Focke Wulf Ta 152 H-1 (1970 tooling / Scratch)

1970 tooling from FROG.

Dry fitting shows the the entire cockpit needs to be rebuilt from scratch.

The cockpit surgery has begun.

Air intake screen applied.

Air intake attached

The wings have to be sanded down.

The cockpit will be a challenge since there is nothing here. I will have to measure everything to fit and build it up from scratch.

Major reconstruction on the fuselage necessary before building the cockpit.

A few details added to the back.

I realized I had the details backwards so I did them over. Second time worked out.

The beginnings of a cockpit started

The spacing and depth is wrong on the exhaust tubes, so I scavenged some tubes from a junk model and will attempt to cut them apart and set them into the side.

Building the exhaust midpoint.

One side finished.

The exhausts are in.

A bit more progress on the scratch built cockpit

I cleaned my tape for Treehugger 😉

Bit of scratch for the wheel wells

I have to try and rebuild this horrible cowling. 🙁

There that's a bit better 🙂

Dry fitting the nose.

The canopy was totally uneven and so I decided to do the risky thing and file it from the inside. Hopefully I didn't just ruin it.

Cockpit has been painted and awaits the details.

A bit of detail added to the scratch built cockpit.

A bit of detail added to the scratch built cockpit.

A bit of detail added to the scratch built cockpit.

A bit of detail added to the scratch built cockpit.

I separated the canopy into two halves.

I corrected the seat position.

I corrected the seat position.

Today I scratch built some space for the wheels.

Dry fitting to see what the scratch built wheel wells look like.

Additional support added to the cockpit to keep it from breaking.

Major construction going on here, trying to get this thing to accept a cockpit. All scratch of course.

Dry fit test. The cockpit sort of works.

It's gotten to the point where I have started to glue the fuselage halves together.

After the poly cement liberal amounts of super glue was added to remove any unwanted seams.

More super glue! Looks nasty at this stage.

And the sculpting begins!

This mess of super glue will hopefully become a proper hood.

A rough outline of the shape I am trying to make.

I couldn't see the shape I was working on so I used a permanent marker to get a quick look. Still needs more work.

Needs more adjustments. But it is closer.

The shape is looking better. Tomorrow I will look at it again and make more adjustments.

After correcting the general shape of the fuselage I am now going to attempt to create the shape of the hood. If this doesn't work I will try casting one from a FW 190 and reshaping that.

A lot of adding and subtracting super glue. Sanding things into shape. It seems to be working.

Hood complete. The super glue worked as a sculpting medium.

Carving an auxiliary air intake out of sprue.

I successfully attached the auxiliary air intake without losing it.

I made an exhaust shield and rebuilt one of the exhaust pipes with super glue that broke off.

The other side is a little bit different. It doesn't have a shield but it does have a little pipe sticking through the guard.

More work on the wings

Scribing lots of tiny circles.

Upon closer inspection, the position of the circles which I based on the kit were not quite right. So I had to fill some with sprue goo, which I hate using because it takes so long to dry. But I couldn't risk super glue because it would interfere with the new circles I will be making.

I made some more improvements in the wheel wells.

I've marked out the proper panel lines. Tomorrow I will take a second look at them before starting.

I purposely made deep panel lines so I don't have any problems with sanding. They will be filled with powder and sealed latter. I'm still waiting for the sprues goo to harden.

Panel lines are finished on the underside of the wings.

Making some bumps. The top half of the wing is getting closer.

More bumps!

Panel lines and adjustments are finished on the top of the wings.

Oops didn't mean to do that! Lol

Panel lines are getting there.

More panel lines.

I added some ribs to the tail. They will need to be sanded down a bit.

Attaching the wings

I made the wing plates out of strips of styrene and super glue.

The kit's horizontal stabilizers are too short.

I added a bit of styrene to extend the horizontal stabilizers. Remade and shortened the tabs, and added a few lines.

Attempting to make a mount for the tail light.

The kit wheels are pretty basic and there is a lot of flash around the hubs.

Making improvements

It looks like landing gear now.

Putting part no. 45 on that one piece wheel is going to be a little challenging.

After looking at the wheel and trying a few different tools out, I decided to make new wheel forks and leave the wheel mounted.

So, that seemed to have worked out.

On the left I engraved a recess in the landing gear door and on the right is the original kit with injection mold keys in the worst place.

I added a bit to the back of the landing gear doors.

Nose gun barrel made with brass tubing.

The propeller in the kit was molded backwards so I had to drill a hole through it to reverse it.

The first layer of primer revealed plenty of places that need adjustments.

I filled the panel lines to the appropriate depth using water based white putty.

Plates have been replaced that were sanded off in the process of making the hood.

Hinges and plates added

More hinges

And even some hinging for the tail

All primed up and ready for riveting.

The riveting is slowly moving along.

I realized quite late that the kit's wing roots were too narrow. So I widened them with polystyrene and super glue.

I refined the wing tip to make it more to scale.

Plenty of rivets on the underside.

More hinges and a seam line on the air intake.

BSK 16 camera gun installed

"Step" in the wing root carved out.

Hood latches made from styrene.

Engine in progress.

Engine done. Little pieces of styrene driving me crazy. (Note to self... Double check your source image. This is from a C variant. Try again tomorrow.)

Engine rebuilt. This time with styrene braces, circle edge and center disk. I repurposed photo etch by cutting it to size for the wall of the inside. For the opposite side I used stretched sprue to make the raised elements.

Third layer of primer down. It is starting to look like a plane!

