Landlubber Mike

Looking good Rob! Now it's starting to look like a ship - always a fun stage to hit in a ship build. Good luck with the gaps!

It's quite possible there is residue from a prior painting session, but I also break down the airbrush, and try to thoroughly clean out the nozzle, needle, etc. I only have this issue with Mr. Color's clear. It's just so thick, and even thinning it 2-3 parts thinner to 1 part clear, I'll get the gummed up issue when starting to spray. After maybe 10 seconds of continual spraying with maybe some back-flushing, I'll get a bit of spray to come out. Then maybe after another 30 seconds, it will start coming out the full spray. I really don't have this with other paints and clears. My primary airbrush is an Iwata Eclipse with a 0.35 nozzle. I think what is happening is that some of the clear isn't completely dissolved in the thinner, so it settles and gums things up. Eventually, as more and more thinner/thinned mix is pulled through the brush, things get more dissolved. As I'm typing this, maybe what I need to do is pre-mix the clear and thinner before adding it to the cup. I don't have to do that with other paints and clears, but maybe it's worth trying that out here. Hmm...

Unfortunately, there's not much out there for the kit. Eduard did a set for the antennas which you can find here and there, a set for the engine (which seems incredibly scarce), and masks (which seem really scarce). A couple of others came out with masks also, but I'm having a hard time sourcing them. I didn't find any AM decals for this one either. Hence, it's probably advisable to try to find the 2014 release rather than take the chance on the ones from the early 2000s. I think it would be fun to open the it up and scratch a little of the interior - kinda like you can on big transports like the Ju-52 and the Me 323. This kit is huge though even at 1/72, so I'm not sure about making it into a diorama except for using the CMK towing car which would serve more as a stand since this kit doesn't include a stand for the model. I have a couple of the Pro Modeler Ju-52s along with the Master-X pontoon and ski conversions, so I'll probably use those kits for dioramas (though, the Ju-52 at 1/48 is pretty sizable too).

I actually manually turn the PSI up on my compressor to get the airbrush primed. Once the flow is going the way it should, I then turn it down on my compressor to my working PSI. Sorry for all the confusion!

If you guys are thinking about this kit, take a look at this build on Scalemates. This was what convinced me to build this monster https://www.scalemates.com/profiles/mate.php?id=10148&p=albums&album=40097&view=list

Yeah the chisel is so great - I have a few different sizes and even shapes from UMM, with some square faced and some oval faced. I just picked up some other tools from UMM a few months ago that included a set of reamers that have already come in handy. I'm kind of a tool junky and like to try new things out. Of course, some people can just use a #11 blade, some sandpaper and tube cement and build pristine models. It's like on the wooden ship model side. There are so many tools you can buy, including power tools, to make work easier and more accurate. Then there are those that are using a few basic tools that are creating museum quality pieces lol

I'm Mike!

Sorry, I fear that I'm confusing everyone with what I have been saying. When I shoot the GX100 clear, I find that it takes the airbrush a little while to be able to start spraying the clear as if I was spraying Mr. Color, Vallejo, etc. Either nothing comes out initially, or just a tiny bit of spray comes out. One thing I have done is just keep spraying (off the model) until the airbrush is spraying a full spray. That sometimes takes a while, so what I've done in the alternative is to turn the PSI up to 40-60, and spray off the model until the airbrush is going at the proper rate. Once that point is reached, then I turn it back down to get the working pressure of 18-22 and start spraying the model. In both cases, I feel like it takes a bit of time for the thinner to work through the nozzle, etc. to get to the full spray point. Spraying at a higher PSI just helps push the mixture through the airbrush to get the airbrush innards primed enough with thinner to get to proper spray patterns. I think I'll try using a 0.5 airbrush next time, and using Rob's approach of shooting some thinner through the airbrush before starting with the GX100.

Revell originally released it in 2002 and then 2003. They seem to have re-released it in 2014, which is the version I have. I don't think they have re-released it since.

After doing research for one of my builds, I came across a build log of Revell's Blohm & Voss BV 222. Really majestic looking plane, so I picked one up off eBay. Not much aftermarket for it, but there is a trolley cart you can get for it which I'm planning to pick up. Kit came today, and looks really nice. The plane must have been gigantic in person. This kit is 1/72, but the model is huge! Here's a question - does this count as a LSM? Here's a picture of the fuselage half against a fuselage half of my current 1/48 Walrus. I really wanted to find a Special Hobby Sunderland Mk. III in 1/72 scale because Eduard makes an insanely detailed PE set for it, but I'm wondering if it's just too big now that I see what I have with the BV 222.

