Landlubber Mike Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Excited to join you guys on my first GB! Just saw that I only have six months so at the rate I build, I'll need to step things up. I'm building the Airfix Walrus in 1/48 using this kit: With lots of aftermarket goodies, including a Vector resin engine given how prominent the engine is on this plane: Resource: I also have the catapult set from NeOmega: I wasn't too enthused by building this as a "silver wings" scheme, so I went looking for decals (unfortunately I couldn't find the earlier release of this kit which had the two tone camo scheme which I preferred). That led me to picking up the following decals and mask/stencil sets: There were a few options I liked that were ship-based and launched from catapults. In particular, I really liked these two schemes which were based on the HMS Albatross. Although I like the first scheme a little better, I have the HpH 1/32 Walrus kit which has a similar scheme so I'm leaning towards the second one. The Albatross was a quirky looking ship, which really piqued my interest and I came to found out that Niko Models made a fantastic 1/700 kit for it. Even better, it includes a 1/700 scale Walrus to add to the catapult at the bow. After an extensive search, found a kit at Freetime Hobbies, and here it is: So, I'm planning to build a combined display of the Walrus on the NeOmega catapult, coupled with its ship the HMS Albatross. I'm thinking a two tiered display with the 1/48 Walrus/catapult as the main, higher tier of the display, with the 1/700 version presented on a lower tier to the side and/or front of the main Walrus. Hopefully can pull it all off! 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 Some cool pics of the Albatross: Some catapult pics - these I think are from other ships: 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Mike, wow and wow………this going to be an awesome project / projects. I was watching a YouTube video of this kit. It builds up very nicely and then add all the extras, phenomenal……and the everything else, looking forward to this one…. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Mike they give a miniature Walrus with the kit? 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 56 minutes ago, Bomber_County said: Mike, wow and wow………this going to be an awesome project / projects. I was watching a YouTube video of this kit. It builds up very nicely and then add all the extras, phenomenal……and the everything else, looking forward to this one…. Thanks! Should be a cool project. Hope the frustration factor isn't too high! 16 minutes ago, KevinM said: Mike they give a miniature Walrus with the kit? They give two! And with multiple parts to it! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 Just wanted to say that the Niko kit is really really nice. I have a few 1/700 Niko kits, and am really impressed by what you get. Lots of resin and PE, and the hull already includes lots of crisp details. Should be a fun one to put together. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Wow Mike, what a cool project, I will follow your progress closely as it was my initial thought to build a Walrus from exactly the same kit, but floating and fishing a dinghy with pilots out of the water. After I see what you'll throw at us, I'm happy, that I changed my mind . Cheers Rob 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted January 1, 2023 Share Posted January 1, 2023 Man alive, 1/700 PE. My still unfinished KGV in 1/350 had White Ensign PE with it, thought that was small. The instructions were diabolical and I never have worked out where some parts go…….. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 2 hours ago, DocRob said: Wow Mike, what a cool project, I will follow your progress closely as it was my initial thought to build a Walrus from exactly the same kit, but floating and fishing a dinghy with pilots out of the water. After I see what you'll throw at us, I'm happy, that I changed my mind . Cheers Rob Thanks Rob - I'm happy you changed your mind too as your model would surely put mine to shame. I'll let you know how the kit is - it seems to get fairly good reviews out there. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 1 hour ago, Bomber_County said: Man alive, 1/700 PE. My still unfinished KGV in 1/350 had White Ensign PE with it, thought that was small. The instructions were diabolical and I never have worked out where some parts go…….. I find the 1/700 PE isn't that bad - usually you have fewer pieces but more folds. 1/350 seems to have more pieces but with small pieces on the order of what you see in 1/700. I like the 1/700 scale models as they have a lot of very interesting subjects that you don't see in 1/350 or larger scales, especially when it comes to auxiliary ships. An Optivisor and really fine tweezers are a must! I have a two-ship diorama of the Asashio getting repaired after Midway that I'm trying to finish up so I can work on this GB. I've got an abbreviated build log on MSW, but here are a couple of pictures. First is of the IJN destroyer Asashio. Second is of one of the repair cranes of the IJN repair ship Akashi. 8 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Wow, interesting and ambitious project! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Mike What a fantastic GB of your own - going to be a joy to follow and I'll be front and center. Ihave a soft spot for 1/700 scale ships as well, a few in the stash but haven't built any. The USS Saratoga comes to mind though. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Clunkmeister Posted January 3, 2023 Administrators Share Posted January 3, 2023 Mike, just a perfect quirky couple of builds. VERY nice! His Majesty’s Ship Albatross looks, well, very British, and the Walrus? Well, there’s nothing to say other than it appears that nothing on the Walrus appears to be aligned with the actual direction of flight. I LOVE IT! 4 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 2:39 AM, GazzaS said: Wow, interesting and ambitious project! I was going to keep this on the shelf a while longer until my skills got better, but with the Group Build and especially after finding the 1/700 kit of the Albatross, I figured I might as well go for it. The most ambitious part of the build will be finishing it in six months given how slow I work! