This model has been an experience. I built it while I was passing a kidney stone. I had to do something with my time. It took me 14 days to get rid of the pesky little kidney stone and I spent some long nights up while I was dealing with the pain and couldn’t sleep. Thank goodness for my sweet wife and all my kids (thanks for all of the phone calls!!) and Percocet. My advice – drink a lot of water and keep your urine clear!! Here are some pics (of the model – not my…):
I added some leftover Eduard placards from the set for my 1/32 Academy F/A-18 Hornet. They look good and it’s not like you can read what they say.
A little background: I won this mode at the Model Expo in 2007 at their raffle – great raffle – thanks guys! This model has been sitting in my closet stash since then. I started it toward the end of October and the on Nov. 2nd my kidney stone adventure started. I would work on the SBD during times the pain and painkillers would allow. I filled the instrument holes with Future to replicate lenses and used Eduard seatbelts instead of the kit supplied ones. One more pic – here I have taped the wings on to get an idea of how good the wing joint will be – I looks quite small and managable…
2-7-09
Ok – I have finally been able to do some more work on the SBD – here are the pics – notice that I have primed the model with Tamiya fine grey primer:
After paint has been applied. The bottom is Hobby Color flat white and the top is Model Master acryl dark ghost gray and Hobby Color navy blue.
Here I have masked off the canopies using Tamiya tape after putting through a bath of Future:
This pictures were taken after I shot the plane with a thin coat of Future before the decals are applied.
2/12/09
Here are some pictures after I have applied the decals. The kit decals for the stars and bars have the wrong color for the blue field. I substituted a set produced by 21st Century Models that I bought from Roy Sutherland at one of our club meetings. These decals are for their F4U Corsair but are the right size and color – much better than the kit decals. I also used the stencil decal set by Yellow Wings. This is much more complete and better quality than the kit stencil set.
Rather than use decals for the walkways I masked off the walkway areas on the wings using a decal as a template. Then the area was sprayed with Future Floor Wax and while it was wet I sprinkled on baby powder. After the area was dry I brushed off the excess then spray painted the area with Tamiya flat black.
The walkways and stars and bars looked just too pristine with the faded paintjob so I oversprayed these areas with a very thin coat of the top blue color to blend the areas in. This resulted in a more appropriate weathered appearance.
2-18-09
I’ve done a little more now – the front windscreen is on along with the armor plate and heads up display. There are also some pics showing off the interior and the really nice Eduard seat belts….
