Wednesday, 1 September 2021

September 2021 IPMS Ottawa On-Line SHOW & TELL

Welcome to IPMS Ottawa's ongoing monthly SHOW & TELL, which allows club members to show off their completed work despite not being able to attend group meetings. Each member is invited to send in up to three photos of a model and some explanation. September marks our fourteenth (14th) on-line show & tell. We thank all of our members and builders for keeping alive the hobby. The theme this month, as in each September, is ANYTHING BRITISH. However, all entries are always welcome.

Please note there will be a new & used model kit car boot sale and swap meet at Hobby Centre on Sunday 26 September 2021 at 09:00. This is the first such sale in Ottawa for over a year and a half.

THANK YOU TO ALL PARTICIPANTS, and KEEP BUILDING. 

! Miniature world domination !

Enjoy our show, and we all hope to meet again soon.


HELLCAT Mk.I/Mk.II (Eduard 1:48)
The model represents a Hellcat Mk I from FAA Squadron 800 flying off HMS EMPEROR in June 1944 where they provided air support to the Normandy Invasion. I started both the Hellcat Mk I and Mk II kits in September 2016 during one of IPMS Ottawa’s Build days at the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum. I eventually finished the Mk II for HeritageCon in 2018; however, the Mk I was on and off the Shelf of Doom since 2016. In June of this, I got inspired to finish a few of the Shelf Queens, including this Hellcat. When I had last worked on it, I had applied the decals, sprayed a gloss coat, and started on panel lining. I had finished the panel lining on the bottom and had applied Tamiya panel liner to the top, but I did not clean it up until I pulled it off the shelf this year. Cotton swabs dampened with mineral spirits worked wonders on cleaning up the excess, dried/cured panel liner. Once that was done, I proceeded to spray a matt finish using AK 3 Gen Matt Varnish for the first time. This was a mistake. The AK Matt Varnish does not seem to take well to weathering with oils, or pencils for that matter. I noticed bits of the varnish peeling off in areas, the worst was when I pulled the masking of the windscreen and pulled the varnish off along the upper cowl. With the varnish peeling, it also took away the weathering in those areas. Wiping the edges with a swab dampened in Windex. This seemed to removed the lifting varnish without further peeling. I then sprayed these areas with Tamiya Flat Clear and reapplied the weathering. While I enjoyed and was satisfied with the overall build, I am not completely happy with the finish due to the chipping/peeling flat coat as I was unable to fix all areas.  
The first two pictures are of the left and right side, the third shows off the bottom and the last picture is the two models together. The Hellcat Mk II is a FAA Squadron 1844 NFD was the aircraft flown by Lt Bill Atkinson, RCNVR.
Bill Eggleton
Hellcat Mk I

Hellcat Mk I

Hellcat Mk I

Hellcat Mk I & Mk II

 Lt Bill Atkinson, RCNVR

de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk (AZmodel 7557 1:72)
I bought an AZmodel Chipmunk kit, intending to build it in Canadian markings – then realized that it only had the flat-sided canopy of the UK machines, and no bubble canopy as used by Canadian aircraft (lesson learned: do the research first, then buy the kit/decals).   Then along came the latest issue of RT, showing that I could build this kit in Canadian markings after all.  So I did.
I added a few details – instrument panel sun shades, rotating propeller, engine exhaust, pitot tube, brakes, landing light, and wingtip lights.  The most difficult task was getting a pilot figure into the cockpit – major surgery was required and the sides of the canopy had to be significantly thinned.
Paints are a combination of Testors/Model Master enamels, Tamiya and Mr Hobby acrylics, and AK Extreme Metal polished aluminum.  I used the lovely IPMS Canada decals from issue 43-2.
Peter de Salis
DHC-1 Chipmunk

DHC-1 Chipmunk

DHC-1 Chipmunk



Hawker Typhoon Mk 1B (Airfix 1:72)
I made a quintet of WW2 fighters in Canadian markings (as close as you can with such things, given the RAF was running the show).  My favourite was the Mk 1B Typhoon – I made it as I8*P of RCAF 440 Sqn, at B.78 Eindhoven in late 1944.  The tricky part for me was making a paper mask for the camouflage, which I stuck on slightly loosely by making holes in the pattern and putting tape over the holes.
Maybe someday I'll add some weathering.
Paints are Testors/Model Master enamels.  The decals that were specific to this machine are from Aviaeology, and the generic ones (stripes, stencils) were from the kit.
Peter de Salis
Typhoon Mk 1B

