Wiadomości

Robert Podkoński
Taking a seat, of course!

Jennifer Franklin
Me too

gorby
Good luck with this. It looks like you'll need it. 😉

Neil
Welcome Robert, Jennifer and Gorby, very pleased to have your interest 🙂 your definitely right there @gorby. I mean I'm used to building 'duff' old kits, but this kit is duffer than the duffest thing ever made by the worlds duffest person! If that makes sense! Hahaha 🤣🤣

Nathan Dempsey
With all the faith within me I summon blessings upon you in this build Neil. This one makes AA Models look like Hasegawa. With that said I felt a great sense of accomplishment upon finishing mine ( something I rarely feel).

Spanjaard
it takes courage to even start such a great quality model.... but you are certainly getting good result out of it, looking forward the end result

bughunter
Two beauties connected 👍

Neil
Welcome! Thanks very much for all your encouraging words mates. You talented bunch are all very kind to show interest in my efforts with such a humble kit. It's definitely fighting me! I've got it a bit further along now, will add some imagery soon - we're at the primer, sand, prime, sand stage. Hahaha!

Nathan Dempsey
Coming together quite nicely. Bringing back the memories 🙂

Neil
Cheers Nathan 😎

John
Thanks for wrestling with this beast of a kit so I don't have to. 👍 Looking good so far with lots of your elbow grease.

Neil
Cheers mate! 🙂 Thanks for your encouragement. I'll continue the battle on this one 👍

Neil
I'm used to building old kits that need 'help'. But this one needs a bit more than usual. After a lot of pre-paint priming filling/scraping/hacking/filing/sanding work and then more post primer fiddling, it's beginning to take shape somewhat. I couldn't resist giving it a blast of aluminium lightly on the wings last night! 😉 👍

gorby
Remarkable perseverance and patience Neil. Most people would have given up on it by now.

Neil
Hi Gorby 👍 Thanks mate! Yeah, I'll get it into some kind of Mustang shape hopefully.

Thomas Bischoff
I for sure would have given up!
a lot of work but the result is convincing 👍

Mike Montgomery
Is it weird that I could feel your pain, just by looking at the photos of your build?

Neil
Hi Thomas 🙂 yeah, it's tried my patience that's for sure. Thanks for your words of encouragement though mate, really appreciated 👍 I'll get there. At the end of the day, if it looks (a bit) like a Mustang then it is a Mustang!! Obviously it's no Hasegawa! @mike, hehehe. Yeah I've kept my language polite, but not surprised my pain was still apparent! 🤣 Thanks for dropping by 👍

Nathan Dempsey
Lovely work Neil. Can't wait to see the next steps.

Neil
Thanks Nathan - I know you 'appreciate' this kit journey also! I'm really not sure that a stars and stripes aluminium scheme is gonna be the easiest finish to help hide imperfections of this kit either. But I'll do my best 👍

Patryk S.
Following! Watching your builds of those older kits is something I can never get enough of because of the quality of your builds and the nostalgia factor. Big Respect from my side. Greetings, Patryk.

Neil
Hi Patryk 🙂 Thanks mate! That means a lot. It's true that more often than not, it's a bit of a slog to get these oldies into shape. It's often tempting to bin one, hahaha 🤣 Especially when I look on the feed and see all these wonderful new kits which seem to (nearly always) fit in such an accomplished manner. But I rather masochisticaly choose to continue! Who knows why!? You're very kind, especially as I'm aware of your own skills. Greetings back atcha matey 😎👍

gorby
Looks like you're winning the battle Neil. Remarkable work!

Nathan Dempsey
Holy moly Neil, that's looking great!

Neil
Hi mates. Thanks very much for checking in again and your encouraging words, hope you're both well 🙂 👍 Your feedback is most gratefully received and buoys me up to continue attacking this dastardly duo! POW! BANG! KAPOW! 👍 😉

J35J
Great progress, keep up the good work!👍🏻

Neil
Cheers mate 👍

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

Neil
Cheers Guy 👍🙂

CaptGPF
It'a always a joy seeing someone transform an older, ill-fitting kit into a work of art. following!

Mr D
It's a good metal finish 👍👌

Neil
Hiya CaptGPF 👍 you're extremely kind to me, I'm trying to drag this kit into something respectable, it's not the best kit (understatement!) But it is a stunningly beautiful airframe and surprisingly large too! Thanks for your compliment 🙏

@Mr D thanks very much for your message also, I've built a few metallic finish aircraft of late, with each build my ability to add shade and depth to a metal finish is improving, though a long way from great! 👍

Thanks also for the likes to all who've dropped by too 🙂 I've parked it for a few days again to let everything cure. But more pics again soon 👍

Mr D
See what you mean, the canopy is 1:46 scale 🤣, lve often had to re-make parts from old spru's n use super glue-gel to build up poorly moulded parts. It's not good but part of modeling l think.
Looking good 👌

Neil
I'm beating it into shape - slowly! Handful of recent pics added. Thanks for the likes all too 🙂 👍

Mr D
Very good 💯.. Nice job done, l like the build process uploads , it's good to learn tips n techniques.
Brilliant 👍👍👍

Neil
Hi Mr D, thanks very much, you're very kind. 🙂 👍

Guy Rump
Looking great, following. 👍

Neil
Thanks very much Guy. You're very kind and most welcome here. It's definitely not the easiest kit I've ever undertaken and it's taking some time to build because of that. But I hope (slowly) it's beginning to look (somewhat) like a twin Mustang! Such a cool looking aircraft! 😎

S M
Very nice progress and it's already almost painted!👍 btw interesting way of using cable ties for squeezing big parts together. I hope ypu have heard about releasable cable ties: hellermanntyton.com/..ble/rel250/131-22510

Neil
Thanks very much mate, yes getting there but by bit, slow and steady. Appreciate your comment... Interesting info on reusable cable ties, that's a good shout. I'm still working my way through my original stash, but your suggestion makes perfect sense for my next purchase when needed 👍

Kate Ward
If I do them in batches of 8 I need 11 batches for each side. That helps me keep count.

