A rarity....Marui 1/36 Fuji Aero Subaru

[Cap'n Wannabe]

After some discussions, I've pretty much decided to go with the decal option, so I needed to strip the IP and start over....doing that a lot, lately..
Anyhow, I did my usual trick of spraing BBQ cleaner over the paint, then scrubbing it with a toothbrush. Ordinarily, it'd get rid of all the paint very quickly, but for whatever reason, this paint was stubborn. And this is the result:


Now I dunno about you fellas, but I reckon that looks pretty good as a well-worn IP. All it needs now is some decals for the instrument faces and I'm away!

[Adam the Akrodude]

I really like it! I'll shoot you some instro-decals and you are away sir!

[Cap'n Wannabe]

No pics at the moment, but I've finally arisen off my arse and put some decals on....only did the big instruments, when it dawned on me that they still couldn't really be seen by the naked eye. So I put some Future over the decals, and the smaller instruments, and now it's ready to go in.
Once I've done the seatbelts, of course!

[Cap'n Wannabe]

Another small update - finally got the seatbelts done and the instrument panel assembled...tomorrow (hopefully) it'll be time to button 'er up.

[Cap'n Wannabe]

Now, gents, I have a question...actually, two.
First off, the kit is set up to take an electric motor to spin the prop. At this stage, it's not too late for me to wire it all up and build it exactly as Marui intended, but in order to do this, there's a panel at the bottom of the model which is removable so the battery can be installed. My issue with this is twofold: the battery fits behind the cockpit, so it would make the aircraft a heavy tail-sitter. Also, the panel doesn't represent anything on the real aircraft - it's rectangular at one end, and round at the other, so IMHO, it would make the model look more toy-like. So, should I install the motor and go with the toy-like look, or not?
Secondly, I'm painting her white with red and blue trim. My intention is to use Tamiya white primer, then paint the trim on top of it. What's the best way to get a good gloss finish out of the Tamiya primer, and should I do this before or after painting the trim?

[hrtpaul]

If you don't want the battery inside the plane, mount the plane on a base then extend the wires down into the base with the battery under the base. On your second question, Paint the primer on, give it a slight sand with very fine micromesh, paint the trim then seal it all with future till it's all shiny

[Cap'n Wannabe]

If you don't want the battery inside the plane, mount the plane on a base then extend the wires down into the base with the battery under the base.

I'd thought about that....the thing is, where can I run the wires? Maybe as brake lines, I guess....but that means I need longer wires!

[hrtpaul]

Cmon mate. Even I could run longer wires Another thing you could do is scratch up a GPU to sit next to the plane "connected" to it and run the wires in that way

[Cap'n Wannabe]

A little more work this morning - rebuilding the exhausts. The kit part has two exhaust pipes, both of which are solid plastic rod. Their ends are cut such that it's very difficult to hollow them out....and I have a knack of drilling very crooked into them. So it's easier to remove and replace them.
Original on the right, new part on the left..

And a side view. Notice that I've changed the end slightly on mine..

[hrtpaul]

Nice work mate