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Nakajima’s Kikka was Japan’s answer to Germany’s Messerschmitt Me 262. Add a delicately applied finish to Fine Molds’ 1/48 scale kit and you’ll have a show-stopper straight from the box. Coloring a A realistic finish makes this pioneering Japanese jet a Kikka showpiece By Francisco Soldán Alfaro

ay the words “first jet fighter” to Say “Japan’s first jet fighter,” though, siastic reports home, the Japanese Naval aircraft modelers and they’ll and some modelers may scratch their staff directed the Nakajima Aircraft com- immediately think of Germany’s heads. Although it looks much like its pany to develop a single-seat, twin-engine Messerschmitt Me 262. The German cousin, Nakajima’s Kikka isn’t as attack aircraft based on the Messerschmitt sleek twin-engine fighter is a well known. The Japanese jet’s develop- design. Swell-known, much-modeled subject. The ment was inspired by the Me 262. During Dubbed the Kikka, the Japanese air- shark-like plane rightfully struck fear in World War II, the Japanese air attaché to craft was slightly smaller than the Me 262. the hearts of Allied airmen and marked a Germany witnessed some of the Me 262’s It had a metal airframe with fabric-cov- giant leap forward in air combat history. first flights. After the attaché sent enthu- ered control surfaces, and its underwing 1/ 48 Scale • Aircraft • How-to

1 2 Construction started with the cockpit. Although I planned to model my Kikka My kit included a white-metal Ne-20 jet engine and a cast-resin mount for with its canopy closed, I still made an effort to realistically detail the cock- the left wing. I removed the kit’s engine mount and installed the resin pit. I used a mixture of Tamiya acrylics to simulate Nakajima’s interior replacement with gap-filling super glue. Sheet styrene helped blend things green. Fine details were picked out with Vallejo acrylics and a detail brush. together. I added ripples to the rear fuselage by carefully scraping the panels with a curved blade, then smoothing them with fine-grit sandpaper.

3 4 Thankfully, many photos of the full-size Kikkas survived the war and are By working slowly and checking my references regularly, I was able to rec- available for reference. Like a lot of late-war Japanese aircraft, it had a reate the Kikka’s splotchy paint job using my airbrush. I used a combination roughly applied, less-than-showroom finish. To simulate it, I first applied an of Tamiya’s acrylic paints for the green finish, and lightened and darkened overall coat of Tamiya flat aluminum (XF-16) with an airbrush. After it dried the mixture for different areas to further break up the finish. thoroughly, I again used the airbrush to apply the uneven green top coat to the aircraft’s upper surfaces.

5 6 I dry-brushed several areas of the fuselage with bright-silver paint to simu- With the bulk of the finish completed, the white-metal engine could be late wear and tear along panel lines and high-traffic areas of the assembled and installed. Like the rest of the aircraft, it needed some realis- airframe. tic detail painting to set it off – it’s a real focal point of the model. 7 8 I added the model’s decals, then turned my attention to the engine. First, I Light washes of artist’s oils and carefully applied pastel powders helped painted the engine flat aluminum. Then I used darker metallic colors and dark weather the airframe and highlight its panel lines. When I was satisfied earth tones to simulate discoloration caused by the intense heat of the with the model’s overall appearance, I added the landing gear and the bal- Ne-20 engine. ance of its smaller detail parts. engine nacelles enabled its designers to ambitious program had approximately 25 (with a cast-resin mount), and custom- install and test different engines without aircraft under construction when Japan made canopy masks. While the kit offered reworking the fuselage and wing struc- surrendered in September. A single surviv- plenty of detail, I wanted to enhance it tures. Several engines were tested before ing Kikka is in the collection of the with the carefully applied, realistically engineers settled on the Ne-20, which was National Air and Space Museum. weathered finish detailed in the step-by- similar to the axial-flow BMW 003 turbo- Kits of the Kikka are few and far step photos. FSM jet used in the Heinkel He 162. between, so I was happy to discover Fine Although it was a bold step forward, Molds’ 1/48 scale kit (No. 10SP). Rivaling Although it’s not as immediately recognizable as the Kikka was truly too little, too late; the the detail of a Hasegawa or Tamiya kit, Germany’s Me 262, Nakajima’s Kikka marked an aircraft didn’t make its first flights until the box contains finely molded light-gray important step in the development of the jet- August 1945. Despite several setbacks, the styrene parts, a white-metal Ne-20 engine powered fighter. Tiger-Striping a Royal Navy EH-101 Merlin

The author built Revell Germany’s EH-101 pretty much out of the box but preferred to paint the unique camouflage rather than use the kit decals. 1/72 Scale • Aircraft • How-to

Revell Germany’s naval helicopter takes Tiger-Striping a Royal Navy a walk on the wildside with feline scheme By Juan Jose Dominguez Calvo

he EH-101 Merlin history begins in the EH-101 Merlin 1970s, when the T Royal Navy decided to look for a replacement for the Sea King helicopter. In 1979, Italy’s Agusta and

