Scramble at Haleiwa - 1/144th Diorama

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:03 pm

Another update! Comment if you have a question / etc.

--------------------------------------------->

The windscreen has been attached with the Klear.

Windscreen frame is painted.

I will usually drill a hole in the model somewhere so I could put a trimmed down piece of plastic to use for a holder. It keeps me from handling the model more times than I want to, thus keeping me from touching up the paint job. On the P-36 I happened to have the right size hole for a 2-56 thread. Screwing the rod in makes it hold better. The tapered piece of plastic sometimes slips out.

Here are some pics of the canopy on and also painted. I placed the engine and prop on for the pictures. The prop hub was taken down a little bit in diameter and length for a more proportionate look. The prop has a slight droop because it is just hanging there and not permanently attached yet.

Now to find the correct markings and research how the prop would have been painted. ( Silver hub and blades, Silver hub - black blades, or all black.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2015 1:25 pm

Not too much on the Diorama front, but I'll share the updates. Sorry in advice for the lack of photos, I'm not as good as my father with the step by step process. I start rolling on a project and forget to snap shots! Anyways...

So a couple of important pieces for this diorama:

Quote:

Lt. Taylor quickly put on his tuxedo pants from the night before and called Haleiwa Auxiliary Air Field, .... he told the ground crews to get two P-40s armed and ready for takeoff. The new Buick he drove was strafed by Japanese aircraft as the two pilots sped the 10 miles (16 km) to Haleiwa; Taylor at times reached speeds of 100 mph.

So I was on the hunt for a 1940/41 convertible Buick. But where would i find one? And what did it look like? Thankfully Woodland scenes makes the perfect car for my needs: Roger's Ragtop

http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/Item/AS5327/page/1

Thanks to David Aiken, he was able to find out that Taylor's car was in-actuality Orange!, and painted by none other than Welch himself. I first tried to brush orange onto the car body, but was unsuccessful. Too glossy. Next I cleaned the body and spray painted it. Now its looking good! I may give it one more coat, then detail work and final assembly.

I also have a 1940/41 general staff car that has been painted and weathered. Just needs some markings and she'll be placed into the diorama.

I used a spare Choco P-36 and Bandai P-40B for spacing. I had to cut down the grass a bit, while adding additional different plants, shrubs, bushes, etc. I also permanently glued the trees into place. Still waiting on some more trees to come in the mail. I'll be adding two or three more.

Last thing I did was assemble about a dozen 55gal. drums from SWEET. Spray painted and placed them strategically around.
https://www.hlj.com/product/SWT14-P001/Air

I also bought a “Assorted Crates” set from Woodland Scenes. Another great addition to help with the realism.
http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/Item/A2162/page/1

Unfortunately my smart phone doesn't seem to have a macro setting so your stuck with these shots for now.

Note: Taylor's Buick doesn't look that vibrant orange in reality.

TAdan · **Posted:** Sat Nov 14, 2015 8:32 am

Coming along very nicely! I am impressed you can work on such a tiny scale.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Mon Nov 16, 2015 10:10 am

Update from the old man!

----------------------------->
The decals came in for the tail markings. We have been using a company named I-94Enterprises for a long time. They have a large selection of medium to very small markings plus other items like stripes and checkers.

The smaller markings that I had to use on the tail were about as big as the date on a penny.

The hard part was that each number and letter had to be put on individually.

I brushed on a little clear gloss where the decals were going. Once that dried I applied the decals one at a time with a drying time in between each one with a dot of Solv-a-set. After all was applied and dried a light,quick rinse of water and a coat of clear flat.

Now waiting for the early war stars to come in.

wendovertom · **Posted:** Mon Nov 16, 2015 11:55 am

wow - really impressed with his ability to work at that scale!

Tom P.

