GWH 1/48 Devastator – FINISHED

Started by Eric Berg · 173 · 3 years ago · devastator, dive bomber, Douglas, Great Wall Hobby, GWH TBD-1 devastator, Lt. John C. Waldron, Midway, T-16, TBD-1, TBD-1 Devastator, torpedo, torpedo bomber, VT-8
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    Andrew H said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    The hangers look great!

    I do have the gravity fed one, and I can agree with Carl's comments about it. Honestly I think it's a great tool, but it's the only one I've used, so I may be a bit biased to say it's better than any other. Cleanliness is ever important, of course. With mine, with every session, I clean by spraying cleaner through it once, then clean the bottom of the pot with a few drops of cleaner and a cotton swab, then more cleaner sprayed through, and finally I carefully pressurize the pot with my mouth to make sure all cleaner passes the needle. Every so many sessions I fully tear down needle and nozzle assemblies and clean... which as Carl mentioned is not at all difficult.

    Thanks for the micro saw tip George. PE saws without a handle are very handy, but sometimes a bit tricky to "handle". I'll check these out for sure.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Great work on those straps, Eric.
    This looks so much better than when you had left them out.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Those are nice straps, Eric @eb801.

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    Tom Cleaver said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Those "holders" look perfect Eric.

    Myself, I continue to use my Paasche-H, the fourth one I have owned over 50 years as I continue to learn new tricks with the old dog.

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    Eric Berg said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Tom: I totally agree with you about the Paasche-H. I’ve owned the same two since I started airbrushing for a living when I was 25 or so. How many years ago was that now? Yow. I also used a Thayer & Chandler double action for graphics work. Very nice brush but you had to treat it with respect.

    John & Spiros: Thanks for keeping tabs on my build. Finish line is right around the corner.

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    Eric Berg said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Erik: Yeah, seems like GWH needs somebody in quality control. Left hand doesn’t seem to know what the right hand did and vice versa.

    Andrew & Carl: Appreciate your Iwata comments. It’s been years since I used a double action brush but I’m sure it will all come back to me. I think I’ll pull the trigger (ha ha) and order one.

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    Eric Berg said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    CANOPIES
    The works trudges on with this TBD-1. I'm in the midst of installing the Rob-Taurus vacuum canopies. Been a while since I've used vacuum canopies and I forgot they can be a real pain the in rear like anything else. I did botch cutting out the windshield so I decided to use the one that came with the kit. Not sure if GWH short shot the windshield or made a mistake on the fuselage. After looking at other online builds,I'm not sure as they appear to be all over the map. I considered using the windshield from the Monogram kit but it doesn't fit at all on this TBD.

    Here's a photo of the real thing followed by my mine:


    Not sure if I should fill in that notch or just leave it alone, but it doesn't look right to me. Next I have to clean up all that white glue mess. I think I'm getting too carried away with the details here.

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    I think I’m getting too carried away with the details here.

    is that at all possible? 😀

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Although "leave as is" will look good, filling that small gap will look closer to the real thing, Eric @eb801.
    Maybe applying a small dab of white glue there (in two sessions, maybe, in order to "build it up") and fair it with a wet ear bud would fill this mini void nicely. Then it can be painted.

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    Eric Berg said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    That's a good idea Spiros. Exactly what I was thinking but I use water based white latex caulk for these kind of situations as it dries fast without much shrinkage and you can paint over it without waiting three or more hours. Wipes smooth with one's wet finger.

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    Tom Cleaver said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    I agree with @fiveten. Fill it - you can use white glue and no problem after.

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    Louis Gardner said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Eric, @eb801
    The white glue trick works very good. I use it regularly on stubborn canopies.

    Also, I started airbrushing about 20 years ago using an Aztek -A470. I got tired of purchasing new spray tips for it, but it was the best I could afford at the time and it worked very good. Later, about 7 years ago, I purchased an Iwata HP-C plus, and it is a very good air brush. The problem I had with it was when it was time to spray on German mottle finishes or the spaghetti or "Wellenmuster" style camouflage. I just couldn't get it to paint a fine enough line, even in 1/32 scale.

    I tried various air pressures and different paint ratios. I even went to the smallest needle and nozzle they offered to no avail. Then I went so far as to purchase a separate MAC valve... but nothing worked, and I still couldn't replicate the fine lines I could spray with the fine tan colored tip using the Aztek.

    Then recently about a year ago, I broke down and bought a German made Harder and Steenbeck "Evolution" . Mine came with a 0.020 and a 0.040 needle and seat set up. It also has two different sized paint cups.

    THIS THING ROCKS !

    If I had it all to do over again I would have spent a little more money the first time around and went straight to the Harder and Steenbeck. I now have no problems with painting even the finest of lines. I still use the Iwata, but I save it for when I am painting a large area or a single color finish. It works great for that... The H&S works out perfectly for my Luftwaffe and Japanese camouflage work.

    Hope this helps you with your air brush choices. I owe this information to our friend Pedro Rocha, @holzhamer
    who steered me in the right direction after I asked him how he managed to get his Luftwaffe paint scheme so nice... This was his answer. H&S Evolution series. You can't go wrong with it. It comes with the second needle assembly so you can also use it for spraying large areas. Clean up is a breeze too.

    I got a good deal on mine at "Spraygunner.com" These guys are good. Check them out, I don't think you will be disappointed. Their sales staff are very knowledgeable because they too are builders, and they use what they sell. That alone makes a huge difference.

    I like what you did with using the wire to secure the torpedo in place. The real plane used a cable, to hoist the torpedo and to secure it in place. It looks extremely authentic. I am fairly certain that I used something very similar when I built up an Accurate Miniatures TBF-1C Avenger and back dated it to one of the 6 planes used at the Battle of Midway.

    By the looks of things, you will be posting this one soon in the headlines section.

    Keep on rocking brother, it's looking good and the finish line is in sight.

    PS: The fire extinguisher looks GREAT ! 😉

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    @eb801
    Filling that gap is also my thought as that comes closest to real.
    For these corrections I use plastic putty from Vallejo, apply it with a moist brush.

    @lgardner, thanks for the airbrush information. Looking into an upgrade myself as well.

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    Eric Berg said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    Ok it's fixed now and it does look much better without that "notch". I used water based caulk and a little white glue. Now it's time for cleanup.


    Thanks everybody for the suggestions.
    @lgardner: Great airbrush info. I have also heard nothing but great things about the Harder and Steenbeck “Evolution” airbrush.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 3 months ago:

    That "notch" entirely disappeared, Eric.
    Great technique.