Westland Helicopters of the 1 United Kingdom joined efforts, forming EH Industries to design and build the EH-101. Key performance markers included speed, endurance and quick reaction on sub- marine targets; independent capability to search for, 2 1-2. Juan detailed the kit’s seats locate, and attack targets; with harnesses made from Tamiya versatility; maneuverability; masking tape and Reheat photoetched buckles. and all-weather operation. The resulting helicopter is a powerful warfare system as well as a versatile civil transport. Several countries use the Merlin, including Canada, Japan, Portugal, Denmark, and the United States. A Lockheed Martin 3 Test-fitting the interior components built verison has been gave Juan an idea for adding detail selected as the next “Marine using little more than the kit parts, clear styrene, and decals. One,” the president’s helicopter transport. What’s in the box? It was time to start working on the The first time I saw the Merlin, I fell in fuselage. There are no real fit problems if love with its beastily beauty. Revell you dry-fit the parts carefully before you Germany released a 1/72 scale kit of the move on to glue. The main fuselage is in Merlin with “tiger scheme” markings (No. halves, and each of them has a separate RV4410), and I knew it’d be the perfect side panel with windows and doors. I tried choice for my first helicopter kit. to get the best fit I could using thin sty- The kit comes in a typical Revell end- rene tabs to get the side panels flush with opening box. It has more than 100 parts the fuselage surface, 6. and is rated at the top of Revell’s complex- The only fit problem comes when you ity scale. The kit includes four Sting Ray dry-fit the main fuselage with the first tail 4 homing torpedoes that give the model the section. If you follow the sequence indi- look of a warrior. cated by Revell, you will get big gaps at The kit has a combination of raised both sides of the fuselage/tail joints. There and recessed surface detail. The fit is good are lots of molded-on rivets in these areas, overall, but tricky in some areas. The decal and I wanted to avoid damaging the detail sheet is superb, with lots of stencils in per- with excessive sanding. I glued the main fect register. A separate decal sheet fuselage halves to their corresponding tail includes the stripes for the tiger camo, but halves. This will result in two fuselage/tail I preferred to paint the scheme. The paint halves, requiring careful aligning to mini- references in the instructions are, as you mize the seams between the parts. With might expect, oriented to Revell’s paint this method, you get gaps along the spine range, without cross reference for Federal and at the underside of the tail joint, Standard colors. The tiger markings repre- where there are no rivets and only a few sent a bird from 814 Naval Air Squadron, panel lines to re-scribe. I closed all the air 5 Fleet Air Arm, aboard the HMS Ark intakes around the engine area with sty- Royal in February 2003. rene sheet, 7. 4-5. The finished cockpit and interior were painted with Vallejo acrylics. Building the Tiger Painting those stripes Coming off a pair of projects where a lot With the fuselage closed and all the seams of aftermarket goodies were involved, I filled, I painted the model using Gunze needed a break. When my friends on an Sangyo medium sea gray (H335), 8. Internet forum decided to hold a helicop- To paint the tiger marking, I added ter contest with out-of-the-box rules, I some black to the base color using the decided to build this model to participate. stripes on the decal sheet as a reference. I I started, as usual, with the interior. I used the stripe decals as templates to cre- improved the crew ladder by drilling holes ate masks to paint the stripes. The result is in appropriate places and adding some spot-on, 9. wiring, using photos of the real subject as I painted the rotor blades with a mix- a reference. The kit includes acceptable ture of Gunze Sangyo green (H302) and a seats and consoles for the cockpit, as well little black and white. Next, I painted the as good collective and cyclic sticks. I exhausts with metallic paint, then added 6 detailed the seats with Tamiya tape and shading to the model using Tamiya smoke photoetched-metal parts from Reheat (X-19) and flat black (XF-1). Strips of sheet styrene reinforce the fuselage (No. RH-02), 1, 2. halves from the inside. Test-fitting the interior parts, 3, gave Decaling and weathering me an idea. For the instruments, I gloss After applying a gloss coat, I applied the coated a piece of thin sheet styrene and kit decals, 10. Most of the decals went on added the instrument-panel decals nicely until I tried to fit walkways and dis- included with the kit. Then, one by one, I covered the decals were too big. Careful cut away all the screens, etc. I glued these trimming got the decals to fit while pre- decaled cut-outs over the kit instrument serving the thin yellow stripe that sur- panels. This way, I think I achieved the rounds them. look of a photoetch-filled cockpit without When the decals were dry, I added an using photoetch. I also used some bits of overall coat of Gunze Sangyo clear flat. plastic to represent placards, then added an inflatable boat I made from sheet sty- Taking off rene I covered with adhesive aluminum This is the only kit of this superb chopper 7 foil from air-conditioning pipe insulation. and it’s one I recommend even if you have This foil is perfect for representing fabric minimal building experience. It was an Juan made panels from sheet styrene to block off with wrinkles and works fantastically for excellent choice for my first chopper kit, the area inside the engine intakes and prevent a air-intake covers. I painted the interior and the distinctive scheme makes it espe- see-through model. with Vallejo acrylics, 4, 5. cially eye-catching. FSM The Tiger’s base camouflage color is Gunze Sangyo medium sea gray.

Using the decals to make masking templates, Juan added the distinctive tiger stripes with an airbrush.

The kit decals went on nicely after a little trimming.

This Tiger was Juan’s first helicopter model, and the finished kit is a stand-out in his 1/72 scale aircraft collection. Converting Hasegawa’s Nocturnal Ju 87D -5 to a D-8

By Alfonso Stuka Martínez Berlana I enjoy building the latest gener- That was the case with my late-model ation of 1/48 scale kits. But, sometimes, Stuka. I easily transformed Hasegawa’s building them right from the box is so excellent Ju 87D-5 (kit No. JT53) into easy it doesn’t provide much challenge. one of the specially modified night- Lately, I’ve been searching for minor attack aircraft. Along the way, I added conversions that will set my models apart aftermarket interior parts to make the from the out-of-the-box crowd. model even more special. FSM 1/48 Scale • Aircraft • How-to

The resin cockpit tub is flanked by sidewall detail parts glued to the Hasegawa fuselage halves.

Alfonso built and painted each interior unit separately. He used Life Color paints (available in Europe), but said other brands would do as well. The base color of Luftwaffe interiors is schwarzgrau (black gray), Nocturnal which Alfonso accented with a black wash and light dry-brushing. Stuka 1 4

Alfonso improved the cockpit interior with an Aires resin and pho- Here, all the details molded into the resin side panels have been toetched-metal detail set. The instrument panel is photoetched metal painted. Now that the floor and instrument panel were installed, with a printed acetate gauge set, very realistic in this scale. Alfonso was ready to close the fuselage. 5 6

Seats, control stick, and rear guns are attached and the instrument panel is Alfonso removed the flap actuators from the bottom surface of the wings in its coaming. The clear hatch houses a direction-finding antenna. and replaced them with new ones made from stretched sprue.

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The gap behind the kit’s spinner was too large, so Alfonso extended the air- The first bit of painting was to paint the interior canopy brace. Alfonso craft’s nose with a disc of .010" sheet styrene. sprayed schwarzgrau over the masked canopy.

