Se5a 1/48th scale by Rodan

[centaur567]

This is Rodan's Se5a kit. Not bad detail. One thing that needed attention was the small triangle windows for the control pulleys on the wings and tail. The kit supplied decals and looked a bit cheesy. So I drilled and cut out the triangles and glued small pieces of sheet plastic on the opposite side of the windows. The pulleys will be added later after painting then covered with clear decals. The interior was painted off white, a brown sharpie was used for the wood frame and pencil for the bracing wires. White glue was used to make a cushion for the seat and foil for the seat belts. The instrument panel was nicely detailed and painted. It's location in the fuselage was tricky though. The piece for the lower engine panel was thinned and drilled out. Except for the lower fuselage and upper cowling halves the fit is pretty good. It's just about ready for painting. The underside of the wings and tail were painted Blossom white by Rustoleum. Gary S.

 

[moon puppy]

Nice!

 

[centaur567]

I used the same color left over from the Ki-46III, a mix if OD and flat brown by Testors. Their paint has gotten so expensive that I didn't want it to go bad before using it. Anyway, it's a good excuse to start the kit. Gary S.

 

[moon puppy]

I like it, it's wild reading the conversations about PC10 "Standard Khaki" color, it's akin to the "what is Olive Drab" debate.

 

[centaur567]

Yea, I know what you mean. I just used the SWAG method. THANKS! Gary S.

 

[Barney]

Yea, I know what you mean. I just used the SWAG method. THANKS! Gary S.

SWAG!

I love modelers who are realist!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

SWAG is a new acronym to me.

 

[Barney]

Scientific Wild A$$ Guess

 

[centaur567]

SWAG is an old Army term along with "beat it to fit and paint it to match".

Did some dry brushing with white oil paint and when it dried did a coat of future. This AM I did the decals for Billie Bishops aircraft. I have already built his Ni-17 as a salute to our Canadian friends. The landing struts were also painted wood in a 4 part process. First a coat of enamel, then my mix of panzer yellow acrylic, followed by a dry brush of burnt sienna oils and lastly a coat of Tamiya's clear yellow. I did the for the prop too. Then the cuffs were painted black. Thanks, Gary S.

 

[moon puppy]

I've been doing audiobooks lately and have listened to several classic WW1 airwar stuff. I'm really looking forward to getting back into rigging and building.
No Parachute
Winged Victory
Above the Trenches

Looks great Gary!

 

[centaur567]

It can be addicting and separates the men from the boys. Gary S.

 

[centaur567]

This is a test pic to see if I could attach pics from my phone and it works. More parts were added on. Prop and landing struts painted. Gary S.

 

[moon puppy]

This is a test pic to see if I could attach pics from my phone and it works.

Good job on the mobile update and the SE.

 

[jknaus]

Beauty. Loving the build.
James

 

[centaur567]

Major screw up!!! Yesterday I sprayed the lacquer flat coat and it puddles wrinkling the base coat. So I sanded it down and applied low tack tape to the upside which pulled off the decals. All is not lost though. A while ago I made a copy of the rounders. They are a little underside as are the rub on transfer for the letter Z, but oh well. To top things off I also broke off and lost the tail wheel on the Stearman.

Beauty. Loving the build.
James

 

[moon puppy]

You got this Gary.

 

[jknaus]

A good compass and some tape and you could make your own roundels and spray on if the size is too small on the rub ons. Bummer about the paint issue and tape. I'm sure you'll get it all fixed up though. As for the tail wheel, that sucks. Hope you can find it. Maybe sacrifice a part from a donor kit to the carpet monster and it will spit the tail wheel back out to you. All the best.
James

 

[centaur567]

A good compass and some tape and you could make your own roundels and spray on if the size is too small on the rub ons. Bummer about the paint issue and tape. I'm sure you'll get it all fixed up though. As for the tail wheel, that sucks. Hope you can find it. Maybe sacrifice a part from a donor kit to the carpet monster and it will spit the tail wheel back out to you. All the best.
James

Thanks!! I found the tail wheel on the garage floor today. Yea!! I'm not building a contest bird. l think the decals will do just fine I hope. Gary S.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

GARAGE!?! floor? I have enough trouble with loose car parts in my garage.

 

[centaur567]

Jubilation!!! The decals shown above didn't work out. I didn't realize it was printed on clear film, only to learn that after getting them wet. By the time I clear prayed on and cut out white back decals they wrinkled beyond use. What to do. Went back to the decal stash and found a white decal disc of the perfect size and 56" scale RAF WWII roundels plus the red dots. The RAF decals broke up into many pieces, but I managed to get the blue parts back together. After they dried and sealed with Future the white disc and red dots went on with no problem. A bigger Z was made by cutting up a N decal. Now to get in gear and finish it. Thanks, Gary S.