AREA 88 : "A Plague of Locusts" (T-6 Texan)
Comments
8 August 2018, 15:56
Patrick HagelsteinThat's a nice little kit, you got there! Curious as to what you are gonna do to it.
8 August 2018, 16:03
Greg BakerThanks Patrick! You can check the project details for the full story, but basically I'm trying to replicate a scene from the Area 88 manga where Morris saves the day by dousing a plague of locusts with gasoline and setting it ablaze. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to handle the plane, the fire and the smoke... but I'm still working on how I depict a swarm of locusts in 1/144... if anyone's got any suggestions?
8 August 2018, 16:19
Jay DubyaThere is a story I heard once that the promotional material for the film Fargo included a chipper chopper in a snowdome. If you know the film and scene it refers to, it must have been quite an effect!
There's an idea Greg, however, I have no suggestions how you might pull it off. But, you are a very clever bloke - I'll be watching for sure.
8 August 2018, 21:59
Greg BakerWell, truth be told... I do have an idea to use a bit of synthetic sponge - shaped and painted - to depict the locust swarm. We'll see if it works the way I imagine it. After the masking horror show on my DC-3, the only major victory of the night's work was NOT losing the little domahhickey that sits on top of the fuselage behind the antenna. I did my best to launch it into space with my tweezers, but found it again right away - which never happens. A small victory considering I already snapped the antenna off and had to replace it with a bit of stretched sprue... sigh...
9 August 2018, 23:52
Jay Dubya^#%* the Dreaded Carpet Monster!
More seriously though Greg, you might be able to tease out and stiffen up a piece of cotton wool, to get that tornado effect that birds and insects do when they flock or swarm together. Like contrails from the wing tips ...
10 August 2018, 05:57
Greg BakerOk... so back at this one. I finished off my MiG-27 trio, and got my supply shipment from China, so I'm now able to continue on with this one. I drilled out the engine compartment and then tackled the cockpit. Wouldn't you know it, the 1/144 canopy has sprue gate stress fractures that needs to be sanded down. My fingers just aren't small enough some times. 🙂. I also added a homemade instrument panel decal... just for fun. 🙂
28 September 2018, 14:15
Greg BakerNope. Just one fat pilot! The Platz kit already has some very nice cockpit details, so I didn't feel the need to add anything.
29 September 2018, 00:15
Spanjaardthe only Platz that i have in this scale (some P-51) has amazing detail outside, but the interior is very very basic..... and i miss some pilots for those P-51. i have not yet tried to use resin to make my own..... 🙁
29 September 2018, 20:26
Greg BakerWell, the Texan has pedals on the floor... in 1/144 I call that a win.😉. On the other hand, the F-4E does look pretty bare...
Anyway, I went mental trying to mask the T-6 canopy, but I got it done. Then a quick spray of aluminum and voila... it's mostly painted. It's still pretty shiny, so I think I'll wait a couple of days and try to lightly sand/buff it to even out the shine a bit.
I also picked up a cheap plastic sponge at the store and then gave it a haircut. Does anyone think it looks like a swarm of locusts yet?😉
30 September 2018, 14:23
Greg BakerWe'll see, I guess. If not, then I'll just tell my wife I bought it so I can do a better job on the dishes after dinner. 😛
30 September 2018, 14:33
Greg BakerOk... does anyone think that looks like a swarm of locusts being burned by gasoline? Or does it look like I dropped my cotton ball on a kitchen sponge? What the hell colour is a swarm of locusts anyway? Is there an FS code?
1 October 2018, 12:43
Martin OostromUm, yes I think…. It might just be….. Can't you do.....
Sorry Greg, I just don't know what to say. I haven't seen a burning swarm of locusts before. I do know I like your experiments a lot 👍
1 October 2018, 13:47
Tim HeimerI see what your saying,,,,But I can tell you're real close! I can't tell if the scale could be off or the sponge or it might need some kind of definition, a pastel wash or some thing. or even the plane needs to go up an inch or two. That's my 2 cents worth . Keep playing with it, you're close!
1 October 2018, 15:48
Wim van der LuijtIn 1943 the RLM (ReichsLuftfahrtMinisterium) specified RLM02 with a mottling of RLM83 and RLM82 for swarms of locusts (Heuschreckenschwarmen). Germans have the answer to everything 😄
2 October 2018, 07:43
Greg BakerI've read that 3 times... still makes me laugh... especially since he might just be right!
2 October 2018, 11:43
Patrick HagelsteinOff course he is right! Germans have standardized EVERYTHING!!!
2 October 2018, 12:42
Wim van der LuijtHey! don't make fun of it....it took at least 50 Diplom-Ingenieure, 20 DoktorIngenieure and a Generaloberst plus an extensive array of Beambten at several Verwaltungstellen to establish this important standardisation.....think about the alternative.....people could start painting their Heuschreckenschwärme Olive Drab or, God forbid 4BO Green....what an abomination! Or someone might start a Schwarm '46 site for all kinds of what if's
2 October 2018, 13:43
Martin OostromPatrick, there is this mythical book containing all German jokes ever made! It is rumoured to be at least two pages thick; a front cover and a back cover!😎
2 October 2018, 14:26
Greg BakerOk. I did my best to comply with German standards. A few stabs here and there with the paint brush really broke up the uniformity and gave it some definition. I also got the smoke cloud painted and the two seem to match well.
