#33 InvalidUsername's 1/48 ICM JU-88A-4

alextheblue · Post by **alextheblue** » Wed May 30, 2018 7:38 am

Those PE levers etc look the business.

Stroke of genius with the wood, looks really good!

pourquoi61 · Post by **pourquoi61** » Wed May 30, 2018 9:47 pm

Amazing level of detail.

digger303 · Post by **digger303** » Wed May 30, 2018 11:18 pm

alextheblue wrote: ↑Wed May 30, 2018 7:38 am Those PE levers etc look the business. Stroke of genius with the wood, looks really good!

The clever ones make me feel I had better be more innovative

Very smart idea that !

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:04 am

With the cockpit almost done, I can move onto other areas.

Stabilizers, rudder and elevators glued together. No fit issues. The elevators are supposed to be 'seated'(no glue) while gluing the stabilizer halves together so they can move freely. I couldn't see how I was going to glue the rear seam without gluing the elevator anyway. I put small slots into the mounting brackets so I can glue the rear seam of the stabilizer and then click the elevators in afterwards.

The tail wheel assembly has to be fitted before the fuse halves are joined together.
I'm using the CMK resin wheels for this build, so I have to remove the kit tail wheel so I can fit the resin one. Never worked with resin before, was surprised how easy it was to remove from the mold block and clean up.

Obviously cutting off the molded tail wheel means the molded strength of the overall assembly would be weaker right where the resin wheel would join the strut. To give it some extra strength, I kept the small tab of the existing tail wheel on the strut, drilled out the tab on the resin wheel, so the tab on the strut would fit inside the tab on the resin tail wheel (If that all makes sense

) Then I used a small drill to drill through both tabs so I could fit a small piece of stainless wire for extra strength at the join.

Splash of paint and a wash

Put in place

Getting the main undercarriage off the sprue ready for clean up

Nice to have a break away from the microscopic PE

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Sun Jun 03, 2018 9:17 am

Nice work on the replacement tail wheel.

Its amazing how resin can add to a kit. I much prefer it to working with PE. Even a small thing like replacement wheels can make such a difference. I built the Airfix 1/24 Typhoon 3 years ago and put a set of replacement wheels on that, it was amazing how much better they were than the kit's wheels.

Garion77 · Post by **Garion77** » Mon Jun 04, 2018 11:52 pm

I'm starting to think the same as Stokesy44...resin does seem to add more than PE. Since I'm starting with PE with my current build for the SIG, it's is more a pain in the a... then anything else.
Nice work.
Your build is beautiful !

Les0012 · Post by **Les0012** » Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:47 pm

Wow that cockpit is amazing, I find PE work very frustrating as it's cut and ping there it is...…...gone never to be seen again.

You are doing a very impressive job

Les

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:13 am

With life being very busy lately, getting any bench time hasn't been easy.

I have put the seats in their places and added the PE belts, detail painted a few things, a little bit of dry brushing to lift some details and did some light weathering in the wear and tear areas.

Before it's all put in place and not very visible through all the glass, I traded the phone camera for the proper camera

And then to close up the fuselage halves

The cockpit floor put in place

The cockpit floor was a tricky fit, getting everything in place inside and also keeping any 'big' seams/gaps on the outside to a minimum was a real test. Took a few goes with some CA glue and lots of finger holding to accomplish an acceptable job.Went over the seam with some extra thin and then followed on with some filler, not to bad. Also filled in 2 sink marks on the right side. Had to rescribe a few panel lines that faded away after cleaning up the seams, in all not a bad outcome I think.

The tape applied protects 3 windows from the sanding stick (windows had to be in place before the floor was added) and also covers the gap where the under side gondola goes to stop any sanding dust getting in from underneath.

Wing halves together was a non issue and have the left side gluing at the moment, the fit is pretty good. I think a small wipe of some filler to blend the join will be all that's required, fingers crossed.

Kevthemodeller · Post by **Kevthemodeller** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 12:11 pm

Very nice mate

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 3:55 pm

Oh what a fantastic cockpit

The flooring looks amazing!!

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:14 pm

Beautiful cockpit and so much will be visible under that glass house canopy.

Willem · Post by **Willem** » Thu Jun 21, 2018 7:04 pm

Beautiful work in the cockpit and really patient stuff with the seams. I'm not looking forward to that bit on mine as those windows are going to make things tricky but will follow your lead.

Excellent thread.

Quax · Post by **Quax** » Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:07 am

lovely job with the cockpit,

I just hope you really can see all that work through the glass but I have my doubts...

Paul

Post by **Tomcat64** » Fri Jun 22, 2018 9:15 am

That detail in the cockpit is really impressive - stunning work.

