Landlubber Mike

Hey Neil, hope the little I've posted has been of some help. Let me know if you have any questions as you move along - feel free to post them here or via PM. I've actually enjoyed working on it as well, and really enjoyed working on the SH 1/48 kit. A bit more challenging than shake and bake kits, but not too bad if you take your time. For fuselage fit, the back half seems to fit completely fine. Forward of the canopy, the bottom of the fuselage halves look to fit ok, but I think the top halves are a touch short. I ran into very similar issues with the 1/48 kit as you can see below. I forget how I ended up closing that gap, but I think the 1/32 kit will be proportionately bigger. I probably will need to run a strip of plastic between the halves to close it. One other potential issue I should note. On my 1/48 build, looking at the right fuselage half, the area between the end of the cockpit and the tail fin had a flatter profile than the left half. I don't think it was that my kit part was warped, I think it's just how the mold was as I believe I found another 1/48 log that mentioned the same issue. I ended up building that area back up by using Tamiya 2-part epoxy putty which surprisingly worked really well given it was my first time using it. Unfortunately, I came across a 1/32 log that suggested the same issue. So, just wanted to pass that along as something to look out for.

Thanks B-C! Glad to have you along! Indeed! That's what I'm hoping Rob. There are a few little nubs here and there to help locate things like the bulkheads and firewalls, but nothing to really lock things in place. So, I would glue a sub-assembly and then add the other fuselage half to help the sub-assembly get into what I assumed to be the proper place as the glue dried. In all honesty, to this point it hasn't been that bad especially since I sorta knew what to plan for after the 1/48 SH Buffalo. For modellers that expect Tamiya-type fit though, Special Hobby is probably not for them.

Thanks Chris! Haven't quite figured out how to set it all up, but I have a faint idea in my head. For figures, Plasticsoldierreview.com is a pretty good resource. I ordered the three Red Box Japanese sets in 1/72, which get top marks from them (the Hasegawa set does as well). http://plasticsoldierreview.com/review.aspx?id=2360

Thanks John! I think you're right that the -3 (and the 339-23 I did in 1/48 scale) had the longer nose. There might be some other changes you'd need to make as well, like the panel lines, exhaust location, etc. This SH kit included two sets of fuselage halves - obviously you only use one, so now I have a good sized paint mule. The one for the 239 had a different set of panel lines, and the exhausts come out of the bottom of the cowl, and not the side as with the other set that was included in the box. Certainly not insurmountable.

I hesitated to post this since @KevinM was going to build this kit, but a few weeks ago I saw Sprue Brothers' big sale on Hasegawa items and saw this kit. I have been looking for a Special Hobby Sunderland Mk. III given the pretty amazing BigEd PE set that's available for it, but no luck (plus, sounds like there are fit and other issues with the kit). When I saw the Hasegawa Emily, I found out that it had a similar BigEd set, as well as some other goodies, and even better, it supposedly goes together very nicely. So, scratch the Sunderland and here comes the Emily. Managed to track down the available aftermarket so I'm a pretty happy camper. Even at 1/72 this thing is a beast. I'm thinking of modeling it as a two-sided diorama - with the full exterior and crew running around loading and servicing the plane on one side, and the other side cutaway (with the wing removed) showing the crew in position at the various stations. I managed to find the Hasegawa Japanese Navy Airmen set, and also ordered some Red Box sets of Japanese air crew so I should be all set with the figures. This will help me to show both the interior and exterior of the plane and avoid problems with other plane kits where all the interior detail gets buttoned up never to be seen again. Even better, I'll be able to save space with one of the wings removed.

Wow John, really nice! Well done, one of my favorites of your [many] builds.

Thanks Kevin! This one is kinda easy with everything in aluminum. There's some black and other colors thrown in, but fairly easy scheme. That being said, the SH instructions suggested that some of the bulkheads and other parts be interior green. Seemed a bit odd to me, so I wasn't sure if it was a mistake. I checked other builds and they seem to generally paint everything aluminum, so I went with that approach which made assembly and painting much easier. It's not like anyone is going to be able to see much of the interior anyway.

Thanks! And I know, what a shame. I probably will try to model it with the windows and canopy open, and maybe the nose gunner position open as well, so people can get a slight peek as to what's inside. Would be cool to do a cutaway model of this bird in a bigger scale.