I don't know if it will survive because it is only one millimeter big and made from 7 parts, but I scratch built a Revi 16b gun sight. It is made from repurposed photo etch (old knobs I never used), styrene and celluloid film.

Revell conopys are truly the worst. If they had made a decent separated canopy that actually fit this would not have happened.

My brand new high tech vacuform machine!

The results: A new windshield and 3 slightly imperfect canopies next to the original which was heavily thinned down and is still way too thick.

I decided to make the canopy again as one piece. That way I don't have problems painting and I will try to separate it afterwards.

Scratch building "shock absorbers" for the landing gear. Wrapping sprue around these retractable arms was a challenge.

She's got legs...she knows how to use them.

I did a little work on the wings last night. It required a lot of additional sanding to get the PE to fit.

Canopy masked and interior color painted.

Aluminum under-coating applied. Of course it revealed a few places that need sanding again.

Problem areas sanded and wing tips added.

Adding lights to the scratch built wing tips

Still a few offending areas that need more sanding but it is looking better.

I think I will call this good enough for an under painting.

New retractable arms for the landing gear. This time they are made from 3 sizes of brass tubing. Just not sure how to glue them in place yet.

New retractable arms glued in.

So, after saying it's good enough and then finding more places to fix I finally got it to a point where I like it.

Rlm 76 sprayed over the aluminum. It seems a little bit delicate. Had some issues with it peeling off. I may need to take it off and spray a matt varnish over the aluminum if it doesn't settle down.

I added a bit of dry brushing before I start the main paint work.

I added a bit of dry brushing before I start the main paint work.

The first layer of green is down.

Camo laid down.

Camo laid down.

The number 9 decal is the wrong color. So I am attempting to make a stencil, but because of the thin black line around the number it will require me to hand paint the number.

The tape keeps peeling the paint off because I forgot to use a matt varnish over the aluminum.

I repaired the peeling and sprayed the 9 on. The stencils worked. Now I have to hand paint the color in the two numbers.

My hand painted number 9

I added the green bar on the tail stripe.

I added cannons made from brass tubing.

The cannons go all the through like the original plane.

I finished putting the decals on today. After sealing them I will have to open the cockpit.

I put the extra decals on the tail. So, now I will do some touching up and seal everything in, before opening the canopy.

Pitot tube made from two sizes of brass tubing.

Scratch built armor plated headrest.

Scratch built armor plated headrest painted.

Armor plated headrest attached

Canopy hooks for the pressurized seal made.

Canopy attached and pressure valves made from PVA glue and permanent marker.

Scratch built retractable ladder made from styrene.

Drop tank attachment points made from styrene

Morane antenna made from kit part and brush hair.

Finished !

Comentários

107 27 January, 18:23

Skyhiker
My next big project is turning this FROG into a Prince. Wish me luck I'm going to need it.

27 January, 18:25

Moreno Baruffini
Good luck! 👍

27 January, 18:52

Robert Podkoński
Ambitious! Keep my fingers crossed!

27 January, 19:01

Nicolas
I'm following. In my opinion the Ta-152H is the most beautiful plane of WW II. I got the kit from Kora in my stash and hope to start the build in spring this year. Good luck and, above all, have fun building it.

27 January, 20:18

Skyhiker
Nicolas, I agree. It's a long, lean, fighting machine as they say. Definitely one of the more elegant designs to come out of the war.

27 January, 22:10

DerMattes
Taking a seat 🙂

27 January, 22:45

Skyhiker
I had to widen the fuselage today, in order to make space, before I scratch build the cockpit.

29 January, 01:47

Jennifer Franklin
Following 👀

29 January, 02:27

Skyhiker
Bit more done today.

30 January, 00:56

Lukas Muller
good job 🙂 Following

30 January, 12:18

Łukasz Gliński
Respect for your patience 👍

31 January, 11:24

Martin Nevo
this is going to be awsome.
I am picking kits that are near perfect so I have fun.
but there are also people who pick not-so-perfect-kits like this Ta152 and they still have loads of fun!
GL 🙂

31 January, 13:12

Skyhiker
Well mostly I pick not-so-perfect-kits because I'm a cheap skate. I'd rather pay 6 euros than 40 for a kit. I do have some moderately priced kits and they are a lot faster and fun to make, but often I just have the need to challenge myself and see where my skill level is at.

31 January, 17:56

Rui
This looks like a real challenge; I'm watching 🙂

31 January, 18:24

Moreno Baruffini
@Skyhiker: I totally like your approach and I think you did a great start!

31 January, 19:16

Martin Nevo
same here @Skyhiker, I really like the 6eur price point. so affordable. probably thats why I started to look into the 1/144 scale 🙂

31 January, 19:58

Skyhiker
A bit more progress on the scratch built cockpit today.

2 February, 02:56

Jennifer Franklin
Excellent work on the exhausts, and the cockpit is coming along nicely.

2 February, 03:24

Skyhiker
I did a bit more today but I can't seem to get any images to upload. Anyone else having these problems?

2 February, 19:03

Treehugger
Looking at photo #17 I want to give a tip:
I would be a little careful keeping the roll of masking tape on the table. I like keeping them in a holder, or placed in a bag, to avoid the side of the roll picking up all kind of dirt.

2 February, 19:10

Skyhiker
Yes, I keep my tapes in a bag but it doesn't seem to help as well as it should. I think I need a better bag. When I photograph things at this scale there is more dust than I realize.

2 February, 19:18

Jennifer Franklin
I can finally upload my images again now, I was having problems too.

2 February, 20:13

Skyhiker
Thanks Jennifer

2 February, 20:15

Skyhiker
Treehugger I cleaned my tape and got a new bag. Thanks for pointing that out. No need for fuzzy tape.

