Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Hi Guys and Girls, I've gone back to WWII and the Pacific for my next build, the other half of the Midway Dogfight Double set, and the B5N2 'Kate' (I've already built the F4F-4)./media/tinymce_upload/2053206cd283bf68b7b5349e71be01ce.jpgConstruction started with the cockpit, which is very detailed. The cockpit 'floor' is made up of the centre section of the full span upper wing part. This kit also has a folded wing option, like the Wildcat (which I have chosen not to use this time). Unlike the Wildcat however There are not separate wings for spread and folded, but cut lines are moulded inside each half and some nice inserts are provided, and the whole thing looks pretty simple./media/tinymce_upload/d2f7e8e112568b3696627828f0f045f9.jpgAfter the cockpit was together the wings were joined, after first fixing the glazing for the bomb aimer's window in the lower wing. They went together well, after using clamps to hold it together. The cockpit was then painted in light olive, drybrushed in sky, and details picked out in black. Finally a wash of Tamiya smoke was used to pop out some of the moulded detail./media/tinymce_upload/5badfbb02bddd8bc7336c279cf5620cd.jpgMore to follow soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Symmons Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Always wanted to see a comprehensive build of the Nakajima B5N2 Kate look forward to more. It hasn't arrived in Cape Town yet I'll certainly get one when it finally arrives, hopefully in June or July. If your Wild Cat is a sample of your builds I wait with anticipation.So far looks interesting. Keep up the good work.Remember we do this for fun John the Pom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidJC Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Neat looking model there and I look forward to the final build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Thanks for your comments guys.The build is coming on apace. I made lap straps from my usual painted Tamiya tape, then glued the fuselage halves together after first painting light olive and picking out detail, such as the spare ammo drums moulded on the side walls in black. /media/tinymce_upload/17862a7d3d2ee915236761e483e10452.jpg Before cementing the fuselage to the wings, I test fitted the flaps. There are two sets of these, one for lowered and one raised, both fitted okay. The ailerons, elevators and rudder are also separate parts which can be set at an angle. /media/tinymce_upload/0afed0581c99bc93b1a222d0cb9eec0d.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/a7606ebbbb266092d00b08be83079099.jpg The wings went on next and with the aid of some clamps the join was alright, but not brilliant around the under fuselage joint and some filler was needed here.The rest of the build of the basic airframe went without trouble, and I soon had it all together and the seams sanded down. To cater for the boxing of the earlier B5N1 with the larger diameter single row engine the front of the fuselage, immediately behind the cowling is a separate part. /media/tinymce_upload/8111657a8650837dddc29503983412f2.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/45ca32bb6de337d2d25d276063a95aa6.jpg The engine is a nice moulding consisting of two rows of cylinders, an exhaust collector ring and reduction gear housing, which can be added at the end of the build with the propeller. Unfortunately not much of this can be seen once inside the cowling, which has alternate open or closed cooling gills. Ps Sorry some of the photos have be posted upside down, can't seem to fix this, maybe Admin could flip them? Admin edit: Images flipped - remember that images "remember" the orientation they were taken in. Some software can automatically detect this and ensure images appear correctly. Unfortunately, the Forum can't and images taken should be the "right" way up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 Thanks Admin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Symmons Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Coming along nicely, seem Airfix has another winner. Seems a strange way to do the wing Fuselage join but I'm sure Airfix had their reasons. Keep up the good work looking forward to more.Remember we do this for fun John the Pom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted March 30, 2016 Author Share Posted March 30, 2016 Coming along nicely, seem Airfix has another winner. Seems a strange way to do the wing Fuselage join but I'm sure Airfix had their reasons. Keep up the good work looking forward to more.Remember we do this for fun John the PomI suppose that doing the wing as a complete top and bottom full span piece there is no possibility of getting the angle wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 Hi All,Sorry it's been awhile since I updated this thread, but demands of work and home got in the way of my modelling, like they do.Since my last post I've painted the airframe and prepared the torpedo and undercarriage for fitment at the end of the build. The two main camouflage colours were brush painted with a No3 stable brush, This time I used Xtracolor enamels, as I had the correct colours in this range (namely IJN Green and Grey). I've found that Xtracolours go on very smoothly and give an even finish, and dry to a gloss surface ready for putting on your decals. The problem with this paint is drying time, I've found that they take at least 48 hours to go off, and even then they are a little tacky to the touch. Next time I'll stick to Humbrol Acrylics, at least they only take an hour!/media/tinymce_upload/b38458889777bcc045374648164de9d7.jpgIn this image the torpedo and wheels are only push fitted for show/media/tinymce_upload/00650c18a33ce43cf0bde06530e9433d.jpgThe undercarriage units and bays were painted aluminium and then given a wash of Tamiya smoke to bring out the detail and represent oil stains./media/tinymce_upload/7baa0af573e67158cdf47385101277b4.jpgThe paint chipping around the wing roots and cockpit edges was achieved by first painting the area aluminium, then applying some Maskol Fluid to the area of high wear, followed by the top coat green. When this had dried the Maskol was rubbed and picked off, leaving the aluminium showing through. I think it looks pretty good./media/tinymce_upload/45e058ea09f475305cc17ed2f45c8bc9.jpgThe weapons supplied with the kit. I'll be using the standard torpedo, but an extra tail was supplied for this, representing the fairing fitted for the Pearl Harbor operation that allowed the torpedo to run shallow in the Harbour. (watch the film 'Tora Tora Tora!' for details of this). There are also 4 different sizes of bomb supplied, with 6 of the smaller ones, so plenty of options for you! That's it for this post, next time the decalling should be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Symmons Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 Coming on nicely, you're doing