Night attack Stukas REFERENCES Ju 87 Stuka in Action, At the end of 1943, the detriment for night attack Stukas would mark the target Brian Filley, Squadron/ Luftwaffe created several sorties. areas with flares, and the Signal Publications, night-attack groups About 300 Ju 87D Stukas remaining aircraft would Carrollton, Texas, 1986 (Nachtschlachtgruppen) to were modified for night attack with bombs and can- Aero Detail No. 11, Ju answer in kind the annoying attack. Flame-dampeners nons. 87 Stuka, Dai Nippon nocturnal incursions of Soviet were attached to the exhaust Modified Ju 87D-3s were Kaiga, Tokyo, Japan, Polikarpov Po-2s on the pipes, flash suppressors were redesignated Ju 87D-7, and 1994 Eastern Front. added to the cannon muz- extended-span D-5s were The aircraft initially zles, and, since night tactics redesignated D-8. Nacht- SOURCES assigned to the groups of low-level straight line schlachtgruppen 1, 2, 4, 8, Cockpit set, Aires (No. were Arado 66 and bombing were the norm, 9, and 10 used the night 4119), available from Gotha 145 biplanes. these Stukas’ dive brakes Stukas on the Eastern and Squadron Mail Order, Later, the more-effective were eliminated. Many of Western fronts and in Italy. 972-242-8663, Stuka was brought into them wore strange camou- Several groups used them www.squadron.com the units. By that time, flage, perhaps to hide their until the end of the war, Navigation lights and daylight ground-attack distinctive outline against when advancing Allies found gunsight, CMK (No. missions were being han- moonlit clouds. them in abandoned airfields. 4060), available from dled by faster Fw 190Fs The attacks were usually – Alfonso Martínez Berlana VLS, 636-356-4888, and Gs. But the Stuka’s made during moonlit nights www.modelmecca.com slower speed was not a or at dusk. One or two 7 8

Hasegawa’s wing had nicely detailed panel lines and access hatches typical For better detail, Alfonso applied cockpit armor panels and wingwalk no-slip of a Ju 87B. After studying references, Alfonso made the D-8 conversion by strips made from sheet styrene. filling and sanding some features and scribing others in.

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Alfonso formed exhaust flame dampeners by heating Evergreen styrene tube The rippled camouflage was applied with a fine-tipped airbrush, thinned with a butane lighter and bending it to shape. acrylic paints, and low air pressure. With an enamel base, you can remove acrylic paint errors with alcohol or water without marring the base coat.

Alfonso made a stencil and painted a yellow 3 on the nose to represent a night-attack Stuka that saw action in Czechoslovakia late in World War II. The Corsair is a popu- lar modeling subject – but this one has personal meaning for the author, who built it to remember a war hero in his family. Detailing Tamiya’s F4U-1D Corsair Memorializing extraordinary gallantry in an FG-1 By Scott Murphy

artime demand for the good fit, and detail. (This is the third one With the seat and bulkhead complete, Corsair was so great that I’ve built.) But there’s room for improve- I turned my attention to the cockpit side- the manufacturer, Vought, ment. Ejector-pin and sink marks are walls. Detail here is weak, so I ground could not fill all the orders often prominent and difficult to reach everything flat and started from scratch, placed by the U.S. Navy. (especially in the wheel wells), and other cutting boxes from pieces of styrene strip WSo, more Corsairs were manufactured by areas require special attention. and sheet and adding rounded details with Goodyear in Akron, Ohio, and by disks punched using a Waldron punch- Brewster in New York, New Jersey, and Correcting the cockpit and-die set. I also built a new throttle Pennsylvania. The only significant differ- Having built two of these kits before gave quadrant from styrene sheet, 2. ences were the manufacturers. me a head start in the cockpit. I ground At night, the Corsair’s cockpit was illu- I modeled this plane as an FG-1 (built off those oddly shaped pillars behind the minated by a Grimes light on each side- by Goodyear) for a very personal reason: pilot’s seat. The pillars place the seat at an wall. I made these from .060" styrene rod Its pilot, Lt. j.g. John Sanford Weeks, was incorrect angle and too far back in the and attached each to the sidewall with my second cousin on my mother’s side. He cockpit. I rebuilt a better framework; .010" rod. I constructed the “G” and air- was lost in combat on July 15, 1945 – while I was at it, I replaced the kit’s seat speed limits placard (seen in the photo exactly one month before VJ Day. with one made from soda-can aluminum, only as a rectangular piece of styrene, 1. The headrest’s shape also was wrong, so which is where the placard was placed The kit I ground it off and redid it as well. (It’s once the cockpit was painted) on the port Tamiya’s 1/48 scale F4U Corsair kits have not shown in this photo as I painted it sidewall by painting .005" clear styrene a well-deserved reputation for quality, separately and attached it later.) black on one side and white on the other.

1/48 Scale • Aircraft • How-to

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Scott wasn’t satisfied with the situation of the Same for the side walls of the cockpit – Scott Bifocals, anyone? The pennies in this shot show seat in Tamiya’s Corsair – so he mounted his own scratchbuilt details from styrene and wire to fill how small these scratchbuilt details really are. It aluminum seat on a strip-styrene frame. spaces that looked too empty to him. really is the little things that count!

Once the paint was dry I used a needle in 4 a pin vise to etch the black paint and depict boxes for the data. I added four pieces of .010" red wire to the throttle quadrant to simulate the control rods for the throttle, mixture, propeller, and super- charger. The side consoles also needed attention. The rudder and aileron trim wheels were missing, as were many different levers. I scratchbuilt all of them, beginning with the elevator trim wheel. Due to the limitations of injection molding, it is Small as it is, the elevator wheel (center) comprises four pieces (counting the mount on its back). impossible to mold it accurately in all three dimensions. So, I ground it off and are so fine they would be difficult to mold cockpit is flat black, I dry-brushed the scratchbuilt a new one. in this scale. I started making the levers by edges of the console with Testors The easiest way I have found to do this cutting a thin strip of soda-can aluminum Metalizer aluminum to bring out the is to first punch a .120" disk from .010" about .020" wide and about 1/2" long. I details, and made a lap belt and shoulder styrene sheet using the punch-and-die set, used a small chisel to make two cuts on harnesses from .005" lead foil. I painted 3. This forms the main body of the wheel. the end, making a point. I then alternately the shoulder harnesses white and the lap For the outer rim, I wrapped .023" solder dip the tip in super glue and accelerator belts a medium tan, then super glued around the outside of the punch, slid it off, until it forms a ball. This simple process them in place. then used a No. 11 hobby-knife blade to looks convincing and takes less than a Tamiya does provide a decal for the cut through the solder where the ends minute. The ball in photo 5 is about .015" instruments, but applying it in its entirety overlapped. I take out any “spring” in the in diameter. would prove problematic. Instead, using a ring by gently pressing the ring flat with When all the levers, wheels, and other Waldron sub-miniature punch-and-die the blunt end of the knife handle. I then little bits were in place, the end result is a set, I punched out each instrument and placed the disk in the center of the solder much-improved looking cockpit, 6. At applied it to the instrument panel. Micro- ring and super glued it on the back side. I this point, the cockpit is ready to be Sol decal solvent ensured the decals set- attached another disk to the side of the painted. Earlier versions of the Corsair tled down completely inside the bezels. console and glued the completed trim had interior green (FS 34159) sidewalls Once the decals were dry, I coated each wheel to it, adding one final disk on the and console sides with black instrument instrument with two coats of Future floor outside of the wheel to depict the attach- panels. In later versions, all the sidewalls polish to impart a glass-like sheen. ment point, 4. and consoles were flat black. The cockpit To model the rudder and aileron trim of the FG-1 I saw at the National Revving the engine wheels, I punched two .059" disks out of Museum of Naval Aviation (NMNA) was I have built so many Pratt & Whitney R- .010" styrene sheet and mounted them on not restored with the rest of the aircraft 2800 engines in various scales that I am .010" styrene rod at their proper locations and is painted in this manner. very familiar with the finer details. I on the port cockpit sidewall. When all the painting of the cockpit is thought the engine provided in the There are also several levers in the complete, it is time to put it all together. Tamiya kit left something to be desired. cockpit with a ball on the end. None of The various cockpit pieces go together The cylinders and the cooling fins are these were included in the kit, since they without a hitch. Since the majority of the finely detailed, as are the pushrods 5 6

