tc`s 74 Sqn `upgrade to 1/48` Project

[tc2324]

Moving on to my next build and I bet you can`t guess what sqn this will be....?



Lots of pre painting of the sprues done and the intakes have been completed as well.



Now a word to the wise if you haven`t already build this kit.

If you want the flaps up or done, do not trust the destruction's. The strake/air flow `thingy ma jiggy`s` are numbered the wrong way around as I found out after putting a couple on and then in my best Captain Blackadders voice saying... `Hang on....?`

[tc2324]

After the Lightning this kit seems to have `fallen` together quite well.

Brush painting the black gloss on so I need to wait for at least 24 hours before I apply the second coat to be on the safe side. Nothing worse than leaving a finger print somewhere on it.

[paddyboy]

Looking smart already, TC

Cheers

Patrick

[tc2324]

Thanks Patrick.

And so with all things Hawk/Tucano/any other aircraft model with a small nose area, the moment of truth arrived as I fitted the u/c legs and hoped to god I had enough ballast forward of the CoG....?



...... Success...!

Also started the decals as you can see.

[paddyboy]

Hi TC

Tiger stripes and Tigers heads

What a surprise.......NOT

Looking cool, mate

Cheers

Patrick

PS: the worst model I ever made for tail sitting because of ballast was a Heinkel 219 UHU
I ended up 'blu-tacking' the front wheel to the ground

[tc2324]

.... and welcome to the first `Tiger` build of the year and hopefully one I`ll get complete before the annual reunion dinner in early March.

IIRC this will be my very first Tamiya 1/48 kit build. I`ve done a few 1/72`s in the past but never 1/48. And if the box art and presentation have anything to go by, this in stills confidence in any kit builder.



The sprues look great and appear to be very similar to the Airfix offering.





The one thing that sets this apart from Airfix though is the very obvious dihedral shape of the wings. I`m looking forward to this.

[steve149c]

Hey TC - I am building this exact same kit - it desert camo. Awesome cockpit and pilot, and falls together like a dream

Ref weathering - interesting you put the wash over a Matt coat, I always do a gloss coat

Cheers

Steve

[tc2324]

Hey TC - I am building this exact same kit - it desert camo. Awesome cockpit and pilot, and falls together like a dream

Ref weathering - interesting you put the wash over a Matt coat, I always do a gloss coat

Cheers

Steve

Funny you should say that.......

I had been told that you can drop everything onto the table and this kit will just `fall together`.

Lets give that a try........



..... yeah.....

Think I`ll stick to the more traditional method.



That`s better.

As for the weathering, I prefer the matt coat as the wash IMPO stays where it should. It`s too easily removed on a gloss surface. But hey, different strokes for different folks as the saying goes.

[paddyboy]

Hi TC

Great start to an easy build then

I shall expect rapid progress as it is soooooo easy for someone of your skills

Best regards

Patrick

[tc2324]

Cheers Patrick.

Dark earth on.....



..... and then I`ll have to wait for the Hunbrol Sand to arrive to finish it off.

I also attached the slipper tank which was a nice fit.

[paddyboy]

Hi TC

Good progress there

Cheers

Patrick

[steve149c]

Hi TC

Whow that flew together fast - and I cant see any problems!. Was the build that good?

Jumping back abit - silvering under decals - easy to fix. You need a brand new scapel blade/razor blade. Gently slice the decal in the area of silvering, just enough to cut through the decal, but not damage the model. I use a X pattern. Then use new Tamiya X-20A thinners on a brush, and brush on lightly. The Silvering will disappear almost instantly. Be warned - the decal will be very soft to the touch do not touch for 12 hours. It might wrinkle at first, but always goes back.

This method will help with even the worst silvering.

Tamiya X-20A direct ontop of a decal will stretch it. I did the hinges on my Dakota with it, lay the plane on its side, so the decal is flat - a couple of small cuts and then X-20A thinners. I did this two or three times over 2 days and got the decal to conform nicely.

Anyhow - abit off topic, sorry - but hope it helps.

Looking forward to the rest of this build

Cheers

Steve

[tc2324]

Steve, sorry, just tuned in and saw your last reply which was actually pretty informative mate. Cheers for that tip/s.

Finally got round to adding the `Sand` spray and then painting the `Azure` on with a hairy stick. It was a fine balancing act of making sure acrylic and enamel didn`t mix which as you can see by the leading edge wing root is a battle I lost. Best thing in this case is to leave it a couple of days to fully dry and then sand off and respray.





Also needs a bit of a tidy up in some places but overall, it`s getting there.

[paddyboy]

Hi TC

I wouldn't knock yourself too much, bud

Sure it will turn out a belter as always

Very best regards

Patrick

[steve149c]

Nice job on this TC - I have gone for Hakata paints on my one, and will post WIP as soon as I get home at end of month!

Looking really nice though!

Tips - always welcome to share the faith

Steve

[tc2324]

Cheers guys.

Corrections completed, decals and wash on with just the canopy and fiddily bits left to do......



As you can see, 74`s MTO Spit`s were pretty bog standard with no unit codes. A bit of a boring scheme really.

[paddyboy]

Hi TC

Looks a quality job to my old mincers

Best regards

Patrick

[steve149c]

Another great job TC - looks great!!

Steve