Japanese Heinkel/Aichi-119 Torpedo Bomber

[Brian da Basher]

What a treat to see an update to this wonderful project, SR! The squadron emblem really looks right and I'm enjoying watching this one come along.
 
Brian da Basher

[sequoiaranger]

WHAT A HASSLE putting the clear nose on and keeping the propshaft from seizing up or falling back into the model (where it would be hopelessly lost and rattle around!). I had to physically hold the whole assembly still while some RC-57 white glue dried, all the while keeping push-pull tension on the nose piece and push tension on the clear nose part. I ended up putting a teensy-weensy (translation---small) drop of Super-Glue in a risky place to steady everything. It worked!!! It's a little ugly right now, but I'll clean it all up when everything sets and get it ready to paint. There is a local contest June 6th that I am shooting for (I'll probably be a judge there, as well) to have the Aichi 119 ready for, but it will be a close call. Too many setbacks.

I put the prop/spinner on temporarily, and temporarily attached the Fliegenfische, too, for a model meeting tomorrow. It's still a W-I-P, but it looks so cool with that big prop up front!

Pics maybe tomorrow.

Thanks, BdB for the encouragement. I was losing heart with all the complexities.

[sequoiaranger]

Here is a close-up of the nose. It needs work, but I am proud to have achieved the engineering that got me this far.


Then, here is the "look" of the beast, still raw. It resembles a He-70 on steroids! I fully realize that the clean lines of the original have been uglified, but the dorsal "hump" is certainly no more extrusive than the chin radiator setup (see sepia-toned pic a few posts back), and the sleek, "racer" of 1937 would obviously need some practical additions or changes to become an effective operational bomber. The aftermarket flattened wheels (actually for a 1/48 P-51) seem TOO flat--if I were the chief mechanic I would have them pumped up a little! It has wonderfully free prop-spinning, but the temporary attachment still wobbles---that will be rectified by completion. Landing gear doors, tailhook, X-Gerat, DF loop, radio mast, rigging, wing guns, and rear guns and gunner need to go on, then masking applied and PAINT (!) will come soon.

[sequoiaranger]

Here is what it would look like carrying a standard torpedo. OK, so it's a DOCTORED picture. As the Japanese might say, "Sosumi!"


No time to work on the model today--social engagements. But soon...!

[Brian da Basher]

I really like the look of this bird, SR! The radiator on top fools they eye into thinking the cockpit is there until you notice the clear nose. Absolutely whiff-tastic!

Brian da Basher

[John Howling Mouse]

This is wildly amazing and courageous.  The nice thing about this site is that sharing some of the dilemmas involved with such a build truly resonates with other Whiffers who strive to produce similar results out of our wild imaginations.  Keep up the good work.

[sequoiaranger]

Here is a nicely-painted RLM Hellblau 65 Aichi 119 attacked by strange orange worm-beings! It's the "FunTack" method of overpainting and revealing that I first saw used by Sotoolslinger and others. I'm giving it a try for the first time. I will over-spray some RLM Grau 02 and a personal concoction of "Turkisgrun" and the result will be a "sea" camo like an ocean with white-caps and rills of foam. We'll see!

Or maybe I should just leave it thse colors?

[sequoiaranger]

Here is the "completed" FunTack camo scheme. The amount of Hellblau on the tail and sides is appropriate (and the middle of the tail will have a huge red/white/black horizontal swath anyway), though I am a little shocked/disappointed that the seemingly SKINNY little shards of funtack I put on the wings, etc, stand out so much. I was hoping for a more subtle disruptive effect. I supposed I *COULD* overspray the Hellblau to soften the effect a little, but that might be irreversible if I make ANY mistakes. I still like it though! Considering that I will soon put on bright orange-yellow wing ID bars, red meatballs, and the pre-war type of tail marking, "subtle" is going to be thrown out the window anyway.

P.S.--The ball of orange/green is used funtack.

[Logan Hartke]

Has almost an Il-2m3 look to it in that shot.

Logan

[Brian da Basher]

That's one smokin' camo scheme, SR! You're quite the artiste!

Brian da Basher

[sequoiaranger]

>Has almost an Il-2m3 look to it in that shot.<

Yes, it does, with that slightly swept-back wing. The Aichi/Heinkel 119 is a quite a bit larger, however, about 3/4 the size of a Heinkel He-111.

>That's one smokin' camo scheme, SR! <

Well, considering what I was smoking when I painted it.....!    

P.S.---I have the propellers in a box, labeled, and ready to send, BdB.

I won't "waste" a picture here, but I went ahead and toned down the "bright" Helblau with a light overspray of the two darker colors--me like-um better.

[Captain Canada]

That's one sweet looking aeroplane !

[jcf]

That's crazy Craig.
One can certainly see the He 70 influence on the Gunter Bros later designs.

Jon

[sequoiaranger]

(Sigh) I had worked feverishly on this project in order to ready it for Saturday's San Diego Regional IPMS contest and model swap meet. Setback after setback later, I concede it can't QUITE be done. Hoover! Grand Coulee! Auburn! (three large dams!)

Anyway, here is the progress: I toned down the overly bright disruptions, added the Slovakian-esque (especially on the bottom, where the black center cross still exists) German Pacific markings, the squadron badge, the small American stars (kills from shooting down B-24/flyingboat snoopers over the Marshalls), and (too hard to see here) wing-gun markers made from 1/32 scale Japanese center-of-gravity markers looking like giant gunsights. I tried to short-cut masking the yellow wing bars and spray-painting them by using decals, but the decals I used not only are too thin, showing through the paint underneath too much, but also broke apart in many places (GRRRR!). Now that I have the time to mull over things, instead of a headlong rush to complete, I may have to mask-and-paint after all.

[Ed S]

It's looking good.  The problems you have really aren't noticable.  I like the way the camo blends into the background.

Ed