Patrick Hagelstein Never used a kit in that medium! What was that called again, wood??? Cool to see the next generation discovering the joy of this hobby!
Ben M I picked up this model in it's what if boxing - the kit picture has changed on scalemates to a different boxing no idea why. Anyhow I wanted to build the one shown in the project picture. I wrote fly models and they sent me some alternative decals, thank you! I don't have all the decals to make it exactly correct but managed to get pretty close. The kit has been kind of rough, I broke 4 of the resin pieces and had to piece them back together again, but overall the effect so far is pretty good.
7. September, 18:56
Derek Huggett Ben M - Nice work! Scalemates listing for the Fly VZ9 series of models have been split between 2 different 'Topics' - 'Avro Canada VZ9 Avrocar' and 'Avro VZ9' hence the box-top confusion (I think!). I'll drop SCM Data a mail to get the Topics combined under the first, more complete, 'Topic'.
7. September, 20:30
Ben M Thanks Derek. All done! Now I have to wait til a good day to take pictures outside. Unfortunately it is going to snow tomorrow.
8. September, 03:01
Ben M Outdoor pictures taken. I was fascinated by this saucer as a kid, it was in some airplane book of my dads I think. Thanks to fly models for making a kit of such a great subject.
Cuajete Ben, you are getting a fantastic result. I love the effect of paint on the surface. Well done so far!
4. September, 20:29
Andy Ball I had that sucker on back order for over a year at Hannants- always loved that scheme! Watching!!
4. September, 22:14
Ben M Hi Andy, didn't know it was hard to find. I got it direct from classic plastic, they were selling from a booth at the rocky mountain hobby expo. I saw the kit and bought it because I'd built it as a kid. I recall it was molded in yellow then, and I didn't paint the fuselage, just left it yellow plastic. I just finished it up and will take nice pictures later today when there's more sun.
5. September, 15:12
Nathan Dempsey Looking great Ben. I'm jealous of your nice smooth paint work.
Dear scalemates, I am about to apply some airliner window decals that are about a foot long. I was thinking of cutting them into 2 or three pieces and apply them separately, but I'm concerned the result won't be straight. Would it work to apply a line of Tamiya masking tape and put one edge of the decals against the tape? Any other ideas to ensure alignment?
Ben M Filled wing roots with milliput, never used it before. Tried sculpting a couple of sandbags out of the excess. This is great practice because I need to fix a scratch in a tub with epoxy putty and fix an oversized screw hole in a chair with epoxy putty. So practical applications of modeling skills!
23. May, 17:23
Ben M Well. I should have painted the interior white. My polly scale grey dries much darker than it looks in the bottle. Since this was used in the tropics, they would have used a light color. Wish I'd seen the tutorial on milliput the other day on youtube before I built it! You can smooth out the seams with alcohol on a paintbrush. Also, I totally misunderstood how to cut out the canopy. I should have cut the bottom off at the edge of the windows. I realized my mistake after I'd glued the canopy in place. Wonder why it didn't fit well! It's my first vacform canopy and I have to say I didn't find the experience entirely positive.
16. June, 04:12
Skywalker Hey Ben, there is that Kranich I was waiting for. Looks like it was a tough build. CA glue probably would have filled the gaps better than milliput on those wings. Both need to be filed smooth afterward from 200 up to 1000 grit. Not sure why you didn't fix the canopy. That should be taken off cleaned up and cut down. Keep going, you got yourself a winner.
17. June, 00:18
Ben M Thanks for the encouragement. I was just going to accept it. I pulled off the canopy and literally attacked it with scissors and a coarse flat file. Fits a lot better now. Taking a little break and going to stare at it in a bit. I think I will still have to fill some gaps, but overall a better result, the cockpit now is not extra tall.
Juergen Klinglhuber I like unusual topics and beside that - your model turned out great.
