take piece of card place along outside of rear wing spar. Secure with tape and begin to measure. Based on test fitting my estimate is about 15mm from center for each main float spar. Using a .035mm pin vice drill a starter hole on each side. Keep in mind this is merely a starter hole. Once you determine final size of pin for the wing float strut you will drill that size from the outside. Done and done! Time to close up the wings.
  2. rkranias
    Mounting wing plug and float locator holes. These simple preparations will made several difficult steps very manageable. These worked for me and I hope they will provide you with some good coaching for these next steps. To make room for locator tabs for the lower wing plug you must remove the Display Stand locator hole from the inside. Take cutters and make cuts every 1/8 inch and bend off pieces of Display Stand locator hole. Then remove pieces and sand flush. After sanding Display Stand locator hole smooth I cut 3 pieces of sheet styrene. Sizes are approximate. I want a little overhang for the lower wing plug to set and be glued. Clamps are used to secure. I gave this about a 48 hour cure time. Tamiya Liquid cement used to weld styrene to wing. I made n adjustment by adding another styrene piece just to the inside of the gun bays. A very nice glue area is now offered for the lower wing plug. Test fit looks good. Locator holes for wing floats. Following the leading edge wing spar, measure from inside edge 35mm. Then from leading edge of wing, measure 19mm. This is a good time to drill out the bomb rack holes if you plan on using any ordinance on your A6M2N. Follow Tamiya instructions for drilling holes for the bomb racks. Using a .35mm vice brill bit drill your starter hole. Keep in mind this is merely a starter hole. Once you determine final size of pin for the wing float strut you will drill that size from the outside. Repeat on port wing.
  3. rkranias
    Mounting Main Float Wing Plug and Wing Float locator holes. This is where the fun begins. Several times I was ready to pitch this project. Yes, there will be fit issues. Yes, there will be plenty of filling and scribing involved. All is doable. I hope the following posts will provide insight and tips on making this conversion work. With patience and good problem solving this conversion is possible with great results. Lower wing before surgery. Remove wheel wells. Carefully follow instructions for cutting guide. Draw cut lines. Carefully cut at accept the lover wing plug. Final test fit wing plug. Be advised it will be difficult to cut for a perfect flush fit. Styrene and putty will be required for filling gaps. Then some scribing to finish.
  4. rkranias
    Type 97 7.7mm MG replacement with AirMaster brass barrels. Cut plastic MG barrel off. Use Pin Vise to drill locator hole for brass upgrade. Really nice upgrade.
  5. rkranias
    Cockpit tub mounted and fuselage buttoned up. Engine test fitted to firewall. CAUTION! Be sure you assemble the firewall for the A6M2b and not the A6M5. Carefully cross reference the Tamiya instructions and parts to be eliminated. The A6M5 firewall will not fit the A6M2b kit. I am somewhat of an expert on this. Cowling test fit. Tamiya's engineering is outstanding on their A6M2b. I have discovered if there are fit/alignment issues then it either wrong part or incorrectly placed. Critical to RTFM! Prop hub needs some attention.
  6. rkranias
    Original tail (top) will be replaced with new taller tail (bottom). It's a plug 'n play fit. First, the rear top spine needs to be addressed. This is kit supplied and needs to be cut at first panel line beyond base of rudder. After cut sand to panel line. Test fit Tail, Rudder, Tail Plug, Lower Tail Plug with Tie Down/Grab Handle and Rear Top Spine. Fit is real god with minimal need for putty work.
  7. rkranias
    Lower tail plug with tie down/grab handle. Tail hook mount needs to be removed. Careful trimming. Fit looks good. Good casting by MDC yielded a really nice fit.
  8. rkranias
    Tail Plug installation begins with removing original from the kit. Priliminary cut close to correct lines. Careful sanding to correct lines. Repeat other side and test fit. Clean the resin plug. Test fit looks good.
  9. rkranias
    Engine, ignition wires, manifold, prop and prop hub painted flat black followed by various Alclad colors. Sakae engine complete and ready for test fit on firewall. Prop hub missing correct piece (base plate) and will be replaced later. Blue Aotake is achieved with Tamiya Clear Smoke 11 parts + Clear Blue 10 parts + Clear Green 1 part thinned 25:75 (paint:thinner) the sprayed over silver base. Treat the Aotake application as you would a wash. Remember this was applied in a haphazard way at the factory. Thank you Dave Johnson for the Aotake formula.
  10. rkranias
    Thanks Tim. I studied several A6M2 cockpit photos and diagrams and I did the best I could with information I had available. Things like this I will always settle for FICE. Good surface prep (cleaned parts, primer, micro-mesh sand, clean and prime again) on the resin parts solved all issues. I came close to pitching this several times. Not an easy build which threw me several challenges. I am glad I hung in there and finished this. I really learned multiple problem solving skills.
  11. rkranias
    Opened lightening holes in the seat mount. All photoetch parts mounted and ready for paint. Yeah, painting before adding PE was a bad idea. First time using PE...that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Pit painted and weathered.
  12. rkranias
    After I painted some interior parts of the pit I realized I needed to remove control systems for landing gear and tail hook. Then opened up lightening holes in the tub frame.
  13. rkranias
    Pics will be coming fast. Build was finished September 2012. Lost WIP after the SPAR Mk.1 crash and SPAR Mk.2 reconfigure to LSM. Had a blast with this build and I hope many will benefit from the WIP.
