Archive for the ‘Readers’ Gallery’ Category

Forum member Gil Hodges shows you can get a great looking model with an old classic, some hard work, and a little help from your friends! Gil used Agape member Mark Buchler’s resin upgrade set to convert Lindberg’s classic F11C-2 kit into a BFC-2. If you’re interested in Mark’s resin set, head over to the Modelshack and take a look! It’s a great upgrade set that will not only upgrade the F11C-2, but also allow for the BFC-2 conversion. Thanks for sharing your great work with us, Gil!

This is the 1/48 Lindberg kit, converted to the later BFC-2 and detailed using the Modelshack resin update set.

The “doped silver” was done with Alclad White Aluminum, the tail planes in MM Gloss White, and the top wing with MM Chrome Yellow (over Tamiya Fine white primer). The prop is Alclad Chrome over MM gloss black enamel, with decaled tip colors. The cowling is Testors Beret Green, which is the closest match to the decal sheet green markings. I also used Alclad Gloss Klear Kote to seal the decals and gloss the whole model.

The model is rigged with 6 mm ceramic fiber (Wonder Wire). This stuff is GREAT! Just cut it to length, flex it into the holes, and add a drop of glue in the holes to secure it. No need to paint it or stretch it taught! The markings are from the Yellow wings Goshawk sheet. They performed flawlessly!

This older Lindberg kit was a breeze to build, even with the resin conversion spine, compared to the Classic Airframes F11C-2 kit. If you want to build a 1/48 Goshawk, I recommend finding this older gem and ordering the Modelshack resin set.

Forum member Dale Hutchinson (Hutch) posted photos of his completed work on Airfix’s new-tool F-86 kit. Dale said “I really like how this one came out and I highly recommend this kit“. It looks great!

Agape forum member Mark Strasser built this very colorful Matchbox Seasprite OOB, using decals from his spare decals. it looks awesome, Mark- thanks for sharing this with us!

Agape forum member Steve Cook shared his great looking P-47D kit. Very unusual scheme, Steve. It looks great!

Agape forum member Mark Strasser shared photos of his very colorful Skyraider. It looks great- thanks for sharing it with us Mark!

New forum member Tom Zahler shared this remarkable story of how his family history and model building intersected. Great stuff Tom!

August 19, 1945 shortly after noon local time two Mitsubishi G4M1 Betty Bombers approach the airfield at Ie Shima, Okinawa.  They house the surrender delegation of the Japanese Empire.  My grandfather was there and tried to take a movie of the event, but the film tangled in his camera, instead he was able to take some photos that I have included here.

This was a special project for me personally.  It is something to look at history with photos your own grandfather took.

As far as the kit, it was a typical Tamiya.  It went together very well.  I was scared to death to airbrush white paint, but I think it turned out pretty good.  I used both X-2 and XF-2.  I used the Dark Dirt Wash and left some on the engines.  Some of the photos I have seen have shown quite a bit of oil leaking for the engines.  Also some of the windows near the nose I did not mask as they were painted over.  There were 2 Bettys, one with black props and the other I did with white props.  I used black green for the crosses.  The ones on the wings are a little crooked, but I do like the fuselage and tail ones.

I am very proud of this one.

Honza has shared another stunning model build with us. This is one I’d never heard of. The Doflug D-3802 was a license-built MS 406 produced in Switzerland, with some changes and improvements. Something I found interesting was how much the wing looks like a P-51 wing. Honza did a wonderful job on this one- thanks for sharing with us!

There were no big problems, although there are some places that require attention:

• The cannons are too fragile (yes, I destroyed them)
• Antenna mast and pitot tube also
• You must glue the wingtips separately – they are different for the prototype and for other machines

These are just minor problems. Panel lines are deep and not wide, just as I like them. Very nice kit of an interesting plane (with interesting camouflage).

