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Aircraft Modeling / Vous parlez italien? or Si parla francese? - Dewoitine D.520 - 1/48

« on: August 03, 2012, 09:24:36 PM »

Dear mates,

I have this Dewoitine D.520 from Tamiya on the workbench. It is a very nice kit, good fit, not too much parts. I built it out of the box, no aftermarket at all. Target to get, I want to practice some painting techniques as are doing in Europe and Australia (Chris Wauchop's indeed). Later, I will apply these on my P-39K project........

Here, it was on last part of building process...




Profile is from Aeromaster Decals, I found it very interesting.......




As decal instructions sheet indicates, this a/c was in italian service. All French insignias (including Vichy's yellow and red stripes) were over painted, rudder carried Savoy cross. I will use Model Master colors to replicate camouflage as same painting process was done. Also, I use Gunze Sangyo and Humbrol paints for bands and strips........

Well, some details tring to end building process...

I applied Mr. Surfacer 500 with a round brush, then I remove in an easy way the excess of it with Q-tip (cotton swaps) and ethylic alcohol. It doesn't damage plastic surface.




To paint cockpit interior, I use Model Master 1717 Dark Sea Blue (F.S.35042), this is a closer tone that I found....


Windscreen on place, I mask it with 3M's Scotch Magic tape (all clear parts)

Tamiya's Surface Primer helps a lot, it is possible to fill all sand scratches. I decant it from spray can to bottle jar, then I airbrushed entire model...



I left drying per two days........

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Aircraft Modeling / Oldie but Goodie - Monogram's P-39 Airacobra - 1/48

« on: July 03, 2012, 08:40:28 PM »

Hello,

I am a mexican modeller and this is my first WIP here, and I'm want to share my current project on Monogram's P-39 Airacobra kit. Why I am doing that one and not Eduard's nor Hasegawa's? Well, because it is an old model from 60's but mostly in "good" shape into 1/48th scale.

By other hand, my favorite Disney's cartoon is Donald Duck, and I am working in a collection of WWII aircrafts that carried him as nose art.
Well, one of these aircrafts was flown by 1/Lt. William McDonough in New Guinea in 1943 (near Port Moresby). P-39K-1 BE (Serial Number 42-4358), it belonged Bell's P-39s mid-production series. So, it helps me to find further information about K-production series, because you can find more about Q-series than early and mid production. I have found in several references, pictures, articles, books and websites, so it has been a hard work to cross references to get what I want to do in my model. One important point is that there are two different references about scale plans, they don't match and there is no better than other :eek: You can find in Mushroom's P-39 book a large scale plans sheet in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32. But if you compare it with Osprey's Ace combat series (P-39 Airacobra aces), you can find important differences in wing and fuselage shapes (comparing model kit vs. scale plans). If somebody has more details about it and want to share them. I'll thank you.

Here is the subject to do!!



Cutting Edge decal sheet has (ok, had) the most accurate artwork done for this version (on my opinion), and includes two Donald views (for port and starboard sides), but he was painted only in starboard side. In Osprey Aircraft of the Aces #36 - P-39 Airacobras Aces of the WWII, pages 23 (profile #11) and 36, is possible to find what I say and find. There is one colored photo in Pacific Wrecks website (pacificwrecks.com) where shows radio equipment arrangement (there were several of them in P-39 production).
.

My book references are:
Osprey Aircraft Aces #36 - P-39 Airacobras Aces in WWII
AJ Press Monographie #058 - P-39 Airacobra
Mushroom Publications - Bell P-39 Airacobra - New edition
Crowood Aviation series - Bell P-39 Airacobra
Warbird Tech 17 - Bell P-39 Airacobra & P-63 Kingcobra
In Detail & Scale (Squadron Signal Books) - P-39 Airacobra
P-39 Technical manuals
and several walkaround photos from the web!!

I will use Eduard's Big ED set for Hasegawa's kit (for Monogram's doesn't have many etched parts on "shape", sized and accurate), Cutting Edge resin set will be adjusted and I will get copies of some useful parts from Hasegawa kit (it hurts in wallet doing kit bashing with this kind of projects), and Squadron's clear canopy.

Starting up!!

Coming soon..........