Q&A | Aircraft Group Build - Navy and Marine Aircraft

[fumblethumbs]

Great to see you're kit arrived all safe and sound Ace! Have fun with it buddy, you deserve it!

 

[FW190A-8]

That looks GREAT Ace. Is it Oct. 1 yet ???? Damn it! Why is it not yet Oct 1. I can't wait to see all of these kits coming together that you have all got lined up. If only the Germans flew FW190's off their ships...
FW190

 

[Gundamhead]

Not off a ship, but anti ship.

 

[f2k]

There’s been a rather stunning change of plans around here...

I stopped by the local hobby store on my way home to see if there was any interesting offers on the old metal Warhammer 40K blisters (there was, which was bad news for my credit card) and spotted a few scale models tucked away in a corner (which was even worse news for the poor overworked card)...

Yes, the F-14 still scares me almost as much a nurse with a big syringe. But it’s a really nice, and simple, paint-job and, sooner or later, I’ll have to confront my fears so...

 

[JMac]

f2k - Black Bunny F-14 nice choice. And there are lots of online articles building up most of the common Tomcat kits, should help to ease your fears.

 

[FW190A-8]

Not off a ship, but anti ship.

lol...thanks Gundamhead,
So maybe Ace will let me make another FW190 for the GB in that case... ;D :
cheers,
FW190 (John)

 

[13aceofspades13]

That looks GREAT Ace. Is it Oct. 1 yet ???? darn it! Why is it not yet Oct 1. I can't wait to see all of these kits coming together that you have all got lined up. If only the Germans flew FW190's off their ships...
FW190

yea i know, the FW-190 was my favorite German fighter... if only... i really liked the A-5 and A-8 the most... don't think the German navy used them, but they could be armed with torpitoes...

 

[13aceofspades13]

Great to see you're kit arrived all safe and sound Ace! Have fun with it buddy, you deserve it!

thanks buddy, i sure love her.

 

[13aceofspades13]

Not off a ship, but anti ship.

lol...thanks Gundamhead,
So maybe Ace will let me make another FW190 for the GB in that case... ;D :
cheers,
FW190 (John)

hate to tell ya, that might not be a reason to make the Focke Wulf Qualify as it was still a Luftwaffe fighter. lol

i could see it as a carrier aircraft, rugged, it had a wide set base for the landing gears... and they where tough too... only issue i see with it is its somewhat high stall speed...

 

[Gundamhead]

Not off a ship, but anti ship.

lol...thanks Gundamhead,
So maybe Ace will let me make another FW190 for the GB in that case... ;D :
cheers,
FW190 (John)

Sorry, but that Fw-190 isn't in naval service.
BUT, this one is.

 

[Gundamhead]

Tri color too, very nice. ;D

 

[noname]

I didn't know if I'd be able to pick a kit for this GB but I did get to a couple of hobby shops today. Both had a poor selection of a/c models and hardly a Tamiya to be found. :-\ But I managed to pick up this Hasegawa. It's the Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero (1/48) as you can see. So did I do good? I didn't get around to opening it yet but wanted some of your opinions. Aren't these Hasegawa kits suppose to be fairly well detailed?

 

[fumblethumbs]

I was always under the impression that they were very good kits. I'm not really up on AC kits though and stand to be corrected. At any rate, it's sure nice to see another zero in the mix!!

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

I didn't know if I'd be able to pick a kit for this GB but I did get to a couple of hobby shops today. Both had a poor selection of a/c models and hardly a Tamiya to be found. :-\ But I managed to pick up this Hasegawa. It's the Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero (1/48) as you can see. So did I do good? I didn't get around to opening it yet but wanted some of your opinions. Aren't these Hasegawa kits suppose to be fairly well detailed?

