WIP : Kinetic 1/48 Alpha Jet Pt. 4 – Main Construction
In between sessions of gap fixing, I started on the things under the wings. The kit comes with 4 gas bags but I decided to go with just the 2 outer ones. The wheels all come with the rim and tires being separate but while that makes them easy to paint, they needed trimming and …...
WIP : Kinetic 1/48 Alpha Jet Pt. 3 – Main Construction
With everything requiring multiple dryfits, trimming and adjusting, progress is going slower than I would like. Anyway, onwards we go. First up though, is a picture of the seats by themselves which I forgot to show in my previous WIP post. The Alpha Jet’s flaps remain raised while on the ground so while it’s nice …...
WIP : Kinetic 1/48 Alpha Jet Pt. 2 – Main Construction
Work starts on the main body starting with the intakes. These were painted insignia white on the inside and come with the engine fans at the end which I painted jet exhaust color. If you peered into the intakes, there are obvious lines where the 2 halves join and is really very difficult to fix …...
WIP : Kinetic 1/48 Alpha Jet Pt. 1 – Cockpit
A few years ago, I tried to build the Kinetic F-16 kit. I gave up after only a few steps as the kit ‘requires basic modeling skills’. Since that time, has Kinetic improved? Let’s see with one of their newer (2013) releases, the Alpha Jet. I’m heavily referencing this build on an Alpha Jet build …...
WIP : Tamiya 1/48 Wildcat Pt. 3 – Weathering
I decided to model an ace’s Wildcat. In this case, it will be Marian Eugene Carl’s F4F-4 from September 1942 while stationed in Guadacanal. The decals some from Techmod, a Polish decal maker. The decals went on very easily and reacted well to Mark Softer. Markings are sparse and I was done quite quickly. After …...
WIP : Tamiya 1/48 Wildcat Pt. 2 – Painting
Tamiya lives up to its reputation of having kits that require minimal seamline fixing and I’m onto the painting stage quicker than usual. First up, I did a base coat of Tamiya XF-1 Black thinned with lacquer thinner. This is now I preferred primer since I haven’t been able to figure out acrylic-based primers yet. …...
WIP : Tamiya 1/48 Wildcat Pt. 1 – Construction
My next kit is hopefully a straightforward build of the Tamiya 1/48 F4F-4 Wildcat. This was the workhorse of the USN and USMC during the first half of the Pacific campaign. When I opened the box, I realized that I had already assembled most of the parts into subassemblies previously. This includes having already painted …...
WIP : Bandai 1/35 TA Shinden Pt. 6 – Basing
Work on the base begins with gluing the cork pieces together with a hot glue gun. Then I layer the surface with Vallejo Thick Mud – Light Brown. While it’s drying I pressed in a mix of small rocks from Woodland Scenics and my garden. I cut an Evergreen plastic tube in 5mm long pieces …...
WIP : Bandai 1/35 TA Shinden Pt. 5 – Basing
In between painting the Shinden, I started preparing the ruins that will be part of the base. The biggest piece of the base is a cover for the 2 figures to be placed behind. Right from the beginning I imagined this to be a slightly curved piece of metal plate, perhaps a broken piece of …...
WIP : Bandai 1/35 TA Shinden Pt. 4 – Weathering
Work continues to finish up this kit beginning with decals over a gloss coat. The markings are from my spares box. After another glossing over, I did an oil wash with lamp black color. I went easy on this wash so it only added some depth to the panel lines. Next, to tie the camo …...