Wow, that's crazy!! My kind of crazy though, I'd do it just to challenge myself.

Thanks Peter! Chisels are a godsend for sure. I use mine a lot. I doubt anyone will see much of anything from the outside. The windows are pretty tiny, and the inside is really crowded with the seat, bulkheads, tables, etc. I just like to push myself on the PE as my 1/350 and 1/700 ship models typically have fairly extensive PE sets, so it's good practice. To be honest, I'm probably down to 10 builds now with the Wildcat and Buffalo done. I just get bored, or in the case of the wooden ship builds where you have dozens (if not more) repetitive tasks to perform, burned out. Rather than take a long break from modeling, I just pick something else up. I found that with my first wooden ship build, I would take long breaks of six months or more away from the workbench. More recently, I was working on one of my current wooden ship models and spent an inordinate amount of time over a 2-3 week period trying to square things up on the hull because my keel was slightly warped as well as frame a dozen gunports on each side. That was over a year ago, and I haven't had the inclination to pick the kit up since! Will need to wait until the PTSD lessens. To keep them organized, I just keep the models together in the kit box or a bigger container or just somewhere where they can be safely stored. Having a build log tends to remind me where I was with the build. And I usually annotate the instructions to remind me of tasks I need to do. One good thing about putting the model away for a spell is that it gives me time to consciously or subconsciously work out how to tackle things when I'm stuck, rather than try to just get through things to keep progressing when I lack the motivation to do so. Some probably would say all this is a clear symptom of severe attention deficit disorder - yet, I think I've said this before, but for me it's the journey and not the destination that interests me. I don't care about completing builds all that much, I just like to keep busy building. I assume it's a compass. I just build what my Eduard overlords tell me to build...

Thanks Martin! Really appreciate it! Thanks Peter! To be honest, I almost threw the model out the window after all that work, but it all ended up ok in the end. Good point about the PSI settings. I usually work with a pressure of around 18-22, so the needle is usually set a little higher on my Iwata compressor. I use that same pressure for Mr. Color clear coats. I just crank the compressor way up and shoot it away from the model to get the airbrush primed (at which time I turn it back down before spraying the model), otherwise it seems too blocked to get a meaningful spray.

Nice job! Lot of cool details!

Made some progress on the Walrus this weekend. After cleaning up the ejector marks on the bottom and sides, I installed various pieces into the bottom which included some Eduard PE. After being annoyed about the quality of the kit from the many ejector marks, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the pieces are fitting together. Test fitted the fuselage sides as well, and everything matches up well. I worried about the orientation of the first bulkhead as you only attach it along the bottom of this stage, but its angle is locked into place perfectly by the two floor pieces on either side. So, kudos to Airfix on this step - big redemption from the ejection pin fiasco 👍 The two main PE assemblies in the picture above are molded by Airfix as pretty much flat, non-descript platforms similar to the rest of the floor pieces. The Eduard PE ends up being quite complicated/detailed assemblies for these replacement details. Who knows if they will be seen when the fuselage is buttoned up, but it was fun making them.

I have to say I was a bit shocked myself Peter! I had heard that the fuselage halves in particular had a lot of pin marks, but I really cringed when I opened mine up. I mostly used these chisels from UMM to get into the small spaces to clean them up. First a few passes with the chisel, then added a bit of Tamiya filler, then used a combination of the chisel and sanding sticks/folded sandpaper to finalize them. The chisels made the job much, much easier than it could have been getting into those small spaces. If I didn't have them, I probably wouldn't have bothered with filling them.

I was originally thinking about modeling mine in a water scene as well, but once I found the catapult and later added the 1/700 Albatros, I think that idea went out the window. I have other boat planes that I can model in a water scene, so I can scratch that itch in another build. The SH kit looks nice - maybe a bit fewer parts than the Airfix kit, but those resin and PE details look really great. There's a ton of parts in the Airfix kit as you know, which was a bit surprising to me given how small the model actually is.