I am sure that that kit is similar to the one I finished not so long ago. Usually Hasegawa just re-releases the same kit with different markings and box art, so have no fear....a very good kit it is. About the only thing you need to watch out for is the canopy glass. While it looks like it has lines on it you can mask off...they are so faint that even Bare Metal Foil wouldn't pick up the canopy ribbing, so I had to very carefully hand paint mine.

http://public.fotki.com/ScottM/models/hasegawa-zero/

 

[Gundamhead]

I didn't know if I'd be able to pick a kit for this GB but I did get to a couple of hobby shops today. Both had a poor selection of a/c models and hardly a Tamiya to be found. :-\ But I managed to pick up this Hasegawa. It's the Mitsubishi A6M2b Zero (1/48) as you can see. So did I do good? I didn't get around to opening it yet but wanted some of your opinions. Aren't these Hasegawa kits suppose to be fairly well detailed?

It's one of the best Zero kits out. How is it you haven't opened it yet?

 

[noname]

Okay, thanks guys, I guess I did okay then. I just got the kit this afternoon and hadn't had a chance to check it out yet. Opening a kit is one of the best parts of the whole experience isn't it?

Thanks for the tip Scott, I'll be aware of the canopy. Yours turned out pretty good. I like the green. I had to take what I could get. I kinda dig them light grey too. Now I have a bit of research to do.

Say, what are these things covered in? A very thin aluminum? I've noticed that alot of pics show them with wrinkles in the body, yet they always look aluminum like (as Scott's does) when the paint is worn/chipped off. I understand that one of the advantages of these planes is in the weight department?

 

[Gundamhead]

They are aluminum. The only fabric covered parts are the rudder, elevators, and ailerons. Much the same as a majority of a/c in WWII. They are light because they did not have armor, or self healing tanks. The canopy in this kit is very fine, broken down into open or closed options, and the detail is very sharp. The directions are in English, so you can learn about your new kit's history and makes construction notes easier to understand. The critiques of the kit, and it hardly counts. No seatbelts (personal thing for me)and the call out of flat black for the cowling.

Heres the paint equivelent for you.

Tamiya XF-12 IJN Grey overall (GSI Aqueous H61, Mr. Color 35)
As for that bland blanket flat black cowling, mix gloss insignia blue with black 50-50. That gives you a nice Blue-black IJN cowling color. I wouldn't do dead flat, because it doesn't seem right to my eye. IJN and IJA a/c have a semi gloss look in almost every photo I've seen, especially the cowling. The guns in the cockpit gauge should be gunmetal not steel.
I'd also suggest painting the cockpit walls and parts before assembling them. The same for the engine and cowling. It just makes things a bit easier for you. Here's some great reference on the cockpit.

I find this color too olive drabby, but what detail shots!

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet_media.asp?fsID=471

Here's the color I think it really should be.

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/photopost/data/500/zero_4lg.jpg

 

[noname]

Thanks for the info Gundamhead. That is a good help. After looking on the web I did find a couple more walk arounds of what looks like the same plane in your link. I was wondering about the rivets. When looking at the photos of the 1:1, it appears that they are barely visible. Perhaps it's not necessary to add them to a smaller scale plane. Although I'm sure it would look better with than without them. I didn't have much luck finding pics of the AM2b Zero with well weathered paint. Maybe the lighter colour doesn't show it as well as the darker green.

I did open the kit finally. Does look like a nice kit. I'll wait until Oct.1 to start at it.

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Color I used on the Cockpit was Vallejo Pastel Green, and followed it up with a couple of different colored washes from the Vallejo line as well. Not exactly the right shade, but once weathered up, looks just fine.

 

[ShutterAce]

Thanks for the info Gundamhead. That is a good help. After looking on the web I did find a couple more walk arounds of what looks like the same plane in your link. I was wondering about the rivets. When looking at the photos of the 1:1, it appears that they are barely visible. Perhaps it's not necessary to add them to a smaller scale plane. Although I'm sure it would look better with than without them. I didn't have much luck finding pics of the AM2b Zero with well weathered paint. Maybe the lighter colour doesn't show it as well as the darker green.

I did open the kit finally. Does look like a nice kit. I'll wait until Oct.1 to start at it.

The early war paints did not wear anything like the later green over gray jobs. Two totally different looks.