2 February, 20:20

Skyhiker
Cowling remade with a lot of sanding, cutting new flaps and a PE grill.

2 February, 23:49

Moreno Baruffini
Really a great progress!

3 February, 07:52

Skyhiker
Thanks Moreno, I am having fun with this one.

3 February, 09:06

Skyhiker
I have to take a break and will be back in a week. I must say I am in love with this plane. It's really a beautiful design with those long wings. I can't wait to get back to it.

8 February, 06:54

Lukas Muller
I'm agree with you, one of the most beautiful plane for me 👍

8 February, 08:53

Dave Flitton
I like it so far!

8 February, 13:58

Guy Rump
I'm going to build this one from my stash this year, definitely following! 👍

8 February, 14:14

Skyhiker
The canopy was totally uneven and so I decided to do the risky thing and file it from the inside. Hopefully I didn't just ruin it.

2 March, 13:17

Vincent
This is already an impressive build. Good luck!!!

2 March, 18:22

Skyhiker
Worked a bit on the cockpit today.

4 March, 20:23

Oliver
Follow. Want to See the result

4 March, 20:24

Skyhiker
This kit has its flaws but nothing that can't be corrected with a little bit of skill. Are there more accurate kits out there that are easier to build - yes. But the modern trend of wanting perfect kits seems counter to the art of modeling. If you have ever built a model from a block of wood you wouldn't call this kit useless. Challenging or time consuming I can agree with but it is not crap.

10 April, 08:09

Skyhiker
I haven't given up yet. Sometimes life forces me to take breaks but I hope to get back into this one soon. I have to put a lot of tiny details in the cockpit next and I need the right head space for that. Kits like these take time and often I will start easier kits mid process to keep things flowing. I absolutely agree that reboxing old kits without a mold date is deceptive. Thankfully with this site we can look up the history and sometimes see the sprues before buying anything. I've only had one kit that I couldn't do anything with. I bought it for 20 bucks opened up and threw it directly in the trash. That was a Top Gun F/A-18 Hornet snap kit, which really was a piece of shit.

10 April, 16:03

Remco van Haren
Following. Really looking forward to the end result.
Especially since I built this kit myself last year. Although I didn't put so much effort and detail into it as you are doing.

10 April, 21:29

Johne 69
So gar so good 👍

21 April, 09:04

Skyhiker
I added a bit of detail to the scratch built cockpit today.

28 April, 18:37

Skyhiker
Worked on the canopy and tried to figure out how the scratch built cockpit will fit into the body.

2 May, 23:45

Skyhiker
I corrected the seat position today.

4 May, 16:32

Skyhiker
Added some space for the wheels

5 May, 20:54

Skyhiker
Trez your message is pretty cryptic. Are you talking about panel lines or internal wing structures? The last photo is just a dry fit. I haven't started with dealing with any panel lines yet. I've been working on the inside of the wing walls to make something that gives an impression of space for the wheels.

6 May, 11:45

Skyhiker
Trez, thanks for your ideas. I'm using a lot of photos and the instructions from a 1:32 model to help figure out what is going on. This little model is a challenge to correct but I'm having fun pushing my skills and learning as I go.

6 May, 15:36

Moreno Baruffini
I'm really enjoying this build! 👍👍👍

15 May, 19:13

Skyhiker
I worked out most of the cockpit issues today. It's not perfect but I got it in there.

15 May, 23:09

Skyhiker
Moreno, I'm glad you're liking it. This is kinda pushing my skills a bit. We'll see what happens in the end together.

15 May, 23:11

Skyhiker
Getting this kit to accept a cockpit was like pounding a square peg through a round hole. I had to reshape the whole damn fuselage.

16 May, 03:35

Patrick Hagelstein
Whoah!!! Amazing what you did to that old tooling! Very cool to watch! 👍🏼

16 May, 15:20

Skyhiker
Thank you Patrick. I'm trying. We will see if it works.

16 May, 15:55

Bruce Huxtable
Really liking what you're doing, Skyhiker, and learning lots too. Impressed with your skills 🙂

16 May, 19:43

Łukasz Gliński
What is that superglue thingy?

16 May, 20:09

Skyhiker
Łukasz the shape of the hood is really off in the kit. The superglue is just material for me to try and sculpt into a better hood.

16 May, 20:26

Łukasz Gliński
I was just wondering if you have mixed it with something

16 May, 20:33

Skyhiker
No, It's just cheap super glue from a discount store that I poured right from the tube and hardened with accelerator.

16 May, 22:08

Skyhiker
Started reshaping the fuselage today.

17 May, 00:11

Skyhiker
Hood work today.

18 May, 08:39

Nicolas
That looks very messy. But as long as it works, and it looks promising.

19 May, 16:21

Skyhiker
Yes, very messy but it works. Old school style.

19 May, 20:19

Patrick Hagelstein
The effort put into this is just amazing! 👌🏼

19 May, 22:32

Skyhiker
More work on the exhausts today.

20 May, 15:41

Moreno Baruffini
The true essence of modelling!

20 May, 16:03

Skyhiker
I began rescribing the panel lines today. This will take a bit of time.

21 May, 22:56

Tony Cooke
Dedication!!

22 May, 03:59

Skyhiker
Bruce, thanks for your encouragement. It definitely helps.

23 May, 06:33

Dave Flitton
That's a lot of work!

23 May, 11:42

Skyhiker
Well the fine engraving blade I just bought broke within a day of use. Very frustrating.