Agape forum member Aaron Long (RonnieRex) shared his finished work on this great looking Fw-190D. Aaron received a Third Place award for his work at the IPMS Phantom Phlashers’ contest on April 6th in Anniston, Alabama. Aaron said he used Eduard PE on the seatbelts, rear canopy, and wheels, MM enamel, alclad, Vallejo, Citadel, and Tamiya paints, and some bits of copper wire. Great work Aaron!

Andy Mason took a break from building jets and built this great looking Spitfire- a choice I highly agree with! Great work Andy!

Started this one two weeks ago.  Just needed a shake-and-bake kit to keep the mojo flowing and the Tamiya Spit was the perfect solution.  I’m more of a jet-guy, but have always had a fascination with the Spitfire.

Agape forums member Gil Hodges shared this great looking resin Fury. His results were outstanding, despite a few challenges.

First of the year! CollectAire resin kit, OOTB. The kit decals, and their MicroScale backups (VF-173 Rams) were an EPIC FAIL (shattered); so I painted the checks and the blue flash on the fuselage. The rest of the markings are all from the spares box; a combo of regular decals and dry transfers. Ended up being a different scheme than I started out  with, but I like it better I think.

Scott Des Planques sent in this very interesting look at how his love of history led to restoring an older build to a more modern standard. It looks great Scott- thanks for sharing this!

This brief article touches on an often overlooked modeling procedure, rebuilding an old finished kit. A bit over 20 years ago I purchased the Glencoe Grumman J2F-2 Duck to supplement the late 1930s/Pre-WW II yellow wing aircraft in my 1/48 scale collection. This kit can still be found for around $15.00 on eBay. It has been years, but I seem to remember this kit went together quite well. Some of the parts are what can be expected in an old kit, a thick canopy and simplified landing gear that could be moved up or down. Initially I built the kit straight from the box and used stretched sprue for the guide wires, but my heart just wasn’t in it and I was never happy with the results; nonetheless this yellow winged Duck has nested on my built shelves for over two decades. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the interesting things about this hobby is how much I have learned over the years regarding equipment I’d never heard of. This is one of those kits. Agape forum member unimodeler (Chris) has done a magnificent job on this kit. You can check out more of his modeling on his blog, Digital Sprue. Thanks for sharing Chris!

I completed the Hobbyboss model. I’m quite pleased with the result. It’s my first finished armor model and my first attempt at chipping. I think the chipping really adds to the look, making the model looking appropriately heavy.

Agape forum member Zachary Faull shared these pics of only his second armor build- and it looks awesome! Great work, Zachary!

My first officially build completed for 2013!! Woot woot!!

OK so here is my pointy Russian armor thingy! I leaned a lot on this build, from the “hairspray technique” to just better model building! I really did enjoy this build as it was something different from the norm. Now I know this is only my 2nd official armor kit but I’m quite satisfied with it, there are maybe one or two things I would do different now but hind sight is 20/20.

Forum member Everett Ford did a great job on this one, employing some seriously imaginative  scratch-building. He started with the 1/25th scale AMT 1967 Chevrolet Impala Street Machine, and then just went from there. I’ve included a few pics of his process, as well as the finished result.

What’s incredible is this is his first effort at scratch-building, kit-bashing and weathering! And his efforts didn’t go unrecognized- he won a gold medal at Chattanooga Model-Con 2013! Great work, Everett! Read the rest of this entry »

Forum member Dale Hutchinson (Hutch) shared his photos of this completed P-51A. The Accurate Miniatures kit is a great kit, and you did an excellent job on it Dale!

Okay, I am basically calling this one done!!!  My first completion of 2013.  All-in-all I really enjoyed this one.  As mentioned before, this was my first Accurate Miniatures kit.

The kit fit nicely but only experienced two disappointments: 1) some of the decals silvered in some areas, and 2) the canopy wasn’t exactly the best fit.  Other than that, a truly fun experience.

Agape Models forum member Paul Wilsford (FMTango) posted these photos of his finished Ventura. Great work on a really cool kit, Paul!

Well here she is, the last of my shelf queens that I know of anyway. I know I have just a bunch of little things to do but I figure thats to be taken care of later.

