ambivalentmaybe
Member
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2022
- Messages
- 19
This was a nice kit (view it on Scalemates) of an interesting plane. The cockpit lacked detail and the decals did not go on very well (which could have very been operator error) but overall it was pretty satisfying.
I supplemented the base kit with a resin cockpit that came together quite nicely. The base kit has very nice exterior detail, and it includes metal parts for the two wing-mounted 40mm cannon, which was very nice. When the fuselage and wings came together only a few spots needed filling and sanding. The resin cockpit did not include any gun sight, though the base kit has one you have to remove to get the resin instrument panel in. Maybe since the range of the 40mm cannon was so low a gun sight was superfluous ("Wait until the B-29 fills your windscreen, then fire.")? In any case, I built this one without a sight; I don't know if that's accurate or not.
There are decals for the black stripe on the top of the fuselage, the white wing and fuselage stripes, and the yellow recognition stripes on the wing leading edge. I tried a couple of these then decided it would be easier (and a better outcome) if I just painted them on instead. I should have painted the recognition stripes as well. The decals for these (4 for each wing) were overly complicated and the instructions inadequate for how they should be applied. They did not conform well to the leading edge and in the end I had to remove them and repaint.
The base finish was Alclad laquer over Mr. Surfacer 1500 Black, sanded with 1000 to 6000 grit. It wasn't a nice gloss, but may semi-gloss, and the Alclad went over it quite well. There were many tiny scratches that were glaringly evident with the Alclad, so I re-sanded and re-sprayed several areas. Still didn't come out nearly as clean as I wanted, but I think I know how to do better on the next plane.
The weathering is very slight--mostly just some black and brown panel wash and exhaust stains. Otherwise it's pretty clean.
I supplemented the base kit with a resin cockpit that came together quite nicely. The base kit has very nice exterior detail, and it includes metal parts for the two wing-mounted 40mm cannon, which was very nice. When the fuselage and wings came together only a few spots needed filling and sanding. The resin cockpit did not include any gun sight, though the base kit has one you have to remove to get the resin instrument panel in. Maybe since the range of the 40mm cannon was so low a gun sight was superfluous ("Wait until the B-29 fills your windscreen, then fire.")? In any case, I built this one without a sight; I don't know if that's accurate or not.
There are decals for the black stripe on the top of the fuselage, the white wing and fuselage stripes, and the yellow recognition stripes on the wing leading edge. I tried a couple of these then decided it would be easier (and a better outcome) if I just painted them on instead. I should have painted the recognition stripes as well. The decals for these (4 for each wing) were overly complicated and the instructions inadequate for how they should be applied. They did not conform well to the leading edge and in the end I had to remove them and repaint.
The base finish was Alclad laquer over Mr. Surfacer 1500 Black, sanded with 1000 to 6000 grit. It wasn't a nice gloss, but may semi-gloss, and the Alclad went over it quite well. There were many tiny scratches that were glaringly evident with the Alclad, so I re-sanded and re-sprayed several areas. Still didn't come out nearly as clean as I wanted, but I think I know how to do better on the next plane.
The weathering is very slight--mostly just some black and brown panel wash and exhaust stains. Otherwise it's pretty clean.
