Minicraft 1/144 Pan Am Stratocruiser

[kfutter]

Nice work

Thanks, Paul. So much for this being a quick'n'easy build!

Kev

[hrtpaul]

I hear ya. So many of my quick builds turn out not so quick LOL

[tor lives]

I have long-since realised, there is no such thing as a "quick build"
She is coming along nicely Kev.
TOR

[Adam the Akrodude]

Coming along nicely sir!

Yep, gotta agree with Ray, I've yet to experience a "quick build". In fact, I'm incapable of building quickly in any case - even when presented with a "Shake N Bake" Tamiya kit!

[kfutter]

Thanks, boys. I have in fact done a few quick builds in my time, but it really requires the right kit, and for all other influences to align nicely. My last one was Tamiya's 1/48 Fw 190F-8 kit, which IIRC, was about 8 or 9 days total:



But that kit practically builds itself!

Back to this one, I changed my mind about the Milliput, and have instead used Perfect Plastic Putty. I'll post some more photos soon.

Kev

[kfutter]

Well, I promised photos, but could only manage a photo:



The Perfect Plastic Putty has about the consistency of toothpaste, and can be smoothed out with water. This enabled me to fill the gap and smooth out the contours without sanding. Perfect for a natural metal finish! There's been some slight shrinkage, so I need to give it one more go, but it's a much easier path than Milliput would have been.

I forgot to take a photo of the tube I have, so here's one from the manufacturer's website:



I can't remember where I got mine from, exactly.

Kev

[Adam the Akrodude]

Like your 190 Kev. That's the very one that NASM refurb'd and now resides at the NASM Udvar-Hazy museum.

I also like the look of that putty. I must try to source some - pretty sick of Tamiya "super shrinking" putty!

Cheers

Adam

[kfutter]

I don't use traditional modelling putties at all these days, Adam. For large gaps in plastic kits, it's styrene strip and off-cuts. For anything that needs a bit of contouring, or isn't suitable for styrene strips, it's Milliput. For smaller areas, ghost seams, pin holes and other imperfections, I use a mix of CA and talcum powder. For thin or awkward gaps, I use either the Perfect Plastic Putty, or the similar Vallejo Plastic Putty (the former is superior, though, being finer and quicker to harden). Being able to smooth this stuff out with water, and not have to sand it, is a godsend! And, for tiny imperfections, I'll often turn to Mr. Surfacer 500 in the jar.

My primary aim with filling gaps is to go with whatever method that will allow me to get away with the least amount of sanding, starting with...none at all!

Kev

[kfutter]

Well, I haven't touched this one in quite a while, and in fact haven't been near the bench in a couple of weeks, other than to repair my poor Do 335 after last weekend's Wings show. I've decided to retire that particular model from the show circuit, as it's too easily damaged, and is starting to look a bit shabby in spots. After making that decision, it suddenly dawned on me that this left me with nothing to take to the Bayonet show in a couple of weeks. Oops! This build probably requires the least amount of work to get there, compared to everything else on my bench currently, so I set myself the challenge of trying to finish it in time.

I'm in the middle of a 4-day weekend, thanks to the Melbourne Cup, but it's still taken me until Day 3 to actually do any modelling! Still, progress is progress, and here it is. Started by masking of the windscreen glass, using my now-standard BMF technique:



Before attaching it, however, I needed to add some weight to the nose, lest I produce a tailsitter. And for once, I actually remembered to do it! A couple of #3 fishing sinkers did the trick, locked in place with Blu-tac:



Yep, Blu-tac! It really does lock things in place, and there's no nasty chemicals to worry about, no glue mess, and almost no risk of the weights moving. I've done several models using CA to secure nose weights, and several using Blu-tac, and only the CA'd weights have ever come loose. And I once nearly melted the nose off an Airfix kit by using too much CA and accelerator!

Once I'd finished taking care of all the remaining surface flaws - including a nasty ghost seam that had appeared just behind the cockpit - it was time to attach the glassware:



I had to remove the two plastic tabs at the rear of the piece in order to get it to fit. You can't really tell from the photo, but there's a nasty step between the top rear of the clear part and the fuselage, with the fuselage being higher. Fixing this will certainly slow me down a bit!

But can I get it done in time?

Kev

[hrtpaul]

Good luck mate and I like your progress. It's coming along nicely