SPA Modeler

Stuart wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 3:54 am I think you got that tail wheel assembly spot on John.

What colour are you using for you u/c bay primer? It looks a sort of greeny yellow?

I'm using Tamiya XF-4 Yellow Green for the Zinc Chromate Yellow areas. This is based on the article published at the IPMS Stockholm site titled, "Interior Colors of US Aircraft, 1941-1945 Part 2.

All other interior surfaces of the fuselage with exception of the firewall were finished in Zinc Chromate Yellow. This included also wheel wells, undercarriage covers and armament compartments in the wings.

mustang1989 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 5:21 am Ummmm........I think we all know better than that John. With the amount of research that you put into your builds it's hard to think that you'd be making some of these details up.

Ha! I was half-joking of course. But maybe it's helpful to show some of the references that I'm basing my additions on. Here is another one... the fuel drain line in the starboard wheel well. It terminates in that small red tube on the wing bottom.

Before gluing the wing bottoms on, I thought it'd be easier to do a few things first like painting the wing bottom lights.


The black and white invasion stripes were easier to line up with the wing bottoms as separate pieces so I painted those onto the landing gear covers, flaps and ailerons.


The tail wheel components have been painted.



The wheels have also been painted. I usually paint my tires with varying mixtures of black, brown and grey, lightening the colors as I go from rim to tread surface.


The landing gear legs were painted Olive Drab. The data stencil decals were pulled from the spares box.




The clear parts were cleaned and then dipped into Future to hide any small scratches and increase clarity.


The canopy was then masked using the always excellent Eduard masks.


I've added some additional staining to the bombs... a combination of oils and pastels.

John, you sure do some nice work! I think you've now gotten the hang of this scale model stuff.

The wing bottoms are now ready to be glued into place. I've added the engine cowling in place as the shape of the Jug starts to materialize.



Some shims were necessary to bridge the gaps on the starboard wing joint.


There is also a dreaded step between the wing and fuselage aft of the wheel wells on both wings.


The clean-up process around the wing joints has been taking a few days, mostly due to the cure time required for the White Milliput that I'm using to fill gaps and level any steps. The bottom joint of the starboard wing is almost finished.



The port wing still needs a little more work.



The joints along the top wing roots look ok.



The starboard gun insert did not fit well at all and I had to do a lot of fill work around the joint, using black CA glue. And then disaster when I punched through the corner trying to re-apply the rivets.


First step in the repair process is to fill the crater using White Milliput.

For a little more visual interest on the bombs, you may want to paint the fin assembly a new shade of OD. Those were kept separate from the bombs themselves and not installed until shortly before the bombs were to be added to an aircraft. The main reason was to keep the fins from being damaged and thus affecting the bomb’s ballistics.



Note the less weathered tone of the OD fins



As stored in a bomb dump exposed to the elements. No fuses or fin assembly.

Great tip, Carlos! Exactly the type of small distinction that can enhance a model! I've already sprayed the bomb tails with a different shade of OD!

Has anyone told you that you might be pretty good at this?

I did...

Blooming hell John that looks fabulous! I love your checkerboard

Thank you guys for the positive comments!

The interiors of the landing gear covers have been painted in Zinc Chromate Yellow. I'm making a conscious choice to restrict my heavy chipping to the non-exterior surfaces since it appears that the exterior surfaces of Eileen and other 78th FG Thunderbolts were maintained very well.


I've touched up the Neutral Grey on the exteriors by spraying them with the AK Real Colors version, which was lighter than the Mr Hobby Aqueous Neutral Grey that I used as a base.


Here are the landing gear covers with the legs and wheels together.


Base coats for the drop tank (Dark Aluminum) and prop (Gloss Black) have been sprayed.



The repairs on the gun inserts is almost done and I'll be able start spraying the exterior colors soon!