Divine Wind

[JasonGaspard]

I've been watching all the builds and trying to come up with something unique. Limited by a self imposed moratorium on new kits I had 3 subjects in the stash to choose from. Finally I decided on something interesting that would challenge me by requiring some new skills/techniques. It will be an in flight scenario between a USN Hellcat and kamikaze piloted IJA Oscar.

Here are the kits, I've not built a 1/48 prop since last summer's speed builds so this will be fun!





Since this will be in flight with wheels up and a pilot in the cockpit it's a bit of a waste of the Profipack I think I may save the good bits and use them on a weekend edition kit later...




Preliminary idea is to have the Oscar crashing into the ocean after the pilot being shot with the Hellcat pulling up/away after following him down. I am hoping to create some realistic flight poses and water effects. I hope to learn a lot and that this is worth your good people's time and that you enjoy!

[pourquoi61]

Watching with interest my man.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oooo, I love the 'shot down into the ocean' idea...soemthing I want to try myself.
So I will pull up a seat and follow along

[Cymru]

The Oscar is on my wish-list, so you have my interest

[Lysus]

[JasonGaspard]

OK, pressed on with the Oscar since it was the smallest and probably poorest fitting of the two.

First off, thank you Hasegawa for the ever so helpful paint call outs! I have done the research and found that Tamiya XF-71 is close enough for me, but in 1990 when this kit was first released without the internet what good was this? also semi gross black??? ?

Cockpit finished, everything is too chunky and out of scale, but once buttoned up practically invisible.

Problem, there was no pilot figure included, all of the ones in my spares box are too big to fit, as you can see the opening is not very large anyway, and once the canopy is on I doubt it will be noticable...i hope. If not I have plans to do some blood splatter so that may help also. Dry fit only here, it has since been glued in and no visible gaps inside.



All in all I am happy with the kit for as old as it is. Not a bad fit, just some small gaps that one pass of CA cleared up. The flaps on the other hand are a hot mess, I needed to sand them down razor thin as well as sand the corresponding area on the wing, I left them open a bit because there was still a gap.


I also ran into a problem with the gear doors, they will not fit in the closed position whatsoever. After some tinkering I came to the conclusion that scratchbuilding a new piece would be faster. Good enough, as I'm not sure of the final position of the plane in the dio...either a dive near/entering the water or already in the water...


A pass with some primer revealed some small seam issues that I again used CA to fill and she is ready for color after some rescribing tomorrow...thinking all over NMF and heavily chipped green on top...

[Cymru]

Coming on nicely Sir

[JasonGaspard]

Got the Aluminum color down, Alclad Polished Aluminum, the top side is just for the chipping, underside will be left NMF.




Started working on the Hellcat, again no pilot but one of the spares from my styrene junkyard does fit, although he seems to be from the future and he will need his feet amputated...

again, after the canopy and the flight pose he may not be all that visible so once I paint him in WWII USN colors only the biggest of rivet counters will notice.

And experimenting with the sea...since I don't need transparent water I ruled out resin, I had plaster on hand so I wrinkled up some foil and pressed it into a frame then poured on the plaster. I'm hoping the rough foil will realistically look like a ripply sea, I will sculpt waves later from air dry clay.


this will take a bit to set up...and I see a crack forming after I put it down a bit too enthusiastically...but nothing that can't be salvaged I think

[JasonGaspard]

Bit the bullet and masked the Oscar tonight...I absolutely hate this chore, my sight is not the best anymore after a Retinal Vein Occlusion a couple years back... anyway, you can see some of the blood splatter on the inside of the glass, we'll see how it turns out...any masking errors were made on the glass side so I should be able to scrape off the stray paint


As I had feared, the plaster was poured too thin and I was too impatient and this happened


But the pieces all fit together and I think it can be patched back up with some more plaster


Testing out position and poses


I need to get some acrylic rod ordered then press on painting the oscar and move onto the Hellcat, to which I will dedicate more time since it will be more prominent in the scene.

