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1/48 Hasegawa Arado 234 Blitz-More Cockpit Progress-01/10


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It's been a long while since I've done anything aviation related so it's been really difficult to decide on what I'm going to do for an ice breaker for the last few months. I bounced back and forth from Ta-152 to an Fw190 D series to a 190 A series to finally .........this:

A Hase offering of the 234:
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I bought two of these because every time I start hackin' on a build for detail add ons like cockpits or engine displays or anything like that I have inherent problem of messing something up along the way to the point of being unrepairable so I just head it off at the pass with a spare parts kit. I don't know when exactly I'll get started on this bad boy as I still have to finish up my '54 Chevy Panel Wagon that I'm building in the Auto section here but I decided to post a Threadlocker anyway.

Here are the upgrades:

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with a masking set:

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and reference material:

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Edited by mustang1989
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I think I’m going to test fit this kit together first to see how it’s supposed to go together and then install my resin goodies here and there. I figure it’ll give me a slight edge when things aren’t going together so smoothly when installing the resin pieces. Painting this sucker on the bottom will be a unique experience for me as I’m used to painting my exteriors with no landing gear installed. Judging by the fit of the fuselage halves together and the wing to fuselage joint I’d say it might be a slight bit easier of a kit than I’d originally thought.

 

 

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Thanks Lloyd and Kevin. Is that ProModeler then one with the 4 engine version?

More test fitting today with the Aires interior detail set. Looks like it's going to fit good at the firewall/ fuselage joint. Will have to see how everything is going to behave with the glass installed ..........

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This is a fairly well complimented set and I'm looking forward to working with it:

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Is that ProModeler then one with the 4 engine version?

Yes, the C-3/4, 4 engined bird. I bought it specifically to do the machine with the V-1 launcher, as I did the same thing in 1:72 and always liked it a lot.

I saw in your first post that you also like the Focke-Wulf fighters; I'll be taking a 1:32 Fw 190F-8 to the nationals in Omaha next year.

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Judging by the looks of some of your builds it outta do well. Got any pictures?

Nope, haven't started it yet, haven't even purchased the kit yet, though I'll probably go with the Revell kit, as it's dirt cheap, but very nice. Oddly enough, I'm doing it as much for the very attractive scheme, as I am for it being a ground attack machine, as the scheme, to me, is especially cool.

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I've got the tub all trimmed up and the two pieces glued together. I had to sand a lot of material from the bottom to get it to fit right but so far so good. Here's a few shots with the clear nose piece test fitted. It looks like it's gonna be A-OK.

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Thanks Kevin. I would obtain another detail set for the cockpit but I already have two. lol .

I cut the side panels from the resin mounting blocks today. This stuff is super thin so cutting it from them was a slow process to avoid breaking the dang things. Looks like everything is fitting here so far:

and still mates up to the fuselage as good as I've ever seen from an Aires set

 

Edited by mustang1989
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I here you on that. I've never really had a bad experience with using Aires except for my Stuka cockpit flooring. Other than that for me it's all about the proper planning and prep work.

Managed to get the cockpit area black based this morning. Progress'll be slow on this one while I'm finishing up my '54 Chevy Sedan Delivery but I'm managing to do something with this every time I siddown at the bench.

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Thanks Kevin.

Posted by mustang1989 on Friday, July 29, 2016 9:08 AM

I managed to shoot a base coat of RLM 66 emamel last night before going to bed. I woke this morning and hit the bench at about 3:45 a.m. and started by hitting the highlights with a little acrylic RLM 66 with a drop of white in it on the high points. I set that aside to dry and then hit it with a coat of Tamiya Clear and allowed that to dry. I followed that up with a wash of MIG Productions dark wash lightened some so as not to be overbearing with it. After that dried under a lamp for a while I brought out all the details and dry brushed some silver over the corners and over some of the more frequently used controls through out the side consoles. I then went over everything with a coat of MM flat clear with a drop of grey in it to give the sun faded look. I still have to install the instruments at the R/H front console and at the upright panel at the front of the L/H console and then it'll be down to the PE details, resin pieces like the control yoke and seat with belts and then the main instrument panel. There's alot more stuff I didn't mention but the list is just too dang long. You get the picture though(no pun intended).

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thanks Kevin.

I've been throwing a lot of time and energy at the '54Chevy as of late just trying to get it finished.

You know how it is when you want something finished and it just won't cooperate? That's what's happening with the Chevy Sedan Delivery I'm building. It's one thing after another but I'm getting through it. I had an opportunity while paint was drying on that to switch back over to the Arado this morning. Pilots seat is done to include arm rests (which were a PIA to install BTW) and installed. I'll be working on the back wall where the battery and other details are and working my way forward after I take care of the nose gear bay on the bottom side of this whole assembly. Here's the progress as of this morning though: ( The seat belts are actually dirtier than they look in the picture-here they look practically brand new....wow)

 

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There's ALOT to this pit so I'm probably going to be on this part alone for about 1-2 months. emotion-8.gif

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Sorry for the late reply....Thanks Kevin.

Thought I'd catch up in here. Been all over the place with life and now building. I'm building an aircraft and VW bus at the same time and I've about got the system down to organization.

Here's about 47 pieces of resin, plastic and PE and about 1-1/2 months of building.....

I managed to finish the cockpit tub and am now working on the side panels. After that I'll be working on the glass enclosure, which is a real PIA on this kit. Any ways, here's the completed tub:

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If you ask anybody closely associated with me in the modeling realm about my thoughts on landing gear, they'll tell you that I cannot stand this part of an aircraft build. To me it's the one thing that can absolutely make or break an aircraft build outside of a really obvious flaw or wing dihedral especially when it comes to shows. I judged aircraft at the last show I went to back in February and it was the one area of the build that was the deciding factor in a lot of the aircraft that were candidates for an award. Outside of the show and award realm, it's really irritating to spend a lot of time and put all kinds of work into a build only to see it either lean because the gear wasn't set up right or to see two landing gear legs that are waaay off in angles. I've got an Fw190 A8 build that I had such an experience with. It still sits in my display cabinet but has the flaw of incorrectly angled gear. I put all that time into the build and neglected to get the angles right and it really shows when it sits right next to my Fw190 D-9. So I get really nervous during this part of construction. This build is no exception to that rule and is IMO a lot harder to get the angles right because the gear has to be assembled in separate pods and then inserted into the fuselage as the halves are joined which is one aspect of this kit that REALLY sucks. I think I've got it though after a lot of time aligning and making sure everything was just "so-so". I didn't care for the RLM 02 that turned to more of a 66 after my shadowing attempts though, I can tell ya that!! :hissy:
Here's this (and last) weeks progress so far:
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Thanks Ray.

I got the fuselage together and the camera upper and lower fuselage clear panels glued into place as of last week. This weeks progress so far has seen the installation of the wings. The body work is immense but nothing compared to what I'm going through with my VW Bus at this point. Posted below is the progress so far with the problematic seams noted in red. Lots of filling and sanding in all four areas.......

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  • 2 weeks later...

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