SPA Modeler

portman wrote:THUD!!!

excuse me - I just need to go an pick my jaw up from the floor...

Exactly! You aren’t the only one, Stuart! Jaw droppers everywhere!

Dora is looking pretty damn sweet, to me! Nice! And those seatbelts are a great addition.

jkim wrote:(...) A little personal break from modeling this weekend as we will be driving up to Berkeley to pick up my daughter after completing her freshman year in college.

Seems like yesterday when you showed us the pictures of your family at her graduation event (finishing highscool? I'm not that firm with the US school system).

In most school districts here, the school system is grades K - 5 for elementary school, grades 6-8 for Junior High, and grades 9-12 for High School. Although there are some variations with the change from Elementary to Junior High, or some districts combine the two and run K thru 8.

Enjoy the road trip John, and be careful as the weather is unseasonably wet this weekend.

John, this is the kind of work that sets you in a whole new category of Master. I wouldn't even think of doing all this outstanding work myself; in fact, my mind quails at the thought of trying it since it is so far beyond my capability to achieve such realism. I am overwhelmed, especially with how easy you make it look and how realistic it is.

I bow in the presence of greatness!

Have a fun and safe trip to see your daughter.

Thanks for the nice comments guys! Back in San Diego after a fun trip but short trip up to the Bay area. My wife, younger daughter and I made the drive up to Berkeley to pick up my older daughter. She was living in a dorm so she didn't have too much stuff to bring down and we were able to fit everything and everyone in my SUV. It was a very nice feeling to have the family back together again... hard to describe, especially since I know that life will continue to draw my children away from home as they get older. We stopped by a Russian deli in San Jose and got to watch my daughter speak Russian to the store owner, who was very much surprised but pleased. My daughter is learning Russian at Berkeley and will be going to Kyrgyzstan/Kazakhstan in June on a solo mission trip. But for time being, the happy family is under one roof again!

I did some minor things on the Dora just before the big drive so I can report on this. Although there are aftermarket alternatives to the gun barrels and exhausts, the kit parts can be used effectively with a little work.




The main thing with the gun barrels was to check for roundness of the cross section. If the mold is misaligned, it can be difficult to re-establish uniform roundness but thankfully, the barrels were molded well and looked pretty round after trimming the mold seam.




The ends of the gun barrels were carefully hollowed out using the point of a sharp x-acto blade. Due to the conical flare suppressors on the ends, the x-acto and not a drill bit, is the appropriate tool here.




The newly-holllowed gun barrels are temporarily placed into the gun cowling to check fit/alignment. Everything looks a-ok so the gun barrels are put away in a small baggie for safe-keeping.




The exhausts take a little more work to hollow out. I've done this a few times so I have a workable, albeit tedious, method to do this. The first step is drill a set of three holes into each of the exhaust tips. Again, I do this with a sharp x-acto blade.




The next step is the most time consuming. I use the x-acto to gouge out the opening. The three holes serve as initial excavation and I'll first cut away the two connections to the three holes. These first cuts require a certain amount of force and I recommend using an x-acto blade that is not mint sharp as a sharp tip WILL break. The rest of the work involves carving and scraping the opening larger and larger so the three holes eventually become one big (and hopefully smooth) oval.





Eventually, you'll get a nice set of hollow exhaust pipes without having to spend any extra money. I usually run some Tamiya Extra Thin cement into the openings to remove any small inconsistencies and burrs and to smooth out the insides.




The exhausts are designed to be attached from the outside so I can paint them at my own leisure and not be required to do any complex masking.




The exhausts will be a very prominent feature on the completed model so this extra effort will definitely pay dividends on the finished Dora.

Yes there may be AM out there, but I always am more impressed by somebody who makes the effort to improve kit parts to that level like you did here! Bravo!

Bro! My Stuka exhausts are solid, and I’ve been wondering how to hollow them out. Then you post this excellent mini-tutorial! Guess what Kenny X’ll be doing tomorrow!!

THANK YOU!!

Also-

Mais what’s dat dere in the upper right? You got an ME 262 cookin too bruh: