Border models zero

[Rob]

Started this last night. Seems to be a pretty straightforward kit. Four sprues a couple Springs a metal wire and minimum PE along with the clear canopy stuff. Typical border instructions. Absolutely zero detail on how and why and what. Don't get me wrong. The detail on the plane itself is really good. It's just that there's no painting instructions whatsoever. There's really no detail on how the piece fits in much less what the name of that piece is. So if you're new to this modeling Hobby you better have a good picture in your head of what you want your plane to look like. And the steps you need to take to paint it. Started with the engine first, Drilling from the inside and gluing the wires in there before cementing the two halves together

 

[locomotive]

Good luck! Looks a nice kit.

 

[Rob]

Nope. As Snoopy would say.. nope, not today. I'm just getting over all the damn frustration. Maybe if I would have used the right wire instead of unraveling speaker wire. Maybe if I actually knew what I was doing. Maybe. Maybe if I was younger and my eyesight was better and I didn't have a slight Shake. I drilled all that stuff out and ran the wires and and started running the wires and that's what it just took an immediate left turn over the cliff. One wire didn't look right and the next one broke off and that's when the Flackhammer started whispering in my ear and I just tore all the wires out and said the heck with it. And the blood pressure immediately went down. So I am just working on the engine. Primed it and then X11 Chrome silver and black panel liner and I'm going to let that dry overnight. See you

 

[Jim62]

Well you gave it a shot. I wouldn't even attempt it.

 

[Edbert]

While they are beautiful when complete, I find building radials to be very frustrating, particularly large scale or anything bigger than 1/48. I'm in the finishing stages of a J2M3 which will have almost none of the engine be visible, considerably less than the A6M.

You're a better man than I. Unless the intent is to open up all the engine panels, I don't bother with that kind of detail. I look forward to what do you with the rest!

 

[BarleyBop]

working on the engine

That looks great! Love the look of those radial engines (I guess I never actually built one)...
The pin wash just pops!

 

[locomotive]

When it stops being fun, stop.
I'd love to be able to super detail, but I just KNOW I haven't the patience. So I admire the fact you even attempted it!
Engine looks great anyway.

 

[Rob]

Thanks all! You know an introspect I should have detailed the engine in my ZM fw 190. Compare that engine to this engine and the ZM engine would be a lot easier to detail because there's just better parts. This kit says detail the engine and detailed machine guns. Yeah you can detail the crap out of them but you not going to see nothing. I mean check out the pictures. You're going to see a little bit of the front engine and you will see two tiny exhaust stubs coming out. All that work, if you decide to paint everything in detail, we'll all be hidden. But all in all the things going together pretty good. There is some Flash and I would double and triple check the fit because it doesn't really show you specific. Sometimes you just got to figure it out and like I've said before there's no paint instructions. You're on your own. Next up on the build is the cockpit area with machine guns

 

[Rob]

Oh, one other thing, I did use the Dremel and dig out the inside of the exhaust pipes it just didn't look good when you looked in looking at a wall of plastic

 

[AKRoast]

I am starting to think I need to think ahead more as I build and figure out what will be visible and what will not, and only paint and detail those parts. I to am tired of spending hours on fine detail and $$ paint to just have a sliver visible. It is just an oddity of the hobby how they over detail certain hidden areas. I guess they want to give builders the option of leaving off cowlings, access panels, but in the Corsair I am working on that wasn't even a listed option. And then the machine gun ports are just holes in the wings, not even barrels in there.

 

[Rob]

Oh you bet you got to think ahead. I'm working on the cockpit right now and whether to get it all glued up and then paint or paint it in sections and then glue it with super glue. My next model kind of depends on how I'm feeling. Do I feel like I want a big kit with lots of parts and pieces? If so do I want it out in the open or is it going to be hidden? Do I want an easy build so I can get to painting? How is the model going to be finished? A bunch of greasy ass dirt thrown everywhere or an exquisitely detailed, perfectly painted model with only one fingerprint. It all depends on what you want to do. On this particular model? I think it's going to be a weary war-torn airplane on its last legs and boy is it going to be fun to build and paint

 

[Rob]

Yeah yeah, Urumomo

 

[BarleyBop]

boy is it going to be fun to build and paint

That's what I'm talkin' about! Go for it!

 

[Edbert]

Very nice!

I've broken the bags on an A6M recently, looking forward to seeing your progress. I'm only looking at a 1/48 version,. so much easier, essentially one sprue other than the 4 big parts.

 

[urumomo]

Yeah yeah, Urumomo

View attachment 142325

??

 

[blakeh1]

For what it is worth, with Tamiya paints, the main body green color of typical IJN color scheme will be XF-11 IJN Green and the underside will be Tamiya XF-12 IJN Grey
Although some planes I think earlier on had a black cowling rather that the XF-18 grey/blue color

 

[Rob]

??

A couple years ago Panther man was doing a build and he had one picture with his thumb in it and a huge nail and you sent a picture of a toenail clipper. Just something stupid to comment on and kind of funny

 

[urumomo]

Haha , that was the only thing I could think of but your nails ain't long .
You'd need months to produce those bayonets Panther had .

 

[Rob]

I'm thinking more xf-13 J.A green for the body maybe a bit of white to tone it down and on the interior I'm using xf71 which is cockpit green i j n. I'll probably go with the black cowling although I'm not even close to that yet. I'm thinking I'm going to go for late War when they were kamikazes. I might try my hand at some hairspray chipping or something I haven't quite decided yet. Anyways. Here's the cockpit it's not weathered yet I am going to take it out back right now and put a gloss coat on it so I can weather it and maybe do a little bit more painting

 

[Rob]

I glossed the cockpit and the next day applied some wash and I'll let that dry overnight and work on it with a Q-tip you know. Started on the wing and building the machine guns that go in there but everything's mostly hidden so I'm not going to be painting anything yet. I have to say you know the instructions are not the best. And the plastic is not the best plastic either kind of soft. It melts real easy and rough handling while you're trying to glue it up? It will result in some warped wings possibly if you're not careful. This kit, if you wanted to, you could make access panels and move the flaps down and alleron's up or down. And cut out panels here and there and make some hinges. Sure. That's all possible if you wanted to do all that. But. But I don't think this kit is good enough. The plastic isn't good enough and while the detail is okay the parts aren't. I think better plastic would have helped out immensely and I don't remember my border models FW 190 going together or having trouble with this bad