3. June, 19:06
Mike Powers Greetings
I saw your build and was blown away by it, so mush that I also purchased the kit and will attempt to add in the fighters and the launching and recovery ladder.
If I understood your write up you added the recovery ladder by custom building and adding a HO railroad car ladder and 1/600 to 1/700 scale Biplane Sparrowhawk. I also liked the idea of using the 1/600 scale ship ladders. So excellent job sir, I'm very excited to give this kit a try and will post my results for your review and critique I hope mine will do you proud for being my inspiration for this kit. Any suggestions that you can provide me with would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much
Michael Powers
Aka
Rescueranger
4. June, 12:38
Ben M I used 1:520 F9C Sparrowhawk planes I found on shapeways, and N scale railroad ladders to build the trapeze and such. I think I'd recommend replacing some of the oversize struts on the tail with brass rod or smaller diameter plastic rod, but I'm happy with how mine turned out.
4. June, 14:50
Mike Powers Ben is that the 3-D printing company?
I looked it up on line and thats what came up. I also agree with you on the tail struts brass or copper i was also thinking about trying a stretch and heat shrink fabric over the intire kit to give it a fabric realistic look, but my biggest problem was finding the F9C Sparrowhawk planes, I was about to settle for a 1/350 F3F BiPlane but if you can steer me to the site you got your 1:520 F9C Sparrowhawk I would be very grateful.
Thank you
Michael Powers
Aka
Rescueranger
Mike Powers Thank you for sharing I'm really interested in getting this started and sharing it with everyone
5. June, 18:13
Mike Powers Ben, went to the site and placed my order, got the Macon blimp just the other day and I purchased a 1/35 scale F9C Sparrowhawk, I thought it would look cool next to the Macon to represent what the aircraft looked like so you did not have to squint to look at the 1/520 version. The kit I got was the WILLIAMS BROS. MODEL 1/32 CURTISS SPARROWHAWK, I posted the kit in my stash.
When I try to look at private messages I am getting "This message can not be displayed. It either no longer exists or you don't have enough permissions to view this message." - is this a site-wide problem?
2. June, 16:28
scalemates Works for me... what is the Id (or URL) of the message? I can see if it was deleted or not
Ben M Orangepeeled it a second time. Stripped it for a 2nd time I had to order new paint -- and the ship time is 2.5 weeks, who knows if it will ever get here in the age of coronavirus. The dark brown is polly scale and not made anymore, and I don't have much left of that either.
17. March, 04:20
fj55mike FYI, it's not a 1953. The fender vents in front of the doors appeared in November of 1951, and the kit doesn't appear to have them. In fact, the shape of the kit looks more like an early alloy-bodied car (1948-1950), which has a rounder shape to the rear. Good luck with the build!
17. March, 21:08
Ben M Cool thanks! I'm going to put it on hold for a while because it's not giving me joy. Learning how to get a nice smooth gloss coat with these gunze paints is rough.
Ben M I finally figured out I had to use mr levelling thinner, and a fair amount to get the paint to cover. I could have done a better job, and next time I will The only modification I made to the kit was I added window glass, didn't look right without it. Still having trouble getting like tire rims and tires to have a smooth edge, my hands are too shaky!
Alex K Now, this is an interesting idea! I like this expansion of your Dutch / Dutch Indies collection to more esoteric subjects! (plus, I like gliders, especially classic ones...)
13. May, 17:43
Ben M I just need something simple -- the two projects on my workbench currently are complicated. My friend Mock suggested I do something relatively easy, and I got a kit of this glider along with a set of dutch decals... so why not?
13. May, 17:48
Alex K I will watch with great interest... There are at least two very similar resin gliders from CMR I'm interested in...
Ryan STM-S2 Koninklijke Luchtmacht (Royal Netherlands Air Force 1921-now) S11
9. October 2018, 01:34
Ben M I have a rebox of this kit that isn't in the database. I need to learn how to add it to the database. Also I want to learn how to do rigging and how to do a wash to enhance panel lines as part of this project.