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 10:31 AM, Peterpools said: Mike What a fantastic GB of your own - going to be a joy to follow and I'll be front and center. Ihave a soft spot for 1/700 scale ships as well, a few in the stash but haven't built any. The USS Saratoga comes to mind though. Thanks Peter! Always appreciate your support and help on my builds. I have a ton of 1/700 kits in the stash, mostly because I like the more quirky subjects and the Japanese auxiliary ships fit that niche well. I have some of the more prototypical battleships and carriers as well, but these "working ships" just seem so cool to me. The great thing about the 1/700 kits is that there is a ton of AM out there for them. Outfits like Flyhawk and FiveStar have complete upgrade kits for lots of 1/700 kits, as well as sell more targeted items for diorama settings. Pontos in the last year or two came out with an all-in-one kit of the Yamato in 1/700 scale. It's got resin and PE specifically designed as part of the kit, so you don't have to take another kit, shave half of it off, and fit the AM parts. A cool development in the 1/700 space, and it will be interesting to see if others do the same. I added it as a post-Christmas present to myself last week as FreeTime Hobbies was running an end of year sale. FiveStar also has a few resin all-in-one kits of things like minelayers (one of which I'm almost done building) and some of the smaller Japanese carriers, though I've found you have to go out and buy some AM like main guns and planes to complete the kit (which is annoying). The bad thing about 1/700 kits is that some of the parts can be very small. Just two nights ago I was finishing up installing parts on the destroyer, and dropped the searchlight which is probably only 2mm high. It's an important detail for the ship, and unfortunately I didn't have any spares, so I spent close to 30 minutes on the floor searching for it. Ultimately found it - it's amazing how far these little pieces can bounce off to - and poured myself a stiff drink to cool myself off. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 2 hours ago, Clunkmeister said: Mike, just a perfect quirky couple of builds. VERY nice! His Majesty’s Ship Albatross looks, well, very British, and the Walrus? Well, there’s nothing to say other than it appears that nothing on the Walrus appears to be aligned with the actual direction of flight. I LOVE IT! Thanks Ernie, quirky indeed! Funny thing is this all started when I randomly came across the the NeOmega catapult set, and I thought that would make for a more different display. Plus, with the catapult, you can model the Walrus with wings folded to take up less space. I'm super psyched to have found the Niko kit to pull it all together. Some of the other ships were battleships and cruisers like the HMS Cumberland, which are a little less interesting to me. The Albatross seems aptly named as the design is a bit awkward but it all works -- kinda like its namesake, the bird. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 ............. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 Ha! I'm trying to finish up at least a couple of the ten plastic builds I have going on. Hoping to get two done in the next couple of days and then will start. Of course I've been saying that for a few weeks now. Just a little hard to get much momentum going as my kid activities take up a lot of time and I end up being too tired or unmotivated to hit the bench in the evening. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Got ya Mike just thought I prod ya a bit it's called Life. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 Thanks Kevin - I need all the prodding I can get, especially since now I'm down to 5 months to finish the group build! I'm just about finished with the Wildcat and Buffalo - hopefully by tomorrow. Putting together finishing touches on the dioramas. I got a little flustered this weekend when I received some brass rod that I ordered for my 1/700 builds. Were really bent! Put me in a bad mood and I wasn't up for hitting the bench. 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 No rug rats hear Mike but as Kevin said, life. It is now reducing my benchtime now down to a couple of hours a week……….not good….. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted January 31, 2023 Share Posted January 31, 2023 Amazing project Mike, I am admiring your preparation and the amount of related research. Will follow with interest. Cheers Martin 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landlubber Mike Posted February 11, 2023 Author Share Posted February 11, 2023 I'm just about done with my Wildcat and Buffalo builds, but have been putting in a little time on the Walrus. Spent one evening soaking all the sets, and then over the last few days, started with the fuselage (or is it a hull if it's a boat plane?). It's a little smaller than I would have expected - maybe a touch longer than the Wildcat and Buffalo I'm building in the same scale. The kit's parts seem very sharp and well defined with lots of detail. The one crazy thing is that the bottom and side pieces have a ridiculous amount of ejector pin marks! I don't think you can see much of the inside of the model when it's buttoned up, but I went ahead and sanded and filled them. Here's a picture showing all the pock marks! I have the Eduard sets for this kits, and have been slowly putting together the many PE details that will likely not be seen. But, I figure it's practice and in some ways, therapeutic to get in the groove and put together the micro assemblies - except of course when a part pings off the tweezers. Thanks for looking in! 10 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 Lots of extra work Mike, with all these ejector pin buggers. I have the same kit in stash and was shaking my head, while examining the fuselage parts. When I build mine, I will check, what will be in sight and only correct these. I also own a Special Hobby Walrus and I think, as I only will build one, I will take some of the resin parts, specially the engine and kit bash a little. Cheers Rob 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerWomble Posted February 12, 2023 Share Posted February 12, 2023 & this is a new tool from 2017 .....? It's a real shame to me that Airfix don't go the extra 25 yards , because they clearly thought about providing some inside details. I also don't believe that their moulding company in India hasn't access to decent tooling designers , so whats going on ? Rant over - you are are far better man than I, Mike to fill all that in. I had a look around the Walrus at the FAA museum last year , they were really interesting aircraft. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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