C VEICH · **Joined:** Sun Nov 15, 2009 12:40 pm **Posts:** 1470

That is some nice work by both you and your father Christopher. I just happen to be sponsoring a 1/144 scale WW2 group build on Hyperscale right at the moment. It runs through the end of January and you and your father would be most welcome to join if you are interested. I'm sure the other gents would get a real kick out of your work.

http://www.clubhyper.com/forums/groupbuild144frame.htm

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Wed Nov 18, 2015 10:39 am

C VEICH wrote:

That is some nice work by both you and your father Christopher. I just happen to be sponsoring a 1/144 scale WW2 group build on Hyperscale right at the moment. It runs through the end of January and you and your father would be most welcome to join if you are interested. I'm sure the other gents would get a real kick out of your work.

http://www.clubhyper.com/forums/groupbuild144frame.htm

Sure! Sent in my request.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Fri Nov 20, 2015 11:28 am

The P-40's I ordered have finally arrived!!!!! They seem to be molded very nicely.

Also in the same mail delivery were the decals that my dad has been waiting for. We've purchased several decal sets from MYK Designs http://www.myk-design.com/tank/e_products.html and they are a top quality company with a large assortment of aircraft decals. Now to see how the size of the stars measure up on the P-36.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Mon Nov 23, 2015 10:44 am

P-36 has been finished!

--------------------------------->
After comparing the sizes of the stars many times I finally decided not to use the ones that I had been waiting for and used some decals that Chris had in our stockpile. I did the bottom decals first seeing that they were the least noticeable in case something happened and I was right. I brushed gloss where the decals were going and after that dried I applied the decals and set them with Solv A Set. After all that had dried I brushed on flat and I ended up with much "silvering". I was thinking it could have been one of two things. I used an enamel gloss and an acrylic flat and the two did not work well together. or the flat I used was just too old.
I had to do a lot of repainting of the gray and touch up the black letters and a lot of dry brushing with the pastels I made it look somewhat presentable for when its on the diorama it shouldn't be too noticeable.

I got another bottle of the same flat paint from the paint box and put it on the upper stars and had no problems. Out into the garbage went the first bottle. It pays to always use fresh paint after a period of time. This won't happen again, I would rather spend the money on new paint than go thru the chance of ruining a lot of work.

The engine was secured into the cowling with a tiny dot of Krystal Klear. It makes it easier to remove the engine if I had to. The prop was just put in place until it is decided which position will look the best on the diorama.

The black pastel stick was taken out again and brushed around the cowl flaps, wing flaps, rudder and various other panel lines. It adds depth and gives the aircraft a more 3d look.

These last pics are comparison shots of the diorama P-36 next to the original.

Now onto the diorama.

DH82EH · **Posted:** Fri Jan 01, 2016 7:20 pm

Hey Chris, hey Dennis, I haven't looked in to the modellers section in quite a while.
This is a great thread! Nice work guys.

Here's wishing you two the best until we meet again.
The fall has been so mild that I was flying in to December. Unheard of!
We're finally grounded for the season, so it's great to see your team diorama.

Cheers fellas :drinkers:

Andy

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:58 am

Hey Andy! Nice to hear from you too! We've got to get you a Facebook account so we can stay in touch more! :wink:

This Winter has been bonkers! I was running the Jeep around in early December! Crazy!!!

Thanks for the complements on the diorama. It's currently at a stand still. I still need to finish the figures, and now we're considering adding small motors into the P-40s!

DH82EH · **Posted:** Fri Jan 08, 2016 11:16 am

I cannot activate my Facebook account until after I see your dad log in to WIX with his own username. :lol:

Andy

wendovertom · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2016 1:23 pm

How is this project coming along Chris? I understand how life seems to catch up to you and the 'fun stuff' has to wait!

Tom P.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Tue Feb 09, 2016 2:50 pm

No forward momentum at this moment. Mostly due to an unexpected afterthought of adding small motors in the P-40s so there is a bit of actual movement in the diorama. This would however involve redoing the base a bit, adding a framed second base, wires, etc. Then the task of reworking the two P-40s. Something my dad and I are totally prepared to do. We just need to get back on track.

On a postive note, some reworked decals for one of the two P-40s arrived yesterday. All the more incentive to get them done!

Scott Rose · **Posted:** Mon Mar 14, 2016 10:41 am

And thats how you will go blind... Good work!

Warbird Information Exchange

Scramble at Haleiwa - 1/144th Diorama

Who is online