1/48 Monogram OS2U Kingfisher-Still Gathering Parts & Reference

[mustang1989]

Welp.....this all came in the mail today. There's a friend of mine that has been working away on his Kingfisher and I've always wanted to build a Kingfisher BUT....never liked the Monogram kit. When I went on a search for a possible newly released kit from a possibly different manufacturer, I turned up with nothing but all these newer released Monogram/ Revell kits. However, I did find an update set from Flightline Engineering that was worth its weight in gold. Pretty much every aspect of this kit has been upgraded/ revised by this guy. Beautiful update set for around $50 shipped.

In any case, Tom, if you're in here....thanks for the inspiration. I hope to start this holy grail build very soon:

Edited December 27, 2022 by mustang1989

[TransAmMike]

Didn't know you were into airplanes Joe.  That should be challenging and pretty big in 1:48. Good luck Buddy.

[mustang1989]

1 minute ago, TransAmMike said:

Didn't know you were into airplanes Joe.  That should be challenging and pretty big in 1:48. Good luck Buddy.

Thanks Mike. Actually, it's what I feel the most comfortable with and is what I was building prior to my first auto model since my teenage years 8 years ago.

Just got through with this one this last year.

Franz Stigler's Me-262 from JV44- "White 3"

Then there's my Fw190 D-9  "Black 10" from III Gruppe in the closing months of the war:

[TransAmMike]

Those look great Joe!

[stavanzer]

Is that the Eduard 190, Joe?

It sure looks great!

[mustang1989]

On 11/25/2022 at 6:18 PM, TransAmMike said:

Those look great Joe!

Thanks Mike!!

On 11/29/2022 at 8:38 AM, stavanzer said:

Is that the Eduard 190, Joe?

It sure looks great!

Thanks Alan! No sir, it's the Tamiya D-9 kit; however, I did use the Eduard landing gear struts, cowl gun cover/ access panel, port side wing cannon access cover and sliding canopy section in order to liven the build up somewhat. The Tamiya landing gear struts were WAY too short, so I used the longer Eduard struts to correct that.

[stavanzer]

Beautiful Build on the "Wurger"!

[mustang1989]

Thanks Alan! 

Well folks.....my Camaro project is getting closer and closer to the finish line. In the mean time I thought I'd post something in here to provide some sort of update that I actually WILL be starting this kit next.

For starters, after opening the box from HELL (meaning the used kit) I found that this kit has already been started as well as violated in the process. I know......what did I expect from an already opened box that's 20+ years old already.

We're gonna call this "Exhibit A"

PE fret had parts cut from it ....

and PE braces/ rigging was totally destroyed by the last "builder" during installation....

Interior had been "started". I'm really hoping that this was a 10-year-old that attempted to build this kit. 

and most of the parts were cut from the sprues and alot of parts were missing.

 

Fortunately, the seller was honest and refunded the money that I spent on this kit. I've not always been so lucky.

This......is "Exhibit B" . A newly sealed kit that I used the refund money from "Exhibit A" to purchase.

I purchased a set of canopy masks from EZ Masks (Chris Loney in Canada) and will give these a try. To my knowledge....this is the only offering for canopy masks for this kit.

and now for the BIG news. I found a P6 Catapult on Shapeways that I had printed up for me to display this completed build on. Now I just need to find reference pictures for this beast in order to paint and weather it up.

 

Edited December 27, 2022 by mustang1989

[stavanzer]

https://www.amazon.com/Vought-Sikorsky-OS2U-Kingfisher-Darling/dp/1445200759/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3EHRG1ZD17TCB&keywords=vought+os2u+kingfisher&qid=1672156172&sprefix=kingfisher+vought%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-2

 

https://www.amazon.com/WPT111-Warpaint-Books-Vought-Kingfisher/dp/B074KNFF7J/ref=sr_1_24?crid=3EHRG1ZD17TCB&keywords=vought+os2u+kingfisher&qid=1672156172&sprefix=kingfisher+vought%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-24

 

I'd start with trying to get these books for reference.

[mustang1989]

10 minutes ago, stavanzer said:

https://www.amazon.com/Vought-Sikorsky-OS2U-Kingfisher-Darling/dp/1445200759/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3EHRG1ZD17TCB&keywords=vought+os2u+kingfisher&qid=1672156172&sprefix=kingfisher+vought%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-2

 

https://www.amazon.com/WPT111-Warpaint-Books-Vought-Kingfisher/dp/B074KNFF7J/ref=sr_1_24?crid=3EHRG1ZD17TCB&keywords=vought+os2u+kingfisher&qid=1672156172&sprefix=kingfisher+vought%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-24

 

I'd start with trying to get these books for reference.

I've already picked up that first one you listed but may have to check into that second one. Thank you for posting these Alan! 

[stavanzer]

The Squadron/Signal book may b e harder to find, but will have lotsa pics also.

I am old enough to have come from an era when S/S books were pretty much the Gold Standard of reference books. (for good or bad).

You could try chasing individual photos on ebay, but that gets expensive fast, unless you know exactly what you want. 

[mustang1989]

I'm pretty handy in regard to reference. I usually build alot of late war Luftwaffe stuff. Try finding correct painting reference for THAT stuff. lol

I really do appreciate your help and will be looking for that Squadron Book as well Alan.

[stavanzer]

If you do Late War Luftwaffe, you are an experten.

That stuff takes work.

[mustang1989]

2 minutes ago, stavanzer said:

That stuff takes work.

