Here's the latest update on the Ventura.
Remember the chewed up propeller ? I replaced it with a pair of these that I picked up from Sprue Brothers.
The hubs were painted in Intermediate Blue.
While the prop blades were painted Black. There's a BIG difference between the skinny kit supplied propeller blades and the aftermarket ones...
which are a lot wider, and closely resemble the so called "combat prop" that was used on the Corsairs.
The landing gear doors were added, as were the wheels and tires.
I sprayed the drop tanks too. They are almost ready to install now.
Then it was time to add the stickers...
I didn't like how the nose mounted MG barrels looked, so I replaced the barrels with hollow brass rods. Once painted and installed, they looked much better I think.
It was time to paint the bombs. This plane was lost on a practice mission flight, so I opted to cut off the fuses on the nose of the bombs, and spray them Light Blue. Training bombs were inert, and painted in this color. They were loaded with sand and water to simulate the weight of the real thing.
Once dry, I glued the practice bombs in place. I'll come back later and do an oil wash inside the bomb bay and landing gear wells.
Then it was time to add the bomb bay doors... Let me tell you about them. Very fragile ! Fiddly, finicky, what ever you want to call them in this range they are. But the trade off is a realistic appearance.
You can't always have the cake and eat it too ! Even with the bomb bay troubles, I'm still getting another one (or two) of these. They are a very nice kit, and one always has the option to glue the doors shut. However, if you are bone headed like me, go ahead and open them up. It's worth it in the long run.
Take your time here and go slow. I let it set up over night.
Then I came back this morning and installed the lower sections of the bomb bay doors.
This concludes todays public service announcement. Good evening boys and girls.
As always, comments are encouraged. Thanks for stopping by.
