SPA Modeler

Thomas_M wrote:I see you got some resin wheels from TrueDetails. Honestly, I would not use them, for they show a highly unrealistic bulge on the tyres. If at all I only would sand a small flat spot on the kit wheels and call it a day.

Thanks all. Thank for the suggestion Thomas. I'm on one of those modelers that likes the bulge, although I do prefer Ultracast's tires over TD. The TD wheels came along with the kit and I haven't looked at them yet. Are they bulged more than normal on this set? Sometimes I sand down the bulge so its less prominent.

Anyways,I got some bench time in last night. It consisted of me and my trusty bottle of Tenax. So far this thing has nearly built itself. The fuselage lined up beautifully and the top insert fit nice. I spot glued it, as well as the top cowl, in place to avoid panel line loss due to the "hot" Tenax. The wings went together without issue and are designed to snap in place, which alleviated any wing root issues. Very nice touch. I'm really enjoying this build so far. I should be painting soon.

lawdog114 wrote:...Are they bulged more than normal on this set?...

They are bulged more than normal in each set...

TD wheels have been "en vogue" years ago, when there was nothing else. Even me bought some of them. But looking at wartime pictures almost no aircraft show this exaggerated bulges, if at all. Rolling , starting and landing an aircraft with tyres showing such a large bulge (means, missing air) would IMHO only lead to destruction of the tyres and possibly, the aircraft.
As said before, check some contemporary pictures.

I wonder about the colour of the fuselage: did you already apply some primer? As far as I remember my build the plastic was just grey?!?

Thomas_M wrote:

lawdog114 wrote:...Are they bulged more than normal on this set?...

They are bulged more than normal in each set...

TD wheels have been "en vogue" years ago, when there was nothing else. Even me bought some of them. But looking at wartime pictures almost no aircraft show this exaggerated bulges, if at all. Rolling , starting and landing an aircraft with tyres showing such a large bulge (means, missing air) would IMHO only lead to destruction of the tyres and possibly, the aircraft.
As said before, check some contemporary pictures.

I wonder about the colour of the fuselage: did you already apply some primer? As far as I remember my build the plastic was just grey?!?

I've seen plenty of pictures, and I agree, they are overdone. In smooth tread circumstances, as in the case of this subject, I would usually use the kit offering as the seam is easy to sand out. Patterned examples, the Tamiya P-47 and P-51 come to mind, tend to be tricky for me to get that seam out convincingly, so I'd rather go aftermarket here. Sometimes TD is the only option. Perhaps I'm behind the times since I still don't mind the "en vogue" weighted down look. In this circumstance, The future owner of the kit included these along with some Quickboost exhausts, so I'm sort of obligated to use them. He was even nice enough to include Eduard canopy masks...

No primer (I only prime seamwork and NMF finishes......the less paint in panel lines the better to hold washes). The plane is still in grey bare plastic. Perhaps it's the lighting when I snapped the photos.

I finished her up the other night and I'm pretty happy with it. To recap, its the B-2 heavily armed version with a pair of MK. 103 cannons in the wings. They made two B-2 airframes, that being V-13 and V-14. I built V-14 whose markings were one of the kit options. I went with Gunze RLM 81, 82 over 65 (my sources said either 65 or 76 was possible). I added PE seatbelts and Quickboost exhausts. I ended up tossing the True Details wheels and I used the kit wheels. Once both were painted up the kit's looked better to me. I gambled and used the kit decals. Surprisingly they behaved beautifully. Maybe Tamiya has been given a bad rap and their newer stuff is better. I didn't chance the large lower crosses however and decided to replace them with an old Me 110 sheet I had.

Thanks for looking.....comments are welcome.

Joe

Most impressive build, mate! Honestly, this is superbe! Or as some people here still say: Wow!!!

The semi matte look, the subtle but visible weathering: all is just right. Only, I am not sure on the very low placement of the swastika. Is this the position as given in the instructions?
Whatever: you nailed this one for sure!

Thanks Thomas. Indeed that's were the instructions said to put the Swastika. Also, I took your advice on the wheels. The TD ones did suck!

Great build Joe!

And very smooth and beautiful paintwork!

Love the paintwork of the under surface, what paints are you actually using? The "hellblau" just look so perfect!

- Kari

Thanks Kari, it's about half Tamiya XF-23 Light Blue and XF-2 Flat White. My own particular concoction of it.

She's a looker lawdog. Well done!

lawdog114 wrote:Thanks Kari, it's about half Tamiya XF-23 Light Blue and XF-2 Flat White. My own particular concoction of it.

Very good mix, really good!

- Kari