What's on my desk? Part 95.
Good morning!
Last week of October, and four more days until Modelist turns 2!
I've got something special coming up for November, so Warhammer fans: keep an eye on my socials: Facebook and Instagram...
On to the builds!
Let's start with the McLaren. I received the paints last week:
And here's the reason why I needed these before I could continue:
As you can see, there are red panels sandwiched in between the rods of the rear suspension. These need to be constructed in a specific order.
The engine is now almost complete. I can start painting the brake discs, mount the wheels, and then very carefully mask and paint the outer shell of the car.
Moving on, the Bergepanther is closed up for painting:
The superstructure has been pushed in place. I'll leave this loose so I can still show the winch. Same for the engine hatches. The fit is tight enough that they will stay on. I taped off the underside of the grilles so no paint will come through. The front hole over the crew compartment is taped off, as this was only covered with a tarp. Takom gives you the option of a rolled up tarp, so you can show off this area.
I painted the superstructure with wood effect and red oxide primer, so I can nicely chip this high-traffic area. Just need to bring my chipping effects fluids from home.
Finally, there's a big spade on the back. I constructed it and primed it. When installed, it's folded up against the rear plate:
You can see I put a small piece of tape on the inside of the superstructure hole where the tow cable will go through. Again, you need to mask off anything where you don't want paint to go while airbrushing.
Lastly, the T-2 Buckeye. The plane has wings now:
Given the mediocre quality of the kit, I was curious how old the molds are. Turns out it's a TwoBobs kit from 2009, re-issued by Special Hobby in 2011, 2012 and (this one) in 2023. But this kit is the only one still on the market of this plane in this scale. When talking about quality, this what I mean:
These are the two halves of the horizontal stabiliser. See how big the sprue attachment points are? How they even spread over the molded panel line? This is something you won't see in a modern kit.
Another example: the rear of the nose gear bay. In the instructions, there suddenly appears a wall with a slot (to fit the nose gear leg). There's no sign of that wall in the plastic:
So, out comes the Evergreen. I cut and glued two small strips of styrene. I'll refine the shape and fill the gaps later (and also fill the giant seam going down the middle of the gear bay):
So, some extra work required with this one, but that's part of the challenge, of course.
That's it!
See you next week!