Ben M
Ah, armor modeling. Endless tracks. Watching!

Kate Ward
Oh good, peer pressure, that'll keep me from slacking off. ^_^ I'm up to six 8-link sections of track so far, 16 to go. I had a panic moment where I was afraid I'd bought the wrong tracks, so the first thing I assembled from the Trumpeter kit proper was the sprocket wheels. And whew they do fit! Got a start on the lower hull too before bedtime.

Ben M
I've been curious about metal tracks. I find the plastic individual links hard to work with but maybe I just need more practice.

Robert Podkoński
Taking a seat here 🙂

Kate Ward
I'm still figuring this website out, is the 2nd photo visible? I'm halfway there with the track, 11 of 22 sections, and in addition to the sprockets I've got the idlers and all the road wheels assembled. I was hoping to finish all of Step 1 as well, but I had some fit problems with the upper deck. Did it have to be in 3 pieces, Trumpeter? 😛

For one part of the rear, there's a choice of plastic or PE parts, and I had a go at trying the PE, using a tool handle that was about the right diameter as a mandrel. It didn't come out perfect, but I was looking at photos online of a real KV-85 on display in St Petersburg--the kit instructions were a little unclear about how it should look once assembled--and the real flange has a good big dent in it too. So I figure I'm good. ^_^

Following some old advice I remember from ~20 years ago when I first heard of Friul tracks, I'm using sewing pins rather than the softer wire that comes with the tracks. The fit is snug enough that I can press two links together and they will (4 times out of 5) stay put long enough to slide the pin in. Couple things I've learned the hard way: 1) gotta use a pin vise to drill them out, as hard as it is on my poor old wrists. Using a Dremel, it's too easy to do irreversible damage too fast; 2) don't cut off the pin heads and glue the pins down until I'm REALLY REALLY sure I've got them in the right order.

Two days, 11 sections totaling 88 tracks, and I've only stabbed myself with a pin 3 times. Go me.

Ben M
Yes, the second photo is visible. You can go into the album, click edit, then for "teaser" select "use last image" and then click "save and close" if you want the newest picture to always show.

I would never have guessed to use sewing pins for this, yeah I think drilling all those holes with a pin vise sounds like fun for my arthritis.

Kate Ward
Finished Step 1, not counting some gaps to fill and other cleanup. Oh god, those tiny tiny engine deck lift rings. Thank god the kit came with spares, I yeeted at least 6 of them into oblivion. 😛

Kate Ward
Today's progress was making those two engine vents from the ET Model PE set. I've had that etch-mate sitting in a bin for 20 years, still in the original packaging, never used. 😛 It was a little frustrating to get those teeny teeny pieces aligned, but it was also very satisfying. Part of what attracts me to modeling--especially tank modeling--is a fascination with machinery. How parts fit together, and how they move and interact with each other to make a working machine. It's why I had to choose a subject I could get those working metal Friul tracks for. And bending those PE parts, turning flat sheets into a 3-dimensional object, that just really makes me happy for some reason.

Thank GOD for my optivisor, though.

Hey, more experienced people, I would really appreciate some advice on how to fill that horrible gap between the middle and rear upper deck pieces.

Ben M
Perfect plastic putty is my lifestyle choice.

Jakko ‌
> If I do them in batches of 8 I need 11 batches for each side. That helps me keep count.

Quick tip for building tracks: write 1 on the tenth link right after you put it in, 2 on the 20th, 3 on the 30th, etc. That way you can build the whole track in one length but don't have to keep counting to see how far you've gotten.

Kate Ward
Ben M and Jakko, thanks for the suggestions! I ended up trying a technique I found on youtube that uses Mr. Surfacer 500, because that's what I had on hand. It seems to have worked pretty well, although the cleaning-up process afterward was a bit of work. I'll have to see if I can find that putty. Here's a link to the technique I tried: Youtube Video

Kate Ward
Monday was an all-day senior moment, I didn't get anything done. Not just on the model but in general. Sometimes getting old really sucks. But Back on Sunday I made some progress on the tracks, and cleaned up the mold lines on half the suspension arms. Today I got the other half.

I've been wanting to try a texturing technique from the Night Shift channel--it's one of the reasons I chose a WWII Russian tank. But the Testors cement I had on hand didn't work, instead of thinning the Tamiya putty it turned it into a clumpy mess. So I have to wait until I can hit the local hobby shop and get the right kind of cement. The video recommends Mr Hobby's, but says Tamiya will work too, but take longer to dry. I know the local store has Tamiya liquid cement, not sure about the Mr Hobby.

Maciej Bellos
Nice start!