Super glue forms the ball at the end of this lever. Scott says the trick to a uniformly shaped ball is to hold the shaft at an angle while the glue sets. As many add-ons as there are, the whole cockpit still looks greater than the sum of the parts!

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The kit-provided engine gear housing looked … so he loaded it up with details he scratchbuilt Styrene rods enhance the engine’s cooling fins, overly simple to Scott … from styrene strips, discs, and chunks. drilled out here to accept wires.

(although they extend all the way back to pieces of styrene strip and sheet. Finally, I of the styrene rod inside the gear housing the cylinders with no space in between). built the ignition harness with .020" x with a needle covered with super glue, 9. The engine gear housing, 7, is another .030" styrene strip and secured it to the Now I was ready to paint the engine. I story. The magnetos and governor are gear housing in five places using .010" sty- painted the gear housing and crankcase oversimplified, and the ignition-wire har- rene rod. I marked the locations of the engine gray and the cylinders Alclad ness lacks detail. So, I ground off every ignition wires and drilled them out with a Duraluminum, 10. Pushrods and rocker single bit of detail from the gear housing No. 80 carbide drill bit, 9. (Although car- arm covers are Testors ModelMaster black and started completely from scratch. bide bits are more expensive and fragile chrome. I applied a black wash to the cyl- For references, I used the superlative than their tool-steel counterparts, they cut inders to bring out the cooling fin detail Teknics 1/32 scale Pratt & Whitney R- through styrene much faster, more cleanly, and dry-brushed the governor with 2800 resin engine from my 1/32 and without melting it. As photo 8 shows, Metalizer aluminum. The Pratt & Hasegawa F6F-3 Hellcat (still under con- the difference in the gear housing before Whitney logo on the front of the gear struction) and photos of the actual engine and after is striking. housing is hand-painted. Last, .010" wires (at the NMNA). I began by cutting a 3⁄8" Replacing the pushrods required deli- were inserted in each of the holes in the disk from .010" styrene sheet and attach- cate surgery. I used a brand new No. 11 ignition harness and super glued in place – ing it to the back of the gear housing. This blade to carefully cut them away from the again, tedious work but worth the effort. gave me a .030" lip all the way around, 8. cylinders, taking great care to avoid dam- The color of ignition wires varied widely, I used the .018" punch from the Waldron aging the cooling-fin detail around them. from silver to yellow to brick red to a cop- sub-miniature set to make rivets around Once the pushrods were cut away, I per. I chose the latter as a contrast to the the gear housing and the front plate. (In notched the plastic with the blade to add silver cylinders. this scale, this is eye-crossing work – but cooling-fin detail under the pushrods. I Placing the ignition wires and the the results are worth it.) drilled .025" holes in the engine crankcase plumbing for the oil sump on the bottom Next, I drilled holes in the gear hous- body and the rocker heads on the cylin- front of the gear housing completed the ing where the magnetos should be and ders, then cut out .020" styrene rod for the engine, 11. I spent more than 14 hours inserted .010" wire as a centering refer- pushrods. The rods were inserted first into on it – but, believe it or not, I took a ence. I made the magnetos by stacking the holes in the crankcase, then slipped shortcut. Previously, I have scratchbuilt pieces of styrene sheet and rod around the into the holes in the pushrod housings. I the ring that separates the banks of cylin- wire, and constructed the governor with secured the pushrods by touching the end ders and holds the cylinder heat shields in

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Ignition wires add an impressive layer of com- … and once Scott gets them all under control, Knowing much of it wouldn’t be visible, Scott plexity to the engine … they add the kind of detail that can’t be molded. only went so far with the cowl framing.

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At left is the kit part for cowl flaps; at right, the index card Scott marked up as a guide to cutting cowl flaps from soda-can aluminum – a material that’s easy to work with and thin enough for 1/48 scale.

