Improving the Base

I found that the square mouldings made the base too "square" I returned to the hardware store ont the 19th and bought an 8' rounded moulding, saw by hand and glued with carpenter glue. I definitely prefer this look as it gives the base a more traditional look you wood expect to see with a ship case. The next day I spray painted the base with a primer since the base is composed of plastic and wood to give it a uniform look. Finally last night I gave the base a few coats black spray paint. Today I installed the bass stands and it really looks sharp!

 

Raising the Base

After analyzing the electronics needed to be placed under the base for the lighting system I determined that the base needs to be raised. So off I went to the hardware store and bought a 8' square moulding that I cut with a hand saw and glued with carpenter glue. I then super glued the wood to the plastic base and also filled some existing indentations on the top of the base.

Installing the Brass Stands

Was looking for a way to properly align the holes I need to drill into the ship case base, something that had been bothering me for a while now... I finally found the solution by using a laser level that I had and it was accurate enough for the cause. With the holes marked I used a drill and after a bit of filing the brass stands fit perfectly in place. I placed the Midway on the stands to see how it will eventually look and am very satisfied with the results.

Case

My wife got me a nice display case for my birthday (which was last month) as promised. Unfortunately when I opened the box I discovered  a crack on the side.  A few days later I got an exchange at my local hobby shop and all is good.

I had been trying to find a solution of how to display the Midway properly and this was the best solution that I could come up with that was affordable ($50) and proper scale. I will have to raise the base (will probably add some wood) so that I can incorporate a battery for the lighting in the hangar.

Complete!

Sprayed a final coat of clear flat, removed the mask from the canopy and this model is now complete! This build took me 43 hours and 17 minutes, a lot more than I had originally planned but I am very happy with how it turned out.

Weathering

Applied diluted oil paints to the seams of the grey sections of the plane but noticed immediately that this is not going to work for the white sections so I will not weather those sections.

Decals Complete

Applied the printed decals and once dry sprayed another coat of clear to seal them as instructed so that the colors don't bleed. This kit is starting to look real sharp now!

Photoshop Decals

Recreated the decals I want to replace in Photoshop using several reference photos of decal sheets I found online. Interestingly I find that the new decals look better than the originals, with the text being much more crisp.

Decal Woes

Spent the past few days applying decals which I always find to be one of the more rewarding parts of building a kit as it helps bring it to life.

Unfortunately I had not one but two issues that caused a lot of frustration. First, a while back I had pre-cut the decals to minimize any transparent borders surrounding the them but it appears that I lost not one but both red arrow decals next to each jet intake. Second issue, one of the danger arrows on the side became displaced by accident while manipulating the model and I did not notice until it was too late.

I contacted Revell to get a replacement decal sheet but it could take up to 8 weeks and I really want to complete this kit in September. So looking for an alternate solution I found printable decal sheets and with the aid of Adobe Photoshop I'll recreate them.

Clear Gloss Coat

After double checking the masking on the canopy I sprayed the whole model with an acrylic clear gloss to prepare the plane for the decals.