Les0012 · Post by **Les0012** » Tue Jun 26, 2018 9:30 pm

She's looking amazing with all the PE and extras in there

Les

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 2:57 am

Since the last update, I have joined the fuselage together and fitted the wings. The wing fit was a non issue, glued in sections and held together with clamps and masking tap while the glue dried.

The fuselage fit was good but required me to glue it in sections to minimize any gaps or steps between the 2 parts. Some seam clean up was required. Along with the seam, I filled in sink marks where the fuselage locating pins were moulded. They are worse on the top rather than the bottom. In the process of cleaning up the seam and sorting out the sink marks, I removed a lot of the finer circle detail on the topside. The panel lines were fine as they were deep enough, the circle detail needed re scribing.

Finally had a use for my circle scribing template that's been sitting in a packet for ages!

Easy to use, match the circle size you want to scribe, place the template over the plastic then use a pin to scribe the circle

Tail section added, no problems. For a bomber, it takes up some bench space, but isn't really that big

Putting the undercarriage together. A few parts make up the completed assembly, the fit of all the parts was really good. The overall detail is great, all I'll add to it is a brake line.

Next thing to do is get the engines assembled, sort out their fit inside the cowlings, then test fit them over the undercarriage

The cowling assembly goes over the undercarriage, so the undercarriage will need paint prior to fitting, then protecting for the remainder of the build, see how it goes

Quax · Post by **Quax** » Tue Jul 03, 2018 7:31 am

Going great so far, I'm really waiting to see what you do with the engines.

I have every confidence you're going to make them stand out as they're quite a little kit on their own but for those with less talent (ie me

) a pig to fit

Paul

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:15 am

Update:

Added the brake line, thin gauge wire for the upper part, and some curved stretched sprue for the lower part.

Primed with Ultimate black and painted with light grey

Moved onto the engines, sort of a mini kit itself, plenty of parts and detail

Test fitting the engine cowling with the engine firewall in place. Without the engine fitted it closes up and fits nicely

Primed all the engine parts with Ultimate black, then painted a few areas an interior green like colour, as a preshading tone. The pipe detail on the firewall is black, decided the primer black was enough, to save painting it later, I covered it with white tac and painted around it.

I applied AK chipping fluid to the engine mounts, so I could give them a little wear and bring out the greenish colour underneath. Sprayed the engine mount parts with RLM02.

Chipped

The start of the firewall assembly for the engine

Post by **Tomcat64** » Wed Jul 11, 2018 8:34 am

Great progress - really enjoying seeing this coming together.

And very nice work on the scribing too - with those templates I always feel like I need an extra hand somehow!

Quax · Post by **Quax** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 1:46 pm

lovely work on the engines, I have all available digits crossed that you get it all to fit!

Paul

alextheblue · Post by **alextheblue** » Thu Jul 12, 2018 3:27 pm

Great work on the engines. Love the subtle chipping on the mounts!

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 8:18 pm

Last month for the bomber sig

viewtopic.php?f=660&t=25285
viewforum.php?f=662

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:57 am

Been a while since I've had time to get an update in, progressing slowly!

The completed engine assembly

Fitting them into the cowlings took some patience and manipulating. The process took longer than needed, gluing and clamping small sections at a time to eliminate any gaps. Worked really well and I only need the smallest dab of filler in the front join.

The main undercarriage detail painted and washed in a dark dirt

Fitting the cowlings onto the wings took what seemed like forever. It was a slow process, dry fitting and trimming plastic and then working out the best way to glue it on so I could chase out any gaps rather than creating them. The side seam looked like the first hurdle, fitment was tight, and it took some CA glue initially to bond it together. Once that was dry I then did the other side before then gluing the rear section on. Lots of tape, clamps and gluing over night had presented a satisfactory result. The only part left to do is glue the top section of the cowl to the wing, May end up with a small gap as it's tight to move.

Once the cowlings were on, the flaps were glued in place.

Test fit of the front glass was perfect

digger303 · Post by **digger303** » Fri Aug 03, 2018 11:18 am

I really like the way the engines are painted

Quax · Post by **Quax** » Fri Aug 03, 2018 11:49 am

great job with those engines

, you're 10x the modeller I am I just couldn't get them to fit!

Paul

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Wed Aug 08, 2018 7:23 am

Finally got the top of the cowlings glued, what a job that was! Tamiya extra thin caused the plastic to split then crack

so ended up using CA to keep it in place:

Fitted the main part of the glass house canopy, and also the under wing ETC racks for the bombs. I then started the tedious job of masking things up. First time I've used the Eduard masks, and I'll definitely use them again in the future, super easy and hassle free to use. Made my own circular mask for the engine radiators, covered the cowling side panels with white tack and also masked up the gear legs, all in preparation for some paint.

