Crashpilot´s bench

[Stuart]

That's coming along nicely Markus!

[Crashpilot]

masking for anti-glare OD, and the apple green nose

[Stuart]

Nice!

[Crashpilot]

inv. stripes added, green nose on, canopy painted midnight blue (first time I tint a canopy)




on the topsides of the wings, I wanted to make the silver look blunt, from the paint remover used to get rid of the stripes.
I used a silk aluminium paint from Heller for it, I´m not sure if it works out ok, probably only the final varnish will show,
if I get the desired effect

[Stuart]

Looking good Markus!

Is this 1/144 or have you got massive hands?

[Crashpilot]

Looking good Markus!

Is this 1/144 or have you got massive hands?

A P-51 in 144 scale is tiny, it must be the scale effect, that my hands look like they´re from some 8 foot giant



I´m 6 foot 5, BTW. that´s not so unusual, nowadays, I think

[Crashpilot]

How about some forced perspective?

[Impisi]

looking good - damn small

[Stuart]

Looking good Markus!

Is this 1/144 or have you got massive hands?

A P-51 in 144 scale is tiny, it must be the scale effect, that my hands look like they´re from some 8 foot giant



I´m 6 foot 5, BTW. that´s not so unusual, nowadays, I think

lol- that really is tiny!

[Crashpilot]

it´s been a while since I used this thread...
ok, midget Mustang and Mirage long gone to my display shelf, in-between the MB GB, I rekindled my interest in krap kits....


This is the infamous OT Me 262 by airfix, seen by some as the worst kit Airfix ever did....LOL!
I havent built so many Airfix kits yet, but I´m sure whats said above, is no lie
Somehow I thought, "lets have a go at this!, great krap kits fodder"
I build it in the same spirit like in my Aoshima Hurricane and Novoexport MiG-15 builds:
Improving the worst shape errors, without going into measuring out any plans!
IMO, the 2 worst things about this kit, are the nose being too pointy, pointing too much upwards (you see my point?),
and the canopy, being totally out of shape, it´s way too high, windscreen being way too short, having a too high angle....

So I concentrated mainly on these 2 errors.

[Crashpilot]

So I made a deep cut in both fuselage halves (seen above), so I could bend the nose down a bit, to get a better look -
funny, the plastic was elastic enuff not to break! I made a shim to strenghten the stressed & bent fuselage on the inside side of the cut:




to keep the corrected sit of the nose the way i wanted it, I used a clamp when joining the fuse, and let it all dry overnight - better let it cure til it´s really hardened!


extremly low parts count on this kit, a mere 20 parts! (edit: well, thats the number of parts I need on ma build,
no neeed for wheels and bombs here - the total number of parts is a whopping 39 parts), so wings and tailplanes came on quickly:


So this was all easy-peasy yet.... - but what about that terrible canopy?
I didnt want to keep the windscreen like that, so I sanded, sanded & sanded....and finally had an open cockpit in my screamin Meme:


But this won´t deter me!
i made a new windscreen from the framing of a vac canopy:


while I was wiggling the new windscreen in place, the next mishap: the canopy broke:


so, even more fresh air for the pilot - anything to complain about, buddy?

[Crashpilot]

I just pressed on, no beauty contest to be won here
with the new windscreen added, it still looks messy, with the thick, fresh glue blobs sticking out




no matter how messy it becomes, it still looks better than the OOB-canopy, LOL

[Crashpilot]

while the putty dries on the Me-jet, I show you the 2nd in-between build that delayed my MB GB Mirage for a while: an OT Airfix 109E
i think for a kit nearing 50 years vintage, it´s a nice kit, compared to the 262, it´s really good!
But Airfix mad riveter had a go at this, when the moulds were done! I wonder, when did that guy finally retire?

Some sanding solves that problem.
To avoid see-thru thru the radiator chin, I used some plasticard

and I made a bulkhead, to be put behind the IP - no see-thru there, either


I keep the cockpit insert of this kit for a planned MB 109 build, and scratch sonethin for the space behind the pilot


then it was time to put on the wings, wings of the 262 were put on the same day, too:
I wonder: when was the last time, I put wings on two WIPs on the very same day? - I must have been a young boy, then!

[Crashpilot]

Since I really like kitbashing, and I had parts from a wrecked MB 109, I put a spinner and a carburettor inlet from that one to use here


the most problematic part of this OT 109E kit is the too-small canopy, so I had to heighten it, by bolstering it with some plastic strips


Now the putty on the 262, that will become a Czechoslovak Avia, should be dry, I have a look

[ShaunW]

Oh my, you've given yourself some work here, Markus. That old Airfix Me-262 is not one of their better classic kits but it's interesting to see what you are doing to try and improve it. The '109 is a better kit that's for sure.