Grumman TBM-3 Avenger, 1/48, Acc. Min.

[LyleW]

They are bringing the fire! We gotta join ‘em or get left in the cold and dark, metaphorically of course. Maybe it’s the viral pandemic get your ass busy living effect courtesy of too many times watching The Shawshank Redemption!

It dawned on me why this is happening ... in my case. I am dreading breaking out the air brush.

[Floki]

Wow! That pit looks awesome! The prop has turned out very nice as well.

[LyleW]

Thank you Clint!

[Medicman71]

It's looking great Lyle!

[LyleW]

Thanks, Mike!

[jkim]

Great work, Lyle! The prop and cockpit are looking good! Have you ever tried using washes? It's a very easy way to highlight detail. Perfect for the wiring on the cockpit floor if you don't want to bother trying to paint that stuff.

[LyleW]

Hey, John! Thanks for checking in. I am quite pleased with the prop and was with the cockpit. More on that below. I have used some ,weak, homemade attempts at washes a while back. I wish I was better at it. I do have some AK vehicle washes in Browns. May break those out. Did a bit of dry brushing silver on some of the plumbing. Another skill I am weak at.

This build gave me fits this morning. Glued the interior in the left side of the fuselage. Not too many wats to mess that up. Thought I’d place the right half on and see how it looked. There was almost a 1/4” gap at the rear bulkhead all the way forward. Applied some debonder, James Debonder...and popped tha cockpit assembly out. It appears that the debonder May soften Testor’s red tube glue as well as CA.

Upon inspection, it seems the bomb bay piece and the cockpit piece are too wide. I started grinding and sanding on that and refitting. In doing that I took the bulkhead out, seat came out and most of the bomb shackles came off. Those don’t bother me too much.

I did notice that the bulkhead that the pilots seat attaches too was a bit too far to the left, just a tiny bit. I can’t imagine that caused the gap.

I’ll get some pictures tomorrow.

Sorry for romping!

[Stikpusher]

Take the rest of the night off away from the bench. Regroup and have another go at it in the morning.

[LyleW]

Oh, I am. Watching the weather at the moment. We are getting storms with the potential of 60-70 mph winds, frequent lightning, hail and random tornadoes. Gonna be a fun night?

[Stikpusher]

Sounds like Mother Nature is gonna put on a grand show! Get your favorite relaxing beverage, pull up a chair and enjoy the lights and sound! If you’re not out in it, you have no worries.