Kingfisher build

Thought this was going to be a simple build that I didn't try too hard on. Then I saw the cockpit was supposed to just be the pilot seat hanging unsupported in the plane's hull, so... Time to break out the polystyrene.  

It's just... It's just empty in there....  

Staring at PSB, having ideas.  

Initial idea is to do a reenforced bulkhead in the cabin behind the cockpit. All of these early ideas are about building a structural frame for the cockpit based on the chair 

Experimenting with fitting and carving PSB to form different cockpit bulkheads 

Back at it with more scratch building and fit testing. Tried adding the small radio box on the pilots right, but because the design of the pilot seat is so massive, it ends up looking more like a hand rest. Might build it up with more PSB and then cover the gaps with putty. 

Trying to build a framework for the pedals that I can also use as the bottom of the cockpit. In real life, there was basically no structure between the pilots feet and the skin of the plane 

Fitchecks on the initial concept  

Looks boring.  

Fit check for adding a flattened panel to the left side of the cockpit. Eyeballing all of this with a hobby knife is crazy, I gotta get some cutting tools 

More work at making a reenforced cockpit floor 

Total redesign for the scratch build cockpit interior. A lot more stable and a lot more unified, with little hints at reference photos. 

 

I decided pretty early on I wasn't going to make this museum quality accurate, so things like not having the receiver for the forward facing 50 cal in the cockpit are OK with me. (they're not, this might drive me crazy)  

 

Fit checks with the pilot. Pretty proud of this for my first scratch build. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at this man. What is he thinking? What is he feeling? Where are his feet? These are the questions that we, as modelers, must ignore because they're very weird.
 

Joystick is a little too short? No it's actually fine.  

Experimenting with wiring detail. Pretty interesting outcomes. I'm not 'feeling it' per se, but I think that's because there's no paint yet.  

Pictured: Pilot does leg lifts while his plane is assembled. 

That little crossbar on the front was originally going to support pedals, but the cockpit just doesn't have the size for it 

What pin ejector mark? There's nothing there after my professional-quality use of putty. 

This guy would be way more confident about this if he Had feet 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Painting both the interior and the figure. Interior still needs some weathering with a wash. 

 

 

Fully varnished, washed and detailed. Time to start work on the radio room 

That cylinder basically wont be visible at all from any perspective. Its actually the tip of a pipette that I cut off because i thought it would be interesting. Even now i'm probably going to scrape at it trying to get rid of that seam. 

 

Reflecting on a long forgotten time when this was gunna be a 10 buck throw away build...  

Very minor detailing of engine (adding PSB rods) 

Test articles of the rear cabin vs the original. Couldn't countenance using that little shoulders up bust, so I've got a 1/72 resin gunner on order. Still debating on if I need a replacement.30 cal 

Interior fit checks 

Rear bulkhead cut out to make room for more radio and gear 

 

 

Well, turns out you can see that cylinder  

 

Heavily puttied up wing to fill the massive gaps, this is gunna need a lot of sanding and then a lot of scribing to replace the excellent ridges of the wing roots and wing panels 

 

 

Apparently this is a model kit for a plane and not just a guy sitting in a chair?  

 

 

Dry fit looking gooooooooood 

Is there an NSFW tag on this website cuz this is disgusting 

Fully cut out radio cabin framing. Not exactly how I picture it but the visual language of the open spaces and thin struts conveys what is supposed to be happing quite well. Unsure if I'll try to create a smaller inner ring to frame the 'basket' of the seat or just use the circle that already exists 

AAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO THIS MAN 

 

 

Gun and gun base were cut off original kit parts. Barrel was slightly bent so replaced it with some PSB tube. 

Dry fit checks on full interior (minus some little detailing and painting and arms) first ever use of photo etch, first ever assembly of a resin figure. Pretty exciting stuff!  

 

Knife safety is when you leave your hobby knife blade up and uncovered, right? 

That. 30 cal is massive massively underscale for this model, but it's honestly not a huge deal for me this time.  

 

 

"I'll put a fun little wire on the front of the engine cover"
No you won't. You'll end up putting 4 on because 1 looks ridiculous. 

Engine detailed and weathered 

Love how these radio panels turned out. I think the little oscilloscope in the middle looks great. 

 

 

Should I cut these wires off the front of the engine? Tell me in the comments 

so, i'm not sure if the final assembly will have the radios sitting this far back under the canopy, its going to depend how i end up positioning the copilot. 

I'm really in love with how the meter on that radio face behind the antenna turned out. That little splash of red and those little black tick marks look so amazing. Used a drop of tamiya clear acrylic over it to try to give a glossy glass impression 

 

 

 

I think this color combo rocks, and I'm honestly thrilled with how the radio panels turned out 

the temptation is profound 

While many people note the almost unnatural variance in perportion between the two, the real driver of tension between the pilot and copilot is foot-based jealousy. 

First layers of mission models US Interior green going on, thinned using a few drops of Mr. Leveling thinner. Not turning out how I'd like it, but it probably just needs a few more coats. Painting is still my massive weakness, and I'm hoping some of this weakness will be resolved with an airbrush eventually. 

Is leveling thinner OK to use with acrylic paints? Am I just bad at ratios? Am I just bad at this in general?  

 

now, this looks incredible. 

 

 

 

 

Full interior assembly! 

 

 

 

 

Hmmm mm....  

What if... Instead of 100lb bombs... 

 

So delighted with how this float rigging has turned out! I've been looking forward to adding it since I started.  

 

Masking is my enemy, but it's an enemy I shall defeat!  

First full coat of primer, some parts sanded down for smoothing 

Look at that rigging! Will replace the side wires on the main float with AK hyperthin wire once it arrives later this month 

The molding fits on these canopy are really REALLY bad 

What if we ? kissed in the ? kingfisher 

First steps with my new airbrush! Tamiya insignia white on the underside. 

Ignore all the spills, that's Kingfisher blood.  

 

My first attempts with an airbrush. Starting to understand the intricacies of it. But I'm also very excited!  

Went with a tamiya medium blue for the upper hull.  

Went with this lighter bluegray for the main color after looking at some paintings of Burns' Kingfisher found on the USS North Carolina website.
 

Detailing with tamiya sea blue. I really started out trying to match Burns' aircraft at Truk, but honestly, the dark/light/dark/white almost dolphin or whale camo scheme just kept calling to me. I think I succeeded in visualizing something similar. 

 

 

 

Now she's looking like a war bird!  

Gradually getting closer. 

 

Look at how nice those instruments look 

Full 360 with the first coat of gloss varnish on. 

Unmentioned previously, but I did the exhaust (?) plumes on the bottom of the engine with tamiya flat aluminum. 

 

The only falcon canopy piece I ended up using was the main assembly for the cockpit. Everything else was just a little too off scale or refused to attach correctly.  

 

 

The red roundels are the ones provided in the kit, but they don't seem to be accurate to how the roundels were painted irl 

Note the absence of the red stripe on the main pontoon. This is because an effort to paint it on with masking and airbrush resulted in bleed through of the paint and almost ruined the model so I was too traumatized to reattempt it 

"navy" decal is taken from an ICM 1:48 scale firebee kit, but I really wanted some white lettering on here 

A tiny piece of wire secured with sprue goo forms the rear radio Aerial