… and the results are hard to argue with. The calipers enabled Scott to accurately transfer mea- surements between construction materials. Scott swears by his digital calipers for work like this … place. But before this project, I glanced type’s cowl flaps completely circumvented eBay, but they are available through local into the cowlings of my other Corsairs the cowling. In operational versions, how- or online hobby stores and supply houses and could not see any of that work at all. ever, the top few were wired shut to keep like Midway (www.midwayusa.com). For So, this time, I skipped it. oil off the windshield (eventually, these scratchbuilding, they’re a must.) flaps were omitted). Moreover, the cowl I taped the template next to the alumi- Cowling flaps on the Corsair were not all the same num and used a steel ruler to mark lines I detailed the inside of the kit cowling size; they alternated between a large flap for each of the cowl flaps. Rather than a with a styrene-strip framework using and one about half the size. Also, the very No. 11 blade, I cut the flaps with a ¼" .020" x .030" strip for the front stringers bottom flap (one of the smaller ones) is chisel blade. This gave me more control, and .020" x .060" strip for the inside ring actually a little larger (about 1.25") than and I could see the cuts more easily. I frame, 12. There is enough room in the the rest of the smaller ones. A bit of trivia measured the width of the template with cowling with the engine installed to make but one that Tamiya accurately depicted. the calipers and used it as a guide to it noticeable. However, since I am not These complexities required planning scratch a fine line in the aluminum, then opening up any access panels and the bulk prior to cutting the aluminum. Rather scored the line with a sharp No. 11 blade. of the engine will obscure most of the than completely reinvent the wheel, I A couple of gentle bends along the scored cowling interior, I chose to only do the placed the kit piece into the cowling, line broke it off cleanly. front half or so of the framing. marked it where each of the cowl flaps It may seem like a lot of trouble – but The kit lets you display the cowling lined up, then inserted an index card in the cowl flaps looked better for it, 15. flaps either open or closed; I chose the the recess of the cowling and transferred former, as most of the aircraft in my photo the lines from cowling to card to soda-can Control surfaces of aircraft on the Shangri-La have them aluminum, 13, carefully measuring the I cut out the control surfaces with a razor open. The molded cowl flap looks thick depth of the recess (.060") with a digital saw, 16. Cutting the outside edges is easy. for the scale, and it really does not ade- calipers, 14. But the inside lines are a little trickier quately show the depth between the cowl (A brief modeling note: Besides a because there is no access to an edge. I run flap and the louvers in between. So, I hobby knife, the two most important tools the blade back and forth along the line replaced it with soda-can aluminum. The on my workbench are a motor tool and until it breaks through in one place. Once Corsair’s cowl flaps continue around digital calipers. The latter is inexpensive through, I can saw all the way to the end. nearly all the cowling. In fact, the proto- (about $35) and accurate. I got mine on The blade is .010" thick, so replacing the 16 lightening holes, 18. I used super glue instead of styrene to fill in some of the narrow areas on the rudder, but I had to build up the long end of the rudder the same way I did the elevators. I replaced the kit antenna post with a steel one I ground from .030" rod. Its thickness is more to scale (.005" vs. .030"), and it will not break! I also cut out the ailerons and built them back up, same as the rudder. Scott cut the tail planes to detail stabilizers and elevators, replacing kit plastic with sheet styrene. Landing gear The kit’s main struts were OK; I merely 17 18 filled ejector-pin marks and hollowed out the attachment points for the front gear door. The tail wheel, on the other hand, needed work. Tamiya offers both a short and long strut (a nice touch). I wanted to use the extended tail wheel strut, but the sway arms of the kit part were way too thick and lacked lightening holes. I thinned them with a file and cut out the lightening holes with a carbide drill bit. I replaced the kit’s pneumatic tire with the hard rubber one used in most ship- board operations, 19, grinding off the kit tire and thinning the area around the Deep cuts to thin the tail’s vertical surfaces Sheet-styrene laminations (white) add detail and lower strut. I constructed a new tire by required a motor tool and steady nerves. firm up the tail. punching out a .160"-wide, .060"-thick disk from sheet styrene. Then I punched lost styrene is a simple matter of adding and the result looks more realistic. (I also two .120" discs from .005" styrene sheet .010" styrene sheet to the ends. For areas planned to drop the elevators a bit, so this and drilled eight .016" holes around the that are too short for this method, I cut worked out perfectly.) outside and a .025" hole in the center. The with either a No. 11 blade or a chisel. The rudder and vertical stabilizer are a axle is .025" styrene rod; the spring, .002" The inside of each control surface has a different situation, 17. A bulkhead is wire that I wrapped around a .015" stain- rounded airfoil shape. I added styrene required to fill the void. Using a motor less-steel rod. strip to the end and used a motor tool to tool with a grinding bit, I very carefully grind it to its rough shape. A file and cut a .10" groove down the vertical part of Wheel wells sanding “twigs” produced the final shape the horizontal stabilizer. The thickness of On the wheel wells, 20, the kit left out a and smoothness. I cemented styrene strip the remaining styrene was less than .010"; small bulkhead on the forward outboard inside the wings and tail to make attach- if held up to the light, the plastic is nearly part of the well, a “black hole” that would ment points for the separated control sur- translucent. I intentionally cut the groove be obvious even after the gear was in faces and prevent that “black hole” wider than necessary so I could adjust it place. So, I installed a styrene-sheet vision appearance. with styrene strip. The groove performs block. I also removed some rough looking I began with the elevators, 16. The two functions; it thins the edge and gives ejector-pin marks. horizontal stabilizer and elevator in this me a “shelf ” for mounting the bulkhead. A piece that forms a bridge across the kit are molded as a single, solid piece, I made a template on a 3" x 5" index wheel well has some bad seams in its front which actually simplifies things. I sawed card that I trimmed to fit before transfer- as well as at the very back of the wheel off the two surfaces and smoothed each ring the pattern to styrene. After drawing well. I filled both with super glue, sanded side with a file, then used a scribing bit in a straight line on the card, I measured the them smooth and brushed on a coat of a motor tool to hollow out the inside of height of the opening on the tail with the Mr. Surfacer. I also added lines to hydrau- the horizontal stabilizer. I built up the calipers and marked the top and bottom lic cylinders on each gear door using .010" outboard part of the airfoil with .020" x on the line on the card. (This particular wire. Later, I would use .020" styrene rod .060" strip. But I did’t have any strip wide line was around .8".) Next, I measured the for the actuating rods, but because they enough to accommodate the main part of width of the opening at the top, bottom, would be fragile I waited until the doors the elevator, so I laminated three strips of and middle. I divided those numbers by were ready to be installed. .010" sheet and cut it into a strip .125" two and, using the calipers, made marks wide. I super glued the strips in place and on either side of the line. Then I cut out Wings laid down a bead of super glue along the the template and tested the fit. Finally, I You can pose the wings folded or edge to ensure there was no seam when traced the outline of the template onto extended; I chose the latter. Tamiya pro- the edge was sanded to shape. Then, I was .010" sheet, cut it out with a hobby knife, vides bulkheads and an ingenious set of able to rough in the shape of the airfoil – and used the punch-and-die set to cut out bars for each option to help maintain

alignment. The fit was nearly perfect and 19 required no shims to align the inboard and outboard pieces. However, Tamiya left a small hole on the inside of the trailing edge of the wing root – another “black hole.” So, I covered it with styrene sheet. After that, the wings needed only minor filling (although the oil cooler inlets required filling and rescribing). Odds and ends I formed optics for the gunsight by drilling out the kit part, measuring the open- Scott reworked the tail strut, adding a spring, lightening holes, and a different tail wheel. ing with the calipers, then mounting clear sprue in a motor tool and filing it to the 20 proper diameter. Next, I rounded it with a file and smoothed it with Testors sanding films, shining it up with polishing compound. I used a 3/8" circular saw to cut the optic off the sprue, sanded and polished the edge, and attached it using Future floor polish. The Corsair had mirrors on the canopy bow and an actuating lever and cables. The cables were too small to do in 1/48 scale, but I made some mirrors from .005" sheet and polished aluminum foil. Finally, I cut out the areas around the wingtip navigation lights. The fairings are Sheet styrene (white) completes each wheel well; copper wire replicates hydraulic lines. Lt. j.g. John Sanford Weeks, USN

