Monday 19 January 2015

First build of the year complete - Mustang Flyover





So after xmas and NY celbrations etc were had it was time to settle back into the mancave and turn something out before the January MSMC meeting a couple of weeks later.

The first job was to move some of my computer gear etc out of the room and into the garage and fit some fans so the 25+ celsius days did not melt me, or my kits.

As the January theme was mustangs and it was not enough time to finish the 32nd P51 I went for the 72nd scale Airfix P51.

The victim
One bag of parts, decals and instructions.
Paint callout on the back of the box, ill be pretty much sticking with this.
Most impressed with detail on this little bird.




Ready for primer and colour, sorted with a bit of tape



Tried a bit of mottling under the top coat to hopefully add shade to panels.
You can also see the difference adding Tamiya Panel Line Accent makes



Clamped the fuselage together, pretty good fit all round, might be able to get away without putty.
Didnt get any pics of cockpit sadly :-/ Not that you will see much. Silly putty used to keep paint out.
Pilot primed in black.

Pilot painted and fitted, canopy secure ready for masking.




Time to start on base, wanted a rough texture so glued down some bits of matchsticks.
The Square is for the acrylic I will be using to elevate the plane




Model Air Aluminum over the body, the Tamiya Panel Line Accent is still doing its job.
Red sections were masked and sprayed with Tamiya Red
Nose was painted with Model Air Olive Drab
Decalling the stripes, why I don't know, they were there :-)
Props decalled and Gundam marker used for the yellow tips.



Decals on, coat of klear over that and weathering begins with the guns using MIG Pigments Smoke.

 AK Interactive Grime and Fuel Stains used to show some fuel leaking, needs some tidy up but liking the flow.
Sludge wash applied with Flory Models Dark Grey
Once it dries it is wiped off with cotton buds in the direction of airflow for some subtle streaking.
Base got a layer of Tamiya Diorama Dark Grass and then coated with Army Painter Grass
Acrylic rod attached.
Aircraft finished with a satin coat and cockpit masking removed
I decided the base needed something extra some very average figures were painted up

Path created for figures and a couple of power lines should add to the effect.
The effect was satisfactory and most importantly I was done with 2 days to spare.




Sunday 11 January 2015

2014 Year In Review

2014 was a great year for us scale modellers with some landmark kits like the Airfix 1/24 Typhoon and the new Star Wars kits from Bandai being released along with companies like Meng and Great Wall Hobbies showing they are here to stay and will continue to produce great kits and there seems to new companies popping plastic all the time.

Myself, well I had a great year with the stash growing faster than the kits could make it to the display cabinets but I was still able to lock away more finished kits than the last couple of years, even with a house move in there somewhere.
Many things contributed to the increased output, a new 'workbench' helped along with motivation from the MSMC champs, a great NZD to JPY exchange rate and of course, a very forgiving wife :-)

So lets recap the year of builds, apologies for the ones not in the blog but 2015 will be better i promise.

First was a build of first, first military, first dio, first mud, and of course first of the year

Next was Bandai's Real Grade Strike Freedom which was so enjoyable it started the purchasing of the entire RG series which I'm glad to say I now have all of the standard release kits, and a couple of the limited releases as well.

Then there was the move of houses which technically gave me a smaller man-cave but one solely dedicated to my indoor hobbies. It still looks pretty much like this but with the addition of a couple of extra desk lights and some drawers under the bench


Airfix 1/72nd Albatross proved to be a pig of a kit so ended up on the 'shelf of doom'

Airfix 1/72 Male Tank was completed for the MSMC WWI themed night

AMT Shelby Cobra was also a constant fight so joined the Albatross on the shelf off doom

Bandai Tiger and Bunny 1/8 was next and this was finished, although not until the end of the year.

Airfix Fiesta WRC 1/32 for the MSMC Club Build

Fujimi Fiat 500 F1 edition was completed so something shiny could be on the shelf.
 
Scibor Treeman 2 miniature was a first and change to try something different


Bandai Re100 Nightingale was at the other end of the size spectrum from the Treeman

Bandai MG Wing Gundam
Bandai 1/12 Darth Vader got snapped together, no paint decals or glue here.
Bandai 1/72 XWing was assembled with no glue or paint, just the decals and a dark grey wash.
Bandai RG Z Gok was assembled while away over the xmas break


along with Bandai RG Justice Gundam which was decaled and flat-coated on my return

Bandai HG Beargguy San right out of box.
Lets hope 2015 is as productive if not more