23 May, 14:42

Skyhiker
Luckily I bought a .02 mm blade in addition to the .01 mm that broke. It will have to do even though I would prefer the lines to be a little bit thinner.

23 May, 15:06

Skyhiker
I finished the panel lines on the underside of the wings today.

24 May, 19:08

Vincent
Impressive work!! Keep it up!

24 May, 19:57

Patrick Hagelstein
Amazing progress! Once you go the route of updating such an old kit, there's no way back, is there?

24 May, 22:19

Skyhiker
Thanks Patrick, your right there is always more to discover and do. I'm having fun with it. Of course I have no idea what it will look like in the end. I'm spending far too many hours allowing myself to be lost in process. But if that's what it takes, why not?

24 May, 23:19

Skyhiker
It's amazing how every kit I look at of a FW Ta 152 H is different. All the photos of the original aircraft are so blurry that details are impossible to pick out, so I'm left with looking at kits and guessing which ones are correct.

26 May, 01:25

Skyhiker
Anyone out there with a book on the TA 152? I'm trying to figure out if the top of the flaps have a vertical line down the center of them or not. From underneath there is a line there but I am getting conflicting images of the top surface. Can anyone post a decent image?

28 May, 16:28

DerMattes
I looked through some of my books and picture collection. But to find even a picture of the Ta152 is rare. 🙁

28 May, 17:06

Skyhiker
Thanks Mattes. There are a few decent books out there but they go for 80 Euros and I can't afford that. I doubt the library would have anything worth while. Maybe the model shop will let me look through one of their books but usually they are sealed in foil. Hopefully someone here has something. Getting panel lines correct is not so easy. Even worse are the rivets.

28 May, 17:49

Skyhiker
I found this image which clearly shows the flaps divide in two sections. Interestingly the sections are not even like the underside.
[img1]

29 May, 05:48

DerMattes
Maybe this would be helpful? flugzeugclassic.de/f..hlands-bester-jaeger
I do not have the magazine, but kind of stumbled over the link 😉

31 May, 13:34

Skyhiker
That's cool Mattes. Thanks for the tip.

31 May, 23:09

Ben M
I admire you trying to make something of this kit.

31 May, 23:22

Skyhiker
Thanks Ben, this kit gets a bad rap. It's not as bad as people make it out to be. Of course I am putting a lot of work into it to make it better. But if its done straight out of the box it's not that bad. The backwards propeller is a stupid engineering mistake but that's an easy fix.

31 May, 23:54

AndreasK
Nice project, Skyhiker. And really stunning what you achieved so far. 👍🏻

1 June, 06:30

Sy Bar
Can't wait to see fruits of your hard work 🍿

1 June, 06:45

Skyhiker
I'm worked on the top side of the wings today.

2 June, 19:16

Skyhiker
Panel lines... panel lines and more panel lines...

7 June, 13:25

Matthew A
Owch

7 June, 17:02

Skyhiker
Yeah, I was a little heavy handed, but it's not a problem. I just glued it back together. I prefer trenching and filling over trying to get the lines the exact depth overall and then accidentally sanding away lines. The only problem with using this method is the deep panel lines can make the model unstable in places if you are not careful. But in the end it should all work out.

7 June, 21:47

Skyhiker
I am slowly moving forward on the panel lines behind the scenes. This is the part I have to force my way through because I don't really enjoy it. But it is coming along and I could have some photos soon.

2 July, 18:21

Patrick Hagelstein
Looking forward to that! 😊

2 July, 19:01

J35J
Good progress, great craftmanship!👍🏻

2 July, 19:02

Skyhiker
Got most of the panel lines down. I still have to do the bottom.

6 July, 15:46

Moreno Baruffini
I personally ate re-scribing, so my admiration for you is huge!

6 July, 16:12

Skyhiker
Thank you Moreno, re-scribing is definitely the part that's the least fun for me too. Some days I have to force myself just to do one line. If you do that once a day eventually it gets done. But yeah, re-scribing sucks.

6 July, 16:21

Skyhiker
Big step made with attaching the wings. It makes me feel like I am moving forward after all.

7 July, 14:33

Patrick Hagelstein
There ya go! 😄

8 July, 14:33

Skyhiker
Wing plates are made.

10 July, 12:58

Pietro De Angelis
An impressive amount of work, your patience and skills are incredible, congrats!

11 July, 20:02

Skyhiker
Thank you Pietro.

11 July, 21:56

Thomas Kolb
Wow, what an insane amount of work you put into this project! I am humbled by your perseverance and attention to detail!

12 July, 03:34

Skyhiker
Thanks Thomas, I enjoy the process of trying to figure out how to do stuff. The model is just an added bonus in the end.

12 July, 13:20

Skyhiker
Today I continued with the landing gear. A few pictures added.

12 July, 23:15

Moreno Baruffini
As I wrote above, it's the true essence of modelling!

13 July, 16:04

Skyhiker
Thanks Moreno. I'm having fun with it, mostly. The panel lines were a drag but I got through that part. Hopefully after the primer I won't have to any major touch ups. But we will see. One step at a time...

13 July, 16:13

Skyhiker
Primer started!

13 July, 17:17

Johne 69
Nice Details 👍

14 July, 09:01

Skyhiker
Yesterday and today I filled the panel lines to the appropriate depth.

16 July, 22:09

Patrick Hagelstein
This keeps on being cool to watch! 👍🏼

16 July, 22:15

Vincent
Watching you making process is indeed great to watch. The plane is starting to look great!

16 July, 22:54

Moreno Baruffini
Wow! How do you filled the lines? How was you able to calculate the exact quantity?