[JasonGaspard]

Well, slow week at the bench. Did manage to get the acrylic rod ordered and delivered, I patched the sea and it looked good enough to press on.

I have seen several different methods of doing water dioramas so I'm using a combination of several methods
I didn't take any pictures of the process as my hands were covered with paint at all times, but pretty simple so far. I wanted to go for a deep water look so I primed with black. Next I lightly misted over some thinned Pthalo Blue artist acrylic, this gave me a nice deep blue. Next I sponged on some straight pthalo blue, then blue cut with increasing amounts of pthalo green, then I started lightening the mix with white and dabbing on some waves, 3 or 4 different shades each lighter shade covering less of the outline.


I'm ok with this, especially as a first effort. Next up will be to get the holed drilled for the rods which means finalizing the planes' positions. Then on with the water effects, I'm thinking acrylic gel medium, I'm also tempted to go ahead and do a thin pour of resin first with some tint added to add to the depth first. Anybody done this and have any advice?

Tonight I hope to get most of the painting/chipping done on the Oscar.

Thanks for looking!

[Hunter]

It certainly is an interesting base, as is the entire thread.
I studied that last photograph for some time. My thoughts found me daydreaming about a sci-fi space vehicle landing on that distant planet. That's not suggesting your base fails to look like water; its actually quite good. Especially considering its your first try.
I hope what ever you do to the waves works for you, as I am rooting for you. You're doing very interesting work. Well done!

[JasonGaspard]

Thanks! Honestly it did look a bit lunar before the paint went down and I was thinking the same thing, perhaps a good quick technique for some scifi build in the future!

It's been a few days since I've looked at it and I am still pleased...so time to press on with the water effects. First I drilled out the hole for the Oscar, and before I start laying down the effect I really should decide on where the Hellcat will go also and get that drilled out also so I don't end up disturbing the waves later.
I will be mounting both aircraft on 1/4" (6.4mm for those minds not poisoned by the imperial system) acrylic rod I got from the 'bay, so just a quick drill job and some paint to hide the white plaster

and a test fit to make sure everything was the right size, this rod is a bit too long yet...

after several long thinks I have decided to forgo the resin at this time and use acrylic gels for the water effects. Iv'e got some of both of these spread out on the paper plate I used as my palette for the ocean colors, hopefully in a bit I will be able to tell which will be better...I'm guessing the gloss gel but I already had them both anyway...


Last weekend I got the Oscar painted and chipped, I accidentally used the AK Heavy Chipping fluid instead of worn effects and since it was done late at night after a 10hr shift and I may or may not have had a few adult beverages, I did not realize how OTT I had gone until I looked at it with a fresh set of eyes today so I loaded up the AB again and toned the chipping back in an attempt to make it look less cartoonish. I really wish I had taken a before shot, as this photo was taken when most of the large areas inside the panels were already filled in as you can tell by the darker areas, it looked so much better at this point, but more work to do yet...


I had a slight mishap with this one blob, but I think I got lucky...one of the Hinomaru will go here! I will let it dry completely then flat it off a bit, but no touchup should be needed.


Got the engine painted up and installed...this needs some detail painting and weathering still. Also a good shot at my half-arsed gear doors and the hole I had to drill for the rod. The damage on the right door was caused by too much glue being used and melting back some of the thin styrene.


And here is a teaser of the final result, so far exactly what I had pictured, maybe a bit of smoke and battle damage but we will see... the second shot was taken with flash so you can see up close warts and all...the blotchiness in the green is because the touchups are still wet, once they cure and have the weathering over them it will look better.



Thanks for looking!

[JasonGaspard]

Well, more touchups on the Oscar tonite before spraying the markings...these are easy enough to just spray vs use the decals because the hinomaru they give for the fuselage is a bit too large to my eye. A circle template and some 40mm Tamiya tape...




I managed to knock off the right horizontal stabilizer It's repair will have to wait until the washes are done...