John was my second cousin on my mother’s side, the Cecil himself had to ditch (without a life raft) 20 miles younger of two sons born to my grandfather’s sister, Lillian, from Shangri-La when his fuel tanks ran dry. He was and her husband, Arthur. John was born February 12, picked up by a destroyer and safely returned to the car- 1922, in Patchogue, Long Island, New York, and killed in rier. (I tried but was unable to find Cecil’s address.) combat on July 15, 1945, a mile and a half north of Otaru For gallantry in action and unwavering determination Harbor, Hokkaido, Japan. He was only 23. His death was to complete the mission in spite of fierce enemy opposi- a double blow to my great aunt Lilly and tion, John was posthumously awarded the uncle Art – their oldest son, Stephen, had Distinguished Flying Cross. Ironically, he died from spinal meningitis in his childhood. had served long enough to rotate home. John was assigned FG-1 Bu. No. 76692 Instead, he chose to stay – a fateful deci- while attached to Bomber Fighter Squadron sion, but one for which I am extraordi- Eighty-Five (VBF-85) embarked on USS narily proud of him. Shangri-La (CVA-38). He was flying a I spent a lot of time seeking informa- “rocket run” mission, attacking merchant tion on John’s aircraft, squadron, and per- ships in a run-up to the invasion of mainland sonal history. It was difficult, as his Japan. (Fortunately, the Japanese surrender parents and siblings had passed away. negated the need for invasion.) In spite of However, my mother and her brother pro- withering anti-aircraft fire, he pressed vided some great insights. A quiet yet onward, firing all of his rockets at one of the driven and determined young man who merchant ships and sinking it. Tragically, enlisted in the Navy fresh out of college, enemy fire claimed his aircraft and his life. he attended naval cadet training at the University of This information comes from the Combat Action North Carolina in Chapel Hill. That’s where I received Report (CAR) written for that day. The original report, my bachelor’s degree some 35 years after he was lost. “missing in action, presumed dead,” was amended to I, too, joined the Navy right out of college, earning my “killed in action” on July 16, 1945, by acting Secretary commission as an ensign in November 1981 and my of the Navy John L. Sullivan. wings in June 1983. We both became tail hook aviators John’s wingman, Lt. j.g. Cecil Moore, remained on with combat experience, though John flew many more station as long as he could looking for John, even toss- missions than I. ing him his life raft and dye marker, but to no avail. – Scott Murphy 21

Hand-painted markings and subtle weathering completed Scott’s tribute to his courageous cousin. clear with colored bulbs. I cut clear sprue Markings for my cousin’s air wing were another light coat of Future to seal every- with a motor-tool circular saw, drilled a a lightning bolt that covered most of the thing. small hole in one side, then painted the vertical tail, the top edge of the starboard The aircraft in my photo looked any- inside of the drilled hole with clear red in wing, and the bottom edge of the port thing but glossy after exposure to the bru- one and clear blue in the other. The clear wing. Rather than make decals, I chose to tal Pacific sun, so I airbrushed a coat of sprue was then super glued in place, paint the markings (which looks more ModelMaster semigloss clear. I also air- ground, filed, sanded to shape, then fin- realistic than decals anyway). brushed Testors desert tan behind the ished with polishing compound and a I began by painting the entire model exhaust stacks and added more discolor- motor-tool polishing pad. I then masked with automotive primer. The next day, I ation with powdered pastels, 21. off the lights to protect them during applied flat white where the markings As I mentioned before, I used .002" painting. would be and allowed it to cure for 24 diameter armature wire for the antenna Using the circular saw, I cut a very thin hours so future masking would not dam- wires. To model a small spring on the groove in the tip of the main fuselage age the paint. antenna mast on the tail, I wrapped .004" antenna mast and inserted a small piece of I printed out stars and bars and side wire around .015" steel rod. soda-can aluminum, drilling a .0135" hole numbers using Microsoft PowerPoint. The antenna wires require some pretty in the aluminum sheet. This makes Also, prior to painting, I photographed tricky threading through the hypodermic attaching the antenna wire a lot easier, and the tail and wing of the model, then tubing I use for insulators, the spring, and it looks more realistic than just wrapping resized the photos to 100 percent in the holes drilled in the masts. There is a them around the masts. I used .015" Adobe Photoshop. Still in Photoshop, I teardrop-shaped antenna binding post on hypodermic syringe for the insulators and drew the lightning bolt for the tail and the starboard side of the fuselage behind .002" armature wire for the antenna wire. wings, then copied it to PowerPoint and the canopy; I ground it off during con- printed it out. I made the masks by plac- struction, so I made a new one from sty- Assembly ing the printed photo and graphics for the rene, drilling a hole through it with a Having done all the detail work up to this insignia and side numbers under glass and .0135" (No. 80) bit and inserting .005" point, the actual construction of the kit is covering the areas to be masked with tape. dental suture wire to replicate the binding almost anticlimactic. The rest of the kit From there it was a simple matter of cut- post. The antenna wire for the fuselage is went together easily. There was a bit of a ting out the mask. wrapped around this wire, just like the real seam along the horizontal stabilizers; I I did make decals for all the stencils aircraft. masked around it and applied some Mr. and the side numbers for the gear door Surfacer to the area. Once it was hard, I (since they were too small to paint), as Invaluable assistance smoothed it with 0000 steel wool. well as the name WEEKS that appeared For their invaluable assistance in helping on his parachute strap and his Mae West me research Lt. John Weeks’ history, I Painting and finishing jacket. would like to express my deepest apprecia- The FG-1 Corsairs of VBF-85 were With the masks in place, I painted the tion to Commander Bill Hardman, USN painted in the overall glossy sea blue aircraft flat sea blue; I used flat because it (ret.), a fellow member of the greatest (but scheme. Wheel wells varied from silver to dries much more quickly than gloss, and I now, alas, former) community in naval avi- green zinc chromate to glossy sea blue (if was going to apply a clear gloss coat prior ation, all-weather medium attack; and my they were painted in the field). From what to decaling anyway. uncle, John Konvalinka, also a former I can determine from my photograph, the After the paint was dry, I carefully naval aviator. struts and wheels are painted with silver removed the masks and allowed the model And John, if you can hear me, you were lacquer. I assumed the wheel wells were to sit overnight. The next day, I airbrushed a hero of the greatest kind – not only to the same, and the wheel wells of the FG-1 two light coats of Future onto the model our family but to your squadron mates as at NMNA bore me out. They were not and again let it cure overnight. Only then well. I hope that by building this aircraft I restored with the rest of the aircraft and did I apply the decals. After the decals had will have, in some small measure, helped were still painted with silver lacquer. dried, I airbrushed the entire model with keep your memory alive. FSM

