Ian,
At this point, it's still a go.
Joel

Sweet!!!

As I posted earlier, I've been working on detailing the Bomb bay. At 1st I was going to use the Eduard PE set, but decided to just detail it the best I could.

Here's the kit Bomb bay.


At 1st it looks nicely detailed, but there are several issues with it. There is a center bulkhead that I glued into position, but a secondary bulkhead that goes up against the front row of bomb brackets is missing. So I made one out of .020 sheet. The brackets themselves are too small and are missing their side supports. I decided to just use the brackets as is, but added side supports from 1x3 strips. The center bulkhead is missing it supporting brackets, so I made them from .020 sheet as well. the front bomb bracket structure is very soft looking, so I just made a new one out of 1/3 strips and laid it over the existing molding to add some depth and detail.





Then I primed it with Ammo Mig Acrylic gray primer:





At this point I think that there is enough added detail to fools one eye, especially as it will be viewed seating on a mirror base in my display cabinet.

Joel

Nice work on the bomb bay!

Regards,

Ian

Ian,
Thanks. I think it's enough to accomplish my goal of fooling ones eye with just enough added details.

Until the DMold parts arrive, I'm not cutting the fuselage halves until I examine them. I've heard mix results of his parts, so I don't want to do anything till I see them. In the mean time, I guess I'll start on the main wings as I'm planning on doing some detailing there as well.
Joel

Hi Joel.

That bomb bay looks great. A few simple additions really give it depth and detail!

Very nicely done.

Cheers, D

Damian,
thanks for those most kind words. Nothing I did was hard, it just too time.
Joel

When I build the solid nose RNZAF Ventura later on I will steal some of your ideas for the bomb bay on that one.

Best wishes,

Ian

Ian,
I would be honored for you to use some of my ideas.
Joel

Great work Joel!

Richard,
Thanks for stopping by, and appreciating my work.
Joel

Well, I got home from another overnight shift at work, and hit the sack at 8am. At 11am the doorbell rings, and it's the mailman with my DMold package!

I've been following the package since it was turned over to international shipping in St. Petersburg on the 9/8. DMolds mailed the package on the 9/7 and it just got here. I say that's excellent time.

Joel

Nothing better than the ole' delivery person showing up with kits or kit parts!!!!!!



Best wishes,

Ians

That's some very tidy plasticard detail work in that bomb bay Joel! I'm impressed!



Magnus

That bomb bay looks great Joel.

Magnus,
Thanks for appreciating my efforts in the bomb bay.
Joel

Paul,
Thanks for stopping by, and liking what I've accomplished so far with the bomb bay.

Joel

Joel hi,
Coming along nicely.

Ian,
When you are ready this might be helpful for your RNZAF build,

http://www.venturapublications.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=83&products_id=269

Cheers


Chris

Thanks Chris! I already have the Zotz Ventura sheet on deck which has some great RNZAF schemes with the Disney cartoons. I just have to decide which one to build because all the markings are really neat.

Best wishes,

Ian

Seems there is a perfectly detailed and corrected Ventura on the way. Great job so far, Joel !

Bernd,

Thanks for that assessment, I'm just not so sure about the perfectly detailed and corrected claim. Just getting close to my build goals is what I'm really aiming for.

Joel

1st up was gluing the DMold's front bulkhead to the Bombay using thin CCA glue. I then applied the base coat of the Interior Green paint to the bomb bay floor. I've decided to leave the washes and weathering till after the fuselage has reached the priming stage.



Next was to glue up the front sections to it's matting fuselage half. The reason for the separate sections is that Revell used the same fuselage mold for both the American and the British version, which had completely different nose section. Once dry, I carefully cut the lower chin section off of each half following a panel line as shown in the DMold's instructions. Then glued the two fuselage halves together with Tamiya's Extra Thin Cement.



There is an issue with keeping the front section of he fuselage properly aligned as there is no lower section to create a positive angle for the top joint. So I glued the back half 1st, and let it completely dry for several hours. Then glued the front half.





The DMold chin section comes already cut off it's molding block. The part is extremely well molded/detailed, and looks like a piece of plastic from the kit, just a different color. No further work was needed besides a quick final sanding.



The chin section has the same 3 holes for the friend or foe lights that the kit part has. There is a clear 3 pc lens that fits, but I didn't want to go in that direction as coloring, then protecting the lenses would be a major issue. So I decided to glue up a base for the lenses out of .040. Sheet.



This lets me wait until all the painting and sealing has been done. Then I'll glue in a punched out piece of Aluminum foil as a base, then a few drops of Tamiya clear in each of the appropriate color, and finally a lens made from a drop of Pledge.



Next was to glue on the DMold nose clip. The part fits, but not perfectly.



Turned upside down you can see that there is both a gap on each side, and the clip is a little narrow. If I fitted the clip flush, then it won't line up with the lip of the Bombay as it does now.




So I sanded and shaped the best I could. I stopped once I noticed that the kit plastic tab by the bomb bay were starting to get paper thin. Fortunately, the side off sets were corrected. Next I applied a coat of Bondo. Let it cure for a few hours, then dry sanded followed by wet sanding. I'm satisfied that all the major issues have been corrected, and that only a final layer will be needed for those apparent pin holes before priming.







Honestly, for all the work needed to install the clip, and the small difference in dimensions from the kit part, which really can only be seen if you turn over the fuselage, it really isn't worth the effort, time, nor expense for me, as this is strictly a display model that at best will be rest on a mirror base.

One last point is that you need to install the tail wheel assembly prior to gluing up the fuselage halves including the wheel strut.



Of course I was sanding while watching the NY Giants loose once again, and in a moment of an emotional out burst, I hit the tail wheel strut against the side of my workbench, and broke it in half. So now I have to repair it with a inserted pin.

Joel

Hey Joel,
Watching the home team and building models don't mix.

Still watching with interest,

Gary

Gary,
Yeah, but it does make for some interesting modeling, especially when I miss a big play, or watch them really screw it up.
Joel

Looks like a successful nose surgery and a good fix with the putty and sanding, Joel.
Great work so far and i am still in "close formation"
Happy modelling

Bernd