nmayhew Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Hasegawa 1/32 kit Neville Duke went to my school so this my tribute build to him for those not familiar, he was the highest scoring Allied ace of North Africa and the Med he was also quite a 'chap' - he kept a diary which is like a cross between a comic book and Lord Flashheart in Blackadder - well worth a read: Neville Duke Diaries to be converted to 4 gun 'early' model - not a great pics but enough to go on thing to note: - to be converted to 4 gun 'early' model - middlestone and dark earth top side, with serial kept over small dark green patch - dark green behind rear window - US attempt at Sky underside - discussed here on Hyperscale: AK578 discussion etc - would almost certainly have had canvas covers in wheel wells, but CMK parts are about 1-2mm too small so beyond me to get them to look right - yellow strips on wing leading edges - would have Sutton seatbelt i believe - I have Barracuda decals but may not use (they fail to identify 4 guns, sky undersides etc) - custom masks will probably be used I am currently half way through but will post some WIP pics which i have taken along the way cheers, Nick 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 4 gun version should look like this underneath i decided to fill the holes, but not rescribe the panel line it was an ongoing dog show really if doing it again i would probably use sprue goo to fill the holes this is really how *not to* do it! there was a lot more touching up etc after the shot below, but if i am honest only minimal improvement - at this stage i was considering ditching the whole project 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 cockpit: seat was 3D printed using file from SMCG Facebook group - Will Pattison - and 3D printing from TimC over here in UK hairspray chipping on seat yahu instrument panel anyz cockpit switches a few placards HGW belts floor is hairspray chipped and weathered with oils and also a panel line wash there were only one or 2 pipes added with lead wire or styrene rod - a shame no-one makes a decent resin pit for the kit some dry fit and realised the cockpit does not need to be glued in to fuselage - a small bit of play but it helped later on when putting everything else together 13 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Nice start and a good looking cockpit. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 a few more cockpit pics... i was very pleased with the switches did some hairspray chipping on legdes as well... 12 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 radiator - i had some Braz or something resin piece and also Eduard PE grills in the end i chose the simplest option re construction of using the kit parts some masking, glossing and dark wash and it looks pretty reasonable 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 i glued the tail section together then attached to an already assembled fuselage when i made my P-47 (Trumpy) with a similar arrangement with the tail fillet, i glued the individual fillet / tail sections to the fuselage first, *and then* glued the fuselage together - this in retrospect was a much better way to do it it is very hard to get a good join *that you won't see* and not leave yourself with a lot of sanding, filling and rescribing to do ask me how i know this is just one of many attempts at fill / sand / spot prime / repeat... the best sanding stuff i have ever used - Infini! i have their big pads as well which you can snip up and use in between tweezers to sand even the tiniest nooks and crannies! (pic later) and so for weeks i had something like this... HGW belts up next - i'll try to post later today if i have time cheers Nick 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Impressive stuff, especially the cockpit switches that you mentioned, I built this subject a very long time ago from the Revell kit, yours so far is light years better. Cheers Dennis 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Great start and interesting choice. I‘m a Marseille Fan and Neville Duke was one of his opponents. Beautiful build and weathered pit. Will follow this in the first row 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Awesome start, the cockpit is looking great with all the added detail. With the paintjob you created a little gem. Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 cheers guys HGW belts... remember Sutton harness rather than US belts... i found it helpful to tape it down to the desk to act as a second / third pair of hands also to thread belts where possible before removing the buckle from the PE fret note that the belts are not coloured both sides which is a shame because half the beauty of these things is being able to drape them which ever way you please - see below white back showing... so i painted them a tan / buff colour as a make do... 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 and then attach to the seat being RAF belt it attaches in two places - behind the seat down the back (doesn't matter can't be seen) and also down in one of the holes in bottom of the seat back glued using super glue because it needs some strength - i hadn't crumpled them much so they were quite springy! 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 That looks good, seat belts are not my favourite part of a build, I like the idea of taping the belts to the mat will have to try that one, Cheers Dennis 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 WOW Terrific start on the P-40. Seat and seat belts look so good. Thanks for the HGW tutorial - sure will be coming in handy for future builds. Keep 'em comin Peter 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 27, 2021 Author Share Posted May 27, 2021 Hassy kits have the reputation of being simple and easy to build for the most part if you want to have panel lines where they should be, and more importantly not to have them where they shouldn't be, then their P-40s are not for you notice the horizontal lines inside the insert do not line up with main exhaust area this was a learning experience for me 1) i will be better the next time i tackle a kit like this 2) the next time may be some way