Lest we forget
Day 66
I have completed just a subtle weathering of the Bedford MWD Light Truck and the Albion fuel bowser.p
I have used the wet palette technique to weather them.
Homemade rust color was used.
I am now planning the diorama.
Everything will be glued with Clear Gorilla glue.
Lest we forget
Day 65
Since I have bought these paints last week, I find this video quite instructional especially how to use Vallejo black primer.
Lest we forget
Day 65
I had become quite frustrated when I was building Airfix Spitfire Mk Vb and its nemesis the Bf109E in February 2020.
This tells it all…
Large gap!
What was Airfix thinking when they engineered it that way?
This is the link to one of the posts I wrote sharing my frustrations…
And a few images taken from that post.
As modelers we always want to strive for perfection.
So I had high expectations when I started building these two model kits…
I felt the same frustration after completing the Bedford MWD Light Truck and the Albion fuel bowser.
Too many parts in my own humble opinion.
I still have another Ready for Battle model kit I had bought in 2017…
I don’t think I will build this a near foreseeable future, but then maybe I will since I have found these images where the Bedford and the Albion are seen.
I never connected the dots until now!
It will make a nice addition to the diorama I will be building for Gerard Pelletier’s niece.
On another note…
I still have the unbuilt Hawker Hurricane Mk I, lots of tiny paint jars, two tubes of cement and two paintbrushes.
Looking ahead after finishing the D-Day diorama, I wonder what I will be building next. I know I should be finishing what I already have started: painting and glueing tiny aircraft carrier planes on three aircraft carriers…
USS Yorktown
USS Hornet
USS Saratoga
…a BIG PBY Catalina…
…a Hawker Tempest…
…and a F9F Panther…
I should be learning by now to finish what I have started because I get easily overwhelmed by the tasks ahead.
Lest we forget
Day 64
Excerpt
C-47 SKYTRAIN DIORAMA by Sheperd Paine
During World War II, the versatile Douglas C-47 served gallantly in the forefront of military operations throughout the world. Primarily designed as a military transport, the rugged “Skytrain” performed admirably in an endless variety of demanding combat support missions. The finest military achievement of this fabled aircraft was the massive airlift of paratroopers and cargo that heralded the allied invasion of France. In 1944, when the war ended, General Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the valiant C-47 as one of the four most significant allied weapons of the Second World War.
Hundreds of C-47s were assigned to the Ninth Troop Carrier Command during the spring of 1944. This armada of aircraft was assembled on fourteen airfields scattered throughout southern England. Weeks of rigorous training culminated in an awesome airborne assault on the morning of June 6th, 1944. On the eve of D-Day, over seventeen thousand heavily-armed allied paratroopers boarded nearly one thousand C-47s in preparation for the aerial offensive.
Within hours, the first transports were airborne, and the calm of the night was shattered by the deafening drone of the “Skytrain” radial engines. Shortly, the heavily loaded aircraft formed a seemingly unending procession as they approached the French coast. According to correspondent Charles Collingwood, “The sky was darkened with swarms of cargo planes, and the roar of their motors was like the thunder of the war Gods”.
The Douglas C-47 “Skytrain” is a fascinating aircraft to use in a diorama. Surely, no aircraft in aviation history has been as influential as this venerable creation. The diorama possibilities utilizing C-47s are unlimited as these versatile aircraft have literally accomplished aeronautical feats that are beyond belief. Countless examples are still in service throughout the world. Created for the transport requirements of fledgling airlines and a mighty global war, these magnificent airplanes served with the United States Air Force until the mid seventies. Surplus C-47s and C-53s were sold to commercial airlines and private cargo operations worldwide. This aviation legend continues to operate in the air forces of over one hundred countries across the globe. Undoubtedly, a trip to your local airport will reveal at least one well-worn C-47.
Many books have been written about the DC-3 and C-47. Among the best of these publications is “The Airplane that Changed The World” by Douglas Ingells. It is an excellent reference source and contains a multitude of photos will provide you with many diorama ideas. The book can be ordered through your local hobby shop or bookstore.
Progress report?
Next time? The weathering report…
Lest we forget
Day 63
Not quite there yet.
I have completed the assembly Tuesday morning by cementing the booms. Again instructions had to be followed carefully and some parts didn’t seem to fit. I should have checked Plane Dave’s rendition of his Albion fuel bowser.
https://planedave.net/2020/04/30/albion-am463/amp/
I am sure I would have understood the instructions for installing the booms.
It’s time to paint and weather it giving the Albion fuel bowser a worn look.
But first it’s primer time with… a paintbrush.
Next time we pay a little visit to Sheperd Paine…
Lest we forget
Day 62
Last Saturday afternoon I tried to figure out what went wrong with my airbrush session.
I surfed the Internet where I found great advice.
https://metastatepaint.com/category/airbrushing/
Following the advice I have deep cleaned my airbrush accordingly. While looking for even more information I found this…
Don’t get caught up thinking fine, medium, and large indicate the line an airbrush will produce. This is only a minor nominal effect of the needle/nozzle size difference. The classification of Fine, Medium, and Large apply more to the recommendation of what media can be properly used. Fine for inks, watercolors, dyes – Medium for properly reduced acrylics, lacquers, enamels – Large for more viscous glazes, base coats, industrial coatings
Source
https://sites.google.com/site/donsairbrushtips/badger-350
Maybe that was the problem I had because I was using the fine nozzle size.