17 July, 05:43

Skyhiker
Moreno, I used an engraving tool to cut deep lines and then I rubbed white putty into them. By rubbing the excess off it automatically brings the lines to just below the surface of the model. As the lines dry they also shrink a bit. So, it was not too hard to do. The trick is to use enough water and a brush to apply the putty and to use enough water on a paper towel or cotton bud to remove the excess. Hard to get to areas need to be cleaned up with a wooden tooth pick.

17 July, 06:01

Robert Podkoński
I never would believe that the base kit is a Revell's offering.... Awesome job!

17 July, 06:31

Moreno Baruffini
@Skyhiker: Super! Many thanks for the explanation!

17 July, 06:59

Alec K
Great project and some serious dedication to a challenging tooling 👍

17 July, 12:11

Skyhiker
I worked on some details today. Tomorrow I will give it another coat of primer and hopefully start the riveting.

17 July, 21:24

S M
Wow this is borderline masochistic👍

18 July, 15:07

Skyhiker
I am debating with myself when the best time to do riveting is. If you do it before priming you run the risk of filling the holes. If you do it after priming it makes it harder to correct mistakes. If you do it after the final paint job you run the risk of fucking everything up. Anyone have any experience with riveting?

19 July, 13:17

Matthew A
I think you typed f when you should have typed m

19 July, 14:22

Skyhiker
I stand corrected. Thanks.

19 July, 14:57

Alec K
Regarding riveting: I have done it before priming but I don't see why you could not do it after. You'l have to sand after as the riveter leaves 'rings' around each divot (as it pushes the plastic out). In my experience, a thin coat of primer has negligible impact on the rivet holes (if it had, this would be a problem with any factory-riveted kit).

20 July, 23:38

Skyhiker
Alec, I tend to agree with you. My thoughts on doing the riveting after the primer was that the rivets may remain a bit better defined. But I am not convinced. I think I will have to do some tests for the future. By riveting before and after the primer on some styrene, then spraying a color coat over both should give me a better idea of which I prefer. Right now I feel like I prefer not doing it at all, because riveting is a pain. But that's just me feeling sorry for myself for wanting to do a half way decent job on this kit. I do wish I could find some reliable riveting guides for this plane. It seems like everyone is just guessing at it.

21 July, 00:00

Skyhiker
I got some riveting done today.

21 July, 19:49

Patrick Hagelstein
That riveting looks very impressive! 👌🏼

21 July, 22:14

Skyhiker
Thanks Patrick, I haven't mastered riveting or panel lines yet but I'm learning. I am pretty limited in my tools and the scale is not the easiest. But with practice and study I hope to improve.

21 July, 22:44

Skyhiker
I've realized that one of the benefits of doing the riveting after the primer is that you can make sure that most of the sanding is completed. However inevitably there are areas that get messed up and sanding is required after all. I just haven't found the perfect solution.

21 July, 23:33

Sy Bar
Enjoying your progress a lot, the transformat is amazing.
I must say your plans are so clear and great reference where do you get your plans like these from, I search the tinternet but never find any as useful as your plans, any extra guidance would be appreciated

22 July, 08:12

Skyhiker
I drew my plans on the computer by looking at various images on the internet. Unfortunately I haven't found any place to download great paneling or riveting guides. There is a Russian website that has blueprints that I sometimes use but I'm not sure if it is still available. I didn't use it for this project.

22 July, 08:31

Skyhiker
Sy Bar, which plane will you be doing next? I can look around for blueprints and see if I can find anything useful.

22 July, 13:37

Sy Bar
Cheers Skyhiker v kind offer and thanks for the info. Not sure what will be next and if plans will be required but I'll keep you in mind should the need arise.
Keep up the work I'm loving watching the progress 👍

23 July, 20:34

Skyhiker
Widened the wing roots and I am continuing with the riveting today. Also I did a lot of research on the proper colors to use, which was not as easy as one would think. They certainly are not what the instructions say.

24 July, 17:51

Moreno Baruffini
Great work as usual! I'm curious about the colours: aren't they the late RLMs?

24 July, 18:48

Skyhiker
The colors are late RLM colors but not exactly as the instructions say. To start with they call for the hood to be RLM83 which of course is wrong, since in actuality that was a marine color and blue. Many paint manufacturers have some type of green with that number but it was based on a typing mistake in the original RLM records. I believe the hood should be RLM73 as in the original photos it is a bit darker than 81. The fuselage is RLM81 and RLM82, but there were three variants of 81, two that were brownish and one more green. The green is the correct one for this plane. The under carriage is RLM76, but once again we have three variants to choose from; one that is greyer, one bluer and one more tan colored. The greyer one is correct. There is confusion about whether the nose is red or black. I still have to do more research on this. I believe the propeller blade was RLM70

24 July, 19:16

Moreno Baruffini
Many thanks! Super explanation! 😀

24 July, 20:09

Skyhiker
I hope to be finished with the riveting today. Most of my time was spent trying to figure out which of the conflicting diagrams was closest to the original. I don't know if I got it right since there are no surviving planes left.

28 July, 10:23

Oleksii
Great Work on this old Revell Kit and there is still one surviving aircraft.In National Air and Space museum.
airandspace.si.edu/c..11/nasm_A19600317000

29 July, 14:01

Skyhiker
National Air and Space museum has a different version of this plane. It is very similar but there are a lot of differences.

29 July, 14:37

Oleksii
Ouh okay, thank you

29 July, 15:23

Skyhiker
Worked on a bunch of details today.

29 July, 20:33

Skyhiker
I redid the engine today and laid down a second layer of primer. The rivet lines came out well. There are just a few small touch ups on the engine cover and wing tips to do before I start on the wings.