You are definitely right about that. I built an Arado 234 Blitz bomber that took me over 3 years to get across the finish line. Construction AND paint job liked done me in on aircraft modeling.

[stavanzer]

Yeah, late war Luftwaffe painting is a whole world all it's own.

I'd never even try it.

[mustang1989]

On 12/27/2022 at 10:57 AM, stavanzer said:

Yeah, late war Luftwaffe painting is a whole world all it's own.

I'd never even try it.

I'll get back to you on that Alan.

[mustang1989]

On 12/27/2022 at 10:57 AM, stavanzer said:

Yeah, late war Luftwaffe painting is a whole world all it's own.

I'd never even try it.

Why not bud? Watch some videos, read on some of these forums and grab a spare kit to practic on and I'll be you can in fact do it.  I think at times, we tend to cut ourselves and abilities short. When in doubt.....refer to the following diagram.

Edited March 1, 2023 by mustang1989

[Tcoat]

The availability of 3d printed parts and photoetch for this kit brings it to a whole new level. I built this kit about 20 years ago and it was just a basically plane shaped lump of plastic. Really looking forward to this one!

Oh and the catapult paint scheme is easy. Grey. Pick just about any grey. Show some brass around the wear areas on the handwheels but otherwise grey.

[mustang1989]

19 hours ago, Tcoat said:

The availability of 3d printed parts and photoetch for this kit brings it to a whole new level. I built this kit about 20 years ago and it was just a basically plane shaped lump of plastic. Really looking forward to this one!

Oh and the catapult paint scheme is easy. Grey. Pick just about any grey. Show some brass around the wear areas on the handwheels but otherwise grey.

You're right about that with the 3D parts Tony. I've been wanting to build a Kingfisher for a loooooooooooooooooong time and for a minute it looked like Kittyhawk was going to kick out a 1/48 version but it never made it to fruition before the company bellied up. When I saw the update set I had to at least give this a try.

I came up with three reference shots for this catapult which echo what you're saying about the grey. I may add a small bit of rust streaking for added interest along the way

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by mustang1989

[mustang1989]

The next step was to completely remove the original instrument panel backing and almost all locating pins save for one long pin for the rear cockpit detail. 

 

The lower wing had to be cut in half and trimmed back a little bit. There are locating pins that were on the upper wing roots for a positive stop of sorts to locate the wing in the fuselage that needed to be cut off as well. 

[Tcoat]

1 hour ago, mustang1989 said:

You're right about that with the 3D parts Tony. I've been wanting to build a Kingfisher for a loooooooooooooooooong time and for a minute it looked like Kittyhawk was going to kick out a 1/48 version but it never made it to fruition before the company bellied up. When I saw the update set I had to at least give this a try.

I came up with three reference shots for this catapult which echo what you're saying about the grey. I may add a small bit of rust streaking for added interest along the way

 

 

 

Yep!

Those motor shaft, gears and lines should all be oiled bare steel and  the controls should be brass with black handles. There would be some rust in the structure but not a pile. Those pictures are obviously of a museum ship?

[mustang1989]

12 minutes ago, Tcoat said:

Yep!

Those motor shaft, gears and lines should all be oiled bare steel and  the controls should be brass with black handles. There would be some rust in the structure but not a pile. Those pictures are obviously of a museum ship?

Yeah I've found the same thing to be true of museum quality aircraft. Pristine in nature.....especially Luftwaffe subjects. I can see you're point about the drive gears, lines and motor shaft having a greased/ oily appearance to them. Reference shots are good for color reference but leave out the wear and tear. Lotsa times it's left up to the modeler and good ol' "horse sense" to figure it out. Being in the automotive trades helps with the horse sense. lol 

Edited March 3, 2023 by mustang1989

[SpikeSchumacher]

Wow! You are really going to town on this one 😉👍

[Tcoat]

56 minutes ago, mustang1989 said:

Yeah I've found the same thing to be true of museum quality aircraft. Pristine in nature.....especially Luftwaffe subjects. I can see you're point about the drive gears, lines and motor shaft having a greased/ oily appearance to them. Reference shots are good for color reference but leave out the wear and tear. Lotsa times it's left up to the modeler and good ol' "horse sense" to figure it out. Being in the automotive trades helps with the horse sense. lol 

Even the colour reference can be way way off for museum ships. They tend to use modern paint colours which are usually far different than those used in the past. I have visited many museum ships and that off colour always stood way out to me. 

[mustang1989]

You couldn't be more right about that Tony. I've seen aircraft in person that I just wondered......what tha heck were these guys thinking? Some folks don't think it matters.......it MATTERS. lol 

The pilots and gunners area are pretty well represented in the update set and is a vast improvement over what the kit has (although that's not saying much--a stick figure with a toothpick for a control stick would've beat what was in these kits originally). 




In this kit release there was photoetch which I was more than happy to use for the IP. I sanded off the molded in IP detail on the update set and set the PE piece in its place. PERFECT!! Part of what I like about the firewall is that the .30 caliber machine gun is depicted just under the R/H side of the IP The update set also comes with rudder pedals with linkage molded in and a separate seat. 




All of this is going to fit nicely into the fuselage. The back wall of the cockpit blocks the first 1/4" or so of where the wings go through the fuselage on each side but Flight Engineering countered this by having the builder notch out the lower wing at the leading edges. Very well detailed instructions and we'll see how it all comes together as the build progresses.