Typhoon Mk 1B

Typhoon Mk 1B


HMS VICTORY (1:200)
This HMS VICTORY model project which took over three years to complete because I did nothing to it for most of those three years. It is a wooden kit from an unnamed company in China. The finish took one week, but it sat untouched for about three years time.
This is a cross-section of the famous sailing battleship commanded by Admiral Nelson and victorious at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It is preserved as a national treasure at the Royal Navy Yard in Portsmouth. I first visited the ship in 1977.
What made the build so very difficult is that the box mailed from China did not have the instruction sheets in it. So everything is a series of guesses based on photos of the real thing and of professional models of the Victory. It is an all-wood kit. Only the gun barrels are brass. The kit costs about $30. There are several parts remaining and without plans I have no idea what they might be used for! Most of the paint is Vallejo, with some yellow from Tamiya. Not plastic, but at least British.

HMS Victory

HMS Victory

HMS Victory



RMS MAURETANIA (Airfix 1:600)
Cunard had Swan Hunter build this record-breaking ocean liner in 1906 as a twin with RMS Lusitania. Unlike the second ship, the RMS Mauretania (named after the Roman province of North-West Africa) served for 27 years, and held the Blue Riband speed record on the North Atlantic for 20 years with a speed of nearly 50 km/hr. It was the first ocean liner to utilize steam turbines instead of pistons to carry over 2160 passengers across the Atlantic in five days. It was the largest ship in the world until 1910.
This is the very old (1964) and very rough Airfix kit, and was part of a series of kits of British ocean liners. The whole build was an exercise in nostalgia, as I attempted to imagine myself as a small boy who received a paper-wrapped kit in about 1966 and proceeded to glue it all together and paint it from little pots of British Humbrol paints. It all went together in a week and was very much the fun model build of a child. Smoke is cotton wool with Vallejo soot powder.

RMS Mauretania

RMS Mauretania

RMS Mauretania


DUKW 353 (Italeri 1:72, with PE update set and 3-D printed stretchers)
The kit was actually completed a few years ago as a military vehicle but then I came a cross a rare photo of it being used in Normandy to transfer wounded from beach to ship.  I made the white/red cross insignia panel and built the stretcher supports. This one is now part of my Ambulance collection.
Michael Roy
DUKW 353


LAUZ 967 Soviet Modern Light Amphibious Vehicle (ARMORY 1:72)
A 4 wheel drive "transporter" that can carry 400kg and go over various terrain. Produced 1961-75.  Used by Soviet Army Airborne Troops (VDV) for casualty evacuation.
Michael Roy
LAUZ 967


50th ANNIVERSARY of CUP NOODLE (BanDai 1:1)
This is the very unusual 1:1 scale plastic model from BanDai of the (in)famous CUP NOODLE original release from Nissin of Japan in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the premiere of the product on 18 September 1971.
The model was released in celebration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of Cup Noodle. If you happen to be in Yokohama Japan feel free to visit the Cup Noodle Museum for the full unadulterated cup noodle experience, and to buy cup noodle merchandise if that is what you need. Instant ramen noodles were invented by Momofuku Ando in 1958, and the three-minute Cup Noodles  premiered on 18 September 1971. Sales of Cup Noodles begin at Isetan Department Store in Tokyo's Shinjuku district. 
The kit is without doubt some of the best engineering of plastic model parts I have ever seen. Several of the ring parts are moulded with the sprue on the inside of the ring so that removal does not leave any visible signs on the outside of the parts. Amazing! The whole thing is a snap-together model, and the tolerances and fit are superb. Who needs stinky glue?
The most amazing aspect of the kit is the plastic wrap stickers for the shrimp parts. The shrimp are moulded in an orange plastic which does not look much like cooked shrimp. The plastic sticker fits almost perfectly on a bumpy compound curved surface and instantly gives the proper colour for shrimp. It is hard to believe just how well thought out is this kit. The food parts are astoundingly life like, if you consider instant ramen to be food.
John Clearwater
Cup Noodle

Cup Noodle

Cup Noodle, both real and imagined,
with the model looking far tastier than the real one.