Thanks Rockie! Always nice to get that first coat of paint down.

Here's where I am today. Managed to get painted the interior of the fuselage halves and remaining interior items to install. I'm pretty happy with how things are looking. I went ahead and used Vallejo's Metal Color Duraluminum. It sprays very well. After using mostly Mr. Color paints on my 1/48 Buffalo, it's been nice to go back to acrylics for ease of preparing the airbrush and cleaning. I'll still use Mr. Surfacer for the exterior primer and either Mr. Color or Tamiya for some of the harder to paint colors like the yellow on the cowl and wing tips, but I might go back to using acrylic elsewhere. Thanks for looking in!

With the fit issues on getting the fuselage closed up, I thought it would be better to add as much of the interior as possible to one of the fuselage halves, rather than trying to install what are three or four separate assemblies into the fuselage halves and then trying to get it closed up. Taking this approach allows me to position the sub-assemblies on one half of the fuselage, and while the glue is drying, test the fit and get the final location by dry fitting the other fuselage half over it. Takes quite a bit of time, but I think it will be less painful in the long run. Instructions are ok I suppose - generally there are no locating marks, pins, etc., so you have to sorta guess where the instruction arrows point you. Thankfully there are other builds out there on the web to doublecheck yourself.

While waiting on parts to dry on my Walrus for the group build or otherwise just needing a break from it, I started the Buffalo 239 Finnish version from Special Hobby in 1/32. Yay, my first LSM for this board! Anyway, since I just finished their 1/48 Buffalo kit, I figured I might as well tackle this one given I know what to look out for. Unlike the 1/48 kit I just finished, this one I will be building mostly out of the box with considerably less aftermarket. The kit is like the 1/48 kit (and probably most SH kits) in that in addition to the plastic, you get resin and PE details in the box. It's been interesting comparing this to the Airfix Walrus that I'm working on. The Airfix kit has great fit but a lot of flash and injector marks and other cleanup that you need to do. This Special Hobby kit needs much less cleanup, but the fit is not the greatest. I can tell already that I'll have a big gap closing up the fuselage forward of the cockpit 🤬 But, so far this has been an enjoyable build over the last week or so.

Making some progress on the Walrus. Managed to get the interior base coat paints down along with the color PE parts, and started a little bit of the weathering. Should be able to button it up in the next couple of days.

Nice score!! At 1/24, must be a monster!

Not sure how I missed this PW - great job!! Love your dioramas - they have a lot of interesting details which let the mind wander thinking about the story being told. Very cool man, thanks for sharing!

I definitely wouldn't build a model with this many windows without getting a mask set!

I think the guns are Type 99 guns - at least that is what Eduard sells as part of their upgrade package for this kit: https://www.eduard.com/eduard/h8k2-emily-guns-1-72.html?cur=2&listtype=search&searchparam=h8k2

Mr Color Levelling Thinner is way too expensive to use it to clean out the airbrush. I use it to thin (not clean) Tamiya and Mr. Color paints - works great! They don't call it bottled unicorn things for nothing! Did not know that about using Tamiya lacquer thinner with Testor's dullcote - will need to try that. I usually use Mr. Color products for clear coats through the airbrush (or their rattle cans), and Testor's if I need to hand brush a small detail. Never thought I could airbrush Testor's, good to know!

Agree with you PW - seems more cost effective if you can get the same unbranded chemicals. Peter, like you I use Mr. Color Leveling Thinner for thinning Mr. Color and Tamiya paints. For Vallejo, I also use the Vallejo brand thinner for thinning in the airbrush - for airbrush cleaning, I have just been using water and a brush to physically remove any remnants.

Are you guys using the Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner as actual cleaner, or are you using it as glue in place of Tamiya's Extra Thin Cement? I just use IPA and lacquer thinner as cleaners - seems much more cost effective.

What do you think of the kit? I don't want to get into helicopter models, but if I had to build one, it would definitely be the Apache. Kinda like where I am with modern day aircraft - I don't want to get into them, but did get a Trumpeter A-10 kit.

Nice Mark! Those MFH kits look really sweet.

Those guns look really sweet B-C, nice job!

Wow, great job Kevin!! Very nice!

Nice area! Love the beer and gas signs. Well done!