Administrators James H Posted November 1, 2013 Administrators Share Posted November 1, 2013 I've received some real aggravation recently about posting this build up here, so I caved in.... I'm building this one as another bare wood and metal machine. The Meng kit is superbly engineered with some very innovative touches. There are a couple of things let it down, and one of those is the cockpit. There are a myriad of things not included, in there in terms of parts and detail. There are fuel tank (console) straps missing, levers and switches missing, as well as absent fuel piping, floor detail and numerous other things. The back bulkhead is also very simplistic. I added the missing strap to the fuel tank consoles, and gave them the extruded rubber texture by softening the plastic with Tamiya Extra Thin and then dragging a stiff, flat paintbrush over them. So many more hours could have been spent in adding more detail, but time isn't something I have here (magazine work), so I added some strut to the rear bulkhead, lead wire for fuel pipes, and some of the excellent Airscale placards. I opted to use the plastic and PE instrument panel option, and each of those gauges was a separate decal! I don't know why Meng didn't print them as two decals which covered the whole panel. Another bad design as I had to align every one roughly, pop the PE on, and position properly....remove the PE and then bed the decal down. Tedious. The second bad design of this kit is the horrible wing joint seam that can be seen inside the gun bays. It really is shite. I spent a lot of time making a template for this area so I could blank the seam with plasticard, and add some strut detail. I painted this with Alclad and added some random red patches (primer) that you can see in Martin's excellent walkaround images in our gallery. Extra wiring detail was also added to the guns. The rear internal tail section has MDC Duralumin decals added, so give a little interest. Tedious to add, but looks far nicer... Don't let my comments put you off this one. It's a great kit, and I have another TWO on order! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Great start, looking forward to watching this one progress! Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators JeroenPeters Posted November 1, 2013 Administrators Share Posted November 1, 2013 oh yeah... your's is nice too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wumm Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Wow, This little kit really looks good in the flesh Jim. Any word on how the wing to fuselage interface will mate together? S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikester Posted November 2, 2013 Members Share Posted November 2, 2013 Nice, looks like a huge upgrade over the old Hasegawa kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators James H Posted November 2, 2013 Author Administrators Share Posted November 2, 2013 Wow, This little kit really looks good in the flesh Jim. Any word on how the wing to fuselage interface will mate together? S ...a little problematic; that's if you don't want the wing fillet sticking out way too much and looking like armour plate thickness. You notice from the inner wing root shot tha I sawed out the fuselage insert. I found that if you push it fully home, it prevents the wing root sitting fully into the recess. I eventually just glued the wing to the fuse without this, and then added later. I also think I could have still manually reduced the wing fairing thickness too. as well as the surgery I did, but you can't just do that alone as the shape of the insert wall and protruding points stop the wing from pushing fully home as much as you'd like. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Thats Epic Jim! Looking fantastic and paving the way for many modellers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkranias Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 watching! going to be a great project. great save on the pit and wing joint! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Nicely done Jim .. it's definitely worth it as, from what I can see, the rest of the kit is actually quite sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelmaker Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 I've just ordered my kit after watching this build it's spurred me on , lovely work so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kahunaminor Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 I've just ordered my kit after watching this build it's spurred me on , lovely work so far. Same here. Great stuff Jim. Thanks for sharing. Regards, Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators James H Posted November 24, 2013 Author Administrators Share Posted November 24, 2013 Where am I at with this? Well, the model is mostly assembled, and I've started to prep this for Uschi wood grain decal. For this, a base coat of Gunze Flesh goes down, followed by a thinned black for pre-shade, and Radome for lightening. After this, the whole lot is blended with Radome. More soon! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave J Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Is that it Jim??? Come on! WE WANT MORE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgbgtv8steve Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 I'm with you Dave, I want to see more of this really great build!! You are certainly getting to be an inspiration James and yes I do like to read your reviews! Press on James. Steve S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators James H Posted December 7, 2013 Author Administrators Share Posted December 7, 2013 My last update for this one now, as it's finished. All metal shades done with Alclad (easy to use, Grant ), and wood is Uschi's fine veneer wood decal. Wash is Mig Productions 'dark wash', and model is sealed with Klear. Coming soon(ish) to a Tamiya Model Magazine International, near you! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators JeroenPeters Posted December 7, 2013 Administrators Share Posted December 7, 2013 I can make a joke now saying you beat me by leaving the paint off, but the truth is, that this is one sweet build... Wow.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grant Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 That's drop dead gorgeous Jim ... congratulations! I assume that's going to sit next to the Natter !! <<hint, hint, wink, wink>> Alclad duly ordered (for myself) - I get the hint! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mikester Posted December 7, 2013 Members Share Posted December 7, 2013 That is a righteous build, my friend! Wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators James H Posted December 7, 2013 Author Administrators Share Posted December 7, 2013 That's drop dead gorgeous Jim ... congratulations! I assume that's going to sit next to the Natter !! <<hint, hint, wink, wink>> Alclad duly ordered (for myself) - I get the hint! ....you can have it if you want it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Another fantastic build Jim, congrats!Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Umlaufmotor Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 Looks awesome, absolutely awesome. But........................... I think the camouflage is missing? Servus Bertl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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