Wayne's 1/48 Avenger Mark 1

[waynos]

Hi all,

I have decided to enter into this SiG with the aim of actually finishing ! I have decided to build the HobbyBoss 1/48 Fleet Air Arm Avenger Mk1.

Here is a little intro video from my YouTube channel.

[youtube]6dtS66TOtk0[/youtube]

Thanks for looking.

[SteveW]

Good luck mate look forward to seeing your progress.

[Muzrik]

Looking forward to seeing it come together

[waynos]

So it has been a while since I uploaded anything for this.

I am at the stage where the fuselage is buttoned up and its starting to look like an avenger.

I went ahead and purchased a canopy mask set for this and it saved so much time! There is so much glass on this kit!!!

In terms of fit there were no major issues at all. A little sanding of the seams here and there. One thing I do like about the kit is the engineering of how the wings fit. It is excellent and there really is no need to any filler along wing roots etc! Top marks HobbyBoss. I have also added a seat for a navigator as this is missing in the kit and was present in FAA Avengers. It is basic, but will add seat belts and more detail soon.

My only gripe with this is that there was no instruments provided for the instrument panel so I have had to add this detail in myself. I am going to opt for bomb bay open, but to do this the bomb bay needs cutting in half. I will keep it whole for painting and do this later. The instructions can be hard to follow and requires you to think ahead when building. For example, leaving the bomb bay door holders off until near the end of the kit so the doors can be used to help with masking.

The engine is a good representation and I used a technique of spraying the exhausts in copper, before giving them a coat of thinned matt black to give it that burnt and rusted effect. Shame all this is lost behind the cowling when done.

As for the turret is a kit in itself and the one piece clear part is excellent. Be aware on the turret though as it is not always clear where parts attach. For example there is a small slot on the turret shield that the seat slots into.

Anyway, enough reading, here it is so far.

[Hackovsky]

Great progress!

[Avgas]

Looking great! Got the US Navy version of this in the stash so

[jnbattleship]

Looking very good inside! I really like the cockpit work.

[martin57]

Great progress .
Some nice details best of luck with rest.

[pourquoi61]

Very good so far.

[TommyKillander]

Wow!

That looks amazing, great job with the interior and believe that I was a good idea to get the Eduard masking set as well.

Good luck with the rest of the build !

:cheers:
Tommy

[waynos]

So now she is all buttoned up. The canopy has been masked and put on and she is ready for some Ultimate primer. In terms of colour scheme I have decided to go with the one on the box artwork. I am debating whether to add I.D. stripes on it as I have seen a couple in this colour scheme with the stripes and I think it adds a bit more dimension to the kit.

In terms of build I am going to opt for one wing retracted and one wing set in place to test me skills out a bit.

Here are the photographs of how it stands now.

Paint wise I have got a set of the FAA paints from Hataka so I will be giving them a go to see if these new formula perform better than the old formula. Fair play to Hataka for sending them out, plus some of their own branded thinners!

[waynos]

Update 3:

So after deciding which paint scheme to go with I cracked on. Not before making the decision to paint the identification marks on. FIrstly I sprayed the white using the Ultimate white primer. Next I masked up the white stripes using tamiya 10mm tape. The exact measurement for invasion stripes in 1/48 is 9.58mm so I read so the 10mm tape was close enough for me. Once it was masked up I sprayed the black which was tamiya xf-1. Once this was dried I unmasked and did any touching up required (oooh er). To save the pain of the paint peeling when masking over for camp, I gave the stripes a quick brush over with some clear varnish before applying masking tape 24 hours later.

Once this was done it was time for the paint. First colour down was the sky type s from Hatakas excellent Rn and FAA set. Once this was applied and dried I then masked over and applied the Hataka dark slate grey. Once this had dried I feel hand sprayed the hataka dark sea grey. All the colours sprayed perfectly in comparison to some of the old formula I had previously. Top marks for Hataka supplying me new formula to replace the old!

So here it is. Ready for gloss cote and decals and weathering. Really enjoying this so far!






Thanks for looking

[waynos]

So from very little completed over the past few weeks to a lot done in two days I am quite happy. I have applied a clear coat and added the decals. I have also trial fitted the wings in their folded positions. Next I will remove the wings, clear coat and do some weathering. I also need to build the torpedo for the bomb bay and then split the bomb bay door so that it can be posed open. Really am liking this build and the colours have come out well!

Cheers for looking!

[TommyKillander]

Looks awesome !

Keep up the good work


Tommy

[Norman]

Looking Great !