WORKS-IN-PROGRESS...


SA3 Конденсатор Kondensator (OKB Grigorov 1:72)
big ass gun!!
The 2A3 Kondensator 2P (2А3 Конденсатор - Capacitor) was a Soviet 406 mm self-propelled howitzer capable of firing nuclear projectiles. 2A3 is its GRAU designation. It was in service from 1956 until 1960.
This is a tracked gun, essentially a battleship gun on a tracked chassis! Only 4 were built - why - well, they were slow, couldn't go under most bridges, probably couldn't go over a lot more, no trucks or trains for transport and they found things broke when fired. After firing; the vehicle had to be checked and usually they found the idlers broken or the tranny messed up - they rolled back a piece when fired. So a 64 ton gun with a 16 miles range.
The kit is resin, etch and turned metal (barrel) with an amazing fit. Produced by OKB Grigorov it is being built for a BIG gun build on a discussion group.
The figure in the one pic is a 1:72 scale man about 1.75m tall. You can then see how small some of the etch pieces are! In the first picture the big chunk of resin is the breech!
Graham M.
2А3 Конденсатор carrriage and breech.

2А3 Конденсатор ultra tiny PE part

2А3 Конденсатор carriage

2А3 Конденсатор in Moscow's Central Armed Forces Museum

Leningrad's Artillery Museum display of very heavy artillery

F-4 Phantom II (Tamiya 1:48)
I have never built an F-4 Phantom II model kit in my adult life; same with a Spitfire. (There, I admitted it... don't judge me! LOL) Even with all the offerings over the years from Revell/Monogram, Hasegawa,
Fujimi, Academy, and more recently Zoukei-Mura, I never got around to building an F-4. Then along comes Tamiya with their newest 1/48 F-4B offering, and the accolades keep pouring in left and right. I was curious to find out if this kit was as good as everyone is saying. It took only a few assembly steps to realized that the praise is well deserved. The engineering is ingenious, and the detail, fit, and finish are superb. I am now quite ruined for building F-4 kits from other manufacturers; Tamiya is now the 'gold standard.' I do not plan to use the kit decals, as I do not want to have the same model sitting on a contest table like so many others; on a recommendation from club member Peter Steacy, I went with decals from Bullseye Aviation Decals along with a different tail fin cap from Flying Leathernecks. I plan to build my F-4 with wings folded, flaperons sagged, speedbrakes extended, and canopies open. Other than a different fin cap and metal pitot tubes, this will be an out-of-box build. Highly recommended for
F-4 aficionados. Full build: https://photos.app.goo.gl/A7CFq1HnKsMjB8F16
Glenn Cauley
F-4 Phantom II cockpit model, with decal on instrument panel

F-4 Phantom II forward landing gear bay


F-4 Phantom II blast end

And this is where they end up... in a military museum in Viet Nam

Monday, 2 August 2021

August 2021 IPMS Ottawa On-Line SHOW & TELL

Welcome back to IPMS Ottawa's ongoing monthly SHOW & TELL, which allows club members to show off their completed work despite not being able to attend group meetings. We have been on holidays for the past two months, and now resume our shows. Each member is invited to send in photos of a model and some explanation. August marks our thirteenth (13th) on-line show & tell. We thank all of our members and builders for keeping alive the hobby. August is our semi-annual kit swap meet, but as we cannot meet, I recommend that you move your own kits around on the shelves and it will give you the feeling you have new kits!

THANK YOU TO ALL PARTICIPANTS, and KEEP BUILDING. 

! Miniature world domination !

Enjoy our show, and we all hope to meet again soon.


