I just couldn't resist this one. Big, very well molded, and such an iconic subject. Plus I wanted to really push my limits on this one - to learn more about weathering, painting, etc. So while it's progressing slowly, it also give me a lot of satisfaction. The engineering and molding quality on this model is exquisite, so I can focus on learning new things and making this model as good as I possibly can. Even if it means I won't finish it before next summer.

Central console has been primed, painted with cockpit green, then other details were painted in black and aluminum. It was then lightly washed with a dark green wash to bring out the details, and scratches were painted in using a Prismacolor silver pencil. Some pre-painted photo-etched panels were added. I'm quite pleased with the result. The last picture shows the mandatory penny shot.









The chairs have been glued together. There were some very ugly ejection pin marks on the backsides (which will be visible on a completed model) so I spent quite a long time to fill them. Then the whole assembly has been sprayed with Tamiya primer and microfiller, painted cockpit green, and weathered.





Side panels of the cockpit received a similar treatment of primer and cockpit green. Details have been picked up by a thin dark brown-green enamel wash, and some scratches were added in areas close to the pilot's and copilot's seats and other that would receive some usage. I might weather this area a bit more later, for now I'm happy with it as it is. The control board is pre-painted photo etch. The oxygen tanks were painted with Humbrol yellow and then washed with panel liner wash from MIG.







The cockpit floor is a work in progress. The area where pilots are sitting is lined with metal, but most of the flooring in this aircraft was made from plywood to limit weight. I want to paint the assembly over, but chip and scratch the paint in heavy traffic areas to show underlying materials.

Below you can see the floor of the cockpit area. Front part, where pilots are sitting, has been painted with bare metal color. The rear part has been painted with Tamiya Deck Tan, and after it dryed, some oil paints were added - mostly Raw Sienna, with some splashes of Burnt Sienna. This has been brushed in long strokes with a flat, stiff brush which created very natural wood texture. A pity it will be mostly covered, although I might still change my mind about that...





And that's it for this first update. Thanks for dropping by, all comments are very appreciated.

looks great.I will be following this with interest

Very nice start, looking forward to more

Very nice work so far, Michu, your faux-wood finish looks awesome Any more progress on this?

I have too many builds on the go at the same time, to the point I haven't finished a single one in 2015. That's one of my New Year resolutions, to consolidate efforts a little bit, and start finishing things. This one is third or fourth on my list of builds to finish and I'll be trying to work on them in bigger chunks.