Back Again and Moving Fwd.

     Hey gang (if there's anyone still there). I've been away because I finally got my hobby studio - not finished, but good enuff to work in. Then I had to gather up all my tools and kits, that eventually got spread around the house and set them up in the one spot. 
     Having just returned from the IPMS Nationals in Hampton, Va I got a renewed energy towards scale modelling. I only picked up 3 kits this time around. Military topics isn't really my thing ( and it's a huge part of the IPMS) and since sci-fi kits are few and far between, I look toward the X-planes. While yes the Luft '46 aircraft are military, if they have an odd enough configuration, I'll also get them. 
This time I got Anigrand's M2F2 Lifting body and Orbital sciences X-34 RLV  at the Rare Plane Detective table. Over at the MPM table I picked up Planet Models' Blohm and Voss P.170. Talking about an odd plane - this one is it. The links will show what I mean. I also picked up more tools. You can never have enough tools. 
When I got home, I found that the Bubble Ship from Oblivion was in the stack of mail. This kit is from Fantastic Plastic. At 1:48 scale it's not the typical scale I stick to, but chance of it being done in 1:72 are slim at best, and I really like the design. So this time I made an exception. ;)

     I got all my goodies home and went up to my studio. I had been working on the VZ, when I started working again on the room. So naturally that was the first thing back on my table. I have no idea what happened, but the two props for the plane are gone... gone, gone. No where to be found.  Not wanting to slow my newly refreshed enthusiasm and until the two props turn up, I looked at another Anigrand model I had in my stash - the Curtis Wright X-19. The X-19 was supposed to be the prototype for a vertical takeoff transport.
Testing was done in nearby Caldwell, NJ. The first flight of the X-19 took place in November 1963 (other sources give 26 June 1964). It was intended that the X-19 would be developed into a VTOL transport aircraft. However the first X-19 was destroyed in a crash on 25 August 1965, and the program was subsequently cancelled.
     From now on, instead of photographing every single step as before, which really slows me down, I'm choosing to build a number of sub-assemblies and then let you see.

Here, I added the weight to the nose so the plane wont be a tail sitter, and added the wing pylons. I put the fuselage halves together and assembled the props to the nacelles.  
     If you look at the pic closely you you can still see bubbles on the props. This must have been an old kit from an old mould. The parts are chock full of bubbles, slipped moulds and "gouges" that need to be fixed.  When I was taking bonsai lessons, my Sensei once said "Don't ruin a good tree trying to make it great." So I'm going my this logic for this plane. I'm not going to sand and fill every single bubble - I've already been working on filling and sanding for hours and hours each session. Who knows how long I could keep going. So I will fill and sand the ones that really stick out, and then I'm calling it a day. 
     More soon. 

Doak VZ Session 6

After priming, I mentioned last time that a seam line stood out. Looking closer there were two small gouges on the bottom of the fuselage as well. 

The seam on top was was taken care of with one additional shot of primer and a little wet sanding. Here's a pic before the final priming.

The little gouges on the bottom (arrow indicated) took two additional primings and wet sanding before it came smooth.

This image shows the two areas that were giving me the trouble.

Now with all this done, I can really start moving. Next up is to mask off the part of the plane that's to be painted olive drab, and then the front of the plane which will get a red paint job.  More soon...

Doak VZ Session 5

I have a small update for tonight. It starts off with me re-masking the canopy so the back part and also the bottom rail  that's going to get the fuselage color is exposed. It went a lot easier than the previous masking job. It was also a lot less complex. ;) 
With the masking on I then attached the canopy in place over the cockpit. I touched the canopy in a few spots with liquid super glue just to get the thing in place then I was going to glue down the rest. But the fit wasn't the best. So I got out my LOCKTITE GEL super glue. This stuff is the best and you have to squeeze the side panels to get the glue out, so when you release the panels, the glue is sucked back into the tube and doesn't stay in the nozzle. With a tooth pick I filled in the open areas - 

In the image you will see a line of filler, that  line will come back to haunt me.  After hitting it with a light coat of Tamiya primer, that seam line shows up. :-/ Odd, since running my finger over the joint I felt nothing. But the primer doesn't lie. I'll give the primer a full day to dry and then I'll go back and make that seam disappear. I'll have a shot of the primer stage when It's all dry.

Finally to end this post, while I was in my LHS letting my son get a model or two (he's into WW2 armor now...) I saw a model that was one of the first models I ever built back in the mid- 60's. It's the US Moon Ship.  Back then IIRC Hawk was the manufacturer. This time it's Lindburgh. So another model get added to my To Do pile, and hopefully this time it'll look better than how a 7 year old did it. Haha :) - 

More later...

Doak VZ- Session 4a, and a little Warhammer

Okay, back to the build. Once the paint on the canopy was dry I removed all the masking and here it is - -

Not bad IMHO. I'm over in a few spots and there was a little bleed, which I gently scraped off. But all in all I'm happy. At the back of the canopy you'll see the Vallejo primer I brushed on. as long as the brush is dry and you don't keep going over and over the same spot, the primer dries smooth.
A few images shows the Doak with the back canopy part painted in, a few others show it clear. Being that on this model the back part slips into what's supposedly looks like a duct I've decided to paint that part.

While all this was going on my young son decided that he wanted to build something. when he was in his "robot phase" he received a GAMES WORKSHOP Dreadnought for Christmas.  Being that 1/72 is on the miniature size, I watch a number of miniature how-to videos on You Tube. As I said YT has an endless supply of terrific modeling videos. I've watched a number of Dreadnought paint-ups but was shocked at the amount of detail these sculptors put into these little kits. My son did all the building himself, and nearly all the painting. I just did enuff to show him how to use the CITADEL WASHES. These are a fantastic time saver and recommend everyone get a set of these washes. I also showed him how to drybrush. I think his results were excellent. what do you all think?