FINISHED MODELS


Big resin inn
I’m not sure where this is from as I got it secondhand in an unmarked box, but this is the biggest and heaviest chunk of resin I own.
I went with an interesting approach to painting this:
Prime black
Using heavy body artist tube acrylics, mixing white and black to make greys, I dry-brushed it with a cheap makeup brush with progressively lighter greys for the stone, and went all the way up to pure white on the wood and the shingles. Since this model had a lot of texture on the wood grains and the shingles, this dry-brushing will bring out the wood grain texture. What you will end up with is a monochrome black and white model.
Mask off the stone, and airbrush the beige sides of the building
Brush on a couple coats of brown artist acrylic inks over the wood and over the shingles. Since these inks are very transparent, they will tint the monochrome dry-brushed wood a brown wood colour.
Pick out windows and other details
-Brian
Big Resin Inn

Big Resin Inn

Big Resin Inn

Prime Artificer Nemo (Privateer Press)
This is one of the big centerpiece models for my latest wargaming army, the Convergence of Cyriss.
The Convergence of Cyriss is a small cult of humans who worship Cyriss, the clockwork goddess of logic and mathematics. They have developed the technology to insert their souls into clockwork vessels so they can live on in clockwork bodies. Sebastien Nemo is an elderly scientist who, as he near death, had his soul was stuffed into a big floating ball by the Convergence.
This one was tricky… the model came with a clear flight stand but I didn’t like how it looked. The model is also very heavy; it’s basically a resin baseball. To make it look like it is floating, I scratchbuilt a couple plasma thingies, using brass rod and apoxie sculpt to ensure that they are firmly attached together and to the base. I then used brass rod and heavy paper clips going from the plasma coils on the model to the plasma coils on the base to hold the model up, and painted them up like arcing lightning between the model and the plasma thingy on the base.
Paints are mostly Vallejo Metal Color. Glow effects were done by painting the source of the glow white, airbrushing with a transparent blue allowing the overspray to represent the glow, and then re-highlighting the source with more white.
-Brian
Cyriss

Cyriss

Cyriss

Sd. Kfz. 251/8 Ambulance (ESCI 1:72)
Michael Roy

German Light Truck G 3a Mercedes Ambulance (MAC Distribution 1:72)
Michael Roy

R.A.F. HAWKER SEA FURY (Magma Model, resin)
Tomy the Technical Adviror ('cat' - see May 2021 blog entry) is very happy so he gives me a word to send you another model built under his control after a very serious testing.  - Bien cordialement
Jean-Michel (IPMS France)

Hawker Sea Fury

Hawker Sea Fury

Hawker Sea Fury

Hawker Sea Fury

404 Squadron Greenhorn Blenheim IVf and Beaufighter TFX
I have submitted these models individually before but now I have completed the 404 squadron information sheet to go with them.  I’ve tried to take pictures of them together but the individual pictures were better.  Look back in John Clearwater’s previous postings for those photos.
Bristol Blenheim, Mk IVf late autumn 1941, based at Dyce, (Aberdeen) Scotland.
Z6279, EE A.
Bristol Beaufighter TF X late summer of 1944, based at Davidstow Moor, Cornwall.  LZ451 EE M was used by WC A.K. Gatward, the squadron commander, although it was also flown by other pilots.  (Gatward was the Beaufighter pilot who, in 1942, flew a single ship low level mission to Paris to strafe a daily German parade down the Champs-Élysées.  The parade was unfortunately late that day but he and his navigator, Sgt Gilbert 'George' Fern, dropped a tricolour over the Arc de Triomph and shot up the Kriegsmarine headquarters.)  LZ451 is a large part of the Beaufighter article in Carl Vincent’s book Canadian Aircraft of WW II, with many useful pictures.
Both kits are Airfix and excellent in engineering and fit.  The decals came from Extradecal sheets.  For the Beaufighter various antennae were added, including the whip one aft of the cockpit (which really was that long), and a rear view mirror. The 60 lb. HE rockets were replaced with aftermarket 25 lb. AP ones.  As in the photos, the rails were staggered in inclination (to get the desired spread of the salvo).
The garish red primer paint around the cannon ports, which reminds one of the Joker’s use of lipstick, really was that extensive in the photos.
John Greenhorn
404 Squadron