My good friend Adam Coleman sent me photos and a brief writeup on this very obscure kit. It’s neat to see what Adam did with it- great work Adam!

My last build for 2012 looks to be one that was built more as a quest than a serious build! It’s a Su-7BM (S-22M) “Fitter – A” of the former Soviet Air Force, ca. late 1970’s. It is the old “Master Modell” (a former East German mold I think) in 1/72. The inspiration for this originated for me when wargaming in the 70’s. I played SPI’s “Oil War” which has several Su-7s featured, all with pretty low attack and range factors, which made me curious as to why these had such low value numbers. So – curiosity kills the cat! – and I discovered that operationally, Su-7s were hampered by a high landing speed of 340–360 km/h due to the thin, highly-swept wing. They had poor visibility from the cockpit, and lacked an instrument landing system, which made operations very difficult, especially in poor weather or on poor airfields. Apparently they were pretty fast and rugged. So, that said, I found pretty much the same with the characteristics of the model kit too!

Modeling as a hobby requires multiple mental levels and directions, and the process was as follows:

First, find something to build that would look basically Ok – and I discovered a “Fitter” kit somewhere in my stash. Second, over about a 12 year period I would occasionally look at the kit box and remind myself never, ever buy cheap model kits.

But the intrigue and interest drove me to see what a cheap Fitter would look like built. Finally, with some determination, much chopping, cutting, sanding and an on-line visit to an obscure Russian company to buy some decent looking wheels, I managed to put together the aforementioned kit, and make it look something like it would have been years ago as a member of the Frontovaya Aviatsiya. 

Enjoy the Fitter–A!

Agape Models reader Boyd Waechter submitted this awesome looking Seafire XVII, looking very striking in it’s aluminum finish. Great work, Boyd- thanks for sharing this with us!

Although started in early November, this is my first completion in 2013, the Airfix 1/48th Seafire F.XVII that I converted (minor) to an FR.XVII. The only thing that needed to be done was drill out the camera windows and fill them with some Clear Cast Resin, a two part resin product that is available at Hobby Lobby. It takes about 24 hrs for this product to cure crystal clear. As modeled, this aircraft was being used as a gunnery trainer and did not have the recon cameras installed.

This kit seemed to fight me all of the way, beginning by having to spend several days sanding and polishing all of the major parts. Airfix does not polish it’s molds like other major manufacturers, thus resulting in a rough surface finish. The fit of the parts isn’t the best, particularly at the wing roots where I had major gaps to fill with strips of sheet plastic. The clear parts are also very thick and not to the standard we usually see from a major company. Some of the aftermarket items I used to enhance the kit are:

• True Details resin cockpit with additional scratchbuilding
• True Details block threaded tires
• Quickboost exhausts (pipes drilled out)
• Ultracast late style Spitfire seat with harnesses
• Premiere Plus wingtip lights

The best part of this build was using Freightdog Decals for the finish. They produce a sheet of postwar Griffon powered Seafires that has markings for nine aircraft of various types, so you can build multiple models from this single sheet. This is the second time I have used their products and I can highly recommend these decals.

Paints used were MM RAF Interior Green, MM Non-Buffing Aluminum overall, MM Deep Yellow for the wing and fuselage bands, and then overcoated with Testor’s Metailizer Sealer to dull the finish just a tab that I think replicates the High Speed Silver finish the RAF and Royal Navy used after WWII.

Agape forum member Mark Hamrick posted his work on this awesome looking Nieuport 11 in Russian markings. Great work Mark!

Andy Mason shared his results on this gorgeous Hasegawa 1/48 scale F-15A. Andy, you do an amazing job! Nice work all around.

Here’s my Hasegawa F-15A depicting 77-089 operating out of Soesterberg AB circa 1980.

Kit: Hasegawa F-15A
Scale: 1/48
Paints: Model Master for amin camo, and Alclads for exhaust area
Aftermarket: Aires exhaust with Turkey Feathers, Afterburner decals (stencils on exhaust cans), Monogram decals for unit markings and Monogram “A”-style wheels mated to Hasegawa part; True Details resin seat