30 July, 15:59

DerMattes
Fantastic work, looks like a different kit!

30 July, 21:11

Skyhiker
Thanks DerMattes. It's more a scratch build than a kit at this point. It's starting to come together. I still have a while to go though. How is a scratch build defined at the official contests?

31 July, 00:46

Hans-Jürgen Haag
From an old crow to an up to date beauty! Owsom project!👍👍👍

31 July, 07:17

J35J
It's like you are building a vac kit with the amount of work and attention to details you are putting into this build. Impressive and inspiring!👍🏻

31 July, 08:04

Skyhiker
I made a gunsight out of 7 scratch built parts that is only one millimeter in size.

31 July, 14:23

Nicolas
The gunsight looks fantastic.

31 July, 16:22

Alec K
Indeed, looks awesome 👍

31 July, 23:24

Skyhiker
Next I have to try and repair or replace the front windshield. Somehow it cracked when I was sanding it down. Is it me or do the clear parts on Revell kits always have problems?

2 August, 04:51

Skyhiker
Well I painted the propeller today but afterwards I had to clean my Iwata airbrush and change the needle. Unfortunately the needle noozle broke off in my airbrush and there is no way to fix it! Now I have to rely on a cheap Chinese knock off to finish painting until I can save an extra 150 bucks to buy a new airbrush.

8 August, 16:58

Nicolas
That sucks. I'd love to lend you my second airbrush, but unfortunately that's also just an old Chinese product at the moment. Probably wouldn't help much.

8 August, 18:10

Nicolas
What now? Aftermarket or scratchbuild canopy?

20 August, 18:11

Skyhiker
I will try scratch building the canopy if that doesn't work I will have to get a vacuform machine.

20 August, 19:17

Duster_d
I wish I could add another like for your vacuum machine! Man, you're really cool!

21 August, 14:43

Ben M
Never give up.

21 August, 15:00

Skyhiker
And the results are in.

21 August, 16:08

Ben M
Did you follow a tutorial? Very interested in how you did this

21 August, 18:13

Skyhiker
No, I just needed to make a canopy so I first tried replacing the front windshield with a clear plastic piece from a CD cover and glueing the original side windows to it but when I finished it was too thick. So then I made the front windshield out of thin plastic sheet from some packaging I had laying around. That worked but the bubble canopy was now too thick. So I tried making a bubble canopy by heating up some of the plastic sheet over a candle and pressing it down over the original with my fingers but that didn't really work. I only got one that looked right but I burnt it so I realized I needed to use a vacuum and change my heat source. My hair dryer runs so hot it overheats and turns off, so I tried that with the vacuum and it worked. You just need to tape the plastic on a piece of cardboard with a hole cut into it and practice. You can make the vacuum screen out of anything. I just used an old sanding disc that I punched holes into and taped down on my sweeper.

21 August, 19:02

Ben M
I'm not sure I can visualize that yet but I'll see if there's something on YouTube. I have a truck I need to make a windshield for.

21 August, 23:11

Mr D
🤣🤣 love the vacform 😁, l split the canopy on my little mig-23 project, to heavy with the Quetip/ ear cleaner!!
I used toaster n paintbrush end 🤣, it worked...but was just a little 1/144 mig-23, it's my wall.
The homebrew job was clearer than the original 🙄,
Would love a little vacform.
Love the scale detail you go to.
👍👍👍

21 August, 23:58

Skyhiker
Ben here is an example I found on YouTube of vacuforming. youtube.com/shorts/GFSJxs51uoY?feature=shared

2 September, 08:17

Ben M
Thank you!

2 September, 13:19

Jennifer Franklin
I will have to bookmark that reference, love it Skyhiker!

2 September, 21:26

Skyhiker
Just make sure that the plastic you are heating up is polystyrene and not PVC. You don't want to poison yourself with heavy chemicals. Polystyrene is bad enough. And don't use your oven or anything that will be in contact with food.

2 September, 21:36

Skyhiker
I made another canopy. This time as one piece. After painting I will try to separate it.

5 September, 14:13

Mr D
That canopy has come out nice n clear.👌
I think it would be nice model with closed canopy also.
I like closed as keeps the dust out n preservation on cockpit.... Little time capsule too.
Doing a good job, persistence is a good trait in this hobby 🙄😆.
I've spent more time making a missing gun turret.! Than on the rest of the build !!

5 September, 14:30

Skyhiker
Working on the landing gear today.

8 September, 12:49

DerMattes
You mean you build an entirely new landing gear, right? At least this is how it looks 😉 Impressive work and dedication!

8 September, 16:44

George D Munro
Cannot wait to see more. Amazed at the effort expended to correct, such an old kit. Reminds me of a favorite saying of a long lost friend. "that wouldn't stop a good modeler". A good modeler you are. I thought Inwas pretty good, but am in awe of your talent and dedication. Am following

8 September, 17:45

Mr D
An amazing amount of improvement and scratch work to improve the model.
Very impressive..👍👍

8 September, 19:33

Skyhiker
Thanks guys. I'm trying. Learning a lot on this model. It certainly is a challenge, but I'm having fun.

8 September, 20:56

Skyhiker
So, the legs are on now.