off and i am leaning more towards Tamiya's (limited) selection of uber kits - life is just too short to build what saps the life out of you 3) simple kits are *not* easy kits - this is far more challenging in terms of skills required than building a Tamiya Spitfire in 1/32 - no way you'll need to be doing so much of this shit! more fun... in the below, i experimented with talcum powder mixed with CA glue - it did indeed make it much easier to sand and i will consider using this technique again, although i suggest masking along the areas you are going to fill so that you don't have to sand stuff unnecessarily also note in the above the panel lines on the scallop mating the wing to the fuselage are almost completely washed out this were a PITA to re-scribe, but do need to be done given the lines just above them are so crisp 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 Great progress and awesome work. The rescribing really is a fiddly work to do but you did a stunning job. I also use superglue as a putty. Works really nice and nothing breaks away when rescribing. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 Completely agree ... about poorly engineered kits, at least by today's standards are mojo killers. Nice work on the CCA fix. Nothing like a Tamiya kit, no matter what the scale and well worth the extra cost in my book. Keep 'em comin Peter 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 27, 2021 Author Share Posted May 27, 2021 additional changes re the 4 guns vs original 6...once i did this there wasn't really any going back! i thought about using Master Model barrels - and they do look sweet - but i was not confident of being able to drill out the right amount / area of the piece shown above i used black CA - which is slightly rubberised - as an experiment here i think ultimately CA mixed with talc is better, but this stuff is definitely not as hard as regular CA wings.... i will do almost anything to avoid wing root problems! so i glued the bottom half first, and then added the top halves in the grand scheme of things, i think most modellers could do this - i certainly didn't do anything special - and whilst it potentially just moves the problem around from wing root to say leading edge, it's a damn sight easier dealing with the latter when doing this stuff i make a point of scribing / emphasizing the panel lines and rivets **before** i get to sanding it's soo much easier going over something that is already there, rather than trying to redraw lines and rivets from scratch your mileage may vary of course! there is no panel line on the bottom cowl...*sigh*... more sanding this bit was not very well handled by me - i broke own rule of not scribing before the sanding began and i had to rescribe some stuff from scratch meh cheers Nick 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 Beautiful meticulous work Nick! I love your attention to details and getting them right, well done and am feeling inspired to get back to my one! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted May 27, 2021 Share Posted May 27, 2021 Some nice tips shared for my future builds! Your work look good... but I get that sometimes you don;t want to 'work' on a kit. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 28, 2021 Author Share Posted May 28, 2021 9 hours ago, GazzaS said: Some nice tips shared for my future builds! Your work look good... but I get that sometimes you don;t want to 'work' on a kit. correct - it's meant to be fun; fun for different people means different things, so it's all good but i only have limited appetite for this stuff i may go build some armour next where you don't have any of this nonsense! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 28, 2021 Author Share Posted May 28, 2021 nothing too exciting here but masked the canopy inside and out primed Mr Surfacer 1500 black both sides, then US Interior Green inside interior masks removed and made some masking to fit to protect it once attached and spraying main camo montex masks used in combination with Eduard generally i prefer Montex for flat surfaces, and Eduard for compound curves; Montex usually provide inside and outside which is great whereas i don't think Eduard did here i ended up using Eduard on outside for all the parts, main windshield included fiddly, but with patience it's not too bad the gunsight - which is obviously very delicate - will not be fitted to the instrument panel until just before the canopy part above is ready to be attached some wheel well stuff next which i will try to post later 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted May 28, 2021 Share Posted May 28, 2021 Nick Terrific progress on the P-40 and I to appreciate the tips and techniques, as I'm always looking to keep learning and improving my modeling abilities an skills. Totally agree, this is a hobby and stressing out over a kit for whatever reason is counter intuitive to what any hobby is supposed to be. Keep 'em comin Peter 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmayhew Posted May 29, 2021 Author Share Posted May 29, 2021 a note about the exhausts... the Brassin ones look cool but infuriatingly they need to go in before you glue the fuselage halves together which is really feeble by Eduard i think i will instead by using Quickboost ones which you can paint and weather and THEN glue on unfortunately my first QB set were miscast / damaged - see below - but Hannants sent replacements quickly so thumbs up for their customer service the pic below does not quite do them justice, but still not sure entirely satisfied and i may come back and weather with oils later, we'll see. exhausts primed as usual and then sprayed in order from left to right, trying to get some graduated colour etc etc once i am happy they will be snipped off the casting block and the glued on; this will after i have sprayed on the exhaust staining. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackster Posted May 29, 2021 Share Posted May 29, 2021 Just caught up with this build. Great stuff, thanks for the seat belt tips. Cheers Kev 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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