Spirit of Pennsylvania/Invisible Defenders
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This is always my first issue with any kit I've built so far - how can my 1/72 people fly the plane from this pathetic cockpit??
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2 seat-shaped blobs and nothing else!
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First step was to cut away the rudimentary rear bulkhead so I could build out the space behind the seats.
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Rear cockpit floor/platform was fabricated from card (old business cards are perfect for these additions)
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The platform was reinforced with plastrut
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Rear bulkhead reinforced using solder superglued in place (also adding extra ballast)
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Centre console and electronics cubicle added
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Floor grid beside cubicle
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Headrests, ejection rail framing and another cabinet
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50 shades of grey
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Once the cockpit glass and cockpit were sealed in place (to avoid sanding dust ingress), the ballast was added - I saw from my earlier build of a 1/200 B-2 that insufficient weight results in the dreaded tailsitter.
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Ready to run through the checklist, boss!
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Next challenge was this broken nosegear.
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Nothing which can't be rectified using a cut-down pin and some Loctite SuperAttack (as cyanoacrylate is marketed in Italy). NTS but no show judges will ever set eyes on it!
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The basic bomb bay.
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The rather large gaps around the air intakes were filled with AV plastic putty then the entire upper surface was sanded using progressively finer paper (320 - 400 - 1200 - 2000) to remove remaining blemishes.
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Masked up and ready for priming.
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The AV surface primer (thinned 40% with flow aid/thinner blend) always goes on perfectly.
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I also masked the cockpit glass to ensure no dust ingress.
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After sanding the windows were masked with adhesive - backed foil
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Various greys and metallics then applied.
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After applying a coat of Pledge the decals went on without issues - plenty of patience always helps this stage go well. I always use Microscale microset & microsol to ensure they sit down tightly. After drying overnight, another Pledge clearcoat then overcoat of AV Matt acrylic thinned 20%.
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Komentáre
8 27 February, 14:52
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Looking good, got the 1/72 scale myself ready to build, cant wait to get started on that one. First have an F-16 and a Hercules to finish.
27 February, 17:13
![](/profiles/img/31781-763-s.jpg)
Thanks, guys. Yep, there's also a 1/72 Italeri in my stash! I'm expecting it will have a bit more detail than this one?
28 February, 08:10
Album info
This is the Revell B-2A, planned to be built OOB but as usual I couldn't avoid some extra detailing in the cockpit (never to be seen by anyone else but it's always good scratchbuilding practice!!).
Primed and sprayed a mix of AV 71-097 (FS36173/med. gunship gray) with a few drops of 71-062 (Aluminum), followed by a mist of 71-258 (RLM74/grey green) again with a few drops of 71-062. Clearcoat of the Pledge + thinner mix then Begemot decals.
Another clearcoat, some light weathering then all sealed with AV 26-518 Matt Acrylic (thinned by 20%).
Happy with the result.