Added the PE gun holder? to the front. Something else to avoid breaking off

A few extra parts of PE I still need to attach to some of the glass, mainly armor panels, and also this ammo box for the glass nose. Will see how the placement goes for it, looks like its only attached by a tiny little bracket.

Slowly getting it done. Have to fit the bomb sight and mask and fit the rest of the canopy, then I should be good for painting!

alextheblue · Post by **alextheblue** » Wed Aug 08, 2018 11:53 am

Great progress and wow, those cowling look like they were a pig! You certainly look as though you wrestled them into submission though!

Stokesy44 · Post by **Stokesy44** » Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:08 am

Looking really good. Nice to see some engine detail and those undercarriage legs look superb. Great to be able to see so much of the interior detail too with all that glass.

Garion77 · Post by **Garion77** » Sun Aug 19, 2018 4:50 pm

A bit late but great work on the engines !! And all the rest too !

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:16 am

I've managed to complete the masking for the cockpit and also the white band on the fuselage

Completed the lower gunners station (Gondola)

I've finally got some paint down on the exterior

Life has been busy and any modelling time lately is a privilege.
The fuselage band was primed with white and painted white (H1)

I've painted the the glass with the interior colour RLM66 (H416) and painted the engine cowlings and rudder yellow (H329). I had to do a couple of layers of yellow first, then let it rest for a few hours before going over it again. Let it dry overnight, then repeated with more coats the following day. Once that dried over night number 2, I then gloss coated it with alclad aqua gloss, and left it to cure over the 3rd night

Gondola fitted

Removed the engine masking, the masking held up well, no need to clean up any yellow in areas it's not meant to be

Masked up the gondola, engine cowling & white band ready for primer

I do feel I am running the fine line here of completing on time, should be a close finish

digger303 · Post by **digger303** » Mon Aug 27, 2018 12:51 pm

going well

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 12:30 am

The last few days have been full steam ahead!

Applied Ultimate grey primer all over

Painted all lower surfaces RLM65 light blue (H67)

Had to mask off part of the cowling to paint some of the camouflage, inner parts were tricky to mask with the bomb racks in the way

Once the the bottom was done, it was masked off

The splinter camouflage pattern

Started by spraying RLM71 Dark green (H64) roughly where it should be

Once the RLM71 was dry, I masked over it in the splinter pattern

Then applied RLM70 Black green (H65) over the remaining exposed areas

Masking removed, no bleed or missed parts, just had to do one tiny touch up where a spot of paint came away with the mask.

First time doing a German camouflage and I'm happy with the way it turned out.
I have gloss coat drying and then onto the decals

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 3:08 am

@InvalidUsername I sent you a message mate...be sure to follow it up

Great progress on the build, you have until midnight PST so that gives you a few extra hours
Keep at it

Post by **Tomcat64** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 9:51 am

Lovely clean work on that splinter camo - this is looking great and coming together really nicely

Quax · Post by **Quax** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:11 pm

Can't wait to see this finished!

Paul

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:54 pm

After burning the midnight oil I have completed all the decals with the exception of two decals for the dive brakes.

The decals went on really well, and set pretty good with micro set & sol. None of them split or cracked. They did seem to be a tad thick, but not Tamiya thick. Once they had dried completely the model got a couple of coats of alclad aqua gloss to seal them in.

The most time consuming part was the walkway lines, long and thin, then trying to get them laid out straight

24 individual lines of varying length made up the walkways, if I had the confidence, next time I would paint them

Only small stuff to complete now, attaching the cowl flaps, U/C doors, wheels, unmasking etc, then the plan it to go over the model with some post shading. I'm going for the lightly used look as opposed to lots of weathering with this one

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:18 pm

This evenings progress has me 99% completed. I fitted the cowl flaps, undercarriage doors, rudder and dive brakes. Applied the decal for the drive brakes, which to my suprise when peeling the decal off, was 5 individual pieces.. so that took time to complete and I've completed the post shading too.

I have the props fitted in their spinners, wheels painted and dirt washed, external bombs and cowling covers done as well. Everything has been matt varnished and is currently drying, ready for one final progress update before the reveal post

digger303 · Post by **digger303** » Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:38 pm

that is looking really really nice

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Sat Sep 01, 2018 12:48 am

My final build update before the reveal

Just a matter of adding the final parts to the model and calling it done!
Engine covers are on, displayed open exposing the engine. Kept one closed just to be different.

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Sat Sep 01, 2018 12:48 am

digger303 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:38 pm that is looking really really nice

Thanks digger

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sat Sep 01, 2018 12:52 am

InvalidUsername wrote: ↑Sat Sep 01, 2018 12:48 am
digger303 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:38 pm that is looking really really nice
Thanks digger

You still have seven hours left

InvalidUsername · Post by **InvalidUsername** » Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:48 am

Final reveal viewtopic.php?f=662&t=25541