Area 88 1/144 - The Locust Raid (T-6 Texan)

[strobez]

Ok, so, while I was waiting for pretty much everything else I was working on to dry... I accidentally started working on another Area 88 1/144 project... this time it's the Locust Raid!

When a swarm of locusts descends on the base, they quickly go from minor nuisance to a matter of survival after news of a nuclear strike on Area 81. With the locusts clogging up air intakes, none of Area 88's jet fighters can scramble to intercept another attack. It's all up to Morris and his antiquated T-6 Texan, he only plane with an air intake small enough to get airborne. Morris needs to dump fuel and ignite it in order to clear the runway and save the day.



Wooo... the box.  What a nice box.



There's two kits in the box, but they're so tiny that even doubled up they make the box seem oversized.



Not a lot of parts, especially since this will be wheel's up.  But there is one part I'll have to scratch up, so I started sawing some sprue in half.



Morris' T-6 is armed, so I had to make the gun pods that will fit under the wings. I shaped a bit of sprue, cut it in half and then drilled some holes for the gun barrels.  The barrels will be trimmed to fit later, but I figured I'd better give myself some leeway.

[zenrat]

So how many 1/144 locusts are you building Greg? 

[Spey_Phantom]

looking forward to see this one, ive had the same project on the idea list for some time.
although i changed my plans from a 1/144 version to 1/72 scale (i have a few surplus T-6's). 

[strobez]

So how many 1/144 locusts are you building Greg? 

I dunno... how many do you need for a swarm? 

Actually, I have an idea to use a bit of synthetic sponge... we'll see if that works.

In the meantime, I successfully painted a few bits green.



Actually the biggest victory of the night was not losing that little cap thingy that sits behind the antenna (which I snapped off already and had to replace with a bit of stretched sprue).  I did the tweezer launch with it 3 times and managed to find it quickly despite the mess. That NEVER happens, but after the unmasking horror on my DC-3 I think the modelling gods owed me one.

[zenrat]

I forgot the scale and was looking at the pic idly thinking "my, that's a big knife..."

(cue Crocodile Dundee jokes).

[PR19_Kit]

I forgot the scale and was looking at the pic idly thinking "my, that's a big knife..."

(cue Crocodile Dundee jokes).

Hehehe, exactly my thoughts too. 

[nighthunter]

Where did you find that Texan? It, besides the Hawker Hunter, is my dad's favorite aircraft. He's a N-scale modeler and he would love that! Also, I like 1/144 too, it's how he got me hooked on this hobby.

[Spey_Phantom]

i have the Valom T-6 kit aswell, built one of them in the Belgian livery it came with, the other im planning on doing in a french scheme.
i hound mine on https://www.super-hobby.com/

[strobez]

Ok, so now that my shipment of goodies has arrived, this build is back in the rotation.

I knew it was going to be small, but man... that is one tiny little motor!


Of course, wouldn't you know it, the canopy has a sprue gate stress fracture.  That'll need to be sanded up a bit.


I don't know why I felt the need to add an instrument panel decal, but I did... so there!


I also need a pilot.  Morris seems to have put on a bit of weight, but luckily I have just the diet he needs... I call it the amputation diet.  Guaranteed weight loss... or is that mass? I should've paid more attention in high school...


Yep. See? It works! He fits!


Masking up canopies in 1/144 is a bit touchy at the best of times... a T-6 Texan is just asking for trouble...


With a coat of aluminum paint on, now it's time to turn my attention to the other parts...  first I need a sponge!


Then, I give the sponge a haircut.  Does it look like a swarm of locusts yet?

[zenrat]

Inspired use of sponge there.

[strobez]

Thanks!

It's not quite there yet, but it's on the right track I think...

[strobez]

Getting a bit further down that track...

A few more adjustments.  The smoke cloud is painted, and the locust swarm had a bit more colour added by stabbing at it with some green paint on a brush.  I'm not sure if it looks any more like a swam of locusts, but at least it helped to break up the uniformity of the colour. When I posted my WIP pics to my album on Scalemates.com I asked (somewhat rhetorically) what FS number was "locust swarm" and got this answer from mate Wim van der Luijt:

"In 1943 the RLM (ReichsLuftfahrtMinisterium) specified RLM02 with a mottling of RLM83 and RLM82 for swarms of locusts (Heuschreckenschwarmen). Germans have the answer to everything  "

It cracked me up, so I thought I'd share it here as well...



I also got the anti-glare zone painted black on the plane and then set to work soldering in the itty bitty motor.  I'm thinking I should have done it before painting because it was a bit fiddling and there was more (rough) handling of the model than I was comfortable with.  Live and learn... I've got several more on the docket with the same idea, so we'll try it a few different ways and see which one is "best" (is there ever a best?)



It's almost done now.  I'm debating about doing a bit of a "manga decal base" like I've done for the other Area 88 1/144 builds.  You obviously won't be able to see all of it, so maybe just around the edges... hmmm...



A few more fiddly bits left.  I have to figure out the correct resistance level to use on the LED and the motor if I want to connect it to a USB plug (5v).  In parallel I didn't think it mattered, but when I was testing the itty bitty soldering connections to make sure it was still working before I shoved everything inside and glued it in tight, the light went out every time I turned on the motor.  I guess I have to do a bit more science homework...

[zenrat]

It's fantastic, but IMO you need more green so the sponge is more obviously representing locusts.  A really vivid green preferably.

[strobez]

I thought long and hard about the green, but I ultimately concluded that a) these are supposed to be desert locusts in North Africa... which are more of a sandy colour (according to my 5 minutes of extensive research) and b) I thought green might make it look too much like foliage... which it already does to a certain degree.

I hummed and hawed over that for a bit to be sure though.

Anyway, what's done is done.  Besides the wiring, all I did from a construction standpoint was paint the rear wheel (I always forget to do that), add the gun barrels under the wing, and add some rigging for the radio wire (which the references were inconsistent in depicting... so I took my best guess).











In case you missed the subtle difference in the last two pictures (besides the fire light), I created a video to better show off my "secret weapon" in this build...

https://www.youtube.com/embed/aRItcQlVo8o

[PR19_Kit]

Hang on a second, you put a MOTOR in that 1/144 scale T-6? 

Strewth.............