I also got the Texan done... I rubbed the aluminum paint with a microfibre cloth to even out the shine. Then I gave it a shot of Future to protect it from he masking for the black anti-glare area. Then i hgave the whole thing a bit of a wash. I tired to keep it subtle, but it got away from me a bit.
Finally, installed the engine. It was some itty bitty soldering for the connections, and despite numerous dry fits, I really had to squeeze to get it into the fuselage. It's in, the wire connections are viable... so I call that a in. Just a bit of fooling around with resistance values before I wire everything together. But it's almost done.
2 October 2018, 16:05
Patrick HagelsteinSee what a little bit of Deutsche Gründlichkeit can get for you. 😉
2 October 2018, 18:02
Tim HeimerI knew you would get it better! You were close when you ask for opinions, This looks great! Good work mate!
2 October 2018, 19:22
Greg BakerThanks guys. It seems like no one has really noticed the "star" of this build yet. I haven't really highlighted in just yet, so I'm hoping it will be a bit of a surprise reveal...
3 October 2018, 04:24
Daniel KlinkDefinetely RLM83 over 82... You can leave it that way! Fantastic scenery once again Greg. 👍
3 October 2018, 14:03
Daniel KlinkYap it is the icing on the cake Greg.. Love it. And now the hidden star shows up
3 October 2018, 14:09
Wim van der Luijt😄 another nice one for the collection, sure wish I had your building pace
3 October 2018, 14:17
Greg BakerHeh. Thanks mates! This was the first time i've used a tiny DC motor for a propeller, but it worked very well, so it won't be the last.
3 October 2018, 22:28
Greg BakerI have limits? Uh-oh... 😉
In case anyone is interested, I uploaded this project to my personal blog - strobez.ca/wp/index...a-plague-of-locusts/ - The pics are basically the same, but you can follow the link to read several pages of the Area 88 manga chapter that this build is based on as well as a few of my overall thoughts on the build (that part's just the bonus!)
4 October 2018, 01:57
Bart Goesaertnice easter egg... now some print to make the LED flicker a bit 😉 (or build in some fake electric candle)
4 October 2018, 06:23
Greg BakerI've actually thought about taking apart and repurposing one of those fake candles. There are other ways to make an LED flicker, but they usually involve wiring up capacitors and I've never been keen enough to really try. Maybe I should though.
4 October 2018, 08:24
Daniel KlinkWhere is the engine sound and the screams of the vanishing locust ?🙂
4 October 2018, 18:44
Greg BakerHeh, the electric motor does make a bit of a buzz, so I'll call that 1/144 engine noise. As for the locust screams... well, I just softly go "ahhhhhhhh...." every time I look at it. 🙂
4 October 2018, 22:34
Greg BakerJust uploaded a few final pics. I used photoshop to take out the background distractions, but avoided the temptation to touch up the model in a few spots. 🙂
6 October 2018, 00:41
Martin OostromPerhaps bank the plane a bit to the right? It would have been hard to drop the bomb on the swarm in its current position.
6 October 2018, 00:43
Greg BakerThat's a good idea... I kinda screwed up attaching the plane to the post, so it is a bit wobbly and moves out of position... maybe I'll fix it and try to take better pics...
6 October 2018, 01:20
Greg BakerDISASTER! During general housecleaning, this model was jostled and one of the wires connecting the prop snapped! It was my own fault, I didn't do the jostling, but I got CA glue in the wrong place and as a result the wires were hanging slightly outside of the support tube... and were slowly but surely being worked back and forth until one of them snapped, thus killing the propellor. There's no way to fix it without ripping though the model... which means it's probably easier to rebuild it. Luckily the Platz kit is a two-pack, so I can do it... but still.
Does anyone want to witness the rebuild? Or should I hide my shame?
17 October 2018, 10:08
Bart GoesaertSorry to hear...
We're all here to learn, also from faults and mistakes... Mostly these aren't shown, and most build reports are heavily filtered. So I vote to witness the 2.0 version...
17 October 2018, 10:23
Wim van der LuijtGerman Army manual of 1916 states that in cases of epic F@#$ ups 1.45 minutes of vigorous swearing are allowed to be followed by diligent efforts to remedy the situation. Covering up is not an option as it denies your fellow soldiers the chance to learn from your mistake (trust me....this is the truth 😉 )
17 October 2018, 10:32
Spanjaarddid they delete the mention about flogging? what a pity.... kidding of course 🙂
I think it will be great to see where and how it went wrong, so we can avoid making the same mistake. Bart and Wim are spot on
17 October 2018, 11:19
Greg BakerWell, the problem was really of my own making (aren't they all?). Because I got CA glue down the support tube, I ended up glueing the wires to the inside and thus couldn't glue the plane to the support, so it was basically sitting on the wires. Luckily, after further review I think I can salvage the model already built. I was able to take it apart and resolder the wires - which was actually a giant pain the ass because they're so delicate I ended up breaking them during reassembly twice before I got it all stuffed back inside. After reglueing I will need to repaint, but I think that is about it. No visible damage was done during the de/re-assembly.
