Martinnfb Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 That engine looks fantastic Mike. I have to shamefully admit that my Buffalo has been neglected for quite a while. For now I’m enjoying the beauty of BC Rockies. cheers Martin 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Thanks Peter! All the aftermarket is a bit daunting, especially as there are times in the CMK and Brengun instructions (frankly, as well as the Special Hobby instructions) where it's not quite clear what you need to do. Also, the CMK and Brengun sets have you thin the wing plastic to almost paper thin thickness. I used a micromotor to hollow things out, but at a certain point you need to be careful because the remaining plastic warps - my guess from the friction heat. So, I had to replace some of it with very thin plastic card. Good experience to go through. I'm not sure if Brengun got the flaps correct, but I'm just going to build it as is. They did a really nice job on the elevators, rudder and ailerons though. It's always a bit nerve wracking removing that much material, but so far, things look ok. The CMK engine set has you remove the section of the kit just behind the cowl so you can expose the engine. I'm a little unclear how the cowl is attached, as it seems to only connect to the top air shaft, but has no connection at the bottom. I'll have to figure that out when I get to it. Thanks again for looking in! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Martin, I don't blame you for not slaving away on a model when you have that outside your door. I'm jealous! Canadian Rockies are on my wish list! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted August 24, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted August 24, 2022 11 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said: Hey Ernie and Peter, have you been working on your Buffalos? I'm slowly coming along with my 1/48 339-23 from Special Hobby. It's turning into a bit of a Frankenstein with all the CMK and Brengun aftermarket. Fit on kit has been ok I suppose, needed some shims and filler, but it's mostly together now. I'm in the process of re-scribing panel lines, and will try to add rivets as well before painting. Mike, I haven’t looked at this in a bit, well, ok, quite a bit. Your joining in has just lit my fire again. I’ve got it out right beside the Helldiver and am doing some decals and asking as I go… 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted August 24, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted August 24, 2022 So now Mike, I have the current Helldiver and a Brewster to finish, followed by a Corsair. I have a few bust months ahead of me. Your Brewster is looking stunning so far! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 Hey Ernie, sorry, didn't mean to put pressure on you to keep going on your Brewster. Thanks for the kind words on mine - I had a little experience cutting up my Tamiya Wildcat, but this Buffalo is a whole another level. Fun to open things up a little on what is a somewhat plain looking aircraft - especially for the 339-23, which the kit allows you to do as one of two RAAF planes or two USAAF planes. The two RAAF and one of the USAAF is in green/olive drab camo, while the last USAAF plane is in all silver (aluminum?) as the personal aircraft of the base commander. You sound like me, have a lot of projects on the bench! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted August 25, 2022 Author Administrators Share Posted August 25, 2022 No pressure, Mike, just a quick look at what I have sitting that needs finishing. My Brewster is pretty much OOB stuck, other than decals. I left all the cutting and hacking to my Helldiver kit, and that thing is in a world all it’s own. One of the simplest, but most challenging builds I’ve done so far. I’m hoping it’ll measure up the standards shown by others here. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 Ernie The Helldiver, Buffalo and Corsair all underway and each pulling at you for bench time. I had a hard time just remembering where I was and what I was doing when I built the GT40 and Embraer at the same time and compared to your three projects, mine were as simple as they get. I still forget more times then I care to remember, what needed to be done on what and when. Talk about tension and pressure ... your triple build is way more then I could ever do at the same time and actually ever finish. . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 It's taken a ton of time, but I've made some little progress cleaning up and otherwise throwing more aftermarket at my Buffalo. I ended up adding brass gun barrels and a pitot from Master - a bit of a splurge, especially when you can barely see the guns, but the profiles look much more to scale and with better definition than the kit parts. I added rivets using my 0.75mm Rosie the Riveter wheel (thanks again @Martinnfb for posting the plans!), and re-scribed some of the panel lines. I've also had to do a few other fixes as well. Apparently all Buffalos except the 339E only had one landing light on the port wing, so I went ahead and filled the starboard side (used my RP Toolz punch set and the 4.5mm punch filled the hole perfectly). It's not in the pictures here, but I also scratch built the radar antenna that goes on the starboard side of the cowl. The kit piece just glues to the side of the cowl, and wasn't a very robust piece of plastic, so I figured it was only a matter of time before I knocked it off. So, I drilled a hole into the cowl, and epoxied in a longer antenna where the base is inserted a few millimeters into the cowl. Seems a lot more robust and will be harder to break off. I'm now in the middle of priming everything with Mr. Surfacer 1500. I had some fit issues which Special Hobby is known for, so it's been prime, fill and sand, prime, and repeat. But getting closer to throwing some colors on it. Building into a nice kit I think. Thanks for looking in! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 This is going to be a winner, I really like the level of detail and all of the updates Mike. Very motivational indeed. Cheers Martin 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 Thank you Martin! We'll see how the next steps go! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeg Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 Looks very good so far!!! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 Mike Very nice progress and all the small details are certainly adding up in a big way! Right with you about the fit and instructions ... just requires so much extra time to figure things out before getting on with the work at hand. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 Well, I'm trying to wrap up my builds so that I can start (and finish) the upcoming 2023 group build. After a bunch of rounds of filling and sanding, I have the camo scheme painted on the model using Mr. Color paints. Was quite a tricky time getting to this point with all the AM but I'm pretty happy with where things are. The wing gun panels are just blue-tacked in place to take on the camo scheme as they will be removed and put next to the model to show it under maintenance along with the engine. I found a Montex set of stencils to paint the insignia and numbering, so those will go on next. The landing gear and wheels are also painted, so hopefully this will get wrapped up by the end of the year. Thanks for looking in! 7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 I like it !....harv 👌 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 Thanks Harv, I kinda do too! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 Mike Nice work on the cammo - looking mighty good- a long journey for sure. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted December 24, 2022 Share Posted December 24, 2022 I’d forgotten about this one, looking good…….. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 Painted on the insignia and the numbers. The Montex set of stencils worked really nicely. I was a bit worried about the numbers but they came out great with minimal touchup needed. I'm trying to wrap this and a few other models up before starting the group build - was hoping to get these all done by the end of the year, but I might need to delay the GB a bit. Thanks for looking in! 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 Outstanding work 👏....harv 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 Thanks Harv! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 Mike Nice progress on the Buffalo. Just don't rush it as she is looking so good. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 Thanks Peter! This one is coming out better than I expected - was looking rough in the beginning with all the resin aftermarket. I'll probably clear tomorrow and start weathering on Sunday. Maybe wrap it up by next weekend. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted December 31, 2022 Share Posted December 31, 2022 Mike Sounds good - looking forward to seeing her cross the finish line 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted January 1, 2023 Author Administrators Share Posted January 1, 2023 Mike, I really need to finish mine up. And yours is looking absolutely amazing! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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