My first "group build" subject ever. I was already well into this when the group started so I have added Eduard and scratch-built details to cockpit, bombardier and gunners' sections (mainly spare drum mags for MGs in fuselage. The fuselage is already closed up but I am still adding detail. I am mainly taking time with the cockpit. I completely redid the seats and added the bracing/rails that they are attached to. I added seat covers sculpted from styrene sheet and augmented with masking tape. These were either leather or canvas in the real plane and I weathered them heavily with pigments and pastels to get a sun bleached look. Seat armrests and cushions varied in number and shape according to photos (esp of crashed G4M wrecks). I made the radio operators seat from scratch because the kit version was too high and the wrong shape. I guessed the navigator's and radio operator's tables were linoleum (as in IJN ships and painted them reddish brown to suit. You can see the work I did on the navigator's table with a small lamp added for illumination of the maps. The lamp (modeled after cockpit photos) is made from a head of a spare missile with a neck made from wire. The maps are from Duplicata - very neat. You will see the first of three "cute tiny radios" (as my daughter calls them). These I am doing in styrene with nobs punched out and etch added from WWI instruments set, including tiny decals. Once again, replicating details from photos and video of Betty interior details. I will do a second radio suspended above the first on the little trapeze seen separately and positioned in the cockpit. This is so far removable so that I can work on it and keep repositioning it to check canopy clearance, etc. As you can see, the first radio is only visible from the dorsal gunner position - oh well! The other radio will be more visible. I am hoping to have a busy look to the cockpit, since it is so visible under the "greenhouse" canopy. It has been tricky to add side radios and other bits. I am currently sculpting a spare parachute pack for the cage behind the co-pilot's seat. I will only only glue in the main canopy with white glue before masking and painting. This will allow me to pry it up later and add final details after the framing is painted. I am also cautious about dust and debris getting inside in the painting process so I retain the option of cleaning it out later.

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Nice looking innards, the map is a great touch

That's a great start, Colin @coling! What you do inside this Betty is marvelous! Tamiya's interior leaves a lot to be desired, the figures provided saving the day...
This is going to be a super model. A typical "Colin Gomez" one!
All the best!

Colin,
Colin,
Thanks for joining our group. I want to welcome you aboard.

This is a great choice for the group build... those little 1/48 scale maps are pretty cool looking too. I also like the suspended radio and it's mount. Very nice work ! I have two of these same kits started for a Yamamoto build, (along with 5 A6M Zeros) so I will be watching yours closely for pointers and tips along the way.

Fantastic talent is on display right here...

WOW - that attention to the details still blows my mind. Very well done indeed - please keep those small updates comin'. Adorable? That is certainly another way of putting it. 🙂

Just a quick update on the G4M Betty. I attached, masked and painted the clear parts temporarily with white glue as I want to do final detailing inside the transparencies at the very end. Painting of the fuselage was next. I have done the undersides in XF-12 JN Gray over a pre-shade mottle and masked that all off with paper stencils and masking tape. the masking took alone took a whole afternoon. The preshaded topsides are XF-12 JN Gray with darkened areas in XF-63 German Gray and Flat Black. Today I cut and laid the rough masks to apply the XF-64 Red Brown over the preshade. These masks are only very rough so that I don't cover all the preshade Red Brown before applying the XF-11 JN Green segments. Some masking is with Silly Putty which I don't normally like but use here for a very rough line of demarcation before removing and freehanding things. I will do another set of masks over the Red Brown when I do the JN Green. This kind of masking is time consuming but it helps me preserve the underpainted weathering effects (pre-shade). I also plan to do some marbled post-shading with at least three different shades of Red Brown (tinted with Gray and White) as I lay it down. I don't plan to do a lot of chipping so I didn't do any metal or silver coat underneath. I will add some with flecks of Rub n Buff thinned with mineral spirits, applied with a fine brush over the camo at the end. I find Rub n Buff works better than any silver or aluminum paint to simulate exposed metal.

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Another quick update on painting. I laid down a dense mottle of three shades of brown XF-10, XF-40 and XF 40 + XF-12 around the masks. My low room lighting doesn't bring it out well but a few close ups show the variation. I wanted a subtle effect which changes depending on angle of view. I think you can see that with the port engine cowling which looks so much lighter when viewed more in profile. I will do some touch-ups to contrast the flaps and cowl body. The whole finish actually looks almost too splotchy in real life but I am staying patient with this. Several layers including clear and an oil wash will change things. Anyway, these pics also show my intention of keeping the pre-shade nearly intact in the soon-to-be-green areas with the masks. Also you can see how I roughened up the overspray a bit freehand to aid clean masking between colors. More masking to come now over the brown areas. I will do the JN Green in three variations as well. Thanks for looking.

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@coling, nothing boring at all watching your paint dry. What a great job with all the shading and masking and all. Looking great already, I'm sure you have a terrefic looking plane in the end. Thanks for sharing!