SPA Modeler

Thanks guys!

speedgraflex wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 12:21 pm Man those Verlinden figures look great! Nice progress photos, too.

Bruce, those Verlinden figures are nice. They used to originally make their figures in white metal before switching to resin… I’ve had a few over the years.

KSaarni wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 2:44 pm [quote=Stikpusher post_id=182433 time=<a href="tel:1771992803">1771992803</a> user_id=64]

What a fantasticly fantastic Emil there!



- Kari
[/quote]

Thanks Kari! That was a fun caricature build… nothing too serious

Stuart wrote: ↑Mon Jul 13, 2026 5:34 pm Good to see another shelf Queen on the go Carlos. Interesting what you say about the drive Sprockets, I had a similar issue on my Chieftain when trying to fit AM tracks. The teeth were far too large. I actually wonder if that was intended by Tamiya, in order to beef it up for motorisation.

Stuart, I’ve run into this same situation before with kit sprockets and AM tracks. Some companies like Modelkasten and Fruil make replacement sprockets to fit their AM tracks. Others make you modify the kit part. I’ve used needle files for that. Had to do that for my Tamiya Centurion with AFV Club tracks. But I would guestimate that your reasoning for the beefier sprockets on some kits is due to motorization.

In addition to my Panzer IV, I will be working on this “Child of Doom”.





I would guestimate that I started this one at least 14-15 years ago if not longer, and stalled out due to some warpage where the lower forward fuselage meets the bottom part of the wing. Before that point I had finished the cockpit and engine.









I’m converting this to a P-47C using an AM resin cowling from Cutting Edge







I’m planning on building USAAF ace Robert Johnson’s P-47C “Half Pint”, in which he nearly was shot down during one of his early combat missions…











This particular Jug never flew again after that mission, but Johnson did and eventually became the first USAAF pilot in the ETO to break Eddie Rickenbacker’s 26 kills score, and also one of the top scoring USAAF aces in the ETO with 28 kills before rotating back stateside at the end of his combat tour.



I’ll be using this set of decals



So after all that preamble, fast forward to the past couple of days, as I resumed work. Yesterday I airbrushed on a coat of primer onto the resin cowling



Then after looking at several color and B&W photos of the fuselage spine under the canopy hood, I decided to go with OD under there and repainted that area, in addition to painting black under where the windscreen will go



Today I glued the cockpit tub in place



Next update in a day or two…

Fine progress, Carlos!

Thanks Tom! Once I get that issue with the lower fuselage and wing dealt with this should move forward rapidly.

Nice!! That's the same kit I'm doing.

Medicman71 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 11:16 am Nice!! That's the same kit I'm doing.

It’s a good kit for the most part. I hope yours does not have the warping that mine does…

speedgraflex wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 3:32 pm Great reference, Carlos! What’s wrong with the fit?

Have a look here…

Last night I glued the wings in place





And here is the gap on the lower fuselage at the lower wing



But… it’s Hasegawa… I don’t want to hear anyone talking smack about the fit on Monogram kits… but no worries, I attacked the problem with strip styrene shims to fill that gap…





Some Tamiya Extra Thin to get them in place, then I trimmed them up and sanded them down a bit



Then an application of Mr Surfacer that’s going to dry overnight



More to come in a day or two…

Oh wow - that's a heck of an alignment issue. Ya not all Hasegawa kits are gems. Most are, but not all.

keavdog wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2026 10:47 pm Oh wow - that's a heck of an alignment issue. Ya not all Hasegawa kits are gems. Most are, but not all.

I’m hoping that it’s a “one off” with this individual kit only, as I have late model Hasegawa Bubbletop Jug in my stash to build one day. Otherwise this kit is easy peasy so far.

Nice fix. Ill have remember that method with styrene strips.