My problem started when I had used my airbrush to add a coat of grey primer on the F9F Panther.
The paint was creating splatter but I kept on spraying and spraying, praying I was just imagining things.
It wasn’t a bad dream.
It was either caused by a clogged nozzle, paint that was too thick, etc…
I then decided to stop, finish it off with a paintbrush and took a deep breath.
On Sunday I deep cleaned my airbrush once more even cleaning my spray booth.
I continued on working on the Albion fuel bowser.
Thin parts always present a problem since everything has to be precisely glued which can lead to frustration.
Part D18 was fragile and the instructions to glue it were vague.
Well they were at first.
I was be able to fix this with stretched sprue.
The Albion fuel bowser is now almost finished.
Once completed I will paint it and start the D-Day diorama.
Footnote
Tamiya Quick Setting cement is just what I need to glue thin and fragile parts.
Lest we forget
Day 61
These are all the links to my research on the PBY Catalina I have been trying to finish.
I had that model kit since the 1990s.
I had decided to build it two years ago when I found the story of one particular PBY Catalina crew.
Post 302 – The Saviour of Ceylon
Post 303 – RCAF Overseas Catalinas: The ‘Saviour of Ceylon’ and Beyond – 48th scale Decals ‘n Docs
Post 304 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina
Post 305 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Steps 2, 3…and beyond Intermission – G-PBYA Catalina guided tour (HD) on YouTube
Post 306 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – …and beyond
Post 307 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Red yoke lock Intermission – PBY Cutaway
Post 308 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Mating the fuselage
Post 309 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Mating the fuselage – Part 2
Post 310 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Mating the fuselage – Part 3
Post 311 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Mating the fuselage – Part 4
Post 312 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Mating the fuselage – Part 5
Post 313 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Mating the fuselage – Epilogue
Post 314 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Next Step?
Post 315 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Get over it!
Post 316 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Fellow Modelers, Let’s Get Ready to Rummmmmmble…
Post 317 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Sheer Terror Intermission – Leonard Joseph Birchall…and his crew
Post 318 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Plastic Surgery
Post 319 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Masking Canopies Intermission – Rum and Coca Cola
Post 320 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Masking Canopies Take 2
Post 321 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Granville Charles Onyette
Post 322 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Lucien Angelo Colarossi
Post 323 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Ian Nicholson Davidson
Post 324 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Peter Nugent Kenny Post 325 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – William (Ginger) Cook
Post 326 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Frederick Cecil Phillips
Post 327 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – Sergeant Brian Catlin
Post 328 – Monogram 1/48 scale PBY-5 Catalina – The Crew
The story will be here on My Forgotten Hobby V if I can find out what went wrong with my airbrush on Saturday afternoon.
Lest we forget
Day 60
It’s BIG!
The PBY Catalina is BIG.
My homemade Sky Type S was too bluish. I then found a 20 years-old jar of Tamiya XF-21 which is exactly what I needed and gave it a try using a paintbrush.
I have come to realize that I need to use an airbrush instead because the PBY Catalina is so BIG.
BIG is beautiful.
So I bought these Vallejo paints Saturday morning at my local hobby shop.
Source Vallejo Website
71.053 Dark Sea Gray
71.302 Sky Type S
71.309 Dark Slate Grey
Matt acrylic colors, water-based and especially formulated for airbrushing. The Model Air color range contains the most complete selection of the military colors used in recent history, including the colors of WWI, WWII and up to the present. Each color is based on extensive research by our experts of the existing and previous military references so as to offer the modeler the highest possible historical accuracy. Model Air is used directly or diluted with Vallejo Airbrush Thinner or Flow Improver. It is recommended to first prime the surface, and then apply Model Air in several layers. The colors dry very rapidly and form a homogenous paint film of extraordinary resistance while preserving even the smallest detail of the model. For airbrushing these colors, the compressor air pressure is recommended at 15 – 20 PSI or 0.5 to 1 kg. Model Air can of course also be applied with a brush. For correct airbrush maintenance we recommend using the Vallejo Airbrush Cleaner.
Safety: Model Air is not flammable, and does not contain solvents. Please see also certified safety information of the product on the Safety page.
Packaging: Model Air is presented in bottles of 17 ml./0.57 fl.oz. with eyedropper. This packaging prevents the paint from evaporating and drying in the container, so that It can be used in minimal quantities and preserved for a long time.
Footnote
My figurines have made more progress since.
The fuel tank has been completed and installed.
They are now working on the left door.
There is an option. Door closed or door opened. Having options and noticing them after is what caused me to build the wrong version of the Bedford MWD Light Truck.
I love it anyway.
Lest we forget
Day 59
April 23, 2022
This is how I had left my loyal readers on My Forgotten Hobby IV.
Progress was made Friday with these two steps.
Precision fitting is crucial with assembling the Albion fuel bowser. Some parts are very thin and part D13 was quite fragile.
.
Fitting the fuel bowser cab needed lots of dry fitting to ensure everything would be glued appropriately.
The right door was solidly attached.
The top was then added.
I have encountered the same fitting problem with the fuel tank. Part D17 is oval shape and it was hard to position parts B24 and B25.
So I decided to cement B02 to D17 first.
We’ll be finding out later if everything fitted.
Next time on My Forgotten Hobby V, looking back at the PBY Catalina story.
My Forgotten Hobby V 