8 September, 22:01

Mr D
Can l ask what the 🕯️ candle wax was for?? I was guessing 🤔 maybe to build up higher for super glue. ? I like watching builds as you can learn new skills.
Also if you don't mind, how did you thin down the retract arms ...looked machine down.
Enjoyed watching so far being fascinating,
I built the Revell FW-190 this year ...that wasn't to bad.... Few of the engine fan blades hadn't been moulded in !! So l built them back with super glue gell, back wheel was fragile n came off. But rest ok .
Thanks 👍👍

9 September, 09:48

Skyhiker
Mr D. The candle is used as a receptacle for the super glue. It helps to keep the super glue from setting. By putting it on wax and covering it with foil it will remain in a liquid form for a whole day. The retractable arms were made from styrene rod and stretched sprue. The thick end is the rod. The thin end is sprue and the raised area is very thin sprue wrapped around it.

9 September, 10:04

Mr D
Thanks for the info 👍👍.
Have you tried super glue gel?? It's slow to dry but builds up more.well.

9 September, 13:54

Skyhiker
No, I haven't had a need for that. I just use cheap super glue. 5 tubes for a Euro.

9 September, 18:51

Skyhiker
I gave the wings a boost.

10 September, 10:10

Robert Podkoński
WOW. I admire your perseverance!

10 September, 19:02

Mauricio
Impressive work, I am currently working on a similar kit, I didn't know whether to repanel, but I don't think I have reached that level that you achieve... excellent, I will follow your work closely!!!

12 September, 16:30

Skyhiker
Welcome Mauricio

12 September, 22:10

Skyhiker
Starting to paint a bit now.

18 September, 12:17

Greg Baker
I've got one of these in the stash and every time I look at it I go "nahhh..." and grab something else to work on. This project has given me hope that something good can be done with that kit. Nice work!

20 September, 15:31

Skyhiker
Thanks Greg. With enough attention it can be pretty decent. I guess it just depends on how much time you want to invest. Certainly there are better and easier kits on the market. But I enjoy reworking old kits every once in a while to push my skills. Just painting perfectly molded kits somehow doesn't seem like modeling to me.

20 September, 15:38

Kesa Tiho
Very nice finish so far, following with interest

20 September, 16:02

Skyhiker
Well I broke both retractable arms from the landing gear today. Tomorrow I will have to come up with a better solution. Luckily I just got a shipment of brass tubing that just might work.

20 September, 18:36

Mr D
@Skyhiker
It can be one step forward n two back sometimes!!
I've had few instances this week...paint to re-do and now bit of glue gone on my tire!
Good luck with brass tube🤞.
Can't be as bad as a snapped canopy 🙄....keep going 🤣

20 September, 19:38

Skyhiker
I think this back and forth that I experience with every model is just the plight of being an intermediate model maker. I hope to one day have enough experience that things go easy but maybe that's just wishful thinking.

20 September, 19:43

Mr D
That brass tube is better job around 👌. nice n strong.
Wouldn't mind some myself?? 🤣
Every day's a school day..🤣 always learning hopefully, you must be doing something right as you have alot of interest in the project.. Enjoying the process is most important part.

20 September, 21:47

Skyhiker
So, today when I woke up I realized that there was a problem with the horizontal stabilizers. So I had to take them off and rebuild them. If course that lead me to seeing more areas that needed sanding. In the process of sanding I knocked off the wing tips and canopy. Glued them back on. Polished things up and tomorrow I will give it another spray of polished aluminum.

21 September, 22:24

Mr D
Hi Skyhiker 😃👍
Chin up...and move on, .... These are the times when we say "l just want to get this built now" 🤣
I nearly messed up my current IAR-80 build from the first step's .... assembled the cockpit floor upside down!! Assuming and not double visual checking! Could have screamed 😲. Anyway....l cut X3 levers n rudder pedals off n glued on right side ... Just about recovered it.
I didn't think the VS's looked to far off ?? The 190 had bit of dihedral... But not the 152.
Do you use PVA on canopy ??
Good luck on next steps..... Getting near finish line now😁👍👍

21 September, 23:31

Skyhiker
I am using Glue n Glaze (a type of PVA) on the canopy because I will need to remove it later and cut it apart to have an open canopy.

22 September, 00:35

Skyhiker
I laid some color down today.

26 September, 15:47

Mr D
The intake looks really good now 👌

26 September, 16:58

Skyhiker
Thanks Mr D. I added a bit of dry brushing and will start with the main color tomorrow.

26 September, 22:05

Skyhiker
It not easy being green.

27 September, 11:10

Mr D
🤣
Doing ok👍 nice when a bit of colour starts going on.
I'm at painting stage on my project.
Does this one have any mottling? Like on the 190 ??

27 September, 12:54

Skyhiker
I got the camo laid down.

27 September, 15:39

Mr D
That answer my question? 🤣
That's come out good, nice balance 👍👍 it's easy to over do it .
Looking good 👌

27 September, 16:45

Dave Flitton
Them paint is looking very nice!

27 September, 16:46

Skyhiker
Thanks Dave, it took me a while because my airbrush was giving me trouble and the paint is finicky. Unfortunately I broke my good airbrush last month. But with enough persistent I think I made something presentable.

27 September, 17:05

Skyhiker
It's getting so close to being a model I can't wait. 🙂

27 September, 17:26

Skyhiker
The painted on the markings today.

30 September, 20:13

Ben M
Outline on the 9 looks good!

30 September, 20:18

Mr D
Hi Skyhiker 👋
Nice.... looking good, the striping set's it off nice and number's ....not easy to cut out numbers.... takes time., Works paying off..👍👍👍

30 September, 20:49

S M
Clever way to make number 9 mask!

30 September, 20:52

Skyhiker
I considered printing my own decals but the white decal paper I have is way too thick. So, I tried a bunch of ways to make the number on a piece of paper but the thin black line was always giving me trouble until I tried painting the green by hand. That worked.