Ben M Dear mates, if anyone has a small 1:48 or large 1:72 aircooled engine cylinder in the spare parts bin, I could use it to go inside the cowling. Also I would swap one of the 1:48 pilot figures for a different one so I don't have two identical twins in my trainer.
3. December 2018, 14:42
Ben M Nope... I cut open the nose to open up the air intakes so now I need something to put in there. I bet I can scratch something out of my junk drawer, maybe alternating sized washers on a small bolt.
3. December 2018, 17:15
Ben M I've moved in enough in my new place to where I can have some fun. The two identical pilots were going to look kind of weird, so I tried a resin pilot, but the resin pilot has a comparatively huge head which made the original pilot look microcephalic. So I decapitated one of the original pilots and rotated and tilted his head a bit.
18. May 2019, 23:50
Ben M I've moved in enough in my new place to where I can have some fun. The two identical pilots were going to look kind of weird, so I tried a resin pilot, but the resin pilot has a comparatively huge head which made the original pilot look microcephalic. So I decapitated one of the original pilots and rotated and tilted his head a bit.
Ketoujin Fantastic. You seem to have an interest in KNIL aircraft like I have in Japanese and Italian - the more uncommon the better. I like that. There was a great KNIL veterans site a few years ago (don't remember the URL sadly though) where some KNIL Dutch pilots of some lend-lease Walrus flying boats told about there experience during a fighting retreat on Java in early 1942. In any case great job on a rare aircraft in an even rarer livery.
Ben M I decided to spray paint. I airbrushed slightly different aluminum onto the control surfaces. The decals have been disintegrating and curling badly but getting a mostly acceptable outcome with lots of patience.
6. May, 03:32
Ben M Completed - North American AT-6 Texan of the Royal Netherlands Military Flying School, Jackson Army Base USA 1942-1944
Ketoujin Excellent AT-6. My grandpa was career Air Force and ferried lots of them around during the '50's although he was trained on a Stearman PT-17 himself during WWII.
wilky I went on a joyflight in a Tiger Moth for my fiftieth, thanks to my sister
25. April, 07:45
Ben M That had to be amazing! My dad flew in one in the 1950's
25. April, 16:52
wilky It was and it wasn't.
It was for my head but for my stomach it was hell.
I get motion sickness so every turn made my guts react badly but when flying straight and level I loved it.
My dream is to fly in a Mustang or Spitfire but they aren't in Australia so I decided on the Tiger Moth because every Fighter pilot flew a Tiger Moth
What is a good place to buy paints (especially tamiya) online in the US? On Amazon, the shipping charges often end up being very high for each bottle of paint.
Dear scalemates, I have had a small disaster - what is a good method for stripping Mr. Hobby Aqueous Hobby Color? I'd like to start over!
12. March, 03:14
Matthew A Don't use "Mr. Hobby" myself. But 91% isopropyl alcohol seems to be what gets recommended for "Aqueous Hobby Color". I am told "Mr. Colour Thinners" and "Mr. Paint Remover" will damage the plastic. I've used "Strip Magic" on Vallejo primer but you can't leave it on too long and you have to wash it with alcohol. I am looking forward to trying "Clean Slate rmvr 2.0" in the future.
12. March, 17:29
Ben M Saving the 91% iso alcohol at this point for other purposes. I ended up finding a partly used expired can of DOT 4 brake fluid in the garage. I tried soaking some sprue in it, and it didn't soften, so I dunked the car in it, let it sit for an hour, and used a nylon brush to scrub off the paint. I washed it thoroughly with soap and water and after it dries, I'll try shooting paint on it again.
12. March, 22:06
Ben M For future reference as well, Tamiya panel line accent dissolves Mr. Hobby, which is what started the disaster!