And some more work on the water...the first coat of gel had completely dried so it got a drybrush and second coat to give more dimension. We'll see how this turns out, I was really hoping for a more 3d look so I may take lessons learned here and make another go with some carved foam as a base...






Tomorrow, wash day for the Oscar followed by some more weathering, and pressing on with the Hellcat.

[JasonGaspard]

Spent some more time with the Oscar before pressing on with the second plane...decals? we don't need no stinking decals! I went ahead and sprayed all the markings since they were relatively simple. And yes, I managed to snap off the other stabilizer as well

A bit more weathering and fading to come, but I want to let these cure before messing with them any more.



Got started on the Hellcat by again buttoning up the landing gear doors. Like with the Hasegawak kit, they are not made to be modelled shut, luckily the main door parts did fit and the upper door pieces were made to fit by switching their sides (L to R and R to L) and flipping them upside down then trimming off excess plastic. Gaps and missing panel areas are being filled with CA+ dental acrylic.


The guns need to go in now, but they look a bit dodgy and will be hard to paint if I followed the instructions. I decided to trim off the styrene barrels and replace them with brass tubing later, I did use the rest of the part as a locating block


I got the cockpit finished (decided to use the PE even though you can't see much once the pilot and canopy are in place), and by the look of the dry fitting I will have a step on the top or bottom depending on how I decide to proceed...I'm thinking it may be easier to deal with the top side vs bottom since it will mean rescribing less...but at first glance the Hasegawa kit actually went together nicer So I lined up the bottom as best I could and got the fuselage halves together...nothing too exciting here.
Except...schoolboy error! This happened in 3 separate areas but I can sand them back after I give them a good time to cure back.

The tail wheel did not come with a part I could use as a door...I need to find out if this was retractable or not, and if so fill this in.

[Aliktren]

Great work ! And how annoying is it when glue does that!

[JasonGaspard]

Thanks!

I posted an update last night but must not have submitted

I got the Oscar matted with Testors dullcote, unmasked it and was relieved to see that not only is the blood splatter not OTT but does a good job of disguising the fact that there is no pilot figure in the 'pit. I really should get the courage up to give some battle damage, or would anyone else notice no bullet/flac holes? The rod was mounted with 5 minute epoxy and moved into position. Some more chipping...maybe...but it's pretty much done. The gunsight is now reattached, it had fallen off in the wash process and I almost misplaced it.





The tail gear door on the Hellcat was filled with CA+ dental acrylic


And once that was rescribed, primed the Hellcat last night and noticed a couple areas that needed more filling/sanding attention.

On to today...pressed on with the Hellcat. Got the filling touchups done, re-primed those areas and did some inverse pre-shading with plain XF2.


Then the main color, Model Master Acryl dark sea blue (4686)

I then came back and did some panel fading with the base color lightened with XF19. I did not take any pix before I applied the Aquagloss so the effect is a bit hard to see with the refections and darkening that gloss coats impart. I will coming back to fade these more with oils.

The control surfaces are also now posed correctly, ailerons set up R/down L, elevators up and rudder right for a climbing right turn with a slight roll. I had no idea how much control input to show so I just did enough to be noticeable if anybody were to pay attention. The elevators and ailerons were not made to be posed any way but flat so I had to do a fair bit of sanding and shaping to the inside surfaces to make the gaps look realistic and the control surfaces not look like they were falling off the airframe.



While I let the gloss cure before applying the decals I am experimenting with a splash effect for where the left wing of the Oscar is impacting the surface. I used some more of the gloss gel applied to cotton then molded into shape. Here I am using a spare wing to help mold it to the correct shape. Note to self: do this before construction next time so you can use the actual wing from the kit! Hopefully this will be close enough in shape. After this has set I will (hopefully) be able to peel it off the plastic and add more gel to tweak the shape.


Thanks for looking!

[OliveDrab]

Super cool diorama idea and its fun to watch you bring it to life

[HIghAltitudeScale]

Great idea I can't wait for the finished piece. Keep it up

[gustavlekstal]

Great work Buddy. Great looking build log and builds. Most enjoyable.

