Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye

Just finished detailing the two E-2 Hawkeye's and just like the Sea Kings I added photo-etched propellers from Gold Medal Models and the decals are from Starfighter decals. I plane to fold the wings of one of the two aircraft to display it in a parked area while the other one will be ready to launch on a catapult.

Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King

Completed work on Midway's two Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King's. I estimate that I spent about an hour per helicopter. Added photoetched rotars from Gold Medal Models and the decals are from Starfighter decals.

Complete!

This afternoon I weathered the Schwimmwagen using Tamiya Weathering Master A Set (sand), applied a coat of flat clear, added the final parts (windshield frame, mirrors, etc), weathered some more then applied a second coat of flat clear. Tonight I installed the windshield to the frame using Elmer's white glue and this kit /project comes to an end after being purchased some 10+ years ago. 

I added up the minutes from my records and the total build time comes down to 1281 minutes or 21 hours and 21 minutes. Its a lot more time then I expected but I had extra rework to due because of initial painting I did when I originally purchased the kit and I paid a lot of attention to detail based on the research I did. Overall I am very please with the kit. It's a very small one (smallest in my collection) but the fact that I bought it over a decade ago always nagged me when I saw it unbuilt on the shelf. WW2 German innovation has always peaked great interest for me and what could be more interesting then a car that can swim.

Take it for a Drive...

Installed the completed soldier in the drivers seat and I was surprised (as well as relieved) that the arms positioned very well with the steering wheel. You will also notice in the photos that I added accessories such as the shovel and paddle.

Maverick

Today Casey and me finished assembling his F-14. He is pretty happy about his latest project and already wants to build another kit. Ironically tomorrow on the local cable channel what movie is playing... "Top Gun". Guess who wants to see it...

Casey Painting his F-14

After spray painting the whole kit with Tamiya grey I had Casey paint the pilots black and the motors metallic grey. I had him mount the missiles and he assisted me in spray painting them white outside.

Weathering

Tried another new technique, weathering... Added umber brown oil paint diluted with turpenoid then applied it to all the seams of the kit. Let it dry a bit then wiped off the excess with a qtip dipped in turpenoid. The effect is subtle but does add depth and more realism to the model. This is a technique that I read in an article of Finescale Modeler.

Make It Shine - Part II

Added a second coat of clear gloss to seal the decals. I am not 100% convinced that the decal outline will show less but at least I can be assured that in a few years they will not flake off.

Decals

Tonight I added eleven decals to the gloss coat. Sure adds a nice touch to an already great looking kit.

Make It Shine - Part I

Having had to put aside modelling for a few months due to major landscape work on a new house I finally found some time to hit the workbench again. I decided to try a new technique and sprayed the whole model with a clear gloss before applying the decals. I am hoping that this will improve the application of the decals and make them look more natural.

A Birthday Gift

For Casey's 6th birthday I got him a Revell SnapTite F-14 Tomcat. This should be a nice project to work on together during the summer holidays. Interesting side note, when looking at the box I noticed it had the U.S.S. Midway in the background with F-14's on the deck. Midway never carried F-14's although I have read that some have landed/taken off for emergency reasons only.. This reminds me, I really got to get the Midway kit complete!

Major Assembly

Assembled the body major components and accurately detailed the dashboard buttons. The following web site http://www.schwimmwagen.co.uk/ has been very useful in to help me make the model more accurate. The propeller can be positioned in either up or down. Its rare that a scale model has moving parts but I really like it. 

Spring Break Over and Another Project Complete!

Today I presented Casey the final product of our week long project. He was very excited to see the end result and was flying it all over the house. Fortunately he appears to understand that its delicate and so far no damage has occurred... This was a lot of fun and I hope these little projects will eventually increase his interest in the hobby.

Casey, the proud new owner of an F-18 model!

Me and Casey

Another kit to add to Casey's collection!