ChrisM's 2021 Madness in Miniature

[chrism]

So - Welcome to the 2021 diary of madness with small scale miniatures. This year I will as and when I can, share the progress on a few restorations of mostly wooden models and an assortment of other miniature items that will be passing over the bench. There will also be a few plastic items that I will be dabbling with for my own personal sanity and interest that I will be concocting from plastic kits.

One item that will be coming up in the next update, is progress on the 1/24 Airfix Hellcat. I will show where I am as of now, and then will make progress to get that over the finish line.

The first box that I have opened and dabbled with this year is the Hong Kong Models 1/32 Lancaster Nose and cockpit area model.









The detail on the moulding is I think pretty good. Some purists are finding plenty wrong with it, but I am happy with what is in here, with one big exception. There are no decals or markings for any of the instruments .... and my attempt at painting the radio has left me feeling a little jaded, and since taking that photo I have soaked the paint etc back off, and got the part ready to paint black again and start over.



So this is now on hold, until I get my hands on an aftermarket set of something to help with the interior. Hence, it has now all gone back in the box, and the lid applied firmly, More on this in due course. In fact I only got this far with it, because a family member is wanting to see some action, before deciding whether to purchase one himself ...

[Narayan]

That's looking great. I think the radio painting looks really good. Can a Hellcat 1/24 and Lancaster 1/32 cockpit be considered miniature?!

_________________
Narayan

Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

A:B 2021 0:0 2020 113:11 2019 113:16 2018 35:05 2017 28:03 2016 27:10 2015 53:07 2014 21:04 2013 39:12 2012 20:05 2011 11:10 2010 44:12 2009 19:16 2008 16:03 Overall 490:120 Stash 370

[chrism]

Thanks Narayan - but trust me ... if you saw that radio in closer detail it is not - well to me anyway - good.

I have also made a start on another wooden restoration, this time things get a bit more interesting as I am involving myself with a musical movement and hinged parts that need some TLC. The musical movement part is running too slow, one leg has come off, the keyboard needs cleaning up or replacing, hinges are out of alignment, the wood is dry and starting to crack, so it all needs taking apart, cleaning up big-time, and servicing and then putting back together and re-staining and polishing .... The challenge ... can I sort out and repair the existing musical movement ... I do have a get-out in that I am allowed if I screw up repairs to the existing one, to purchase a replacement, but I am going to get some video conference type distance mentoring to attempt a repair.



















It is a piano that would have held cigarettes inside it, and on opening the lid a musical movement would play.
In terms of age - circa 63-68 years old. So no pressure!

[JohnRatzenberger]

Hannant's had the Eduard 32938 interior back in stock a couple days ago.

[chrism]

Hannant's had the Eduard 32938 interior back in stock a couple days ago.

Thanks for letting me know.

[chrism]

Returning to the 1/24 Hellcat.

During December all I had done on this was dabble with a bit of camo to test out the replacement masks and had done that on the folded sections of wing. Everything else was awaiting painting, and I needed to "refresh" myself and take stock of what had still got to be done with all the other parts. A stock check and review of everything you get in the box is in order:

This bag of bits is most of the waste sprue from this kit. There are a few small bits that have escaped and got into my waste bin as they came off from holding small parts that were painted on the runner, but this lot in this bag is only from this kit.



The folded section of wing - which I used the masks to get the camo paint on, on Christmas Eve, so as to try out the masks.



All this lot, are the parts still to be finished off and worked through, which are all needed for my build. So still some way to go yet. Hence this is not a quick project and it is good value for money, for the hours it takes to do.



These are all parts that in my build are surplus, as I am using other "optional" parts; ie depending on whether you go with wheels, flaps etc up/down, wings folded etc etc.



This is where I was at, once I had wrestled the engine and front cowling onto the rest of the fuselage. That is a 12" ruler and those are 300mm floor tiles for size purposes.



These photos now cover one set of all parts that come in the box (or should be in the box) as you buy the kit.
As I alluded too, at one point last year, there is going to be a little more to say, about the kit, and what you get in the box from Airfix, but I am purposely waiting until the very end and my project wrap-up to cover that.

See you all shortly.

[iggie]

A musical cigarette box would have been my worst nightmare when I started smoking; pinching dad's Park Drive out of that would have been very risky!

I have ordered the Eduard interior set for the Lancaster Cockpit and have just had a very sneaky thought about scanning it onto decal paper for when I build the full thing

[PaulBradley]

That's looking good, Chris.

So, are you angling for a place on 'The Repair Shop'?

[ShaunW]

Your new workbench thread is off to a great start, Chris, with some interesting projects on the go. My that Hellcat is a size and even with the wings folded I can't see one of those fitting anywhere here! Painting instruments can be a tricky business IMHO and the larger the scale the trickier it can be as the dials show considerably more detail than in, say, 1/72nd. A larger scale does not necessarily make for an easier model to construct and/or paint as some modellers seem to believe.

[chrism]

A musical cigarette box would have been my worst nightmare when I started smoking; pinching dad's Park Drive out of that would have been very risky!

I have ordered the Eduard interior set for the Lancaster Cockpit and have just had a very sneaky thought about scanning it onto decal paper for when I build the full thing

The musical ciggie box could prove to be one of my nightmares for this year yet. Not finishing it, nor getting it repaired is NOT an option.

[chrism]

Your new workbench thread is off to a great start, Chris, with some interesting projects on the go. My that Hellcat is a size and even with the wings folded I can't see one of those fitting anywhere here! Painting instruments can be a tricky business IMHO and the larger the scale the trickier it can be as the dials show considerably more detail than in, say, 1/72nd. A larger scale does not necessarily make for an easier model to construct and/or paint as some modellers seem to believe.

The hellcat is indeed a handful, and masking it and getting the camo done has proved interesting to say the least.

It seems to be one of those projects that is never ending, but I am sure if I had a bit more time to spare for myself it would have progressed a bit quicker this past couple weeks too.

[chrism]

11/197
Time for an update on both the piano and the Hellcat.

The piano is a project that I cannot fail to complete during the year, it has got to get done or there will be hell-to-play. The musical movement was running slow and getting that bit sorted, is not difficult (apparently) I've just got the uncouple a couple bits and twiddle some thing else (and knowing me it will all fall apart) but if I twiddle something correctly, and recouple .... it should all be hunky dory.. . I actually want to try and get that bit sorted out, as an "achievement" although I have got a replacement musical movement coming, as the owner originally thought they wanted a different tune! Anyhow here is the piano now pretty much all disassembled, and before I plaster it in paint stripper.







Hellcat time, the painting is progressing well on the fuselage, and boy is it a big beast. I have made things harder for myself by leaving panels loose, and having to tape them up and then work the pattern over them. I have not used the masks on those sections and infact painted them freehand. As the panel lines on this kit are so well defined, it has in all honesty, been dead easy to paint the camo freehand in quite a few places, and thus end up with a smooth line between the two colours and no ridge.

When these photos were taken, the camo was nearly all done, and I just have a few bits left to sort out another day, and then hopefully at the weekend I can get this Klear'd ready for the markings, which I am painting on, and the stensils which came on the decal sheet in the kit, those can then all go on next week.







There are a lot of bits and pieces still to do, and I am toying with getting the wheels on, once it has been Klear'd.

[ShaunW]

Best of luck sorting that musical piano cig container out, Chris, sounds like an important project. Those masks for the Hellcat seem to have done their job and the build is looking great.

[iggie]

The Hellcat is looking very good with some camouflage on, looking forward to seeing further progress in due course

[Early Bird Fan]

the hellcat is looking superb