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

History Comes Alive 2011

Thanks to a friend, I attended the 2011 'History Comes Alive' event, which was held at the Barwon Park Mansion in Winchelsea over the weekend of 9-10 April. A bi-annual event, it is organised by the Geelong Branch of the Military Historical Society (MHS) and the Geelong Military Re-enactment Group (GMRG) and is billed as a weekend of "military living history".

The mansion grounds and several out-buildings are transformed into a number of military encampments and set pieces in which many of the restored military vehicles as well as original and replica items of equipment are displayed. Adding to this are the 70+ members of the two groups, dressed in period military uniforms dating from the Boer War through to the Vietnam conflict, who help to set the scene.

A number of live firings and re-enactments are also conducted throughout the day, but for me the real highlights were the restored military vehicles, which consisted of:

Bren Gun carriers (3), Chevrolet Blitz, Ford Blitz, Daimler Dingo, M3A1 White Scout Cars (2), M3 White Halftrack, Dodge Weapons Carriers (2), GMC 6x6 cargo truck, Marmon Herrington, US Staff car, Kubelwagen, BMW motorcycle, BMW motorcycle and sidecar, Willys Jeeps (6), 25 Pounder field guns (2), 6 Pounder anti-tank gun and a Boys anti-tank rifle.

This was the first year the event was held at the Barwon Park Mansion - having previously been held at the Geelong showgrounds - and will be held here from now on. Next years event, 'The Age of Gunpowder', is already in the planning stages and will take place over the weekend of 4-5 May 2013, with full details at the GMRG website.

 

Hasegawa 1/48 Arado Ar234B-2 'Blitz Bomber'

The Arado was a commission piece built for a customer who essentially wanted it done as an Out of Box model, but with the inclusion of an Aires cockpit set, all of which he supplied. The latter is a big improvement on the kit supplied parts and once assembled and painted looks really great under all that glazing. The Aires cockpit set went together without any dramas, fitted into the fuselage perfectly and only required a small amount of sanding around its circumference to allow the forward fuselage glazing to fit snugly. The rest of the kit went together without any problems and only required a small amount of filler at the wing to fuselage and wing to engine nacelle joins, which was a pleasant surprise. With construction completed the canopy was then masked and the model given a wipe down with Methylated Spirits and then sprayed with a coat of Tamiya surface primer. The engine intakes, exhausts and exhaust shrouds were then brush painted, using paints and washes from the Games Workshop/Citadel range. The wheel wells and undercarriage components were then sprayed using paints from the Gunze Mr Hobby range and the main fuselage colors were then applied using Vallejo Air acrylics - these were also used to paint the cockpit interior and details. The model was then sprayed with a coat of Future in preparation for the application of decals and panel line washes. As the kit decals looked pretty ordinary to me I elected to replace them with a set from Eagle Strike (48169) as they were far more comprehensive, but unfortunately they did silver in few places - something I've not experienced before. After the panel line washes were applied the model was then sprayed with Vallejo Air Satin varnish, which gives it just a slight sheen. Any weathering, paint chips and scratches were then kept to a minimum as most of the photos I referred to showed these aircraft to be very well maintained. The only other details I added were:

• Pitot tube from brass rod and tube.
• Brake lines from fuse wire.
• Under wing aerial from wire, and
• Aerial lead from mono-filament thread.

Overall the kit of the Arado was a very easy model to build, however, I did find the painting to be quite a challenge especially when compared to my usual fare of Japanese WWII aircraft.

Wave Ma.K. 'Ketzer'

As I've mentioned before every year my modelling buddies and I choose a challenge subject, which we then build and enter into the annual Australian Model Expo, which is our equivalent of the IPMS USA Nationals. In the past few years we've tended towards aircraft - props and jets - and last year decided to do a bi-plane, the Eduard 1/48 Albatross DVa.
 

The DVa resurrection

Unfortunately bi-planes have never been my forte and after getting about 60% of the way through the build, my Albatross took a sudden swan dive into the floor followed by a tirade of expletives. Fortunately though a good friend of mine - Brad Cancian - asked for the mortal remains to be recovered and forwarded to him, whereupon he incorporated it into a magnificent WWI diorama.

As a consequence, for the 2012 Australian Model Expo my modelling buddies and I decided to do something entirely different, which would take us outside of our normal comfort zone. Hence the decision was made to do any manned (Ma.K), ground based, powered fighting suite and for this I chose the recently released Wave kit of the 'Ketzer', as it was the only subject that really appealed to me. The model went together without any dramas, was painted using Vallejo Airs and weathered using the sponge technique, a fine paint brush and Mig pigments. The base was made from an old trophy I had lying around and the ground work created using Games Workshop modelling sand and MiniNature grasses. 

So what was the final outcome from this years Australian Model Expo? Well lets just say that out of five of us who competed in the challenge, only one of us took out an award - a first - which sadly wasn't me this time around.......

The Australian Model Expo 2012

Andrzej Zoiber won the 'Best of Show' award with his Avro Lancaster Mk.I

The Australian Model Expo was held over the weekend of 9-11 June 2012 at the Sandown Entertainment, Melbourne, Victoria. This years event - the 29th - broke all previous records with the highest number of traders (27), club and individual displays (21) competition entries (674) and competitors (225) in attendance. Visitors from Poland, French Polynesia, Singapore, the USA and New Zealand also attended, giving the event a true international flavor. As Director, it was great to see so many modellers from across the country catching up, socialising and comparing their works. The full gallery of category winners and special awards can be viewed at http://modelexpo.com.au/gallery.html

GMC CCKW 'Duece and a Half' (Woods Point)

After spending a wonderful weekend in Marysville - in the Victorian high country - I decided to go home via the road less traveled - something I'm prone to do - which would take us through the small town of Woods Point. Why? Because we'd never been there before and it seemed as good an excuse as any to do so.

No hope of filling up here

Creek crossing

After enduring a one and a half hour, white knuckle/picturesque drive, on dirt roads and along a ridge line, we finally descended into the main street of the town where we pulled along side what was once the local service station. With our nerves somewhat settled we then proceeded to wander around the town and check out the local attractions and in the process stumbled across a GMC 6x6 Duece and a Half, parked in a backyard amongst a plethora other items. Although the vehicle would have to be some 65+ years old, it appeared to be in remarkably good condition and relatively complete, albeit missing the rear cargo tray which was nowhere to be seen. After WWII many of these vehicles served with the Australian Army and when surplussed went onto serve in the mining, forestry and construction industries. As Woods Point is a known forestry/gold mining area it is likely that the vehicle served in one of these industries and considering its age and condition, probably up until quite recently. What still amazes me though, is what you can find and where you will find when you least expect it. As for the remaining drive home via Matlock and Moe, lets just say it was better suited to either a 4WD or SUV rather than my Mitsubishi sedan..........but nevertheless we did make it.