Finally I have another new tool to offer up. I recently bought a set of "sanding pencils" from my LHS. A set comes with coarse, medium and fine grits, and they make getting in to tight little corners a breeze. Highly recommended. 

Back to the Doak VZ shortly ...

Doak VZ Session 4

Been busier building the model (ok not that busy) than writing the posts so I'm playing a little bit of catch up.

First off let me start with the Vallejo Plastic Putty (VPP). It didn't work out for me. When I sanded, the putty just started coming off in little sheets and/or left little holes - 

OK, their paints are terrific, why is the putty such crap? Doing a little more investigation online I found reviews that ranged from "It works fine" to "Do yourself a favor and just throw it away." There had to be a work around for this. Finally I found a guy (sorry forgot his name) that did a review of a number of puttys  for the International Scale Modeler channel on You Tube (ISM).  Here he mentions that the putty has porcelain dust in it and since it's water based it cannot be sanded when dry. 
So what has to be done is put the putty where you need it, and with a *damp* Q-tip/or cotton bud remove the excess to make it smooth -- and then leave it! That's it, don't work it anymore.  I'll give the correct technique a try ASAP and let you know what happens.. 

Before I get too far afield let me say that the ISM Channel is excellent one to subscribe. Beside how-tos, they have reviews of kits and tools, and results of group builds from their website. each episode is very entertaining. So subscribe. ;)

Now back to the build, the next thing I did was prime and paint the landing gear, and also masked off the canopy. You Tube, IMHO, is the best "book" for how-to techniques, and I found a VIDEO from Genessis Models on how to do it. The reason I like it is that Bobby has nice close-ups and keeps the subject in camera. ;) The thing with this Channel is that it's the free side of a subscription website. So you only get an episode or two of a model build, and other little tidbits. You're expected to subscribe for the rest of the content. The guy IS good but IIRC it would come out to $60+ a year. Too expensive for me (especially if you hunt around on YT there are other model channels willing to give you how-to video for free. So anyway, he was masking a 1/48 jet. My plane is 1/72, so even tho I have the 6mm Tamiya tape I had to cut it in 3rds, only using the straight edge sides. He gets around the tight curves by making little cuts in the tape. I've illustrated the cuts on a larger piece of tape so you can see - - 

After I got masked, I had something that looked like this, including my little handle - -

Next I hand primed it with Vallejo gray primer. Yes, it can be brushed on provided that the brush is dry. Then I brushed on some Vallejo silver paint. I'll let you see in a minute...

Doak VZ Session 3

Back again for another session. Time and I haven't been the best of friends lately so I'm getting just a short while per session. Tonight I installed the seat, control stick and instrument panel. Doh, I never took a pic of this step. I did wash the cockpit in Citadel Green wash. The CITADEL WASHES are a very thin paint, almost like and ink, that fills areas an easily creates shadows and other areas you want darker than the base coat. Citadel has about 7 or 8 different washes in various colors from black thru yellow. I've seen a number of tutorials on YouTube and felt it was definitely worth the $5 per jar for the "set."
Next on the list was to install the canopy. THANKFULLY  it was made of clear resin vs. the vac formed canopy. I don't know what it is about those vac form canopies, but I always get the chills when I start cutting them into shape.The first thing I have to do is give the canopy a bath in Future Floor Polish. Well, at least it was called Future when I bought my two bottles. Now it's called Pledge Floor Care Finish in the US. It has other names in other countries.  Swanny has a a whole page on Future, and you can find it HERE.
So anyway I dipped the canopy, pulled it out and it smoothed any imperfections out with just two dips. Looks great - 

What I did then was I just touched the canopy to a paper towel to draw the extra liquid off, and placed it to dry. what I also got in a habit of doing was to place a cup over it to keep any dust from landing and sticking to it. After it's dry I can then mask off the windows with Tamiya tape and get ready to paint to canopy frames.
Lastly I made another purchase to try a product. This time it's Vallejo Plastic Putty.

I love the paint so I thought I'd try the putty. The tube simply says "Putty for models in lead, resin, Plaster of Paris etc. Non toxic, non flammable. Water cleanup." Not much as far as directions.
First thing you notice is that it goes on like a smooth cream. I tried first to spread the putty along a seam and then with an old, wet, paint brush. Immediately the putty almost dissolves away. The other thing was that it skins over and the outside starts drying equally as fast. So I re-wet the brush and went it and cleaned up the seam. I then reapplied the putty and this time just let it sit. with the thin needle-like applicator there is very little excess so I just left it and will go back for a look when it completely dries - 

Then I will either take a damp (this time) brush to it again, or just sand away. More soon.

Doak VZ session 2

Had a few minutes to work on the Doak again.  As I may have mentioned last time, in my zeal to get the fuselage closed, I forgot to drill out holes and install pins for the wings. So rather than to try and fabricate something (and take the chance of ruining it) I just butt jointed the wings to the fuselage with Lock-Tite Super Glue Gel. I really like this stuff b/c it really is gel not just a thick liquid. A few drops of the kicker and it's on there. I decided instead of fiddle-farting with the parts, I'm just putting it together. So next the horizontal stabilizer went on. I took care to make sure it was as straight as I could get it from the top and the front. It looks ok. The vertical stabilizer is just sitting in it's slot. It still has to be glued in place. Here we have it so far - 

Here it is so far with the wings and stabilizers installed.

More next time ...