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This article came about by the
continual asking of how long it takes me to build a kit. I hope
this will give those of you asking some idea.
Saturday
16 June 2001 (Building Day 1)
7:30pm - 9:15pm I stared the kit by assembling the interior
parts. There is a hard to fill ejector pin mark on the side of
the machine gun. Don't worry about the back of the radio being
hollow, this won't be seen. The interior was now painted RAF
interior green (which was darkened with some Dark Green). Hmm…what
else can I do …Ahh - on to step 4, put the radiator together,
painted the inside black. Ok, now on to the wings. The top and
bottom wings halves were assembled, no problem. Floats are next.
Don't forget to put the weight in the front of the floats. Ok,
anything else I can do tonight…oh yeah - put together the
bomb!!
Sunday 17 June
(Building Day 2)
7:15am - 8:20am
Yes I know it's early. Anyway, started off the day by brushing a
black wash over the cockpit parts. While this is drying, sanded
the seams on the parts I had assembled last night (wings /
floats). No filler was needed on any of the parts. The molded
formation lights on the wing tips were cut away, and pieces of
Lite-Brite pegs were cut, glued, and sanded to shape, and
polished.
9:10am - 10:30am OK, I'm
back after a short break for some chow (we all need to eat don't
we?). The interior was dry brushed, and the remaining cockpit
details were painted. The decals were added to the instrument
panels. The canopy was dipped in future and set aside. 2 types
of windscreen are provided - one with and without a telescopic
sight. I choose the one without it. The decal seat belts (oh how
I hate these) were applied to a piece of masking tape, then cut
out and glued to the seats. The transport dolly was also
assembled now.
12:20pm - 12:40 pm The
instrument panel and gun sight were glued to the left fuselage
half, and the dials on the panel were given drops of Krystal
Kleer to represent the lenses. The interior was installed in the
left fuselage half, and the fuselage was assembled. Next the
wings and radiator were attached.
3:00pm - 3:50pm I now
sanded the seams, and rescribed the panel lines where needed. NO
filler was needed on any of the joints. Now on to adding the
rest of the parts before painting. All of the remaining parts
were assembled, except for the following: tail wings, propeller,
exhausts, and bomb. The flaps have some ejector pins marks,
which need to be filled. There is no option for an open canopy.
4:30pm - 4:50pm Painted
the yellow ID panels on the wing fronts. I also darkened a
little of the yellow paint and "shaded" the panel
lines in the yellow areas. I now put it aside to dry…Guess
that's all I can do for today.
Thursday,
June 21, 2001 (Building Day 3)
6:00 pm - 7:00pm
Masked the yellow ID panels, sprayed bottom surfaces with Tamiya
JN Green and shaded the panels with the gray darkened with a
little black.
7:40pm - 8:10pm
Painted the upper surfaces tamiya JN Green.
Friday,
June 22, 2001 (Building Day 4)
12:00pm - 12:40pm
Shaded the upper surface panels with darkened
IJN Green. Removed masking from ID panels.
1:10pm - 1:30pm
Aircraft was sprayed with a coat of clear
gloss (Future).
8:10pm - 8:40pm
Decals were applied. Some have
complained that Tamiya's decals are too "thick", but I
found that they went on with out any problems, and conformed
nicely with an application of Solvaset.
Saturday,
June 23. 2001 (Building Day 5)
4:45pm - 530pm
Painted the bomb, propeller (2 types of
spinner are provided - I chose the more "rounded"
one), and exhausts.
Sunday, June
24, 2001 (Building Day 6)
11:00 am - 12:15pm
Attached the floats and tail wings. I finished painting the
prop, exhausts, and boarding ladder. Started painting the
beaching trolley. Applied awash to the panel lines. I stronger
wash was used for the green areas than for the gray ones.
1:45pm - 2:00pm Attached
the exhausts. Sprayed a coat of clear flat on the model (Testors
Dullcoat)
Saturday,
30 June 2001
4:30pm -4:50pm
Attached the remaining parts (prop, bomb, flaps, antenna,
boarding ladder).
Overall this was an EXTREMELY easy kit to build - I basically
just sat here and the kit built itself! Not bad for 11 hours and
15minutes of work!! |
