Academy 1/144 B-58A Hustler

Another busy month has passed, which has left me with little time for modelling, however despite this I still managed to complete my Academy 1/144 scale B-58A Hustler, just in time for the IPMS Australia End of Year competition. 

This was a straight forward build that only required a small amount of filler, where the engine nacelle fairings attach to the wing leading edges and the wing underside attaches to the aft fuselage, and that was it! All other joins were simply eliminated with some careful sanding and a little Mr Surfacer - applied with a brush - and any lost panels lines re-scribed as necessary. The centreline weapons pod was also left off at this stage, just to make painting and decaling that little bit easier.

The windscreen was masked with Azui/Tamiya tape and the model sprayed with Tamiya Surface Primer (L). After a light sand with some Micro-mesh pads, to remove any surface imperfections, the model was then sprayed with several coats of Tamiya AS12, Bare-metal Silver. As per my references the various metallic areas when then masked off and sprayed with a variety of Gunze (H12 Flat Black, H58 Interior Green, H62 IJA Gray) and Games Workshop (Boltgun Metal, Chainmail) colours, as well as Citadel washes (Ogryn Flesh, Asurmen Blue) applied with a brush.

The model was then sprayed with a coat of Future, the decals applied and a further coat of Future applied to seal them in. Once this was dry the model was then sprayed with Vallejo, Model Air, Satin Varnish. Vallejo, Model Air, Matt Varnish was then applied to the darkened areas of the engine nacelles, so as to flatten them and enhance their tarnished look.

All the undercarriage bits and the weapons pod were then fitted and she - the Hustler - was finished. I only have one complaint with these kits and that is the decals, as I find them to be quite thick and requiring multiple coats of Micro-Sol to get them to soften and conform, which is rather annoying. 

This is another nice addition to my growing collection of Cold War strategic bombers and surprisingly when placed alongside my B-47 Stratojet, is quite a small aircraft.

Model displayed on Noy's Miniatures airfield base

Mitsubishi A6M Zero Fighter - Model Art Profiles Parts 1 & 2

I'd already read a few of reviews on these recently released Model Art profiles and despite what some had said about them, I still felt they were a must have item. This was based solely on the fact that I already have a number of their titles in my collection and therefore felt that they should be just as good.

Despite the fact that I already have the Bunrin-Do, Aero Detail, AJ Press and Mushroom Model title's of the A6M Zero in my collection, I still found these Model Art profiles to be truly amazing. Although many of the photos in them have been published before - in some of the publications already mentioned - it is the decision by the editors to print them in a larger format, that allows a lot more detail to be seen. What I also like is the full color artwork, photos and side profiles covered in the front pages and the modelling sections covered towards the rear.

Therefore, regardless of what you may have heard or read elsewhere, if you really have an interest in modelling Japanese WWII aircraft, then these titles should be on your must have list as they will be a worthy addition to your reference collection. I can't recommend them more highly than that.