a grand job. Looking forward to the completion.I see you haven't added crew figures do they come with the kit & how did you do the canopy? Those red undecarriage indicators on the wing sort-of really stand out, but I suppose that's their purpose. If that's a push fit on you first photo, it says a lot for the moulding tolerances. The paint chipping also looks good & addes some characture to the model. That weapons load looks tempting, as you say plenty of options & spares.Keep up the good work, & again waiting with anticipation.Remember we do this for fun John the Pom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 Coming on nicely, you're doing a grand job. Looking forward to the completion.I see you haven't added crew figures do they come with the kit & how did you do the canopy? Those red undecarriage indicators on the wing sort-of really stand out, but I suppose that's their purpose. If that's a push fit on you first photo, it says a lot for the moulding tolerances. The paint chipping also looks good & addes some characture to the model. That weapons load looks tempting, as you say plenty of options & spares.Keep up the good work, & again waiting with anticipation.Remember we do this for fun John the PomThanks John, Yes it does come with three crew in two different poses. I hand painted the canopy with a 00 brush and acrylics, I'll tidy up the edges later with a cocktail stick. Yes those red things on the wings are undercarriage indicators, not sure if they are meant to be red though, used some artistic licence, even so the spitfire in my local museum also has red indicators, so maybe not so far fetched. The fit is good and I even played with the idea of not fixing the torpedo in place so I could change the load over occasionally. Your kind words are appreciated. PMM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 22, 2016 Author Share Posted April 22, 2016 Decalling has now taken place. The decals were generally good, with most not having much carrier film, so no worry about silvering for them. However, for obvious reasons a few markings, such as the tailplane aiming stripes, and vertical tail markings came as one piece and had a large amount of carrier film, so care was needed with these. Talking about the vertical tail markings, a word of warning to anyone else building this markings option. If you have offset the rudder at all you will need to slice through the bottom yellow stripe horizontally, as it is positioned half on the rudder and half on the tail fin.I have made a mistake with the flap warning red stripes. I've positioned these so that they are on the edges of the flap itself, they should be on the wing area surrounding the flap, but it's a minor mistake and I can live with it.One thing I found was that the decals were quite stiff, and where they went over any raised detail I had to use a lot of Decalfix to make them conform, such as the wing meatballs over the aileron hinge, and the red marking on top of the wing fold hinge./media/tinymce_upload/5b89bd6be6ae7b6102bf4288500d047d.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/bcc833b4a3186b5230a8ce9b5d96f898.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/9fd29bbe348c8dbfae9ec880d21a925d.jpgI'm going to give the underside a panel line wash, a couple of coats of matt varnish, then some light weathering and add the final few bits and bobs and she will be finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Symmons Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Looking even better with some decorations. Did that fuselage band give you any trouble? Thanks for all the tips on the decals. I think we all make mistakes especially when we think were're nearly finished. I didit on the Ju 52 I'm building. Anyway looking really good you've really wetted my appitite with this build, I just hope it arrives in Cape Town soon. It certainly looks the part and a superperb kit. Keep up the good work and looking foreward to the finished artical.Remember we do this for fun John the Pom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew72 Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 Nice B5N! The green topside looks impressively weathered, particularly the streaking. Naval torpedo bombers always intrigued me. Low and slow into the hornets' nest of flak. Airfix really produced a very nice kit and you and done it up right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 24, 2016 Author Share Posted April 24, 2016 Thanks for the comments guys.John, the fuselage band went on fine, joined at the bottom and everything! When it had dried there was a slight kink in it, but I slit this with my craft knife, put some decal softener on it and it was good.Yes I think everyone makes one or two mistakes on every build, I know I do, but realistically it would probably only ever be us who would notice our own mishaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 I'm pleased to say that my Kate is now finished, I gave the underside a panel line wash, then I got two coats of matt varnish, a little weathering around the walkways and exhausts, and the final bits were added with no drama. The navigation lights were painted using clear green and red, there are three on each wing!/media/tinymce_upload/9bbbea6f6a32311f77644fae82d37782.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/3e33a4bf2aabae793f443004fccef3cc.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/fa0965d6769a5d30b5986de53668b1fe.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/5c679710d6acfd8b0d5c5b766f4626dd.jpgThe two kits from the Battle of Midway Dogfight Doubles set, how about a new Val, Devastator and Dauntless to complete the line up Airfix? Conclusion: another winner from Airfix, the kit featured ease of assembly, good optional parts, fantastic interior detail, and more restrained panel lines than a few years ago. Compared to the Hasegawa B5N2 which I built a few years ago, this is a clear winner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Symmons Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Hi P.M.M.Very nice build, it certainly looks fantastic especialy posed with the Wild Cat. You've really wetted my appitite can't wait. As you say another winner not only from Airfix but yourself included, gives us all something to aim at.I'll be copying your build and keeping it as referance for my build when it arrives. Thanks again.Remember we do this for fun John the PomPS Perhaps you should change your name to something like Pretty not so mediocre modeller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rael Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Looks brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 Thanks for the comments guys.All I did with this one was follow the instructions really, I didn't modify the kit in any way or add anything as I sometimes do. CheersJason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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