Airfix Curtiss Tomahawk IIb 1/72 scale

[yak face]

Well ive had a tricky time with the canopies on this little bugger. The canopies are commendably thin and clear but in the case of the main section , a bit too thin!!! The overlapping bit at the rear of the main part is that thin ,I accidentally went through it while cutting the tape masking the windows. I think its a very thin piece of the moulding and anyone considering this kit should bear this in mind when masking or handling these clear parts. The 2 curved rear side windows are a bit troublesome too, they are a great fit but you have to be careful how much canopy glue you use or it will wick underneath and be seen from outside as these have no frame round them. Normally I would have attached these last off but the main canopy overlaps them (the aforementioned thin bits!) so theyve got to be masked and go on now. Anyway the canopies are on and im just in the process of filling the step in front of the windscreen . Apart from the clear parts needing a bit of careful handling ,the rest of the assembly has been great , ive even managed NOT to break off the very fragile guns !

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[flyjoe180]

Looks great Tony. For a starter kit that's a pretty tricky canopy system to deal with.

 

[Dave W]

Looks good Tony.its not finished yet so plenty of opportunities to break the guns off!.

 

[Ziper_it]

Looks great.

Francesco

 

[yak face]

Well Ive been very busy with work in the house so havent been in the shed much at all lately ,so apologies if anyone thought this one had disappeared!! Ive got the colour on after a bit of a disaster - I first sprayed the underside with Vallejo Game Colour Steel Grey as to my eye it looks a better match than the recommended Humbrol 157 (this colour has always been contentious). All good so far ... then i thought I'd try the new Humbrol acrylics for the top colours , the problem being I didnt have any Humbrol acrylic thinners so thought I'd use Vallejo airbrush thinner , its still acrylic so should be ok right? WRONG!!!! it reacted horribly , clogging the brush and separating on the model , giving a see through , runny , chalky mess!!! I resisted the very strong urge to send it on a one way mission against the wall , and left it to harden while i contemplated Plan B. After a few days I sanded the mess and re applied all the colours (yes even the underside , the paint had seeped under all the masking !)in Vallejo paints and here it is , waiting for the decals ! tony

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[Alan 45]

That's coming along nicely

 

[Dave W]

The desert camo looks good and the guns are still on!.

 

[dubster72]

The trials & tribulations of model-building rears its ugly head again Tony! Still you'd never know & the build lookseexcellent thus far. Dunno how you do it in such small scale!

Cheers Patrick

 

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Tony

Just caught up with this.

Got to say the detail on this little kit looks pretty impressive. That's not just glossy-eyed nostalgic bias that makes me say that. I'm so glad that Airfix are (seemingly) doing so well it's nice to have an brand that you grew up with still holding it's own in a competitive market.

That said I don't think Airfix should be dumbing down the paint call outs just because they only supply 4 paint colours. Surely anyone that buys these kits realises there's a few other colours to make this aircraft realistic? And those that don't realise won't care anyway!

That aside, the surface detail does look good for an aircraft in this scale and you're making a fine job of the finish.

As for the paint and thinners debacle, I would not expect a build of yours to go without a hitch! There's always some scrape that you always magnificently get out of!!! This is no exception.

Keep up the great work Tony.

All the best

Paul

 

[flyjoe180]

Nice work and recovery Tony. Bit of a pain with those paints, but you have recovered the situation nicely. Know what you mean about houses and no modelling too...

 

[yak face]

Hi TonyJust caught up with this.

Got to say the detail on this little kit looks pretty impressive. That's not just glossy-eyed nostalgic bias that makes me say that. I'm so glad that Airfix are (seemingly) doing so well it's nice to have an brand that you grew up with still holding it's own in a competitive market.

That said I don't think Airfix should be dumbing down the paint call outs just because they only supply 4 paint colours. Surely anyone that buys these kits realises there's a few other colours to make this aircraft realistic? And those that don't realise won't care anyway!

That aside, the surface detail does look good for an aircraft in this scale and you're making a fine job of the finish.

As for the paint and thinners debacle, I would not expect a build of yours to go without a hitch! There's always some scrape that you always magnificently get out of!!! This is no exception.

Keep up the great work Tony.

All the best

Paul

I agree totally Paul , its a daft thing to give incorrect paint call outs just to suit the limited paints given in the set. Luckily ,as you say , those that know different will disregard this info and those that dont or dont really care wont be bothered anyway!! Its not the most straightforward kit for a starter set , so I wouldnt recommend it for a beginner , but for someone who knows what theyre doing its a superb little kit .Anyone wanting to get youngsters into the hobby would be better off with the Airfix pre coloured Quick Build sets , they are like Lego but when assembled really do look like a spitfire etc. or maybe the Hobby Boss easy assembly kits. cheers tony

 

[yak face]

The desert camo looks good and the guns are still on!.

Confession time. Forgive me father dave , i broke off one of the guns and had to stick it back on!

 

[monica]

Hi Tony

Just caught up with this.good job , and nice little run down on how it all gos together, i do like the seat belts will have to try that one day, just

adds that bit more,maybe a post on how too would be nice for some off us as well , just thing

how do you tell that its a retooled one ?

 

[yak face]

Cheers monica, The seat harnesses were just quickly knocked up from bits of Tamiya tape ,the eyelets were done with a fine CD marker pen. If you want to see a better way with pierced eyelets and foil belts theres a couple of examples here http://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/airfix-1-72-westland-whirlwind.12539/ http://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/airfix-dh-88-comet-1-72.11445/ hope this helps. As for the re-tooled question , in general all the recent new tool Airfix kits have recessed panel lines , the older toolings all having raised , cheers tony

 

[spongtastic]

I can second your opinion on the canopy. Started painting mine last night it's so thin that there's a couple of holes, managed to flick the brish on one of them so there's a bit of paint where it shouldn't be, but they're nothing that couldn't be filled with Kristal Klear. The fit is very good though, far better than the new tool Hurricane.

 

[monica]

thank you for the info Tony, looked at the links , thats just amazing detail ,

 

[yak face]

Happy to help Monica. Latest progress . The decals are on ,just needing some MR Mark Softer and a little touching up on the sharks mouth , and ive highlighted the panel lines - black for the control surfaces , grey for the undersides and a brown/grey mix for the upper surfaces . Next jobs , paint the guns, attach the U/C legs and wheels , then its on with the knocky off bits (aerial, pitot ) . I want to give it a faded , sunbleached look so I think i might mist a thinned white over the top surfaces to fade the colours a bit . hopefully there'll be more pics tomorrow , cheers tony

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[Alan 45]

That's coming along nicely Tony, I nearly bought one of these today it was only £6.99

 

[dubster72]

Tony, just my tuppence worth, perhaps using something like Tamiya deck tan or buff might give a better effect than white. IMHO with this camo pattern, white could be too harsh.

Cheers Patrick

 

[flyjoe180]

Wonderful work Tony, she's looking the part