Thanks Peter, really appreciate it! I'll probably do the 239 alongside the Walrus GB, but I want to make sure that I get finished with the GB in time as spring usually gets pretty busy for me with kid activities, work, yard stuff, etc. But, with the 1/48 under my belt and really no aftermarket except plug and play pieces, it should be a fairly quick build. The hardest thing for me will be the camo scheme, as it's considerably more complicated than anything I've done to date.

It really looks great when it goes down well. The rattle can versions go down really well too - I found the nozzles are much better than the Tamiya rattle cans which have a tendency to spit in my experience. I thought going to the bottled version would give me more control, but after the spider webbing on this build, I used the rattle can on my Buffalo. Just for clarification, I don't spray on the model at 40-60 PSI. Because the clear seems to immediately gum up the airbrush, I found that getting it going through the airbrush at that high PSI at least pushes out some of the clear and thinner, and probably I was getting a coating of thinner in the nozzle, etc. leading to an easier time spraying at 20 PSI. I found that the longer I sprayed, the better the clear sprayed out of it, so the higher PSI just helps get to that point a little sooner. Thinking out loud, I wonder if you run the thinner through the airbrush first, then run the thinner/clear mix after, if that would help prime things better? Maybe I'll try that next time.

If you can't find the figures you want, you can always try making your own? They have heads you can by so you don't have to worry about sculpting the faces (I think Ultracast sold packs of them). Bodies you can make yourself using clay, etc. Lot of work for sure, but might be an option if all else fails.

Thanks Mike, Rob and PW! Really appreciate it! @DocRob, I always picture the Buffalo as a bulldog, especially with the stout body and landing gear stance. Not fancy looking at all, but ready to rumble.

Thanks Rob, really appreciate it! I think I was using GX100 (probably same one you are talking about). I find you have to really thin it, like 2-3:1 thinner to clear, or it gums up the airbrush immediately. Even then, it sprayed a lot better if I first shot the clear out the airbrush at 40-60 PSI almost to prime the nozzle, and then shot it around 20 PSI. I don't know why I got the spider webbing, except that I might have sprayed too much in a few spots. I'm always very careful in letting underlying paints dry at least 24 hours before clear coating. It also happened with the rattle can, which I tried spraying over to see if it would reset the clear, but it exacerbated things. I'm just glad I was able to remedy things in the end. One interesting result that I found was that in lightly sanding off the clear, those spots were a tough lighter than the surrounding paint. I've never tried sanding before as a weathering technique, but it might be another arrow for the quiver.

Rob, when you get to yours, let me know if you need pictures of what you can actually see inside. My guess is I could have just used the scrapers I have from UMM or even left them be, as I heard from @Clunkmeister that the 1/32 HpH kit (which I also have) has a ton of interior details that just aren't visible. It was a couple hours of work that probably could have been better spent elsewhere. Ejector marks are usually a pain, but here 10x harder given that they are inside very tight areas!! Good practice learning how to address them I guess. I'm curious what the Special Hobby kit is like. I see SH is releasing the Sea Otter, which is the successor to the Walrus in 1/72. If I didn't have the HpH kit, I'd consider getting the SH kit. For the engine, I picked up the Vector engine set 48118 (Pegasus engine I believe), which I think is specifically designed with the Walrus in mind. Given how prominent the engine is on this plane, I figured I'd try an upgraded engine. I haven't used Vector before, but heard good things. Good questions PW! It is what it is I guess. I am hoping this isn't a sign of things to come. I don't recall seeing this on the other sprues, but who knows. Thanks very much for the pictures! It is a cool looking plane, in an odd looking way. I tend to like quirky though. Thanks for looking in and again for the pics!

Nice! I love the Buffalo in the yellow wings scheme. When I first got the kit, I was thinking I'd just paint it as a yellow wings, but then realized that the conversion would take too much effort. Different nose lengths, bottom windows, etc. Looking forward to your build! Thanks Harv, really appreciate it!

Thanks guys! The figures are a nice touch I think. I used figures from this set. Word of warning though - the figures that come in the box look nothing like these figures! Different positions, no hats, no toolbox, etc. @JohnB, I love the Atlantic scheme too. Once the GB is done, I have two Accurate Miniatures Avenger kits that I'm going to build, and one of which will be a sub hunter in the Atlantic camo scheme.