Brewster F2A Buffalo ML-KNIL (Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force 1915-50) Groep 5 B-398 | Netherlands East Indies December 1941 | BS381C:450FS33070FS36373
Ben M Used similarly sized Dutch decals orange triangles from do.215 to replace faded kit triangles
20. February, 04:09
Ben M I accidentally deleted my album, attempting to delete just one photo. Fitting the canopy to the fuselage, and doing detail work like the radio mast on the tail.
27. February, 04:59
Wim van der Luijt Crap on a cracker.....but you can up load them again??
Ben M I keep getting funny flashbacks to the 70s while building this. I pushed the tires into the struts to test fit them, then went to pull them off to glue them and the strut broke. I suddenly remembered this happened the first time I built it too and the wheels fit so tight there is no need for glue. I'm going to skip the resin wheels, they aren't any better than the kit wheels.
18. February, 23:10
Ben M Oil dot wash. Unhappy with the Tamiya acrylic gloss coat I used under this. It orangepeeled just like future always does for me. Unfortunately oil washes strip it off as well. I was able to salvage some of the kit decals by coating with a decal film fluid and lots and lots of Microsol. I had used Tamiya markfit before and it doesn't seem too strong and it leaves white stains on the model When it dries. I did cut one decal in two by accident yay craftsmanship. The old decals looked horrible until the 4th or 5th coat of microsol the stuff is magic.
23. February, 22:10
Wim van der Luijt This build is a bit of a bumby ride for....hang in there the result will be worth it as well as the lesson learned along the way.
Ben M Thanks Bob, I had no idea this product existed. Just ordered some!
20. February, 18:16
Bob Hall I ran into your same problem, and some one helped me with this. Works Great !
20. February, 18:18
Bob Hall One thing that was told to me that was very important. Brush it on and let set BEFORE you cut them out or they will not release from backing paper.
20. February, 18:24
Alec K If the old decals are yellow, you can expose them to UV light to remove the yellow. Common method involves taping the decal to an interior window pane facing out for several weeks, checking on progress frequently.
20. February, 22:58
Ben M It's more that they've started to peel off the paper. I think they've been damp and then dried out.
20. February, 23:24
Francky In my experience, there is no wisdom in attempting to recover old brittle yellow decals. Buy new ones! it will do the time you have spent in building and painting your model more justice than ruining it with poor decals.
21. February, 10:46
Kerry COX You can actually put it through an air brush, diluted with a small amount of water.
21. February, 10:54
Ben M Thank you everyone. The fluid, the sunlight, and the advice that it's better to go with new are all good tips. I have improvised some out of new decals for other aircraft to start. Not totally sure how I will do it but I will improvise proper knil Buffalo markings somehow
22. February, 03:29
Bob Hall And of course if your going for a weathered look on your project, they may work to your advantage.
Ben M Thanks. I know that I need to build up my skills before I try this one... but I wanted to purchase it while it was still on the market, how much KNIL armor is there out there....
Ben M This kit sure goes together fast. I'm going to use it to learn how to do chipping (on the cart) and a soft edge between two colors (top green and bottom grey-blue, which I've already shot). Maybe should have tried preshading also, but gotta leave something to learn on the next kit
16. December 2019, 20:27
Ben M Weathered the cart with a titanium white and turpentine wash which also took off some of the paint on the tires, will have to touch up, followed by my first attempt at chipping I used burnt umber.
19. December 2019, 04:56
Ben M My first attempts at "muffin top masking" with blu-tack went well, have a nice soft transition between green and grey.
24. December 2019, 20:09
Ben M Did some paint touch up and replaced the prop blade I broke off and that inevitably flew away when I tried to pick it up with my tweezers. I used a bit of brass sheet leftover from some photoetch.
+
Cool to see the next generation discovering the joy of this hobby! 
Angkatan Udara Republik Indonesia (Republic of Indonesia Air Force 1946-1974)
I had to order new paint -- and the ship time is 2.5 weeks, who knows if it will ever get here in the age of coronavirus. The dark brown is polly scale and not made anymore, and I don't have much left of that either.
