B-24 Liberator Diorama - 1/48th Scale.

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Thanks Vic, and yes, Jan, it could be gremlins, cultivated from Hippocroccofrog eggs !

Anyway, I had a go at carving and sanding the "Milliput", and all was well at first. But then, divots started to appear, a sure sign that the putty hadn't cured in some areas.
Consequently, the putty has been removed entirely, and I'll re-apply a new layer to both sides later tonight, and let it set overnight, with the aim of commencing the shaping tomorrow afternoon.

Back when there's something worthwhile to show ..................
 
A new layer of "Milliput" has been applied to both sides of the turret fairing, and wet-moulded to the approximate shape.
The scanning windows have also been re-filled.
Once the putty has fully hardened, the windows will be sanded flush, and the fairings carved and sanded to their final shape.

All being well I'll get this done tomorrow (Sunday) and post further progress pics then. Pics below show the state of things so far.


 
And as Jan is taken back to his padded cell...... er ...... guest suite ............

The "Milliput" fairings have now been carved and sanded to shape, and some grey enamel brush-painted over the area to check the surface finish.
The paint has revealed that a little more sanding is required in a few places around the edges, and possibly a touch more putty or maybe CA to blend the fairings into the fuselage contours.
One of the scanning windows also needs a tiny tad more filler, which will probably be spots of CA, as the area affected is extremely shallow.
Note that the light grey paint accentuates the curves, especially around the edges, making the bulged areas and edges look more prominent than they actually are. Once the Olive Drab is applied, this should look less pronounced.

Pics show how it looks so far, and I hope to get the corrections done tomorrow (Monday).
Thanks again for following the build.


 
Thanks Vic. It's not raining today - first time this year so far !
The pain and swelling are easing off, so hopefully I can get back to work on the nose fairing tomorrow.
 
Thanks Vic.
I've managed to re-shape the turret fairing, and scanning windows, and given them a coat of grey primer to check the shape and surface. The area will need to light sanding to smooth out things, once the paint has fully hardened.
Pics sometime tomorrow ................
 
Sorry for the lack of up-dates - hands and wrists have been too painful to do any work until today. However, the pain has eased off a bit, and I've been able to complete the work on the turret fairing, although some "fine tuning" may be required once the fuselage halves are joined.

Many hours have also been spent, creating the distinctive Ford "S" fairing on the nose, and engraving panel lines.
The "S" fairing was marked out in pencil, checking against photos and drawings, and then engraved. It's probably not exactly accurate, and may be slightly unequal, port compared to starboard, but once the model is painted, any discrepancies shouldn't be noticeable, and I think it should look acceptable enough.

The entire fuselage has had the panel lines engraved, with the exception of a small number on the underside, which won't be seen anyway.
The lines were carefully scored, following the raised detail, and then repeatedly lightly engraved until they looked acceptable, using a scalpel, razor saw and engraving tool.
Once the engraving was completed, the raised lines were then shaved off, and now await light sanding, clean-up and polishing, which I hope to do later today (Tuesday), after some kip.

Once the above work is completed, it'll be time to start work on the engine cowlings, nacelles and wings. This means opening the rear of the nacelles, enhancing the cowl flaps, and opening cowling panels on the port outer engine, cutting out the landing lamps and the passing lamp apertures, and engraving panel lines.
Although not much of the exposed engine will be seen on the finished model, I've decided that the kit engines can't really be improved in the area of the cylinder heads, so I'm going to order a set of "Quickboost" resin engines which, although not as detailed overall as the "Metallic Details" individual engine, are good enough for my needs, and will look much better, in all of the cowlings, than the kit engines.

Pics show the progress on the fuselage, and I'll be back once there's more to show.


 

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