Construction (J8M1, F-101B, XP-79, DUKW)

First off, I’d like to wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving. We just put the turkey in, so it won’t be long until the house fills with proper holiday smells.

But back to the workbench. Many construction sessions are really just paint-prep sessions in disguise. Though there wasn’t much time devoted to bench time this week, most of it was in preparation for paint.

I was able to get the cockpit together for the J8M1 Japanese Komet. For simplicity’s sake I will probably paint it via spray can and then do some detail painting after that has a chance to cure. Then I will be completing the overall assembly.

I have buffed down the ADC Gray overall coat on the F-101B. There were a couple of rough spots, but those are ready for a surface coat. Also, I found that I had forgotten to include the landing gear doors in the last paint session, so those will be included this time around.

Repair work is needed on the DHC-1 Chipmunk. The masking on the lower fuselage was a bit clumsy, and will need to be remasked and sprayed to eliminate the overspray. Next I can mask the wingtips and tail for the Insignia Red portions.

The Valom mark 7 nuke needed to have the nosecone masked off so that the rest of the bomb can be painted Aluminum. While I’ve got the Alclad out, I’ll take the opportunity to paint the floats on the airliner Noorduyn Norseman as well.

Finally, I’ve gotten the major assembly of the RS XP-79 in gear. Next comes the rather frightful act of masking and cementing that canopy, which does not look like it will be easy.

In terms of pure construction, I’ve gotten the major body pieces together for the Italeri DUKW. In comparison with the tractors and airfield support vehicles I’ve done to date, this is a gigantic model (well, gigantic for 1:72 vehicles at least). Lots remains to be done, including the transmission, interior, and a bunch of stuff hanging on the bow end.