  14. rkranias
    Using will be Tamiya's A6M2b and MDC's A6M2N Rufe conversion. The MDC parts are cast well. Instructions are relatively clear. You really need to study these and sort the parts. The parts have slight flash and rivet detail will need touching up especially on the main float. Let the soaking, cleaning and trimming begin. The Beach Dolly will be the first element completed as this will serve to prop plane during construction and paint phases. Initial exam clearly shows this dolly is very flimsy and there is no way this will support the weight of the kit with about 1/4lb of resin. Strengthening the dolly will be a priority. Using Medium CA the beach dolly assembly begins. All seams and joints are well covered. A broken carbon bicycle spoke comes in handy as a faux axle for the beach dolly and adding much needed stability. Measure is about 5.8mm. Am leaving just a tad extra and will sand to final fit. Careful cut with a 54t saw. Sand to final fit. Nest faux axle and apply CA on braces. After CA applied set aside for a nice long cure time. Time to begin the pit.
  15. rkranias
    May 2012 I returned to my childhood hobby after a 30+ year hiatus this was my first complete project. I posted finished pics of this when LSM launched in early 2013. Since, I have received several inquiries regarding this conversion. I felt it is time to get off my bunns and post the WIP. I hope this will be beneficial to anyone taking on this project. I truly had a lot of fun with this complete with lots of learning curves, angst, drama and many more challenging metaphors. Enjoy. MODEL DETAILS 1:32 Tamiya A6M2b Zero conversion to A6M2-N Rufe THIS BUILD IS A SERIES OF FIRSTS: First complete build from box in over 30 years, officially returning to my childhood hobby First using resin First using Photo Etch First using Masks First using Double Action Airbrush First using Acrylic Paints INSPIRATION At age 17 I took a 1:72 scale A6M Zero and attached floats from a OS2U Kingfisher. Vac-u-formed canopy and applied thinned wash weathering techniques for the first time. This model was my pride and joy. I took advantage of this opportunity to do a conversion with Tamiya's epic 1:32 A6M2b. In the end it was truly an enjoyable build with plenty of drama and angst. AFTERMARKET MDC CV32039 A6M2-N Rufe Conversion Eduard Big Ed 3251: Engine, Landing Flaps, Interior and Canopy Mask. Air Master AM-32/006 A6M5 Type 97 7.7mm MG. CMK 5003 A6M5 Armament Set 60kg bombs, PE Stabilizers and Fuse Spinners. Maketar Masks Imperial Japanese HinomaruRoundels mask set and Custom mask for tail number GENERAL PAINT DATA Upper Tamiya XF-11 JN Green Lower Tamiya XF-12 JN Grey Interior Tamiya XF – 71 Cockpit Green Engine Alclad Magnesium, Burnt Iron, Exhaust Manifold, MIG pigments Propeller Alclad Airframe Aluminum, Exhaust Manifold 24 parts + Copper 6 parts, Dark Aluminum, Dura Aluminum Cowling Frames, Inside Cowling, Inside Landing Flaps Blue Aotake: Tamiya Clear Smoke 11 parts + Clear Blue 10 parts + Clear Green 1 part 60kg Bombs Mr. Surfacer 500 stippled with short stiff brush for texture then painted with Vallejo Model Air Olive Grey (RLM71) Hinomaru Vallejo Air Color: Red (RLM23) 20 parts + Vallejo Air Color: Fire Red 1 part Wing ID Bands and Tail Number Vallejo Air Color: Yellow 5 parts + Vallejo Model Color: Bright Orange 1 part Finished Link: A6M2-N REPRESENTS A6M2-N Rufe Y2-102 452nd Air Fleet Aquatic Airbase Shumushu, North Kuril Nov 1942 – January 1945* *Assigned to Seaplane Tender – Kamikawa Maru, Feb 1943 – May 1943 Y2-102 served as an interceptor for defending fuel depots at the Shumushu Island base North Kurile and served aboard seaplane carrier Kamikawa Manu.
  16. rkranias
    great write ups. enjoyed reading about these guys. look forward to see more.
  17. rkranias
    nice work on this. Intake is really well done!
  18. rkranias
    nice bench. kudos on the renovation.
  19. rkranias
    Nice review on these. Bringing me closer and closer to a WNW build.
  20. rkranias
    continue to enjoy this build...really stellar stuff here.
  21. rkranias
    Working on the prop hub base required some modification in order to fit the Hasegawa components. First task is to drill the prop hub plate in order to work with the Hasegawa mount. A hole has to be drilled through. After centering the drill point a 1.10mm bit is used to make the starting hole. After starter hole completed a 5/64 inch (sorry to my metric chaps) bit is hand twisted all the way through. Then a 5/32 inch bit is hand twisted from the rear to a depth of 3mm to accept the Hasegawa rubber plug. Rubber plug ready for insert. Plug nests well into prop hub plate. Test fit to Hasegawa component. Next up will be prop adjustment. I will be using props from Hasegawa FW190 kits as the Planet supplied props are too small when compared to photos of the 190C. The Hasegawa props are more beefy.
  22. rkranias
    Happy birthday Mike. From one old coot to a kinda old coot!
  23. rkranias
    Thanks Cees! Bezoula Builds on Facebook go to photos then select albums for views In order of completion: TBD1 (don't tell anyone this is a 1:48) May 2012. This is a restoration of Monogram TBD1 my Dad built in 1985. This marked my return to childhood hobby after a 35+ year hiatus. and on LSM A6M2N MDC/Tamiya conversion September 2012 P80B Czech Model F80C to P80B conversion March 2013 P47 Hasegawa August 2013 Bf109G6 Revell December 2013
  24. rkranias
    that must be some other handsome modeller. not my build. thanks for the post anyway. albeit, if we are talking about the same build, it is a stunner...skill sets far beyond mine.
  25. rkranias
    Vallejo #312 Leather Belt then dry brushed with Tamiya XF55 Deck Tan.
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