404 Squadron
Cessna L-19A Bird Dog (Airfix 1:72)
Inspired by the latest issue of RT, here is my Canadian Army Bird Dog in the camouflage scheme from the mid-50s.  This is an Airfix kit of the L-19E, with a few changes (that I could figure out from looking at photos), to make an L-19A.  This is a very light and delicate model – I broke off the rear and one of the main landing gear legs while building it.
The most difficult part of the build for me was trying to make the windows flat.
Paints are a combination of Testors/Model Master enamels, Tamiya and Mr Hobby acrylics.  I used the IPMS Canada decals from issue 43-2.
Peter de Salis
Canadian Army Bird Dog

Canadian Army Bird Dog

Canadian Army Bird Dog

USS INDEPENDENCE and FLECTHER CLASS ESCORT in 1943 (1:700)
One  night I was assembling and painting  the intricate top mast of  the carrier .. and I DROPPED  IT ON THE FLOOR. Heart froze... but that's not half of it. I stepped  back from table  …to  feel my foot go down on a lego. CRUNCH . I just stepped on the assembly.  Back on the table I dismantled  the  broken assembly and re-assembled what I could  using new brass radars and new supports—it still  looks wobbly and a few degrees off….but there were no plastic parts/spares available. Almost a deal breaker there … but met the challenge …the water effects took  weeks.  
Ray Bean (IPMS Winnipeg)
USS Independence & escort

USS Independence & escort

USS Independence & escort

USS Independence & escort

USS Independence & escort

Hurricane IIc 34 Squadron India 1943
This model will joined shortly (I hope) by the aircraft that replaced it in 34 squadron – a natural metal Thunderbolt.
John Greenhorn
Hurricane IIc

Hurricane IIc

Hurricane IIc

RMS TITANIC (Suyata 1:egg)
This is the very new model from a new Hong Kong company called Suyata Models.
The kit is a cartoon version of the spectacular failure of a ship the R.M.S. Titanic.
This is a superb kit in so many respects. It is far better and more detailed than the roughly similar Meng kit released at thee same time. The moulding is beautiful and the fit fantastic. It is cast in four colours, but I painted everything using both Vallejo and Tamiya gloss white acrylics anyway.
I bought the laser cut wooden decking for realism (as much as you can have in a cartoon). I added chain for the anchors; rigging; a sternpost flag; and filled in all the portholes with clear glue.
John Clearwater
RMS Titanic (cartoon)

RMS Titanic (cartoon)

RMS Titanic (cartoon)

AMBULANCES (various makers and scales)
I started the Ambulance Collection in October 2012. There are currently 57 vehicles in  the Ambulance Collection with 4 soon to completed ambulances. Most ambulance models are 1:72 with a couple 1:76 kits as well. Also pictured is my recently started Fire/Rescue Vehicle Collection, Currently 6 completed of which 5 are 1:72. There is one 1:72 fire truck soon to be completed.
Michael Roy
Ambulance collection

Ambulance collection

SU-57 (Zvezda 1:48)
Recently finished up the SU-57 . Good fit all around.  Added a Quinta cockpit interior and used New Ware Masks from the Czech Rep. They are excellent BTW. The only issue I have is the detail in the landing gear bays. They are completely void of detail.
A new aircraft, maybe, but one wonders why there can be so much detail in the cockpit and nothing in the wheel bays. Clearly, the delicate  (classified) stuff would be in the cockpit.
The decals, BTW from this Russian manufacturer are excellent. No silvering.
Highly recommended. A kit that fits well, no putty required.
MV
(note: there is no official Russian name for this aircraft)

Su-57 rolling out of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant (KnAAPO or KnAAZ)