While Americans have their Thunderbirds and Blue Angels, the British thrill to the aerobatic skills of the Royal Air Force Red Arrows. The author made modifications to Revell’s BAe Hawk to model a more accurate Modeling a T.Mk.1 of the Red Arrows team. BAe Hawk T.Mk.1 By Ricardo Dacoba

Revell’s kit, Revell’s 1/72 scale BAe Hawk is a fairly complete trued up for the and reasonably correct model in its dimensions and shapes. Red Arrows The latter is why I chose to build this model in the first place. By the same logic, I kept the canopy closed to preserve this pretty little jet’s flowing lines. In what looks like a throwback to early scale models, the kit is molded in an intensely red plastic. Although the transparent parts are a little thick, their quality is excellent. For the sake of entertainment as well as accuracy, I added a few things to model the Hawk the way I like to see it. 1/72 Scale • Aircraft • How-to

Building

1 2 The kit’s cockpit is OK, but Ricardo wanted more. He installed True Ricardo designed the instrument panel on his computer and used the Details F-18 resin seats to raise the level of detail, shaping scraps of drawing to reproduce the parts in photoetched metal. Below the metal plastic to model additional features. are the red plastic kit parts.

3 4 The kit parts were, well, chunky. Within the fuselage, Ricardo shaved Ricardo followed panel lines to open a compartment near the nose. He away plastic to thin edges more to scale. also sliced off the tip of the nose to add a landing light not in the kit.

5 6 Inside the engine intakes, Ricardo sculpted putty to replicate ducts, add- The landing-gear bays are boxed off with sheet styrene and detailed ing detail and a vision block to an otherwise empty, featureless space. with copper wire of various gauges. Later, Ricardo added hydraulic lines to the kit’s landing gear.

7 8 Ricardo thinned the edges of the openings for the landing-gear bays, not Ricardo thinned the wings’ leading and trailing edges by shaving them with just to bring the edges closer to scale but to ensure adequate space for a No. 11 hobby-knife blade, preserving panel lines by deepening them as additional interior details. necessary. Also, he sawed off the wing flaps and lowered them for a more realistic pose. Then he smoothed things over with 600-grit sandpaper. Building (cont’d)

10 The landing light on the nose is a prominent feature worthy of extra effort. Here, a 9 tin-alloy reflector will be filled with clear A brilliant finish makes even slight imperfections obvious. Knowing his Hawk would be wearing resin to model the light’s lens. The opening the glossy Red Arrows scheme, Ricardo took extra care to join the wings smoothly with the for the forward compartment is boxed off fuselage, filling the joints with putty and sanding them smooth. with sheet styrene.

11 12 Ricardo widened the opening for the exhaust to adjust it to a new piece The kit had a gun pod (lower piece in the photo) instead of the 70-gal- he scratchbuilt, complete with interior turbine details. Styrene rods lon ventral tank of the Red Arrows aircraft. Ricardo replaced the pod (installed last) depict pipes supplying the dye and diesel fuel that create with a part made from resin epoxy. colored smoke seen by Red Arrows spectators during shows.

BAe Hawk T.Mk.1

The British Aerospace Gnats for Hawks in 1980. ues to convincingly demon- A stable and adaptable Hawk, a little single-engine, Powered by a Rolls- strate its spectacular aircraft well-suited for two-seat trainer, entered Royce Turbomeca Adour tur- aerobatic capabilities. advanced pilot training, the service in the Royal Air bofan engine developing Aside from its flamboy- Hawk has been constantly Force in 1976. Since then, 5,700 pounds of thrust, the ant paint scheme, the Red upgraded through the more than 800 of the air- Hawk has a maximum Arrows Hawk differs little years. The latest Mk.100 craft have been delivered to speed of 645 mph and can from a standard T.Mk.1. and Mk.200 versions (the several countries around reach Mach 1.2 in a dive. A Each of the team’s aircraft latter a single-seater) fea- the world. load factor of 8g, with war has a 70-Imperial-gallon ture advanced avionics and The first flight of the loads up to 3,000 pounds tank which carries diesel oil can be fitted with equipment Hawk, on August 21, 1974, (1,360kg), is possible; with and red and blue dye in such as radar, laser range took place just 11 days a load of 5,000 pounds separate compartments. finders, and sophisticated before it debuted at the (2,270kg), the load factor These fluids can be selected electronic countermeasures, Farnborough air show. The remains relatively high at and pumped to three jet- ensuring the worldwide aircraft was made famous 6g. This exceptional perfor- pipe nozzles, where the popularity of these aircraft by the RAF’s aerobatic team, mance makes the Hawk a heat produces the colored for many years to come. the Red Arrows, which natural choice for the Red smoke that traces the jets’ – Ricardo Dacoba traded its Hawker Siddeley Arrows as the team contin- soaring paths. Painting

13 14 15 Ricardo used Tamiya acrylic paints on his Although the kit offers decals for the When the base coat was completely dry, Ricardo applied Hawk. After masking off the canopy, he white stripes, Ricardo preferred to paint the masks and overcoated with Tamiya red X-7 slightly laid down a base coat of gloss white. He the markings. He used a hobby knife deepened with just a couple drops of X-3 royal blue. let the base coat dry for a couple days to (with a new blade) to cut masks from Removing the masks revealed the white underneath. make sure it would not be damaged by Badger frisket film. Thinner than masking When the red had dried, he masked again to paint the tail the masking to come. tape, the frisket will better follow the blue. With each coat, he pulled the masks away (“with complex curves of the painting surfaces. supreme care”) before the paint had completely cured to get a clean break and avoid a “step” between colors.

16 17 18 To accent panel lines and surface fea- … then wiped it away with a damp The Hawk is ready for decals, then three coats of Tamiya tures, Ricardo brushed on thinned, dark cloth. X-22 gloss clear for a dazzling finish. The flaps, removed brown ink … earlier, will be reattached in their lowered position.