[demarcation]

Very interesting build mate and great work so far!!

[HamilkarBarkas]

Really cool project, i find the way you make the sea surface most interesting. will be helpful for me at some point!

[JasonGaspard]

I'm pressing on, thanks for all the great comments! It's nice to know people are watching and learning as I am!

The cotton splash effect looks pretty good, the Corsair wing I used is a bit thicker with a wider radiused curve than the Oscar so the shape needs some tweaking, but I'm very happy with this.

Some more gel to blend it into the surface, maybe a bit of airbrushing to add tones and it will really look the part. I'm also thinking of doing some smaller waves with the same technique...I was going to do this with airdry clay but the cotton looks so much more natural.

The aquagloss has been curing for a couple of days so I went ahead with the decals on the Hellcat. Isn't it something how just some simple markings bring the model to life? All the large markings are down and setting, I will come back tonight hopefully and get all the stencils added...since this plane will be elevated and much closer to eye level I want to add them all even though there are dozens of them...

[JasonGaspard]

Major work done on the Hellcat! Got the wings attached and the characteristic exhaust staining done. This was done by masking off the shape then spraying in some gray clay wash then coming into the center with progressively darker shades, ending with the dark brown. This could also have been done with paint but I like the particulate look the wash gives. I got my wash set before Ultimate came out with theirs which I have heard airbrushes a bit better than mine, once these are gone I'm anxious to give them a try!

In some reference pics the stenciling on the access doors was often wiped clean, so I removed some of the wash over the decals before I sealed it all in with some dullcote.



Oil fading and chipping are done. I tried out the watercolor pencil technique for the first time on this build and I may have found my favorite method for chipping (aircraft at least).









Since I had alredy hit this with the dullcote I unmasked also. Very happy with the eduard mask (my first time using) and the modern pilot's WWII USN flight suit colors.



I'm noticing the gap between the cowl and the windscreen, I must have removed a bit more than I had thought when trying to get rid of the seam...should be a quick fix (not really noticeable but this is zoomed way in)

I've added a bit more to the splash effect and am experimenting with placement of the planes



Thanks for looking!

[Cymru]

STUNNING

[JasonGaspard]

Thanks!

I've put this aside for a week or two now in order to be able to look at it with a fresh pair of eyes and a more objective viewpoint. I was thinking I wanted a rougher surface, more waves, higher...but not only would that take too much time to complete, but I think this a pretty good representation of a calm South Pacific from references I have seen and after all, Magellan did call it "Mar Pacifico"...peaceful sea, and I think the lightened turquoise streaks do a good job of duplicating the sun rippling thru the surface. I have done a bit more to the base, blending the colors a bit more and adding some faint shades of blue and green to the splash with some highly diluted inks.

The next calm sea I do I will try using some resin and see which method I prefer. That will most definitely look "wetter".



It needs a good gloss coat though, I think...but too much shininess may make it hard to photograph....we'll see. I may try brushing on a thin layer of clear resin...any ideas?

There are some minor details to finish on the planes, mainly refining the chipping...but it is nearly there.

Good shot of the finished scratchbuilt gear doors on the Oscar...

Good view of the control surface posing...

[rwsmith14]

THat's cool !!!!!!

[JasonGaspard]

Thanks!

I have spent the last few weeks making some final changes, small stuff like adding damage to the Oscar to explain the blood on the glass

this was done by drilling a hole and using a needle in a pin vise to "draw" on the cracked plastic/glass effect. I wanted to keep it realistic, so just a few bullet hits...

And after MUCH consideration regarding the water, I just applied several coats of gloss to my existing base to "wet" it up a bit more. At first I wanted a more dramatic sea surface but it would have taken more time than I had left, next time...so this is where I leave it. Plus I think a stormy/rough sea would look more appropriate for an Atlantic scene...maybe for a future project! Thanks for following along and for all the kind words and encouragement!