Grumman Avenger (Sword SW72130 1:72)
My first model of a Royal Canadian Navy plane is the recently produced Sword kit of the TBM-3 which I finished as an AS.3 (one of the kit-supplied schemes).  I really appreciate it when a manufacturer tries to provide Canadian markings.  This is my first Sword kit, and I was pleased with the good detail and correct shape of the parts.  There are no locator pins or perfectly fitting parts, so I used reference pictures to make sure things were in the correct place.
My bad luck with canopies continued with this model – I damaged the rear section but was able to cut off a portion of an unused part and use that instead.  Luckily the kit includes many parts for other versions of the Avenger (presumably so they can use the same sprues in their other Avenger versions).  Even so, I was surprised that some parts I wanted were not included: no attachment points for tail hook, no rocket holders, no sonobuoy launch tube.
I had the most trouble with posing the aircraft in flying configuration, and this model was clearly not intended to be built that way: no crew figures, no stand, no separate parts for the stowed landing gear.  I had to chop up the landing gear and never did get the main doors to fit – I made new ones from sheet styrene.
Paints were a combination of Testors/Model Master enamels, Tamiya acrylics, and AK Real Colours acrylics; decals came from the kit and Belcher Bits BD38.
Peter de Salis
RCN Grumman Avenger

RCN Grumman Avenger

RCN Grumman Avenger


WORKS-IN-PROGRESS


SeaRAM CIWS with Missile-loading Platform(1:35)
I have embarked on one of the most challenging scratchbuilding projects since I began modelling; creating a missile-loading gantry platform for my 1/35 SeaRAM close-in weapons system. I got the idea from a picture of a shipboard SeaRAM being reloaded with missiles. First I went to my friend Paul Bornn to see if he would design and 3D print some missiles... then that evolved to the self-contained missile launching tubes... then their transport case; he came through with flying colours! After figuring out a base and layout (to mimic a ship deck), I began designing and then scratchbuilding the gantry platform, then the overhead railing framework, and then the sliding arm (that’s where I am today). Next up will be the winch system, then adding all the fine details. I use CorelDRAW to design many of the features, then using printed blueprints as templates for cutting/fitting the parts together. For materials I used strip styrene of various shapes & sizes, as well as brass tubing, wire, and metal mesh. There have been setbacks along the way, and mistakes were made, but I taking my time to see it through to the end.  There is something very satisfying about creating things from basic building blocks, and so I am enjoying this project immensely.
Glenn Cauley
SeaRAM CIWS

SeaRAM CIWS

SeaRAM CIWS

T-55 TANK (Trumpeter 1:35)
This model is boxed as the Israeli-modified Tiran tank, but I have backdated it to the original T-55.
Over 80 000 of these tanks were built - mostly in Ukraine at the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory (KhPZ). It is easier to see the green when sprayed on a white primer.

T-55 tank build in progress at the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory (KhPZ)

T-55 tank build in progress at the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory (KhPZ)

T-55 tank build in progress at the Kharkiv Locomotive Factory (KhPZ)
SU-57 (Zvezda 1:48)
I used Tamiya acrylics. As you know they are flat, not a friend of decals. By using Tamiya clear X-22 as the base, adding the commensurate colours and cutting the resulting mix with Mr Color Leveling Thinner, I was able to create a semigloss finish. To obtain a gloss finish I sprayed X-22 clear cut with Leveling Thinner, 50/50 and then immediately afterwards, spray the wet paint with 100 % Leveling Thinner. The result is a glossy finish. Wait 24 hours and apply the decals.  
MV
Su-57 build in progress at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant

Su-57 build in progress at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant

Su-57 build in progress at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant

DAIHATSU 1955 CM10T (ARII 1:32)
Three-wheeled Japanese delivery truck.
Thanks to Michael Roy for the kit.

1955 Daihatsu CM10T just starting...

TITANIC WOODEN DECK APPLICATION
There were about 25 pieces of wooden decking, and I took the better part of a day applying it after first sticking it to my fingers, then to the knife blade. However, it was a great way to learn about applying wooden decking to model ships. There was no decking for the aft flying bridge so I used excess wood to make proper decking for that piece. 

Tiny bits of wooden decking for Titanic cartoon model
JEEP & APC (1:72)
Here are some pics of a couple of builds for GBs (Group Build) on a discussion forum. The first is a jeep to be done as a Canadian vehicle with the rear frame for carrying stretchers. The replacement grill is from an etch set, modified slightly to fit this kit.
The second is an Israeli Heavy APC based on the Centurion chassis, the visible etch is from the kit, most additions are in plastic (white), there will be an antenna on the roof that looks like 2 umbrella frames mounted top to top.
Graham Mansell