Finally, Ricardo attached the flaps, canopy, landing gear, ventral fuel tank, a pitot tube at the nose, various antennae, and the smoke gener- ators. Ricardo says this model is a great example of an entertaining and inexpensive hobby: “It took 40 days, all of which I enjoyed for about $5. The kit is not perfect – but what kit is. I’m very happy with the final result.” FSM Finishing the Flying Fortress Detailing and painting turns Revell-Monogram’s old B-17G into a breathtaking bomber By Garfield Ingram

he B-17G Flying Fortress was an instrumental and nants of the lines after sanding, making the process less tedious. innovative aircraft during World War II. Its durability Next, the trailing edges, elevators, and rudder needed to be in the face of adversity and its defensive powers earned thinned to scale. Test fitting indicated thinning the trailing edges it a hero’s reputation. During the war, over 8,000 would disrupt the fit between the wings and the fuselage. After B-17Gs were manufactured, and only a small percent- the upper edges were mated, I sawed a small piece out of the age fell as casualties. But as post-WWII technology fuselage, allowing it to conform with the wing. Tevolved, the trustworthy Flying Fortress ended up as scrap. Today, With the basic structure together, I was ready to add the fewer than 100 B-17 airframes still exist, and fewer than 15 of aftermarket extras. A Paragon resin detail set and a scratchbuilt those remain flyable. ceiling completed the bomb bay, 1. I opened the Paragon rear compartment doors, 2, and added a generator and toilet, though Getting it together they can’t be seen in the pictures. I scratchbuilt the radio com- For an aircraft so full of history, Revell-Monogram has been partment, even though it is pretty much hidden, 3. the only manufacturer to create 1/48 scale kits. The shape and The tail gunner’s enclosure was enhanced with a coat of scale, like most Monogram kits, are accurate. But, the rustic tool- Future and a sheet metal surround simulated with Mr. Surfacer, ing of the old molds showed with its thick trailing edges, raised 4. Details, such as blast tubes on the guns and embossed foil zip- panel lines, and dated quality of the clear parts. pers on the canvas gun covers, dressed up the nose guns, 5. The 1/48 scale bomber builds into a large model. I recom- The engines received wiring, 6. I replaced the intercooler mend focusing on one component of the aircraft at a time. First, I scoops with square plastic tubing and added heat-formed clear rescribed all the panel lines. The kit’s silver plastic reveals rem- sheet styrene to cover the wing lights, 7. 1/48 Scale | Aircraft | How-to Finishing the

Garfield Ingram turned an outdated kit into an outstanding model.

1 2

Garfield completed the Paragon bomb bay set with a scratchbuilt ceiling. The rear compartment doors open to a generator and restroom. 3 4

Garfield scratchbuilt the radio compartment components, even though Not even the tail gunner’s enclosure went unnoticed. It received a coat of they’re not visible on the finished model. Future and a sheet metal surround created with Mr. Surfacer.

5 6

Embossed foil serves as the zippers on the chin turret openings. The engines look ready to run after extra wiring was added.

peel off, leaving the appearance of a metal frame, 9. Constructing the canopy I replaced the aged kit canopies with vacuum-formed “Decaling” and painting Squadron parts. I like the canopy’s glazing to sparkle in contrast My experiences have proven decals sometimes cause more to the war-torn and faded body, so I dipped the pieces in Future problems than they’re worth. They tend to silver, won’t snuggle floor polish. Since the cockpit can be seen through the clear can- down, or aren’t quite the right colors, so I started painting my opies, I tried to make the interior detail accurate. Then, I cut own markings. I chose a B-17G with interesting nose art and open the side window to increase visibility of the cockpit, 8. colorful markings. To prevent the insignia paints from discolor- Additionally, the canopy should blend into the fuselage and ing over the olive drab, I paint on the markings before I paint the not appear to be a stuck-on afterthought. I attached the canopy rest of the aircraft. before painting to maintain continuity. Before the canopy was First, I primed the area receiving markings with Mr. Surfacer, attached, I created a lip with Evergreen strip for the bombardier’s then sanded the area with a 600-grit wet-or-dry sandpaper to blister. To attach the canopies, I first applied a coat of accelerator provide a little tooth for the paint. When the area was prepped, I on the seam. Then, using tiny dots of super glue, I tacked the layed down a coat of very pale gray paint, which served as the canopy in place. In my experiences, the accelerator will dry white for the insignia and a good base coat for the yellow and quickly and prevent white frosting on the glazing interior. When red, 10. the canopy was in place, I filled the seam with Squadron putty, To create accurate markings, I made stencils based on the sanded, and touched-up the area with Mr. Surfacer. decals in the kit. I secured the kit decal to a cutting mat and To create the metal frame around the canopy, I masked the ensured correct orientation with a T-square. Once the decal was seams with tape and filled in the areas with Mr. Surfacer. I then in place, I put a piece of frisket film, a temporary vinyl masking sanded the primer off the tape’s edges until the tape would easily material, over it. Using a No. 11 blade, I carefully cut around the 7 8

Heat-formed clear sheet styrene covered the wing lights, and square plastic Garfield cut part of the canopy open to make the cockpit more visible. tubing replaced the scoops.

9 10

The metal frame was created by masking around the canopy’s seams and Garfield masked off the panel where the markings were placed and painted filling the areas with Mr. Surfacer. a coat of light gray for a base.

11 12

By using the kit decal as a guide and carefully cutting the frisket film, When the newly-created stencils were in place, Garfield airbrushed the Garfield created a stencil for the markings. markings. 13 14

Garfield painted a panel on the left wing to look as if it had recently been The oily engine streaks are a mix of 20 percent semi-gloss black and 80 per- replaced. cent thinner.

Attention to detail and a realistic paint job make Garfield’s B-17G look like the full-size bomber.

shape, making sure I didn’t overlap cuts on the frisket film or cut Monogram’s B-17G is an old kit, but with some basic build- through the decals, 11. The frisket film was ready to be placed on ing techniques and attention to detail, I was able to create an the aircraft, and I sprayed on the markings, without any decal accurate and interesting finish. FSM film to worry about. I approached the olive-drab paint scheme like a natural-metal SOURCES finish, mixing seven different shades of olive drab. I even painted Bomb bay and rear compartment doors detail sets Paragon one panel on the left wing to appear as if it were recently Design, www.hannants.co.uk replaced, 13. Even the gray on the underside was mixed in five B-17G Flying Fortress Canopy Sets Squadron Products, different shades. www.sqaudron.com Chalk pastels subtly accent the panel lines. I never use black Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer Dragon Models USA Inc., for panels lines, except near the engine. I always recommend 866-365-8721, www.dragonmodelsusa.com darker versions of the surrounding colors. The B-17s had notori- Frisket film available in art supply stores ously dirty engines, so I mixed semi-gloss black with about 80 percent thinner and hand-painted the oily engine streaks, 14.