17 October 2018, 14:30
Greg BakerWhile I wait for the plane's new coat of paint to dry, I may as well fix the base. I know most of it will be covered but the base looked out of place next to the other Area 88 1/144 presentations with their decals. Besides, it might help the locust representation. I also added some bright green to the mix because I've been told "all anime locusts are bright green". I guess they didn't follow German protocols, but after a little test I liked the contrast, so there you go.
19 October 2018, 00:13
Donald Dickson IIMissed this somehow. I have to agree, some green in the locust swarm is a good idea. Looks great! You are going to force me to try lighting one of my kits one day. LOL
19 October 2018, 02:37
Wim van der Luijtalthough unregulatory the locusts look strangely apealling 😉 All kidding aside, the fix looks good
19 October 2018, 06:40
Greg BakerOk, so all repainted and we're back in action... except that I somehow managed to get black overspray on the wings... d'oh!
19 October 2018, 15:06
Bart Goesaertseems like a neverending story 😉, but nice recovery. Maybe an idea for the swarm, darker interior and bright drybrush at the outside. To create the idea of density of the swarm that gets less at the outsides...
19 October 2018, 15:10
Greg BakerI may have spoke too soon. I got the plane repainted, re-buffed, re-Futured and then went to install it in the base... which is when I discovered that the wire connected to the motor had come loose and I was back at square one... sigh. I just had to walk away.
I'm not defeated though.... but as Martin would say, I lost a bit of my mojo on this one. I'll give it a couple of days to recover, but I'm sure it'll be back.
22 October 2018, 15:12
Bart Goesaertcan you add a strain relief safety in it? Just a fixed rod in the hull, you'll wrap the wires around it. When you handle the model, you put strain on the wires, which are directly connected to the engine, and when the soldered connection breaks, you lose functionality. With the strain relief, when you handle the model, the force comes also on the wire, but is applied to the rod and not the connection with the engine... Just a wild idea...
22 October 2018, 15:18
Greg BakerA good idea to be sure. In this case I think the challenge is finding room for a strain safety. There's not a lot of room left over in 1/144 fuselages. One wrap around a bit of spare sprue might work, so I'll try that.
23 October 2018, 01:43
Greg BakerOk... mojo back in place... starting over and already happier about how the engine is assembled.
23 October 2018, 10:24
Greg BakerThanks for the encouragement. You're right Lode, working with these small motors has been a bigger learning curve than I thought, but I've been climbing it. I've tried several "tricks" to overcome challenges, a few have worked and a bunch have had unintended consequences (especially trying to do things with CA glue. It gets into EVERYTHING and goes where I don't want it). I'm going to try Bart's strain relief idea and I think I might try some tiny little bits of epoxy putty to protect the weak spots.
If nothing else, by rebuilding this model, I discovered that last time I accidentally cut the exhaust pipe off the engine cowling. It's so small (and has some flash) so I thought it was a bit of sprue gate. So at least this one will be measurably better...😉
23 October 2018, 22:08
Martin OostromOkay, so from now on, whenever someone loses his mojo, my name will pop up 🙁
No problemo! Keep improving the great builds Greg 👍
23 October 2018, 22:24
Greg BakerWe're calling losing one's mojo "pulling a Martin" from now on... you're famous! 😄
23 October 2018, 23:02
Patrick HagelsteinSo let's quote Winston Churchill: 'Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.' Or call it 'Pulling a Martin'! 😄
24 October 2018, 01:59
Greg BakerWell, my enthusiasm has so far always returned. I think one of the problems I was having was holding the soldering iron in place too long. I think it melted the plastic casing on the motor and caused the wires to come loose very very easily. So with a couple of very quick solders, the plastic seems fine, but I added a bit of epoxy putty for strength. Everything was solid, so I tested the connections several times and then shoved it all inside and glued it all up.
Now it should be down to some canopy masking and painting. Fingers crossed.
24 October 2018, 15:05
Greg BakerOk... so let's just cut to the chase shall we? The re-do was masked, painted and then re-assembled. Since I built this one 2.5 times it felt a bit anti-climactic, but I'm glad it's done and I was able to add a few little bits I missed the first time around (like the exhaust pipe coming out from the engine cowl... I though it was a bit of sprue gate the first time~). Besides adding the decal to the base, I also took it a bit easier on the weathering this time and was able to get through it without scrubbing off some of the underlying paint. So all in all, I'm happy with the final final result.
11 November 2018, 23:10
Martin OostromShow off! Running us mortals off in shame 2,5 times!
Indeed great build(s) 👍
12 November 2018, 06:58
Bart GoesaertWould like to say third time is the charm... but 2.5 rounded up comes there too... nice work and perseverance...
12 November 2018, 07:46