30 September, 21:10

Mauricio
Excellent progress!!! I have mine paralyzed (of course I don't reach the scratch level that you implemented) and I just need to start the painting job.
Seeing your work helps motivate; I hope to do something these days.

1 October, 12:56

Mr D
It's been great the way you have documented the build, l think us modders.... like to see the nuts n bolts of things.
It's encouraged me to scratch up all the missing details to my current Be-6 build.
👍👍👍⚡

1 October, 14:06

Greg Baker
So great! It might not work for this build, but in the past, I've used homemade decals on white backing and laid them down on the undercoat. Then I seal them with a coat of Future (but any clear coat would probably do) and then CAREFULLY mask them and paint over them. If you use small enough bits of tape, it usually come off without tearing the decal and the blending is MUCH less noticeable than applying it on top of the paint. Something to try for next time maybe.

1 October, 18:32

Skyhiker
Greg, the decal sheet I have is too thick for 1:72 scale. I've used it in the past and while I did get it to work the quality wasn't good enough for me to do it again unless there is no other way. I need to find a thinner sheet or a local printer that can make decals.

1 October, 23:22

Jennifer Franklin
It is looking great. I hope you manage to figure out the decal problem.

3 October, 11:48

Skyhiker
I got the decals done today. After sealing again I will try to open the cockpit and install the head plate.

23 October, 13:57

Mr D
Look great buddy👌👍
The extra work in the wheel bays looks good....cross sets it off nice 👍

23 October, 18:12

Skyhiker
I just realized I forgot to put the decals on the tail. Will do that in the morning.

23 October, 23:42

Skyhiker
I got the canopy off today and cut it in two. I'm doing a lot of clean up to get the cockpit ready.

25 October, 23:13

Rui S
Looking great 👍

25 October, 23:55

Moreno Baruffini
Really looking great 👍🏻

26 October, 09:38

Mr D
They look 😃👍 brilliant
The super glue molding techniques....worked out great .
I've been using it on my little ZiL truck side project.
I need to source a sticker for my fw tail l think.
Good luck with canopy 🤞👍👍👍

26 October, 10:22

Skyhiker
I finished this Odyssey today! Pictures will follow soon.

31 October, 16:04

Moreno Baruffini
And finally you obtained a Prince!!!

31 October, 17:22

Mr D
Brilliant...look forward to photos... been great to follow 😃👍

31 October, 17:40

Skyhiker
Well I finally have this epic journey finished. I gave this Frog kit a long hard kiss. You'll have to tell me if it turned into a Prince or not. I certanly I learned a few things in the process. Thanks to everyone for your support and commitments.

3 November, 16:24

Skyhiker
Thanks for the encouragement Alec K, AndreasK, Ben M, Bruce Huxtable, Dave Flitton, DerMattes, Duster_d, Greg Baker, Guy Rump, Hans-Jürgen Haag, Jennifer Franklin, J35J, Johne 69, Kesa Tiho, Lukas Muller, Łukasz Gliński, Martin Nevo, Matthew A, Mauricio, Moreno Baruffini, Mr D, Nicolas, Oleksii, Oliver, Patrick Hagelstein, Pietro De Angelis, Remco van Haren, Robert Podkoński, Rui, Rui S, S M, Sy Bar, Thomas Kolb, Tony Cooke, Treehugger, and Vincent.

3 November, 16:37

Skyhiker
Gee, I just realized I only took a little over 10 months to finish a 2 day build. A new record for me. Lol

3 November, 17:07

Mr D
🤣.
It's takes as long as it takes..... Weekend addition 🤣 l can't finish a little 1:44 in a weekend .
Congratulations... well done... looking good, you put a lot of time n personal touches into build.
👌😁👍

3 November, 17:16

Guy Rump
Well done, looks great! 👍

3 November, 17:27

Skyhiker
What do you guys think, Prince or still a Frog?

3 November, 17:42

Robert Podkoński
Great job, Skyhiker! It'e a prince, no doubt. And I really wish I had so much perseverance...

3 November, 17:56

Duster_d
An excellent completion of a great work! 👍

3 November, 18:10

Vincent
Amazing journey! Great result in the end. This was fun to follow!

3 November, 18:16

Nicolas
The modell looks absolutly phantastic. 👍

3 November, 18:17

Pietro De Angelis
👏👏👏👍

3 November, 18:20

Moreno Baruffini
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻

3 November, 19:12

S M
Congrats for compliting this kit! The model looks much better than OOB model. Embodiment of perseverance!

3 November, 20:11

Skyhiker
Thank guys

3 November, 20:17

Ben M
It was enjoyable to watch something nice made from such a poor kit.

3 November, 21:49

Patrick Hagelstein
😄 Cool! You're still faster than any of my 'quick projects in between' and then do a full rescribe and adding a full detail suite.

3 November, 22:06

Łukasz Gliński
Definitely His Majesty The Prince of Frogs 😄
I think we all share this feeling of "Oh well, that was to be a quick project" half a year later 😄

4 November, 10:31

Mr D
It's a royal success 😃👍
Nice aircraft.... done good job.👌

4 November, 10:52

Alec K
Well done, and kudos for excellent detailing effort. I definitely relate to "…half a year later" 😄

4 November, 13:03

Remco van Haren
That turned out to be a marvelous result. A real Prince!

4 November, 19:38

Skyhiker
Thanks Remco. I did learn a lot on this build. Taking risks is a lot easier for me now than before this build.

5 November, 00:12

Jennifer Franklin
That turned out incredibly well, congrats!

6 November, 03:05

Skyhiker
Thanks Jennifer.