Weapons vol.1: Geman 8cm GrW42 mortar

Subject:	German 8cm GrW42 mortar
Scale:	1/6
Manufacturer:	Dragon
Price	US$ 10,00 plus shipping
Description	Injected plastic model with waterslide decals.
Comments	This is dragon's 1/6 80mm GrW42 WWII mortar. I got it at our local hobby shop for about US$10,00 in a sale. At first i tough that i was just wasting money, but latter a decided to try some weathering techniques to improve the final result. The kit is very simple, almost a weekend project. Fit is nice and you can work in several subassemblies in order to make painting easier. The final result was a big surprise for me and i even decided to get more of these kits and make a nice display collection of weapons in  large scale. I used only Tamiya acrylics as usual, some Mig weathering products and a simple base to add interest to the final product.

Technics vol.5: Scribing over raised panel lines

Scribing to obtain recessed panel lines is a tedious and difficult technique to master. Practice is the most important factor to get good results. Remember that there are alternative weathering techniques as i showed earlier, that included drawing with a sharp pencil along the raised details. However, old models with poor fit sometimes have the raised details destroyed by the building process that sometimes involve sanding and filling with putty. When this is the case, you may need to work all the panel lines and building raised details is far more difficult then to inscribe them all. In the pictures bellow, i will give you some suggestions on how i do inscribing on my kits. I am working on an Hasegawa F-5E in 1/32 scale.

First i take a sharp pencil and draw the panel lines to make them more visible before inscribing. I used the raised details as a guide to run the pencil along the panel lines.

These are my favorite tools: i like Tamiya scribing tool as an easy and effective instrument to do the job. A ruler and a very flexible piece of styrene are useful in order to align the scriber along the panel lines. Another very useful tool are these plastic label makers with adhesive on the back side. I allways work over a soft piece of cloth the keeps the model still under the pressure of my hand but allows easy movement of the part to get easy  access  to all the angles necessary to inscribe.

Once the panel lines are marked, i glue the label maker along them to create a point of support to the inscribing tool.

Keeping the sharp end of the blade at a 90 degrees angle to the surface of the model, first i push the nice along the panel line. This offers more control. Then i pull it back as it now runs inside a very subtle recessed panel previously done by the first movement.

Once all the panel where inscribed, a wet sand all the model with a 400 grid sand paper.

Some mistakes often occur. They are easily solved with some putty and sanding. Once this is done, all you need is to inscribe again. 

The finished work. I like to wet sand the model again with  600 and 1200 sand paper to get a smooth finish on the palstic surface.

Kit review vol.36: Northrop F-5E Tiger II Hasegawa 1/32

Subject:	Northrop F-5E Tiger II
Scale:	1/32
Manufacturer:	Hasegawa
Price	US$ 80,00 plus shipping
Description	Injected plastic model with waterslide decals.
Comments	This is Hasegawa's 1/32 scale F-5E Tiger II. I have two of these kits, one in an Hasegawa boxing and another released by Revell. It is a nice model, with good overall detail but from an old mold with raised panel lines. I decided to build these one after i bought the new Kittyhawk kit of these same plane in 1/32 scale. I guess i needed the challenge. As a Brazilian modeler i will build it in our countries colors. Stay tuned because there is more to come!

Engine walkaround vol.25 : BMW132

Subject: BMW132

Location:Musée d'lair et de l'espace, Le Bourget, Paris, 2015.

Comments:BMW took over a license for manufacturing air-cooled radial engines from Pratt & Whitney on 3 January 1928. The nine-cylinder model Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet was initially manufactured virtually unchanged under the designation BMW Hornet. Soon BMW embarked on its own development. The result was the BMW 132 that went into production in 1933, which was essentially an improved version of the Hornet engine. A number of different versions were built. Aside from the carburetor designs used mainly in civilian aircraft, versions with direct fuel injection were manufactured for the German Luftwaffe. The engines had a displacement of 27.7 L (1,690 cu in) and generated up to 960 PS (950 hp; 710 kW) depending on model.The 132 found widespread use in the transport role, remaining the primary powerplant of the Junkers Ju 52 for much of its life, turning the BMW 132 into one of the most important aircraft engines for civilian aircraft during the 1930s.Numerous pioneering flights were undertaken with the BMW 132. The most impressive was the first direct flight from Berlin to New York in a four-engined Focke-Wulf 200 S-1 Condor. It covered the distance to New York in 24 hours and 57 minutes on 10 August 1938.